It’s Thanksgiving weekend which means that if you decided to either sneak out of helping out with dinner OR you are stuffed with food and you just want to watch a flick…then here is what’s on the menu for this week!

What’s it about? The remarkable love story inspired by the lives of artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener. Lili and Gerda’s marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili’s groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.

My thoughts? I like Tom Hooper just fine….but it’s becoming clear that he’s now becoming an “Oscar Chasing” director. He’s trying to make films that SEEM huge and important, but yet they feel like they are trying too hard to mark off every thing that would guarantee an Oscar nomination. Is it based on a true story? Yes. Is it a costume period film? Yes. Does it contain a daring performance from it’s main actor that has them go through a physical transformation?  Yes. Are their any other Oscar winning or nominated actors in the cast? Yes.  Are they any topical issues being addressed in the film? Yes.

But…does any of this stuff make this a bad movie? No, of course not….but if you are making a film to JUST get the attention of the Academy, the film feels hollow. Maybe this film isn’t one of them….but the world on this film has been really quiet. It is a good cast…but we’ll wait and see.

What’s it about? Told from Igor’s perspective, we see the troubled young assistant’s dark origins, his redemptive friendship with the young medical student Viktor Von Frankenstein, and become eyewitnesses to the emergence of how Frankenstein became the man – and the legend – we know today.

My thoughts? Why I still have to question the decision to release a horror film during Thanksgiving as oppose to October, I can only hope they feel confident that this movie will find it’s audience this weekend. The second film to be written by the infamous Max Landis, I do hope this movie fairs better than American Ultra. I did overall enjoy American Ultra, but felt most of the movies fault was because of the directing….even though there ARE issues with the script.  

All that aside, this does look to have some fun with exploring the relationship between Frankenstein and Igor, and I am curious to see how “The Monster” will come into play. The director is Paul McGuigan, a solid visual director who gained a LOT of attention for setting up the aesthetic for the Benedict Cumberbatch/ Martin Freeman version of Sherlock. His work excels if the script is good so here’s hoping that him and Landis make a good pair.

What’s it about? An epic journey into the world of dinosaurs where an Apatosaurus named Arlo makes an unlikely human friend.

My thoughts? This year we have two Pixar films,something that we never had. While a few years ago that would have been a thing to celebrate, it seems like the Pixar trust has finally been shaken. I bet that after sitting through 3 mediocre (at best) films from Pixar: Cars 2, Brave and Monsters University that audiences are now ready to be hesitant as oppose to having blind faith with them. Thankfully Inside Out is a great film and thanks to the goodwill of that movie Pixar is finding their footing again.

I’m not gonna lie, while the film looks to be well made, there isn’t much to the initial story that makes it seem all that interesting to me.  I’m looking forward to hearing the reviews to the film and hopefully we’ll see if this is another to add to the Pixar accomplishments or will this be another one we have to just shrug at.

What’s it about?  The former World Heavyweight Champion Rocky Balboa serves as a trainer and mentor to Adonis Johnson, the son of his late friend and former rival Apollo Creed.

My thoughts? I have a huge love for the Rocky series….but I was hesitant for a revisit to the life of Rocky since I felt that Rocky Balboa was a good way to let the Itallian Stallion walk away. But that FIRST trailer blew me away, and now the reviews for Creed have been stellar. I’m now EXCITED to catch up with Rocky again, and I’m just as excited to find out about our new lead. Michael B. Jordan might have had a bumpy summer with Fantastic Four, but it seems like if Creed does well, then folks are gonna have no problem forgetting about his Human Torch days.