On the December Radar…

Happy Honda Days, everyone! How are we all doing right now? Yeah… yeah, same. Things are looking kinda glum near the close of a pretty glum year. But still, let us try to keep our spirits up as the holidays approach. After all, there is a reason why every major religion and culture has some form of celebratory tradition in the dead of winter. Thousands of years ago, we were living in caves, hunted by saber-toothed cats, desperately trying not to freeze to death so we could make it to the ripe old age of 35. During these dark cold winters, when living to see another day was uncertain, our ancestors would cobble together a festive get-together to eat, drink, and be merry. While things seem dark right now, we can always find a way to embrace joy with our friends, no matter what specific holiday we choose to observe.

Also, on another bright note, movies still exist. And thank goodness for that, since there are some very promising ones about to debut. Such as…

ELLA MCCAY – In Theaters December 12

Directed by James L. Brooks

Starring Emma Mackey, with Jamie Lee Curtis and Woody Harrelson

What is it about? A young upstart politician tries to balance work and family life shortly after her inauguration as the Girlboss Governor of her state.

How am I feelin’ about this one? Every time a new movie from James L. Brooks is released, I hold on to a very specific hope. I always hope that this time, this one will be at least as good as Broadcast News. It is not only the sole film directed by Brooks that I have ever actually liked at all, but also a bonafide masterpiece that hardly seems like it could have possibly come from the same man who brought us the dreadfully saccharine Terms of Endearment and narratively bonkers Spanglish.

Alas, it has not happened yet. Not even close (actually, that’s not quite true — As Good As It Gets almost reached the highs of Broadcast News until it decided to insult its audience by insisting that the obviously incompatible Melvin and Carol had a salvageable relationship). But I hold out hope! And I will continue to hold out hope in anticipation of Ella McCay, starring, erm… Emma Mackey. Could Brooks not have altered the name a little after casting her? Whatever, anyway, she’s been a rising star for a while now, breaking out big with her role in Sex Education and literally winning the BAFTA Rising Star Award for starring in Emily. She is filling a role that gives off serious Jane Craig vibes as a similarly ultra-successful go-getter who manages to rapidly ascend to a position of influence in her profession while facing the messiness of life with more emotional fragility. Granted, there is an idealism to seeing someone so young achieve such prominence in a political climate where the average age of a U.S. Senator is 64 years-old, the average age of a member of the U.S. House of Representatives is 58 years-old, the average age of a Governor is 59 years-old, and our last three quadrennial presidential elections resulted in the oldest man ever elected to the Oval Office, but whatever. Maybe if narrative art can normalize the idea that younger politicians deserve a bigger seat at the table, more people will be okay with voting for them over aging, out-of-touch Old Guard figures with antiquated policy ideas that no longer energize their constituents? Also, and this is a minor gripe about the premise, but it sure seems like she has a lot of free time to deal with family and relationship drama as the Governor of an entire state, right? Maybe if she was a safe incumbent legislator in a deep red or blue state, that would be more plausible, but the state’s chief executive? Who just started the job and, therefore, has something to prove so early in her career? I don’t know. Seems far-fetched at first glance.

As for awards prospects, Brooks has a penchant for writing plum leading roles for women, and directed Oscar-winning performances out of Shirley MacLaine and Helen Hunt, so we have to consider Mackey an automatic contender (although, notably, Joey does not consider her very competitive at the moment). But we should not think of this as just The Emma Mackey Show, as the trailer alone promises big supporting roles for Woody Harrelson, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Ayo Edebiri. And, of course, even though it’s been nearly thirty years since he last received one of these, Brooks should be considered “in the hunt” for a Best Original Screenplay nod (though, just like with Best Lead Actress, Joey is kind of a skeptic here as well).

AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH – In Theaters December 19

Directed by James Cameron

Starring Sam Worthington, with Zoe Saldaña and Oona Chaplin

What is it about? Jake’s family grapples with grief after the death of… what was his name… Nata… something or other? I can’t remember any of these character names… anyway, some new, more aggressive and likely racially problematic Na’vi tribe emerges and humans continue to be cartoon villains trying to harvest unobtainium.

How am I feelin’ about this one? These Avatar movies are a true enigma to me. Every other film that has ever held the title of Highest-Grossing Movie Of All Time has, for better and for worse, retained an enduring cultural presence. People still post memes on the internet raging over Rose throwing the necklace into the ocean and debating whether or not Jack could have fit on that wooden panel in Titanic. Everyone still remembers that hit song from the movie. There are probably young people who have never actually seen Jurassic Park, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, or Jaws but would nonetheless be able to recall iconic images and lines from them. Heck, I have elderly relatives who have never seen Star Wars and never will, but I guarantee would know what I was referring to if I mentioned the Death Star or the Force.

And then you have Avatar, which upon re-release overtook Avengers: Endgame as the highest-grossing movie of all time and it has zero cultural footprint. Can anyone recite an iconic line from that movie? Do they remember the stakes of the final battle? Ask someone on the street what the name of the main villain from that movie was. Do you think they could tell you without looking it up? Does anyone remember that Avatar even had a pop love ballad song attached to it?! But here is the weird part — thirteen years after that movie smashed box office records and retained no lasting presence in pop culture, a belated sequel called Avatar: The Way of Water was released and also became a smash hit at the box office and also disappeared from the public consciousness soon after it left theaters! And yes, I know I made a case for the first movie earning its prominence in cinema history because of its technological advancements, but that doesn’t explain the enduring popularity of this as a franchise. So what gives? Why do people flock to see these movies? People tell me it’s to enjoy the amazing visual effects, and sure, these movies employ state-of-the-art technology to look really pretty, but lots of movies look really pretty. The Creator, The Northman, and The Green Knight all had great visual effects. Why weren’t those comparable box office hits? Are audiences just so addicted to racist white savior narratives? Well… I mean, okay, maybe. But wouldn’t those same people be turned off by the “WoKe” environmentalism of these movies?

The only explanation I can think of at this point is that James Cameron has magic powers. He somehow knows how to get people interested in his movies, even when people like me (and I would absolutely call myself a fan of his movies outside of the Avatar series) can’t muster up any enthusiasm for them. Please tell me if there’s something I’m missing, here.

THE HOUSEMAID – In Theaters December 19

Directed by Paul Feig

Starring Sydney Sweeney, with Amanda Seyfried and Brandon Sklenar

What is it about? An adaptation of the runaway bestselling novel about a struggling woman starting her life over as a live-in housemaid for an affluent, mysterious couple.

How am I feelin’ about this one? Did you know the author of the book this movie is adapted from is a bit of a superwoman? “Freida McFadden” (which is not her real name; to this day, her real name is a mystery to the public) is a Harvard graduate who wrote these massively successful thrillers while balancing her day job as a practicing physician and neurologist. And she’s married with two kids! That is pretty damned impressive. Of course, when you publish a novel that sells as many copies as The Housemaid, it’s only a matter of time before Hollywood comes a’knockin. And come a’knockin it did, with a $40 million production budget, an all-star cast, and a very ambitious producer staking a lot on this as his new production company’s first feature-length release. In the director’s chair is Paul Feig, who murdered his career with a bloated, unfunny, overproduced remake before resurrecting it again with a breezy and funny adaptation of an utterly ridiculous novel in a similar vein as The Housemaid. It looks like he knows what his “thing” is now, and good for him, honestly.

But at the same time, it is that very comparison to A Simple Favor that makes me skeptical towards those predicting this as some powerhouse awards competitor. The most successful adaptation of these unhinged Woman In Peril airport thrillers remains, by a fairly substantial margin, Gone Girl, which grossed over $350 million at the box office and did score an Academy Award nomination. But every subsequent attempt to re-capture that lightning in a bottle? Like Dark Places? And The Girl on the Train? And The Woman in the Window? Nowhere near as popular or acclaimed. But I would suggest that the presence of Feig gives this one more favorable odds. Unlike those other, less successful movies, Feig understands that a story like this requires a bit of a tongue-in-cheek approach. You cannot take something like The Housemaid too seriously, and I feel confident in predicting that this director won’t.

Then there’s the cast. I don’t know much about Brandon Sklenar, aka Mr. Andrew Winchester, other than how he’s been vilified by pathetic Pick Mes on the internet for the crime of standing up for someone harassed by a disingenuous Nice Guy creep who doesn’t have a legal leg to stand on, but let’s be honest, these kinds of movies put the ladies front and center. Playing the eponymous housemaid is Sydney Sweeney, who, to put it bluntly, needs this to be a hit after starring in three consecutive box office bombs. If she can’t attract audiences for an adaptation of a novel as popular as this one, I don’t see how her prospects as a film actress recovers. Amanda Seyfried, as the mysterious and threatening housewife Nina Winchester, is not facing career stakes even remotely as daunting with this movie, but if she stars in a box office hit this month, that will likely serve as a boost to her Oscar potential for something else. I’ll explain a little later in this article…

FATHER MOTHER SISTER BROTHER – In Theaters December 24

Directed by Jim Jarmusch

Starring Cate Blanchett, with Vicky Krieps and Mayim Bialik

What is it about? Estranged siblings reunite after years apart, forced to confront unresolved tensions and reevaluate their strained relationships with their emotionally distant parents.

How am I feelin’ about this one? Oh my gawd, Jim Jarmusch is a septuagenarian. I know these kinds of “LOL so-and-so got old!” comments are tiresome and all, but it does feel jarring to realize that an auteur so synonymous with “young hip rebel indie artist” is now an elderly man. One who has finally been embraced by The Establishment, no less, since his latest ensemble dramedy Father Mother Sister Brother won the Golden Lion in a bit of an upset at the most recent Venice International Film Festival. This is his first major international festival award, so that’s pretty cool for him after decades of being such a fixture on the independent cinema scene.

As for how it’ll play in commercial release, I’m not entirely sure. Jarmusch has never enjoyed mainstream popularity, even when he gets big movie stars like Bill Murray and Adam Driver to headline his projects. His highest-grossing film was Broken Flowers twenty years ago at a little over $47 million, and that’s three times the box office earnings of his second-highest-grossing project. And no, he has never received an Academy Award nomination ever.

Will this finally be a vehicle for him to be recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences? Eh… maybe? We know they love their sardonic familial dramedies, and Father Mother Sister Brother’s cast includes a lot of award-winning thespians (the most critically acclaimed performance among this ensemble being, interestingly, Tom Waits). Personally, my favorite film of his remains, by a fairly decisive margin, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. So, in my own eyes, that is a very high bar to clear. As far as marketing goes, another difficult bar the movie will have to overcome is Mubi’s not-super-stellar track record of awards campaigns for their productions. And I love Mubi as a streaming service! But it’s not a very persuasive marketer or campaigner to the broader moviegoing public. That’s just a fact.

NO OTHER CHOICE – In Theaters December 25

Directed by Park Chan-wook

Starring Lee Byung-hun, with Son Ye-jin and Park Hee-soon

What is it about? After being unemployed for several years, a man devises a unique plan to secure a new job: eliminate his competition… by any means necessary.

How am I feelin’ about this one? What an opportune time to release a movie like this, right? A film about job insecurity, financial desperation, the precarity of a man’s self-worth in late-stage capitalism — those are the kinds of universal themes that will, depressingly, have the very real potential to overcome the language barrier and be a sleeper hit with audiences on the level of… well, okay, maybe a Parasite-level hit is being a little hyperbolic, but I do think this has the potential to be the highest-grossing foreign-language film in the United States this year.

Sure, timely themes don’t necessarily guarantee box office success, but No Other Choice has another ace up its sleeve: Park Chan-wook, a director with a very enthusiastic fandom here in the United States not unlike what Bong Joon Ho possesses. Oldboy in particular enjoys a robust cult following to this day, and while I personally am not that big a fan of his celebrated revenge thriller, I am very fond of Thirst and especially his last film, the romantic noir Decision to Leave. If his follow-up to the latter film is comparably bold and engaging, then I will absolutely be counted as a fan of this one. Another potential selling point for American audiences is Lee Byung-hun in the leading role. He is one of the few actors of any Western Pacific nation a not-insignificant number of Americans will be familiar with due to his role in all three seasons of the hit streaming series Squid Game.

The movie itself has not been getting Parasite-level rave reviews (indeed, few movies since have enjoyed raves even remotely as high), but the early notices have described a smart and tonally audacious dark comedy that mercilessly skewers corporate hustle culture. The positive reviews have not gone unnoticed by the film’s home country, since the Republic of Korea has officially selected it as their submission for Best International Feature Film.

THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE – In Theaters December 25

Directed by Mona Fastvold

Starring Amanda Seyfried, with Christopher Abbott and Lewis Pullman

What is it about? A musical biopic about the founding leader of the Shakers religious sect in the 18th century.

How am I feelin’ about this one? If you were a fan of The Brutalist, you should know that this movie shares the same composer, one of its art directors, two of its set decorators, three of its producers, and several other behind-the-scenes craftspeople. The director, Mona Fastvold, was a producer and co-writer of that Oscar-winning epic historical drama, on top of being married to its director Brady Corbet. They’ve switched roles for this movie, with her stepping into director responsibilities while he is taking a producer credit along with co-writing the script. And since The Brutalist was my favorite film of 2024… um, yeah, to say I’m looking forward to The Testament of Ann Lee would kind of an understatement. Though it is worth noting that, after seeing the movie at the Toronto International Film Festival, Maxance warned that this is not at all similar to last year’s Oscar-winning epic despite boasting many of the same behind-the-camera people. He describes it as something stranger and more inscrutable in its depiction of a moment in American history.

But there are other reasons why my curiosity for this movie is at maximum levels of piqued. For one thing, I am very supportive of more genuine good-faith religious dramas being produced by Hollywood. It is an absolute cultural tragedy that religious faith, once explored by real artists who actually wanted to depict their deeply-held spiritual beliefs through the language of cinema in compelling and thought-provoking ways, has been hijacked by cynical partisans with zero artistic aptitude who treat the subject of divinity and spiritual growth as mere window dressing for hateful, reactionary propaganda. For every contemporary religious movie with actual cinematic value, like The Tree of Life or First Reformed, there are dozens more like God’s Not Dead, which have only venomous bigotry and persecution fantasies to sell to their insecure audience. Ann Lee is a fascinating part of the history of religious expression in America, as she became a major figure of an evangelical revival in the country at the time, and her adherents considered her the female embodiment of God Himself. Was she a true visionary or a delusional cult leader? Let’s just say I’m really interested to know where this movie falls on that debate.

Another thing I’m looking forward to? A plum role for Amanda Seyfried, who has been enjoying across-the-board raves for her performance as the eponymous spiritual leader even among the movie’s detractors. One thing I didn’t mention in my preview of The Housemaid is that I’ve always really liked her. Even during the period of her career when she seemed to be cast almost exclusively in terrible projects, I always thought she was a committed and compelling presence onscreen, and it’s only been relatively recently that she’s been able to demonstrate that in roles that have garnered mainstream plaudits. Her first Academy Award nomination was for her role as Marion Davies in Mank, and not only was she one of the only things about that movie that didn’t disappoint me, I believed she was second only to Youn Yuh-jung as the most deserving of the five Best Supporting Actress nominees that year. So I think it’s great that she was afforded center stage to act and sing her heart out in a way that got everyone’s attention. Hopefully the movie earned the considerable work she apparently put into this role. And yes, this is why I think the likely financial success of The Housemaid will help her awards potential here, since women who make money for Hollywood have an easier time receiving them.

So how will you hold on to the joy of the holidays this month, readers? Do you plan to join in the ecstasy of religious song-and-dance from the Shakers? Would you vote for a politician like Ella McKay if she mounted a gubernatorial campaign in your state? Let us know in the comments.