Movies Update: ‘Roma,’ 'The Favourite' and More

Plus, Olivia Colman wears two crowns.

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Kyle Buchanan Pop Culture Reporter Hey, movie fans! It's your faithful Carpetbagger. Thanksgiving week is a big one for moviegoing, and whether you're into mainstream fare or art-house Oscar contenders, this is a pivotal stretch. Audiences will likely turn out in droves for "Creed II," starring Michael B. Jordan — whose "Black Panther" performance earned Oscar buzz this past spring — and "Ralph Breaks the Internet," which takes the lead characters from "Wreck-It Ralph" and hurtles them in provocative new directions. And then, in limited release, come some of the year's most acclaimed films. Netflix is spending a bundle to distribute Alfonso Cuarón's black-and-white "Roma," and executives at the streaming service hope that an exclusive theatrical window will boost the film's Oscar chances. Fox Searchlight will debut its witty period piece "The Favourite," starring Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, and Olivia Colman as women jockeying for prominence at royal court. And while it doesn't quite have the high profile and studio backing of those films, do seek out "Shoplifters" if you can catch it this weekend. This laudably humane family drama from the director Hirokazu Kore-eda is one of the year's best, and won the Palme d'Or this past summer at Cannes.

Carlos Somonte/Netflix Critic's Pick 'Roma' Review: Alfonso Cuarón's Masterpiece of Memory By MANOHLA DARGIS Cuarón uses both intimacy and monumentality to express the depths of ordinary life in this autobiographical movie set in Mexico City in the 1970s. Atsushi Nishijima/20th Century Fox Critic's Pick 'The Favourite' Review: Scheming for Power in a Kinky Palace Triangle By A.O. SCOTT Yorgos Lanthimos's new film, starring Olivia Colman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz, turns 18th-century royal intrigue into sublime and ridiculous comedy.

Movie Reviews Critic's Pick 'Creed II' Review: A Poignant Boxing Movie Blends Old and New By A.O. SCOTT Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson and Sylvester Stallone reunite in a terrific follow-up to "Creed." Critic's Pick 'Ralph Breaks the Internet' Review: Disney Gets Caught in the Web By BILGE EBIRI John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman return to voice the characters in this social satire sequel that is downright scary. Critic's Pick 'Shoplifters': A Family That Steals Together, Stays Together By MANOHLA DARGIS In this beautifully felt drama, the Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda dives into the mess of life with a story about a family on the ragged edge. 'Robin Hood': A New Version Strains to Be Relevant By GLENN KENNY This is not your father's, or grandfather's, "Robin Hood," and it's not very good, either. Critic's Pick 'The World Before Your Feet': Walk a Mile — or 8,000 — in Another Man's Shoes By BEN KENIGSBERG Not everyone can spend several years walking every block of New York. But spending 90 minutes doing that in this documentary is swell. 'Invisible Hands': The Children Fueling Global Capitalism By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS Shraysi Tandon's dense investigative documentary jumps into the murky and shameful world of child trafficking and forced labor. 'Family in Transition': A Parent Prepares for Change By KEN JAWOROWSKI The documentary tells the story of Amit Tsuk, who comes out as transgender, and the effect it has on the family.

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Anatomy of a Scene How Mahershala Ali Schools Viggo Mortensen in 'Green Book' By MEKADO MURPHY Peter Farrelly narrates a sequence from his film.

News & Features Olivia Colman: Uneasy Lies the Head That Wears the Crowns By ROSLYN SULCAS Olivia Colman has been a quiet star in Britain for a decade. But with two royal roles ahead, she's reluctantly stepping into the spotlight. How a $15,000 Movie Rallied a New Generation of Black Auteurs By REGGIE UGWU An oral history of Barry Jenkins's "Medicine for Melancholy," as told by admirers — Lena Waithe, Justin Simien and Terence Nance — and Jenkins himself. The Carpetbagger In a Steve McQueen Film, the First Frame Is Everything By KYLE BUCHANAN From "Widows" to "12 Years a Slave," the director walks us through his provocative first shots. Feature Yorgos Lanthimos's Polarizing Visions By ALEXANDRA KLEEMAN The Greek director has drawn acclaim — but also intense backlash — for his primal depiction of contemporary life. 'Network' in an Age of Fake News and Fury By DAVE ITZKOFF Even the cast and creators are working out what the stage adaptation of the prescient 1976 film means right now.

Critics' Picks 'Becoming Astrid' By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS This biopic of the Swedish writer of the "Pippi Longstocking" series hits familiar beats, but its performances are pitch perfect. 'Inquiring Nuns' By GLENN KENNY In this newly restored 1968 documentary, two nuns ask a variety of passers-by in Chicago: "Are you happy?"

Dec. 4, 7:30 PM | Aero Theater, Santa Monica Meet the Critics of The Times Movie Beat Just in time for awards season, The New York Times joins the American Cinematheque at the Aero Theater for an evening spotlighting Kyle Buchanan, our new awards-season columnist known as The Carpetbagger. Kyle, the first Times Carpetbagger based in Los Angeles, will be joined by co-chief film critic A.O. Scott, culture critic Wesley Morris and editor Aisha Harris. Meet the Arts section writers who tell you what to watch, what not to and who's in the running for the year's biggest prize. Join your fellow film buffs and get the jump on creating your Oscar bracket. • Get Free Tickets

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