By Chip Chandler — Producer

Nine new movies are heading to Amarillo in the next week. Check here for the full rundown!

Opening Thursday

• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald: The latest installment of the expanded Harry Potter universe arrives, as the titular evil wizard (Johnny Depp) begins consolidating his power in an effort to take over the world. I found it to be overstuffed, but still fun to watch. (PG-13 for some sequences of fantasy action; 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)
• Instant Family: Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne star as a couple who decide to foster an older child — then feel compelled to bring in her two younger siblings, as well. Reviews are mostly solid, calling it touching and funny, if a bit too light. (PG-13 for thematic elements, sexual material, language and some drug references; click here for showtimes at United Artists Amarillo Star 14, Cinergy Amarillo and Cinemark Hollywood 16)
• A Private War: Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) stars as real-life war correspondent Marie Colvin in this docudrama about the costs of war for a front-line journalist. The film, and Pike especially, are winning mostly raves. (R for disturbing violent images, language throughout, and brief sexuality/nudity; click here for showtimes at United Artists Amarillo Star 14) 
• Widows: Viola Davis stars in this crime drama from director Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), leading a pack of women (including Elizabeth Debicki, Michelle Rodriguez and Cynthia Erivo) who have to finish their dead criminal husbands' business. Critics are high on this one almost across the board. (R for violence, language throughout, and some sexual content/nudity; click here for showtimes at United Artists Amarillo Star 14, Cinergy Amarillo and Cinemark Hollywood 16)

Opening Friday

• ​We the Animals: This family drama, based on the Justin Torres novel, explores the lives of three brothers being raised by a pair of dysfunctional parents — with special emphasis on the youngest brother, who's undergoing considerable self-discovery. I found it to be powerful, dreamlike and haunting. (R for strong sexual content, nudity, language and some underage drug and alcohol use; click here for showtimes at Premiere Cinemas Westgate Mall 6, 7701 W. Interstate 40)

Opening Monday

• Robin Hood: Taron Egerton (Kingsmen) and Jamie Foxx star in the latest version of this oft-told tale. No reviews are out yet. (PG-13 for extended sequences of violence and action, and some suggestive references; click here for showtimes at United Artists Amarillo Star 14 and Cinemark Hollywood 16)

Opening Tuesday

• Creed II: The young boxer (Michael B. Jordan) faces off against the son of Ivan Drago, who killed his father in a boxing match in Rocky IV. No reviews yet, but the first film was a surprise hit. (PG-13 for sports action violence, language, and a scene of sensuality; click here for showtimes at United Artists Amarillo Star 14, Cinergy Amarillo and Cinemark Hollywood 16)
• The Front Runner: Sen. Gary Hart (Hugh Jackman) finds his 1988 presidential campaign devastated when he's caught in a compromising position (after inviting reporters to investigate his private life). Reviews are all over the place, with some calling it particularly timely and others saying it's the wrong film for the current moment. (R for language including some sexual references; click here for showtimes at United Artists Amarillo Star 14) 
• Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph and Vanellope head off to a new adventure when they find a wi-fi router and access to a whole new world. Initial reviews are promising. (PG for some action and rude humor; click here for showtimes at United Artists Amarillo Star 14, Cinergy Amarillo and Cinemark Hollywood 16)

Special engagements

• Bandstand: A filmed-on-stage version of the Broadway musical, about a group of World War II vets who work through their post-war trauma by forming a swing band, will encore at 7 p.m. Nov. 15 and 19 at Hollywood 16.
• Castle in the Sky: The Studio Ghibli Fest 2018 continues with this classic fantasy adventure at both Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16. An English-dubbed version will screen at 12:55 p.m. Nov. 18 and 7 p.m. Nov. 20, with a subtitled version screening at 7 p.m. Nov. 19.

Upcoming

• Nov. 24 to Dec. 1: The new Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us will screen at 12:55 p.m. Nov. 24, 7 p.m. Nov. 26 and 28, and 12:55 p.m. Dec. 1 at both Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16.
• Nov. 25 and 27, Dec. 3: A 40th anniversary screening of Superman with Christopher Reeve will play at 3 p.m. Nov. 25  at Amarillo Star 14, 2 and 7 p.m. Nov. 25 at Hollywood 16, 3 and 7 p.m. Nov. 27 at Amarillo Star 14, 2 and 7 p.m. Nov. 27 at Hollywood 16, and 7 p.m. Dec. 3 at Amarillo Star 14.
• 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.
• Nov. 30: Horror film The Possession of Hannah Grace is scheduled to open nationally, but advance tickets are not yet on sale.
• Nov. 30: Literary biopic Colette, starring Keira Knightley as the French author, will open at Premiere Cinemas Westgate Mall 6, 7701 W. Interstate 40.
• 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. 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.
• Dec. 6: Last year's holiday comedy A Bad Moms Christmas will get an encore screening at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 6 at Hollywood 16.
• 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. 14: Action-adventure film Mortal Engines, Clint Eastwood crime drama The Mule and animated adventure Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 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 United Artists Amarillo Star 14, 8275 W. Amarillo Blvd., and Cinemark Hollywood 16, 9100 Canyon Drive.
• Dec. 19: Family musical Mary Poppins Returns is scheduled to open, but advance tickets are not yet on sale.
• Dec. 21: Superhero film Aquaman, Transformers prequel Bumblebee, 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)

• Beautiful Boy (H-16)
• Bohemian Rhapsody (AS-14, CA, H-16)
• Crazy Rich Asians (WM-6)
• Creed II (AS-14, CA, H-16) (Beginning Nov. 20)
• 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) (Beginning Nov. 20)
• The Girl in the Spider's Web (AS-14, CA, H-16)
• Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (AS-14,H-16) (Leaves Nov. 21)
• Halloween (H-16)
• Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (WM-6)
• The House with a Clock in Its Walls (WM-6)
• Instant Family (AS-14, CA, H-16)
• The Meg (WM-6)
• Night School (WM-6)
• Nobody's Fool (AS-14, H-16)
• The Nun (WM-6)
• The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (AS-14, CA, H-16)
• Overlord (AS-14, CA, H-16)
• A Private War (AS-14)
• Ralph Breaks the Internet (AS-14, CA, H-16) (Beginning Nov. 20)
• Robin Hood (AS-14, CA, H-16) (Beginning Nov. 19)
• A Simple Favor (WM-6)
• Smallfoot (WM-6)
• Venom (AS-14, H-16)
• We the Animals (WM-6)
• 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.