Thanksgiving marked the official start of the holiday season, which means we won’t be short on cheer or great movies and television shows to watch this month. Much like the chicken and the egg, we don’t know which came first, but quality entertainment and holiday spirit certainly have always had a long, happy and interdependent relationship. So, as with our spiral hams, let’s dig right in and unravel this month’s books on screen.
December starts strong on the silver screen, with the Coen brothers’ latest, Inside Llewyn Davis, which is now in theaters. Oscar Isaac plays the titular musician and rambling man, along with a strong supporting cast. And if you’re not drawn by the Coen brothers’ impeccable storytelling, come for the music, which was produced by frequent Coen collaborator T Bone Burnett and Mumford & Sons frontman Marcus Mumford.
If the only music you’re interested in hearing is melancholy and sung by dwarves, then you’re in luck! The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Peter Jackson’s follow-up to last year’s first installment of the beloved Tolkien classic, hits theaters on December 13th. Bilbo, Gandalf and a pack of dwarves journey across Middle Earth to restore surly leader Thorin Oakenshield to his throne. Fan-favorite (or just my own personal favorite) Orlando Bloom Legolas joins the group this time to help fight an epic battle in this Lord of the Rings prequel.
And if you didn’t get your fix of Jennifer Lawrence with November’s Catching Fire, be sure to check out Silver Linings Playbook director David O’Russell’s highly anticipated American Hustle. Christian Bale plays Irving Rosenfeld, a brilliant con man forced to play nice with the FBI (and handled by Bradley Cooper, rocking a serious perm). J. Law is his loose cannon wife, whose jealousy could topple the whole operation.
There’s plenty more to see in theaters this month --- including Martin Scorsese and his go-to leading man Leonardo DiCaprio’s fifth collaboration, The Wolf of Wall Street --- but if you’re saving up for all your holiday gifts, stay home, throw on a pair of wool socks and tune in to books on TV. TNT’s six-part miniseries, “Mob City,” takes a note from the noir classic L.A. Confidential, and explores post-war Los Angeles, where the mob competes with Hollywood movie stars and a corrupt police force for top billing. Things are also heating up mid-season for TV vampires of all varieties, including the teen kind and the Transylvanian-posing-as-American kind. Evil twins, love triangles and menacing foes abound --- all the things that simply cannot be avoided when you’re centuries old. And in case you missed it in theaters (read: everyone), Disney's fancy flop The Lone Ranger is finally out on DVD.
Check out our extensive list below for all of this month’s books on screen. Because everyone knows snow time means show time!
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