Bored during the holiday break? Go watch a film

Amid the holiday season, there’s nothing better than curling up with some popcorn to watch a new movie, whether in a big theater or on the couch. If you’re searching for a great watch recommendation during this holiday break, here are titles worth your time.

Based on Isabel Wilkerson’s epic 2020 bestseller, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, this Ava DuVernay film follows the author, played by the inimitable Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor — you may remember her striking performance as the Williams family matriarch in King Richard — as she investigates the rotten roots of systemic racism. Her work is devastating, but her conviction only strengthens throughout her international journey. (In select theaters now.)

After making several retirement announcements over the years, beloved Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro) has kept fans on their toes with rumors about whether this film will be his last. For the sake of anime lovers everywhere, we certainly hope it isn’t. The 12-year-old protagonist Mahito Maki grapples with the grief of losing his mother while he begins to receive messages from a chatty but ominous heron, who leads him to a fantastical fowl-filled wonderland. (In theaters now.)

After a 23-year incubation period, the sequel to the innovative Chicken Run has arrived with updated but still true-to-the-original claymation. The rebellious couple Ginger (Thandiwe Newton) and Rocky (Zachary Levi) now have a curious daughter, Molly, played by spunky Game of Thrones actor Bella Ramsey. The slapstick British comedy brings back the chicken-torturing Mrs. Tweedy, this time with a nugget-making machine and technology to brainwash the chickens into happiness before a gruesome death — because food tastes better when the animals aren’t scared. It’s silly and thoughtful all at the same time. (Netflix)

Cord Jefferson, who revolutionized Watchmen with his 2019 limited series on HBO, is one of the most incisive and creative writers of this moment. His first feature film is no less groundbreaking. The funny and sharp film, based on Percival Everett’s Erasure, examines a Black novelist (Jeffrey Wright) infuriated with a publishing industry that prefers stereotypical and racist Black stories than his own cerebral writings. When he jokingly writes what publishers want, the prank book turns into an instant hit with hilarious and provocative results. (In theaters now.)

Filmmaker Blitz Bazawule reimagines the musical based on the Alice Walker novel. Yes, Steven Spielberg adapted the novel back in 1985 — starring Oprah Winfrey, who is now a producer on the new film — but this film is different, as it draws inspiration from Marsha Norman’s 2005 Broadway musical. Watch Fantasia Barrino’s stellar performance as Celie Harris-Johnson, who forms a deep friendship with former showgirl Shug Avery, played by Taraji P. Henson. The film is already creating awards season buzz with Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice nominations. What’s more, the film has a very stylish Philly connect, thanks to costume designer Rashad Corey, who is an Art Institute alum. (In theaters now.)

Everyone needs to see this engrossing, tragic, and infuriating film about the rampant murders of the Osage people, killed for their oil-rich land. Martin Scorsese focuses his story on one couple, the perceptive though sometimes unreadable Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone) and her gold-digging husband Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio). Gladstone’s performance is a cinematic triumph — there’s buzz about whether she’ll become the first Indigenous actor to win an acting Oscar — and the film is a staggering, unforgettable portrayal of the violent, long-ignored history of genocide, colonization, and forced removal that this country was founded upon. (Available to rent on Prime Video)