Next on the Big Screen: November 2014

Next on the Big Screen in November 2014...
Next on the Big Screen: November 2014
Matthew McConaughey in “Interstellar.” Paramount Pictures and Warner Brothers Entertainment
Mark Jackson
Updated:

Opening November 5

[aolvideo src=“http://pshared.5min.com/Scripts/PlayerSeed.js?sid=1759&width=480&height=300&playList=518352286&responsive=false”]

 

‘Interstellar’

Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, Casey Affleck

What: The latest sci-fi mindbender from Christopher Nolan. This time, human beings have messed up the planet and need to go find another one to live on. A group of explorers, led by a former NASA test pilot (McConaughey), dive through a galactic wormhole to scout out possible planets for settlement. Along the way, they must come to terms with personal sacrifices made for the greater good. Visually stunning and shot in film, this is definitely one worth seeing on IMAX.

Opening November 7

‘21 Years: Richard Linklater’

Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Keanu Reeves, Matthew McConaughey

What: Artists and scientists are known to do their best work early on, usually in their first 21 years. Richard Linklater announced his indie-king presence with authority with “Slacker,” added a cult classic to America’s infatuation with high school movies with “Dazed and Confused,” and filmed someone actually growing up on film in “Boyhood.”

Linklater-stable actors Jack Black, Jason Reitman, and Keanu Reeves, among others, talk about the famous director. Contains very funny animation. The man is a visionary; he’s shaped American pop culture and given us all a lot to think about.

‘The Better Angels’

Cast: Brit Marling, Diane Kruger, Jason Clarke, Wes Bentley, Jamie Harrold

What: Abe as a babe in the woods. Lincoln, that is.

The year is 1817. Life is rough, nature is hostile—there are no vaccines. We see three years of Lincoln’s childhood. Family, hardship, great tragedy, and two women put him on the path to becoming one of the greatest. Black-and-white cinematography enhances the power of nature. Extreme attention is given to historical detail, showing how the bleakness of the times cultivated the inner qualities that made Lincoln one of America’s (and the world’s) premier leaders.

[aolvideo src=“http://pshared.5min.com/Scripts/PlayerSeed.js?sid=1759&width=480&height=300&playList=518466880&responsive=false”]

 

‘The Theory of Everything’

Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, David Thewlis, Emily Watson

What: This is the story of world-famous astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, still living, who possesses one of the greatest scientific minds to date. As a healthy young man, he becomes smitten with a fellow Cambridge student. At 21, he receives a mind-shattering diagnosis, and undertakes his greatest scientific work, studying that which he no longer has much of—time. With the help of the love of his life, he challenges impossible odds, and makes discoveries in medicine and science. By losing his health, he gained more than he ever dreamed.

Opening November 12

‘A Most Violent Year’

Cast: Jessica Chastain, Oscar Isaac, Albert Brooks

What: The year 1981 was the most crime-ridden in New York City’s history. An immigrant family tries the shiny American Dream on for size but runs into the foul underbelly of American corruption. Stellar cast.

Opening November 14

[aolvideo src=“http://pshared.5min.com/Scripts/PlayerSeed.js?sid=1759&width=480&height=300&playList=518372925&responsive=false”]

 

‘Beyond the Lights’

Cast: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Nate Parker, Minnie Driver, Danny Glover

What: Noni (Mbatha-Raw) is a music superstar too fragile for fame. Kaz (Parker) is a cop assigned to protect her from overenthusiastic fans but ends up protecting her from the self-corrupting influence of the industry as well. Certain individuals with a vested interest in Noni’s celebrity say they should focus on their careers, but the two will find their own path, one partner creating a powerful base for the artistry of the other to flourish.

‘Always Woodstock’

Cast: Katey Sagal, Brittany Snow, Rumer Willis

What: Catherine Brown, a classic New York City struggling singer-songwriter, watches her life in the big city fall apart. She goes back home to Woodstock, N.Y., where she grew up. This is the lose-one’s-way, fall-off-the-cliff portion of the Hero’s Journey. Will she find the ally?

[aolvideo src=“http://pshared.5min.com/Scripts/PlayerSeed.js?sid=1759&width=480&height=300&playList=518472825&responsive=false”]

 

‘The Homesman’

Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Hilary Swank, Meryl Streep, Hailee Steinfeld

What: Three American frontier women lose it and go crazy. Who wouldn’t? Pioneer life was hell. Somebody’s got to go rescue them. That would be Mary Bee Cuddy, played by Hilary Swank. Three crazy women in a covered wagon? That’s an awesomely difficult road trip, so Mary Bee finds herself a man, as it’s kind of a man’s job. So George Briggs, played by Tommy Lee Jones, joins the party after Mary Bee rescues him from a hanging. Back East, a minister’s wife (Meryl Streep) offers shelter. But first, perilous Nebraska Territories must be traversed.

Opening November 21

[aolvideo src=“http://pshared.5min.com/Scripts/PlayerSeed.js?sid=1759&width=480&height=300&playList=518433313&responsive=false”]

 

‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay—Part 1’

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Julianne Moore, Donald Sutherland

What: The blockbuster “Hunger Games” series continues. Under the leadership of President Coin (Julianne Moore) and with a little help from her friends, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) fights to save Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and inspires a nation with her courage.

[aolvideo src=“http://pshared.5min.com/Scripts/PlayerSeed.js?sid=1759&width=480&height=300&playList=518341509&responsive=false”]

 

‘The Imitation Game’

Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Mark Strong, Matthew Goode

What: Benedict Cumberbatch plays Alan Turing—British genius, mathematician, logician, cryptologist, and computer scientist, who nearly single-handedly cracked the German Enigma Code, which hamstrung the Nazis.

‘Reach Me’

Cast: Kyra Sedgwick, Danny Aiello, Cary Elwes, Kevin Connolly, Sylvester Stallone, Tom Berenger

What: A mysterious motivational book goes viral and inspires a journalist (Kevin Connolly), his editor (Sylvester Stallone), an actor (Cary Elwes), a former inmate (Kyra Sedgwick), and an undercover cop (Thomas Jane) to re-think their life choices by confronting their fears, in hopes of creating better lives.

Opening November 26

[aolvideo src=“http://pshared.5min.com/Scripts/PlayerSeed.js?sid=1759&width=480&height=300&playList=518445089&responsive=false”]

 

‘Horrible Bosses 2’

Cast: Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day, Chris Pine, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Aniston

What: The sequel to 2011’s “Horrible Bosses” reunites Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day as average joes who can’t catch a break, while Jennifer Aniston and Kevin Spacey come back as former horrible bosses. Chris Pine and Christoph Waltz star as new horrible people standing between the joes and their American dream.

Mark Jackson
Mark Jackson
Film Critic
Mark Jackson is the chief film critic for The Epoch Times. In addition to the world’s number-one storytelling vehicle—film, he enjoys martial arts, weightlifting, motorcycles, vision questing, rock-climbing, qigong, oil painting, and human rights activism. Jackson earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Williams College, followed by a classical theater training, and has 20 years’ experience as a New York professional actor, working in theater, commercials, and television daytime dramas. He narrated The Epoch Times audiobook “How the Specter of Communism is Ruling Our World,” which is available on iTunes and Audible. Jackson is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic.
Related Topics