2012 End of Year Preview: Part 4: December

Welcome to the final part of this 4-part look into the upcoming films of the year, in turn closing out the year of 2012. It's time to look into the final month of 2012, December.

*The month opens with a bang on the 14^th with the release of the highly anticipated 'The Hobbit', the prequel to the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy. Returning to the director's chair is Peter Jackson, who helmed the original trilogy and this first part, titled 'An Unexpected Journey', is the first of a three-part trilogy. The second, The Desolation of Smaug comes out next year, and There and Back Again will close out the trilogy in 2014. The Hobbit follows the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, now played by Martin Freeman, and includes many returning cast members of the previous trilogy, including Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett, Andy Serkis, and Hugo Weaving.

*That same weekend, we have 'Les Miserables', based off of the 1862 novel of the same name by Victor Hugo but primarily based off of the musical of the same name which debuted back in 1985. It is directed by Tom Hooper, who last won an Oscar for 'The King's Speech' in 2010. The ensemble cast includes Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, and Anne Hathaway.

*A week later, fellow Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow reunites with 'The Hurt Locker' writer Mark Boal for 'Zero Dark Thirty', a thriller based around the special ops mission in May 2011 that resulted in the death of Osama Bin Laden. Brothers Joel and Nash Edgerton portray members of the SEAL team that took part in the mission and other members of the cast include Jessica Chastain and Kyle Chandler. 'Zero Dark Thirty' comes out on December 19^th.

*Pixar's second re-release of the year hits theaters again in 3-D the same weekend with 'Monsters' Inc', a few months before its prequel 'Monsters University' hits theaters in 2013. Like with Finding Nemo, this is another Pixar classic. Admittedly, I can't say as much about as I could for Finding Nemo but this is still a terrific animated film.

*On December 21^st, we have 'Jack Reacher', directed by writer Christopher Macquarrie, who won an Oscar in 1996 for 'The Usual Suspects'. Based on the novel 'One Shot' by Lee Child, the film stars Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher, an ex-Army officer who investigates into a shooting.

*Meanwhile, Judd Apatow releases his latest directorial effort, 'This is 40', a semi-sequel to his 2007 smash hit 'Knocked Up'. This spin-off film focuses on Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann's characters from 'Knocked Up' a few years after the events of that film. As the title suggests, the two try to adjust to getting older.

*During Christmas Vacation, director Quentin Tarantino releases his latest flick 'Django Unchained'. This western follows Jamie Foxx as Django, a slave who meets bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz). The two join forces to take down the ruthless gang known as the Brittle Brothers. In exchange for his help, Schultz will grant Django his freedom and help him rescue his wife (Kerry Washington), who is currently living on a plantation owned by Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio).

As for the limited release of the month:

*We have 'The Impossible', based on a true story of a family's tale of survival during the 2004 Tsunami in Southeast Asia. It stars Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor and will be released on December 21^st.

And with that, this concludes our four-part preview of the upcoming movies as we end the year of 2012. Thanks for reading!