New in Theaters: “Violent Night” and “Emancipation”

1.  “Violent Night“  (R)

David Harbour from “Stranger Things” is Santa in an action comedy that’s sort of like “Die Hard” with a magical twist.  A group of mercenaries breaks into a family’s private estate on Christmas Eve to rip off $300 million from their vault and it’s up to Santa to save the hostages.

John Leguizamo, Edi Patterson from HBO’s “The Righteous Gemstones”, and Beverly D’Angleo from the “National Lampoon’s Vacation” movies are also in it.

 

2.  “Savage Salvation“  (R)  Trailer  (Limited)

Jack Huston is a recovering addict who loses his fiancée to a heroin overdose.  He sets out for revenge against the cartel responsible for supplying the drugs.  John Malkovich plays his fiancée’s brother-in-law, Quavo is the local drug lord and Robert De Niro is the sheriff who tries to stop his vigilante justice.

 

3.  “Emancipation“  (R)  Trailer  (Limited)

Will Smith plays a runaway slave who escapes from the abuses of a Louisiana plantation and joins the Union Army.  It also stars Ben Foster from “3:10 to Yuma” and Steven Ogg from “The Walking Dead”.

The movie’s based on the true story of a man nicknamed “Whipped Peter”.  In 1863, photographs of his back and the wounds from being whipped became famous for helping to expose the brutalities of slavery.

It’s Will’s first movie released since his Oscars slap.  It hits AppleTV+ on the 9th.