Must-see movies this month
The Witches is rebooted, George Clooney returns to the limelight, and Liverpool FC and Audrey Hepburn get the doco treatment. James Croot casts his eye over the latest releases.
Acinematic year like no other is finally coming to a close. Movie watching this year has been dominated by the streaming services, rather than movie theatres, as the world has come to terms with a global pandemic. Even though we’ve been luckier than most countries, the past nine months have been virtually blockbuster-free.
However, that’s also meant smaller films, which might not have had a release in the past, have been enjoying their moment in the spotlight.
Among the titles heading for cinema near you this month are documentaries on Oliver Sacks and D B Cooper (both on now), a biopic of Roald Amundsen (December 10), Melissa McCarthy comedy
Superintelligence (December 17), British street cat follow-up
A Christmas Gift From Bob (on now), animated sequel The Croods: A New Age (Boxing Day), a re-cut version of the much-maligned The Godfather Part III (on now), teen drama
Words on Bathroom Walls (December 10), World War II tale
A Call to Spy (Boxing Day), and the latest local flick from the creators of Take Home Pay and
Three Wise Cousins – the Christmas-themed Mama’s
Music Box (December 10).
Meanwhile, some interesting-looking gems can be found on the streaming services.
Apple TV+’s lineup includes the critically acclaimed Irish animated tale Wolfwalkers (December 11), Disney+ has the Isla Fisher-headlining fantasy
Godmothered (starts today) and American football drama
Safety (December 11), and Amazon Prime Video boasts Riz Ahmed in Sound of Metal (starts today) and Tessa Thompson’s 1950s-set tale
Sylvie’s Love (December 23).
As for Netflix, among the new movies are Polish comedy Fierce (on now), award-winning Indian animation Bombay Rose (starts today), Australian horror Sweet River (starts tomorrow), Turkish black comedy Leyla Everlasting (starts today), and the John Legend and Viola Davisproduced documentary Giving Voice
(December 11).
Here is Stuff’s lineup of 12 films we believe are well worth checking out.
Audrey (December 16, Neon)
Winning her first Academy Award at the age of 24, Audrey Hepburn went on to become one of the world’s greatest cultural icons.
This documentary aims to reveal the full story of the legendary star of Hollywood’s Golden Age, who grew up malnourished under Nazi occupation in the Netherlands, and initially dreamed of becoming a ballet dancer. ‘‘As a style icon, she left an immortal, luminous, if brittle legacy. Her deeper calling, Audrey argues, was as a regal champion of the dispossessed,’’ wrote The Telegraph’s Tim Robey.
Blithe Spirit (Boxing Day, Cinemas)
Isla Fisher, Dan Stevens, Leslie Mann, and Dame Judi Dench team up for this latest adaptation of Noel Coward’s famous 1940s play about a medium who holds a seance for a writer suffering from writer’s block, but accidentally summons the spirit of his deceased first wife.
I’m Your Woman (December 11, Amazon Prime Video)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s Rachel Brosnahan headlines this 1970s-set crime drama about a woman who is forced to go on the run after her husband betrays his partners.
‘‘The film gives Brosnahan’s fans a chance to see her in a far more internalised, watchful mode than on her Amazon series, and there isn’t a performance here that hits a wrong note,’’ wrote The Hollywood Reporter’s Sheri Linden.
Liverpool FC: The End of the Storm (December 12, Cinemas)
This feature-length documentary tells the inside story of the English Premier League club’s 2019-20 triumph, their first championship title in three decades. Features interviews with key players, as well as charismatic coach Jurgen Klopp and club legend Sir Kenny Dalglish. Promising to focus on the ‘‘emotion, community and self-belief’’ surrounding the team, the doco will also include a new rendition of the club’s anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone, sung by Lana Del Rey.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (December 18, Netflix)
In his last screen performance, Chadwick Boseman stars opposite Violet Davis in this adaptation of August Wilson’s 1982 play. It centres around a fateful recording session made by the ‘‘Mother of the Blues’’ Ma Rainey in 1927 Chicago.
‘‘Rollicking and heartbreaking in equal measure, this period musical drama plays all the right notes, from Viola Davis mightily singing the blues to a brilliant, shattering final performance from Boseman,’’ wrote USA Today’s Brian Truitt.
The Midnight Sky (December 10, Cinemas)
George Clooney, Felicity Jones, Kyle Chandler, and David Oyelowo star in this post-apocalyptic drama about an Arctic scientist who finds himself in a race against time to stop a group of astronauts from returning to Earth, where a mysterious global catastrophe is taking place. After a short run in select cinemas, the film, based on the novel Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton, will debut on Netflix on December 23.
Misbehaviour (On now, Cinemas)
Keira Knightley, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jessie Buckley, Keeley Hawes, Lesley Manville, Rhys Ifans and Greg Kinnear are part of the impressive ensemble assembled for this period drama, focusing on the events surrounding the 1970 Miss World competition. A newly formed women’s liberation movement invaded the stage, disrupting the live broadcast. However, that wasn’t the only surprise to take place that evening.
‘‘Politics and humour rarely make an entertaining mix outside of satire, but Misbehaviour manages cleverly to weld observations about sexism and racism to a lightly comedic storyline,’’ wrote South China Morning Post’s Richard James Havis.
Nomadland (Boxing Day, Cinemas)
Winner of the prestigious audience award at September’s Toronto Film Festival, this US drama stars Frances McDormand as a woman who leaves her small town to travel around the American Midwest, while living out of her van. It is based on Jessica Bruder’s 2017 non-fiction book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century.
‘‘It’s extraordinary how a work like Nomadland can hold a mirror to society and refract back to the audience the light of their own lives,’’ wrote Screen Daily’s Fionnuala Hannigan.
The Prom (December 11, Netflix)
Former Glee showrunner Ryan Murphy directs this musical comedy inspired by the 2018 Broadway show of the same name. The story revolves around the stars of a major stage show flop who decide the best way to resurrect their image is to help a young Indiana teen attend her annual high school rite of passage with her girlfriend. The cast includes Meryl Streep, James Corden, Nicole Kidman, Keegan-Michael Key, and Kerry Washington.
Soul (Christmas Day, Disney+)
Pixar’s latest animated adventure focuses on a school music teacher who finally gets a chance to achieve his dream of performing jazz music onstage, only to suffer a terrible, potentially fatal accident. Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Questlove, Graham Norton, Angela Bassett, and our own Rachel House are among the vocal performers.
‘‘Deep, witty, and fast on its jazz-loving feet, it doesn’t miss a beat,’’ wrote Total Film’s Kevin Harley.
The Witches (December 10, Cinemas)
Anne Hathaway, Octavia Spencer and Stanley Tucci star in Robert Zemeckis’ ‘‘re-imagined’’ adaptation of Roald Dahl’s beloved 1983 book. It shifts the action from England to 1968 Alabama, but keeps the central premise of a young boy who accidentally uncovers a coven of witches.
‘‘Hathaway’s performance provides the film with a sick-joke centre of gravity, and Zemeckis stages it all with a prankish flair that leaves you buzzed,’’ wrote Variety’s Owen Gleiberman.
Wonder Woman 1984 (Boxing Day, Cinemas)
Originally scheduled to debut six months ago, this hotly anticipated sequel to the 2017 smash hit is, Christopher Nolan’s Tenet aside, the first blockbuster to hit cinema screens since the start of the year. Set during the Cold War, it sees Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) not only facing off against new enemies Maxwell Lord (The Mandalorian’s Pedro Pascal) and Cheetah (Kristen Wiig), but also dealing with the unexpected return of someone from her past.