Here Are All the Movies Opening Today, December 19. What Will You See?

Here are the films opening theatrically in the U.S. the week of Friday, December 19. (Synopses provided by distributor unless noted otherwise.)

Annie
Director: Will Gluck
Cast: Jamie Foxx, Rose Byrne, Cameron Diaz, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Stephanie Kurtzuba, David Zayas, Dorian Missick, Amanda Troya, Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, Rihanna, Michael J. Fox
Synopsis: “Annie is a young, happy foster kid who’s also tough enough to make her way on the streets of New York in 2014. Originally left by her parents as a baby with the promise that they’d be back for her someday, it’s been a hard knock life ever since with her mean foster mom Miss Hannigan. But everything’s about to change when the hard-nosed tycoon and New York mayoral candidate Will Stacks – advised by his brilliant VP, Grace and his shrewd and scheming campaign advisor, Guy – makes a thinly-veiled campaign move and takes her in. Stacks believes he’s her guardian angel, but Annie’s self-assured nature and bright, sun-will-come-out-tomorrow outlook on life just might mean it’s the other way around.”
Theatrical Release: Wide

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Anything for Alice
Director: Nicolas Cuche
Cast: Max Boublil, Aissa Maiga
Synopsis: “Slacker Max (Max Boublil) fell so hard for single mother Alice (Aïssa Maïga) in college that he developed a website aimed at winning her heart. Years later, after his venture has earned him millions of dollars, Max risks his entire fortune performing an ever more complicated series of social contortions to get close to Alice, now a politically motivated factory worker.”
Theatrical Release: Los Angeles

Goodbye to All That
Director: Angus MacLachlan
Cast: Paul Schneider, Heather Graham, Anna Camp, Amy Sedaris, Celia Weston, Michael Chernus, Ashley Hinshaw, Heather Lawless, Melanie Lynskey, Audrey Scott
Synopsis: “Otto Wall (Paul Schneider) is your typical suburban husband and father, domesticated into a state of placidity. When his wife (Melanie Lynskey) pulls the rug out from underneath him and announces she is filing for divorce, Otto is thrust into the uncharted territory of single fatherhood and – even more frightening – getting back into the rather unpredictable dating pool.”
Criticwire Grade Average: B+ (4 reviews)
Theatrical Release: New York

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Director: Peter Jackson
Cast: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Aidan Turner, Orlando Bloom, John Bell, Dean O’Gorman, Lee Pace, Benedict Cumberbatch, Luke Evans, Cate Blanchett, Elijah Wood, Hugo Weaving, Manu Bennett, Christopher Lee, Billy Connolly, Bret McKenzie, Ian Holm, James Nesbitt, Graham McTavish, Conan Stevens, Sylvester McCoy, Ken Stott, Mikael Persbrandt, Peter Hambleton, Adam Brown, Jed Brophy, William Kircher, Stephen Hunter, Mark Hadlow, John Callen, Ryan Gage, Robin Kerr, Evangeline Lilly
Synopsis: “Mere seconds after the events of ‘Desolation,’ Bilbo and Company continue to claim a mountain of treasure that was guarded long ago: But with Gandalf the Grey also facing some formidable foes of his own, the Hobbit is outmatched when the brutal army of orcs led by Azog the Defiler returns. But with other armies such as the elves and the men of Lake-Town, which are unsure to be trusted, are put to the ultimate test when Smaug’s wrath, Azog’s sheer strength, and Sauron’s force of complete ends attack. All in all, the trusted armies have two choices: unite or die. But even worse, Bilbo gets put on a knife edge and finds himself fighting with Hobbit warfare with all of his might for his dwarf-friends, as the hope for Middle-Earth is all put in Bilbo’s hands. The one ‘precious’ thing to end it all.”
Criticwire Grade Average: B- (9 reviews)
Theatrical Release: Wide

Inside the Mind of Leonardo
Director: Julian Jones
Cast: Peter Capaldi
Synopsis: “With over 6,000 pages of handwritten notes and drawings, da Vinci’s private journals are the most comprehensive documents that chronicle the work of the world’s most renowned inventor, philosopher, painter and genius. Using this precious collection of writings and drawings to recount Da Vinci’s story in his own words, and combining them with stunning visual effects and 3D technology, we re-create the mindscape and ideas of mankind’s greatest polymath.”
Theatrical Release: New York, Los Angeles and Santa Fe (expands to various cities through the end of January 2015)

Life of an Actress
Director: Paul Chau
Cast: Orfeh, Taylor Louderman, Allison Case, Bart Shatto, Xavier Cano, Richard H. Blake
Synopsis: “A musical drama about the trials and tribulations of three actresses as they struggle to achieve their dreams while balancing an acting career with love, dignity and getting older. When the diner where they work gets into financial trouble, chasing dreams confront reality.”
Theatrical Release: Los Angeles and New York

Mr. Turner
Director: Mike Leigh
Cast: Timothy Spall, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Jamie Thomas King, Dorothy Atkinson, Marion Bailey, Paul Jesson, Lesley Manville, Martin Savage, Ruth Sheen, Joshua McGuire
Synopsis: “‘Mr. Turner‘ explores the last quarter century of the great if eccentric British painter J.M.W. Turner. Profoundly affected by the death of his father, loved by a housekeeper he takes for granted and occasionally exploits sexually, he forms a close relationship with a seaside landlady with whom he eventually lives incognito in Chelsea, where he dies. Throughout this, he travels, paints, stays with the country aristocracy, visits brothels, is a popular if anarchic member of the Royal Academy of Arts, has himself strapped to the mast of a ship so that he can paint a snowstorm, and is both celebrated and reviled by the public and by royalty.” [Cannes Film Festival]
Criticwire Grade Average: A- (46 reviews)
Theatrical Release: New York and Los Angeles

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb
Director: Shawn Levy
Cast: Ben Stiller, Rebel Wilson, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Dick Van Dyke, Rachael Harris, Rami Malek, Ben Kingsley, Ricky Gervais, Mickey Rooney, Dan Stevens, Skyler Gisondo, Mizuo Peck, Bill Cobbs, Brennan Elliott, Steve Coogan, Dan Stevens
Synopsis: “When the magic powers of The Tablet of Ahkmenrah begin to die out, Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) spans the globe, uniting favorite and new characters while embarking on an epic quest to save the magic before it is gone forever.”
Theatrical Release: Wide

PK
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Cast: Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma, Sushant Singh Rajput, Boman Irani, Sanjay Dutt
Synopsis: “A stranger in the city asks questions no one has asked before. Known only by his initials, P.K.’s innocent questions and childlike curiosity will take him on a journey of love, laughter and letting go.”
Theatrical Release: Wide

Poker Night
Director: Greg Francis
Cast: Beau Mirchoff, Ron Perlman, Giancarlo Esposito, Corey Large, Titus Welliver, Halston Sage, Ron Eldard, Michael Eklund, Kieran Large, Lochlyn Munro, Chad Krowchuk, Dean Wray, Lauren Donnelly, Rikki Gagne, Grizz Salzl
Synopsis: “When you become a detective in Warsaw Indiana – you go to Poker Night, where you play against some of the best cops in the business. They tell you stories about their time on the job – their successes and failures. When new Detective Stan Jeter leaves the game, he is caught by a vicious psychopath and locked in a basement. Using the stories he heard at Poker Night, he must match wits against his captor – and save not only himself, but the young girl trapped in the basement with him.”
Theatrical Release: Limited

Sagrada – The Mystery of Creation
Director: Stefan Haupt
Synopsis: “In the midst of the hustle and bustle of the Catalonian metropolis, Sagrada settles into the quiet ambiance of the basilica, peering into nooks and crannies of both the finished and still to be completed sections. This slow, methodical investigation allows the audience time to observe, perceive, and reflect upon the historical and spiritual significance of the basilica, while gaining deep insight into the ongoing process of artistic creation. More than 125 years after construction began, the basilica remains unfinished. Despite this, La Sagrada Familia has been admired by art historians for decades.”
Theatrical Release: New York

Song of the Sea
Director: Tomm Moore
Cast: Brendan Gleeson, Fionnula Flanagan, David Rawle, Pat Shortt, Jon Kenny, Lisa Hannigan, Liam Hourican, Colm Ó’Snodaigh, Lucy O’Connell, Kevin Swierszcz
Synopsis: “Ben and Saoirse live in a lighthouse by the sea with their father, who remains distraught over the loss of his wife several years earlier. Though Ben is aware of the responsibility that comes with being a big brother, he is easily frustrated with Saoirse, who, at six years old, has yet to utter a single word. When Saoirse discovers a shell flute that used to belong to their mother, the spellbinding music she creates becomes both a means of communication and the key to a magical secret locked deep in their mother’s past. After they are sent to live with their granny in the city, Saoirse and Ben must work together to find their way home. Ben soon realizes that his sister holds the power to bring the ancient stories their mother told them to life — but in order to keep these tales alive, she needs to find her voice, and he needs to overcome his deepest fears.” [Toronto International Film Festival]
Criticwire Grade Average: A- (6 reviews)
Theatrical Release: New York

Winter Sleep
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Cast: Haluk Bilginer, Melisa Sözen, Demet Akbağ, Ayberk Pekcan, Serhat Mustafa Kiliç, Tamer Levent, Nejat İşler, Nadir Sarıbacak, Mehmet Ali Nuroglu, Emirhan Doruktutan