The last three months of 2013 are full of potential hit movies. Many of these are continuing releases of hit series but there are a few stand-alone gems for both adults and children to enjoy at the end of the year.
Thor: The Dark World
One of the most anticipated movies is Thor, The Dark World opening on November 8, 2013. The film has the return of Chris Hemsworth as the title character and, more important for many fans, Tom Hiddleston as the trickster god Loki. Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis, and Anthony Hopkins as Odin return to the series. For Doctor Who fans, Christopher Eccleston stars as Malekith the Accursed and for Lost fans, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje will star as Algrim/Kurse.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire movie is a continuation of the popular series that started in 2012. On November 22, Academy Award winner Jennifer Lawrence will return as Katniss Everdeen along with the actors Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth reprising their roles as Peeta Mellak and Gale Hawthorne. The new film should be exciting in showing the main character’s challenges against repression and family issues after winning the Hunger Games. New characters, the actor Philip Seymour Hoffman as Plutarch Heavensbee and Sam Claflin as Finnick, will join the cast.
Frozen
Saving Mr. Banks
Disney is releasing two new films at the end of the year. The first, opening on November 27 is Frozen, an animated feature based on the fairy tale The Snow Queen. The movie will also debut a new Mickey Mouse short feature, Get A Horse. The second film that premieres on December 20, in time for the holiday season, is Saving Mr. Banks. The film is a fictionalized story of the making of the Mary Poppins movie. Tom Hanks stars as Walt Disney and Emma Thompson plays author Mary Poppins author P. L. Travers.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, starring Martin Freeman (Sherlock) as the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, is the second film in the Hobbit trilogy ending on July 18, 2014 with There and Back Again. This movie centers on the titular dragon, Smaug voiced by the actor Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) who also is the villain Necromancer in the film which opens on December 13, with tickets going on sale November 21. The film will include the return of Orlando Bloom as Legolas, Evangeline Lilly as an impassioned elf and various nefarious creatures such as giant spiders and the horrific Orcs.