By Chip Chandler — Producer
Slim pickings for new films this weekend, as the Thanksgiving onslaught continues to take up most of the screens. But a ton of special engagements will make up for it.
New in theaters
- Colette: Keira Knightley as the famed libertine and French author, who fights against sexist restrictions on her talent. Reviews are mostly solid, lauding Knightley's performance. (R for some sexuality/nudity; click here for showtimes at Premiere Cinemas Westgate Mall 6, 7701 W. Interstate 40)
- The Possession of Hannah Grace: A night-time morgue worker (Shay Mitchell) becomes convinced that a disfigured corpse has been taken over by something demonic. No reviews are out yet. (R for gruesome images and terror throughout; click here for showtimes at United Artists Amarillo Star 14, 8275 W. Amarillo Blvd.; Cinergy Amarillo, 9201 Cinergy Square; and Cinemark Hollywood 16, 9100 Canyon Drive)
Special engagements
- Nov. 29: Get insight into Santa Fe's beguilingly bizarre art installation in Meow Wolf: Origin Story at 7 p.m. Nov. 29 at Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16.
- Nov. 29 to Dec. 8: Time-traveling anime film Mirai (a potential Oscar nominee, based on the tea leaves I'm reading) will screen at 7 and 8 p.m. Nov. 29, 7 p.m. Dec. 5 (subtitled) and 12:55 p.m. Dec. 8 (English-dubbed) at Hollywood 16.
- Dec. 1: The new Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us will screen at 7 p.m. Nov. 28 and 12:55 p.m. Dec. 1 at both Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16.
- Dec. 1: Director Julie Taymor's (The Lion King on Broadway) reimagining of the classic Mozart fable The Magic Flute will get a special encore for The Met: Live in HD season at 12:55 p.m. Dec. 1 at Hollywood 16.
- Dec. 2 and 5: Get swept up again in the romance of Sleepless in Seattle in special screenings for its 25th anniversary, scheduled for 1 and 4 p.m. Dec. 2 and 4 and 7 p.m. Dec. 5 at Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16.
- Dec. 3: A 40th anniversary screening of Superman with Christopher Reeve will play at 7 p.m. Dec. 3 at Amarillo Star 14.
- Dec. 4: In Allegiance to Broadway, go behind the scenes to see how the musical about actor George Takei's family's imprisonment in World War II-era internment camps made it to the Great White Way. The musical itself will screen Dec. 11. The documentary will screen at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4 at Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16.
- Dec. 6: Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo star in Shakespeare's Antony & Cleopatra, filmed live on stage from England's National Theatre. It'll sceen at 7 p.m. Dec. 16 at Amarillo Star 14.
Upcoming
- Dec. 8: Screen legends Dick Van Dyke and Angela Lansbury star in the holiday musical Buttons, screening at 12:55 p.m. Dec. 8 at Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16.
- Dec. 9 and 12: The TCM Big Screen Classics series continues with a holiday screening of the beloved White Christmas at 2 and 7 p.m. Dec. 9 and 12 at both Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16.
- Dec. 10 and 16: Spend the holidays with the Fraggles and Emmet Otter with screenings of Jim Henson's Holiday Special at 4 and 7 p.m. Dec. 10 and 1 and 4 p.m. Dec. 16 at both Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16.
- Dec. 11: The musical Allegiance, based on George Takei and family's time in World War II-era internment camps for Japanese-Americans, will screen at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 11 at both Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16.
- Dec. 12: This year's Deadpool 2 gets a PG-13 re-release as Once Upon a Deadpool. Advance tickets are not yet on sale.
- Dec. 13 and 18: An animation master's life and career is celebrated in the documentary Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki, screening at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 13 and 18 at both Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16.
- Dec. 13: Advance tickets are available now for animated adventure Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse at both Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16.
- Dec. 14: Action-adventure film Mortal Engines and Clint Eastwood crime drama The Mule are scheduled to open, but advance tickets are not yet on sale.
- Dec. 14: Family drama Wildlife, the directorial debut of actor Paul Dano, will open at Premiere Cinemas Westgate Mall 6, 7701 W. Interstate 40.
- Dec. 15 and 19: The Met: Live in HD series continues with Verdi's La Traviata, starring soprano Diana Damrau and tenor Juan Diego Flórez. It'll screen live at 11:55 a.m. Dec. 15 and encore at 1 and 6:30 p.m. Dec. 19 at Hollywood 16.
- Dec. 17: Director Peter Jackson uses restored and colorized archival footage in They Shall Not Grow Old, which explores the soldiers and events of World War I. It'll screen at 4 and 7 p.m. Dec. 17 at Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16.
- Dec. 19: Advance tickets are available for family musical Mary Poppins Returns at Hollywood 16, with others sure to follow.
- Dec. 20: Advance tickets are available for superhero film Aquaman and Transformers prequel Bumblebee at Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16.
- Dec. 21: Romantic comedy Second Act and fanciful drama Welcome to Marwen are scheduled to open, but advance tickets are not yet on sale.
- Dec. 25: Comedy-adventure Holmes & Watson and Dick Cheney biopic Vice are scheduled to open, but advance tickets are not yet on sale.
Listings at a glance
Click on titles for my reviews and on theaters for showtimes. (AS-14 = Amarillo Star 14; CA = Cinergy Amarillo; H-16 = Hollywood 16, WM-6 = Westgate Mall 6)
- Bohemian Rhapsody (AS-14, CA, H-16)
- Colette (WM-6)
- Creed II (AS-14, CA, H-16)
- Dr. Seuss' The Grinch (AS-14, CA, H-16)
- Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (AS-14, CA, H-16)
- The Front Runner (AS-14)
- The Girl in the Spider's Web (WM-6)
- Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (AS-14, H-16)
- Halloween (WM-6)
- The House with a Clock in Its Walls (WM-6)
- Hunter Killer (WM-6)
- Instant Family (AS-14, CA, H-16)
- The Meg (WM-6)
- Night School (WM-6)
- The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (H-16)
- Overlord (AS-14, H-16)
- The Possession of Hannah Grace (AS-14, CA, H-16)
- Ralph Breaks the Internet (AS-14, CA, H-16)
- Robin Hood (AS-14, CA, H-16)
- Smallfoot (WM-6)
- Venom (H-16)
- Widows (AS-14, CA, H-16)
Chip Chandler is a producer for Panhandle PBS and a member of GALECA. He can be contacted at Chip.Chandler@actx.edu, at @chipchandler1 on Twitter and on Facebook.
