U.S. Release Date: 2021-12-22
MPAA Rating: "PG"
Genre: Animated/Musical
Director: Garth Jennings
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Taron Egerton, Tori Kelly, Nick Kroll, Scarlett Johansson, Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Bono
The triumphant ending almost makes up for an otherwise uninvolving and derivative story.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-12-17
MPAA Rating: "R" (Sexual Content, Profanity, Disturbing Themes)
Genre: Drama
Director: Lauren Hadaway
Cast: Isabelle Fuhrman, Amy Forsyth, Dilone, Jonathan Cherry, Kate Drummond
The escapism on offer here isn’t of a light and airy nature but instead provides insight into the darker, obsessive aspects of the human experience.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-12-17
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Violence, Profanity)
Genre: Action/Adventure
Director: Jon Watts
Cast: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Benedict Cumberbatch, Willem Dafoe, Jamie Foxx, Alfred Molina, Thomas Haden Church, Rhys Ifans, Jon Favreau, Marisa Tomei, Benedict Wong, J.K. Simmons, Andrew Garfield, Tobey Maguire
The supercharged CGI effects are fine and the battles are eye-popping, but the character interactions make "No Way Home" work.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-12-17
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Violence, Profanity)
Genre: Drama/Musical
Director: Joe Wright
Cast: Peter Dinklage, Haley Bennett, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Ben Mendelsohn, Bashir Salahuddin
A handsome looking period piece with too many mediocre songs and a major downer of an ending.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-12-17
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Profanity, Sexual Content, Nudity)
Genre: Thriller
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Rooney Mara, Cate Blanchett, Richard Jenkins, Willem Dafoe, Toni Collette, David Strathairn, Ron Perlman, Holt McCallany
The end result is unsettling and reminiscent of what Hitchcock might have done with this premise.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-12-15
MPAA Rating: "R" (Sexual Content, Nudity, Profanity, Drugs)
Genre: Drama
Director: Paolo Sorrentino
Cast: Filippo Scotti, Toni Servillo, Teresa Saponangelo, Marlon Joubert, Luisa Ranieri, Renato Carpentieri, Massimiliano Gallo, Betty Pedrazzi
On the whole, this is a charming and at times moving reminder of what it meant to be young in the 1980s.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-12-10
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Violence, Profanity)
Genre: Musical
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Ansel Elgort, Josh Andres Rivera, Corey Stoll, Brian d’Arcy James, Rita Moreno, Mike Faist, David Alvarez, Ariana DeBose, Rachel Zegler, Iris Menas
This is no soulless cash-grab. Spielberg’s "West Side Story" is a resplendent entertainment.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-12-10
MPAA Rating: "R" (Profanity, Sexual Content)
Genre: Drama
Director: Ric Roman Waugh
Cast: Stephan James, Timothy Olyphant, Kristin Chenoweth, David Koechner, Jeffrey Donovan, Andrew Bachelor, Tim Blake Nelson, Lil Rel Howery, Alexander Ludwig, J.K. Simmons, Uzo Aduba
Effective as an ode to cynical realism but it’s uneven at best as a slice of drama.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-12-10
MPAA Rating: "R" (Profanity)
Genre: Drama
Director: Aaron Sorkin
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, Nina Arianda, J.K. Simmons, Alia Shawkat, Jake Lacy, Tony Hale
It’s fascinating to watch the minutia of how the TV show was produced. Many of the details are surprising; unfortunately, the movie’s dramatic elements aren’t as compelling.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-12-03
MPAA Rating: "R" (Sexual Content, Disturbing Images, Nudity)
Genre: Thriller
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Cast: Virginie Efira, Charlotte Rampling, Daphne Patakia, Lambert Wilson, Olivier Rabourdin, Louise Chevillotte
Fascinating, garish, and compelling, "Benedetta" dabbles in some of Verhoeven’s career-long weaknesses while highlighting a great many of his strengths.