“Heretic”
If the names Scott Beck and Bryan Woods ring a bell, it should. Writers and directors, they wrote “A Quiet Place,” which helped that franchise get off the ground. With a number of directorial efforts under their belt (“65” with Adam Driver being the most recent), “Heretic” is a psychological horror about two Mormon missionaries (Chloe East and Sophie Thatcher) who attempt to convert a man to their religion (Hugh Grant), and proves to be far more dangerous they could have anticipated.
Release Date: November 15 via A24. – RP
“Here”
Always marrying narrative drama with some kind of cinematic conceit, Robert Zemeckis’ latest bold trick is “Here,” a drama reuniting his “Forrest Gump” stars Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, in a story told from a single point (the camera is locked and never moves), covering a spot of land as it evolves spanning from the past to well into the future. Eric Roth is a co-writer and the film co-stars Paul Bettany, Kelly Reilly, and Michelle Dockery.
Release Date: November 1 via Sony Pictures. – ED
“Red One”
A big Christmas action adventure comedy from the director of the “Jumanji” series, Jake Kasdan helms a story about the head of North Pole security (Dwayne Johnson) and a bounty hunter (Chris Evans) who must team up to retrieve Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons) after his kidnapping. The big ensemble also includes Kiernan Shipka, Lucy Liu, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Nick Kroll, Kristofer Hivju, Bonnie Hunt and more.
Release Date: November 15 via Prime Video/Amazon MGM. – ED
“Wicked”
Based on the acclaimed stage musical, director Jon M. Chu’s (“Crazy Rich Asians”) fantasy musical centers on two young women who eventually become Wicked Witch of the West (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda The Good (Ariana Grande) and how their lives go on very different trajectories after meeting the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum). The ensemble also features Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Bowen Yang, Peter Dinklage, and more.
Release Date: November 22 via Universal Pictures. – ED
“Gladiator II”
24 years after Ridley Scott’s Academy Award-winning “Gladiator” came out, the prolific filmmaker is back with “Gladiator II,” which picks up the same story decades later and centers on Lucius (Paul Mescal), the grandson of Rome’s former emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris in the original film). The star-studded cast includes Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, May Calamawy, plus Connie Nielsen and Derek Jacobi, reprising their roles from the original films.
Release Date: November 22 via Paramount Pictures. – RP
“The Piano Lesson”
In his directorial debut, Malcolm Washington (son of Denzel, who produces) adapts August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, which centers on a family deciding what to do with the family piano heirloom in an intergenerational story about legacy. The starry cast includes Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Danielle Deadwyler, Ray Fisher, Michael Potts, Erykah Badu, and Corey Hawkins.
Release Date: Streams November 22 on Netflix. – RP
“Moana 2”
Originally intended to be a Disney+ series, Disney has subsequently pivoted back to theatrical. And when Bob Iger took a look at a cut of the new adventure, he decided the ‘Moana’ series could easily be tweaked and turned into a feature-length film instead. Auliʻi Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson return as Moana and Maui, and Temuera Morrison, Nicole Scherzinger, Rachel House, and Alan Tudyk all reprise their voice roles from the previous film.
Release Date: November 27 via Disney. – RP
Also Coming In November:
“Black Cab” with Nick Frost (Nov 8); Seth Gordon’s “Back in Action” with Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx (Nov 15); “Elevation” starring Anthony Mackie (Nov 8); the animated “Spellbound” featuring the voices of Rachel Zegler, John Lithgow, Javier Bardem, Nicole Kidman and more (Nov 22); “Sweethearts” starring Kiernan Shipka and Nico Hiraga (Nov 28).
“The Order”
Making its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September, acclaimed filmmaker Justin Kurzel (“Macbeth,” “Nitram”) returns with a crime thriller set within the world of a white supremacist group in the Pacific Northwest and the FBI agent (Jude Law), trying to bring them and their charismatic leader (Nicholas Hoult) down. The film also co-stars Tye Sheridan, Jurnee Smollett, Alison Oliver, Odessa Young, and Marc Maron.
Release Date: December 6 via Vertical Entertainment. – RP
“The Return”
A historical drama directed by Uberto Pasolini (“Still Life”), “The Return” is a retelling of Homer’s “Odyssey” twenty years after the Trojan War, and the warrior king Odysseus (Ralph Fiennes), thought long-dead, who must save his family and reclaim his past. The supporting cast includes Juliette Binoche, Charlie Plummer, Marwan Kenzari, Claudio Santamaria, and Amir Wilson.
Release Date: December 6 via Bleecker Street. – RP