By John Corrado

New releases for the week of October 11th, 2024.

Theatrical Releases:

Saturday Night (Wide Release): Jason Reitman’s latest unfolds in the 90 minutes leading up to the first taping of Saturday Night Live at 11:30pm on October 11th, 1975. Gabriel LaBelle leads the excellent cast as a young Lorne Michaels, who tries to get the show’s cast of up-and-coming comic actors ready to go on air. Utilizing a massive, spot-on ensemble cast, Reitman meticulously recreates the frantic, backstage energy of the show through a series of long takes (à la Birdman), set to a propulsive score by Jon Batiste. It’s high-energy filmmaking and a lot of fun. I’ve seen it twice, and am already down for a third viewing. (TIFF 2024 Review)

The Apprentice (Wide Release): Ali Abbasi’s Donald Trump biopic is arriving in theatres a few weeks before the American election, after drawing controversy following its premiere at Cannes earlier this year. It mostly works as a flawed but often surprisingly entertaining look at the relationship between a young Donald Trump (Sebastian Stan) and his mentor Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong), as he rises through the ranks of New York City in the 1970s. It says little if anything new, but features decent performances from Stan and especially Strong, who is uncanny as Cohn. The most surprising thing is that it’s actually a strangely sympathetic portrait of Trump at times (save for one exploitative scene). (Full Review)

Woman of the Hour (Limited Release): Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut tells the true story of a young woman in the 1970s (played by Kendrick), who ended up as a contestant on The Dating Game alongside serial killer Rodney Alcala (a chilling Daniel Zovatto). I actually saw this when it premiered at TIFF in 2023 (where Netflix purchased it for release in the United States, while VVS Films is giving it a theatrical release here in Canada), and it’s worth checking out. It’s a pretty good, well-acted directorial debut for Kendrick that shows promise for her as a filmmaker. (TIFF 2023 Review)

More Releases: Terrifier 3 (Wide), Piece by Piece (Wide), Don’t F**k with Ghosts (Limited)

Streaming Releases:

Uprising (Netflix), Disclaimer (Apple TV+), The Last of the Sea Woman (Apple TV+), Citadel: Diana (Prime Video), Chosen Family (VOD/Digital)