A Man Called Otto

A Man Called Otto is a 2022 comedy-drama film directed by Marc Forster from a screenplay by David Magee. It is the second film adaptation of the 2012 novel A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman, and a remake of the 2015 Swedish film of the same name written and directed by Hannes Holm.

Otto is a grump who's given up on life following the loss of his wife and wants to end it all. When a young family moves in nearby, he meets his match in quick-witted Marisol, leading to a friendship that will turn his world around.

The film stars Tom Hanks, Mariana Treviño, Rachel Keller, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, and Cameron Britton.

A Man Called Otto began a limited theatrical release on December 30th, 2022, before a wide release on January 13th, 2023, by Sony Pictures Releasing. Watch the official trailer below.

The Last of Us

The Last of Us is an upcoming post-apocalyptic drama television series from creators Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin, set to air on HBO Max in 2023. Druckmann is an Israeli-American writer, creative director, designer, programmer and co-president of Naughty Dog, best known for his work on the Uncharted and The Last of Us video game franchises. Mazin previously created the successful miniseries Chernobyl for HBO.

Based on the 2013 video game of the same name developed by Naughty Dog, the series will follow Joel (Pedro Pascal), a smuggler tasked with escorting the teenage Ellie (Bella Ramsey) across a post-apocalyptic United States. It will also feature Gabriel Luna as Joel's younger brother Tommy, Merle Dandridge as resistance leader Marlene, and Anna Torv as Joel's smuggler partner Tess.

It is the first HBO series to be based on a video game, and is a joint production by Sony Pictures Television, PlayStation Productions, Naughty Dog, The Mighty Mint, and Word Games. The first season will consist of ten episodes, and original game composer Gustavo Santaolalla will compose the score.

The Last of Us is set to debut January 15th, 2023, only on HBO Max. Watch the official trailer below.

Mayor of Kingstown: Season 2

Mayor of Kingstown is a crime drama series created by Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone), and Hugh Dillon. The first season premiered in November of 2021, and even though it received mixed reviews I loved it. I will watch anything Sheridan is involved with, and the addition of my guy Jeremy Renner was just icing on the cake for me. The series is gritty, fast-paced, very well-written, and expertly acted by Renner and the supporting cast.

The McLusky family are power brokers in Kingstown, Mich., where the business of incarceration is the only thriving industry. Tackling themes of systemic racism, corruption and inequality, the series provides a stark look at their attempt to bring order and justice to a town that has neither.

Mayor of Kingstown: Season 2 will premiere January 15th only on Paramount Plus. Watch the official trailer below.

M3GAN

M3GAN is a 2023 science fiction horror thriller directed by Gerard Gladstone (Housebound), from a screenplay by Akela Cooper (Malignant, The Nun 2) and a story by horror legend James Wan, the man behind the Saw, Insidious and The Conjuring franchises, and produced by Blumhouse, the producer of the Halloween films, The Black Phone, and The Invisible Man.

M3GAN is a marvel of artificial intelligence, a life-like doll programmed to be a child’s greatest companion and a parent’s greatest ally. Designed by brilliant toy-company roboticist Gemma (Get Out’s Allison Williams), M3GAN can listen and watch and learn as she becomes friend and teacher, playmate and protector, for the child she is bonded to.

When Gemma suddenly becomes the caretaker of her orphaned 8-year-old niece, Cady (Violet McGraw, The Haunting of Hill House), Gemma’s unsure and unprepared to be a parent. Under intense pressure at work, Gemma decides to pair her M3GAN prototype with Cady in an attempt to resolve both problems—a decision that will have unimaginable consequences.

The cast includes Allison Williams (Girls, Get Out), Violet McGraw (The Haunting of Hill House) Ronny Chieng (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), Brian Jordan Alvarez (Will & Grace), Jen Van Epps (Cowboy Bebop), Lori Dungey (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, extended edition) and Stephane Garneau-Monten (Straight Forward).

M3GAN is set to debut in theaters on January 6th, 2023, courtesy of Universal Pictures. Watch the official trailer below.

The Pale Blue Eye

The Pale Blue Eye is a 2022 mystery thriller film written and directed by Scott Cooper, adapted from the 2003 novel of the same name by Louis Bayard.

West Point, 1830. A world-weary detective is hired to discreetly investigate the gruesome murder of a cadet. Stymied by the cadets’ code of silence, he enlists one of their own to help unravel the case — a young man the world would come to know as Edgar Allan Poe.

The film features an ensemble cast that includes Christian Bale and Harry Melling as Landor and Poe respectively, along with Gillian Anderson, Lucy Boynton, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Toby Jones, Harry Lawtey, Simon McBurney, Timothy Spall, and Robert Duvall.

The Pale Blue Eye released is set to release in select theaters on December 23rd, and will release on Netflix on January 6th, 2023. Watch the official trailer below.

White Noise

White Noise is a 2022 black comedy film written and directed by Noah Baumbach, adapted from the 1985 novel of the same name by Don DeLillo. It is Baumbach's eleventh feature film, and the first not to be based on an original story of his own. White Noise will have its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on August 31st, 2022.

A dramatization of a contemporary American family's attempts to deal with the mundane conflicts of everyday life while grappling with the universal mysteries of love, death, and the possibility of happiness in an uncertain world.

The film stars Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig, Raffey Cassidy, André Benjamin, Alessandro Nivola, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Don Cheadle.

White Noise is scheduled to be released in limited theaters on November 25th, before its streaming release on December 30th exclusively on Netflix. Watch the official trailer below.

The Fabelmans

The Fabelmans is a 2022 American coming-of-age drama film directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg (Jaws, Schindler’s List) from a screenplay he co-wrote with Tony Kushner (who also produced the film). The film stars Gabriel LaBelle (The Predator, Brand New Cherry Flavor) in the lead role, with Michelle Williams (Shutter Island, Manchester by the Sea), Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood, The Batman), Seth Rogen (Superbad, The Interview), and Judd Hirsch (Taxi, Dear John) in supporting roles. The film is dedicated to the memories of Spielberg's real-life parents Arnold Spielberg and Leah Adler.

The film, a semi-autobiography loosely based on Spielberg's early life, follows Sammy Fabelman, a young aspiring filmmaker growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, who discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him see the truth.

The Fabelmans had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2022, where it won the People's Choice Award. The film is scheduled for a limited theatrical release in the United States on November 11, 2022, before expanding wide on November 23, 2022, by Universal Pictures. Watch the official trailer below.

Empire of Light

Empire of Light is a 2022 romantic drama film written and directed by Sam Mendes. It premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on September 3rd, 2022.

A romance develops in a beautiful old cinema on the south coast of England in the 1980s.

The cast includes Olivia Colman, Micheal Ward, Tom Brooke, Tanya Moodie, Hannah Onslow, Crystal Clarke, Toby Jones, and Colin Firth.

Empire of Light is set to debut in theaters on December 9th, courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. Watch the official trailer below.

Empire of Light

Empire of Light is a 2022 romantic drama film written and directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Skyfall, 1917). The film stars Olivia Colman (The Favourite, The Crown), Micheal Ward (The Old Guard), Tom Brooke (The Death of Stalin), Tanya Moodie (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker), Hannah Onslow (Ridley Road), Crystal Clarke (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), Toby Jones (Captain America: The Winter Solider), and Colin Firth (The King’s Speech, Kingsman: The Secret Service).

The film follows a love story that takes place in an English coastal cinema during the 1980s.

Empire of Light premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on September 3, 2022, and is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on December 9, 2022, and in the United Kingdom on January 13, 2023, by Searchlight Pictures. Watch the official teaser trailer below.

Babylon

Babylon is a 2022 period comedy-drama film written and directed by Damien Chazelle, the Oscar-winning director who took home the gold in 2016 for his groundbreaking musical La La Land. An extremely talented writer and director, Chazelle also received a Best Original Screenplay Nomination in 2014 for Whiplash.

An epic tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess set in 1920s Los Angeles, telling the story of the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood.

The film features a star-studded cast including Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Diego Calva, Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li, Jean Smart, Tobey Maguire, Samara Weaving, Eric Roberts, Katherine Waterston, and Olivia Wilde.

Babylon is scheduled to release only in theaters December 23rd, courtesy of Paramount Pictures. Watch the official trailers below.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is a 2022 murder mystery film written and directed by Rian Johnson, and produced by Johnson and Ram Bergman. A sequel to Knives Out (2019), the film will have its world premiere at the 47th Toronto International Film Festival on September 10th, 2022.

Daniel Craig reprises his role as Benoit Blanc, a master detective who leaves no stone unturned. Tech billionaire Miles Bron invites his friends for a getaway on his private Greek island. But when someone turns up dead, Detective Benoit Blanc is put on the case.

The film boasts a talented cast including Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Kate Hudson, and Dave Bautista.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is scheduled to be released in select theaters in November, before its streaming release on December 23rd, only on Netflix. Watch the official trailers below.

I Wanna Dance With Somebody

I Wanna Dance With Somebody is a 2022 biographical musical drama film based on the life of American pop icon Whitney Houston. The film is directed by Kasi Lemmons (director of Harriet) and written by Anthony McCarten (writing credits include Bohemian Rhapsody and The Two Popes), with Houston's former record producer Clive Davis also serving as a producer on the film. It stars Naomi Ackie (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) as Houston and Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones, Spotlight) as Davis, alongside Ashton Sanders (Moonlight), Tamara Tunie (Wall Street), Nafessa Williams (Black Lightning), and Clarke Peters (The Wire) in supporting roles.

I Wanna Dance With Somebody is scheduled to be released in the United States on December 21, 2022, by Sony Pictures Releasing. Watch the official trailers below.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is a 2022 computer-animated adventure ditrected by Joel Crawford, and co-directed by Januel Mercado. It is a sequel to Puss in Boots (2011), and a spin-off of the Shrek franchise. Produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures, from a screenplay by Paul Fisher and Tommy Swerdlow, based on a story by Swerdlow and the first film's writer Tom Wheeler, with additional screenplay material provided by Etan Cohen.

The voice cast includes Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek, as well as Harvey Guillén, Florence Pugh, Olivia Colman, Ray Winstone, Samson Kayo, John Mulaney, Wagner Moura, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, and Anthony Mendez who voice new characters introduced in the film.

Puss in Boots discovers that his passion for adventure has taken its toll: he has burned through eight of his nine lives. Puss sets out on an epic journey to find the mythical Last Wish and restore his nine lives.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is set to debut in theaters December 21st. Watch the official trailer below.

BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths

BARDO (False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths) (Spanish: BARDO, falsa crónica de unas cuantas verdades), or simply Bardo, is a 2022 Mexican epic comedy film co-written, produced and directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu (Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), The Revenant). The film stars Daniel Giménez Cacho, Griselda Siciliani, Ximena Lamadrid, Iker Sanchez Solano, Andrés Almeida and Francisco Rubio.

The film follows a renowned Mexican journalist and documentary filmmaker who returns home and has to work through an existential crisis as he grapples with his identity, familial relationships, and the folly of his memories.

Bardo premiered at the 79th Venice International Film Festival in competition for the Golden Lion on September 1, 2022, and is scheduled to be released in theaters on November 18, 2022, before streaming on Netflix on December 16, 2022. Watch the official trailers below.

1923

1923 is a 2022 Western drama television series from creator Taylor Sheridan, and is a prequel to the Paramount Network series Yellowstone and serves as a sequel to the series 1883.

The Duttons face a new set of challenges in the early 20th century, including the rise of Western expansion, Prohibition, and the Great Depression.

The cast includes Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, Brandon Sklenar, Darren Mann, James Badge Dale, and Michelle Randolph.

1923 is set to debut on Paramount Plus December 18th. Watch the official trailer below.

Avatar: The Way of Water

Avatar: The Way of Water is a 2022 epic science fiction action film from legendary director James Cameron, co-written by Cameron and Josh Friedman, and produced by 20th Century Studios. It is the second film in Cameron's Avatar franchise, following Avatar (2009), and is set more than a decade after the events of the first film. Similar to the trendsetting first film, Cameron, going all out as usual, decided it necessary to develop new technology in order to film performance capture scenes underwater, something never accomplished before, leading to significant delays to allow the crew more time to work on the writing, preproduction, and visual effects.

Jake Sully lives with his newfound family formed on the planet of Pandora. Once a familiar threat returns to finish what was previously started, Jake must work with Neytiri and the army of the Na'vi race to protect their planet.

Starring Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement, and Kate Winslet.

Avatar: The Way of Water is set to hit theaters and IMAX on December 16th. Watch the official trailers below.

The Recruit

The Recruit is a 2022 spy adventure television series created by Alexi Hawley for Netflix. Hawley previously created the crime drama series The Rookie, an extremely popular show which is set to return for a 5th season. If her name sounds familiar its because she is the sister of Noah Hawley, the creative mind behind hit shows like Legion and Fargo.

A fledgling CIA lawyer gets caught up in a dangerous game of international politics when a former asset threatens to expose the nature of her relationship with the agency unless they clear her name.

The cast includes Noah Centineo, Aarti Mann, Daniel Quincy Annoh, and Vondie Curtis-Hall.

The Recruit is set to debut on Netflix December 16th. Watch the official trailer below.

The Whale

The Whale is a 2022 psychological drama film directed by Darren Aronofsky, from a screenplay by Samuel D. Hunter, based on Hunter's 2012 play of the same name. The film had its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 4, 2022.

A reclusive English teacher suffering from severe obesity attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption.

The film stars Brendan Fraser, Sadie Sink, Hong Chau, Ty Simpkins, and Samantha Morton.

The Whale and is scheduled to be released in theaters on December 9th, courtesy of A24. Watch the official trailer below.

Nanny

Nanny is a 2022 horror film written and directed by Nikyatu Jusu in her feature-film debut. Nikyatu, who is making a name for herself in the film festival circuit, is a tenure track Assistant Professor in the Film & Video department at George Mason University. The film had its world premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival winning the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize, and was soon acquired by Blumhouse and Amazon in a deal rumored to be worth around $7 million.

Immigrant nanny Aisha, piecing together a new life in New York City while caring for the child of an Upper East Side family, is forced to confront a concealed truth that threatens to shatter her precarious American Dream.

The cast includes Anna Diop, Michelle Monaghan, Sinqua Walls, Morgan Spector, and Rose Decker.

Nanny is scheduled for a limited theatrical release on November 23rd courtesy of Amazon Studios, prior to a streaming release December 16th on Prime Video. Watch the official trailer below.

Emancipation

Emancipation is a 2022 historical action drama directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by William N. Collage. It is based on the true story of Gordon (named "Peter" in the film), a former slave, and the photographs of his bare back, heavily scourged from an overseer's whippings, that were published worldwide in 1863, giving the abolitionist movement proof of the cruelty of American slavery.

Peter, a slave, flees a plantation in Louisiana after he was whipped within an inch of his life. He has to outwit cold-blooded hunters and the unforgiving swamps of Louisiana on a torturous journey north.

The film stars Will Smith, Ben Foster, Charmaine Bingwa, Gilbert Owuor, Mustafa Shakir, and Steven Ogg.

Emancipation had its first screening in Washington, D.C. on October 1, 2022, and is scheduled to be released in limited theaters on December 2nd, before its streaming release on December 9th on Apple TV+. Watch the official trailer below.