Holiday Fare

First things first: I’m returning to the Pop Culture Panel on CBC’s Q this morning, so tune into Radio 1 at 10 am local time to hear me yammer on about Jessica Jones, advance screenings of Star Wars and whatever else they throw at me. And if you’ve already missed it, you can listen to it right here.

Also: Three major studio pictures open today in advance of American Thanksgiving. I’m covering all of them in this week’s NOW, but the reviews won’t be online until later tonight. So here’s a handy preview!

Creed: Nine years after Rocky Balboa, Sylvester Stallone’s first franchise gets a shot of new blood from Fruitvale Station‘s Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan, who find a new way into the story — and get an unexpectedly great performance out of the big lug.

The Good Dinosaur: Pixar’s latest feels like it’s been worked, reworked and re-reworked until the core idea’s been smoothed away into nothing. It has some great moments, so I can’t write it off entirely, and kids will love it because dinosaurs, but it’s the studio’s biggest mess since Cars.

Victor Frankenstein: James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe have a grand old time playing the mad doctor and his faithful (to a point) henchman, but Paul McGuigan’s cacophonous reimagining of the horror touchstone gets away from him in the last act.

And there you go! All set for the holiday weekend! Doesn’t it feel nice?

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