Movies Update: 'Knives Out,' 'Queen & Slim' and More

Plus, the 10 most influential films of the decade.

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story November 29, 2019

By Kyle Buchanan

Hey, movie fans!

Will you be heading out to a theater this week or watching movies from the couch? Certainly, the streaming services are pulling out their big guns: Netflix cleverly timed the streaming debut of Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” for Thanksgiving week, while families with young children might be more excited about today’s Disney Plus release of Pixar’s “Coco.”

Still, movie theaters have plenty to entice you out of the house. This week’s big releases include the star-studded murder-mystery “Knives Out” as well as “Queen & Slim,” featuring Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith as lovers on the run. In more limited release are Netflix’s papal double-header “The Two Popes,” Michael Apted’s new documentary “63 Up” and France’s official submission for the international-film Oscar, “Les Misérables.”

Clockwise: Magnolia Pictures; David Bornfriend/A24, via Associated Press; Disney/Lucasfilm; Disney; Suzanne Hanover/Universal Pictures, via Associated Press   THE DECADE IN CULTURE The 10 Most Influential Films of the Decade (and 20 Other Favorites) Our co-chief film critics say these were the films of the 2010s that made a difference in the world of entertainment and beyond. By Manohla Dargis and A.O. Scott

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MOVIE REVIEWS Claire Folger/Lionsgate   ‘Knives Out’ Review: Murder Most Clever In his new movie, Rian Johnson dusts off Agatha Christie with help from Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis and Don Johnson. By Manohla Dargis Universal Pictures   Critic’s Pick ‘Queen & Slim’ Review: Love on the Run Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith star in Melina Matsoukas’s dreamy but intense outlaw romance. By A.O. Scott Peter Mountain/Netflix   ‘The Two Popes’ Review: Double Act at the Vatican Jonathan Pryce (as the future Pope Francis) and Anthony Hopkins (as the outgoing Pope Benedict) star in a study of faith, friendship and power. By A.O. Scott Richard Johnson/Shiver Productions   Critic’s Pick ‘63 Up’ Review: Time Keeps on Slippin’, Slippin’, Slippin’ Michael Apted revisits the people who have grown up, and grown older, in this long-running, landmark documentary series. By Manohla Dargis Amazon Studios   Critic’s Pick ‘Les Misérables’ Review: Injustice Still Stalks the Poor of Paris In modern-day Montfermeil, the setting of Victor Hugo’s novel, the filmmaker Ladj Ly stages his own impassioned cry against oppression. By Glenn Kenny ABC Documentaries   ‘After Parkland’ Review: Gun Violence Reverberates Through Time A new documentary follows the friends and families of those died in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018. By Ben Kenigsberg Gkids   ‘White Snake’ Review: A Chinese Demon Slithers to the Screen Love is the answer, even when Romeo is a snake-catcher. Luckily, he’s not great at his job. By Kristen Yoonsoo Kim     ‘Feast of the Epiphany’ Review: Farm to Table, but Not in That Order It’s a drama. It’s a documentary. It’s both, but this film, directed by three critics, is a perplexing amalgamation. By Ben Kenigsberg

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ANATOMY OF A SCENE Andre D. Wagner/Universal Pictures   Anatomy Of A Scene How Love Begins in ‘Queen & Slim’ The director Melina Matsoukas narrates a lyrical scene from her film where the lead characters fall for each other for the first time. By Mekado Murphy Claire Folger/Lionsgate   Anatomy Of A Scene How ‘Knives Out’ Handles a Mansionful of Stars Rian Johnson narrates a sequence from his ensemble murder-mystery, featuring Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis and Daniel Craig. By Mekado Murphy

NEWS & FEATURES The True Story of ‘The Irishman’: I Heard You Paint Tangled Tales The movie hits Netflix on Wednesday. Here’s a guide to who’s who, which events are real and whether to believe its claim about Jimmy Hoffa’s disappearance. by michael wilson How to Follow Up ‘Frozen’? With Melancholy and a Power Ballad For the music of “Frozen 2,” Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez found inspiration in a Latin hymn, grief and Bryan Adams. by gabe cohn Noah Baumbach Knows What You’re Thinking The writer-director on the autobiographical vs. the personal, showing “Marriage Story” to his ex-wife and the reason he’s enjoying life more than ever. by reggie ugwu Diablo Cody’s Week: ‘I’m a Phone Addict’ The Oscar-winning screenwriter and first-time Broadway librettist shares what she watched, read and listened to in a week. by kathryn shattuck Achieving Transcendence on the Millionth ‘Frozen’ Viewing Once a father took his aversion to “Frozen” and, yes, let it go, he realized that beyond the branded backpacks and Anna and Elsa matching sock sets, the movie is an ingeniously crafted tale. by adam sternbergh critic’s notebook What ‘Queen & Slim’ Gets Right About Black Women Through love and conflict, the drama shows the different ways we can be. And, it’s refreshing, especially in today’s cinema. by gina cherelus She’s Mrs. Rogers. But Joanne Rogers Has ‘Always Been Her Own Person.’ Fred Rogers’s widow, at 91, still acts as a spokeswoman for her husband’s legacy. But she had a long career as a concert pianist, performing duets around the country and recording two albums. by julia jacobs 60 Years of ‘The Sound of Music’: Optimism Endures Six decades after “The Sound of Music” debuted on Broadway, it remains a cultural touchstone in community theaters, in books, on streaming services and inspiring an Ariana Grande video. by laura m. holson

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STREAMING Netflix   Netflix’s 2019 Holiday Movies, Reviewed and Ranked The streaming service added a bunch of original holiday movies this year, some better than others. We watched them all. By Elisabeth Vincentelli

CRITICS’ PICKS critic's pick ‘The Body Remembers’ Review: One Prospers, the Other Doesn’t Two indigenous women collide in an urgent, intimate drama about race, motherhood and domestic abuse. by jeannette catsoulis critic’s pick ‘Hala’ Review: Girl, Disrupted Geraldine Viswanathan is astonishingly resonant as a teenager testing the boundaries of faith, tradition and sexuality. by jeannette catsoulis

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