Most anticipated holiday movie: We can't wait to see 'Rogue One'
Which of these holiday films are our USA TODAY Network movie writers most excited about?
John Beifuss, The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: Here’s hoping that Godzilla director Gareth Edwards can bang the dashboard of George Lucas’ exhausted space saga with enough energy to relaunch it into hyperspace.
Alex Biese, The Asbury Park (N.J.) Press
Moana: One of the most hotly anticipated animated films in recent memory, thanks to the involvement of some of entertainment’s coolest people. Voice acting by Dwayne Johnson? Music from Hamilton mastermind Lin-Manuel Miranda? A script co-credited to Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows)? Nov. 23 can’t get here soon enough.
Courtney Crowder, The Des Moines Register
Allied: Best known for Back to the Future, director Robert Zemeckis’ Allied, a mystery involving married spies in World War II-era London, looks to be a suspenseful character study on par with Cast Away and Flight.
Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic
Passengers: A couple of passengers (Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt) on a long-distance space flight wake up from their sleep chambers 90 years early. Excited to see what they do with the format, and how those two interact.
Holiday film preview: 10 must-see movies
Carol Motsinger, The Cincinnati Enquirer
Rogue One: Just a few lines from A New Hope inspired this space opera-meets-heist film, first of the planned Star Wars spinoffs. Much mystery surrounds the story about rebels on a mission to steal the Death Star plans, but the casting appears inspired, featuring some of the best (and most underrated) actors working today, among them Mads Mikkelsen and Ben Mendelsohn.
10 movies you must see before awards season
Brian Truitt, USA TODAY
Rogue One: You've got to be pretty sure of your story to bring Darth Vader back on the big screen. But the franchise has already proven it's crazy strong in the Force and returning to the period of the original trilogy — plus adding a brand new heroine — might as well be pop-culture catnip for Star Wars fandom.
James Ward, Visalia (Calif.) Times-Delta and Tulare Advance-Register
Assassin’s Creed: There's never been a good movie based on a video game (Super Mario Bros. or Doom, anyone?), so it will be interesting to see if A-list actor Michael Fassbender can break the curse.