December is a season for family gatherings, weddings and various turn up events. Through all that you may want to just unwind and watch movies perhaps with friends or family. Here’s our recommendation for movies to watch this December and January 2015.

Walking on sunshine (In cinemas from 19 December)

You’re probably too young to remember the 80s song this movie is named after. But that should not put you off from watching this romantic movie, and singing along to the songs of this musical set in modern times. The plot goes like this: Maddie is about to marry her sister’s (Taylor) holiday fling. Maddie has no idea of the fling, and Taylor is possibly in love with her fling, so things get messy. But who doesn’t love drama? And British singer Leona Lewis is in it, playing Elana. Watch trailer below:

John Wick (In cinemas from 19 December)

Keanu Reeves’s movies have never excited me. In addition, I’m not much of a fan of watching fists thrown around or gun shots fired at every second. But when I saw that Lance Reddick from the series Fringe and… wait for it… Alfie Allen, who plays Theon Greyjoy on Game Of Thrones, were supporting actors, I was sold. Plus, there’s no denying that Reeves is good-looking – that should be enough to inspire some fans to watch this movie In this action-thriller Reeves, aka John Wick, is an ex-hitman who comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that took everything from him.

Jessabelle (In cinemas from 19 December)

Just from watching the trailer, I can say you won’t be watching this movie alone. It’s eerie and will probably make you jumpy and filled with paranoia watching it. The main character Jessie is played by Sarah Snook. you may know her from The Sisters of War as Lorna Whyte. After an accident that killed her fiance and injured her, she goes back to her childhood home (where her father lives) to recover and her father is hardly around. You know that phrase “You are never really alone”? That applies to Jessie. And whoever, or whatever, is with her, is trying to kill her.

Mr. Turner (In Cinemas from 19 December)

I’ve never been a fan of Harry Potter or any similar movies and I just find Timothy Spall boring but his awards say otherwise. He received big recognition for playing Peter Pettigrew in Harry Potter. This movie tells a true story of a British artist, Joseph Mallord William Turner who died in the 1850s. He was a landscape painter, watercolourist and printmaker. As Mr Turner, Spall, is an artist with two mistresses and two children that he denied fathering. He travels around painting and it is really the art that draws my interest in this movie.

Foxcatcher (In Cinemas from 2 January) 

Channing Tatum… my husband from another life. Even if he were to feature in the most boring movie in the world I’d watch it regardless. Luckily this movie is not. This is a biography based on a true story of Mark Schultz, an Olympic wrestler whose relationship with sponsor John du Pont (played by Steve Carell) and brother Dave Schultz (Mark Ruffalo) lead to unforeseen tragedy. From the trailer it look very intense and gripping.

Birdman (In Cinemas from 9 January)

Everybody is saying how ironic it is that Michael Keaton, who disappeared from the acting scene, is in this moving playing a washed-up actor trying to make a comeback. Keaton who plays Riggan Thomson is a supporting actor of a broadway production which he hopes will prove to people that he is not a washed-up actor but a real artist. What is also interesting is that the movie is that actors, who like Keaton, have been stars of movies about superheroes like Emma Stone (my favourite) and Edward Norton. It also co-stars Naomi Watts and Zach Galifianakis. I hope it lives up to people’s expectations.

Taken 3 (In Cinemas from 16 January) 

I’m very excited about this movie, I have watched the first and second in the series and enjoyed them equally. I’m pleased that for Taken 3 they have not change the characters: it hurts when a character you have developed a bond with is replaced by someone else in the next movie. The heartbreaking thing about this one, though, is that Famke Janssen who plays Lenore, Liam Neeson’s ex-wife, is murdered. Liam (Bryan Mills) is also framed for this murder and that makes it hard for him to track down Lenore’s killers. But he is Bryan – he will always have a way.

Unbroken (In Cinemas from 16 January)

This is the second directorial venture for Angelina Jolie-Pitt. The drama is based on a book by Laura Hillenbrand. Angelina is a great actress but. I don’t know about her skills as a director. I’ve yet to watch her directoria debut In the Land of Blood and Honey. It’s one of the reasons I am interested in watching this movie. This is based on a true story about World War II hero Lou Zamperini (played by Jack O’Connell), a former Olympic track star who survives a plane crash over sea and spends two years in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp.

Follow me on Twitter: @Simamkele_M