Factory Girl

On the other side of the indie film circuit is “Factory Girl” starring Sienna Miller as Edie Sedgwick, Andy Warhol’s muse who drops out of school in 1965 and explodes on to the New York scene igniting Warhol’s artistic ambition.

Guy Pearce plays Warhol and costars Jimmy Fallon, and Hayden Christensen as a Bob Dylan inspired character.

Originally “Factory Girl” was set to star Katie Holmes as Edie but then she hooked up with Tom Cruise and dropped from production.

Sienna Miller at that point was cast when her popularity shot up due to her high profile relationship with Jude Law. “Factory Girl” will be in limited release in Los Angeles and New York on Dec. 29.

The Pursuit of Happyness

Will Smith stars as Christopher Gardener in “The Pursuit of Happyness” a man down on his luck with his young son in tow begins to make a life altering career move that will either make him or break him.

Gardener has only twenty dollars to his name and is homeless until he takes a chance as a intern for a big firm that takes him from rags to riches.

It’s the type of holiday movie that is needed around these times to remind us of what is truly the spirit of Christmas.

The director of “Happyness” is Gabriel Muccino who helmed the original Italian version of this year’s “The Last Kiss” and it was “L’Ultimo bacio,” that prompted Will Smith to want Muccino to direct him in “Pursuit of Happyness.”

It’s one of the few films that an entire family can sit down and enjoy. In case you’re wondering the unusual spelling of “Happyness” refers to a key scene in the movie.

The Holiday

“The Holiday” might be an awesome movie for entirely wrong reasons. The set-up is contrived and a bit ridiculous from the get-go.

Amanda (Cameron Diaz) and Iris (Kate Winslet) grow tired of their poor handle on relationships and decide to swap homes. The fact that Amanda lives in America and Iris comes from England makes the whole process so much more relieving for the characters.

Once they are installed in each other’s homes, Amanda and Iris fall in love with the respective archetype of each country.

This is the hilarious part. According to the movie, the perfect British gentleman is Jude Law. His American counterpart is Jack Black. This might be the most blatant typecasting since Martin Lawrence and Will Smith starred in “Bad Boys.” Failing to see the comedy in this will indicate if this is a movie for you or not.

The fact that “The Holiday” is directed and written by Nancy Meyers, the creator of such masterpieces as “Father of the Bride” and “The Parent Trap” will also either thrill or kill you, depending on your cinematic preferences.

The movie seems so horribly self-conscious and so politically correct that it is almost compelling. It is like eating chocolate frosting out of the can, it is so stupid it is great.

Despite the aforementioned statement, this is probably a film best saved for a particularly heinous hangover and a DVD rental later in 2007.

Pan’s Labyrinth

The dark horse of the holiday-season is without a doubt Guillermo Del Toro’s horror fairytale “Pan’s Labyrinth.”

Intriguingly set in Spain after the Civil War of 1944, the film tells the story of the young Ofelia (Ivana Baquero). In trying to escape the cruelty of her new home at a military outpost she begins to explore a mysterious garden labyrinth. In its wondrous depths she finds the Faun (Doug James), a fantastic and horrific creature that tells her about her true heritage as the princess of the Underworld.

“Pan’s Labyrinth” successfully presents evocative visuals and an inspired art design, striking a good balance between the eerie and the wondrous.

The movie is an interesting contrast to the recent inflation of both horror movies and adapted fantasy flicks. Instead of just trying to dance to the same fiddle as everyone else at a higher pace, “Pan’s Labyrinth” seems to invite the viewer to something dark and truly creative.

Potential moviegoers shouldn’t dismiss the film just because of its Spanish dialogue. The promise of Del Toro’s filmcrafting seen in “Hellboy” and “The Devil’s Backbone” seems to have fully bloomed out in “Pan’s Labyrinth.” Set for theatres Dec 29, it will most likely be the last must-see movie of the year.

Blood Diamond

“Blood Diamond” seems to be somewhat of a rare gem in today’s Hollywood, although calling it a gem might not be entirely accurate. The point trying to be conveyed is that the film looks like the straight kind of action-movie along the lines of “the Rock” and “Air force One,” a particular genre that isn’t all too common these days.

The rogue and mercenary Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) sets out together with the slave Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) to find a pink diamond that might save Vandy’s family. The mismatched companions have to team up with American journalist Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly) in order to find the stone, who, of course, falls in love with Archer.