This November brings Oscar contenders, a David Bowie biopic, and lots of Christmas fare
Film Features Preview
Clockwise from left: Stardust (Photo: IFC Films), Freaky (Photo: Universal), The Christmas Chronicles 2 (Photo: Joe Lederer / fotojo), Hillbilly Elegy (Photo: Lacey Terrell/Netflix) Graphic: Allison Corr
Those determined to see a new movie on the big screen this month may have a few options, as a Blumhouse horror comedy, a couple of Oscar hopefuls, and a DreamWorks animated sequel all have theatrical release dates lined up in November. Of course, there’s no hard guarantee, during this very strange time, that any of the movies scheduled to open actually will. You can probably bank, however, on the numerous films headed for streaming platforms, digital services, VOD, and virtual theaters—among them, a large crop of Netflix holiday offerings. Keep reading to find out what’s coming to a living room—and, yes, some theaters—near you. And before trekking out to see a movie on the big screen, please read up on the health risks.
52 Comments
I love David Bowie and Johnny Flynn but that movie looks dogshit. Somebody needs to put a moratorium on cookie-cutter biopics.
I’m not familiar with Flynn, but he seems woefully miscast based on the trailer.
He’s great in Netflix’s Lovesick and the recent version of Emma. I’m sure he could do something interesting with the role if the movie was trying to do anything interesting at all.
I don’t know him either, but we all know how much literal Spirit Bowie had (plus the drugs made him perpetually lively). This guy looks as exciting as a plate of cold chips.NOPE.
Most musician biopics are basically just Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story only played entirely straight.
There should be a rule in Hollywood that anyone who wants to make a musician biopic has to watch Walk Hard with their eyelids pried open, Ludovico-style, and promise not to do any of the cliches that movie makes fun of.
Also maybe they should actually get the rights to use the artist’s music before they start filming.
It looks gawd awful. This dude looks ridden hard and put away wet; and that voice. Bowie’s voice changed over the years but he NEVER sounded like he was talking through his nose (despite the cocaine).
You have to credit them with courage, at least. I mean, doing a biopic about a famous musician, and not featuring any of their music whatsoever? That’s a bold move!
I think I’ll ignore it and just watch Velvet Goldmine again. I love Velvet Goldmine.
Kind of ironic, I remember last year there was discord over the very idea of movies released via streaming even being eligible for awards. What a twist 2020 has been. Maybe even the idea of America being the hub of the film world will have to change.
Let Him Go: It’s the Ma & Pa Kent team-up movie we’ve all been waiting for!
That was my immediate thought when I first saw the trailer for this yesterday while I was watching a letting a football game play in the background with the sound off. Jonathan and Martha Kent. The earlier years. Before he allowed a tornado to swallow him to make some point that still nobody gets.
I gotta admit though, they seem to make a pretty good pair, style-wise. Kind of surprised they had never done a double bill prior to Man of Steel.
It took me way too long to figure out this was fake.Also…why…
“…then again, the musician-approved likes of Rocketman and Bohemian Rhapsody didn’t exactly due their inspirations proud”I never saw either of these, but they both won golden globes and oscars, and both, especially Rocketman, were critically acclaimed. Bohemian Rhapsody is also the highest grossing biopic of all time. I don’t think they’re too ashamed.
Rocketman was the better of the two. It actually had musical numbers. Plus the lead gave a much better performance.
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Rocketman.
Fully agree. Better script. Better acting. More creative musical numbers. Although it went full Dewey Cox at the end.
I enjoyed both. They were fine, certainly not some embarrassment to the studio. They certainly didn’t break any new ground, but that’s hardly rare in the biopic world.
Yes, Bohemian Rhapsody fell out of the cliché tree and hit every branch on the way down, and yes, it took outrageous liberties with the historical timeline and basic truth, but the Live Aid concert finale redeemed everything, including the whole story’s structure.
Rocketman is great honestly.
Were they critically acclaimed? Seemed like most reviews I read for both were essentially, “It’s fine. Whatever.”
“All it takes is one believer to change the world.” Good grief. There are days when I wonder if the total implosion of the movie industry as we have known it to this point might not actually be the best thing for everyone involved.
Consolidated thoughts:1. It appears Costner will no longer film outside the upper Rocky Mountain region, and I can’t say I blame him. Especially if he can get Diane Lane to come hang out with him.
2. I have less than zero interest in a documentary about media creation Greta Thunberg.3. It will be interesting to see how they get a topless scene for Eva Green in an astronaut movie. Looking forward to it.
Re #3. Space suit fitting? Flash back to labor or breastfeeding?
2. I have less than zero interest in a documentary about media creation Greta Thunberg.
Why go there? Seriously, explain to me why. Why dismiss a brave kid doing the right thing? What justifies that level of cynicism?
2. I have less than zero interest in a documentary about media creation Greta You, as always, remain the absolute fucking worst.
Disney is now taking the Mulan route with the new Pixar movie, Soul, which will be available to rent on Disney+ on Christmas Day.Actually, they’ve said it’s going to be available to all subscribers at no additional cost. No rental required.
There’s more to Bowie than an orange mulletAt first Bowie was on-board with Todd Haynes’ Velvet Goldmine, but then backed-off.Bowie really requires something like Haynes’ Dylan panegyric “I’m Not There”, again including Cate Blanchett playing either Ziggy or the Thin White Duke.
Truly a “many sides of” Bowie would be a much better way to go.Folk troubadour, Ziggy, Aladdin Sane, Thin White Duke, Blind man from Blackstar…Tilda Swinton and Gillian Anderson would also be necessary portrayers
A non-chronological Bowie biopic with Bowie played by seven different women… actually seems like a good idea?
Alice Lowe did a pretty good Bowie in Snuff Box. I’d add her to your cast list.
Green, who is almost always a highlight of whatever she appears in
Not just because she’s an entertaining actress but also because of the projects she picks.
Given the lack of Rod Dreher and John Podhoretz pull quotes in the
trailer, it’s safe to say that Netflix isn’t pitching the film at the
kind of American Conservative readers that made the book a hit
I was under the impression everyone at The American Conservative hates JPod.
This is arguably the most interesting time in Bowie’s life (that and his years in Berlin). This trailer feels utterly moribund. And that wasn’t Bowie.
I guess this answers the question, “will the Hillbilly Elegy reviews be written before anyone actually sees the film?” Don’t totally get the pre-determined hostility toward this movie.
Hillbilly Elegy: The first movie to ever be colored by pre-release perception of its source material and trailer!
Fair enough, but this thing could be Citizen Kane and it’ll get slammed. Also, the chances that 99% of the people trashing it based on the book have actually read the book are negligible.
Yes, yes, yes, the world’s out to get you and everything you like. Sure, Jan. *makes enormous wanking motion*
The funny thing is, both Hillbilly Elegy & I Am Greta are both likely to suffer the same fate, but those bashing either films are about the most differing groups you could get, politically.As for Hillbilly Elegy, you are right to a degree- the fact that this is an adaptation in someone else’s hands, and the artistic liberties to convert it into a visual narrative, definitely means it could end up an interesting (and very different) product. There’s a lot to be said for criticizing it, all the same; Vance’s memoir is absolutely chum for the American Conservative style conservative rhetoric. His purpose of the memoir is to frame low class suffering as self-imposed, all under the guise of “You can’t say I’m wrong, because these are my people!” It’s certainly fair to have critical anticipation of the adaptation, and begs the question why the source material really needed adaptation in the first place.
yes, I just can’t help but watch that trailer and laugh at how silly it looks, while also knowing Vance is a republican asshole with a very Boomer understanding of how the world really operates.
To be fair, the book was terrible and the trailer looks like laughable Oscar bait. I actually feel bad that Amy Adams and Glenn Close were roped into this.
You don’t get it? Really? Did you . . . did you actually watch the trailer? As a southernerer, I found it 100% “white trash” porn.
Did you just make a drive-by dig at Rocketman? Uh, nope!
What did Goldie do to her face? She looks like a middle aged Russian woman now.
It’s hard to look at, though I bet Ol’ Kurt is just as pumped full of botox and fillers underneath that giant beard.
Yeah he looks a bit tight around the nose and eyes too.
These all look truly terrible. Hillbilly Elegy is especially fucking absurd looking though. Just watch some old episodes of Hee-Haw instead. It’s about as relevant to actual southern people alive today as that appears to be.
That damn Kurt Russell lives a great life. At this point, it seems like he just does rando movies now for shits and giggles. He has nothing really to prove anymore.
I’m interested to see Wolfwalkers, especially since I’ve never seen a film from Cartoon Saloon and the 2D animation in this film is gorgeous and earthy.
When I got to the end of the list, I thought there was a movie starring Daniel Craig being released called Postponed.