2015 Preview: November

November 2015… the month of James Bond, the Hunger Games, Rocky Balboa, Peanuts, and Pixar. A lot of big-name films are hitting theaters during the month of Thanksgiving so let’s highlight them here today. Welcome back to Rhode Island Movie Corner’s year-long preview of the films that are set to come out in 2015. This is Part 11 of 12 and today we come to the penultimate month of 2015; November.

NOVEMBER 6- The first weekend of the month is highlighted by the one-two punch of 007 and the world of Charles Schulz’ iconic franchise, the Peanuts.

*After 2012’s billion-dollar hit ‘Skyfall’, Daniel Craig returns as James Bond in Sam Mendes’ second Bond film, ‘Spectre’. This new film, as the title suggests, will re-introduce the classic villainous organization known as Spectre that had been absent from the franchise since the 70’s due to legal issues. The film also stars Christoph Waltz as main villain Franz Oberhauser, Lea Seydoux as lead Bond girl Madeleine Swann, Monica Bellucci as secondary Bond girl Lucia Sciarra, and Dave Bautista as the film’s primary henchman Mr. Hinx. Alongside them, Ralph Fiennes (M), Naomie Harris (Moneypenny), Ben Whishaw (Q), Rory Kinnear (Tanner), and Jesper Christensen (Mr. White) all reprise their roles from previous Bond films.

*The classic world of Charles Schulz’s ‘Peanuts’ franchise comes to the big screen (for the first time since 1980) in ‘The Peanuts Movie’. Produced by Blue Sky Studios and co-written by Schulz’s son Craig and his son (Schulz’s grandson) Bryan, this new film sees Charlie Brown and his loyal dog Snoopy go on life-changing quests, as Snoopy takes on his arch-nemesis the Red Baron and Charlie Brown tries to woo the Little Red-Haired Girl.

NOVEMBER 13­- Out this weekend are a true story and an ensemble comedy.

*Antonio Banderas stars in ‘The 33’, which tells the true story of the 2010 Chilean mining disaster in which 33 miners ended up getting trapped for over two months in the San Jose mine when a cave-in occurs. The film also stars Rodrigo Santoro, Juliette Binoche, and James Brolin.

*A major ensemble cast headlines ‘Love the Coopers’, a Christmas comedy that follows four generations of the titular Cooper family as they unite for their annual Christmas Eve party; John Goodman, Diane Keaton, Amanda Seyfried, Alan Arkin, Olivia Wilde, Ed Helms, Marisa Tomei, June Squibb, and Anthony Mackie.

NOVEMBER 20- While the big draw this weekend is the finale to the ‘Hunger Games’ saga, there’s also a Seth Rogen comedy and an adaptation of an Argentinian novel for the non-Hunger Games crowds.

*After four years, the ‘Hunger Games’ series finally comes to an end with ‘Mockingjay Part 2’, the immediate follow-up to last year’s ‘Mockingjay Part 1’. This final film sees Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) leading the districts of Panem in a final showdown against President Snow (Donald Sutherland) and the corrupt Capitol. Lawrence is once again joined by, among others, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Julianne Moore, Elizabeth Banks, Jeffrey Wright, Sam Claflin, Jena Malone, Stanley Tucci, and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman.

*Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Anthony Mackie headline ‘The Night Before’, in which they star as a trio of friends who seek to have one last great Christmas Eve hurrah. The film also stars Jillian Bell, Michael Shannon, and Mindy Kaling.

*Screenwriter Billy Ray (‘The Hunger Games’, ‘Captain Phillips’) helms the American remake of the 2009 Argentine thriller ‘The Secret in their Eyes’, which in turn was based off of the 2005 novel ‘La pregunta de sus ojos’ by Eduardo Sacheri. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Julia Roberts star as a pair of FBI investigators, along with Nicole Kidman as their D.A. supervisor, who are severely affected by the tragedy of the death of one of their children.  

NOVEMBER 25- Opening early on Wednesday before the Thanksgiving Holiday are a spin-off to the Rocky franchise, Pixar’s second animated film of the year, and a new take on the classic story of Frankenstein. I’ll also add in one noteworthy limited release.

*Ryan Coogler, director of 2013’s critically acclaimed indie drama ‘Fruitvale Station’, teams up again with Fruitvale star Michael B. Jordan for ‘Creed’, a spin-off to the iconic ‘Rocky’ franchise. Jordan stars as the son of the late Apollo Creed, who begins training to become a boxer with the help of his father’s old friend, the ‘Italian Stallion’ himself, Rocky Balboa, once again played by Sylvester Stallone.

*Pixar achieves a company first this year with ‘The Good Dinosaur’, their second release in a single year. Their newest film explores a world in which the dinosaurs were never killed by the asteroid as a young Apatosaurus named Arlo tries to get back home along with his new friend, a human cave-boy named Spot. The film’s voice-cast includes Sam Elliot, Anna Paquin, and Jeffrey Wright.

*Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy star in ‘Victor Frankenstein’, a new take on the classic story of Frankenstein as told from the perspective of Dr. Frankenstein’s (McAvoy) assistant Igor (Radcliffe).

*And finally, debuting in limited release on Friday the 27^th is ‘The Danish Girl’, directed by ‘The King’s Speech’ and ‘Les Miserables’ director Tom Hooper. Eddie Redmayne stars as Lili Elbe, who became one of the first major recipients of sex reassignment surgery in the 1930’s. Alicia Vikander co-stars as Gerda Gottlieb, who was married to Lili back when she was Einar Wegener, and the film also stars Ben Whishaw and Matthias Schoenaerts.

And those are the films that are hitting theaters this November. Check back next month for the final part of this year-long preview as we close out 2015 with the films of December, which includes a small sci-fi film you may have heard of… ;)