The holiday season always brings great movies, some destined for Oscar recognition, some for generations to enjoy together, some to make you laugh, and some to make you cry. There are sequels, big-budget extravaganzas, and even a few promising little indies. The ones I am most looking forward to include:

Zootopia 2 (November 26) Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) are now partners tracking down a mysterious reptile who arrives in Zootopia. And the sloth is back, too!

Eternity (November 26) If the legendary wit Noel Coward did a remake of Albert Brooks’ after-life fantasy “Defending Your Life,” it might look like this, with Elizabeth Olson as an elderly woman who arrives in heaven to find both of her husbands waiting for her: the one she married when they were young who was killed in the Korean War (Callum Turner), and the man she was later married to for more than 60 years (Miles Teller).

Hamnet (November 26) Jessie Buckley gives one of the most thrilling performances of the year as a woman married to an aspiring playwright named William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal). Based on the novel by Maggie O’Farrell, which itself was based on the true story of the death of Shakespeare’s young son.

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (November 26) The third in the murder mystery series featuring master detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is another all-star treat, this time set in a church in upstate New York, with Josh O’Conner, Glenn Close, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, and Thomas Hayden Church.

Merrily We Roll Along (December 5) First it was a legendary flop by powerhouse duo George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. They were known for comedy but they experimented with a serious play told in reverse order, taking a trio of characters from middle age back to their early 20s. Then Stephen Sondheim decided to make it into a musical, where it flopped so badly there is a whole documentary about it, called “The Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened.” Then it was remounted on Broadway with Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff, Lindsay Mendez, and Krystal Joy Brown, where it finally was a huge hit and won Tonys for the two male actors. This is a film of that play.

Jay Kelly George Clooney stars as the title character, a huge movie star en route to a festival in Italy where he will receive a lifetime achievement award. He is accompanied by his manager (Adam Sandler) and publicist (Laura Dern) and tries to reconcile with his older daughter (Riley Keogh) and connect to his younger daughter (Grace Edwards), who would rather travel with her friends. This film, from writer/director Noah Baumbach, is one of my favorite of the year.

Dust Bunny (December 5) An eight-year-old girl asks her hitman neighbor for help in killing the monster under her bed that she thinks ate her family. Rogerbert.com’s Brian Tellerico calls it “playfully twisted.” Note: it is about a child but it is not for children: Rated R.

Merv Zooey Deschanel and Charlie Cox play a separated couple who still share love — and custody — of their dog, Merv. When the dog’s vet tells them their pet is depressed because they are not together, they join forces to take him on a vacation.

Ella McCay (December 12) This is one I’m especially looking forward to because it is from James L. Brooks, the writer/director of “Terms of Endearment” and “Broadcast News.” Emma Mackey plays a young politician who unexpectedly becomes governor of New York. the cast includes Albert Brooks, Julie Kavner, Woody Harrelson, and Jamie Lee Curtis.

Goodbye, June (December 12) Adult siblings who do not get along gather to be with their dying mother. Kate Winslet directed, based on a screenplay by her son. She also stars along with Toni Collette, Johnny Flynn, Andrea Riseborough, Timothy Spall, Helen Mirren, Stephen Merchant, and “Ted Lasso’s” Jeremy Swift.

Avatar: Fire and Ash (December 19) Writer/director James Cameron gives us another chapter in the saga of Pandora, again starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, and Stephen Lang, with Oona Chaplin as the new villain.

The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (December 19) The residents of Bikini Bottom are back, this time with Mark Hamill providing the voice for the Flying Dutchman, who needs the world’s most innocent soul to break his curse. Who could that be?

Anaconda (December 25) Paul Rudd and Jack Black play bros who decide to remake their favorite movie, the cheesy 1997 film Anaconda. When their fake snake fails, of course they decide to get a real one. What could go wrong?

Marty Supreme (December 25) Timothée Chalamet (with a mustache) and Gwyneth Paltrow (as a movie star) appear in a film about a ping pong champion. Viewers at a recent surprise screening loved it. From the AP’s Jack Coyle: “A madcap ode to strivers. A great New York movie.”

Song Sung Blue (December 25) A documentary about a real life Neil Diamond tribute duo inspired this feature film starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson.

“Rental Family” written and directed by a Japanese woman who goes by the mononym Hikiri, is one of the most heartwarming and humane films of the year, with wise and touching insights into the connections that make life meaningful and the fear of being hurt that holds us back from trusting each other. It is a festival favorite, with audience awards that include a narrative feature award at the Middleburg Film Festival.

Brendan Fraser plays Phillip, an American actor who is adrift in Japan, still living there years after his most popular role in a toothpaste commercial. His most recent role was a tree. He lives in a tiny apartment, eating take-out dinner and looking at the neighbors in the high rise across the street, “Rear Window”-style and has occasional encounters with a sex worker, to have some semblance of human contact.

His agent calls him with an offer. All he knows about the part he is to play is “sad American.” He discovers that it is not the kind of performance he is used to. He is a fake mourner at a fake funeral the fake corpse has purchased to see if the affection and respect he might get after his death is enough to make him want to continue to live.

In the US, if someone is having suicidal thoughts, we would expect them to see a psychotherapist or other counselor. But in Japan, where cognitive therapy and other psychological resources are not as accepted or available, an alternative has served the same purpose: “rental” family members to do what their customers wish they could get from the people in their lives. It’s not as different as we might think, especially in the emerging opportunities of parasocial and AI “relationships.”

Just as a therapist can sometimes be a stand-in for characters who create conflicts in the life of a patient, the rental family can be a way of accessing the support or even the conversations that a struggling person wishes for.

At first, Phillip turns down an offer to join a rental family company. But the money is good and it is kind of an acting job. His first “role” is fiancé to a young woman who needs a Caucasian man from North America she will call Brian to go through a wedding ceremony with her so she does not have to tell her parents the real reason she is moving to Canada. Then he has to pretend to be the father of a young girl who needs both parents to apply to a special school.

Each of his jobs begins to open up a part of him that he did not realize he had closed off. The sympathetic sex worker (who makes a delightful surprise appearance in another context later on), is only half teasing when she tells him they have the same job, paid intimacy. Phillip cannot help first being interested, then concerned, then invested, and then committed to the people he is being paid by. This is ideal casting for Fraser, uncomfortably large among the much smaller Japanese, his deep, expressive eyes showing us the way he slips from closely observing for “yes, and” improv-style purposes to finding depths of compassion and connection. His scenes with the little girl are endearingly natural, and the look on his face when the initially hostile and wary child falls asleep with her head on his shoulder is infinitely moving. This is a lovely tribute to the people who pretend to be part of someone’s family and an even lovelier one to the people who take the risk of letting themselves truly connect.

Parents should know that this film includes a sad death, some strong language, a non-explicit sexual situation with a sex worker, drinking, and smoking.

Family discussion: Which job was the most difficult for Phillip and why? What do people get from renting someone to be their family or friend?

If you like this, try: the Japanese film “Departures” and “Local Hero”

I liked “Wicked: For Good” a lot. But before I tell you why, let me warn anyone out there who is hoping that part two of the movie based on the Broadway musical, based on the book, inspired by the classic L. Frank Baum story will be a lot like part one that the second half of the story is much darker and less hummable than the first. If you want to revisit the magical college for teenagers, gorgeous songs and dance numbers, and ode to opening your hearts to friendship with those who you might initially consider to be too different, then watch the first one again.

“Wicked: For Good” picks up 12 Ozian years later, long past the days of the dorms, classes, and parties at Shiz University. But Galinda, now known as Glinda (Ariana Grande), is finally something of a teacher’s pet, though in this case she is more of an operative for the powerful Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), the top advisor for the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum). So, she’s less “pet” as in favorite as “pet” as in being a convenient (not asking questions) and attractive (yes, popular) spokesperson. As a student, Glinda was unable to get Madame Morrible to teach her. Indeed, she was blunt in telling her would-be apprentice that she had no talent for magic. As an adult, Madame Morrible found her to be an ideal focus of attention for the population, reassuring them that all was well.

Glinda loves being adored by the population and does not think too hard about the cruelty of the Wizard’s reign, even when her one-time friend Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) is now public enemy number one, with wanted posters all over Oz declaring her a threat. Fiero (Jonathan Bailey) is now an officer in the Wizard’s guard, feeling conflicted about Elphaba. But when Glinda announces to the crowd, that they are engaged, Madam Morrible’s idea as the latest entertaining distraction, Fiero goes along with it.

Nessarose (Narissa Bode) has now taken over the position of her late father and is governor of Munchkinland. She is still in love with Bob (Ethan Slater), not knowing that he only asked her to the school dance because Glinda told him to and he only stayed by her side after her father died because he still wanted to be a support for her. When he tells her he thinks it is time for him to leave, she impulsively imposes travel restrictions to keep him from going. Both Bok and Fiero do not want to let down the women who love them, though they long to be with someone else.

Glinda tries to get Elphaba to join the Wizard, and she almost agrees, after he promises to release the flying monkeys and allow the animals to return. When she learns he has not been honest, she resolves to become his enemy.

We know where this is going. While some of the details of the very familiar story are changed, including the origin stories of the Tin Woodman and Scarecrow, the little girl in the checked dress from Kansas and her dog arrive in a storm (the origin story of the storm is well handled) and most of the consequences for the characters remain the same. There are even touches from the MGM movie, for example, when Madame Morrible says a line Margaret Hamilton delivers so memorably about what “must be done delicately.”

Almost all of the now-iconic musical numbers are in the first movie. Despite the best efforts of two powerhouse singers, the songs from the play’s second act and a couple of new ones do not reach those soaring heights. Some reprises come as a relief. The new songs are less tied to defining character developments or crowds performing lively dances. The storyline nearly tips over into making unrequited love the motive for the main characters’ anger, hurt, and motivation for bad behavior, before remembering that the real heart of the story is about choosing trust, kindness, and inclusion over fear and grabs for power.

Production design by Nathan Crowley remains stunning, from the most intricate details to the grandest visions. The same goes for Paul Tazewell’s fabulous costumes. Erivo and Grande sing, never less than transcendently spectacular. Jonathan Bailey gives Fiyero a quiet smolder as he goes from dancing through life to thinking about choices to following his heart. It is subtle, not a term that comes to mind when considering the joyful maximalism of the “Wicked” film and therefore exceptionally moving. And, with credit to director John M. Chu and his outstanding cast, somewhere in all of the eye candy and bombast there are some meaningful comments on the path to power through spreading fear and making the population distrust one another. And there is a tender-hearted story of love and loss, of selfishness and the courage to oppose it, and of the people we love because they see our best selves even before we do.

Parents should know that this film has fantasy peril and violence, and a character is killed. There are brief references to paternity/adultery and a non-explicit sexual situation.

Family discussion: Pick a favorite story and see if you can imagine it from the point of view of one of the other characters. Why were Glinda and Elpheba friends? What did they learn from each other?

If you like this, try: “Wicked” and “The Wizard of Oz,” “The Wiz,” and the books by L. Frank Baum, and join the Oz Club!

Take this into account: I loved the first film in this series about the magicians who exchange quips as they dazzle audiences and outsmart international law enforcement, and I liked the second one a lot. So when I say that a better title might be: “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t Think Too Hard,” that doesn’t mean I didn’t thoroughly enjoy this third in what is being set up to be a “Mission Impossible” or “Fast and Furious”-style franchise. It does mean that you will be more likely to enjoy yourself thoroughly if you don’t get distracted by questions of logics or physics. You know, like “Mission Impossible” and “Fast and Furious.”

To recap: In the first film, illusionist Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), mentalist/hypnotist
Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), lock-picker/pickpocket/card thrower Jack Wilder (Dave Franco), and escape artist Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher) teamed up as The Horsemen to return a portion of a billionaire’s ill-gotten gains to some of the people he stole from, and they become members of the most secret, selective, and prestigious magic club in the world, called The Eye. In the second film, the three men are joined by Lula (Lizzy Caplan), replacing Henley, and the villain is the son of the villain from the first film.

The team has separated for many years, but they are reunited when they receive mysterious cards from The Eye, and they are joined by three young magicians who are likely being set-up to lead in episode 4, teased at the end of this film. The newcomers are stage performer Bosco (Dominic Sessa from “The Holdovers”), pickpocket June (Ariana Greenblatt the girl who was too old to play with Barbies in “Barbie”), and Charlie (Justice Smith from “Dungeons and Dragons: No Honor Among Thieves”), a magic nerd deeply immersed in the history of the art and craft of deception for entertainment who prefers to plan the illusions but remain behind the scenes. As with the previous films, the fun comes from the prickly banter, the fun of being fooled and then getting a peek at how the tricks are done, and the satisfaction of outsmarting a villain who deserves it.

And Veronika Vanderberg (Rosamund Pike) is every bit as worthy of being outsmarted as we could wish. She is the ruthless head of a South African diamond company, inherited from her father. Her diamonds are involved in laundering money for arms dealers and traffickers, and warlords. “She makes all the worst criminals possible.” (If that sounds like crypto, don’t think that gets left out.) There’s also some mention of the entire premise of the diamond business being based on abusive practices. And someone with a disguised voice keeps calling her about something very bad in her past that she does not want to be made public.

Veronika has a gigantic diamond called The Heart that is the size of a very large potato and she is scheduled to show it off at an exclusive formal gala. The Horsemen infiltrate and pull various tricks to steal The Heart. The Eye cards then lead them to a magnificent castle that is like a museum of magic, with puzzle rooms that include funhouse mirrors and M.C. Escher-style steps. Then there is a final confrontation, with more twists than there are in a family size box of fusilli. That includes some appearances by characters/performers from the previous films. The series is bending toward “Mission Impossible” (the TV series, not the movies) territory with its intricate illusions to triumph over bad guys and toward “Fast and Furious” with it’s “I don’t have friends; I have family” moments, and the globe-hopping of both. Plus Lady Gaga’s very apt “Abracadabra.”

Pike makes an excellent villain. She is a master of the mirthless smile. As she did in “Gone Girl,” she shows us the fiercely feral intelligence that is always clicking toward “winning” even as her face is a mask of civility. The four original Horsemen understand their characters and their chemistry and make the most of both and the new additions show a lot of promise. They tell us up front that everything that disappears, reappears. If indeed Sessa, Smith, and Greenblatt take over the lead roles in the next film, we’ll be happy to be fooled by them again.

Parents should know that this film has some strong language, a drug reference, peril, and violence including attempted murder and a sad death of a character.

Family discussion: What kind of magic do you most enjoy? What should the Horsemen do in the next chapter?

If you like this, try: The first two films, plus “Magic Camp” and the documentary “Make Believe”

It is an honor to serve on the Critics Choice Association Documentary Committee and I am delighted to announce this year’s awardees.

WINNERS OF THE TENTH ANNUAL CRITICS CHOICE DOCUMENTARY AWARDS

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)

BEST DIRECTOR
Geeta Gandbhir – The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)

BEST FIRST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE 
My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay (HBO Max)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Toby Strong, Doug Anderson (Underwater Photography) – Ocean with David Attenborough (National Geographic)

BEST EDITING
Viridiana Lieberman – The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)

BEST SCORE
Alexei Aigui – Orwell: 2+2=5 (Neon)

BEST NARRATION
Orwell: 2+2=5 (Neon)
   Written by George Orwell, Adapted by Raoul Peck
   Performed by Damian Lewis

BEST ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTARY
The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)

BEST HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY (TIE)
The American Revolution (PBS)
Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time (National Geographic)

BEST BIOGRAPHICAL DOCUMENTARY
Mr. Scorsese (Apple TV)

BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY (TIE)
Becoming Led Zeppelin (Sony Pictures Classics)
Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) (Hulu, Onyx Collective)

BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY
The Alabama Solution (HBO Max)

BEST SCIENCE/NATURE DOCUMENTARY
Ocean with David Attenborough (National Geographic)

BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY
America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (Netflix)

BEST TRUE CRIME DOCUMENTARY
The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)

BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
Saving Superman (Switchboard)

BEST LIMITED DOCUMENTARY SERIES
Mr. Scorsese (Apple TV)

BEST ONGOING DOCUMENTARY SERIES
30 for 30 (ESPN Films)

About the Critics Choice Association (CCA) 

The Critics Choice Association is the largest critics organization in the United States and Canada, representing more than 500 media critics and entertainment journalists. It was established in 2019 with the formal merger of the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association, recognizing the intersection between film, television, and streaming content. 

To stream the ceremony and learn more about the Critics Choice Documentary Awards, visit CriticsChoice.com. The list of nominees and winners will also be available on the site.

All artwork (including nominee and winner laurels) can be found HERE.

Social Media handles:
X: @criticschoice