S SHOWTIME DEC. 7 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS
Mary Stuart’s attempt to overthrow her cousin Elizabeth I, Queen of England, finds her condemned to years of imprisonment before facing execution. Cast: Margot Robbie, Saoirse Ronan, David Tennant
BEN IS BACK
Charming yet troubled Ben Burns returns home to his unsuspecting family one fateful Christmas Eve. Ben’s wary mother Holly Burns welcomes her son’s return, but soon learns he is still very much in harm’s way. During the 24 hours that may change their lives forever, Holly must do everything in her power to avoid the family’s downfall. Cast: Julia Roberts, Lucas Hedges, Courtney B. Vance RATING: R
DEC. 14
RATING: NR
MORTAL ENGINES
Tom is a 20-something Londoner who has only ever lived inside his traveling hometown, and his feet have never touched grass, mud or land. His first taste of the outside comes quite abruptly: Tom gets in the way of the masked Hester’s attempt to kill Thaddeus Valentine, a powerful man she blames for her mother’s murder, and both Hester and Tom end up thrown out of the moving “traction” city, to fend for themselves. Cast: Hera Hilmar, Robert Sheehan, Hugo Weaving RATING: PG-13
DEC. 21 AQUAMAN
Arthur Curry learns that he is the heir to the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, and must step forward to lead his people and be a hero to the world. Cast: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Nicole Kidman RATING: PG-13
BUMBLEBEE
UNDER THE SILVER LAKE
Sam, intelligent but without purpose, finds a mysterious woman swimming in his apartment’s pool one night. The next morning, she disappears. Sam sets off across LA to find her, and along the way he uncovers a conspiracy far more bizarre. Cast: Riley Keough, Andrew Garfield, Jimmi Simpson
Spider-Man crosses parallel dimensions and teams up with the Spider-Men of those dimensions to stop a threat to all reality. Cast: Nicolas Cage, Hailee Steinfeld, Liev Schreiber
On the run in the year 1987, Bumblebee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small Californian beach town. Charlie, on the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken. Cast: Hailee Steinfeld, John Cena, Justin Theroux
RATING: NR
RATING: NR
SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE
WELCOME TO MARWEN
A victim of a brutal attack finds a unique and beautiful therapeutic outlet to help him through his recovery process. Cast: Steve Carell, Diane Kruger, Leslie Mann RATING: PG-13
SECOND ACT
A big box store worker reinvents her life and her life-story and shows Madison Avenue what street smarts can do. Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Leah Remini, Vanessa Hudgens RATING: PG-13
DEC. 28
RATING: R
VOX LUX
In 1999 teenage sisters Celeste and Eleanor survive a seismic, violent tragedy. The sisters compose and perform a song about their experience, making something lovely and cathartic out of catastrophe — while also launching a career. The sisters draw the attention of a passionate manager and are rapidly catapulted into fame and fortune, with Celeste as the star and Eleanor the creative anchor. By the film’s second half, set in 2017, the now 31-year-old Celeste is mother to a teenage daughter of her own and struggling to navigate a career fraught with scandals when another act of terrifying violence demands her attention. Cast: Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Stacy Martin RATING: R
96 DECEMBER 2018
HOLMES & WATSON
A humorous take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic mysteries featuring Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. Cast: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Ralph Fiennes
THE MULE
MARY POPPINS RETURNS
RATING: R
RATING: PG
A 90-year-old horticulturist and WW II veteran is caught transporting $3 million worth of cocaine through Michigan for a Mexican drug cartel. Cast: Bradley Cooper, Clint Eastwood, Taissa Farmiga
Decades after her original visit, the magical nanny returns to help the Banks siblings and Michael’s children through a difficult time in their lives. Cast: Emily Blunt, Meryl Streep, Lin-Manuel Miranda
RATING: NR