3 pre-Christmas trips to the movies

I love heading to the cinema just before Christmas. Sauntering through town, keeping my head, while all around me are losing theirs. No shopping bags for me – just a copy of Empire magazine and a pair of 3D glasses.

Casually moseying down (oh yeah, I mosey) to the lusciously carpeted lobby. The smell of popcorn (sweet AND salted – half and half) filling my nostrils. The sound of myself crying when I get rinsed for the world's most expensive gingerbread latte at the cinema's in-house Starbucks...

But I keep on coming back, ladies and gentlemen! No matter how disgusted I am by the ever-ridiculous prices, the silver screen keeps reeling me back in!

And so it is this Christmas, with a number of December goodies that already have me donning my elf-ears in anticipation!

Jumanji: The Next Level

The Rock, Dwayne Johnson is back as Dr Smolder Bravestone in this sequel to Jumanji:Welcome To The Jungle (2017). He's accompanied again by Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan and Nick Jonas. Danny De Vito and Danny Glover join the cast.

When Spencer disappears after repairing the Jumanji video game in his grandfather's basement, his friends jump back in to go and save him.

I really enjoyed Welcome To The Jungle – way more than I liked the original Robin Williams movie. The idea of the in-game avatars inheriting their characters from the kids sucked in to the game was genius. It had a lot of heart and some great funny moments. Because of that, I'm excited to see the sequel before the man with the white beard leaves mince pie crumbs all over my kitchen floor.

Spies In Disguise

My next pick is the animated Will Smith vehicle Spies In Disguise. Tom Holland voices Walter Beckett, a teenage Q-alike to Smith's super awesome James Bond style spy, Lance Sterling. When Beckett turns Sterling into a pigeon (!), they need to work together to overcome Ben Mendelsohn's criminal mastermind Tristan McFord.

I love animation – and this has a look of Despicable Me, which I adore. Will Smith seems firmly back on the big screen again, which is no bad thing. I'm an 80's child – there'll always be a place in my heart for the Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Whisper it quietly, but Spotify helps me get my fix of Big Willie Style on a semi-regular basis.

I'm also fascinated by the premise of a spy-turned-pigeon saving the world.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Well, who isn't excited for this bad boy? Go ahead and raise your hands, non-Star Wars watching population of the world.

The plot is tightly under wraps at this point, but the Resistance will face off against the Resistance once more. The conflict between the Jedi and the Sith will come to a crashing end.

Recent posters have shown 'Dark Rey' wearing outfits more befitting for the Matrix, (top movie-watching tip: that's when you know someone's character has gone bad, they wear black clothes) and of course, the shadowy Emperor Palpatine.

Jeff broke his promise to tidy the living room

Disney have confirmed that the Star Wars movie franchise will be on hiatus following Rise of Skywalker.

If it wasn't for the untimely death of Carrie Fisher, there would have been some amazing lightsabre-wielding screen-time for Leia, revealed as the last Jedi.

As it is, through the magic of CGI, Leia still gets 8 minutes of screen-time. I'm sure she'll kick ass and it'll be a fitting end for an incredible character.

Ok, if you insist, Coil subscribers! One more December release below for you guys!

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