Page 24 THE VILLADOM TIMES 1, II, III & IV • December 21, 2011 ‘War Horse’ (continued from page 21) provides a look halfway between live action and animation. “We Bought a Zoo,” which will open this Friday, is based on a true story. Matt Damon stars as Benjamin Mee, a widower who decides his family needs a fresh start. He purchases a rundown zoo in England and he and his two kids move there. With the help of an eclectic staff and lots of missteps along the way, the family works to return the dilapidated zoo to its former glory. Damon continues to take on a variety of film roles and has avoided being pigeonholed into any specific genre. This marks another change of pace for the actor. Scarlett Johansson and Thomas Haden Church co-star and Cameron Crowe directs. “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” which will open Dec. 21, is the first film in Columbia Pictures’ three-part adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s literary blockbuster, “The Millennium Trilogy.” Directed by David Fincher and starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, this film is based on the first novel in the trilogy. A disgraced journalist and a computer hacker unravel a horrific family history when they investigate the case of a woman who disappeared 40 years ago. The cast includes Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgard, Robin Wright, Joely Richardson, and Goran Visnjic. Angelina Jolie directs “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” which is due to open Friday, a love story set during the 199295 Bosnian War. The film is about two people who meet on the eve of the war and the effect it has on their relationship. The movie illustrates the consequences of the lack of politi- cal will to intervene in a society torn with conflict. Jolie has said, “The film is specific to the Bosnian War, but it’s also universal. I wanted to tell a story of how human relationships and behavior are deeply affected by living inside a war.” “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” which will open Christmas Day, focuses on young Oskar (Thomas Horn), who is convinced that his father (Tom Hanks), who died in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, has left a final message for him hidden somewhere in the city. Feeling disconnected from his grieving mother (Sandra Bullock) and driven by a relentlessly active mind that refuses to believe in things that can’t be observed, Oskar begins searching New York City for the lock that fits a mysterious key he found in his father’s closet. His journey through the five boroughs takes him beyond his own loss to a greater understanding of the world around him. “War Horse,” also hitting theaters on Christmas Day, is set in rural England and Europe during the First World War. The movie opens by illustrating the remarkable friendship between a horse named Joey and a young man called Albert (Jeremy Irvine), who tames and trains him. When they are forcefully parted, the film follows the amazing journey of the horse as he moves through the war, changing and inspiring the lives of all those he encounters -- British cavalry, German soldiers, and a French farmer and his granddaughter -- before the story reaches its emotional climax in the heart of No Man’s Land. Steven Spielberg directs a cast that includes Emily Watson, David Thewlis, and Tom Hiddleston. The story started life as a young-adult novel. A Broadway version won last year’s Best Play Tony Award and featured life-size, life-like horses that combined puppetry and live actors.