By John Corrado

New releases for the week of November 17th, 2023.

Theatrical Releases:

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (Wide Release): Director Francis Lawrence revives the Hunger Games franchise with this adaptation of Suzanne Collins’s prequel novel, and it’s the best in the series since the first two. The film follows a young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) getting involved in the tenth annual Hunger Games as mentor to tribute Lucy Grey Baird (Rachel Zegler), and it’s a well-crafted addition to the franchise. It’s long at 157 minutes, but keeps us engaged through solid performances and some stirring action, as it explores how Snow could rise to become a tyrannical leader. (Full Review)

May December (Limited Release): This latest from director Todd Haynes (Carol) is an “elevated melodrama” that is inherently soapy in nature, but carried by very strong performances from Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore and Charles Melton, who keep it both intriguing and strangely entertaining to watch. Portman stars as Elizabeth Berry, an actress studying to play Gracie (Moore) in a movie, whose creepy, extreme age gap relationship with her husband Joe (Melton) sparked a media frenzy and sent her to jail for years. Opens in limited release, before hitting Netflix on December 1st. (Full Review)

Next Goal Wins (Wide Release): Taika Waititi’s soccer comedy is finally arriving in theatres today after multiple delays and a world premiere at TIFF. The film stars Michael Fassbender as a coach who is brought in to help the American Samoa soccer team rebound after a historic loss. It’s uneven, but still plays as a modestly satisfying underdog sports movie, the type that would have done well in the 1990s or early 2000s. (TIFF 2023 Review)

Trolls Band Together (Wide Release): The third movie in the DreamWorks Trolls franchise brings back Poppy (Anna Kendrick) and Branch (Justin Timberlake) for another musical adventure (that also reunites Timberlake’s boy band NSYNC for an animated reunion). The first two were cute enough, so I’ll probably check this one out at some point. It should do well with the target demo of families.

More Releases: Thanksgiving (Wide), The Stones and Brian Jones (Limited), The Disappearance of Shere Hite (Limited)

Streaming Releases:

Rustin (Netflix): This biopic of gay civil rights leader Bayard Rustin (played by Colman Domingo), who was instrumental in organizing the 1963 March on Washington, arrives on Netflix following a limited run in theatres. It’s an entertaining film that is worth seeing for Domingo’s fiery performance, which should net him some awards recognition. (TIFF 2023 Review)

Dashing Through the Snow (Disney+): This direct-to-streaming Christmas film follows a jaded dad (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges) and his daughter (Madison Skye Validum) as they spend Christmas Eve with a man who claims to be Santa (played by Lil Rel Howery). It’s a mildly watchable if overly familiar holiday comedy that falls thoroughly into the fine enough for what it is category, basically made to be put on in the background during the holidays. (Full Review)

More Releases: Best. Christmas. Ever! (Netflix), Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (Netflix), Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (Apple TV+), Landscape With Invisible Hand (Prime Video)