The holiday season is often spent with family and partaking in the many traditions that come along with the season. For some people, getting in the car and driving to the nearest movie theater is an annual trip made on Christmas Day.
In the Athens area, there are three movie theaters people frequent — The Athena Cinema, Athena Grand and the Fun Barn. All three of the theaters offer cinematic entertainment during the holidays. Here are four films people should go see the days leading up to Christmas.
Nocturnal Animals — Nocturnal Animals is a thriller with a darker storyline, and will most likely be a suitable movie for fans of the genre. The movie can be broken down in two parts. In the first section, Susan Morrow (Amy Adams) receives a manuscript from her ex-husband Edward Sheffield (Jake Gyllenhaal). The second section is a live telling of the novel and her responses to it. Nocturnal Animals has been nominated for three Golden Globes and will be showing at The Athena Cinema.
Moonlight — Moonlight scored a lot of recognition in the film categories for the Golden Globes, picking up a total of six nominations. The coming-of-age drama follows one man, Juan (Mahershala Ali), in three different stages of his life — his childhood, mid-teens and young adulthood. The indie film is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a score of 98 percent. Moonlight is screening at the Athena Cinema.
Sing — In the animated film Sing, a koala bear named Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey) is trying to save his theater, so he creates a singing competition for the best animals. The cast features many A-list celebrities including Reese Witherspoon, Nick Kroll, Tori Kelly, Seth MacFarlane and Scarlett Johansson. The film picked up a Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture, Animated. For those looking to take young children to the movie theater will find Sing to be a suitable film. Sing is playing at the Athena Grand and Fun Barn.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story — The newest Star Wars film, Rogue One, grossed $155 million in its opening weekend — the second highest debut for the month of December in box office history. The film is a prequel to Star Wars: IV A New Hope, and follows rebels on their quest to obtain the plans for the Death Star. The action-packed film is sure to draw a large audience for the holidays. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is screening at the Athena Grand and Fun Barn.
