By Chip Chandler — Producer

In Amarillo theaters this week: Mary Poppins floats back in, Spider-Man hops dimensions and more.

New in theaters

• Green Book: Stars Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali are hoovering up awards and nominations for this crowd-pleasing, real-life story about an acclaimed pianist (Ali) and his hired driver (Mortensen) as they tour through the Deep South in 1962. I found it enjoyable to watch, but it feels like the harder truths are papered over. (PG-13 for thematic content, language including racial epithets, smoking, some violence and suggestive material; click here for showtimes at Cinemark Hollywood 16, 9100 Canyon Drive)
• Mortal Engines: Apparently, this is a real movie and not some elaborate hoax, even though it's about a post-apocalyptic future where giant cities are put on wheels and roll around attacking each other. Reviews are mixed (more positive than I'd expect, though). (PG-13 for sequences of futuristic violence and action; click here for showtimes at Regal UA Amarillo Star 14, 8275 W. Amarillo Blvd.; Cinergy Amarillo, 9201 Cinergy Square; and Cinemark Hollywood 16)
• The Mule: Actor-director Clint Eastwood's latest finds him playing a desperate man who takes a job as a drug courier for a Mexican cartel. Initial reviews are fairly positive. (R for language throughout and brief sexuality/nudity; click here for showtimes at Regal UA Amarillo Star 14, Cinergy Amarillo and Cinemark Hollywood 16)
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse: Miles Morales, an alternate universe Spidey, is at the center of this dimension-spanning animated adventure. Reviews are ecstatic. (PG for frenetic sequences of animated action violence, thematic elements, and mild language; click here for showtimes at Regal UA Amarillo Star 14, Cinergy Amarillo and Cinemark Hollywood 16)
• Wildlife: A teen boy (the outstanding Ed Oxenbould) is caught in the middle when his parents' marriage implodes dramatically. Carey Mulligan gives one of her best performances ever (and that's saying something) as his mother, and Jake Gyllenhaal makes the most of his limited screen time as the father. The family drama, the directorial debut of actor Paul Dano, is based on the 1990 Richard Ford novel. (PG-13 for thematic material including a sexual situation, brief strong language, and smoking; click here for showtimes at Premiere Cinemas Westgate Mall 6, 7701 W. Interstate 40)

Opening Wednesday

• Mary Poppins Returns: The fantastical nanny flies back into the lives of the Banks family in this long-anticipated sequel, starring Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer, Meryl Streep, Dick Van Dyke and Angela Lansbury. Reviews are mostly positive, but somewhat mixed. (PG for some mild thematic elements and brief action; click here for showtimes at Regal UA Amarillo Star 14 and Cinemark Hollywood 16; Cinergy Amarillo may follow)

Special engagements

• 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.

Upcoming

• Dec. 20: Advance tickets are available for superhero film Aquaman and Transformers prequel Bumblebee at Amarillo Star 14, Cinergy Amarillo and Hollywood 16.
• Dec. 20: Advance tickes are on sale for romantic comedy Second Act and fanciful drama Welcome to Marwen at Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16. Others may follow.
• Dec. 24: Advance tickets are on sale for satirical Dick Cheney biopic Vice at Amarillo Star 14. Others may follow.
• Dec. 25: Advance tickets are on sale for comedy-adventure Holmes & Watson at Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16. Others may follow.
• Jan. 2: Best-selling author Rachel Hollis' story is told in encore screenings of the inspirational documentary Made for More. It'll return at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 2 and 9 at both Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16.
• Jan. 4: Horror films Eli and Escape Room are scheduled to open nationally, but advance tickets are not yet on sale.
• Jan. 11: Family adventure A Dog's Way Home, sci-fi thriller Replicas and comedy The Upside are scheduled to open nationally, but advance tickets are not yet on sale.
• Jan. 12 and 16: The Met: Live in HD series continues with Adriana Lecouvreur, starring Anna Netrebko and Piotr Beczata in a tragedy about an actress in love with a military hero. It'll screen live at 11:55 a.m. Jan. 12 and encore at 1 and 6:30 p.m. Jan. 16 at Hollywood 16.
• Jan. 13 and 14: One of the seminal Man of Steel tales comes to the screen with a double feature of The Death of Superman and Reign of the Supermen. The animated films will screen at 12:55 p.m. Jan. 13 and 8 p.m. Jan. 14 at Hollywood 16.
• Jan. 17: Travel under the sea with Jean Michel Cousteau with Wonders of the Sea to enjoy footage of rarely seen sea creatures and learn about the dangers posed by climate change. The film will screen (in 3-D in some screenings) at 7 p.m. Jan. 17 at both Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16.
• Jan. 18: M. Night Shyamalan's crossover superhero drama Glass is scheduled to open nationally, but advance tickets are not yet on sale.
• Jan. 23: Comédie-Française will present a live-recorded production of Cyrano de Bergerac, one of the most beloved works of French theater. It'll be screened at 7 p.m. Jan. 23 at both Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16.
• Jan. 25: Fantasy The Kid Who Would Be King and neo-noir Serenity are scheduled to open nationally, 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 (H-16)
• 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)
• Green Book (H-16)
• The House with a Clock in Its Walls (WM-6)
• Instant Family (AS-14, CA, H-16)
• The Mule (AS-14, CA, H-16)
• Night School (WM-6)
• Nobody's Fool (WM-6)
• The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (WM-6)
• Once Upon a Deadpool (AS-14, H-16)
• Overlord (WM-6)
• 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)
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (AS-14, CA, H-16)
• A Star Is Born (H-16)
• Widows (H-16)
• Wildlife (WM-6)

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.