Emancipation, Netflix’s Pinocchio, and every new movie to watch at home this weekend

This week Pinocchio(no, that’s not it… no, you are not). ThatOne either), The new stop-motion fantasy from Pan’s Labyrinth director Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson (Incredible Mr. FoxNetflix finally has “” (with a new title, “The Judge”) available. If an animated children’s film set in 1930s Fascist Italy doesn’t quite jibe with your vibe this weekend, not to worry — there’s tons of other new movies to stream on Netflix, like Emily the CriminalAnd The Boss Baby Christmas BonusThis includes all other VOD/streaming releases.

Decent to Leave, Park Chan-wook’s new neo-noir mystery thriller about an insomniac detective with a chainmail glove and the No. Mubi.com offers streaming of the No. 2 movie on our Best Movies List for 2022. David O. Russell’s irreverent historical thriller Amsterdam HBO Max is now available EmancipationWill Smith is the star of Civil War Period Drama “” on Apple TV Plus. Shudder will soon be streaming a brand new horror Christmas comedy called “‘.”

This weekend’s top movies are available to rent or stream.

Netflix

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

What to Watch:Netflix streaming available

Image by Netflix

Genre: Musical/fantasy
Run time: 1h 57m
Director: Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson
Cast: Ewan McGregor and David Bradley. Gregory Mann

Guillermo del Toro (Water Shape) and animation director Mark Gustafson (Incredible Mr. Fox() Team up to Rewrite the Story of PinocchioAs a musical stop-motion musical fantasy, set in the 1930s Italy during Benito Mussolini’s rise. Its core story is the tale of David Bradley, a woodcarver who loses his heart and creates a wooden puppet as his son. The puppet (Gregory Mann), brought to life by a magical blue fairy, is faced with the challenge of navigating a strange and uncertain world with only his conscience — a cricket named Sebastian (Ewan McGregor) — to guide him.

This is our review

There’s no doubt that this is, technically and artistically, one of the great works of stop motion, a rarefied and quixotic art form. This is an ambitious undertaking within the world of rubber, clay, paint, glue, wires, and levers that it has become so practical. Avatar. But del Toro’s greatest achievement is not to let all the artistry overwhelm the art. It’s an unruly, wild, and tender film that sometimes gets lost but, by the end, finds its way to a very moving state of grace.

Christmas bonus from The Boss Babe

What to Watch:Netflix streaming available

Image by Netflix

Genre: Comedy
Run time: 45m
Director: Christo Stamboliev, Matt Engstrom
Cast: JP Karliak. Pierce Gagnon. George Lopez

The Boss Baby is back, and this time, he’s accidentally swapped places with one of Santa’s elves. Boss Baby you irrepressible facsimile! Wall Street’s Gordon Gekko!

Emily, The Criminal

What to Watch:Netflix streaming available

Vertical Entertainment

Genre: Crime thriller
Run time: 1h 37m
Director: John Patton Ford
Cast: Megalyn Echikunwoke and Theo Rossi at Aubrey Plaza

Student struggling to pay off student loans takes on a non-legal job in a credit card fraud.

Our review:

Ford’s color palette for this film — an industrial composite of gunmetal grays and navy blues that recall glass-paneled skyscrapers on a cloudy day — is reminiscent of Michael Mann’s crime classicHeat. And the amoral Emily would fit right in with Mann’s roster of hardened pros. Like James Caan in Thief, she’s good at what she Does. But unlike with Caan’s disillusioned safecracker, her criminal career is just beginning, and the rush of realizing she doesIt is exciting to see that you have what it takes. This validates a character who felt she had little else but debt and drudgery. Michael Mann is the only man who has ever written such an engaging role for women.

Apple TV Plus

Emancipation

What to Watch:Apple TV Plus can stream the video

Image: Apple TV Plus

Genre: Historiographical drama
Run time: 2h 12m
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Cast:Charmaine Baingwa and Ben Foster are Will Smith and Charmaine.

Inspired by the 1863 photos of “Whipped Peter,” Antoine Fuqua’s historical drama stars Will Smith as Peter, an African American who is enslaved and sold to the Confederate army following Abraham Lincoln’s signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Peter sets out to free himself from slavery and to return to his family. He treks through swamps and mud, fighting off alligators and evading the cold-hearted slavecatchers.

HBO Max

Amsterdam

What to Watch:You can stream HBO Max on your computer.

Photo by 20 Century Studios

Genre: Comedy/thriller
Run time: 2h 14m
Director: David O. Russell
Cast: Christian Bale; Margot Robbie; John David Washington

American HustleAnd Joy director David O. Russell’s 2022 comedy thriller follows the (partially true) story of three close friends in 1933 who stumble upon an elaborate conspiracy to overthrow the U.S. government.

Mubi

Decent to Leave

What to Watch:Mubi can be streamed on-demand

CJ Entertainment

Genre: Mystery/thriller
Run time: 2h 18m
Director: Park Chan-wook
Cast: Tang Wei, Park Hae-il

The HandmaidenPark Chan-wook, the director of this crime thriller returns to direct it. It is about Park Haeil (an insomniac detective) who falls for Park Hae-il’s wife. Sounds like a boilerplate noir premise à la Double Indemnity, right? Wrong — thIs isPark Chan-wook films are a good way to find out what else might be going on.

Our review:

Decent to LeaveAlthough they take some dramatic narrative twists, they don’t feel like Surprise! Plot! Twists! They leave viewers gasping for breath and trying desperately to catch up. It’s a slow-burn movie, paced more like a Wong Kar-wai romance (Love is in the mood comes to mind often throughout this movie) than like Park’s early potboiler thrillers. At 138 minutes long, it’s paced for patient viewers who want to linger in the quiet spaces that grow between detective and suspect, and ponder each new bit of evidence in the murder case as it surfaces. It’s a particularly rich version of a whodunit, but it still follows the form, with one clue building on another as Hae-jun’s suspicions coalesce.

Prime Video

Something From Tiffany’s

What to Watch:Prime Video available for streaming

Photo: Erin Simkin/Prime Video

Genre: Romantic comedy
Run time: 1h 27m
Director: Daryl Wein
Cast: Zoey Deutch, Kendrick Sampson, Ray Nicholson

This rom-com features Rachel (Zoey deutch), who receives an engagement band from Gary (Ray Nicholson), her committed-phobic boyfriend. Yay! Problem is, that’s someone else’s ring! Rachel discovers Ethan (Kendrick Samanthapson), the man that originally purchased the ring for Vanessa (Shay Mitchell), and they form an obvious connection. Do you think it’s love?

Disney Plus & Hulu

Retrograde

What to Watch:Available for streaming on Disney Plus or Hulu

Image: Matthew Heineman/Our Time Projects

Genre: Documentary
Run time: 1h 36m
Director: Matthew Heineman
Cast: Sami Sadat

Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award-winning director Matthew Heineman’s new documentary takes place during the final nine months of America’s 20-year war in Afghanistan, following one of the last U.S. Special Forces units deployed there, as well as an Afghan general and his soldiers preparing for the Taliban’s bid to seize power.

You will be shaken

Christmas Bloody Christmas

What to Watch:Shudder is available to stream

Image Credit: Shudder/RLJE Films

Genre: Christmas/horror
Run time: 1h 21m
Director: Joe Begos
Cast: Riley Dandy, Sam Delich, Jonah Ray

A robotic Santa Claus goes on a rampage after a malfunctioning device causes it to go off and kill, and a fiery record shop owner has to arm herself to save the day.

Peacock

Paradise Pass

What to Watch:Peacock is available to stream

Universal Pictures

Genre:Romantic comedy
Run time: 1h 44m
Director:Ol Parker
Cast: George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Kaitlyn Dever

George Clooney and Julia Roberts star in this romantic comedy as a divorced couple who put aside their differences to work together with one goal in mind: stopping their lovestruck daughter Lily (Kaitlyn Dever) from getting married and making the same “mistake” they did.

VOD

200 meters

What to Watch:For as little as $4.99, Amazon and Apple offer rentals; Vudu offers rental for $3.99

Film Movement

Genre: Drama
Run time: 1h 36m
Director: Ameen Nayfeh
Cast: Ali Suliman, Anna Unterberger, Lana Zreik

After his son gets injured, Ali Suliman (a Palestinian contractor) attempts to cross the Israeli border wall and reunite his family with him. His work permit was denied for technical reasons.

Contact Jane

What to Watch:Amazon, Apple, Vudu and Vudu are all available for purchase at $14.99

Image: Roadside Attractions

Genre:Drama
Run time: 2h 1m
Director: Phyllis Nagy
Cast: Elizabeth Banks. Sigourney Weaver. Chris Messina

An emergency abortion is not granted to her for her life-threatening pregnancies. A 1960s suburban woman must seek help from an underground network that includes women willing to risk all to get her access. Moved by their cause, she chooses to join them — becoming a “Jane” and adding other women in the exercise of their reproductive freedom in defiance of the laws and culture of her time.

She spoke.

What to Watch:Rentable for as low as $19.99 at Amazon, Apple and Vudu

Universal Pictures

Genre:Drama
Run time: 2h 9m
Director: Maria Schrader
Cast: Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan, Patricia Clarkson

Zoe Kazan is the star of this biographical dramaThe Plot against AmericaCarey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman) as Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, the New York Times reporters who broke the landmark story of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein’s history of sexual abuse against women.

The Leech

What to Watch:You can rent for just $3.99 from Amazon, Apple, or Vudu

Image by Arrow Films

Genre:Horror
Run time: 1h 22m
Director: Eric Pennycoff
Cast: Jeremy Gardner, Graham Skipper, Rigo Garay

Horror thriller about Father David (Graham Skipper), who is a Catholic priest trying to build his church and uphold the principles of his faith. He welcomes an elderly couple in his home just a few weeks before Christmas. David must confront the reality of whether his acts of kindness can become a test of faith when he is faced with the challenge of reclaiming his home…by any means necessary.