November’s Top Movies

November 5

• Hobbs & Shaw

  Brixton Lorr (Idris Elba) is a cybernetically enhanced soldier who possesses superhuman strength, a brilliant mind and a lethal pathogen that could wipe out half of the world’s population. It’s up to hulking lawman Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and lawless operative Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) to put aside their past differences and work together to prevent the seemingly indestructible Lorr from destroying humanity. Vitals: Director: David Leitch. Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Idris Elba, Vanessa Kirby, Cliff Curtis and Helen Mirren. 2019, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 137 min., Action, Box office gross: $172.234 million, Universal. Extras: Deleted/extended/alternate scenes; “Johnson & Statham: Hobbs & Shaw” featurette; “Progress of a Fight Scene With Director David Leitch”; “Practical Action” fight scenes featurette; “New Friends” featurette; feature commentary with director David Leitch. Blu-ray adds Alternate opening; “The Bad Guy” (Idris Elba) featurette; “The Sister” featurette on Vanessa Kirby as Hattie Shaw, Deckard Shaw’s little sister; “Hobbs’ Family Tree” character piece; “The Matriarch” with Helen Mirren as mother Shaw; “Elevator Action” featurette; “Stunt Show and Tell”; “Keeping It in the Family: A Conversation With Roman and Dwayne”; “Blind Fury grandfather featurette”; “Dwayne and Hobbs: Love at First Bite* about man’s best friend: French Bulldog Hobbs.

• Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

  It’s 1968 in America. Change is blowing in the wind … but seemingly far removed from the unrest in the cities is the small town of Mill Valley, where for generations the shadow of the Bellows family has loomed large. It is in their mansion on the edge of town that Sarah, a young girl with horrible secrets, turned her tortured life into a series of scary stories, written in a book that has transcended time. For a group of teenagers who discover Sarah’s terrifying home, the stories become all too real in this spine-tingling film. The highly anticipated film adaptation of the iconic book series brings the thrills and chills of some of Alvin Schwartz’s scariest stories to life. Produced by Guillermo del Toro, with screen story by Guillermo Del Toro and Patrick Melton & Marcus Dunstan. Vitals: Director: André Øvredal. Stars: Zoe Margaret Colletti, Michael Garza, Dean Norris, Lorraine Toussaint, Austin Zajur, Natalie Ganzhorn. 2019, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 108 min., Horror, Box office gross: $68.170 million, Lionsgate. Extras: “Dark Tales” featurette, “Retro Horror” featurette. Blu-ray adds “The Bellows Construct” featurette, “Creature from the Shadows” featurette, “Mood Reels” featurette, “Behind-the-Scenes Trailers: Set Visits” featurette.

• The Art Of Racing In The Rain

  Based on the best-selling novel by Garth Stein, this heart-warming tale is narrated by a witty and philosophical dog named Enzo (voiced by Kevin Costner). Through his unique insight into the human condition, Enzo helps his owners — race car driver Denny Swift (Milo Ventimiglia), his wife Eve (Amanda Seyfried) and daughter Zoe (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) — navigate life with a refreshing perspective on friendship, family and unconditional love. Vitals: Director: Simon Curtis. Stars: Milo Ventimiglia, Amanda Seyfried, Kevin Costner (voice), Gary Cole, Kathy Baker, Martin Donovan. 2019, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 148 min., Comedy Drama, Box office gross: $26.391 million, Fox. Extras: Audio commentary by director Simon Curtis, five featurettes.

• The Kitchen

  Based on the Vertigo comic book series from DC Entertainment, the film stars Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish and Elisabeth Moss as three 1978 Hell’s Kitchen housewives whose mobster husbands are sent to prison by the FBI. Left with little but a sharp ax to grind, the ladies take the Irish mafia’s matters into their own hands—proving unexpectedly adept at everything from running the rackets to taking out the competition … literally. Vitals: Director: Andrea Berloff. Stars: Melissa McCarthy, Elisabeth Moss, Domhnall Gleeson, Tiffany Haddish, Jeremy Bobb, James Badge Dale, Margo Martindale, Common, Alicia Coppola, Bill Camp, Brian d’Arcy James. 2019, CC, MPAA rating: R, 102 min., Action, Box office gross: $12.180 million, Warner. Extras: “Running Hells Kitchen,” “Taking Over the Neighborhood,” deleted scenes.

 

November 12

• Good Boys

  After being invited to his first kissing party, 12-year-old Max (Jacob Tremblay) panics because he doesn’t know how to kiss. Eager for some pointers, Max and his best friends Thor (Brady Noon) and Lucas (Keith L. Williams) decide to use Max’s dad’s drone — which Max is forbidden to touch — to spy on a teenage couple making out next door. But when things go ridiculously wrong, the drone is destroyed. Desperate to replace it before Max’s dad (Will Forte) gets home, the boys skip school and set off on an odyssey of bad decisions involving some accidentally stolen drugs, frat-house paintball, and running from both the cops and two terrifying teenage girls (Molly Gordon and Midori Francis). Vitals: Director: Gene Stupnitsky. Stars: Jacob Tremblay, Keith L Williams, Brady Noon, Will Forte, Molly Gordon, Lil Rel Howery, Midori Francis. 2019, CC, MPAA rating: R, 89 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $73.622 million, Universal. Extras: Unrated alternate ending; 10 unrated deleted and extended scenes; gag reel; “Boys For Real” casting featurette; “Welcome to Vancouver”; “A Fine Line” featurette on how the film’s stars delivered such colorful dialogue without necessarily knowing what the words meant; “Ask Your Parents” featurette; “Bad Girls” featurette; “Guest Stars” featurette; commentary with director & co-writer Gene Stupnitsky and producer & co-writer Lee Eisenberg.

• The Angry Birds Movie 2

  The flightless angry birds and the scheming green piggies take their beef to the next level in this sequel. When a new threat emerges that puts both Bird and Pig Island in danger, Red (Jason Sudeikis), Chuck (Josh Gad), Bomb (Danny McBride), and Mighty Eagle (Peter Dinklage) recruit Chuck’s sister Silver (Rachel Bloom) and team up with pigs Leonard (Bill Hader), his assistant, Courtney (Awkwafina), and techpig, Garry (Sterling K. Brown), to forge an unsteady truce and form an unlikely super team to save their homes. Vitals: Director: Thurop Van Orman, John Rice. Stars: Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Bill Hader, Danny McBride, Peter Dinklage, Rachel Bloom, Awkwafina, Sterling K. Brown. 2019, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 97 min., Animated Family, Box office gross: $41.544 million, Sony. Extras: All new mini movie “Live Stream”; DIY family fun: “Hangry Birds: Popcorn Balls,” “Smarty Birds: Crafty Volcano” and “Crafty Birds: Pig Snot”; “Bird Watching” at the L.A. Zoo; “Meet The New Birds & Pigs”; “Hatching the Hatchlings”; “Flocking Together: Making The Angry Birds Movie 2”; “Happy Thanks-pigging”; “Jingle Birds: A Holiday Song From The Cast of Angry Birds 2.”

• The Farewell

  After learning that her family’s beloved matriarch, Nai Nai, has been given mere weeks to live, Chinese-born, U.S.-raised Billi returns to Changchun to find that her family has decided to keep the news from Nai Nai. While the family gathers under the joyful guise of an expedited wedding, Billi rediscovers the country she left as a child, and is forever changed by her grandmother’s wondrous spirit, in this richly moving story of how family can unite and strengthen us — often in spite of ourselves. Written and directed by Lulu Wang (“Posthumous”), based on her real-life experiences. Vitals: Director: Lulu Wang. Stars: Shuzhen Zhao, Awkwafina, X Mayo, Tzi Ma, Diana Lin. 2019, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 98 min., Comedy Drama, Box office gross: $17.488 million, Lionsgate. Extras: Audio Commentary with writer-director Lulu Wang and cinematographer Anna Franquesa-Solano, “Nothing but the Truth: Confessions of a Writer-Director” featurette, “Going Home: A Conversation with Awkwafina” featurette, deleted scenes.

• 47 Meters Down: Uncaged

  Follows the diving adventure of four teenage girls exploring a submerged Mayan city. Once inside, their rush of excitement turns into a jolt of terror as they discover the sunken ruins are a hunting ground for deadly great white sharks. With their air supply steadily dwindling, the friends must navigate the underwater labyrinth of claustrophobic caves and eerie tunnels in search of a way out of their watery hell. Vitals: Director: Johannes Roberts. Stars: Sophie Nélisse, Corinne Foxx, Brianne Tju, Sistine Rose Stallone , Khylin Rhambo, Nia Long, Brec Bassinger, John Corbett. 2019, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 90 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $22.239 million, Lionsgate. Extras: Audio commentary with writer-director Johannes Roberts, producer James Harris, and writer Ernest Riera; “Diving Deeper: Uncaging 47 Meters Down.”

 

November 19

• Dora and the Lost City of Gold

  Having spent most of her life exploring the jungle with her parents, nothing could prepare Dora (Isabela Moner) for her most dangerous adventure ever – High School. When her parents (Eva Longoria, Michael Peña)mysteriously disappear while searching for the Lost City of Gold, Dora must swing into action and lead a group of ill-equipped high schoolers on a wild quest to save them. Always the explorer, Dora quickly finds herself leading Boots (her best friend, a monkey), Diego (Jeffrey Wahlberg), a mysterious jungle inhabitant (Eugenio Derbez), and a rag tag group of teens on a live-action adventure to save her parents and solve the impossible mystery behind a lost city of gold. Vitals: Director: James Bobin. Stars: Isabela Moner, Eugenio Derbez, Michael Peña, Eva Longoria, Adriana Barraza, Temuera Morrison, Jeff Wahlberg, Nicholas Coombe, Madeleine Madden, Danny Trejo. 2019, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 102 min., Family Adventure, Box office gross: $60.477 million, Paramount. Blu-ray extras: Bloopers; Deleted and Extended Scenes; “All About Dora” featurette; “Can You Say Pelicula?” featurette unlocks the mystery of underwater stunts and surviving quicksand with Eugenio Derbez; “Dora In Flower Vision” explore the movie’s playful animated sequence, a treasure trove of nods to Dora’s cartoon origins; “Dora’s Jungle Hous” behind-the-scenes tour of Dora’s jungle house, part museum, part laboratory, and always a place for family.

• Blinded by the Light

  The film tells the story of Javed (Viveik Kalra), a British teen of Pakistani descent growing up in the town of Luton, England, in 1987. Amidst the racial and economic turmoil of the times, he writes poetry as a means to escape the intolerance of his hometown and the inflexibility of his traditional father. But when a classmate introduces him to the music of Bruce Springsteen, Javed sees parallels to his working-class life in the powerful lyrics. As Javed discovers a cathartic outlet for his own pent-up dreams, he also begins to find the courage to express himself in his own unique voice. Vitals: Director: Gurinder Chadha. Stars: Viveik Kalra, Kulvinder Ghir, Meera Ganatra, Aaron Phagura, Dean-Charles Chapman, Nikita Mehta, Nell Williams, Tara Divina, Rob Brydon, Frankie Fox. 2019, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 114 min., Comedy Drama, Box office gross: $11.901 million, Warner. Extras: “Memoir to Movie,” “The Most Crazy Thing,” deleted and extended scenes.

 

November 26

• Angel Has Fallen

  The latest stand-alone installment of the full-throttle “Has Fallen”: action series. When there is an assassination attempt on U.S. President Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman), his trusted confidant, Secret Service Agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler), is wrongfully accused and taken into custody. After escaping from capture, he becomes a man on the run and must evade his own agency and outsmart the FBI in order to find the real threat to the president. Desperate to uncover the truth, Banning turns to unlikely allies to help clear his name, keep his family from harm, and save the country from imminent danger. Vitals: Director: Ric Roman Waugh. Stars: Gerard Butle, Morgan Freeman, Jada Pinkett Smith, Lance Reddick, Tim Blake Nelson, Danny Huston. 2019, CC, MPAA rating: R, 121 min., Action Thriller, Box office gross: $68.957 million, Lionsgate. Extras: “Even Angels Fall: The Story” featurette, “Someone to Watch Over Me: New Blood” featurette, “Calling All Angels: Casting” featurette, “True Faith: Authenticity” featurette, “Fight for You: Stunts and Action” featurette, “Earth Angel: Recreating DC” featurette, “Angel Declassified” three-part audio commentary with director Ric Roman Waugh.

• Where’d You Go, Bernadette

  Based on the runaway bestseller by Maria Semple, “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” is an inspiring comedy about Bernadette Fox (Cate Blanchett), a loving wife and mom who becomes compelled to reconnect with her creative passions after years of sacrificing herself for her family. Bernadette’s leap of faith takes her on an epic adventure that jump-starts her life and leads to her triumphant rediscovery. Vitals: Director: Richard Linklater. Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kristen Wiig, Judy Greer, Steve Zahn, Laurence Fishburne, Troian Bellisario, Billy Crudup, Megan Mullally. 2019, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 129 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $9.198 million, Fox. Extras: “Bringing Bernadette to Life,” “Who Is Bernadette?”, gallery.

• Official Secrets

  In 2003, British intelligence specialist Katharine Gun (Keira Knightley) received a memo with a shocking directive: collect blackmail-worthy information on UN council members to force the vote for the invasion of Iraq. Unable to stand by and watch the world rush into war, Gun makes the decision to leak the memo to the press, igniting an international firestorm that would expose a vast political conspiracy by the NSA and put Gun in harm’s way. Vitals: Director: Gavin Hood. Stars: Keira Knightley, Matt Smith, Matthew Goode Rhys Ifans, Adam Bakri, Ralph Fiennes. 2019, CC, MPAA rating: R, 112 min., Drama, Box office gross: $1.882 million, Paramount.