by Emily Nagle
Happy November, movie lovers! The most popular streaming services are expanding their catalogues, with hundreds of new additions now available to view. And with Thanksgiving only a few weeks away, there’s an ample selection of content for the whole family!
Popular films rolling out to Netflix this month include “The Pink Panther” and its sequel, “Dennis the Menace“, and “The Boxtrolls” (November 23). Fun watch-together shows that are new or returning to the platform include season 6 of “Gabby’s Dollhouse”, the second “Teletubbies” reboot (November 14), and “The Cuphead Show!: Part 3” (November 18).
HBO Max will be receiving the entire “Star Trek” and “Harry Potter” film series, in addition to classic favorites like “Mr. Mom”, “Caddyshack”, and “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”. Exclusive programs returning or premiering this month include season 53 of “Sesame Street” (November 3), “Say Hey, Willie Mays!” (November 8), and “Love, Lizzo” (November 24).
Disney+ has a slew of exciting premieres slated for this month, including the “Zootopia+” shorts (November 9) and “Disenchanted” (November 18), as well as the season finale to “Andor” (November 23). On November 16, Disney+ will be receiving limited series “The Santa Clauses”, a follow-up to the popular “The Santa Clause” holiday film series. The miniseries will chronicle Scott Calvin’s search for a new Santa as well as transitioning to life outside of the North Pole.
Amazon Prime Video is adding a variety of movies for every taste, from horror flicks like “Jacob’s Ladder” and “The Cabin in the Woods” (November 3) to action-packed thrillers like “Hitman” and its sequel, in addition to “The Expendables” film series. It’s also adding a slew of original films, including “My Policeman” (November 4), “The English” (November 11), and “The People We Hate at the Wedding” (November 18).
by Emily Nagle
Top 5 Highest Grossing Films for October 21 – October 23, 2022
5. Halloween Ends ($3.8 million)
4. Smile ($5 million)
3. Prey for the Devil ($7 million)
2. Ticket to Paradise ($10 million)
1. Black Adam ($27.7 million)
“Prey for the Devil” met box office predictions for its opening weekend, which estimated it would make $7-8 million worldwide. Despite this, it was met with negative reviews; critics have written that the film has a lackluster, forgettable story and overuses tropes from horror films. Directed by Daniel Stamm, “Prey for the Devil” stars Jacqueline Byers as Sister Ann, a nun who aspires to become the first female exorcist, seeking out the training of Father Quinn (Colin Salmon).
by Emily Nagle
Halloweekend is off to a spooky start with The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline director’s latest film Wendell & Wild releasing on Netflix today. This ambitious horror comedy starring Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele boasts brilliant stop-motion visuals in addition to providing a unique look into grief.
Wendell & Wild looks like nothing else that’s come out this year. It’s got quirky, uniquely designed characters – for example, demon brothers Wendell and Wild have contrasting body shapes that are super cartoonish and exaggerated. There’s also parts featuring ghosts and shadows that give an almost mixed-media look to the film, in the sense that they appear digitally drawn into the shots.
In an era of celebrity voice casts, Wendell & Wild gets bonus points for casting authentic voices for such a diverse group of characters; in addition to the main character being a Black teen girl who’s coming to terms with the death of her parents (voiced by Lyric Ross), there’s also a trans boy who makes fast friends with her due to understanding her loneliness (voiced by Sam Zelaya). The best part of the film’s inclusive cast is that it doesn’t make a big deal out of these differences; the characters are treated as people first, and we jump right into their significance to the story.
Although this movie came out right around Halloween, its message about coming to terms with trauma and grief will resonate any time of year. If you’re a sucker for creative animation – particularly if you’re a fan of eerie stop-motion movies in the same realm as Coraline and The Corpse Bride – or just love all things scary, then Wendell & Wild is the perfect film to satisfy your creepiness craving!
Wendell & Wild is available to stream now on Netflix.
by Emily Nagle
Filmmaker James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy, The Suicide Squad) has been appointed head of DC Studios, making him in charge of all future DC film and television projects. He is joined by producer Peter Safran (Aquaman, Shazam!).
As co-chairmen and CEOs of DC Studios, the two will oversee all of WarnerMedia’s films and shows under the DC umbrella. Having worked with Marvel before on projects including the two Guardians of the Galaxy films, Gunn joined DC to help bring The Suicide Squad to theaters and Peacemaker to small screens across the world.
Warner Bros. Discovery stated in a press release that Gunn and Safran will oversee “the overall creative direction of the DC Universe across film, TV, and animation under a single banner”, as well as “spearhead the development and execution of a long-term plan for the many properties licensed from DC Comics, focused on continuing the tradition of high-quality storytelling for the DC Universe across audio-visual media, while building a sustainable growth business out of the iconic franchise.”
DC’s upcoming projects include Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, The Flash, and Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
by Emily Nagle
Top 5 Highest Grossing Films for October 21 – October 23, 2022
5. Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile ($4.2 million)
4. Halloween Ends ($8 million)
3. Smile ($8.4 million)
2. Ticket to Paradise ($16.5 million)
1. Black Adam ($67 million)
This past weekend was an exciting one for moviegoers, with two new releases becoming available in theaters. The top-grossing film for the weekend was “Black Adam”, based on the character created by DC Comics. Although it made the number-one spot by a landslide, it has mixed reviews; viewers found that while stars Dwayne Johnson and Pierce Brosnan gave excellent performances, the writing for the eleventh film in the DC Extended Universe was “a little thin in terms of story”.
Coming into second place was “Ticket to Paradise”, which stars George Clooney and Julia Roberts as a divorced couple that reconnects to travel to Bali for the purpose of sabotaging their daughter’s (Kaitlyn Dever) wedding. While it met opening weekend predictions, critics gave it mixed reviews due to a lackluster story that’s described by Sean Collier from Pittsburgh Magazine as, “sort of a Mamma Mia, without ABBA to liven things up.”
by Emily Nagle
Just two days before the “House of the Dragon” season 1 finale premieres on HBO and HBO Max, the episode has been leaked online.
HBO is “disappointed” and will be “aggressively monitoring” the Internet to ensure that copies of the episode stop circulating. An HBO spokesperson said of the matter, “This unlawful action has disrupted the viewing experience for loyal fans of the show, who will get to see a pristine version of the episode when it premieres Sunday on HBO and HBO Max, where it will stream exclusively in 4K.”
They added that the leak apparently came from a distribution partner in Europe, the Middle East or Africa. While this is the first time “House of the Dragon” has been leaked, its predecessor “Game of Thrones” often fell victim to piracy, getting leaked on social media as well as through distribution partners like DirecTV Now.
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