U.S. Release Date: 2023-12-15
MPAA Rating: "PG"
Genre: Musical/Fantasy
Director: Paul King
Cast: Timothee Chalamet, Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Paterson Joseph, Jim Carter, Tom Davis, Olivia Colman, Hugh Grant, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Matt Lucas, Matthew Bayton
"Wonka" is a fun and imaginative family film – certainly better than one might expect from a production crassly viewed by some as a "cash grab."
U.S. Release Date: 2023-11-22
MPAA Rating: "R" (Profanity, Sexual Content, Smoking)
Genre: Drama
Director: Bradley Cooper
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Carey Mulligan, Matt Bomer, Sarah Silverman, Tim Rogan, Maya Hawke
This telling of the life story of Leonard Bernstein contains moments of cinematic passion and poetry that make it worth seeing even if specific choices create an underlying sense of frustration.
U.S. Release Date: 2023-12-22
MPAA Rating: "R" (Profanity, Violence, Sexual Content)
Genre: Drama
Director: Sean Durkin
Cast: Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, Stanley Simmons, Holt McCallany, Maura Tierney, Lily James
This is an American tragedy. Although the participants may be famous, the demons they fight in their intimate moments are familiar and relatable.
U.S. Release Date: 2023-12-25
MPAA Rating: "R" (Profanity, Sexual Content, Gruesome Images)
Genre: Drama
Director: Michael Mann
Cast: Adam Driver, Shailene Woodley, Penelope Cruz, Gabriel Leone, Jack O’Connell, Sarah Gadon
As a well-acted standard-order bio-pic, "Ferrari" delivers but as something more, it falls short.
U.S. Release Date: 2023-12-25
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Profanity)
Genre: Drama
Director: George Clooney
Cast: Joel Edgerton, Callum Turner, Peter Guinness, Sam Strike, Thomas Elms, Jack Mulhern, Luke Slattery, Bruce Herbelin-Earle, Wil Coban, Thomas Stephen Varey, Joel Phillimore, Hadley Robinson
Sentimental without being saccharine, this based-on-history account offers likeable characters in a well-structured narrative.
U.S. Release Date: 2023-12-25
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Profanity, Violence, Sexual Content)
Genre: Musical/Drama
Director: Blitz Bazawule
Cast: Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, Phylicia Pearl Mpasi, Halle Bailey, Ciara, Gabriella Wison ‘H.E.R.’, David Alan Grier, Louis Gossett Jr.
This is high-octane showmanship but one can be justified wondering whether that represents the best choice for this material.
U.S. Release Date: 2023-12-22
MPAA Rating: "R" (Sexual Content, Profanity, Drugs)
Genre: Drama/Fantasy
Director: Andrew Haigh
Cast: Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Jamie Bell, Claire Foy
Although aspects have a cheesy flavor, the raw honesty of the best moments propel the narrative through its less credible pitstops.
U.S. Release Date: 2024-03-15
MPAA Rating: "PG"
Genre: Drama
Director: James Hawes
Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Johnny Flynn, Helena Bonham Carter, Lena Olin, Jonathan Pryce, Ziggy Heath, Ramola Garai, Alex Sharp, Samantha Spiro, Juliana Moska
Tells a story in a workmanlike fashion that allows viewers to learn more about the central figure and why his life is deserving of a big-screen treatment.