Another month of trailers! The strike has ended for writers but not for actors, and I wrestle with whether or not this is a promotion that’s unfriendly to unions (we love unions at Screen Scholars). 

New in theaters Wednesday, November 1:

Pay or Die, a documentary from MTV. Thanks, I hate it!

New in theaters Friday, November 3:

The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes, an anime, is about a boy who passes through a tunnel which grants wishes (but shortens your life expectancy).

Radical is the Stand and Deliver of a frustrated teacher who tries a new teaching method in a border town plagued by violence. Our boyfriend, Eugenio Derbez, plays him.

Death on the Border, an action-adventure, stars Danny Trejo. I don’t love that this is listed after Radical! Two women try to save young women caught in the hands of traffickers. They’ve faked their deaths though, and Eric Roberts is pissed. Did this get made in a hurry after Sound of Freedom? Yikes.

The Marsh King’s Daughter, based on the novel by Karen Dionne, stars Daisy Ridley as a woman on the run in the wilderness from her survivalist father (Ben Mendelsohn), who has escaped from prison. 

Priscilla, from director Sofia Coppola is a biographical drama film about Priscilla Presley, who married Elvis when she was a teenager. The film is adapted from Presley’s 1985 memoir Elvis & Me.  Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi star as the couple.

New in theaters Friday, November 10:

The Marvels is a superhero film. Monica Rambeau (daughter of Maria, portrayed by Teyonah Parris) finds her powers entangled with Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) and Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani). The film is directed by Nia DaCosta and written by DaCosta, Megan McDonnell, and Elissa Karasik.

Your Lucky Day stars Angus Cloud. A hostage situation unfolds over a winning lottery ticket. 

Orlando, My Political Biography, a biographical film essay from Paul B. Preciado, casts trans and nonbinary people in the title role of Virginia Woolf’s Orlando.

Dream Scenario, Nicholas Cage’s really good movie for the year (unfortunately it wasn’t Renfield!), stars the man as a person who is in everyone’s dreams. It makes him famous.

The Holdovers is a holiday dramedy starring Paul Giamatti as a teacher who really, really cares. He stays behind with the students who don’t have a family for the holiday break. Alexander Payne’s movie has too much schmaltz, but Da’Vine Joy Randolph makes every project better, so as long as she’s not misused, this might not totally suck. 

It’s a Wonderful Knife is a holiday horror that asks what would happen if you mixed Black Christmas with It’s a Wonderful Life. A year after saving the town from its masked, knife-wielding mayor, a woman is miserable and wishes she was never born! (Amateur hour, am I right.) She gets to see then, what happens in Bedford Falls if she hadn’t saved the town. Jane Widdop, Justin Long, and Joel McHale star.

New in theaters Sunday, November 12, 2023

Tiger 3 is an action-adventure thriller.

New in theaters Friday, November 17, 2023

Trolls Band Together, another goddamn Trolls movie, follows Poppy and Branch as they get a Trolls-universe boy band back together. Yes, of course, Justin Timberlake’s troll is in a disbanded boy band that is, at the demand of Millenials, getting back together. The voice cast includes 

Next Goal Wins, a biographical sports drama, stars Michael Fassbender as Dutch coach Thomas Rongen who gets sent to American Samoa, whose team is regarded the worst in the world. The film is written and directed by Taika Waititi.

Thanksgiving, a holiday that should have more horror movies, is an adaptation of Eli Roth’s short film you may remember from Grindhouse. (Roth directs and has a story credit.) A serial killer known as John Carver terrorizes Plymouth, Massachusetts “with the intention of creating a Thanksgiving carving board out of the town’s inhabitants.” I think this is great, but I could barely watch the trailer, because I am squeamish.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the first (and currently only) Hunger Games prequel, takes place during the tenth Hunger Games. Coriolanus Snow is a mentor and protagonist who works with a young woman from District 12. Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Hunter Schafer, Jason Schwartzman, Peter Dinklage, Josh Andrés Rivera, and Viola Davis star.

New in theaters Friday, November 22, 2023

Monster is a coming-of-age drama from director Hirokazu Kore-eda. 

Napoleon a biographical drama about the military leader, follows his ascent “through the lens of his volatile relationship with Empress Joséphine.” Don’t love that, but I do want to see this. 

Menus Plaisirs – Les Troisgros is a documentary set a Michelin 3-star restaurant owned and operated by the same family for four generations.

Wish, an animated Disney movie, follows a girl who is able to grant wishes through the help of a falling star. The conflict, however, is that her kingdom’s ruler also grants wishes, and only he can decide whose wish is the most valid. The voice cast includes Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine, Alan Tudyk, Angelique Cabral, Victor Garber, Natasha Rothwell, Jennifer Kumiyama, Evan Peters, Harvey Guillén, Ramy Youssef, Niko Vargas, Della Saba, and Jon Rudnitsky.