This story was originally published and last updated .
Movie theaters are slowly reopening, but most of the new releases are headed to streaming services rather than the big screen. Whether you’re staying at home to limit potential risks, or just saving a few bucks by watching from the couch, we’ve organized a huge list with many of the newly added films and some upcoming titles.
New this week:
You know how this time of year works, the Christmas movie lineup is continuing this week. Disney+ begins the lineup with Godmothered, a comedic take on what happens when fairytale characters are tugged into the real world. For the little ones, Angela’s Christmas Wish fills in the animation obligation. While it’s not at all related to the season, the kids may also enjoy 100% Wolf, an animated transplant from Australia. And if you want something way more grounded in real life, check out Evergreen, which is technically a Christmas movie.
Things take a darker turn from here on. Aubrey Plaza delivers on a new level of weird in the bizzarely dark comedy Black Bear — at least it’s supposedly a comedy. Anthony Hopkins and Lisa Pepper keep it weird with a psychological drama that dances across the lines of mental illness.
We then step into the horror/thriller territory with Wander, featuring Aaron Eckhart, Tommy Lee Jones, and Heather Graham for a deep dive into darkness. And perhaps the lightest of the group is What Lies Below, which leaves the monster mostly out of the monster movie. My mini-review of What Lies Below can be found with the movie listing below.
Plenty of other titles can be found in the list this week, including a couple new films in theaters, so keep browsing to the end. You’ll also find some documentaries/biographies at the end that might just move you, as well.
December 4
Godmothered
Comedy, Family, Holiday | Streaming: December 4 | IMDb
Starring: Jillian Bell, Melissa Stack, Isla Fisher, Willa Skye, Justin Springer, June Squibb, Stephnie Weir, Sharon McGuire
Set at Christmas time, “Godmothered” is a comedy about Eleanor, a young, inexperienced fairy godmother-in-training (Jillian Bell), who upon hearing that her chosen profession is facing extinction, decides to show the world that people still need fairy godmothers. Finding a mislaid letter from a 10-year-old girl in distress, Eleanor tracks her down and discovers that the girl, Mackenzie, is now a 40-year-old single mom (Isla Fisher) working at a news station in Boston. Having lost her husband several years earlier, Mackenzie has all but given up on the idea of “happily ever after,” but Eleanor is bound and determined to give Mackenzie a happiness makeover, whether she likes it or not.
Angela’s Christmas Wish
Family, Animated | Streaming: December 1 | IMDb
Starring: Lucy O’Connell, Brendan Mullins, Ruth Negga
With her father working far away in Australia, a determined Angela makes a plan — and a heartfelt wish — to reunite her family in time for the holidays.
100% Wolf
Animation, Adventure, Comedy | Streaming: December 4 | IMDb
Starring: Samara Weaving, Jane Lynch, Jai Courtney, Loren Gray
Freddy Lupin, heir to a proud family of werewolves, is in for a shock when his first ‘transwolfation’ turns him into a ferocious… poodle. He gets thrown out of his pack and finds himself in the clutches of a dog pound. Can Freddy and his new streetwise friend, Batty, escape? Despite his pink and fluffy exterior, Freddy now has until moonrise to prove that he’s still 100% Wolf!
Evergreen
Drama | Streaming: November 24 (iTunes), December 1 (streaming) | IMDb
Starring: Olivia Grace Applegate, David Bianchi, Tanner Kalina
From writer and director Joe Duca (Her Name Was Jo), Evergreen is an intimate character study of an interfaith couple’s relationship over a tumultuous Christmas weekend. Paul (Tanner Kalina, Everybody Wants Some!!), a contemporary Catholic, plans to propose to his girlfriend, while pragmatic Gena (Amanda Maddox, Gripped: Climbing the Killer Pillar) wants to finally take their celibate relationship to the next level. When expectations clash, the two set aside their prior notions and agree to a brutally honest, no-holds-barred weekend of ‘question and answer,’ unearthing long-buried secrets and manifestations from relationships past.
Black Bear
Comedy, Drama | Streaming: December 4 | IMDb
Starring: Aubrey Plaza, Christopher Abbott, Sarah Gadon, Paola Lazaro, Grantham Coleman
At a remote lake house, a filmmaker named Allison (Aubrey Plaza) arrives to play house guest to a troubled couple (Abbott and Gadon), who have eschewed their life in the city after inheriting a family retreat. Battling writer’s block, Allison sparks a calculated game of desire and jealousy in pursuit of a new work that blurs the boundaries of autobiography and invention. Black Bear explores the complex nature of relationships, gender dynamics, and the erratic nature of love as it traces the conflict between our lust and our longing for internal harmony.
Elyse
Drama | Streaming: December 4 | IMDb
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Lisa Pepper, Aaron Tucker, Tara Arroyave, Fran Tucker, Anthony Apel, Julieta Oritiz, Danny Jacobs
Elyse (Lisa Pepper) languidly meanders out of a cold, concrete, designer house mirroring a mausoleum, externalizing the spirit of her dead son, Cody. She returns home disoriented, unwilling to join the family dinner, misconceives the gathering as a threat to her private life, and is unwarrantedly infuriated with her egocentric mother, Goldie, and her devoted husband, Steven. In a psychotic blackout, Elyse commits vehicular manslaughter of her son and his nanny, Julia. Elyse isn’t the only victim; her delusional thinking, narcissism, and violence annihilate her husband. Memory and hallucination intertwine to expose a history of trauma, revealing the truth: Elyse is Catatonic and institutionalized in a State Hospital. Elyse’s recovery is reliant on the dissolution of her marriage, the restoration of the relationship with her mother, and the mutual absolution with the nanny’s daughter, Carmen. It’s the care from Dr. Lewis (Anthony Hopkins) and the unconditional love from her nurse, David, that promise Elyse a new life.
Wander
Action, Crime, Mystery, Thriller | Streaming: December 4 | IMDb
Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Katheryn Winnick, Heather Graham, Tommy Lee Jones
Aaron Eckhart, Tommy Lee Jones and Heather Graham star in the edge-of-your-seat thriller following Arthur Bretnik, a paranoid private investigator with a troubled past. After Bretnik (Eckhart) is hired to investigate a suspicious death in the town of Wander, he becomes convinced the case is linked to the same ‘conspiracy cover up’ that caused the death of his daughter.
What Lies Below
Thriller, Sci-Fi | Streaming: December 4 | IMDb
Starring: Ema Horvath, Trey Tucker, Mena Suvari
Liberty, a socially awkward 16-year-old, returns from two months at camp only to be blindsided with the introduction of her Mother’s fiancée, John Smith, whose charm, intelligence, and beauty paint the picture of a man too perfect to be human.
Cody’s Review: What Lies Below reminds me of the early monster-of-the-week episodes of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. However, it trades out the clever banter for a slow methodical tone and ramp up. I suspect filming was interrupted by covid, because the first 15 minutes is marred by stiff performances and amateur-ish camera angles as it muddles through tons of filler backstory. Nevertheless, it eventually evens out and the real Creature Feature begins in earnest. Oh, did you see the trailer and think this was about a predatory guy pursuing his girlfriend’s daughter? I can see how you would get there with lines like, ‘You’re kind of a weird dude’ and ‘He grabbed me. Like Donald Trump, he grabbed me.’ Don’t worry, it’s not that kind of movie, but it regularly threatens to be. Ema Horvath and Trey Tucker deliver scenes together quite well, but Mena Suvari never really blends in. Verdict: What Lies Below doesn’t break new ground or excel in any particular way, but it’s a decent slow-burning thriller that will appease fans of the genre. Just be warned, the nature of some scenes will likely rule this out as a date movie.
Trail of Ashes
Fantasy, Mystery | Streaming: December 1 | IMDb
Starring: Cecilia Arguelles, Arturo Lizardi, Héctor Escudero, Jasmin Sanabria, Migdalia Rosario, Carlos Miranda
When the empress’s daughter Lina disappears, the Crow Tribe, still rebelling against the empire, plans a mission to find her first, in an attempt to have leverage over their enemy. Silas, raised by the Crow Tribe, is tasked with intercepting a “quill” (or justice-seeker) sent to investigate the prime suspect in the case: an inquisitor, one of the empress’s elite. Silas, now posing as the quill Ranieri, is conflicted when he learns the inquisitor he is to interview is actually his long lost brother, Marco, who was raised by the empire after both brothers were orphaned due to a tragic and mysterious incident. As the investigation deepens, Silas realizes that nothing is what it seems. The case will unlock secrets that will blur the reality of everyone involved.
Ammonite
Biography, Drama, Romance | Streaming: December 4 | Theaters: November 13 (limited) | IMDb
Starring: Kate Winslet, Saoirse Ronan, Gemma Jones
In the 1840s, acclaimed self-taught palaeontologist Mary Anning works alone on the wild and brutal Southern English coastline of Lyme Regis. The days of her famed discoveries behind her, she now hunts for common fossils to sell to rich tourists to support herself and her ailing widowed mother. When one such tourist, Roderick Murchison, arrives in Lyme on the first leg of a European tour, he entrusts Mary with the care of his young wife Charlotte, who is recuperating from a personal tragedy. Mary, whose life is a daily struggle on the poverty line, cannot afford to turn him down but, proud and relentlessly passionate about her work, she clashes with her unwanted guest. They are two women from utterly different worlds. Yet despite the chasm between their social spheres and personalities, Mary and Charlotte discover they can each offer what the other has been searching for: the realisation that they are not alone. It is the beginning of a passionate and all-consuming love affair that will defy all social bounds and alter the course of both lives irrevocably.
Luxor
Drama, Romance | Streaming: December 4 | IMDb
Starring: Andrea Riseborough, Michael Landes, Shirin Redha
When British aid worker Hana returns to the ancient city of Luxor, she meets former lover Sultan. As she wanders, haunted by the familiar place, she struggles to reconcile the choices of the past with the uncertainty of the present.
Small Axe — Episode 3: Red, White and Blue
Drama | Streaming: December 4 | IMDb
Starring: John Boyega, Steve Toussaint, Joy Richardson
Spotlights the true story of Leroy Logan, who at a young age saw his father assaulted by two policemen, motivating him to join the Metropolitan Police and change their racist attitudes from within.
Mank
Drama, Biography, True Story | Streaming: December 4 | Note: (Netflix) | IMDb
Starring: Gary Oldman, Lily Collins, Amanda Seyfried, Charles Dance, David Fincher, Ceán Chaffin, Tom Burke, Jack Fincher
1930s Hollywood is reevaluated through the eyes of scathing wit and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish Citizen Kane
Dear Santa
Documentary | Streaming: December 4 | IMDb
Starring: Dana Nachman
DEAR SANTA shines a light on the 100-year-old ‘Operation Santa’ Program of the United States Postal Service. Each year, hundreds of thousands of letters to Santa arrive at Post Offices around the country. Through Operation Santa, the USPS makes it possible for the public to safely adopt these letters and make children’s dreams come true. The film invites audiences along for the magic of this massive endeavor. Traveling the country, much like Santa does on Christmas Eve, the film focuses on select ‘Operation Santa’ Centers: some in metropolitan areas and others in small towns where the Post Office is the heart of the community.
Billie
Documentary | Streaming: December 4 | IMDb
Starring: Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday had one of the greatest voices of all time and changed the face of American music. She was a woman of breath-taking talent and global popularity while also stirring controversy. She started a notable rebellion singing ‘Strange Fruit’ which exposed the realities of Black life in America and earned her powerful enemies. Raw, emotional and brutally honest, Billie is filled with never-before-heard interviews from musical greats Count Basie, Charles Mingus, Sylvia Syms and Tony Bennett.
November 26
Fatman
Action, Comedy, Thriller | Streaming: November 24 | IMDb
Starring: Mel Gibson, Walton Goggins, Marianne Jean-Baptiste
To save his declining business, Chris Cringle, also known as Santa Claus, is forced into a partnership with the U.S. military. Making matters worse, Chris gets locked into a deadly battle of wits against a highly skilled assassin, hired by a precocious 12-year-old, after receiving a lump of coal in his stocking.
Buddy Games
Comedy | Streaming: November 24 | IMDb
Starring: Josh Duhamel, Bob Schwartz, Nick Swardson, Jude Weng, Seamus, Kevin Dillon, Dax Shepard, Olivia Munn
A group of thirtysomething friends reunite to play the Buddy Game. That is a wild assortment of absurd physical and mental challenges. In the process, they heal old wounds, right past wrongs and figure out the true meaning of friendship — or die trying.
Girl
Thriller | Streaming: November 24 | IMDb
Starring: Bella Thorne, Mickey Rourke, Chad Faust
A young woman returns to her small hometown intent on killing her abusive father only to discover someone murdered him the day before. As the girl searches for answers, she uncovers a family legacy more dangerous than she’d imagined.
Notes for My Son
Drama | Streaming: November 24 | IMDb
Starring: Mónica Antonópulos, Paola Barrientos, Valeria Bertuccelli
When María ‘Marie’ Vázquez finds out she has a terminal disease, she decides to face her fate the only way she knows how: with emotion and a sarcastic humor that defines her. She spends most of her time writing a book for her four-year-old son, Tomy, with the idea that his mother’s image will stay with him for ever. María also shares her experience through social media, with her unique style, and her life story becomes really popular. Her last days are full of mixed feelings as she is joined by her lovely husband, Federico, and her closest friends to celebrate her life.
Hillbilly Elegy
Drama | Streaming: November 24 | IMDb
Starring: Amy Adams, Glenn Close, Gabriel Basso, Freida Pinto
A Yale Law student drawn back to his Appalachian hometown reflects on his family’s history and his own future.
Christmas on the Square
Family, Musical | Streaming: November 22 | IMDb
Starring: Dolly Parton, Christine Baranski, Treat Williams
Christmas On The Square follows small town ‘Scrooge’ Regina Fuller (Christine Baranski) as she’s visited by a rhinestone-bedazzled angel (Dolly) who guides her on a musical journey of redemption. Will this stingy property owner evict the entire town of Fullerville on Christmas Eve, or will her greed give way to the Christmas spirit?
Happiest Season
Comedy, Romance | Streaming: November 25 | IMDb
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, Clea DuVall, Marty Bowen, Isaac Klausner, Alison Brie, Daniel Levy, Mary Holland
Meeting your girlfriend’s family for the first time can be tough. Planning to propose at her family’s annual Christmas dinner — until you realize that they don’t even know she’s gay — is even harder. When Abby (Kristen Stewart) learns that Harper (Mackenzie Davis) has kept their relationship a secret from her family, she begins to question the girlfriend she thought she knew. Happiest Season is a holiday romantic comedy that hilariously captures the range of emotions tied to wanting your family’s acceptance, being true to yourself, and trying not to ruin Christmas.
Stardust
Drama, Biography, Music | Streaming: November 25 | IMDb
Starring: Marc Maron, Aaron Poole, Ryan Blakley, Johnny Flynn, Annie Briggs, Jena Malone, Roanna Cocharne, Jorja Cadence
Documents the life of David Bowie before he became one of the most iconic artists in the history of music.
Uncle Frank
Drama | Streaming: November 25 | IMDb
Starring: Paul Bettany, Judy Greer, Stephen Root, Steve Zahn, Margo Martindale, Alan Ball, Sophia Lillis, Peter Macdissi
In 1973, teenaged Beth Bledsoe (Sophia Lillis) leaves her rural Southern hometown to study at New York University where her beloved Uncle Frank (Paul Bettany) is a revered literature professor. She soon discovers that Frank is gay, and living with his longtime partner Walid “Wally” Nadeem (Peter Macdissi) — an arrangement that he has kept secret for years. After the sudden death of Frank’s father — Beth’s grandfather — Frank is forced to reluctantly return home for the funeral with Beth in tow, and to finally face a long-buried trauma that he has spent his entire adult life running away from.
The Christmas Chronicles 2
Adventure, Comedy, Family | Streaming: November 25 | IMDb
Starring: Tyrese Gibson, Michael Barnathan, Kurt Russell, Darby Camp, Chris Columbus, Mark Radcliffe, Judah Lewis, Julian Dennison
It’s been two years since siblings Kate (Darby Camp) and Teddy Pierce (Judah Lewis) saved Christmas, and a lot has changed. Kate, now a cynical teenager, is reluctantly spending Christmas in Cancun with her mom’s new boyfriend and his son Jack (Jahzir Bruno). Unwilling to accept this new version of her family, Kate decides to run away. But when a mysterious, magical troublemaker named Belsnickel threatens to destroy the North Pole and end Christmas for good, Kate and Jack are unexpectedly pulled into a new adventure with Santa Claus (Kurt Russell).
Superintelligence
Comedy | Streaming: November 26 | IMDb
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Bobby Cannavale, James Corden, Ben Falcone, Brian Tyree Henry, Steve Mallory, Jean Smart
Nothing extraordinary ever happens to Carol Peters (McCarthy), so when she starts getting snarky backtalk from her TV, phone and microwave, she thinks she’s being punked. Or losing her mind. In fact, the world’s first superintelligence has selected her for observation, taking over her life…with a bigger, more ominous plan to take over everything. Now Carol is humanity’s last chance before this artificial intelligence-with-an-attitude decides to pull the plug.
Zappa
Documentary | Streaming: November 27 | IMDb
Starring: Frank Zappa, Steve Vai, Pamela Des Barres
With unfettered access to the Zappa family trust and all archival footage, Zappa explores the private life behind the mammoth musical career that never shied away from the political turbulence of its time.
Black Beauty
Drama | Streaming: November 27 | Theaters: (Disney+) | IMDb
Starring: Ashley Avis, Jeremy Bolt, Mackenzie Foy, Kate Winslet, Fern Deacon, Calam Lynch, Robert Kulzer, Patrick Lyster
In this modern day reimagining of Anna Sewell’s timeless classic, we follow Black Beauty, a wild horse born free in the American West. Rounded up and taken away from her family, Beauty is brought to Birtwick Stables where she meets a spirited teenage girl, Jo Green. Beauty and Jo forge an unbreakable bond that carries Beauty through the different chapters, challenges, and adventures of her life.
Princess Of The Row
Drama | Streaming: November 27 | IMDb
Starring: Edi Gathegi, Jacob Vargas, Martin Sheen, Van Maximilian Carlson, A. Shawn Austin, Ana Ortiz, Tayler Buck, Jenny Gago
The inspiring tale of a runaway foster child who will stop at nothing to live with the only family she knows: her homeless, mentally-ill veteran father who lives on the streets of LA’s skid row.
Blindfire
Crime, Drama, Thriller | Streaming: November 20 | Theaters: November 13 | IMDb
Starring: Brian Geraghty, Sharon Leal, Bethany Joy Lenz, Wayne Brady, Jim Beaver, Edwina Findley, Chiké Okonko, Sam Ash Arnold, Tom Virtue, Judge Kevin Ross
Lives are left in pieces after a white cop responds to a violent hostage call and kills the black suspect, only to learn he may have been set up. Facing trial, he must find the person responsible while examining his own accountability.
Team Marco
Comedy, Drama, Family | Streaming: November 20 | IMDb
Starring: Owen Vaccaro, Louis Cancelmi, Thomas Kopache
Young Marco’s grandfather introduces Marco to bocce ball and to the neighborhood crew of old Italian men who play after Nonno moves in. With sport, laughter and love, Marco rounds up a team of neighborhood kids to take on Nonno’s team.
The Dark Divide
Adventure, Comedy, Drama | Streaming: November 10 | IMDb
Starring: David Cross, Debra Messing, David Kotchner, Cameron Esposito, Gary Farmer, Pattterson Hood
Based on the story of renowned butterfly expert Robert Pyle (David Cross) who embarked on a life-changing trek through one of America’s most important unprotected wildlands in the summer of 1995.
November 20
The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special
Animation, Action | Streaming: November 17 | Theaters: (Disney+) | IMDb
Starring: Kelly Marie Tran, Matt Lanter, Billy Dee Williams
The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special reunites Rey, Finn, Poe, Chewie, Rose and the droids for a joyous feast on Life Day. Rey sets off on a new adventure with BB-8 to gain a deeper knowledge of the Force. At a mysterious Jedi Temple, she is hurled into a cross-timeline adventure through beloved moments in Star Wars cinematic history, coming into contact with Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Yoda, Obi-Wan and other iconic heroes and villains from all nine Skywalker saga films. But will she make it back in time for the Life Day feast and learn the true meaning of holiday spirit?
Chick Fight
Action, Comedy, Drama | Streaming: November 14 | IMDb
Starring: Malin Akerman, Bella Thorne, Alec Baldwin, Dulcé Sloan, Kevin Connolly, Fortune Feimster, Kevin Nash
When Anna Wyncomb is introduced to an underground, all-female fight club in order to turn the mess of her life around, she discovers she is much more personally connected to the history of the club than she could ever imagine.
The Princess Switch: Switched Again
Comedy, Drama, Family | Streaming: November 19 | IMDb
Starring: Vanessa Hudgens, Nick Sagar, Sam Palladio
When Margaret’s Christmas coronation complicates her love life, her double Stacy steps in to save the day. But will a third look-alike ruin their plan?
The Personal History of David Copperfield
Comedy, Drama | Streaming: November 20 | Theaters: August 28 | IMDb
Starring: Dev Patel, Hugh Laurie, Tilda Swinton
From birth to infancy, from adolescence to adulthood, the good-hearted David Copperfield is surrounded by kindness, wickedness, poverty and wealth, as he meets an array of remarkable characters in Victorian England. As David sets out to be a writer, in his quest for family, friendship, romance and status, the story of his life is the most seductive tale of all.
Ravers
Horror, Comedy | Streaming: November 20 | Theaters: September 18 | IMDb
Starring: Natasha Henstridge, Georgia Hirst, Olivier Richters
When a contaminated energy drink turns an illegal rave into a nightmare, a germaphobic journalist has to overcome her deepest fears to get her friends out alive.
Jiu Jitsu
Action, Sci-Fi | Streaming: November 20 | Theaters: November 20 | IMDb
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Alain Moussi, Frank Grillo, Rick Yune, Marie Avgeropoulos, Juju Chan with Tony Jaa
An ancient order of Jiu Jitsu fighters faces a vicious race of alien invaders in an epic battle for the survival of Earth.
Iron Mask
Action, Adventure, Family | Streaming: November 20 | IMDb
Starring: Jackie Chan, Jason Flemyng, Arnold Schwarzenegger
Early 1700: Cartographer Jonathan Green (Jason Flemyng) from Forbidden Kingdom (2014) is back to map the Russian Far East. He’s forced on to China, where he confronts the Dragon Master et al. The iron masked Russian Czar escapes the Tower of London to a Russian ship.
Dreamland
Drama, Thriller | Streaming: November 17 | IMDb
Starring: Margot Robbie, Travis Fimmel, Garrett Hedlund
A teen bounty hunter is torn between helping or capturing a seductive fugitive bank robber hiding in his small town during the Great Depression.
Sound of Metal
Drama | Streaming: November 20 | IMDb
Starring: Riz Ahmed, Olivia Cooke, Paul Raci
Metal drummer Ruben begins to lose his hearing. When a doctor tells him his condition will worsen, he thinks his career and life is over. His girlfriend Lou checks the former addict into a rehab for the deaf hoping it will prevent a relapse and help him adapt to his new life. After being welcomed and accepted just as he is, Ruben must choose between his new normal and the life he once knew.
Words on Bathroom Walls
Drama | Streaming: November 12 | Theaters: August 21 | IMDb
Starring: AnnaSophia Robb, Walton Goggins, Taylor Russell
Diagnosed with a mental illness halfway through his senior year of high school, a witty, introspective teen struggles to keep it a secret while falling in love with a brilliant classmate who inspires him to not be defined by his condition.
Come Play
Drama, Horror, Mystery | Streaming: November 20 | Theaters: October 30 | IMDb
Starring: Gillian Jacobs, Jacob Chase, Winslow Fegley, Jayden Marine, John Gallagher Jr., Azhy Robertson, Rachel Wilson
Azhy Robertson stars as Oliver, a lonely young boy who feels different from everyone else. Desperate for a friend, he seeks solace and refuge in his ever-present cell phone and tablet. When a mysterious creature uses Oliver’s devices against him to break into our world, Oliver’s parents (Gillian Jacobs and John Gallagher Jr.) must fight to save their son from the monster beyond the screen.
Run
Horror, Mystery, Thriller | Streaming: November 20 | IMDb
Starring: Sarah Paulson, Kiera Allen, Onalee Ames
There’s something unnatural about the relationship between Chloe (Kiera Allen) and her mom, Diane (Sarah Paulson). Diane has raised her daughter in isolation, controlling every move since birth, and there are secrets that Chloe’s only starting to grasp.
Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist
Documentary, Thriller | Streaming: November 19 | IMDb
Starring: William Friedkin
A lyrical and spiritual cinematic essay on The Exorcist, exploring the depths of William Friedkin’s mind’s eye, the nuances of his filmmaking process, and the mysteries of faith and fate that have shaped his life and filmography.
Bang! Bang!
Mystery, Thriller | Streaming: November 17 | IMDb
Starring: Nicole Fahel, Lucas Mogerley, Jordan Knapp
Bang! Bang! is an extreme interpretation of the phrase “actions have consequences” that follows five lawless teenagers as they execute an armed robbery. Outfitted with guns and masked by hoodies and full-face hockey masks, the group sets in motion a life or death struggle. Bang! Bang! is a story of conflict fueled by alcohol and adolescent naivety that ultimately crumbles friendships, destroys trust and leads to irrevocable mayhem. When one victim survives what should have been a fatal gunshot, the group is divided by one question: whose humanity remains?
The Giant
Crime, Mystery, Thriller | Streaming: November 20 | IMDb
Starring: Odessa Young, Ben Schnetzer, Jack Kilmer, Madelyn Cline
On her graduation night, Charlotte learns her first love has returned to her small Georgia town for the first time since vanishing the year before, in the midst of an awful trauma in her life.But on that night, a girl her age is found dead –and then another.
The Nest
Drama | Streaming: November 17 | Theaters: September 18 | IMDb
Starring: Jude Law, Carrie Coon, Anne Reid
An entrepreneur and his family begin to unravel after moving into an old country manor in England in the 1980s.
Monstrum
Horror, Korean | Streaming: November 17 | IMDb
Starring: Hyeri Lee, In-kwon Kim, Myung-Min Kim, Woo-sik Choi
In MONSTRUM, a plague has taken over and fear runs rampant in the streets. When rumors of a vicious monster roaming Mount Inwangsan begin to spread, fear turns into panic. In order to quell the rising hysteria, the King brings his most trusted general out of retirement. Joined by his daughter, his right-hand man, and a royal court officer, the general sets out to find and defeat the mysterious creature.
November 13
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
Family, Fantasy, Musical | Streaming: November 13 | IMDb
Starring: Forest Whitaker, Keegan-Michael Key, Hugh Bonneville
Decades after his trusted apprentice betrayed him, a once-joyful toymaker finds new hope when his kind and curious granddaughter comes into his life.
Come Away
Adventure, Drama, Fantasy | Streaming: November 13 | IMDb
Starring: David Oyelowo, Anna Chancellor, Angelina Jolie
Peter Pan and his sister, Alice, embark on adventures to Neverland and Wonderland.
Jungleland
Drama | Streaming: November 10 | IMDb
Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Jack O’Connell, Jessica Barden, Jonathan Majors, John Cullum
Stan (Charlie Hunnam) and Lion (Jack O’Connell) are two brothers struggling to stay relevant in the underground world of bare-knuckle boxing. When Stan fails to pay back a dangerous crime boss (Jonathon Majors), they’re forced to deliver an unexpected traveler as they journey across the country for a high-stakes fighting tournament. While Stan trains Lion for the fight of his life, a series of events threaten to tear the brothers apart but their love for one another and belief in a better life keep them going in this gripping drama that proves family pulls no punches.
Lie Exposed
Drama | Streaming: November 10 | IMDb
Starring: Benjamin Ayres, Megan Follows, Bruce Greenwood
Melanie (Leslie Hope) has a good, solid life, but when she’s diagnosed with cancer, her world spirals out of control. Instead of confronting her disease, she leaves her husband (Bruce Greenwood) and heads out for a bender in Los Angeles to search for the meaning of life. During her trip, she meets a mysterious, erotic photographer (Jeff Kober), and agrees to throw caution to the wind and pose for his latest project. Their interaction presents dangerous opportunities, revealed in a surprising art show that ignites passionate, provocative emotions and incendiary repercussions for her life, and those of her friends and family.
Out Stealing Horses
Drama, Mystery | Streaming: November 10 | IMDb
Starring: Stellan Skarsgård, Bjørn Floberg, Tobias Santelmann
Out Stealing Horses follows Trond (Skarsgård), an older man who moves to a remote section of Norway where he once spent a life-altering summer with his father (Santelmann) in 1948. Wanting to live a solitary life following the untimely death of his wife, he settles down for a winter in the woods, where he runs into a neighbor, Lars (Floberg), who played a pivotal role in his distant past. While reminiscing about their former lives, Trond reflects on the traumatic and joyful memories of that summer, offering a glimpse into his youth as he navigated the trials and tribulations of life following the Nazi occupation of Norway.
Dating Amber
Comedy, LGBTQ, Romance, Drama | Streaming: November 10 | IMDb
Starring: Fionn O’Shea, Lola Petticrew, Sharon Horgan, Barry Ward
A closeted gay teen and his lesbian counterpart pretend to be a couple to avoid suspicion.
Last Three Days
Action, Crime, Mystery | Streaming: November 13 | IMDb
Starring: Robert Palmer Watkins, Thomas Wilson Brown, Deborah Lee Smith
Jack is a police officer with a marriage on the rocks working undercover to take down a Japanese crime syndicate. One night things go south and he wakes up to discover he’s missing his partner, his wife, and the last three days of his life.
Echo Boomers
Action, Crime, Drama | Streaming: November 13 | IMDb
Starring: Patrick Schwarzenegger, Gilles Geary, Hayley Law, Jacob Alexander, Oliver Cooper, Kate Linder, Lesley Ann Warren, Alex Pettyfer and Michael Shannon
Two-time Academy Award® nominee Michael Shannon (Knives Out) stars in this gripping crime-thriller filled with pulse-pounding twists and turns. A recent college graduate Lance Zutterland (Patrick Schwarzenegger) leaves school in debt, realizing everything he had worked towards was built on a lie. When he is pulled into a criminal underground operation, he finds his peers fighting the system by stealing from the rich and giving to… themselves. With nothing to lose, they leave behind a trail of destruction but with the cops closing in, tensions mount and Lance soon discovers he is in over his head with no way out.
Cody’s Review: As true(-ish) stories go, Echo Boomers is probably one of the better examples of adapting reality to a cinematic format. In many ways, it reminded me of the movie 21 (2008) starring Jim Sturgess with Kate Bosworth and Kevin Spacey. While the plots are entirely different — this is a robbery tale while 21 is a heist movie (yes, it is, and I’ll fight about it) — they both follow a similar formula. Unfortunately, Echo Boomers doesn’t have the same charm and elegance, but tries to make up for it with a modernized narrative about the unfair economy facing millenials. That premise eventually falls apart and the story reverts to a classic tale of greed and recklessness. Echo Boomers successfully manages to stay on the right side of realism while embelishing little things and maintaining a decent pace that doesn’t drag on. Echo Boomers is nowhere near a must-see, but it’s competent enough that I don’t feel bad about spending 90 minutes on it, which still sets it above the average for 2020.
Monsoon
Drama | Streaming: November 13 | IMDb
Starring: Henry Golding, Parker Sawyers, David Tran
Kit returns to Ho Chi Minh City for the first time since he was six years old when his family fled the country in the aftermath of the Vietnam-American War. Struggling to make sense of himself in a city he’s no longer familiar with, he embarks on a personal journey across the country that opens up the possibility for friendship, love, and happiness.
I Am Greta
Documentary, Biography | Streaming: November 13 | IMDb
Starring: Greta Thunberg, Malena Ernman, António Guterres, Arnold Schwarzenegger
Documentary follows teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg on her international crusade to get people to listen to scientists about the world’s environmental problems.
Maybe Next Year
Documentary, Sport | Streaming: November 10 | IMDb
Starring: Shirley Dash, Barry Vagnoni, Bryant Moreland
Maybe Next Year is a documentary film about the improbable 2017 season of the Philadelphia Eagles, and the best fans in the NFL.
Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds
Documentary | Streaming: November 13 | IMDb
Starring: Werner Herzog, Jan Braly Kihle, Jon Larsen
A new documentary from Werner Herzog about meteors and comets and their influence on ancient religions and other cultural and physical impacts they’ve had on Earth.
November 6
The Informer
Crime, Drama, Thriller | Streaming: November 6 | IMDb
Starring: Joel Kinnaman, Rosamund Pike, Common
Pete Koslow is a former special operations soldier working as an informant for the FBI to help dismantle the Polish mafia’s drug trade in New York. But when the FBI’s operation goes wrong, resulting in the death of an undercover NYPD cop, Pete is coerced into returning to Bale Hill, the prison he previously served time in for manslaughter, to take down the cartel from the inside.
Kindred
Drama, Horror, Mystery | Streaming: November 6 | IMDb
Starring: Jack Lowden, Tamara Lawrance, Fiona Shaw, Edward Holcroft, Joe Marcantonio
When her boyfriend Ben suddenly dies in an accident, mother-to-be Charlotte collapses upon receiving the news. She wakes up in Ben’s family home, a crumbling old manor house in the middle of nowhere with Ben’soverbearing mother, Margaret, and his controlling stepbrother, Thomas. They are determined to care for her, at least until the baby arrives. Grief stricken and increasingly haunted by visions possibly brought on by the pregnancy, Charlotte accepts their help. But as the days go by she begins to doubt their intentions and her suspicions grow. Are they drugging her and keeping her captive, with the aim of taking her unborn baby? As her visions intensify and the haze of lies grows, Charlotte decides that her only option is to break free from this family once and for all – but at what cost?
Triggered
Thriller, Action, Horror, Teen | Streaming: November 6 | IMDb
Starring: David D. Jones, Sean Cameron Michael, Alastair Orr, Liesl Ahlers, Reine Swart
Nine friends, all harboring a dark secret, go camping in the woods. After a wild night of partying, they wake up with suicide bombs strapped to their chests, all with varying times on their countdown clocks. They decide to work out how to disarm the bombs or find help – until they discover they can ‘take’ one another’s time by killing each other.
The Dark and the Wicked
Horror | Streaming: November 6 | IMDb
Starring: Marin Ireland, Michael Abbott Jr. and Xander Berkeley
On a secluded farm, a man is slowly dying. Bedridden and fighting through his final breaths, his wife is slowly succumbing to overwhelming grief. To help their mother and say goodbye to their father, siblings Louise (Marin Ireland) and Michael (Michael Abbott Jr.) return to their family farm. It doesn’t take long for them to see that something’s wrong with mom, though—something more than her heavy sorrow. Gradually, as their own grief mounts, Louise and Michael begin suffering from a darkness similar to their mother’s, marked by waking nightmares and a growing sense that something evil is taking over their family.
My Dad’s Christmas Date
Comedy | Streaming: November 6 | IMDb
Starring: Roger Aston-Griffiths, Jack Marchetti, Jeremy Piven, Olivia Mai Barrett, M