Kicking off Summer blockbuster season will be the third and final installment in The Hobbit trilogy entitled The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies. Peter Jackson fans have waited an entire year to see the conclusion of Bilbo Baggins’ (Martin Freeman) epic quest alongside Wizard Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellan) and the thirteen dwarfs to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the dragon Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch). The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies opened in cinemas on 12 December.
Action junkies will want to book their seats for the assassin genre film John Wick in which an ex-hitman comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that took everything from him. The film stars Keanu Reeves as John Wick and co-stars Willem Dafoe, Swedish actor Michael Nyqvist, Adrianne Palicki, Ian McShane and John Leguizamo. John Wick opened at cinemas on 19 December.
The cinema is a perfect day out for families and children will not be disappointed with Disney’s Big Hero. Inspired by the Marvel comic of the same name, this animated adventure centres around young robotics genius Hiro Hamada, who learns to make the best use of his abilities thanks to his brilliant brother Tadashi and their friends. When they’re catapulted into the middle of a dangerous criminal plot unfolding in the streets of San Fransokyo, Hiro turns to his closest companion, his robot Baymax and transforms his group of friends into a band of high-tech heroes who are determined to solve the mystery. Big Hero opens in cinemas on 26 December.
Children and nostalgic adults will also be excited to know that Paddington Bear is coming to the big screen. The adaptation, simply entitled Paddington, opens on 2 January and is a live-action feature based on the series of the popular children’s books by Michael Bond.
Hopeless romantics can look forward to the latest Nicholas Sparks adaptation The Best of Me. The romantic drama focuses on former high school sweethearts Dawson (James Marsden) and Amanda (Michelle Monaghan) who reunite after 20 years apart when they return to their small town for the funeral of a beloved friend. Their bittersweet reunion reignites the love they never forgot, but soon they discover the forces that drove them apart 20 years ago live on, posing even more serious threats today. The Best of Me opens on 26 December.
For proudly South African cinema-goers Knysna also opens on 26 December. The romantic drama features the beautiful setting of the Garden Route and Knysna combined with kooky characters and a love triangle at its heart.
Cinema-goers will get their epic movie fix on 26 December when Ridley Scott’s much-anticipated Exodus: Gods and Kings hits South African screens. The film tells the story of adoptive siblings Moses (Christian Bale) and Ramses (Joel Edgerton) who are ultimately separated by fate and ideology, forever changing themselves and the course of history in the process.
Lovers of fantasy will get to see their favourite fairytales like never before in Into the Woods. In the film, a witch conspires to teach important lessons to various characters of popular children’s stories including Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk and Rapunzel. The film features an all-star cast including Meryl Streep, Anna Kendrick and Johnny Depp, and opens in cinemas on 2 January.
