Holiday movies 2019: Here’s what’s playing as Oscar season shakes loose – Canon City Daily Record
Movie fans, start your engines.
The holiday/Oscar film season is here and ready to race around the track with all the drive, determination and focus of “Ford v Ferrari” — one of the current must-see releases now playing on the big screen.
With the arrival of Disney+ and other streaming services, the competition for your movie time is fierce. So here’s a look at what’s out there or heading your way through the end of the year.
All in the family
Shia LaBeouf wrote and stars in “Honey Boy,” a candid and heartbreaking film about a troubled dad (LaBeouf) raising and pushing his son (Noah Jupe), a resilient but vulnerable child actor, to extreme ends. It hits hard, very hard. (Now playing.)
Trey Edwards Schultz’s passionate, deeply personal “Waves” bucks the status quo of filmmaking to tell a wrenching but hope-filled tale about a Florida family shattered by a series of escalating acts. Great performances all around. Love this film. (Nov. 22.)
The observant Noah Baumbach pitches a career best with his compassionate, touching, often funny “Marriage Story.” Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson are perfect as a divorcing couple. One of the year’s best films. (Streams Dec. 6.)
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Agatha Christie fans prepare to be tickled to death by filmmaker Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out,” a spry comedic murder mystery set around the death of a patriarch. The cast — Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis, Christopher Plummer, Chris Evans, Toni Collette, Lakeith Stanfeld and so on — couldn’t be better. One of the best times I’ve had the movies all year. (Nov. 27.)
Based on a true story
After a series of cinematic backfires, Matt Damon is back on track while Christian Bale cements his rep as one of our most versatile actors. James Mangold’s smart and engrossing Le Mans race car epic, “Ford v Ferrari,” never lets up. (In theaters now.)
“The Report” takes an A-to-Z approach to how an aide (Adam Driver) for Dianne Feinstein (Annette Bening) confronted hostility while crafting a damning report about post-911 use of torture. Director Scott Z. Burns makes the investigation compelling. (In theaters now.)
Up, up and away in my beautiful balloon could be an alternate title of “The Aeronauts,” a stupendous family-friendly adventure about a courageous balloon pilot (Felicity Jones) and a budding weatherman (Eddie Redmayne). Exhilarating from beginning to end, Tom Harper’s science-friendly feminist film must be seen on the big screen. (Dec. 6.)
You may be wondering why anyone would bother to make the Fred Rogers film “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” considering that an acclaimed documentary on the TV legend was making the rounds just last year. But to my surprise former Alameda resident and filmmaker Marielle Heller (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?) and Concord native Tom Hanks unite for an original, touching, funny yet not syrupy story about an angry journalist (Matthew Rhys) getting “saddled” with doing a fluff piece on Mr. Rogers (Hanks). It’s magical and not really for young ‘uns. (Nov. 22.)
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Todd Haynes paints his film “Dark Waters” in greys and blacks, a rather grim look that’s appropriate for this intelligent, well-acted and important eye-opener. Mark Ruffalo should enter the Oscar conversation as a lawyer who takes on DuPont in a drawn-out legal battle tied to protecting lives. It’s an “issue” film that doesn’t feel like an issue film. Anne Hathaway lends strong support. Another big surprise. (Nov. 27.)
Some call “The Irishman” — all 3½ hours of it — Martin Scorsese’s masterpiece. Close enough. Scorsese’s 3½-hour gangster epic is definitely amazing, from the acting by Scorsese buddies Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci to the period details, and the screenwriting, directing and editing. Who cares if it’s not the “true” tale about Jimmy Hoffa’s (Pacino) demise? It’s a very American tragedy about overlooking what’s important in life, told through the aging eyes of goodfellas. (Already released, begins streaming Nov. 27 on Netflix.)
Watch out, Netflix and Amazon, Apple+ hopes to enter the Oscar race with “The Banker,” debuting in theaters. Anthony Mackie and Samuel L. Jackson portray 1950s African-American businessmen who hire a Caucasian (Nicholas Hoult) to be the face of their company. Not all goes as planned. (Dec. 6.)
Early reviews tote Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce as best actor contenders for their work in “The Two Popes.” Netflix’s Vatican dramedy peers into the relationship between Pope Benedict (Hopkins) and Cardinal Bergoglio (Pryce), who would become Pope Francis. (Streams Dec. 20.)
Clint Eastwood continues to mine real life for inspiration, this time focusing on the case of “Richard Jewell,” who went from hero to suspect in the 1996 bombings at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Eastwood illustrates how Jewell, who died in 2007, emerged as a suspect and the toll it took on him. (Dec. 13.)
In “Bombshell,” Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie stand up to the relentless sexual harassment of Roger Ailes (John Lithgow), the creepy head of Fox News. Expect numerous acting nominations. (Dec. 20)
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Auteur Terrence Malick presents us with one of the most stirring film depictions of faith in the poetic, gorgeous and moving “A Hidden Life.” Malick uses his whispery voice-overs with more focus here, to evocatively illustrate how an Austrian farmer during World War II feels compelled to reject military service. It’s a heartbreaker. (Dec. 13.)
Message movies
“Queen & Slim”: A first date goes way south after a traffic stop in Melina Matsoukas’s thriller starring Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith. Expect this one to tap into today’s divisive landscape. (Nov. 27.)
“Little Joe”: In this bizarre but fascinating horror/sci fi hybrid, a workaholic botanist/scientist creates a flower that spritzs happiness. But the future is far from rosy, as complications blossom. (Dec. 6.)
“Portrait of a Lady on Fire”: Celine Sciamma’s masterful direction, along with stirring performances from Noemie Merlant and Adele Haenel, buoy this period piece. A painter hired to do a portrait of an elusive bride-to-be connects with her subject. It’s a beautiful film with an ending of poetic elegance. (Out in December.)
Alfre Woodard delivers THE performance of the year as a driven prison warden suffering from burnout in “Clemency.” A death row inmate (Aldis Hodge, exceptional) triggers memories of a recent execution gone bad. A tough watch, but it’s incredible. (Out in December.)
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Adam Sandler shows again he’s not a one-note joker with a performance in “Uncut Gems” that’s earning Oscar buzz. Indie brothers Josh and Benny Safdie’s film is said to be an intense character drama about a jeweler who takes a real gamble. (Dec. 20.)
Let’s get animated
Disney skates into the season with “Frozen 2,” a meh sequel to the 2013 hit. The animation is impeccable, Olaf steals the show and Jonathan Groff belts out the best number. But the story mostly left me cold; it’s more like an add-on rather than an extension to the original. Hardly terrible, just mediocre. (Nov. 22.)
If “Frozen 2” leaves you underwhelmed, slither over to Amp Wong’s and Ji Zhao’s enchanting “White Snake,” an animated mix of Chinese myth and action-adventure. The feminist tale sends a young woman on a quest to ferret out her past. The animation is stunning and there’s a well-developed romance. (Nov. 29 in S.F. and Berkeley.)
In “Away,”a young plane crash survivor uses his wits and relies on helpful critters to flee a hungry beast that swallows up any living entity in its path. What’s particularly remarkable is that it’s a virtual one-man production — with editing, animation, direction and even the score handled by Lativan filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis. (Available to rent Nov 29.)
What a year it’s been for Will Smith. First, he got younger in “Gemini Man” and now he’s the voice of an animated spy who gets turned into a pigeon by a scientist (voice of Tom Holland). It’s all for a covert operation in “Spies in Disguise” (Dec. 25.)
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“I Lost My Body”: Adventurous adults and older teens should check out Jeremy Clapin’s inventive and soulful genre-defier. Set in Paris, it’s about a hand trying to reconnect with its owner, a young man struggling to find his place in the world after a tragic accident when he was a boy. It’s one of the finest animation features of 2019. (Streaming on Netflix now.)
What’s up, docs?
A film festival hit, “Gay Chorus Deep South” tags along with the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus as they venture into the Deep South and try to bring understanding along with their music. (Nov. 22.)
“Shooting the Mafia” turns its lens on Sicilian photographer Letizia Battaglia, who made it her mission to catalogue the Mafia’s violent crimes via photographs for a newspaper. (Nov. 29.)
Lauren Greenfield’s chilling “The Kingmaker” focuses on Imelda Marcos’ quest to restore her disgraced family to power in the Philippines. (Dec. 13.)
Remakes, reboots, etc.
Dwayne Johnson gets his game face back on with Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas and now Awkwafina in “Jumanji: The Next Level.” (Dec. 13.)
The most ambitious sequel this season is “63 Up,” the latest in Michael Apted’s documentary series that checks in every seven years on the lives of an ordinary group in the U.K.It remains a remarkable filmmaking feat. (Dec. 13.)
For PG-13 frights, there’s sorority sistas fighting back against a killer in the remake of the classic horror flick “Black Christmas.” This one’s not screening for critics, so enter at your own risk. (Dec. 13.)
Meanwhile, the latest “Star Wars” trilogy comes to a close with “The Rise of Skywalker.” It’s been a killer series, but will this one be as good as the last? (Dec. 20.)
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An A-list cast, including James Corden, Judi Dench, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellen and Taylor Swift, pounces on the film adaptation of the classic musical “Cats.” But that trailer coughed up one huge hairball. (Dec. 20.)
Generating far better buzz is Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of “Little Women,” featuring an A-list cast that includes Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Meryl Streep, Laura Dern and the dreamy TImothee Chalamet. Expect a bushel of Oscar noms. (Dec. 25.)
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