November Movie Preview

            The big movie releases of October were largely disappointing. After building a lot of early Oscar buzz, Birth of a Nation underwhelmed and quickly disappeared from theaters. Meanwhile films like Inferno and The Accountant are mindless entertainment, but that doesn’t make them good. For those of us aiming at little bit higher when we go to the movies, November seems to have some better options.

November 4

Doctor Strange: It’s been months since Marvel has released a movie. If you care about superhero movies, you haven’t heard from the Marvel Cinematic Universe since the release of Captain America: Civil War in May. If you don’t care about superhero movies, then you’re ruing the appearance of yet another new Marvel superhero who will undergo a Joseph Campbell-esque hero’s journey, overcome a generic and vaguely threatening villain, and then find himself sliding into his predetermined role in the MCU. This time it’s Benedict Cumberbatch’s turn to take up the cape as Doctor Steven Strange. He becomes some kind of metaphysical wizard… eh who cares? This movie will make Disney and Marvel another billion dollars.

Hacksaw Ridge: Did you miss Mel Gibson? I didn’t think so. Well he’s back directing former Spiderman Andrew Garfield in a World War 2 movie about a consciousness objector who serves as a medic and wins the Congressional Medal of Honor. If Gibson wanted to get back in the good graces of Hollywood and the movie going public, a World War 2 movie with a handsome and idealistic young protagonist checks a lot of boxes for what counts as prestige drama these days. The problem is he’s still Mel Gibson and he still said all those horrifying things about the Holocaust. And his movies aren’t even that good, they tend to stuffed full of tormented men of action who brutally kill people in increasingly graphic ways.

November 11

Arrival: This is the first of the November movies worth seeing. In Arrival, Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner play a linguist and a mathematician respectively, charged with investigating the landing of a number of mysterious alien spacecraft around the world. Directed by Denis Villeneuve (Sicario, the upcoming Blade Runner sequel), Arrival has a mystery at its core: Who are these aliens and what do they want? Should mankind be afraid or welcoming? Undoubtedly, Adams and Renner will have to scramble for answers or deal with a military colonel (played by Forrest Whitaker) just in time to avert some kind of global disaster. If done well, this could be this year’s Martian only with higher stakes and less snark.

November 18

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: So that book about magical creatures mentioned in the Harry Potter series is now its own film franchise? And there’s going to be five of them? Five movies, about what? J.K. Rowling wrote the screenplay! Yeah and she also wrote some racist depictions of Native Americans on her website as a tie-in to the movie. That’s not a good sign. What is the reason for this existing other than to keep Warner Brothers studio afloat? Because you know this movie is going to make a ton of money. Fantastic Beasts just seems like an excuse to exploit the public’s love of Harry Potter for profit rather than serving any artistic purpose.

Manchester by the Sea: Manchester by the Sea deals with the story of a janitor (Casey Affleck) who after the death of his brother (Kyle Chandler) becomes the sole guardian of his nephew. Affleck then leaves behind his job in Boston and returns to the North Shore community of Manchester by the Sea to deal with his wife and the community he left behind. Currently, the film holds a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes and the consensus reads: “Manchester by the Sea delivers affecting drama populated by full-bodied characters, marking another strong step forward for writer-director Kenneth Lonergan.” And since it stars Casey Affleck you know he’ll get the accent right.

November 25

Moana: The latest Disney animated movie musical is about Moana Waialiki, the daughter of a tribal chief known for his navigating skills. In classic Disney fashion, Moana will have to follow her in family’s footsteps and make a dangerous journey across the Pacific Ocean. The film boasts some impressive behind the scenes talent including Dwayne Johnson and Alan Tudyk. Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of the Broadway megahit Hamilton, wrote the songs and lyrics. Disney is hoping that the money they’ve invested in rebuilding its animation studio will continue to pay off.