A Reel Preview: The Year in Film 2019 - Episode XI

The months of September and October were a little quiet, but cinema is making up for it in the last two months of 2019, starting with a packed month of November and a very diverse slate of films as Oscar Season really gets underway. Here now is a preview for the notable releases for the month…

It all gets dark with…

TERMINATOR: DARK FATE – This sixth installment in the 35-year-old, time-travelling sci-fi franchise serves as a direct sequel to TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY (1991), and ignores all the movies and TV series that have come after that. James Cameron, who directed the first two films, returns as a producer, and Tim Miller (DEADPOOL), directs. Linda Hamilton reprises her role of Sarah Connor for the first time since T2. Arnold Schwarzenegger is also back. 

HARRIET – Historical legend Harriet Tubman, a slave turned abolitionist, gets her big-screen biopic. Cynthia Erivo (WIDOWS), plays Harriet. 

MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN – Ed Norton directs and stars in this neo-noir crime film taking place in 1957 New York City. He is joined on-screen by Bruce Willis, Bobby Cannavale, Cherry Jones, Alec Baldwin, and Willem Dafoe. 

THE IRISHMAN – Everyone’s favorite superhero Martin Scorsese (GOODFELLAS, THE DEPARTED), returns to the gangster genre with this long-awaited drama about real-life hitman Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran. Scorsese re-unites with GOODFELLAS stars Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci, and for the first time, Al Pacino. 

MARRIAGE STORY – Adam Driver (THE FORCE AWAKENS), and Avenger Scarlett Johansson star as a married couple going through a coast-to-coast divorce. It is directed by Noah Baumbach (FRANCES HA).

DOCTOR SLEEP – This horror film is based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King, and is a sequel to King’s THE SHINING. Ewan McGregor plays a grown-up Danny Torrance. It is directed by Mike Flanagan (GERALD’S GAME). 

LAST CHRISTMAS – Paul Feig (GHOSTBUSTERS 2016), directs this romantic comedy in which an unlucky young woman accepts a job as a department store elf and meets a man who changes her life. It stars Emilia Clarke (TV’S GAME OF THRONES), Emma Thompson, and Henry Golding. 

MIDWAY – Roland Emmerich (INDEPENDENCE DAY), directs this epic WWII film based on the Pearl Harbor attack and the landmark Battle of Midway. It stars Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Luke Evans, Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Dennis Quaid, and Woody Harrelson. 

CHARLIE’S ANGELS – The 1970’s TV series gets another lease on life with its second cinematic reboot, with the Angels being played by Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, and Ella Balinska. It is directed by Elizabeth Banks. 

FORD V. FERRARI – James Mangold (LOGAN), directs this true-story adaptation about the team tasked with building a race car to compete with Ferrari at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans. It stars Matt Damon, Christian Bale, and Jon Bernthal. 

THE GOOD LIAR – Ian McKellen (THE LORD OF THE RINGS), plays a career con-artist who meets a wealthy widow, played by Helen Mirren. It is directed by Bill Condon, who directed McKellen in the most-excellent MR. HOLMES in 2015. 

THE REPORT – In this true-story adaptation, Adam Driver plays the lead investigator into the controversial CIA usage of torture after 9/11. It stars Annette Bening, Jon Hamm, Jennifer Morrison, Tim Blake Nelson, Ben McKenzie, and Ted Levine. 

21 BRIDGES – Chadwick Boseman (BLACK PANTHER), plays a NYPD detective who shuts down the city in order to find two suspects. 

A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NIEGHBORHOOD – Tom Hanks plays the legendary Mr. Rogers in this biopic. 

FROZEN 2 – The sequel to the 2013 smash, with the directors, producers, and song-writing team returning…along with the voice cast of Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, and Josh Gad. 

KNIVES OUT – Rian Johnson (THE LAST JEDI), writes and directs this murder mystery, where a family patriarch is murdered and the entire family is suspected. The ensemble cast includes Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Frank Oz, and Christopher Plummer. 

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Next month, Reel Speak previews the final month of the year.