This story has been updated with new information.
Welcome to the mixed bag portion of the movie release calendar as prestige mingles with piffle.
That being the case, the holidays must be coming, right? Right.
But will it be one filled with pleasant cinematic presents or lumps of coal? Ultimately, it’s for audiences to decide.
The summer movie season proved to be surprising from a quality standpoint. The few weeks that encompassed the fall? Less so, but it ended strongly with the likes of “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere” and to a lesser degree “Roofman.” Still, nothing truly set the box office afire or made critics keyboards peck out effusive praise.
Does that change with the holidays, and what is supposed to be awards season? We’ll see. In the meantime, here are 11 films led by familiar faces and directors that fans may want to put on their calendars for perusal during the onslaught of the holidays:
“Lost & Found in Cleveland” (The Fithian Group) – A truly independent film that looks at lives converging in Cleveland as an “Antiques Roadshow” – like show comes to town looking for rare objects of value. Those from Northeast Ohio, especially Cleveland natives, will want to see this.
“Nuremberg” (Sony Pictures Classics) – Russell Crowe is Hermann Goring, Nazi war criminal, and Rami Malek the military psychiatrist tasked with seeing what makes him tick. Michael Shannon and Colin Hanks are on board as well.
“Frankenstein” (Netflix) – Director Guillermo del Toro telling the story of Victor Frankenstein’s monster. Sounds like a party to me. Oscar Isaac is the good doc and Jacob Elordi (“Saltburn”) is The Creature.
“Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” (Lionsgate) and “The Running Man” (Paramount Pictures) – Both are coming Nov. 14 and fall under that heading of “piffle.” Both are pure escapism with the former continuing the popular series about a group of magicians – Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher and Dave Franco – righting wrongs. This time they’re joined by three up-and-coming illusionists – Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa and Ariana Greenblatt.
As for “The Running Man?” Edgar Wright directs Glen Powell in this adaptation of the Stephen King story that in its own way predicted the arrival of reality television. However, is it an adaptation or a remake of the Arnold Schwarzenegger 1987 flick of the same name?
“Wicked for Good” (Universal Pictures) – For all practical purposes, the continuation of the “Wicked” saga is truly when the holiday season kicks off on Nov. 21. The first was epic with soaring performances and vocals and hinted at the darkness that is yet to come. It converted those who weren’t fans of the stage production (guilty as charged) and made them all look forward to seeing how Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Galinda (Ariana Grande) would navigate their complex friendship.
“Zootopia 2” (Disney) – “Zootopia,” released in 2016, was an allegory on race, bigotry and discrimination masquerading as an animated feature. Is there anything left to say after dealing with such heady topics, but apparently writer-director Jared Bush is going to give it a shot.
“Jay Kelly” (Netflix) – Noah Baumbachs direct George Clooney and Adam Sandler in this comedy about a movie star and his manager.
“Song Sung Blue” (Focus Features) – Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson find the vibe in the music of Neil Diamond. If nothing else, Jackman’s gets to exercise his pipes in this dramedy. Craig Brewer directs. His prior efforts include “Hustle & Flow” and “Black Snake Moan,” two films that relied heavily upon music.
“Avatar: Fire and Ash” (20th Century Studios) – Director James Cameron’s epic series continues to unfold as a potential civil war faces the Na’vi people.
“Marty Supreme” (A24) – A24 proved to be the little studio that could with the release of “Anora,” which showed up huge in the year’s awards. Will “Marty Supreme,” the story of Marty Mauser (Timothee Chalamet), a man on a mission to prove himself in the world of…ping pong? It’s directed by Josh Safdie (“Uncut Gems”), so it will at least be interesting and shock of shocks, Chalamet is being touted as an Oscar nominee.
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George M. Thomas covers a myriad of things including sports and pop culture, but mostly sports, he thinks, for the Beacon Journal.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: ‘Wicked for Good,’ new ‘Avatar’ highlight holiday movie season in 2025
Reporting by George M. Thomas, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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