The Imitation Game: It’s late fall, that means one thing: Oscar season is here in full force. One performance almost guaranteed to land a Best Actor nomination this year is Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing in this anticipated biopic. The film chronologues the British genius’ years working to decode German transmissions in the heat of World War II. With a supporting cast including Keira Knightley, Mark Strong and Game of Thrones’ Charles Dance.
The Penguins of Madagascar: If you’re celebrating Thanksgiving with kids this year, expect to end up at a movie theater for this Dreamworks Animation feature at some point during the weekend. The spin-off focuses on the origin of titular penguins, the reliable scene-stealers of past Madagascar films. Joining them is a supporting cast with the voices of John Malkovich, Ken Jeong and Benedict Cumberbatch.
Horrible Bosses 2: A sequel to the unexpected 2011 comedy hit, this reunion of Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis (along with fellow returning cast members, Jennifer Aniston and Jamie Foxx), promises more scheming, more laughs and bigger plans. Now free from their respective bosses, the gang set their skills (or lack thereof) on bigger targets. Chris Pine and Christoph Waltz are the potential victims for this scheme. Breaking Bad’s Jonathan Banks joins the sequel’s cast as well.
The long weekend can also be a great time to get a head start on some great award bait before the nominations come out. A few of these are still in limited release, so keep your eyes open as you travel – you might be able to catch a film that won’t be available in Eugene for weeks to come.
The Theory of Everything: Another performance gaining serious Oscar talk, Eddie Redmayne plays a young Stephen Hawking in this very human look at a man who is often only considered for his ideas. Following his romance with then-wife Jane (played by Felicity Jones), the romantic drama has been winning high praise from critics across the film festival circuit.
Foxcatcher: In transformative performances for actors Steve Carell, Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo, this drama retells the true events of John du Pont (Carell), and his twisted relationship with Mark and Dave Schultz (Tatum and Ruffalo, respectively), two wrestlers training for the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics. The true-crime thriller is coming from director Bennett Miller, whose credits include Capote and Moneyball.
Follow Chris Berg on Twitter: @mushroomer25