November is always a weird time of the year when it comes to the movies being released in theaters. Studios don't usually start rolling out the films they think have a good chance to win some Oscars until December and they're saving the real dumpster fires for January, so November ends up being where they release the movies they have no idea what to do with — movies they assume are either going to be surprising in their popularity, or depressing in their lack of connection to the popular zeitgeist.
I avoid cynicism when it comes to cinema because it's boring and easy. Sure, it's trendy to hate on Marvel right now, but back when "Iron Man" came out in 2008, what they were attempting was genuinely gutsy and forward-thinking as they slowly built a Cinematic Universe one puzzle piece at a time. I'm starting to notice more cynicism when it comes to Disney and their output, as they've now become basically a monopoly of entertainment, with "Star Wars," "Marvel," 20th Century Entertainment and so much more under the same umbrella.
And yeah, Disney as a corporation is gross and scary, but I continue to support their films because of the actual artists and technicians that create the "content" making the shareholders rich(er). Celebrating 100 years of fostering the imaginations of children and adults through the expert deployment of capitalism, Disney has released "Wish," an animated musical obsessed with the idea that most Disney cartoons are connected thematically by characters wishing for stuff like better lives, true love and real boys.
"Wish" is a wash. Dull animation and character design, a story we've seen many times before and stakes so low that there's no momentum to the action and adventure. The fatal problem that "Wish" can't really escape is that it's relying on the nostalgia audiences have for 100 years of Disney movies by constantly reminding people about other, better movies. The closing credits have images of "Beauty and the Beast," "Fox and the Hound," "Cinderella" and dozens of other Disney classics represented in constellations, as if "Wish" remotely has a spot in the pantheon of those movies. It doesn't. Not even a little. Actually, I guess the songs are OK. Still, kids will probably love it.
Horror movies in November are usually better than average because the genuinely awful horror flicks are released in January. I heard some good word of mouth about "Thanksgiving," the new slasher film from Eli Roth, the disturbed individual behind the "Hostel" franchise (and also, surprisingly, "The House with a Clock in its Walls). While "Thanksgiving" is simultaneously gut-bustingly hilarious and stomach churningly gory, it completely falls apart in its last 10 minutes.
Set in Plymouth, Massachusetts, a year after several people get trampled to death during a tragic (and darkly hilarious) Black Friday stampede, someone dressed like the pilgrim John Carver is murdering the survivors with an axe. What we have in "Thanksgiving" are three movies all competing for supremacy. First, we have a slasher movie that wants to create a villain as iconic as Ghostface in the "Scream" franchise. Next is a mystery about which character is the killer hiding behind the John Carver mask. Finally (and most interestingly), is a social satire about consumerism and the holidays.
The film is ultimately only successful as a slasher movie. The gore is fantastic and feels like a throwback to the great slashers of the '80s, but the reveal of the killer's identity is obvious and a huge disappointment, while the social satire aspect dulls its claws as the film goes on, ending as a surprisingly toothless indictment of holiday-fueled capitalism. "Thanksgiving" should have been (ahem) stuffed with ideas, but this feels like the safest version of that gruesome trailer from 2007's "Grindhouse."
What has easily been the best film released (so far) in November is "The Holdovers," a warm-hearted and bittersweet look at three lonely and broken people who have to spend two weeks together across Christmas break, as they're forced to remain on campus at a Massachusetts prep school in 1970. Paul Giamatti plays a cross-eyed curmudgeon of a teacher, Dominic Sessa is a wild and borderline feral student and Da'Vine Joy Randolph is the head cook who just lost her son in Vietnam.
These three characters create a makeshift family in a way that never feels overly sentimental and saccharine; instead, there's a raw and jagged edge to the film that feels at times achingly human and sneakily cathartic. At 130 minutes, the film is a bit long, but I could have watched an entire series just about these three people trying to come to understand themselves and each other. Expect "The Holdovers" to be nominated for lots of awards and be ready for it to stay in your head and heart for a long time after the closing credits.
There are some big ones coming up between now and the end of the year that are probably going to be massive awards contenders. I'm hoping "Napoleon" is vintage Ridley Scott and I have a feeling that "Poor Things" and "The Iron Claw" are going to be incredible, so December definitely has some cinematic gifts to share, for sure. If they're anywhere close to as touching as "The Holdovers" then we're in for a treat.
