With recent weeks' box office receipts currently in the doldrums, competing with Super Bowl weekend for Hollywood's lowest take of 2023, I reckoned we ought to take a look ahead at what's in store on the silver screen throughout the fall and winter months. Since there's so much to talk about, this article is part one.
With the economy being what it is, the only way most people approach discretionary purchases now is by checking their pocketbooks (or under their sofa cushions). In advance, I realize one of the typical reactions to a story like this is: But going to the movies is so expensive! Let me pass along a few tips I use to stay frugal.
The idea that most people will think of automatically is to attend a matinee showtime. But in recent years, I've found that many chains are phasing out a low-cost matinee rate. Sure, it might read "matinee" on the listing, but the price is closing in on double-digits.
You can also check out the theaters in your area that offer $5 movies on Tuesday, either with or without a membership, What I've found is that the membership level needed, at least in the case of major chain AMC, is the free one, anyway. My other suggestion is to look at second-run theaters (or if you're lucky enough to have one in your area, a drive-in).
Okay, let's dive into the preview!
Let's Start With An Awards Season Darling
One quirky film that you're probably going to hear a lot about leading up to awards season is "Poor Things," director Yorgos Lanthimos' follow-up to 2018's "The Favorite." The latter tied for most nominations with "Roma" at the 2019 Academy Awards (10). It took home just one, for Lead Actress Olivia Coleman. Emma Stone was also nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category.
Based on early buzz and the trailer for the movie (which I'm only linking; it's not very family-friendly), the film is Oscar bait for Stone once again, who plays a "Bride of Frankenstein"-like character created by scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). It's worth noting that Stone is one of the producers. You'll quickly see from this brief synopsis that my inclusion of it is more of a red flag than a recommendation to check it out:
It’s still defiantly odd, centered on Emma Stone’s Bella, a woman in late 19th century London who was resurrected from death and is now rapidly growing up all over again, being raised by a grotesquely scarred mad scientist she calls God (Willem Dafoe) — but without any of the angst that society typically thrusts on women, particularly around sex.
You just know the Left will parade a movie like this around as visibly as possible. Proving how quirky this director and his process is -- reportedly, while the film's technical team was finishing up post-production on "Poor Things," Lanthimos and many of the actors in the movie shot a whole other movie (called "And").
"Poor Things" arrives in theatres on December 8th.
Now, Variety's main awards season editor, Clayton Davis has put out a list of stand-out picks for Best Actor at the 2024 Academy Awards. It includes some of the films I'm most looking forward to seeing and reviewing in these pages. (On the next part of this series, I'll go heavy on the ladies looking to take home Oscars, I promise.)
A24 has been an amazing supporter of creative indie filmmakers over the past few years. Just one example: I highlighted the Safdie brothers' "Uncut Gems" with Adam Sandler in a previous piece.
Now, Nicolas Cage stars in one of their new flicks, director Kristoffer Borgli's "Dream Scenario":
This darkly comedic horror film from Oslo-born director Borgli had audiences laughing so hard at the recent Middleburg Film Festival in Virginia that it could have registered as a medium-sized earthquake. Cage is nearly unrecognizable as balding, pudgy, unpublished evolutionary biology professor and dad Paul Matthews, whom no one thinks twice about — until he becomes an overnight celebrity after appearing in millions of people’s dreams. Just sort of strolling through, or leaf-peeping in the background. Until, inevitably, the dreams become true nightmares.
Apparently, the movie is a mediation on celebrity, "....fame and cancel culture." The description sort of makes me think of "The Truman Show" -- sort of. We'll see what Cage and Borgli come up with. "Dream Scenario" appears on the big screen starting Nov. 10.
"Dumb Money” got my attention because it stars Paul Dano, who has blown me away in recent work like "Love & Mercy" and "The Fabelmans." It was shown as a trailer before "Oppenheimer" when I saw it in the theater, which tells you someone decided to put money into standing behind the movie. Reviews of the film are generally positive, too, and it's currently playing in theatre. ABC's Peter Travers wrote a glowing review that yields a helpful capsule of "Dumb Money"s ripped-from-the-headlines plot:
What's not to like? Based on Ben Mezrich's nonfiction book "The Antisocial Network," the film starts during the pandemic winter of 2021 when small-time financial analyst Keith Gill, played with mild manner and killer intuition by a thoroughly invested Paul Dano ("The Fabelmans"), takes a small bet on GameStop, a retail franchise that sells video games in shopping malls.
The wolves of Wall Street, represented by Gabe Plotkin (a tightly coiled Seth Rogen), sold the stock short, thinking GameStop was headed for bankruptcy and that Gill, a headband-wearing Reddit influencer and YouTube sensation making calls from his basement as Roaring Kitty, was leading a "dumb money" expedition to nowhere.
"Dumb Money" is a David and Goliath story for our time -- meaning David goes from rags to riches before Goliath regains the edge -- directed by Craig Gillespie, a wizard of mischief whose "I, Tonya" also held up a mirror to the class divide in America....
Dumb Money" is currently in theaters. Here's the trailer, and a longer list of the cast members:
What do you all think of the trailer for DUMB MONEY starring Paul Dano, Pete Davidson, Nick Offerman, Vincent D’Onofrio Anthony Ramos, Sebastian Stan, Shailene Woodley & Seth Rogen?
— Matt Neglia @AFI Fest (@NextBestPicture) June 22, 2023
Coming to theaters on September 22nd #FilmTwitter pic.twitter.com/g0oyQbQqWh
Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins co-stars as Sigmund Freud in "Freud’s Last Session," along with Matthew Good. Good, who plays C.S. Lewis here, is no slouch in the awards season accolades department, though. He received an Emmy and SAG (Screen Actors Guild) nomination for his work in "The Imitation Game" and on Netflix's "The Crown" series, respectively.
Here's how Sony Pictures Classics describes the movie:
On the eve of the Second World War, two of the greatest minds on the twentieth century, C.S. LEWIS and SIGMUND FREUD converge for their own personal battle over the existence of God. FREUD’S LAST SESSION interweaves the lives of Freud and Lewis, past, present, and through fantasy, bursting from the confines of Freud’s study on a dynamic journey.
I have a feeling there will be more than a few readers interested in this one!
While a nationwide release date hasn't been announced yet for the Hopkins picture, it premieres at the AFI 2023 Fest on Friday and then gets a limited release starting December 22.
"The Great Escaper" sees Michael Caine playing a WWII veteran living in a nursing home who "escapes" to attend one final reunion with his buddies. This film was based on a true story. Caine said in a recent interview that "Escaper" will likely be his final film:
I am bloody 90 now, and I can’t walk properly and all that. I sort of am retired now.
I suggest keeping an eye on this one, since who doesn't love Caine? It was released in the UK earlier in October but so far, the producers haven't yet announced a U.S. release date for the movie. You can watch the trailer below:
A Trailer for the late great GLENDA JACKSON’s final film, co-starring 90yr old MICHAEL CAINE.
— Michael Warburton (@MichaelWarbur17) August 28, 2023
Two British movie giants.
THE GREAT ESCAPER (2023)
Opens October 6th. pic.twitter.com/LZ7sjMVULG
Martin Scorsese's new movie is also based on a true story and adapted from the book of the same name, "Killers of the Flower Moon." The historical backdrop tells the story of the deadly conflict that sprang up between the Osage Indian tribe of Oklahoma and ruthless speculators when oil was discovered on Osage land in the 1920s. Both Leonardo Dicaprio and Lily Gladstone, who star in the film, are expected to be favorites for the major awards this time.
At first, one story about the making of the film made me nervous about seeing it, though -- despite it being directed and produced by a filmmaker I respect so much. Part of the promotion for the film includes quotes from an interview with Leonardo Dicaprio on his suggestions to Scorsese in the screenwriting phase of production. They changed the point of view characters from the book. But since the activist left has roused its usual complaints of a movie about historical events being "too white," my mind rests at ease. I'll go see the movie soon.
There's also this compelling counternarrative, a video that shows Osage tribe members celebrating at the movie's premiere and praising the even-handed way the filmmaker portrayed their people. It's likely most of those bashing it haven't bothered to see the movie:
Members of Native American tribe Osage Nation took center stage at Martin Scorsese's film premiere 'Killers of the Flower Moon' pic.twitter.com/3BreHspNHp
— Reuters Showbiz (@ReutersShowbiz) October 18, 2023
Notice also that Scorsese refers to the importance of teaching young people about the Holocaust. There's a reason he's one of the few people who continues to make lasting, relevant cinema today.
"Killers of the Flower Moon" opened Friday, October 20. You can watch the trailer below:
In addition to these gentlemen (and ladies), there's Cillian Murphy and his electric performance as the lead in "Oppenheimer." It's a movie that needs to be seen more than once in the theater. If you missed it, you might get another chance. I'm willing to place a (friendly) wager: the film's producers could -- much like what happened with "Top Gun: Maverick" -- re-release the film to theaters at some point before Oscar nominations roll out.
