Is there still interest in the “Avatar” films? Everything is about to change.
James Cameron’s long-awaited sequel to his 2009 sci-fi blockbuster (and all-time international box-office champ) Titanic finally hits theatres this weekend, with “Titanic” muse Kate Winslet joining original stars Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaa. A couple of films showcase Rebel Wilson and Martin Lawrence’s serious sides, “The Revenant” director Alejandro González Iárritu’s latest arrives on Netflix, and some Oscar contenders arrive on streaming services for Oscar fans.
Here’s a list of new movies for every taste, as well as some notable theatrical films making their streaming and on-demand debuts:
With the holidays quickly approaching, here are some ideas for Yuletide entertainment:
- “Avatar: The Way of Water” isn’t great storytelling, but it’s entertaining to watch.
The horror film “Nanny” is a creepy show that addresses social issues.
“Bardo” on Netflix is an odd experience with touching themes at its core.
If you want to see something truly amazing, watch ‘Avatar: The Way of Water.’
The sequel, set more than a decade after the original 2009 film, follows Jake (Worthington), Neytiri (Saldaa), and their Na’vi family as they are forced to seek safety when humans return to Pandora. The plot is nominally better than in the first film, but you go to a “Avatar” film for the visuals (underwater scenes are breathtaking), and the combination of kid characters and space whales will win you over.
African folklore and parental stress are effectively combined. In Nikyatu Jusu’s film, Anna Diop plays Aisha, a Senegalese immigrant who works as a babysitter for a wealthy Manhattan couple. With the arrival of Aisha’s own son, she begins to have disturbing visions and nightmares involving spiders, mermaids, and water, which begin to affect her personal and professional lives.
If you need something to chew on, watch ‘Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths.’
Iñárritu’s surrealist comedy-drama centres on a Mexican journalist and documentary filmmaker (Daniel Giménez Cacho) living in LA who’s chosen for a prestigious award by his peers. In a very strange 212-hour existential crisis of a movie where it’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s not, he returns home to Mexico to face past tragedies, imposter syndrome, and family issues, he proves touching at times if you stick with it.
The song-filled remake of Chevy Chase’s 2000 comedy centres on a group of kids who embrace a sense of carpe diem when the white stuff gives them a day off.
In a cheery teen-friendly tale full of familiar tropes, Ky Baldwin stars as a boy who enlists the help of his BFF (Fabi Aguirre) to approach a crush, while his sister (Michaela Russell) takes on a cranky snowploughs driver (“iCarly” alum Jerry Trainor).
Anna Gunn (“Breaking Bad”) plays Darlene, a recovering alcoholic who, 20 years after her daughter’s disappearance, hosts a family Christmas party with her best friend (Janeane Garofalo). Darlene’s ex-brother-in-law (Linus Roache) shows up uninvited on a stormy Christmas Eve with a whopper of a truth bomb, resulting in an ultra-tense thriller that begins well but lacks the twisty heft to fully work.
If you want to see Rebel Wilson’s dramatic side, watch ‘The Almond & the Seahorse.’
The touching drama follows two people who find solace in each other while dealing with the traumatic brain injury of their significant others: An archaeologist (Wilson) struggles when her husband (writer and co-director Celyn Jones) develops a large tumour that interferes with creating new memories, while an architect (Charlotte Gainsbourg) experiences fatigue 15 years after an accident causes long-term amnesia in her partner (Trine Dyrholm).
