12 Movies to Watch This Holiday Season
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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/21/movies/holiday-movies.html Version 0 of 1. Between holiday travel, shopping and cookie baking, you’ve probably had your hands full this season. In need of a break? How about a movie? It’s that time of year when theaters are filled with serious films — tomorrow’s award contenders — and warm, uplifting holiday fare. We’re here to help you make a pick, or two. Consider it our holiday gift to you. ‘Aquaman’ In theaters now Jason Momoa “is why some of us are going to this movie,” our critic Wesley Morris wrote, but even he’s not enough to keep afloat this lackluster mash-up of “Thor,” “Black Panther” and “Avatar.” [Read our picks for the best movies of 2018] ‘Bumblebee’ In theaters now With Hailee Steinfeld’s compelling performance and Travis Knight’s fleet direction, this Transformers origin story — the sixth in the franchise — “is cleverly plotted, neatly allusive and has dialogue you can envision real people and, um, real Transformers speaking,” Glenn Kenny wrote in his review. [Read about how Hailee Steinfeld transformed into an action hero.] ‘Capernaum’ In theaters now A young boy sues his parents in Lebanon for failing to care for him and his siblings. A.O. Scott, in his review, said this is “a hectic and heartbreaking film, driven by its director Nadine Labaki’s curiosity and the charisma of her young star, Zain al Rafeea.” [Read about the film’s director, Nadine Labaki.] ‘Cold War’ In theaters now In postwar Poland, a singer and a piano player fall in love but soon end up on opposite sides of history. “Like its two sexy leads,” our critic Manohla Dargis wrote of Pawel Pawlikowski’s black-and-white beauty, “the movie has been built for maximum seduction.” ‘Destroyer’ In theaters on Christmas Day In this gritty Los Angeles noir, Nicole Kidman plays an alcoholic detective haunted by an undercover assignment from years ago. Kyle Buchanan recently spoke with Kidman about the role, which she said was so intense she often needed to “let out a huge yell or a growl before I would start.” [Read more about the film’s director, Karyn Kusama.] ‘The Favourite’ In theaters now Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz and Olivia Colman are at the top of their games in Yorgos Lanthimos’s “wildly entertaining, bracingly cynical comedy of royal manners,” Scott wrote in his review. ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ In theaters now In James Baldwin’s novel, “Fonny and Tish are loving while black, an existential truth that is turned into a nightmare,” Dargis writes in her review of Barry Jenkins’s adaptation. She added that Jenkins has an “expressionist visual style that can make words superfluous.” [Read an interview with Barry Jenkins.] ‘Mary Poppins Returns’ In theaters now Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda star in this follow-up to the 1964 classic. There will be discipline, and song, but mostly, Dargis wrote in her review, the movie is “a modest update, one that has brushed off the story, making it louder, harsher, more aggressively smiley.” [What to read about “Mary Poppins”] ‘Roma’ In theaters and streaming on Netflix The Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón’s “personal epic” is set in Mexico City in the early 1970s and centers on an indigenous housekeeper and the middle-class family for whom she works. Dargis called it “an expansive, emotional portrait of life buffeted by violent forces, and a masterpiece” best seen on the big screen. ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ In theaters now “This may be the first ‘Spider-Man’ feature to qualify as a great New York movie, drawn from the life of the city rather than outdated stereotypes,” Scott wrote in his review of this animated reworking of the Spidey mythos. ‘Welcome to Marwen’ In theaters now Steve Carell portrays an artist suffering from a brain injury in Robert Zemeckis’s latest trip to the uncanny valley. For Carell’s character, “a charming eccentric, a tormented soul and a brilliantly inventive artist,” Scott wrote in his review, “Marwen is his escape, his therapy and his complex multimedia masterwork.” [Read about the real Mark Hogancamp.] ‘Vice’ In theaters on Christmas Day Christian Bale portrays former Vice President Dick Cheney in a film that “offers more than Yuletide rage-bait for liberal moviegoers,” Scott wrote in his review, adding, “if this is in some respects a real-life monster movie, it’s one that takes a lively and at times surprisingly sympathetic interest in its chosen demon.” Too tired to make it to the theater? Here are some notable films available on streaming services: “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” “Bird Box,” “Happy as Lazzaro” and “Shirkers” (all on Netflix); and “First Reformed” (AmazonPrime and other services). |