Here are some reviews of films coming out at the theater this week as well as others that may be in theaters or newly on home video.
Opening: Nov. 13, 2020
Wide (United States)
Freaky
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Limited (United States)
Ammonite
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: Winslet is extraordinary here, every year of unappreciated hard work writ across her expression, her mannish way of walking the gait of a laborer…Lee’s fashioned a wonderful what-if examination of a little known historical figure
The Climb
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: “The Climb” is not only funny and insightful, but full of cinematic invention, its scenes transitioning on everything from singing gravediggers to pole dancing karaoke to a tracking shot of a dog that takes us from Thanksgiving to Christmas.
Come Away
Charlie Juhl @ Citizen Charlie
- Excerpt: I know most children’s stories are based on sinister myths which dribbled out of spooky German Brothers Grimm forests, but it’s perplexing to see both Neverland and Wonderland stand upon the shoulders of one family’s emotional meltdown.
Dreamland
Jared Mobarak @ The Film Stage
- Excerpt: Dreamland isn’t Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, but it is an attractive deviation that skews younger with its coming-of-age nostalgia rising above the plot’s dramatic intrigue.
Fatman
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: There is a subgenre of Christmas movies that intersect with blackly comic horror…Nelms’ film is so off kilter, it doesn’t quite line up with those in either the horror or comedy departments, but should appeal to the same audience.
Wolfwalkers
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: Moore’s work is immediately identifiable…and this one is a beauty, its 17th century architecture comprised of geometric shapes, its forest magically rendered in swirling autumnal shades, its undulating wolf pack moving as one.
2020 Films In Theaters Now In Select Areas
Antebellum
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
First Cow
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
I’m Thinking of Ending Things
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Let Him Go
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Lucky Grandma
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
The Nest
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Rebecca
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
The War with Grandpa
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
2 Hearts
Rick Aragon @ Rick’s Texan Reviews
2 Hearts
James Jay Edwards @ The Big Smoke America
Another Round
Luiz Santiago @ Plano Crítico [Portuguese]
The Boys in the Band
Josh Taylor @ The Forgetful Film Critic
- Excerpt: There’s no doubt the chemistry that these men built together on stage, night after night, gives The Boys in the Band such an authentic, lived-in feel. As each character shows up to the birthday party, we feel an emotional (and sometimes physical) charge as they interact with one another. It doesn’t hurt that the acting talent involved is also incredibly strong.
A Call to Spy
James Jay Edwards @ The Big Smoke America
Collective
Jared Mobarak @ JaredMobarak.com
- Excerpt: So while there’s a lot to commend throughout this must-see journey of integrity amidst corruption, the reality remains that things may already be too late.
The Dark and Wicked
James Jay Edwards @ The Big Smoke America
The Dark and Wicked
Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: Sometimes jump scares can be pretty effective.
The Dark and Wicked
Dennis Schwartz @ Dennis Schwartz Reviews
- Excerpt: The chilling film sets an eerie mood that never relents.
The Devil to Pay
- Excerpt: “You do the work, you reap the rewards”
The Empty Man
Dennis Schwartz @ Dennis Schwartz Reviews
- Excerpt: Empty is an apt way to describe this overlong and sluggish supernatural horror pic.
God Saves the Wings
Herb Alpert Is…
- Excerpt: It just makes you feel happy.
Hillbilly Elegy
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: The 2016 book which many turned to as an explanation for Trumpism has been turned into a contradictory and culturally bland adaptation by “The Shape of Water’s” Vanessa Taylor.
His House
Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: An interesting twist on a haunted house tale.
His House
C.H. Newell @ Father Son Holy Gore
- Excerpt: His House uses its Gothic horrors to illustrate the unfortunate, immense (mental/physical) strength required of refugees by a white world that, more often than not, refuses their humanity.
Honey Bee
Jared Mobarak @ The Film Stage
- Excerpt: [The film isn’t] about piling on the tragedy or sweeping her trauma under the rug for some unrealistic rebirth in the aftermath. It’s about growing, healing, and hope.
I Am Lisa
- Excerpt: one comes away from this deliciously atmospheric, intellectually nimble excursion into lycanthropy, wildly entertained and not a little challenged about human nature.
Jungleland
Jared Mobarak @ The Film Stage
- Excerpt: Just because you won’t find any profound revelations, though, doesn’t mean the experience is without merit.
Kindred
Herman Dhaliwal @ Cinema Sanctum
- Excerpt: Despite the clear skill behind the camera and strong performances, there wasn’t much here that I found either enlightening or fresh.
Kindred
Jared Mobarak @ JaredMobarak.com
- Excerpt: [A] shallowness in thematic execution is thus difficult to ignore despite great performances, impeccable production value, and memorable cinematography.
Make Up
Jared Mobarak @ JaredMobarak.com
- Excerpt: Oakley’s decision to render events with an extreme air of uncertainty isn’t out-of-place because they surely feel that way to Ruth. She’s shedding her skin to be reborn.
Mortal
Mortal
Herman Dhaliwal @ Cinema Sanctum
- Excerpt: While a number of aspects can be considered a bit familiar, I like that the film goes out of its way to not go the easy route with the characters, finding as many opportunities for complexity that it can. It’s effective enough with the things it gets right, even if it’s not great enough to transcend its ambitions.
Mortal
Jared Mobarak @ The Film Stage
- Excerpt: Mortal is a fascinating take nonetheless with some cool set pieces and a willingness to increase stakes by killing characters and dealing with the complexity of the aftermath.
On the Rocks
Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: The story goes down smooth but it isn’t intoxicating.
Over the Moon
Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: This animated tale is eclipsed by better films.
Over the Moon
Betty Jo Tucker @ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
- Excerpt: Over the Moon combines animation, music, emotion, comedy and downright humanity into an entertaining film for the entire family.
The Queen’s Gambit
Dennis Schwartz @ Dennis Schwartz Reviews
- Excerpt: A compelling coming-of-age story on chess that explores also how substance abuse has become such a killer in western society.
Saint Frances
Shelagh Rowan-Legg @ ScreenAnarchy
Spiral
James Jay Edwards @ The Big Smoke America
Time
Jared Mobarak @ JaredMobarak.com
- Excerpt: Despite it all, they held onto love. That’s what takes center stage during Garrett Bradley’s poignant snapshot of a family’s perseverance against long odds.
