Winter break offers an opportunity for relaxing and fitting in time with friends and families. This year the break for students begins on December 23 and lasts until January 5. Christmas is notoriously a time for the release of blockbuster films looking for large audiences. In addition to the films coming out in the next few weeks, many of the movies currently in theaters have also been getting favorable reviews.  No matter who you are and what taste in films you have, there is a movie out for you.

Besides another round of sequels and additional films in a series in the Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies movies, there is breath of fresh air with the comedy The Interview with Seth Rogen and James Franco and Exodus: Gods and Kings, starring Christian Bale.

In The Interview, Rogen and Franco are hired by the CIA to sneak into North Korea and assassinate Kim Jung-un. A romping comedy that will bring you to tears, The Interview is an option for those who are looking for some laughs over the break.

Exodus is the story of Moses and his brother Ramses. As the brothers grow up, Ramses becomes Pharaoh while Moses becomes his adviser. Ramses loses trust in his brother and exiles him while sentencing him to death. Moses comes back to free the Israelites but not without a fight. Amazing effects and battle sequences that are the hallmark of director, Ridley Scott (Robin Hood, Black Hawk Down) bring this biblical story to life.

Musicals have become a popular genre at the box office, and two shows that began on the Broadway stage will take their place on the silver screen this season as well.

Annie, produced by Jay-Z and Will Smith, is a modern day adaption that includes newcomer Quvenzhane Wallis as an African American foster child, moving away from the white, red-head orphan of the original Depression-era tale.

Into the Woods is a mix of Brothers Grimm fairy tales set to music by the infamous Stephen Sondheim. Bringing the show to the screen is director Rob Marshall who first brought Broadway hit, Chicago, to the movies in 2002.  Both Annie and Into the Woods won Tony awards during their time on Broadway, and they hope to carry that success over onto the big screen.

If you are looking for inspirational, historical based films, Selma and Unbroken are the films for you.

Selma documents venerated civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and his followers during the civil rights marches of Selma, Alabama in 1965. Their efforts led to signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by President Lyndon Johnson.

Unbroken, Angelina Jolie’s third directed film, tells the story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who enlists in the U.S. Army Air Corps during WWII. After his plane crashes in the Pacific, Louis survives 47 days on a raft, following which he is captured by the Japanese. For more than two years he is held in POW prison camps. Louis’s perpetual hope and will to survive and forgive make his story an insightful and motivating one.

In addition to Unbroken, American Sniper is another war film with modern twist. The story follows US Navy Seal, Chris Kyle, through his 4 tours of duty in Iraq and his life after returning home. Although Kyle is known as one of the most lethal snipers in American history, he finds that he cannot leave the war behind after returning home. American Sniper is directed by Clint Eastwood and stars Bradley Cooper in the title role.

If you didn’t get your fix over Halloween and want a good scare over the holidays, The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death is a perfect fit. Although Daniel Radcliffe is not starring in this second chapter, it will still give you chills without the cold weather.

Whether you want to spend time with your family or take a break from them, the movies are the place to go. Hopefully your family can choose a movie to see together without fighting. Unless you are going to see Annie, Night at the Museum, The Hobbit or any movie that is now playing, you are going to have to wait until Christmas Day to see the most-anticipated films.

Remember, a movie gift card is the perfect gift for the holidays!

See below for movie release dates:

Currently playing: 

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

Horrible Bosses 2

Dumb and Dumber To

Foxcatcher

Interstellar

Big Hero 6

Birdman

Gone Girl

St. Vincent

Exodus: Gods and Kings

 Movies with Winter Break release dates: 

Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies Wednesday, December 17

Night at the Museum Friday, December 19

Annie Friday, December 19

Into the Woods Thursday, December 25

Unbroken Thursday, December 25

The Interview Thursday, December 25

American Sniper Thursday, December 25

Selma Thursday, December 25

The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death Friday, January 2