Caught in the throes of the polar vortex that’s ravaging the East Coast, or perhaps just need a fun film to see with the family this holiday weekend? Well, once you’ve emerged from your food coma, there are plenty of options at your local cinema to indulge in. From Oscar-worthy fare like Foxcatcher, starring Steve Carell as a schizophrenic wrestling Svengali, to the coolest vampire film in ages, here are all the movies to see (or skip) over Thanksgiving.
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Directed by biopic expert Bennett Miller, the acclaimed helmer of Capote and Moneyball, this ripped-from-the-headlines film tells the bizarre tale of Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum), an Olympic champion wrestler who comes under the wing of John du Pont (Steve Carell), a multimillionaire “coach”—and paranoid-schizophrenic. As their relationship becomes more strained, Mark’s older brother, Dave (Mark Ruffalo), steps in to guide his brother, leading a jealous du Pont to gun him down. Miller’s film provides a disturbing—yet fascinating— commentary on the American Dream, and its demented antagonist will get under your skin. All three leads, in particular Tatum, turn in haunting, ace performances.
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The first Horrible Bosses film, released in 2011, was a left-field box office hit, grossing over $200 million worldwide thanks in large part to its wacky performances by Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, and Colin Farrell as a trio of asshole overlords. So naturally, the powers that be decided to crank out a sequel. And yes, it’s neutered, lazy, and unnecessary. The trio of tormented pals from the first flick (Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day) once again find themselves being terrorized by a greedy bastard (Christoph Waltz), so they decide to kidnap his son (Chris Pine) and hold him for ransom. Aside from some fun cameos, it really just regurgitates many of the same jokes from the first film, almost all of which fall flat. If it’s a horrible boss you’re after, check out Foxcatcher.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Directed by Francis Lawrence, who helmed the impressive Catching Fire, the third (and penultimate) film in the Hunger Games franchise finds itself preciously low on action, since Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) shattered them to pieces in the Third Quarter Quell. But it makes up for it in intrigue. When we're introduced to Katniss, she's suffering from PTSD and pining for the worthless Peeta, who's been captured and reprogrammed by The Capitol. A rebel uprising is brewing, so the leaders of District 13, led by President Coin (Julianne Moore) and her consigliere, Plutarch Heavensbee (the late Philip Seymour Hoffman), decide to stoke the flames by creating propaganda videos starring their "Mockingjay," Katniss. President Snow (Donald Sutherland) and The Capitol counter them with videos of a brainwashed Peeta speaking out against rebellion. While the action is limited, the film is propped up by stellar turns from Moore as a Hillary Clinton-esque leader, the always wonderful Elizabeth Banks, and of course Jennifer Lawrence, who can apparently do no wrong.
The Farrelly Brothers have returned with a sequel to their hilarious 1994 comedy that helped launch Jim Carrey to superstardom, and showcased the comedic stylings of Jeff Daniels. So, the dimwitted duo of Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne are back. This time, they embark on a journey to find Harry's long-lost daughter with Fraida Felcher (Kathleen Turner), who was mentioned in the first film. There are some fun cameos (Bill Murray! Sea Bass!), but this sequel is really too little too late, and feels like a desperate money-grab on the part of the Farrelly Brothers and Carrey, who haven't had a hit in quite some time.
Mortem Tyldum's drama The Imitation Game is, first and foremost, an important historical corrective. It tells the story of Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch), the genius cryptanalyst who was tasked by Winston Churchill to crack the Nazi's "impenetrable" Enigma code during WWII. After the war and despite his hero status, however, Turing found himself persecuted for his homosexuality, and was forced to choose between jail, or chemical castration. He chose the later, and eventually took his own life. Turing's is a name that isn't given much real estate in the history books, which is a shame, since Churchill himself admitted he made the single biggest contribution to the allied effort in cracking Enigma. And Cumberbatch delivers a poignant performance as the beleaguered, lonely, misunderstood genius.
Shia LaBeouf is, believe it or not, the best thing about David Ayer's ultraviolent WWII drama Fury. Other than that, this flick about a tank squadron stuck behind enemy lines is tone-deaf, and pointless. If it's a violent, revisionist WWII popcorn movie you're after, then check out Quentin Tarantino's hyper-stylized and terribly funny Inglorious Basterds, also starring Brad Pitt. It's on Netflix.
Jon Stewart's three-month hiatus from hosting The Daily Show not only led to the rise of John Oliver, but also resulted in this fine, well-intentioned directorial debut. Back in 2009, Newsweek correspondent Maziar Bahari was imprisoned in Tehran after covering the Iran elections. As evidence, his captors played a Daily Show clip of Jason Jones interviewing Bahari and asking him if he was a spy (satire, of course). In the film, Bahari is played by Gael Garcia Bernal who, along with his brutal, schizophrenic interrogator, dubbed "Rosewater" for his fragrance of choice (Kim Bodnia), deliver gripping turns in this paean to journalism, and democracy.
Laura Poitras was one of the journalists, along with Glenn Greenwald, who broke the news that the NSA was spying on everyone. They did so with the help of NSA contractor (and whistleblower) Edward Snowden, who provided them with heaps of classified documents. And, believe it or not, Poitras caught the entire ordeal on film, from their first (and last) meetings with Snowden in Hong Kong to a series of courtrooms. This is a tremendously enthralling documentary that captures a turning point in our nation's history, and provides an intimate look at the mysterious Snowden. It is, without question, the frontrunner for the Best Documentary Oscar. See this film.
Gabe Polsky's eye-opening documentary chronicles the Soviet hockey team's dominance of ice hockey during the Cold War, as seen through the eyes of its most decorated player, Slava Fetisov. Even if you're not a hockey fan, Polsky's film provides a gripping account of Soviet politics at the time, since their national team was largely controlled by the KGB and forced many of its player-heroes to endure abusive treatment to achieve glory, as well as the current influx of Russian hockey players in the NHL, all of whom followed in the wake of Fetisov.
Ana Lily Amirpour's debut feature has been described as "the first Iranian vampire western." And it is an Iranian film, in Persian, that follows a lonesome vampire who stalks the streets of a fictional Iranian undeworld (dubbed "Bad City") at night. The movie is shot in gorgeous black-and-white, and is a triumph of atmosphere. It also happens to be the best vampire film since the Swedish drama Let the Right One In.
I'm not even going to try to explain it to you in this space. What I will say is that Christopher Nolan's film is a technical marvel, looks stunning, and boasts some award-caliber performances courtesy of Matthew McConaughey as a farmer-cum-astronaut tasked with leading an expedition through a wormhole to find a habitable planet and save humanity, as well as Anne Hathaway as his co-pilot. You'll need to see it at least twice to wrap your head around some of the ideas in play, but it's a fascinating parable nonetheless that explores the love a father has for his daughter. See it on the biggest IMAX screen you can for maximum impact.
