With Halloween out of the way, the next couple of months are set to be filled with seasonal releases as we head towards the holidays. First out of the gate is Disney's The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, which continues the studio's run of big budget live-action updates of classic fairy tales. This one isn't perhaps an obvious hit in the same way that some of its family releases are--and it's notable that the studio is keeping Mary Poppins Returns for nearer Christmas. But with an all-star cast and the wide family appeal of Disney, don't count it out to do very well across the globe.
The recent success of A Star is Born has shown that there is a big market for music-led dramas, and there is plenty of interest in the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, which is already out in the UK and opens in the US this Friday. The reviews have been mixed, but Queen's music remains hugely popular across several generations and there is continued fascination with frontman Freddie Mercury.
The week's other releases include the rap battle satire Bodied in the US and the anime fantasy Mirai, which arrives in UK theaters, ahead of a US release later this month. And cinema buffs will want to make sure they check out The Other Side of the Wind, the legendary final movie from Orson Welles that has been completed after more than 40 years and makes its debut on Netflix. And of course, this being the start of the month, Netflix will also be packed with content that’s new to the service, so expect to find some older movie must-sees in there too. So here's the week's new releases in the both the US and UK, in both theaters and on streaming...
Bohemian Rhapsody
See it in US theaters on November 2
This biopic of Queen legend Freddie Mercury was in development for many years, with various directors and stars attached to the project. Even when the cameras started rolling the problems didn't stop--director Bryan Singer was fired by the studio during production, to be replaced by British filmmaker Dexter Fletcher. But the movie is now finished and hits theaters on Friday. Mr. Robot star Rami Malek takes on the role of the iconic frontman, and it charts the rise of the band through the '70s to their world-conquering success in the '80s. It's produced by the band, and reviews have suggested that it's more a celebration of the music than a look at the darker side of Mercury's life. But it's an absolute must-see for Queen fans.
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
See it in US and UK theaters on November 2
Disney's series of live-action fairy tale adaptations has proven to be box office gold over the past few years, and The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is the studio's latest offering. It's based on the classic 19th century fairytale and stars Keira Knightley, Helen Mirren, and Morgan Freeman, with Mackenzie Foy in the lead role as Clara, a young girl who is pulled into a mysterious, magical world on Christmas Eve. The title might not be as recognisable as The Jungle Book or Beauty and the Beast, but box office predictions are more modest than those commercial smashes.
Bodied
See it in US theaters on November 2
Directed by acclaimed music video director Joseph Kahn and produced by Eminem, this rap-battle satire has picked up rave reviews at a variety of festival screenings over the past year. It focuses on a graduate student who is writing a thesis on the world of competitive rapping and decides to start entering some of these verbally-bruising contests himself. There are obvious similarities to the Eminem-starring 8 Mile, but Kahn's movie is more interested in addressing issues of race, prejudice, and cultural appropriation. If you've seen Kahn's lavish Taylor Swift videos or his previous movie, the insane horror comedy Detention, you'll know that he's got an incredible visual style. And, of course, it has a killer soundtrack.
Nobody's Fool
See it in US theaters on November 2
The critics might hate his movies, but there's no denying the huge popularity of Tyler Perry. For more than a decade, the writer/director/producer/actor has released a steady stream of comedies, many of them featuring Perry as Madea, an elderly woman who takes no nonsense from anyone. Nobody's Fool is his latest movie, and while Perry stays behind the camera this time, it does star Tiffany Haddish, the lead of last year's Girl's Trip and the current comedy hit Night School. Haddish plays a recently-paroled woman who helps her straight-laced sister get revenge on a man who wronged her. It won't be subtle, but it might be funny.
Prospect
See it in US theaters on November 2
Proof that you don't need a huge budget to produce gripping, thought-provoking sci-fi, Prospect hits theaters on the back of rave reviews from its various festival showings. The film follows a father and his teenage daughter who have won a contract to mine a deposit of rare gems on an alien moon, but end up facing a mysterious stranger who will stop at nothing to get the prize himself. The cast includes star Pedro Pascal (Narcos, Game of Thrones) and Sophie Thatcher (The Exorcist), and the clear western influence makes it one of the year's most intriguing sci-fi titles.
Boy Erased
See it in US theaters on November 2
As an actor, Joel Edgerton is known for movies such as Red Sparrow, Bright, and Midnight Special, but he is also emerging as a talented director too. Following 2016's dark thriller The Gift, we have the drama Boy Erased. Based on Garrard Conley's autobiographical memoir of the same name, the impressive cast features Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe as a married couple who discover that their teenage son, Jared (Lady Bird's Lucas Hedges), is gay. They pressure him into attending a gay conversion therapy programme, which puts him in conflict with the head therapist (Edgerton). Conley's book has been acclaimed for the sensitive, powerful way it approaches its controversial subject matter, and Edgerton's movie looks set to do much the same.
Mirai
See it in UK theaters on November 2
Anime director Mamoru Hosoda is best known for the first two movies in the Digimon series in the early 2000s, as well as the hugely successful films Summer Wars and The Boy and the Beast. Mirai is his latest release, and like his other movies, it combines a heartfelt family story with outlandish fantasy elements. It focuses on a small boy named Kun who finds a magical garden and meets the teenage version of his as-yet-unborn sister Mirai. The movie hasn't actually done as well at the Japanese box office as Hosoda's previous films, but the huge recent success of Your Name proved that there is still a huge appetite for this type of anime in the West, and it looks absolutely charming.
The Other Side of the Wind
See it on Netflix on November 2
Legendary Citizen Kane director Orson Welles spent much of the later part of his life living in Europe after his Hollywood career came to an end. His final movie, The Other Side of the Wind, was shot over the course of six years, between 1970 and 1976, and legal issues meant that it was still unfinished when he died in 1986. Thanks to Netflix's deep pockets, the movie has now been finished with the help of Welles' rough cuts and his editing notes. It's a Hollywood satire that stars two other legendary directors, John Huston and Peter Bogdanovich, and is a strange, experimental movie that is perhaps of more interest as a legendary "lost" film than an easy viewing experience. Nevertheless, movie buffs will want to check it out, together with the accompanying making-of documentary They'll Love Me When I'm Dead, which also hits Netflix this Friday.
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