Dustin Chase

Not sure we needed another “Wonka” film reboot. Although, like chocolate itself, need and want are often confused. Paul King, the director of the adorable “Paddington” films, brings his whimsical

It's that time of year again, the week before Christmas when Hollywood unleashes some of its best films all at once. Except right now you have no time to hit the cinema with Christmas shopping and holiday travel. Both the Golden Globe nominations and Critics Choice Award nominations (to which I vote and belong) have revealed their contenders for the award season, providing additional help on what you should see this weekend.

Unless you live under the Causeway, you've probably noticed or heard something about the 96th Annual Academy Award nominations. Summer films like “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” raking in the nominations along with film festival and critics' darlings “Poor Things," “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “Maestro” betting on a boost from all the awards buzz. Buried in the headlines of who got nominated and who didn't, is the infusion of international cinema into this year's lineup.

For better and usually worse, sequels have always been a byproduct of the Hollywood eco system. “The Fall of a Nation” became the first film called a sequel in 1916, following the success of “The Birth of a Nation”. Director Tim Burton's long, and I mean long, anticipated sequel to the 1988 scrappy, weird “Beetlejuice”, ties “Top Gun” with 36 years between the original and “part 2”. A sequel is more of “let's do that again” replication, than say “The Two Towers” or more recently “Dune: Part Two”, which are continuations of one predetermined story. Nostalgia is the latest sequel fad, bringing beloved films from the '80's and '90's back from the dead. Burton and his collaboratives understand the nostalgic selling point, as much from the original film is recreated, built upon and extended, yet it doesn't feel the same. Is “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” just not as good as the original, or is it because we are not pre-teens anymore?

As the fall season creeps in, so do the early award contenders. The end of September offers changing tea leaves for studios and award campaigners, as major film festivals come to a close. Which films got great early reviews, had the most buzz, or won audience awards? The downside to those questions is which films didn't fare so well. That's what the end of September signals. On the one hand, the final Fridays of September can be the last chance for films, that say, are right on the edge. Will dropping them in theaters or on streaming services during a time when there isn't much happening at the box office (unless you are headed to see “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” again), push them back into the “maybe” category?

Not since “Hell or High Water” or before that Christopher Nolan’s “Insomnia” have we gotten a crime film so equally balanced with suspense, performances and cinematic quality. It should come

If you choose Bob Dylan for Christmas this year, you will find an unconventional musical biopic showcasing Timothee Chalamet’s musical and acting range. The sounds coming from the non-family-friendly “Babygirl”

It might surprise you that former “Baywatch” star and model Pamela Anderson gives one of the best performances of the 2024 year. “The Last Showgirl” much like Demi Moore’s Golden

“The Performance” wouldn’t have registered much a week ago, a small film with a big turn from Jeremy Piven (“Entourage”), directed by his sister Shire Piven, about an American/Jewish tap

Few mainstream films with high-profile, Oscar-nominated actors, such as Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”) and Steven Yeun (“Minari”) are rarely this dreadful. Described as a post-apocalyptic romance, “Love Me” is shockingly bad. First-time, feature film directors Andrew and Sam Zuchero use an amalgamation of mixed media to tell their love story that spans over one billion years about a buoy falling in love with a satellite. More of a concept than a film, Andrew Zuchero's experience in short films should have been enough to realize that's where a project like this should have remained.