Wondering what is showing at the movies during December? Wonder no more! Movie fundi Spling has the low-down on the top movies (and DVDs) for the month.

Ender's Game (6 December)

It’s always exciting when one of our very own hit the big time. One South African living the dream is director, Gavin Hood, who recently adapted Orson Scott Card’s literary masterpiece, Ender’s Game. This visually spectacular film blends aspects from 80s classics such as  Top Gun, Biloxi Blues  and WarGames. 

The sci-fi epic stars young Asa Butterfield from Hugo, who plays strategy genius Ender Wiggin opposite Harrison Ford and Sir Ben Kingsley. If you were dazzled by TRON: Legacy, rooted for Starship Troopers, and have a special place in your heart for The Mighty Ducks, this one’s for you.

Mud (6 December)
What do you get if you throw Stand by Me, Deliverance and The Way, Way Back into a blender? Mud. This slow-burning mystery thriller about two boys who form a pact with a lone fugitive, stars the in-form Matthew McConaughey, who has been sticking his hand up for an Oscar nomination like a class pet, ever since The Lincoln Lawyer.

Add Michael “Zod” Shannon, Reese Witherspoon and a sharp co-lead performance from young The Tree of Life actor, Tye Sheridan, to the mix and you’ve got yourself an intriguing riverside mystery, helmed by an exciting writer-director in Jeff Nichols.

The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug (13 December)
While everyone’s still probably wondering why those giant birds didn’t just take the adventurers the rest of the way, Peter Jackson has unleashed the second chapter of The Hobbit trilogy, The Desolation of Smaug. The much-anticipated sequel follows the dwarves, Bilbo Baggins, and Gandalf the Grey, as they continue their quest to reclaim their homeland, Erebor.

Star of Sherlock and Star Trek: Into Darkness, Benedict Cumberbatch, is completing a ‘Smaugersbord’ of big budget franchise roles by voicing the “most specially greedy, strong and wicked worm". The irony is that he’s now Dr. Watson’s… er, Bilbo’s nemesis.

Escape Plan (13 December)
It seems as though Sylvester Stallone has finally forgiven Arnold Schwarzenegger for being The Terminator. Stallone must’ve been kicking himself after reportedly turning the role down, but it seems like it’s water under the bridge, ever since the 80s action heroes played alongside each other in The Expendables.

This co-star dynamic has been in talks since the mid-1980s and it was only after Schwarzenegger’s exit as governor that the film, nay “bromance”, became possible. Escape Plan is a prison break action-thriller that’s guaranteed to entertain with old school action, tongue-in-cheek one-liners and tough guy chemistry.

47 Ronin (27 December)
The revenge of the Forty-Seven Ronin is a “national legend” in Japan. The tale, based on a true story, has become popularised to symbolise honour, loyalty, persistence and sacrifice in Japanese culture. Who better to bend the rules of reality than The Matrix’s Keanu Reeves, who is supported by Pacific Rim’s Rinko Kikuchi and The Wolverine’s Hiroyuki Sanada.

If that line-up isn’t cool enough, the fantasy action-adventure features a screen debut for Rick Genest, a.k.a. Zombie Boy, the Canadian covered in skeletal tattoos from head-to-toe. 47 Ronin is going to be visually spectacular; unbelievably epic and seriously kick-ass… If you don’t believe us, just watch the movie trailer.

NEW ON DVD
Now You See Me (2 December)

The art of illusion and film-making go hand-in-hand, but never as smoothly as in Now You See Me. Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman bolster a stellar cast in this slick heist thriller about a group of devious magicians known as The Four Horsemen.

It’s all-out magic action at a blistering pace that will leave you enchanted, entertained and bewildered – making it a winner for movie night.

Sinister (17 December)

While a little late for Halloween and probably not the first movie you’ll think of renting this Christmas, Sinister is a straight-to-video gem. Ethan Hawke stars in this dark, spine-tingling horror thriller that follows a true crime writer’s investigation into a serial killer’s spate of murders, after he finds a stash of 8 mm home videos.

If you’re expecting Santa (and not The Boogeyman) to make a house call this year, you’ll probably want to avoid this one.