Streaming Roulette, Dec: Summit of the Gods, Hitchcock for the Holidays, Power of the Dog

What's streaming in December? You know the drill by now. We pick two handfuls of titles and freeze them on the scroll bar at a random place (no cheating) and share what came up. Then we list the other titles streaming. Let's go.

Everybody has a Jaws story. Mostly you hear them from boys who took ownership of that summer as their fanboy nation origin story. But girls -- we were there, too. 

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FYC Critics Choice Young Performers Awards

by Nathaniel R

Saniyya Sidney as "Venus Williams" in King Richard

Each year the Critics Choice votes on a category that doesn't get a lot of press or campaigning: Best Young Actor/Actress. Without constant discussion (as with other acting categories) I've noticed critics default to whatever movie is popular that happens to have a major role for a child. Which is why, say, Belfast's Jude Hill could easily be in contention. But, generally speaking, there are better performances out there than whichever one happens to be most visible in this particular category in any given year. (Same goes for famous adult movie stars in the regular categories, come to think of it). So each year we try to help by listing eligible performers in this "Young Performer" category which requires a bit of research since the actors often aren't famous (yet) and the attention is usually directed at their adult co-stars...

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Magic Mike's Last Link

• Stabroek News "Not a King but a Queenmaker" interesting take on King Richard
• Thrillist Esther Zuckerman talks to Paul Thomas Anderson about shooting a key scene in Licorice Pizza inside her childhood home
• Deadline Penelope Cruz teaming with Pedro's production company for a four-part documentary series on the global problem of child marriages
• Vulture on that impossible tracking shot in The French Dispatch
• InStyle Rita Moreno looks back on her career before hitting the big 9-0

More after the jump including Zendaya, Sondheim and New York City, C'mon C'mon, and the return of Magic Mike... 

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Busting Ghosts and ignoring King Richard

What did you see this past week/weekend?  Will Smith's bankability was yet another victim of Warner Bros decision to release all their movies day and date on HBOMax this year. Without the visual effects spectacle audiences crave, King Richard was one of the superstar's smallest openings despite being a crowdpleaser. Alas, minus the crowds.

Weekend Box Office November 5th-7th 🔺 = new or expanding | ★ = recommended
1-5	6-10
GHOSTBUSTERS AFTERLIFE	BELFAST
1 GHOSTBUSTERS AFTERLIFE 🔺  $44	6 VENOM LET THERE BE CARNAGE 🔺$2.8 (cum. $206.5)
2  ETERNALS  $10.8 (cum. $135.8) Nathaniel's Review	7 NO TIME TO DIE $2.7 (cum. $154.6) Deborah's Review
3 CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG  $8.1 (cum. $33.5)	8 THE FRENCH DISPATCH 🔺$970k (cum. $13.2)  Elisa's Review
4 KING RICHARD  ★🔺 $5.7 Christopher's Review, Nathaniel's Review	9 BELFAST ★ $940k (cum. $3.4) Nathaniel's Review
5 DUNE  ★ $3 (cum. $98.1) Elisa's Review	10 RON'S GONE WRONG $888k (cum. $22)

More box office notes after the jump...

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“King Richard” Serves Up A Real Crowdpleaser

by Christopher James

Everyone has to start somewhere - even Venus and Serena Williams.Early on in King Richard, Will Smith’s Richard Williams drills his daughters - Venus and Serena - on serving. Their goal, to hit a precise spot on the court where a stack of balls lie. Even as pre-teens, they are able to achieve remarkable precision with their shots. This drill is an apt metaphor for Reinaldo Marcus Green’s latest film, King Richard. It always hits the spot on the court, just as you expected it to.

King Richard never subverts the tropes of the inspirational sports movie, it just tries to do them better. This doesn’t make it a daring or interesting film, but the formula does work incredibly well...

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