The best thing about the end of the year, besides pumpkin pie and presents, are all the anticipated fall films that are about to be released. The best movies always come out around the holidays so they will be fresh in people’s minds when they consider films for Academy Awards nominations.

Not sure if remake of Agatha Christie’s 1934 novel, Murder on the Orient Express, will be up for an Oscar but it could win an award for the most accomplished movie stars in one film. Kenneth Branagh not only stars as the famous Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, but directs Dame Judi Dench, Johnny Depp,  Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Josh Gad, Derek Jacobi, Leslie Odom Jr., Michelle Pfeiffer, and Daisy Ridley in this classic who done it. Even if it’s not that good, we can at least marvel at how chic and civilized travel used to be in the 1930’s. It is in theaters now.

Actor Gary Oldman is almost unrecognizable as Winston Churchill in The Darkest Hour. As the newly-appointed British Prime Minister, Churchill must decide whether to negotiate with Hitler or “fight on against incredible odds at the beginning of World War II.” Who knew we’d still be fighting Nazis in 2017 so this film seems quite appropriate for the current climate. Kristin Scott Thomas also plays Churchill’s wife. It will be released on November 22, 2017.

The film getting the most Oscar buzz right now is Call Me By Your Name. The “romantic coming-of-age drama” written by James Ivory, is based on the 2007 novel of the same name and was directed by Luca Guadagnino, who also directed I Am Love and A Bigger Splash. The film stars Armie Hammer as Oliver, an academic who comes to Italy to stay with a professor in Italy in the 1980’s and develops a passionate relationship with the professor’s son Elio, played by Timothée Chalamet, as “they bond over their sexuality, their shared Jewish heritage, and the Italian landscape.” There’s a really great interview with Armie Hammer on Vulture that I highly recommend to learn more about the film and hear why he took the role. It opens in New York and Los Angeles on November 24, 2017.

Another timely film based on true events is The Post directed by Steven Spielberg. It stars Meryl Streep as Katherine Graham, the first female publisher of a major American newspaper, The Washington Post. She and editor Ben Bradlee, played by Tom Hanks, “race to catch up with The New York Times to expose a massive cover-up of government secrets that spans three decades and four U.S. presidents.” I sometimes think Meryl Streep over acts a bit in her comedic roles so I look forward to seeing her in this dramatic part. It will be released on December 22, 2017.

Molly’s Game starring Jessica Chastain is based on a true story of “Molly Bloom, a beautiful, young, Olympic-class skier who ran the world’s most exclusive high-stakes poker game for a decade before being arrested in the middle of the night by FBI agents wielding automatic weapons.” The film directed by Aaron Sorkin will be released on December 25, 2017.

The movie that I’m most excited to see is Phantom Thread written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It is a period drama film, set in London’s couture world in the 1950s, starring Daniel Day Lewis in what might be his last role. He plays “renowned dressmaker, Reynolds Woodcock, who is at the center of British fashion, dressing royalty, movie stars, heiresses, socialites, debutantes and dames with the distinct style of The House of Woodcock. Women come and go through Woodcock’s life, providing the confirmed bachelor with inspiration and companionship, until he comes across a young, strong-willed woman, Alma, played by Vicky Krieps, who soon becomes a fixture in his life as his muse and lover. Once controlled and planned, he finds his carefully tailored life disrupted by love.” It will be released on December 25, 2017. 

Which film are you most excited to see this holiday season leading up to the Oscars?