By John Corrado

New releases for the week of November 22nd, 2024.

Theatrical Releases:

Gladiator II (Wide Release): Ridley Scott’s perhaps bigger if not necessarily better follow up to his Oscar-winning Roman epic Gladiator is a solidly crafted and entertaining legacy sequel. The story this time around focuses on a now-grown Lucius (Paul Mescal), who is being trained by Macrinus (Denzel Washington) to get revenge on General Acacius (Pedro Pascal), and it’s pretty easy to get swept up by the sheer scope of the film. Mescal does good work in the lead, while Washington absolutely steals the show with his commanding screen presence. (Full Review)

Wicked (Wide Release): Director Jon M. Chu (In the Heights) brings the beloved Wizard of Oz-inspired Broadway musical to the screen in this long-awaited film adaptation. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande star as Elphaba and Glinda (roles originally played by Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth) in an origin story of the two witches. Reviews and buzz are solid for this musical (which is Part One of a two-part saga), and I’m excited to see it soon. This also serves as part of a “Glicked” double bill with Gladiator II if you are trying to recreate Barbenheimer.

All We Imagine as Light (Limited Release): This narrative feature debut from filmmaker Payal Kapadia, which was awarded the Grand Prix at Cannes earlier this year, is a touching and very heartfelt slice-of-life portrait of women in modern India. It focuses on the friendship between Prabha (Kani Kusruti) and Anu (Divya Prabha),who work as nurses at a hospital in Mumbai, and features strong performances, some lovely cinematography, and a wonderful musical score. (Full Review)

More Releases: Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin. (Limited)

Streaming Releases:

The Merry Gentleman (Netflix): If Magic Mike was a Hallmark Christmas movie, it might look something like this week’s newest Netflix Christmas movie. Britt Robertson stars as a New York dancer who goes back to her hometown for Christmas, and tries to save the family tavern by staging an all-male dance revue for the holidays. Chad Michael Murray is the local handyman that she casts in the show (mainly so he can take his shirt off). It plays out exactly how you expect, and is enjoyable enough as guilty pleasure viewing for the holiday season.

Blitz (Apple TV+): Steve McQueen’s World War II drama is making its streaming debut after a brief two week run in theatres. The film is set in London during the air raids, and focuses on the 9-year-old George (Elliott Heffernan) and his mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan). When George runs away, he embarks on an adventure through war-torn London trying to get home, as Rita is left trying to find her missing son. It’s a decent if narratively uneven drama with some solid technical elements, and a good supporting performance from Ronan.

More Releases: The Piano Lesson (Netflix), Spellbound (Netflix), Joy (Netflix), Cruel Intentions (Prime Video)