Now that the cinemas are reopening, you can beat your bottom dollar that the content juggernauts of Marvel & Disney will be unloading their big guns in time for the holiday season.
While some of these films were enjoying theatrical releases earlier this year in the USA, and other markets that opened up earlier than us, I’m fine with the notion of ‘later better than never’ as these are the traditionally big Hollywood releases that deserve a big screen in order to fully enjoy and share the experience.
These are the kind of films that you want to be watching communally, oohing and aahing in unison, laughing together at the right moments, and wanting to reach out beyond the empty seat beside us to nudge the person who entered the cinema with us. It’s Marvel & it’s Disney - and for any true blue cinephile, that’s all the explaining you need to do.
On Nov. 17, we finally get the theatrical release of "Black Widow," the origin story that was released earlier this year, and is already showing on the Disney streaming service. We don’t get Disney+ here (yet); so this one I‘ve actually reviewed and if there’s anything I’ll disclose, it’s how Florence Pugh and David Harbour portray excellent characters that complement Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow. Harbour especially provides invaluable humor to the proceedings and it’s an enjoyable lark of a film.
"Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" opens on Nov. 24; and it’ll be interesting to watch this, as it surprisingly topped the box office when it opened. From the trailer alone, you can expect this to get really strong reactions - as both women and men will flock to this action/martial arts superhero film. Awkwafina provides much of the humor and with a predominantly Asian cast, this is our version of Black Panther.
"The Eternals" hits our screens on Dec.1. It opened in the USA the first weekend of November and elicited a lot of controversy, as it’s the first Marvel film that openly depicts a gay superhero relationship (Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos) - causing it to be banned in certain countries, as Marvel refused to edit out the scenes. It’s directed by Chloe Zhao who won Best Director for Nomadland at this year’s Oscars - so I’m really curious to watch how this indie director will take on a big budget Marvel film.
"Encanto" from Disney gets it release on Dec. 8 - it opens in the USA a week before Thanksgiving. Set in a fantasy Colombia, it’s about the family Madrigal, and how they live in an enchanted house. It’s so enchanted that everyone living in the house acquires some superpower or talent, except for our main character Mirabel. So it’s what happens as she’s the one who has to save the family and the magic. It’s a Hispanic cast, with a bunch of new, original songs from Lin Manuel-Miranda.
So get your Marvel & Disney hats back on, as it all starts happening next week, with a new release each following Wednesday!