What to watch in cinemas this week | Oct. 31-Nov. 6

A Real Pain, Blitz, Juror #2, Here, Anora, Terrifier 3, Riefenstahl, and John Wick's tenth anniversary.

Each week I provide a somewhat-curated list of films to see in cinemas. Meant as more of a resource than weekly essay, you can refer to this series whenever you feel like going to the movies. Also, can check out previous weeks’ selections because those films might still be in theaters.

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(Note: Anora season is upon us in Germany. It appears to be Sean Baker’s mainstreaming, which is many years coming for the guy who explores different angles of sex work and down-and-out lives. By my own arbitrary rules that I can change at any time and don’t exactly follow, I can’t recommend Anora as this week’s recommended choice, but everyone should be seeing this regardless.

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Recommendation of the week

A Real Pain (Jesse Eisenberg)

isn’t something I’ve seen yet, but Kieran Culkin has the juice and I enjoyed Jesse Eisenberg’s first film, When You Finish Saving the World. This film has had long legs since it’s Sundance premiere in January, which is a solid indicator.

• Plot bio: Mismatched cousins David and Benji reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the pair’s old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.

• German release in January.

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Domestic releases (US/Canada)

Blitz (Steve McQueen)

is the latest feature from one of my favorite filmmakers, Steve McQueen, which stars Saoirse Ronan but is sitting on less than great reviews. I’ll be seeing it regardless, as McQueen is known to not make the most crowd-pleasing pictures.

• Plot bio: In World War II London, nine-year-old George is evacuated to the countryside by his mother, Rita, to escape the bombings. Defiant and determined to return to his family, George embarks on an epic, perilous journey back home as Rita searches for him.

• German release next week.

Juror #2 (Clint Eastwood)

is the fortieth film by 94-year-old Clint Eastwood that was rushed in time for the end-of-year awards season. Eastwood has been making victory laps for twenty years now and I’d like him to make it thirty!

• Plot bio: While serving as a juror in a high profile murder trial, family man Justin Kemp finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma…one he could use to sway the jury verdict and potentially convict—or free—the accused killer.

• German release in January.

Here (Robert Zemeckis)

re-unites the Forrest Gump trio of Zemeckis-Hanks-Wright. Its conceit is that the camera stays stationary in the corner of this sit-com house throughout huge amounts of time. Will I see this? Probably. Will I have my arms folded, blank expression, the whole time? Absolutely.

• Plot bio: An odyssey through time and memory, centered around a place in New England where—from wilderness, and then, later, from a home—love, loss, struggle, hope and legacy play out between couples and families over generations.

• German release in two weeks.

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German releases

Anora (Sean Baker)

finally comes to Germany! I already wrote about its first release. This is one of my most anticipated watches of the year and I cannot wait.

Terrifier 3 (Damien Leone)

will terrify German audiences. Released as the super-indie horror film of the Halloween season, this film beat Joker 2 in the latter’s second weekend, which is absolutely insane and broke many records.

• Plot bio: Five years after surviving Art the Clown’s Halloween massacre, Sienna and Jonathan are still struggling to rebuild their shattered lives. As the holiday season approaches, they try to embrace the Christmas spirit and leave the horrors of the past behind. But just when they think they’re safe, Art returns, determined to turn their holiday cheer into a new nightmare. The festive season quickly unravels as Art unleashes his twisted brand of terror, proving that no holiday is safe.

Riefenstahl (Andres Veiel)

is another horror film released just in time for Halloween. About Nazi-filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, this film “explores [her] artistic legacy and her complex ties to the Nazi regime, juxtaposing her self-portrayal with evidence suggesting awareness of the regime’s atrocities.” Sounds fun!

• This will hit a streaming service hard and fast.

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Special release

John Wick (Chad Stahelski)

is having its tenth anniversary, so for those, like me, who’ve been putting this series off, maybe we can all drink the Kool-Aid and fall in line.

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