Indie Film Release Guide: December 23rd [An ONTD Original]
It’s Christmas at the box office, and the big studios have several offerings for viewers trying to spend a couple of hours at the movies, with or without their families. Paramount is releasing Babylon, Sony brings us I Wanna Dance With Somebody, and Universal is unleashing Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. Those are all included in this post because of the limited number of new releases this week, but there are also several new indies, which you can read about below.
The films listed are from studios other than the “Big Five” - Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., Walt Disney Pictures, and Columbia Pictures. Note that some of the movies listed are in their first week or two of limited release in the USA, so it may take them a few more weeks (or months) to show up in your local arthouse theater or on VOD. Check out the posts from the past few weeks for more movies that may have just opened near you: December 16th, December 9th, and December 2nd.
Women Talking
Click to viewStars: Rooney Mara, Jessie Buckley, Claire Foy, Judith Ivey
Writer: Sarah Polley, Miriam Toews
Director: Sarah Polley
Genre: Drama
Plot: Do nothing. Stay and fight. Or leave. In 2010, the women of an isolated religious community grapple with reconciling a brutal reality with their faith.
What you should know: This is writer and director Sarah Polley’s first film since 2012’s Stories We Tell.
Where to watch: In theaters
Corsage
Stars: Vicky Krieps, Colin Morgan, Ivana Urban, Alma Hasun
Writer/Director: Marie Kreutzer
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
Plot: A fictional account of one year in the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. On Christmas Eve 1877, Elisabeth, once idolized for her beauty, turns 40 and is officially deemed an old woman; she starts trying to maintain her public image.
What you should know: Vicky Krieps won the Un Certain Regard award at Cannes 2022, tying with Adam Bessa in Harka.
Where to watch: In theaters
Living
Stars: Bill Nighy, Aimee Lou Wood, Alex Sharp, Adrian Rawlins
Writer: Kazuo Ishiguro
Director: Oliver Hermanus
Genre: Drama
Plot: In 1950s London, a humorless civil servant decides to take time off work to experience life after receiving a grim diagnosis.
What you should know: Based on the 1952 film Ikiru by Akira Kurosawa.
Where to watch: In theaters
The Pale Blue Eye
Stars: Christian Bale, Harry Melling, Fred Hechinger, Gillian Anderson
Writer/Director: Scott Cooper
Genre: Crime, Horror, Mystery
Plot: A world-weary detective is hired to investigate the murder of a West Point cadet. Stymied by the cadets' code of silence, he enlists one of their own to help unravel the case - a young man the world would come to know as Edgar Allan Poe.
What you should know: Based on the novel by Louis Bayard.
Where to watch: In theaters; on Netflix January 6th
No Bears
Stars: Jafar Panahi, Naser Hashemi, Vahid Mobasheri, Bakhtiyar Panjeei
Writer/Director: Jafar Panahi
Genre: Drama
Plot: Two parallel love stories in which the partners are thwarted by hidden, inevitable obstacles, the force of superstition, and the mechanics of power.
What you should know: Won the Golden Lion at Venice 2022.
Where to watch: In theaters
Wildcat
Director: Trevor Frost, Melissa Lesh
Genre: Documentary
Plot: Back from war in Afghanistan, a young British soldier struggling with depression and PTSD finds a second chance in the Amazon rainforest when he meets an American scientist, and together they foster an orphaned baby ocelot.
What you should know: This is the feature directorial debut for Trevor Frost and Melissa Lesh.
Where to watch: In theaters; on Amazon Prime December 30th
Joyride
Stars: Olivia Colman, Charlie Reid, Lochlann O'Mearáin, Elaine Kennedy
Writer: Ailbhe Keogan
Director: Emer Reynolds
Genre: Drama
Plot: A headstrong solicitor's plan to offload her new born baby to her sister, is derailed when a vulnerable but opinionated teenager steals their taxi.
What you should know: Filmed in Ireland.
Where to watch: In theaters
Major Studio Releases
Puss in Boots
Stars: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Harvey Guillén, Florence Pugh
Writer: Tommy Swerdlow, Tom Wheeler, Paul Fisher
Director: Joel Crawford, Januel Mercado
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Plot: Puss in Boots discovers that his passion for adventure has taken its toll: he has burned through eight of his nine lives. Puss sets out on an epic journey to find the mythical Last Wish and restore his nine lives.
What you should know: This is a sequel to 2011’s Puss in Boots.
Where to watch: In theaters
Babylon
Stars: Diego Calva, Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt, Jean Smart
Writer/Director: Damien Chazelle
Genre: Comedy, Drama, History
Plot: A tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, it traces the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood.
What you should know: This Damien Chazelle’s first feature since 2018’s First Man.
Where to watch: In theaters
I Wanna Dance With Somebody
Stars: Naomi Ackie, Stanley Tucci, Ashton Sanders, Tamara Tunie
Writer: Anthony McCarten
Director: Kasi Lemmons
Genre: Biography, Drama, Music
Plot: A joyous, emotional, heartbreaking celebration of the life and music of Whitney Houston, one of the greatest female R&B pop vocalists of all time, tracking her journey from obscurity to musical superstardom.
What you should know: The film uses singing that is 95% Whitney Houston’s, much like the blend in Bohemian Rhapsody.
Where to watch: In theaters
Expanding
Empire of Light (Trailer)
The Whale (Trailer)
New to Streaming
Glass Onion (Trailer) on Netflix
Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical (Trailer) on Netflix
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse (Trailer) on Apple TV+
Meet Me in the Bathroom (Trailer) on Showtime
Everything Everywhere All At Once (Trailer) on Showtime
Sharp Stick (Trailer) on Hulu
Mack + Rita (Trailer) on Hulu
Source 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Busy tomorrow, so this is a day early! What have you been watching lately, ONTD? Seeing anything this weekend?