Ending the year with a month-full of blockbuster hits to watch this December, from another Marvel film Siper-Man: No Way Home to the chart-topping The Battle at Lake Changjin, here are the most highly anticipated films of 2021 to watch this month.
The Battle at Lake Changjin
Release Date: 11 Nov 2021
Topping the blockbuster charts within weeks of its release, The Battle at Lake Changjin, directed by highly acclaimed directors Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark and Dante Lam, is a motion picture adaptation of the historic Battle of Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War.
Depicting the historic battle between China and the US, an important battle in the northerneast part of the Korean peninsula in the winter of 1950, the battle took place in freezing weather over a brutal 17-day confrontation. Triumphing over all odds and losses, the historic battle led to the complete withdrawal of the US X Corps and UN troops from North Korea. The film has currently grossed over US$896 million at the box office, making it the highest-grossing film of 2021 and he highest-grossing non-English film; not to mention the highest-grossing film in Chinese history.
Anita
Release Date: 12 Nov 2021
Famed for her gangtai style, electrifying dance moves and wild costumes, Anita Mui was an inspiration to many women across the city — revolutionising femininity in the ’80s during the height of Canto Pop.
Dubbed the ‘Daughter of Hong Kong’, ‘Hong Kong’s Cantopop Diva’ and even ‘Madonna of the East’, she remains as a household name and pop icon, even after her passing in 2003. This biopic, directed by Longman Leung from Cold War, opens with the pop star’s final concert and looks back on her life and her rise to stardom. Portraying her is model and first-time actress Louise Wong, along side a star-studded cast with Louis Koo, Miriam Yeung and Tony Yang and Gordon Lam.
House of Gucci
Release Date: 25 Nov 2021
Amassing major attention online and becoming one of the most buzz-worthy films of the season, House of Gucci flaunts a star-studded cast leading with Oscar-nominated musician and actress Lady Gaga and highly acclaimed actor Adam Driver.
The film is, as its title would give away, is an engrossing true depiction of the Italian family empire behind the luxury fashion house Gucci. Directed by the man behind Alien, Gladiator and Blade Runner, Ridley Scott, and featuring Jared Leto, Salma Hayek, Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons, this motion picture checks all the boxes of a blockbuster hit, following the dramatic telling of three decades of love, betrayal, revenge and to the shock of the world, the inevitable death of murder Maurizio Gucci. Just how far would someone go for decadence, wealth and control?
The Matrix Resurrections
Release Date: 22 Dec 2021
Famously quoted in the third and supposed final part of The Matrix trilogy, “Everything that has a beginning has an end”, but to the surprise of movie buffs the world over, The Matrix Revolution was not it. Enter the fourth installment to the franchise: The Matrix Resurrections.
Reprising the same director and leading cast as its past films in the series, along with fresh faces, including Yahya Abdul-Mateen II who replaces Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus, this film serves as the much anticipated sequel to The Matrix Revolution. Twenty years post its apocalyptic events. In this timeline, Neo (Keanu Reeves) has returned to living an ordinary life as Thomas A. Anderson, in which he nor Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) recognise each other. Haunted by the lucid dreams of what he will later learn are his memories, suppressed by the blue pills prescribed by his therapist (Neil Patrick Harris), his life takes a dramatic turn when Morpheus helps him reopen his mind to the Matrix.
Spider-Man: No Way home
Release Date: 15 Dec 2021
The third part to the Homecoming and Far From Home series, No Way Home finally lands in Hong Kong spotlighting MU’s friendly neighborhood web-slinger, Spiderman. Starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch and directed by Jon Watts, the third part to the trilogy follows the aftermath of Far From Home.
With Spiderman’s identity now revealed, the unmasked teenage Peter Parker struggles to separate his normal life from his superhero identity and seeks the help of fellow Marvel hero Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to make his identity secret again. This leads to opening of the multiverse, causing villains of alternate universes to wreak havoc in the city. Are you ready for yet another action-packed Marvel superhero movie — because we are!