Nicolas Cage stars as Paul, your run-of-the-mill family man and biology teacher. He never wanted the spotlight but he is shoved into it literally overnight as he starts to suddenly appear in the dreams of millions of strangers. He is instantly seen as a cool, confident, guiding figure who is worthy of being dreamed of. There’s always a darker side to fame, however. Soon the dreams start to turn darker, with Paul showing up as the villain instead of a positive force. As quickly as they embraced him, the world turns on him.

• Release date: November 10, 2023
• Genre: Dark comedy
• Rating: R
• Director: Kristoffer Borgli
• Cast: Nicolas Cage, Lily Bird, Julianne Nicholson, Jessica Clement

Zack Snyder is back in the director’s chair, this time with something a bit different. Rebel Moon is a space opera that plays out sort of like a darker, grittier take on Star Wars. Kora is a former soldier of the Imperium, the elite army of the Motherworld empire. For years she has attempted to escape her past, hiding away in Veldt, a peaceful moon-based farming colony. When soldiers arrive on the moon, she has no choice but to confront her past and defend Veldt. To get the job done she’ll need allies, and so she sets off on a quest to recruit new members to her cause. Although it’s not a particularly original plot, this looks like a fun film. Like much of his work, early reviews suggest it is resonating better with general audiences than with critics. 

• Release date: Dec 15, 2023
• Genre: Action/Sc-Fi
• Rating: PG-13
• Director: Zack Snyder
• Cast: Sofia Boutella, Charlie Hunnam, Ed Skrein, Anthony Hopkins

Beau is Afraid centers on a paranoid and anxiety-ridden man named Beau who is haunted by his past drama. After his mother dies suddenly he is forced to face his fears and embark on a strange journey home. While this might not sound that weird, the plot gets really strange as it blends horror, drama, comedy, and mystery sometimes all at once. This is a movie that keeps you thinking, as it’s a bit open to interpretation. It’s certainly not a film for everyone, but if you are into mind-bending movies, you can watch it now exclusively on Paramount. 

• Release date: April 14, 2023 
• Genre: Comedy, Adventure, Fantasy
• Movie rating: R
• Director: Ari Aster
• Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Patti LuPone, Amy Ryan, Nathan Lane

It appears we have another dark comedy on the list. Oliver Quick is a scholarship student at Oxford, yearning for acceptance. He eventually meets Felix, a charming and wealthy classmate who invites him to spend the summer at his family’s estate. But Felix has his own dark secrets, unbeknownst to Oliver. If you’re into psychological thrillers with a dark comedic twist, you’ll enjoy this one.

• Release date: Nov 17, 2023
• Genre: Dark comedy
• Rating: R
• Director: Emerald Fennell
• Cast:Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant

This biographical film drama tells the story of composer Leonard Bernstein’s life, including his complicated relationship with his wife, actress Felicia Montealegre. Their relationship is tested again and again, made worse by the affairs he has with other men throughout the marriage. There’s a lot of great talent behind this film, including actor Bradley Cooper who stars as Bernstein as well as other well-known stars such as Jeremy Irons and Justin Theroux. 

• Release date: September 2, 2023
• Genre: Biographical drama
• Rating: PG
• Director: Bradley Cooper
• Cast: Bradley Cooper, Carey Mulligan, Matt Bomer, Maya Hawke

In 2055 an AI set a nuclear warhead off over Los Angeles, which leads the United States and most of the Western world into war with artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, the so-called New Asia pact continued to embrace AI and stand in opposition to the West’s goals. As the war continues, former soldier Joshua is recruited to hunt down and kill the Creator, the mysterious creator of an AI that supposedly threatens humanity. What he finds instead is a child-like humanoid AI. 

• Release date: Sep 29, 2023
• Genre: Sci-fi/action
• Rating: PG-13
• Director: Gareth Edwards
• Cast: John David Washington, Gemma Chan, Ken Watanabe

• Release date: No 17, 2023
• Genre: Dystopian Sci-Fi
• Rating: PG-13
• Director: Francis Lawrence
• Cast: Rachel Zegler, Viola Davis, Hunter Schafe, Ashley Liao

Trolls Band Together is the third movie in the Trolls series. The film follows Poppy and Branch once again, this time as Poppy learns that Branch has brothers, one of whom is kidnapped. Together with Poppy, Branch must reunite with his former family-based boyband, BroZone to save his brother. The first Trolls was pretty zany, but the second got even weirder. I’m sure my kids and I will be finding out how the third one fares this weekend, how about you?

• Release date: June 15, 2023
• Genre: Comedy/Drama
• Rating: PG-13
• Director: Wes Anderson
• Cast: Anna Kendrick, Amy Schumer, Justin Timberlake, Troye Sivan, Camila Cabello

What was new and worth watching over the last month 

Looking for more recommendations? Here are other great movies that debuted in the last 30 days or so:

Priscilla has finally arrived on video on demand. Sofia Cappola brings us a closer look at the life of Priscilla, the Queen behind the King. The story begins with a teenage Priscilla Beaulieu who meets the iconic rock-and-roll superstar at a party and then follows their complicated relationship as it progresses. Based on Priscilla’s memoir Elvis and Me, this movie gives us a look at the king from a very different set of eyes. With strong performances and a solid cast, this one is worth the watch for Elvis fans and music history lovers alike. 

• Release date: September 4, 2023
• Genre: Romance/Drama
• Rating: R
• Director: Sofia Coppola
• Cast: Cailee Spaeny, Jacob Elordi, Dagmara Domińczyk

Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Monaghan star as husband and wife in this quirky new Apple TV Plus exclusive. Dan Morgan (Wahlberg) is an ordinary, boring suburban dad, but he wasn’t always this way. As a former assassin, Dan has made his fair share of enemies and so when his secret is discovered, he and his family must go on the run. Wanting to shield them from the truth as long as possible, he lies and tells them they are spontaneously going on vacation to Vegas. This seems to have the usual Wahlberg charm and seems like a fun film to watch with the whole family. 

• Release date: Dec 15, 2023
• Genre: Comedy
• Rating: PG-13
• Director: Simon Cellan Jones
• Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Monaghan 

Another streaming exclusive, this time for Paramount Plus. With big stars like Tommy Lee Jones and Jenna Ortega, you’d think Finestkind would be an instant classic. The reality is much different. This movie is about a crew of fishermen who are forced into dangerous waters to pay off their debts. As a premise, this could go a few different ways, but ultimately the whole film is a little slow. While it’s not a bad movie, it’s certainly not for everyone and has fairly mixed critic ratings to prove it. 

• Release date: Dec 15, 2023
• Genre: Drama
• Rating: R
• Director:
  Brian Helgeland
• Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Jenna Ortega, Ben Foster, Toby Wallace

Gran Turismo is technically a video game adaptation, but not in the way you might think. Instead of trying to find a way to build a story out of the racing game, the director took a different approach, focusing on the true story of Jann Mardenborough, a Gran Turismo champion who eventually became an actual real-life competitive racer.

When I first saw a trailer for this back in the theaters I didn’t know what to think. While I liked the idea of focusing on a real-life player of a game as it’s something different, this was a franchise that just didn’t seem to need a movie. The good news is the movie combines solid acting with a fast-paced sports action story, which works reasonably well. 

• Release date: Aug 25, 2023
• Genre: Action
• Rating: PG-13
• Director: Neill Blomkamp
• Cast: Djimon Hounsou, David Harbour, Orlando Bloom

Out of all the thousands of kids’ movies I’ve watched in my youth and as a parent, Chicken Run falls somewhere in the middle. It’s a fun enough film, but it isn’t memorable enough to be among my favorite family films. Still, I was pretty excited when I heard a sequel was in the works. The new entry is exclusive to Netflix and follows the same group of chickens as the original, long after their escape. But a whole new threat faces Ginger and the rest of the chickens which will put their peaceful island at risk. 

• Release date: Dec 15, 2023
• Genre: Family/kids
• Rating: PG
• Director: Sam Fell
• Cast: Bella Ramsey, Zachary Levi, Nick Mohammed, Thandiwe Newton

To say that Barbie is an unusual movie would be selling it short, but overall this is a fun film starring the beloved Barbie doll franchise. Instead of making it into a kid’s film, Great Gerwig had a different vision in mind and developed a movie about finding your identity, woman empowerment, the toxic nature of the patriarchy, and much more. I won’t lie, I didn’t like some parts of this movie when I saw it in theaters and felt that it dragged on but the story, performances, and morals were all spot on. It just got a bit … weird at the end with all the dancing sequences and whatnot. You’ll see what I mean if you give it a watch, which I recommend doing. 

• Release date: July 21, 2023
• Genre: Comedy
• Rating: PG-13
• Director: Greta Gerwig
• Cast: Margot Robbie, Simu Liu, Ryan Gosling, Helen Mirren

• Release date: Oct 11, 2023
• Genre: Horror/suspense
• Rating: R
• Director: David Slade
• Cast: Casey Likes, E’myri Crutchfield, Dustin Ceithamer

Asteroid City was previously available to stream for Peacock subscribers but now it’s heading to Amazon Prime Video as well.  Asteroid City is a pretty meta experience, as it’s a movie set in the 1950s about a retro-futuristic stage play that is being televised. In other words, this is a film-in-a-film. The TV host introduces Asteroid City (in-film play), and then it cuts forward to the actual play. The film isn’t entirely just about watching the play itself, as in-between scenes also give you a behind-the-scenes look at how the ‘play’ was created.

• Release date: June 15, 2023
• Genre: Comedy/Drama
• Rating: PG-13
• Director: Wes Anderson
• Cast: Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Jason Schwartzman, Tom Hanks

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Christmas Cabin  Fever

• Release date: Dec 8 on Disney Plus
• Starring: Erica Cerra, Wesley Kimmel, Hunter Dillon

Diary of a Wimpy Kid gets a Christmas special! After getting snowed in Greg finds himself struggling to keep off of Santa’s naughty list after he accidentally damages a snow plow and is afraid Santa won’t give him the video console he wants. To make matters worse, being stuck with his family means things soon turn tense as Greg attempts to survive the holidays. If your kids like the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series you won’t want to miss this one. 

Merry Little Batman

• Release date: Dec 8 on Prime Video
• Starring: Luke Wilson, Yonas Kibreab, James Cromwell

Luke Wilson stars as the caped crusader in this Prime Video exclusive holiday special that features a virtually crime-free Gotham and an older, bearded Bruce Wayne with a youngster of his own. When the Justice League contacts him out of the blue, he suddenly leaves to answer the call with a promise he’ll be back in time for Christmas. Unfortunately, he crashes along the way and is further delayed. Meanwhile, Joker shows up and brings havoc to Gotham, taking a page from the Grinch’s playbook as he prepares to steal Christmas. That leaves Damian, Batman’s son, as Gotham’s only hope. 

Mr. Monk’s Last Case

• Release date: Dec 8 on Peacock
• Starring:  J

While I’m more Team: Pysch than Team: Monk, I enjoyed watching Adrain solve cases while handling his struggles with OCD back in the day and have rewatched the series once in the streaming era as well. Now Monk is back once more, following Pysch’s footsteps this time around by releasing a movie. After his stepdaughter’s fiancee dies tragically in a bungee jumping accident, Monk finds himself coming out of retirement. Along the way he’s reunited with many of the show’s best characters. From what I gather, Monk’s first assistant Sharona won’t be in this one outside of flashbacks, but at least Natalie is back.

Leave the World Behind

• Release date: Dec 8 on Netflix
• Starring: Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke

After a family rents a house on the beach for a little getaway, they find paradise. At first. Soon things take a turn when their Wi-Fi suddenly goes dark and two strangers show up at the rental, claiming to be the owners. They claim they need to stay at the house due to a sudden emergency. Shortly after, the rest of the grid goes out mysteriously, and soon the family believes the so-called homeowners know more than what they are telling them. If you like fast-paced thrillers that keep you guessing, you’ll want to watch this. I know what I’m doing this weekend!

Showing Up

• Release date: Dec 7 on Paramount Plus
• Starring: Michelle Williams, Hong Chau, André 3000

After a family rents a house on the beach for a little getaway, they find paradise. At first. Soon things take a turn when their Wi-Fi suddenly goes dark and two strangers show up at the rental, claiming to be the owners. They claim they need to stay at the house due to a sudden emergency. Shortly after, the rest of the grid goes out mysteriously, and soon the family believes the so-called homeowners know more than what they are telling them. If you like fast-paced thrillers that keep you guessing, you’ll want to watch this. I know what I’m doing this weekend!

Great Photo, Lovely Life

• Release date: Dec 5 on Max
• Starring: Amanda Mustard

Great Photo, Lovely Life is an HBO documentary from photojournalist Amanda Mustard as she investigates serial sexual abuse committed against her by her grandfather. The movie takes a close look at some of the atrocities that can go unreported behind closed doors through archival photos, interviews, and some of her real-life home movies. While the subject matter is very heavy, the purpose of the documentary is to break the cycle of trauma and empower other survivors out there who have been through a similar ordeal. 

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

• Release date: Dec 1 on Disney Plus
• Starring: Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas

Indiana Jones was once a really big deal but the last few movies have failed horribly at capturing that early magic. Unfortunately, the Dial of Destiny is no exception to this recent trend. Marking Ford’s last outing as Jones, the movie takes the action to the late 60s and shows an Indiana Jones that is at a much later stage in his life. The series also sees Indy pass his proverbial torch once again (Shia LaBeouf just didn’t cut it we guess!) to younger blood, this time to his god daughter Helena Shaw (Waller-Bridge). Overall this isn’t a bad film but it’s nowhere near classic Indy. On the plus side, I thought this film was a step above the Crystal Skull, though that doesn’t take a lot. 

May December

• Release date: Dec 1 on Netflix
• Starring: Julianne Moore, Natalie Portman, Charles Melton

In the fictional world of May-December, Gracie Atherton-Yoo was at the center of a scandal in 1992 when she was caught at the age of 36 having sex with a 13-year-old, a schoolmate of her son. Twenty-three years and a prison sentence later, Gracie and Joe are married and have three children together. All these years later a movie is going to be produced around the affair, with young actress Elizabeth Berry (Portman) taking on the role of Gracie. As she researches the role by meeting with Gracie and Joe, she soon learns there may be even more to the story just below the surface. 

Candy Cane Lane

• Release date: Dec 1 on Prime Video
• Starring: Eddie Murphy, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jullian Bell

Eddie Murphy stars in a new holiday comedy about a man who is obsessed with winning a home decoration contest in his neighborhood. This drives him to seek bigger and better decor, leading to an encounter with a mischievous elf named Pepper. What he doesn’t realize is that the receipt he signs allows her to cast a spell on him making the 12 Days of Christmas come to life. Yes, it’s an odd storyline that doesn’t make a lot of sense, but nor does some of Murphy’s other greatest comedy hits over the years! I’ve yet to watch, but this is one I’ll definitely be seeing with the family within the next few weeks. 

Family Switch

• Release date: Nov 30 on Netflix
• Starring:  Jennifer Garner, Ed Helms 

Jennifer Garner and Ed Helms star as a husband and wife who are following the same routine over and over again, all while struggling to connect as a family. This ultimately leads to an argument that has several family members saying they wish the other knew what it was like to be them. Just like Freaky Friday, this leads to some body swapping, but this time with the whole family. Although the plot is quite familiar, it has a few small twists to the formula and a solid cast. This should be a fun watch for families this holiday season, even if it’s far from film of the year material. 

A Good Person

• Release date: Nov 28 on Amazon Prime
• Starring: Florence Pugh, Morgan Freeman, Molly Shannon

After a tragedy changes her life and plunges her into depression, Allison spends her days lying around on her mother’s couch struggling with an opioid addiction and unresolved grief. This slowly changes when an unlikely friendship with her mother’s would-be husband starts to help her come to terms with her grief and put her life back together. This movie is hard-hitting and can really pull at the feels thanks to an emotional storyline and excellent A-list talent including Florence Pugh, Morgan Freeman, and Molly Shannon. 

Genie

• Release date: Nov 22 on Peacock
• Starring:Melissa McCarthy, Paapa Essiedu, Jordyn McIntosh

This close to Christmas you’ll see a ton of Christmas movies. Some are well-written high-budget affairs, others are simple B-movies that are fun to watch, but easily forgettable. This one falls into the latter group. It is a fun enough watch, but the pacing felt a bit rushed in some places and I had more than a few gripes about the plotline. For example, if roles were reversed and my significant other and I separated for a week and I came for a visit and they’d completely revamped our shared house with new furniture and a ton of other changes while I was gone… I would be mad they did this without me, not impressed. There are lots of little things that I felt could be stronger in the story, but we watch these movies to feel good around the holidays. That means the movies are cheesy, predictable, and often require a little suspension of belief. This is worht a look if you’re looking for a feel-good Christmas movie to watch with your partner or the whole family.

Good Burger 2

• Release date: Nov 22 on Paramount Plus
• Starring: Kel Mitchell, Kenan Thompson, Shar Jackson

Kenan and Kel are finally back together! This alone had me excited as a fan of All That, the Kenan and Kel Show, Good Burger, and many other collaborations between the two young actors back in the 90s during my childhood. Is this as good as the first movie? Not even close. Some of that is in the semi-chaotic plotline, and some of it is that I’ve partially outgrown their child-focused humor. There were moments when I chuckled, but mostly I watched it for nostalgia. Still, it’s a fun watch if you’re into these kinds of tributes to the past and one that my kids were pretty into, proving that this humor works well for younger ones. I was just hoping for something a bit more adult-focused for those who grew up with this brand of comedy but wanted a more mature take like the iCarly reboot. Overall though, a good family film even if it feels more than a little unnecessary.