FilmWeek

FilmWeek: 'Moana 2,' 'Queer,' 'Maria,' 'That Christmas,' and More Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Tim Cogshell, Peter Rainer and Charles Solomon review this weekend’s new movie releases on streaming and on-demand platforms. Moana 2 Queer Maria The Seed of the Sacred Fig Ernest Cole: Lost and Found Porcelain War That Christmas Queens (Reinas)

As we enter a major weekend for Hollywood, how successful are Wicked and Gladiator II projected to be? Although Thanksgiving cooking is a major event on its own, the next two weekends serve as a time when major studios try to cash in on the audience’s free time. The two major releases this weekend, John M. Chu’s Wicked and Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II, have bot h heavily campaigned for eyeballs, leaving questions about whether both can find box office success during the first week of their respective domestic releases. Internationally, Gladiator II has been released in some territories and made more than $80 million dollars in the process; Wicked has yet to open up its wide release but is projected to make more than $100 million in its opening weekend. With many referencing Barbenheimer, due to both films’ heavy promotion and different audience demographics, it does beg folks to wonder how each film will ultimately do financially and during awards season. Rebecca Rubin, senior film and media reporter for Variety, joins us to discuss this.

Feature: Critics discuss what’s behind the idea of movies being longer, and how to best prep for them At a time when rolls of film dominated the land, making a blockbuster was going to be expensive when you had to consider a physical film that had to be distributed across the globe. It’s an issue that made films longer than 120 minutes feel like an occasion. However, in the world of digital cameras, the unique quirks that came with the film were no longer an issue, making it easier to extend the length of a given feature. Auteurs like Christopher Nolan and Martin Scorsese have tried their best to keep viewers’ attention, with recent projects like Oppenheimer and Killers of the Flower Moon, respectively. In the vein of West Side Story (1961) and Lawrence of Arabia, Brady Corbet’s upcoming film The Brutalist uses an intermission to give viewers a break. But ultimately… are Hollywood’s movies longer now? And for viewers interested in watching these long movies– what are ways to fully devote yourself to a film?  

FilmWeek: 'Gladiator II,' 'Wicked,' 'Joy,' 'Spellbound,' and More Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Charles Solomon, Amy Nicholson, and Claudia Puig reviewthe latest releases on FilmWeek. Gladiator II Wicked Flow Joy Spellbound Agent of Happiness The Merry Gentlemen The Glassworker