Review: "Being the Ricardos"

By Ben Miller

Writer/director Aaron Sorkin is no stranger to historical drama and Being the Ricardos adds to the list.  With a deft ensemble and a dynamite lead performance from Nicole Kidman, the film will be an enjoyable time for fans of I Love Lucy and Sorkin fans alike.  Fair warning though: If Sorkin isn't your cup of tea, this film can be hard to swallow.

Lucille Ball (Kidman) is at the height of her powers. Alongside her husband and co-star Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem), their sitcom I Love Lucy is the most popular show on television.  But in 1953, Senator Joseph McCarthy was on the hunt for Communists within the United States.  Word gets out among the CBS executives that Ball was interviewed by his committee. Ball and Arnaz begin to question the viability of the show if this information became public...

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A slow week at the box office. What did you see?

What did you see this past week/weekend?  

Weekend Box Office December 3rd-5th 🔺 = new or expanding | ★ = recommended
WIDE RELEASE	LIMITED RELEASE
HOUSE OF GUCCI	LICORICE PIZZA
1 ENCANTO ★ $13.1 (cum. $58.3) Songs ranked	1 C'MON C'MON  ★🔺$565k on 565 screens (cum. $1.1) Jason's Review
2  GHOSTBUSTERS AFTERLIFE  $10.3 (cum. $102.2)	2 LICORICE PIZZA ★ $241k on 4 screens (cum. $779k)
3 HOUSE OF GUCCI  $7 (cum. $33.8) Lady Gaga's Costumes, Capsule Review	3 BENEDETTA ★🔺$136k on 201 screens (cum. $136k)  Jason's Review
4 ETERNALS   $4 (cum. $156.6) Nathaniel's Review	4 ALINE  $90k on 72 screens (cum. $380k)
5 RESIDENT EVIL: WELCOME TO RACOON CITY  $2.6 (cum. $13.2)	5 WOLF 🔺 $82k on 308 screens Jason's Review

The box office was down for everything, which is typical for the weekend after a holiday weekend. But it's not all bad news for Hollywood. Ghostbusters and Dune both broke the $100 million domestic barrier, Licorice Pizza continues to pack theaters (albeit only 4 of them), and Encanto is a solid performer though Disney is barely giving it any time to earn money in theaters since it hits Disney+ on Christmas Eve.

This Friday Things really heat up. Steven Spielberg's remake of West Side Story opens in wide release (with high expectations). Sean Baker's latest fringe comedy Red Rocket opens in limited release. The new Sandra Bullock Unforgiveable begins streaming on Netflix. The new Riz Ahmed Encounter beings streaming on Amazon. And, on a last note, two more Best Picture Oscar hopefuls the political satire Don't Look Up and the showbiz drama Being the Ricardos get their theatrical qualifying releases before moving to their streaming platforms, Netflix and Amazon, in time for Christmas.

Quickies to Catch Up: West Side Story, Don't Look Up, Nightmare Alley, House of Gucci

by Nathaniel R

It's that time of year when it is literally impossible to keep up. Most weeks have one maybe two if we're lucky films of interest opening. But in December it's like 10 high profile movies per week or something outrageous. So much can get lost in the shuffle which is always sad.

Here are some quick thoughts on four recent high profile screenings though we'll do full reviews when they open...

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Streaming Review: "Pen15" (Hulu) Ends With Season Two

By: Christopher James

"Pen15" comes to a close with the seven episode batch that was released Friday, December 3rd.Saying goodbye to Pen15 feels a lot like writing a long note in a friend’s yearbook at the end of eighth grade. There are lots of laughs, lots of tears and you are full of complicated emotions that you don’t fully know how to process. In just two (actually three) seasons, Pen15 perfectly encapsulated the isolating growing pains of middle school, both in terms of navigating changes in social dynamics and one’s own body.

Does it stick its landing in the final seven episodes, now available on Hulu?

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A "Wolf" in Men's Clothing

by Jason Adams

There is an unfinished quality to the actor George Mackay's face, as if he's a first-draft in putty, not quite defined into full features yet. That quality makes him a perfect fit for Wolf, writer-director Nathalie Biancheri's new film about a young man who believes himself to actually be, under all that pretty pink skin, a you-guessed-it wolf. Mackay naturally seems permanently half fixed, like he's trapped in the middle part in a werewolf  transformation montage -- his impermanence putting this character's indeterminate selfhood right there written over his taut cheekbones.

I wish the rest of Wolf, which sees Mackay's character of Jacob shuffled off to a mad doctor's experimental psychological retreat/prison for, you know, "his own good," worked as well as Mackay does...

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