After what was a pretty stacked October for cinematic releases, things don’t appear to be slowing down as spooky season comes to an end this Friday. With award season in full flow, several Oscar hopefuls will be debuting in cinemas and on streaming following their run on the festival circuits, only one of which I have managed to see so far – Guillermo del Toro‘s “Frankenstein”.
The gothic horror is one of the movies on Netflix’s slate this year, with two other potential award season contenders of theirs, “Train Dreams” and “Nouvelle Vague” also coming to the streaming platform this coming month. Smaller prestige titles from the fall festival line-up set to hit screens next month include – “Anemone”, “The Choral”, “Die My Love”, “Nuremberg”, “Pillion”, and “Christy”. The big box-office and potential Oscar juggernaut of the month being musical sequel “Wicked: For Good”, which comes to cinemas on Friday 21st November.
Other blockbuster titles include sequels, “Predator: Badlands”, “Zootropolis 2”, and “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t”, plus there is Edgar Wright‘s adaptation of Stephen King‘s “The Running Man”, as well as Osgood Perkins’ latest horror venture, “Keeper” – the director’s third feature film in less than two years.
Which November release are you most excited for?
Frankenstein (15)
Dir: Guillermo del Toro
Cast: Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Felix Kammerer, Lars Mikkelsen, Christoph Waltz, David Bradley, Ralph Ineson, Burn Gorman
Synopsis: A brilliant but egotistical scientist brings a monstrous creature to life in a daring experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation.
Predator: Badlands (15)
Dir: Dan Trachtenberg
Cast: Elle Fanning, Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi
Synopsis: Cast out from its clan, an alien hunter and an unlikely ally embark on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary.
Anemone (15)
Dir: Ronan Day-Lewis
Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sean Bean, Samantha Morton
Synopsis: Hidden secrets and long-buried resentments come to light when two estranged brothers reunite at a primitive cabin deep in the woods of Northern England.
Train Dreams (12A)
Dir: Clint Bentley
Cast: Frank Dillane, Megan Northam, Karyna Khymchuk, Shonagh Marie, Amr Waked
Synopsis: Robert Grainier lives all of his years in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, working on the land, helping to create a new world at the turn of the 20th century.
The Choral (12A)
Dir: Nicholas Hytner
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Roger Allam, Mark Addy, Alun Armstrong, Robert Emms, Simon Russell Beale
Synopsis: Yorkshire, 1916. A choral society’s male members enlist in World War I, leaving the demanding Dr. Guthrie to recruit teenagers. Together, they experience the joy of singing while the young men grapple with their impending conscription.
Die My Love (15)
Dir: Lynne Ramsay
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Pattinson, LaKeith Stanfield, Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek
Synopsis: Grace, a writer and young mother, is slowly slipping into madness. Locked away in an old house in Montana, her increasingly agitated and erratic behaviour leaves her companion, Jackson, worried and helpless.
The Running Man (15)
Dir: Edgar Wright
Cast: Glen Powell, William H. Macy, lee Pace, Michael Cera, Emilia Jones, Daniel Ezra, Jayme Lawson, Sean Hayes, Colman Domingo, Josh Brolin
Synopsis: In the near future, “The Running Man” is the top-rated show on television, a deadly competition where contestants must survive 30 days while being hunted by professional assassins. Desperate for money to save his sick daughter, Ben Richards is convinced by the show’s ruthless producer to enter the game as a last resort. Ratings soon skyrocket as Ben’s defiance, instincts and grit turn him into an unexpected fan favourite, as well as a threat to the entire system.
Nuremberg (12A)
Dir: James Vanderbilt
Cast: Russell Crowe, Rami Malek, Leo Woodall, John Slattery, Mark O’Brien, Colin Hanks, Wrenn Schmidt, Richard E. Grant, Michael Shannon
Synopsis: As the Nuremberg trials are set to begin, a U.S. Army psychiatrist gets locked in a dramatic psychological showdown with accused Nazi war criminal Hermann Göring.
Now You See Me: Now You Don’t (12A)
Dir: Ruben Fleischer
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher, Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa, Ariana Greenblatt, Rosamund Pike, Morgan Freeman
Synopsis: The Four Horsemen and a new generation of illusionists try to bring down a worldwide criminal network.
Keeper (15)
Dir: Osgood Perkins
Cast: Tatiana Maslany, Rossif Sutherland
Synopsis: A wife becomes isolated in a secluded cabin and has to fend off an unspeakable evil.
Nouvelle Vague (12A)
Dir: Richard Linklater
Cast: Guillaume Marbeck, Zoey Deutch, Aubry Dullin
Synopsis: This is the story of Godard making ”Breathless”, told in the style and spirit in which Godard made “Breathless”.
Wicked: for Good (PG)
Dir: Jon M. Chu
Cast: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum
Synopsis: Now demonized as the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba lives in exile in the Ozian forest, while Glinda resides at the palace in Emerald City, reveling in the perks of fame and popularity. As an angry mob rises against the Wicked Witch, she’ll need to reunite with Glinda to transform herself, and all of Oz, for good.
Sisu: Road to Revenge (15)
Dir: Jalmari Helander
Cast: Jorma Tommila, Stephen Lang, Richard Brake
Synopsis: After returning in 1946 to Soviet-occupied Karelia, where his family was brutally murdered during World War II, Aatami Korpi, “the man who refuses to die”, dismantles his old family house, loads it on a truck, and is determined to rebuild it somewhere safe in their honour. When the Red Army discovers Korpi’s arrival on their soil, Igor Draganov, the man who killed his family, comes back hellbent on finishing the job: kill the legendary ex-soldier by any means necessary.
Pillion (18)
Dir: Harry Lighton
Cast: Harry Melling, Alexander, Skarsgard
Synopsis: Colin, a timid man, meets Ray, a confident biker gang leader, who initiates him into a submissive relationship, challenging Colin’s mundane existence and prompting personal growth through their unconventional dynamic.
Zootropolis 2 (PG)
Dir: Jared Bush, Byron Howard
Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Ke Huy Quan, Fortune Feimster, Andy Sandberg, David Strathairn, Idris Elba, Shakira, Patrick Warburton, Quinta Brunson
Synopsis: Detectives Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde find themselves on the twisting trail of a mysterious reptile who turns the mammal metropolis of Zootropolis upside down. Testing their growing partnership like never before, they go under cover in new parts of town to crack the case.
Christy (15)
Dir: David Michod
Cast: Sydney Sweeney, Ben Foster, Merritt Wever, Katy O’Brian
Synopsis: Christy Martin never imagined life beyond her small-town roots in West Virginia, until she discovered a knack for punching people. Fuelled by grit, raw determination, and an unshakable desire to win, she charges into the world of boxing under the guidance of her trainer and manager-turned-husband, Jim. Flaunting a fiery persona in the ring, her toughest battles start to unfold outside of it as she confronts family, identity, and a relationship that just might become life-or-death.
Dan Loves Film 
I’ve had the chance to see “Now You See Me 3” and it’s a lot of mainstream movie fun…great magic, cast having a blast, fas moving plot. It’s a month of wannabe bit hits and upscale awards contenders…let’s hope all deliver the goods!
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The Choral looks right up my alley. Also For Good. 🎶
thanks for the previews
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These are such good recs…. definitely adding them to my watchlist 🌸
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I Think Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in film adaptation of Wicked is great Casting of All Time
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