Upcoming Film Adaptations in December, 2017

What’s behind some of the movies hitting theaters this month?

Ferdinand

The latest animated feature from Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox Animation stars John Cena as the voice of the titular bull in this adaptation of the children’s book “The Story of Ferdinand.” But where the original story is one of quietly accepting who you are and enjoying life this version seems to be much more “extreme.” The premise of Ferdinand being more interested in smelling the flowers than fighting remains intact but it seems to turn him into weirdo who’s unlike by those around him.

All The Money In the World

Based not just on true life events but on the book Painfully Rich by John George Pearson, it tells the story of how the grandson of tycoon J. Paul Getty was kidnapped in South America and how Getty, at the time the world’s richest man with billions of dollars to his name, refused to pay the ransom demanded. Christopher Plummer plays Getty, but only after last-minute reshoots had him stepping in for Kevin Spacey, who was cut from the film folioing allegations of sexual assault. Michelle Williams plays the boy’s mother and Getty’s former daughter-in-law while Mark Wahlberg plays a former CIA operative hired to help with the situation.

Molly’s Game

Jessica Chastain stars as the real-life Molly Bloom, a woman who ran a star-studded underground poker game for years before being targeted by the FBI because of alleged ties to the Russian mob. The movie is based on the book of the same name from Bloom herself and marks writer Aaron Sorkin’s debut as a feature director, with Idris Elba costarring as the lawyer hired by Bloom to get her out of legal jeopardy.

Chris Thilk is a freelance writer and content strategist who lives in the Chicago suburbs.