Film
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
The first Hobbit stumbled, but the second one was fun. By rights, that should mean the long-awaited last instalment of Peter Jackson’s overcranked, elf-infested Tolkien yarn should turn out to be a bona fide masterpiece, a furry-footed Citizen Kane. Xan Brooks 12 December UK, 17 December US, 26 December Australia.
Could be grossout comedy’s grand reawakening, could be its death knell. Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels re-team with the Farrelly brothers for a sequel to their 1994 hit. This time uber-morons Harry (Daniels) and Lloyd (Carrey) are on the trail of Harry’s daughter, born without his knowledge two decades ago. The original was stupid but strangely heartfelt. Who knows if the reunion, arriving years after a clutch of comedies that liberally ripped off the puerility-plus format, can discover new depths to sink to? Henry Barnes 19 December UK, 14 December US, 1 January Australia.
The Bible is having a bit of a moment in Hollywood right now. Ridley Scott directs this account of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt, with the help of alpha-screenwriter Steven Zaillian. Christian Bale plays Moses, Aaron Paul plays Joshua and there are smaller roles for Ben Kingsley and Sigourney Weaver. Will they reach the Promised Land? Will the parting of the Red Sea prove a showstopper, or has the ubiquity of CGI made such moments less interesting? We shall see, and it promises to be a spectacle of sorts. Peter Bradshaw 26 DecemberUK, 12 December US, 1 January Australia.
Annie
The songs are raucous and the sugar levels through the roof in Annie, adapted from the 1970s Broadway musical (which was itself adapted from a 1920s comic strip). Beasts of the Southern Wilds star Quvenzhané Wallis takes the lead as the poor but plucky orphan girl, while Jamie Foxx co-stars as the millionaire philanthropist who finds he can stomach her winsome antics. XB 26 December UK, 19 December US, 18 December Australia.
Unbroken
Angelina Jolie’s second film as director tells the extraordinary story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic long distance runner who fought as a bombardier in the second world war and survived 47 days adrift after being shot down over the Pacific before being taken prisoner by the Japanese. Jack O’Connell (Starred Up, Skins) takes flight for the big leagues as Zamperini, while Jolie enlisted the Coen brothers to rewrite the screenplay. Expect big, classy American cinema with unapologetically patriotic bent. Expect soaring strings and rousing speeches. And – if the Academy are feeling weepy - expect Oscars. HB
26 December UK, 25 December US, 8 January Australia.
TV
Black Mirror Christmas Special
EastEnders has had a clear run when it comes to depressing the living crap out of everyone at Christmas. But now Charlie Brooker has decided to throw his hat into the ring, with a festive edition of his dark technodrama Black Mirror. Given previous episodes, we probably shouldn’t rule out the possibility of seeing a perpetually screaming robot Santa who eats babies. Stuart Heritage Channel 4.
Theatre
Treasure Island
Pirates have never been as appealing as they are in Robert Louis Stevenson’s shipshape story of adventure, mutiny, black spots, cheese and treasure. Bryony Lavery should make good work of bringing a 19th-century story to modern family audiences (including transforming Jim from boy to adventurous girl), and Polly Findlay should work her directorial magic to create a salty sea story full of adventure and thrills. Lyn Gardner Olivier, London SE1, 3 December to 19 February.
Golem
The legendary figure of Jewish folklore became the inspiration for Gustav Meyrink’s 1915 fantasy set against the background of the increasingly mechanised warfare of the first world war. Now theatre group 1927, the brilliantly inventive company who meld live performance and music with animation, take the story into the modern age with a show that ponders Karl Marx’s observation that “the danger lies not in machine becoming more like man but in man becoming more like machine.” It may be improbable Christmas fare but it will undoubtedly be a treat. LG Young Vic, London SE1, 9 December to 17 January.
Apocalypse Meow: Crisis Is Born
Is it the end of the world or just a celebration of the end of year? It may be hard to tell in the latest show from the outrageously talented Meow Meow, a woman whose divinely sung and cleverly structured shows often give the impression of organised chaos. But this is one cat who is always very much in control and this brand new piece should be in everyone’s theatrical Christmas stocking this year. LG Southbank Centre, London SE1, 16-29 December.
Architecture
Small Stories: At Home in a Dolls’ House
Peer through the keyhole of the last 300 years of domestic life in miniature at the V&A Museum of Childhood’s show of 12 dolls’ houses, from country mansions and suburban villas to council estates and high-rise apartments. Highlights include the Tate Baby House dating from 1760, passed down over five or six generations, complete with Robert Adam paneling and a lying-in room for a pregnant doll, as well as a house modelled on the 1930s St Helier Estate, inhabited by a second world war-era family poised for an air raid, complete with miniaturetiny gas masks, ration books and torches for the blackouts. Oliver Wainwright V&A Museum of Childhood , London E2, 13 December to 6 September.
Dance
Zoo Nation, The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party
Choreographer Kate Prince has drawn on fairytales, Shakespeare and the musical theatre of Sondheim in her crusade to make family-friendly dance theatre out of hip-hop. For her latest show, she mines the surreal genius of Lewis Carroll, bringing Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to the world of a benignly comic mental institution, and reversing the definitions of normal and mad. The superb dancers of ZooNation collaborate with designer Ben Stones and musical duo Josh Cohen and DJ Wilde. Judith Mackrell Linbury Studio theatre, London WC2 (roh.org.uk), 6 December to 3 January.
Scottish Ballet: The Nutcracker
In recent years, Christmas at Scottish Ballet has been defined by Ashley Page’s witty, acerbic re-writes of the 19th century classics. Now, artistic director Christopher Hampson , reviving the version of Nutcracker that was created by founder director Peter Darrell in 1973, and commissioning wittily new Victorian designs from visual wizard Lez Brotherston. JM
Festival theatre, Edinburgh, 13 December to 3 January.
