As the end of the year fast approaches, studios are releasing their last big titles, and November 2019 has a lot of movies releasing in theaters – including some early Christmas movies, just to get the holiday season going. And even though October is usually the month that brings all the spooky content, November still has a bit of that. It’s the perks of being between two of the biggest holidays of the year.
Last month saw the arrival of some of the most anticipated movies of the year, such as Todd Phillips’ Jojo Rabbit. November 2019's movie releases also include some highly anticipated titles, and in general there’s a good balance of sci-fi, horror, action, and family-friendly films, so no one will be left behind. And because the steaming wars are only getting started, there are also movies that will skip a traditional release and will go straight to the audience’s devices.
The time has come for audiences to reunite with Sarah Connor and T-800, get another dose of Stephen King’s peculiar imagination, catch up with Elsa and Anna, and enjoy Martin Scorsese’s latest work, among many other experiences. Here are the biggest November 2019 movies.
Terminator: Dark Fate - November 1
The Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Essentially, Dark Fate is Terminator 3, only that the other movies are being described as occurring in alternate timelines. Obviously, there was no way time and space weren’t going to be involved in a decision like this.
Directed by Tim Miller and with James Cameron back as producer, Terminator: Dark Fate follows Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) and a hybrid cyborg human (Mackenzie Davis) whose mission is to protect a young girl from a new type of Terminator sent from the future. The story has the same vibe as its predecessors, and will hopefully be the successful reboot the franchise has been needing.
Doctor Sleep - November 8
Stephen King’s works continue to be a source of inspiration for the film industry, and after successful adaptations like Andy Muschietti’s The Shining – and the movie is a sequel to the novel, but also to Stanley Kubrick’s movie, in a way.
Doctor Sleep, directed by Mike Flanagan, follows adult Danny Torrance (Ewan McGregor), who after all these years keeps struggling with the trauma from that winter at the Overlook Hotel decades ago. Danny still has the gift of the “shining”, and connects through it with a young girl, Abra (Kyliegh Curran). Meanwhile, a group called True Knot is hunting down those with “shining” abilities to feed off the “steam” released by them when tortured to death, and they choose Abra as their next target.
Last Christmas - November 8
The Christmas spirit will begin early this month with Paul Feig’s new romantic comedy Last Christmas. Starring Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding, and with a story by Emma Thompson and Greg Wise, Last Christmas centers around a young woman named Kate who has a tendency to make bad decisions and accepts a job as a department store elf during the Christmas holidays. There she meets Tom, a mysterious man who will give her a new perspective on life. But like many other romantic comedies, the story has a dose of drama, this time in the shape of an illness that almost took Kate’s life prior to the events of the movie.
Noelle - November 12
The holiday spirit continues with Disney+’s original movies available at launch. Noelle is a fantasy adventure comedy that follows Santa Claus’ grown-up children, Noelle (Anna Kendrick) and Nick (Bill Hader) - the latter set to become the new Santa. However, Nick is unable to handle the stress of this new role, and when Noelle suggests he takes the weekend off, he disappears – just a few days before Christmas. Noelle then leaves the North Pole for the first time to look for her brother and bring him back – and with that, essentially, save Christmas.
Ford v Ferrari - November 15
James Mangold is back with a biographical drama that will surely appeal to those who love cars, speed, and racing sequences. Ford v Ferrari is set in 1963, when after failing to buyout Ferrari, Henry Ford II decides he needs to build a car that can beat Scuderia Ferrari, the dominant racing team. To achieve this, he approaches automotive designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and his British driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale), who lead a team of American engineers and designers from Ford to build a race car powerful enough to beat Ferrari – and thus the Ford GT40 is born.
The movie had been in development for a long time, and at one point Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise were attached as leads, but the project ultimately fell apart. Mangold was brought on board as director in early 2018 and quickly found his leads in Matt Damon and Christian Bale, who have been praised for their performances in this movie.
Charlie’s Angels - November 15
The Angels are back with new missions, though not as many them. Directed by Elizabeth Banks, Charlie’s Angels is a continuation of the films starred by Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu, and Drew Barrymore, but with a new trio of heroes. The squad is now formed by Sabrina Wilson (Kristen Stewart), Jane Kano (Ella Balinska), and Elena Houghlin (Naomi Scott), and guided by Susan (Elizabeth Banks) and Stan Bosley (Patrick Stewart). The agency has now expanded internationally and has the smartest, most highly-trained women from all over the world on their team, guided by multiple Bosleys.
Initially announced as a reboot of the Charlie’s Angels franchise, the movie was later described as a continuation of the original TV series and the previous two movies, leaving labels like “reboot” and “remake” behind.
Frozen 2 - November 22
It only took Walt Disney Animation six years to finally bring a sequel to its successful fantasy movie Frozen 2 has directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee back on board, as well as composer Christophe Beck and the voice cast, including Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Josh Gad, and Jonathan Groff. The movie is set three years after the events of the previous one, and Elsa starts to hear a sound coming from the north calling her.
Along with her sister Anna, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven, Elsa leaves Arendelle behind to discover the origin of her powers and save the kingdom. Also ing the cast are Evan Rachel Wood as Queen Iduna, Alfred Molina as King Agnarr, Sterling K. Brown as Lt. Destin Mattias, and Martha Plimpton as Yelana.
A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood - November 22
Another biographical movie, although this one seeks to appeal to the nostalgia of viewers. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is inspired by Tom Junod’s 1998 article “Can You Say... Hero?”, a profile of the legendary Fred Rogers. The movie follows journalist Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys) who, just like Junod, is assigned to write a profile of TV icon Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks). What Vogel wasn’t expecting was that his encounter with Mr. Rogers was going to change his perspective on life.
Knives Out - November 27
Rian Johnson’s latest movie, Knives Out, is not only one of the most anticipated movies of the year but also one that promises to give mystery movies a much necessary and refreshing twist. Knives Out follows a family gathering that goes terribly wrong when the patriarch (Christopher Plummer) dies mid-celebration. Of course, everyone is a suspect, and no one is allowed to leave the property until the murder is solved. What has made Knives Out stand-out is not only that it was written by Johnson but it has an impressive cast, which includes Jamie Lee Curtis, Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Toni Collette, Ana de Armas, Michael Shannon, Katherine Langford, Don Johnson, and many, many more. The movie promises suspense and a lot of dark humor, which with a cast like that means a one-of-a-kind combination that will take many by surprise.
The Irishman - November 27
After staying away from gangster stories for a couple of years, Martin Scorsese is back with The Irishman, which also reunites him with some of his legendary frequent collaborators. Based on the book Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt, The Irishman follows Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro), a truck driver and World War II veteran turned hitman that gets involved with the crime family of Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci) and plays a role in the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino).
The Irishman premiered at the 57th New York Film Festival on September 27, and will get a limited theatrical release on November 1 before hitting the world of streaming thanks to one of Scorsese’s greatest works.
