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Hulu‘s November, 2024 schedule has a wealth of originals, catalog titles and plenty of holiday offerings.

Christmas films like Fred Claus, Four Christmases, The Polar Express, Jack Frost and Elf will arrive at the end of the month right before Thanksgiving. Hustlers (2019) leaves the streamer on Nov. 30, and Plus One leaves Nov. 16.

Related: The 10 Best Shows To Stream in October 2024

Taika Waititi’s Interior Chinatown arrives Nov. 19, and Ben Stiller’s most recent film out of the Toronto International Film Festival Nutcrackers will make its streaming premiere Nov. 29.

See below for the full list of programming available on Hulu in November.

November 1

Are You the One? Complete Seasons 2 and 6 Naruto Shippuden: Complete Season 9 (Dubbed A Christmas Carol (1984) Ad Astra (2019) Aliens (1986) Billy Madison (1995) Carpool (1996) Christmas on the Ranch (2021) Christmas With The Kranks (2004) Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe (2005) The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) Crazy Heart...

November 2024 brings a diverse array of movies and shows to Hulu, catering to a wide range of tastes and interests. From classic holiday films to gripping dramas and entertaining reality series, there’s something for everyone. Viewers can dive into beloved titles like A Christmas Carol (1984) and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, perfect for getting into the holiday spirit. For fans of action and adventure, the month features iconic films such as Aliens, Ghost Rider, and the Chronicles of Narnia series. Those seeking laughter can enjoy comedies like Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, and Grown Ups, while romantic and family-friendly options like La La Land and Elf add a touch of warmth. Additionally, Hulu is expanding its lineup with complete seasons of popular reality shows like Are You The One?, Hoarders, and Marriage Boot Camp. The month also includes special premieres, such as the 58th Annual CMA Awards and a series on The Stanford Prison Experiment,...

October was huge for Disney+ and Hulu — but which month isn’t? After the weekly installments of “Agatha All Along” and the staple that is Huluween, the bundled streamers gear up for winter programming this November.

Disney+ continues to be the home for live episodes of “Dancing With the Stars” and the original series “Ayla & The Mirrors,” which continues to air new episodes. Along with new children’s programming and holiday specials like “An Almost Christmas Story,” the streamer will premiere “The Music of John Williams” on November 1, celebrating the acclaimed film composer and his decades-long career with new footage and interviews from those he worked with and inspired.

It’s another big month for movies coming to Hulu, as well as beloved shows like “Ally McBeal” (complete series). Stay tuned for an adaptation of Charles Yu’s “Interior Chinatown” and the docuseries “It’s All Country,” as well as...

Prime Video has pounced on Mexican comedy “Tequila Repasado” by Gabriela Tagliavini., which it premieres worldwide on Dec. 20.

Co-produced by Sony Pictures Int’l Prods and Mexico-based Itaca Films and Feel Good Films, the comedy was originally written in English by Judd Pilot (“Coach”) and Gerald B. Fillmore (“Muertos S.L.”) to be later adapted for the Spanish-language market by Joan Vives, Ilse Apellaniz and Ricardo Avilés.

Said Tagliavini: “I loved the script. It was weird and hilarious yet also spiritual. And it allowed me to use interesting VFX and create original visuals, which is always a fun challenge!”

“Tequila Repasado” revolves around a workaholic who finds himself repeatedly transported back in time by a mystical tequila, forcing him to outsmart his multiplying selves as he struggles to mend his relationships with his family.

The title, which roughly means Tequila Reviewed, is a play on the term Tequila Reposado, which...

“Roma” producer Nicolas Celis’ of Pimienta Films is coming on board as lead producer of “Freeland,” the first English-language pic by “Emily in Paris” director Katina Medina Mora, Variety learned at Madrid forum Iberseries & Platino Industria.

To be co-written with Chilean scribe Julio Rojas, creator of podcast sensation “Caso 63” and a co-writer on Pablo Fendrik’s “El Refugio,” the project was put together by producer Nestor Hernández, a former Sony and HBO development exec for Latin America, who attended the San Sebastian Film Festival in September to present the project.

MadAvenue PR director Eva Herrero serves as an executive producer on the film.

“We have long been following Katina Medina Mora’s remarkable career and her impressive accomplishments over such a short time span,” remarked Celis who has been attending Iberseries to take part in a panel and to meet with contacts.

“I am also more than thrilled to...

According to legend, the chupacabra is a fearsome, blood-sucking beast — a lean and intimidating animal you wouldn’t want to come across feasting on your livestock at night. Not so the cub three kids nickname “Chupa” in Mexican director Jonás Cuarón’s family-friendly Netflix movie. This one looks like a fuzzy-wuzzy baby lynx, with inquisitive amber eyes and a pair of awkward azure wings it still hasn’t learned how to use. A single glimpse of this oversized kitten and you’ll want one for your own, if not the plush version to snuggle up with at night.

That’s a pretty radical reimagining of a mythical monster usually discussed in horror terms, but an inspired way to bring a sense of Amblin-esque wonder south of the border, attempting to do for a legendary Latin American creature what films like “E.T.” did for extra-terrestrials — which is to say, turn...

"He'll be our little secret." Netflix has revealed the official trailer for an adventure movie titled Chupa, rated PG even tough it's only going to be streaming on Netflix for its release in April. This is the latest from Mexican director Jonás Cuarón, Alfonso Cuarón's son - his debut feature was Desierto from a few years ago. While visiting his family in Mexico, teenage Alex gains an unlikely companion when he discovers a young chupacabra hiding in his grandpa's shed. In order to save the mythical creature, Alex and his cousins must embark on the adventure of a lifetime. Directed by Jonás, and produced by 26th Street Pictures' Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan and Mark Radcliffe, Chupa is a nostalgic journey through myth, memory, and the making of one's own personal legend. This stars Evan Whitten as Alex, along with Demián Bichir, Christian Slater, Ashley Ciarra, Nickolas Verdugo, Adriana Paz,...

Click here to read the full article.

Jonás Cuarón is set to direct Sony Pictures’ El Muerto, which will star Grammy-winning artist Bad Bunny, also known as Benito A Martínez Ocasio.

Cuaron, the son of filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron, made his directorial debut with the immigration thriller Desierto. Gareth Dunnet Alcocer (Blue Beetle) is writing the script for El Muerto, about a wrestler with superpowers passed down from generation to generation in a single family.

The pic is in early development and will mark the first Latino character to lead a live-action Marvel film. El Muerto, a character originally from the Spider-Man universe, is an antihero and the son of a luchador, or Latino wrestler, and next in line to inherit the ancestral power of El Muerto.

Sony Pictures will theatrically release the pic on Jan. 12, 2024. Cuaron co-wrote and directed Desierto, which starred Gael Garcia Bernal and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. The...

At the halfway mark, Aly Muritiba’s “Deserto Particular” clicks into high gear. There’s a change of scenery, yes; we move from the chilly South of Brazil to its arid Northeast. And there’s a change in point of view; we leave our protagonist behind and follow, instead, the person he was so intent on tracking down. More importantly, though, the film comes alive in its second half, which deepens and complicates the story we thought we were watching, about a disgraced cop trying to run away from the violence that’s set to cost him his job and his reputation. For some, the tender empathy that runs through the film’s latter half may not be enough to offset its choice of sympathetic leading man. Yet this Brazilian drama is a welcome and assured intervention into that country’s calcified ideals about desire and masculinity.

Daniel (Antonio Saboia) is spiraling.

Jonás Cuarón is preparing for a new film. After co-writing the award-winning “Gravity” with his father Alfonso Cuarón, and directing the underrated thriller “Desierto,” Jonás Cuarón has been tapped to direct an untitled feature film for Netflix about the legendary creature chupacabra. It appears that this will not be a horror movie, but a family film in the vein of “E.T.

Continue reading ‘Gravity’ Co-Writer Jonás Cuarón Is Directing An Untitled Chupacabra Film For Netflix; Chris Columbus Producing at The Playlist.

IFC Films is acquiring North American rights to “No Man’s Land,” a modern-day Western set along the border between the U.S. and Mexico. The indie studio is planning a release in 2021.

Filmed in Guanajuato, Mexico, the movie was directed by Conor Allyn (“Walk. Ride. Rodeo.”) and written by Jake Allyn (“The Quad”), brothers who grew up going back and forth across the border. Jake Allyn also stars in the movie, joining a cast that includes Frank Grillo, Andie MacDowell and George Lopez. Alex MacNicoll (“Vice”) and Jorge A. Jimenez (“Narcos”) also star.

The film follows border vigilantes Bill Greer (Grillo) and his son Jackson (Allyn), who are out on patrol when Jackson accidentally kills a Mexican immigrant boy. Bill tries to take the blame but Texas Ranger Ramirez (Lopez) sees through the lie, spurring Jackson to flee south on horseback across the Rio Grande. Pursued by Texas Rangers and Mexican federales,...

Nicolas Celis’ TV series “Perfect Monsters” has found its home. The “Roma” producer and his Mexico City-based production company Pimienta Films have inked an exclusive first-look deal with Exile and Endeavour Content, which announced a scripted television partnership in the spring.

“Perfect Monsters,” an epic western created by Celis, Marion d’Ornano and Enrique M. Rizo, is the first project announced under the new deal. The series was among the buzzed-up titles presented at In Development during Miptv.

Based on the eponymous novel by former police officer Miguel Ángel Molfino, the original story set in the Argentine plains has been adapted to take place in 1960s Mexico where 18-year-old Miroslavo flees after his parents are murdered and runs straight into the clutches of an arms dealer, as well as a gang of robbers and a troika of corrupt detectives.

“We are finally developing episodic content and I am very thrilled to...

Because “Roma” is based on Alfonso Cuaron‘s own experiences growing up in Mexico City in the 1970s, sound editor Sergio Diaz spent a lot of time with the director talking about “his memories.” Together, they wanted to weave together “all the specific sounds in that period,” which required Diaz to do his “own research.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.

See Skip Lievsay (‘Roma’ sound mixer) on Alfonso Cuaron’s ‘insane approach to making movies’ [Exclusive Video Interview]

Diaz did “many, many passes” on the soundtrack, providing “different options” for the director to choose from. He searched far and wide for “the bird sounds in Mexico City, for the car sounds, for the atmospheres, for the vendors,” keeping in mind the specific period he needed to convey in this story of a poor maid (Yalitza Aparicio) working for a middle-class family.

After amassing these various audio elements Diaz needed to “build specific...

“You have a first image,” Alfonso Cuarón said. “You just know that it is always going to be there. You don’t question that.” For “Children of Men,” it was a pregnant woman with a baby, fighting through a parting crowd. For “Roma,” he said, “the first image that triggered everything was Cleo walking up the metal stairs to the rooftop.”

Set in 1971 in his old neighborhood in Mexico City, “Roma” is a deeply personal portrait of the filmmaker’s beloved nanny, who got pregnant out of wedlock when he was a child, and still lives in his family home to this day. As he was conjuring the movie, Cuarón told his brother Carlos (who co-wrote Oscar-nominated “Y Tu Mama Tambien”): “I want to do it. I just know that I need to do it. I don’t know if people are going to see it.”

Read More: Amazon...

“You have a first image,” Alfonso Cuarón said. “You just know that it is always going to be there. You don’t question that.” For “Children of Men,” it was a pregnant woman with a baby, fighting through a parting crowd. For “Roma,” he said, “the first image that triggered everything was Cleo walking up the metal stairs to the rooftop.”

Set in 1971 in his old neighborhood in Mexico City, “Roma” is a deeply personal portrait of the filmmaker’s beloved nanny, who got pregnant out of wedlock when he was a child, and still lives in his family home to this day. As he was conjuring the movie, Cuarón told his brother Carlos (who co-wrote Oscar-nominated “Y Tu Mama Tambien”): “I want to do it. I just know that I need to do it. I don’t know if people are going to see it.”

Read More: Amazon...

In line with its continued bid to release a diversity of strong titles, Cinepolis Distribution has picked up all worldwide distribution rights to horror drama “My Favorite Birthday” (“Mi Cumpleaños Favorito”) by helmer-scribe Agustin ‘Oso’ Tapia (“Club Eutanasia”).

Tapia has described “Birthday” as “a story where two genres collide: Film noir with the supernatural.” The horror pic follows a young girl about to turn seven who receives a magical puppet theater for her birthday. The unusual gift allows her to spy on unsuspecting adults around her.

Seasoned film and TV producer Leonardo Zimbron and genre producer Beatriz Bouras (“Influencia”) are producing the drama, which is currently shooting on location.

Fernanda Castillo, wildly popular for her performance in Mexican box office hit “Ya Veremos,” leads the cast along with Juan Rios and Ivan Arana.

“Horror is without a doubt one of Mexico’s most representative genres,” said Zimbron. “It’s wonderful...

Gael García Bernal is reteaming with Jonas Cuarón and they’re heading for TV.

Deadline reported on Friday that Showtime has made a pilot commitment to a new drama that will bring together García Bernal and series creator Cuarón for the first time since the latter’s 2015 thriller “Desierto.” The as-yet-untitled project will be based on Karla Cornejo Villavicencio’s book “Undocumented America,” which is due to be released next summer.

Read More: Pablo Larraín Is Shooting a New Movie With Gael García Bernal in Chile — Exclusive

García Bernal would play an undocumented immigrant who poses as an immigration officer to help rescue his wife from Ice custody. The Deadline story describes the series as “an emotional thriller about a man enmeshed in a dangerous double life; torn between his desire to help in any way possible and his family.” Immigration also formed a major part of the plot of “Desierto,...

Exclusive: Showtime has given a pilot commitment to an untitled drama starring and executive produced by Golden Globe Award winner Gael García Bernal (Mozart In the Jungle) and created by Jonás Cuarón (Gravity).

Lie To Me creator Sam Baum will also serve as an executive producer, along with journalist and Daca recipient, Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, whose upcoming book Undocumented America inspired the series. Brad Weston’s Makeready and Showtime will serve as studio co-production partners.

The as-of-yet untitled project centers on a Mexican-American family man living undocumented in the United States. When his wife is detained by Ice, desperate and resourceful undocumented immigrant Marco (Bernal) assumes the identity of an immigration officer to rescue her. The project is an emotional thriller about a man enmeshed in a dangerous double life; torn between his desire to help in any way possible and his family.

Weston, Pam Abdy, and Scott Nemes will...

Doug Liman’s The Wall faces the same problem as Netflix’s Sand Castle – is there anything left unsaid about an already mass-criticized Iraq invasion? We’ve heard it all. Government debriefings, conspiracy theories, oil-slick motivations. At this point – almost a decade after occupancy began to wind down – what more is there to exploit? Not much, which is why writer Dwain Worrell draws up this cat-and-mouse sniper battle like a modern-times Enemy At The Gates. One location, sun-soaked tension and a maniac shooter with his sights locked on American troopers. Imagine Jonás Cuarón’s Desierto, except instead of Jeffrey Dean Morgan hunting Mexican border crossers, a Middle Eastern man takes exception to the flag-waving “invaders” who just want to “help.”

Stop me if you’ve heard/seen/experienced these patriotic paradoxes before.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson stars as Sergeant Allen Isaac – “Eyes” for short – who’s 22 hours into a military stakeout with...

After two years, Stx Entertainment has “Bad Moms,” “The Gift” … and more than a half-dozen other titles that range from near misses (“Desierto”) to outright flops (“The Bye Bye Man”). Never mind, said motion picture group chairman Adam Fogelson at his studio’s CinemaCon presentation Tuesday. He’s more than confident that his studio’s next chapter — or as he called it, “Stx 2.0” — is filled with hitmakers.

Read More: Stx Entertainment Acquires Jonás Cuarón-Directed Tiff Winner

Fogelson began by pointing to his studio’s early wins including “Bad Moms.” Starring Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn and Kristen Bell, it took in $113 million domestic on its way to becoming the highest-grossing R-rated comedy of 2016. A sequel, “A Bad Moms Christmas,” goes into production next month with a November 3 release date.

Fogelson noted that of the 10 movies Stx has released in 19 months, five have starred or were directed by women. “We have...

Alfonso Cuarón is back! The filmmaker has remained relatively quiet since winning Best Director at the Oscars three years ago for “Gravity,” but at a press conference (via Filmeweb) in Mexico earlier today, he confirmed he has finished production on his next movie, a family drama titled “Roma.” This is the first time the title has been revealed.

Read More: How Alfonso Cuarón and Emmanuel Lubezki Faked Their Way Through Film School

News broke last September that Cuarón would be directing a new movie set in Mexico, his first since “Y Tu Mamá También” made him a star on the international film circuit. At the time, the only details around the project were that it would be set in the 1970s and follow the year in the life of a middle-class family. The director is remaining tight-lipped on plot details for now, but he did reveal just how important it...

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.

Crimson Peak (Guillermo del Toro)

Crimson Peak works as many things: a melodramatic romance; both the recreation of a period and a revival of the way movies have made us perceive it; a genre-jumping comedy; and a critique of capitalistic excess. It does these things earnestly and without compromise, and it’s far braver — far more admirable — for having done so. What Guillermo del Toro’s new film doesn...

Our resident VOD expert tells you what's new to rent and/or own this week via various Digital HD providers such as cable Movies On Demand, Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, Google Play and, of course, Netflix. Cable Movies On Demand: Same-day-as-disc releases, older titles and pretheatrical Loving (historical romantic drama; Joel Edgerton, Ruth Negga; rated PG-13) Almost Christmas (romantic comedy; Kimberly Elise, Danny Glover; rated PG-13) Trolls (animated comedy; voices: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Zooey Deschanel, Jeffery Tambor; rated PG) Baby, Baby, Baby (comedy-drama; Brian Klugman, Adrianne Palicki; rated R) American Pastoral (crime drama; Ewan McGregor, Jennifer Connelly; rated R) Desierto (action-drama; Gael Garcia Bernal, Jeffrey Dean Morgan; rated...

Read More...

Mexico’s renowned Morbido Fest is moving forward with its latest brand extension as brass prepare to launch the long-awaited pay-tv channel backed by Alex Garcia’s Ag Studios and have set their sights on reaching Us audiences by late 2017.

Morbido Fest CEO Pablo Guisa Koestinger and Mexican genre master Adrián Garciá Bogliano are in Buenos Aires at the Ventana Sur market to secure rights from producers to a raft of new and catalogue horror, fantasy and sci-fi content.

Scherzo Diabolico and Here Comes The Devil director Bogliano acts as general coordinator of the channel, which is scheduled to launch in Mexico in two weeks and in March as an app-based streaming platform throughout Latin America, excluding Brazil.

Speaking on Wednesday on a genre festival panel at the market’s Blood Window sidebar, Koestinger said all films will play in their original language with subtitles.

Morbido TV plans to include Brazilian content once it can afford to provide...

“Moonlight” (A24) remains the top story. Barry Jenkins’ best-reviewed film of the year expanded to a range of big city theaters this week. The movie continued as the top 2016 specialized performer in head to head comparisons this year. This performance is more than enough to buttress its elevated awards expectations, as critics groups start voting in in a few weeks.

But it wasn’t the only successful widened release. Subtitled film “The Handmaiden” (Magnolia) continued to impress, as it added far more than the usual number of second week theaters. It’s playing to both Korean-American and conventional arthouse audiences.

On a Halloween-adjacent weekend that seemed to scare off most distributors, two rock-related documentaries braved the competition. Jim Jarmusch’s “Gimme Danger,” with an initial conventional theater release, scored well, while “Oasis: Supersonic” (A24) mostly went for initial one-night events before adding streaming as its main venue.

The best reviewed...

The slumbering specialized world woke up this weekend.

Critically acclaimed “Moonlight” (A24) pulled a sensational response far beyond its already high expectations. But it wasn’t the only positive story: “The Handmaiden” (Magnolia) beat the odds against subtitled films. And Michael Moore’s election special “Trumpland” (Dog Eat Dog) scored strong numbers in theaters along with its iTunes debut.

Openers

“Moonlight” (A24) – Metacritic: 99; Festivals include: Telluride, Toronto, New York 2016

$413,175 in 4 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $103,685

In a lackluster year at the specialty box office, even a $30,000 initial platform per theater average for Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight” would have looked great. Instead, with a rare 99 Metacritic score, ahead of any other film this year, the opening PTA of $103,685 is sky high and among the top initial results ever.

How good is it? It is second only to “The Revenant” (which opened on Christmas weekend) among releases over the last two years.

Gael García Bernal’s Inspector Oscar Peluchonneau will not play a supporting character in poet Pablo Neruda’s story, even if it means traveling all over Chile to find him. Pablo Larraín’s latest Spanish-language drama, “Neruda,” stars Luis Gnecco as the beloved writer who is forced into hiding after political tides shift in Chile.

Set in 1948, the film tells the cat-and-mouse story of fugitive Communist politician and popular poet Neruda as he’s forced underground, with a perseverant police inspector (Bernal) hot on his trail. While he and his wife, painter Delia del Carril (Mercedes Morán), move from location to location, he cunningly plays with the inspector, leaving clues designed to make his search more perilous — using this as chance to become a symbol for liberty.

“Supporting character? Me?” says Bernal in the new trailer released by The Orchard Movies. “No, sir. Because I’m going to catch you.

Gael Garcia Bernal stars in the horror thriller Desierto as an immigrant crossing the desert into the United States with a group of people when a sniper (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) decides to take matters into his own hands. Garcia and Desierto director talk to CineMovie about shooting in a remote desert two hours away from the closest town, and the difficulties of the shoot, while also keeping in mind that many make the journey under the hot sun under worse conditions.

Read More ...

Desierto is Jonás Cuarón‘s sophomore effort as a filmmaker. The co-writer of Gravity made his directorial debut in 2007 with Year of the Nail, a movie he wrote, produced, shot, co-edited, and did the art design for. He had slightly fewer jobs to do on his second feature, but that doesn’t mean it was less of a challenge to […]

The post Interview: How Jonás Cuarón’s ‘Desierto’ Was Inspired by Steven Spielberg’s ‘Duel’ appeared first on /Film.

by Nathaniel R

Jeffrey Dean Morgan & Gael García Bernal in "Desierto"

Two more Oscar submissions are now in limited release in the Us: Mexico's Desierto and the UK's Tehran set film Under the Shadows. Both are what you might call horror films though one suspects only the latter would accept the label. 

Desierto

We'll go anywhere with Gael García Bernal, who has blessed us with a number of fine road trip / travel movies in his career like Y Tu Mama Tambien, The Motorcycle Diaries , and The Loneliest Planet. In short, he's the perfect choice as a protagonist if you want us to sign up for a gruelling journey...

"Everything u ever wanted to know about the foreign film category"

Pt 1 All the trailers (A-i) | Pt 2 All the trailers (J-y) 

Pt 3 Debuts | Pt 4 Female Directors 

Pt 5. Actors You Know & Possibly Love

Successful actors really rack up the frequent flyer miles. Some pick up a second or third or fourth language and actually use those languages in their careers. Others merely stick to films in their native tongue but are magnetic or lucky enough to become well known all over the world.

So after surveying the 85 movies that are hoping to be nominated for this year's Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, here are 12 actors you may already know (or at least recognize) who star in one or more of the submissions this time around... 

Gael García Bernal made his feature film debut in the Oscar nominated Amores Perros (2000) and Oscar just kept right on gazing at him. As did we.

As Jonas Cuaron‘s “Desierto” hits theaters — much to his famous father Alfonso’s delight — TheWrap looks at other directors who took their dads’ career lead Alfonso Cuaron and Jonas Cuaron Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron (“Birdman”) is working on a new untitled movie that chronicles a year in the life of a middle-class family in Mexico City in the early 1970s, while his Jonas directed 2016’s “Desierto” and is rebooting “Zorro.” Tom and Colin Hanks Tom last directed “Larry Crowne” while son Colin directed documentary “All Things Must Pass” about the rise and fall of Tower Records. Carl and...

The traditional fall season of award-season releases gets a late start on Friday with “Moonlight” (A24) and “The Handmaiden” (Magnolia) leading the way. It can’t come a moment too soon.

This weekend, top-quality films “Certain Women” (IFC), “Christine” (The Orchard), “Miss Hokusai” (Gkids) and “Aquarius” (Vitagraph) competed in limited openings. All nabbed good or better reviews. But none scored at the level likely to lead to the sort of wider response and multi-million grosses that normally come along regularly at this time of year.

The weakness can be seen among later-week grosses as films expand. There hasn’t been a breakout crossover release of any significance since “Hell or High Water” (Lionsgate), which is still grossing better than most recent releases.

“Shin Godzilla” (Funimation) showed strength with a midweek opening in a mixed plan of bookings. Similar to “The Beatles: Eight Days a Week” (Abramorama), out-of- the-box distribution seems to be finding positive results.

We haven’t seen much of Jonás Cuarón since he penned the stunning sci-fi film Gravity back in 2013, but he’s returned this week with Desierto, a tense thriller which he wrote and directed. Starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Gael Garcia Bernal, it follows the plight of a group of Mexicans illegally crossing the Us border somewhere in the desert.

After their truck breaks down, the group must travel on foot across the border, but once they’re on Us soil, a lone gunman named Sam (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) decides to take border patrol into his own racist hands and systematically hunts them down. It ends up becoming a mano-a-mano battle between immigrant Moises (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Sam, as the two fight each other and the elements surrounding them.

At the recent press day for Desierto, we sat down with Cuarón and Bernal for an exclusive interview. During our discussion,...

We haven’t seen much of Jonás Cuarón since he penned the stunning sci-fi film Gravity back in 2013, but he’s returned this week with Desierto, a tense thriller which he wrote and directed. Starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Gael Garcia Bernal, it follows the plight of a group of Mexicans illegally crossing the Us border somewhere in the desert.

After their truck breaks down, the group must travel on foot across the border, but once they’re on Us soil, a lone gunman named Sam (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) decides to take border patrol into his own racist hands and systematically hunts them down. It ends up becoming a mano-a-mano battle between immigrant Moises (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Sam, as the two fight each other and the elements surrounding them.

At the recent press day for Desierto, we sat down with stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan to talk about how relevant...

With an eye at possible Awards consideration, both IFC Films' Certain Women by Kelly Reichardt and starring Michelle Williams, Laura Dern and Kristen Stewart as well as The Orchard's Christine starring Rebecca Hall headline a crowded slate of Specialty newcomers this weekend. Performances by the female cast in both titles could move the early needle as the season revs up this fall. Stx Entertainment, meanwhile, will open Jonás Cuarón's U.S.-Mexican border thriller Desierto…...

Desierto is the intense new feature film from Jonás Cuarón. This story of a man killing off a group of people crossing the border to the Us is a swift and thrilling ride. Featuring fantastic performances from Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Gael García Bernal, there is a real sense of tension going on during what can’t help but be bit of a politically charged thriller. And yes, it... Read More...

The concept was probably inevitable: A chase thriller set on the U.S.-Mexico border pitting a murderous self-styled patriot and a pair of desperate would-be immigrants. Given Donald Trump’s incessant prattling about building a wall, “Desierto” feels nothing if not timely. Topicality may be its greatest asset. If only it had some substance beyond bullets, blood and guts. Director Jonás Cuarón (who co-wrote “Gravity” with his father Alfonso Cuarón) has fashioned a relentless, one-note thriller with some edge-of-the-seat tension. Cuarón’s tale of a madman Minuteman is well-shot and sharply paced, but too simplistic. What had the potential to be a truly.

Desierto Stx Entertainment Reviewed by: Harvey Karten, Shockya Grade: B Director: Jonás Cuarón Written by: Jonás Cuarón, Mateo García Elizondo Cast: Gael García Bernal, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Alondra Hidalgo Screened at: Review 1, NYC, 10/5/16 Opens: October 13, 2016 “Desierto” portrays a scruffy bunch of Mexican border-crossers as decent people who would probably be hard-working if they make it, and an American gun-toter as a psychotic. This may be why one critic opines that the movie would not be on Donald Trump’s best-ten list. On the other hand, the psycho could conceivably be a candidate for Trump’s head of U.S. Border Patrol since he appears quite effective in dissuading illegals, [ Read More ]

The post Desierto Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Andrzej Wajda (Courtesy: Giovanni Marino/Getty Images)

By: Carson Blackwelder

Managing Editor

The foreign language Oscar race is officially underway. At this point, countries have submitted the film they want to represent them at the 89th Academy Awards and we’re left with a list of 85 movies — four having not made the cut — and, to say the least, they’re an interesting crop.

These primarily non-English films will further be narrowed down to nine finalists at some point during December and then will be whittled down to five when all of the nominations are announced on January 24, 2017. Then, the winner of the category — which was created in 1956 — will be announced during the Oscar ceremony on February 26, 2017.

This long list of films — one that is often overlooked by the typical moviegoer and not given a lot of attention during the Oscar race — that have been submitted definitely have some oddities, so...

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree goes the saying, although in the case of filmmaker Jonas Cuaron, the son of the Oscar-winning director of Gravity, the fruit has strayed in a different direction. Jonas’ first feature length film, Desierto, is an impressive display of technical filmmaking and acting, but exhibits none of the subtle or powerful messages that underlie his father’s vision. But a stunning portrayal by Jeffrey Dean Morgan makes it arguably a must see for all Negan fans.

Desierto opens with a dozen individuals being smuggled across the Mexican border in a truck that ominously breaks down, requiring the people to traverse the undisclosed area of the border by foot in an area known as “Badlands.” There, they encounter a horrifying menace—a lunatic with a rifle that sets off to kill them one by one, mercilessly and grotesquely, with the aid of an equally vicious dog named Tracker.

A few days we had the exclusive opportunity to sit and chat with director Jonás Cuarón about his interest in the immigration theme in his new film Desierto.

From Jonas Cuarón and Alfonso Cuarón, comes a unique modern vision of terror. Desierto is a visceral heart pounding thriller packed with tension and suspense from start to finish, starring Gael Garcia Bernal and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

What begins as a hopeful journey to seek a better life becomes a harrowing and primal fight for survival when a deranged, rifle toting vigilante chases a group of unarmed men and women through the treacherous U.S. - Mexican border. In harsh unforgiving desert terrain the odds are stacked firmly against them as they continuously discover there's nowhere to hide from the unrelenting merciless killer.

Check out our exclusive interview below.

Desierto hits theaters today.

A whole lot of people are about to really, really hate Jeffrey Dean Morgan. I'm not even talking about his role on The Walking Dead, though the topic does inevitably come up, but rather his role in Desierto, the feature directing debut of Gravity co-writer Jonás Cuarón. In it he plays a lonely psychopath who starts hunting people trying to illegally cross the border into America. It's a rather thankless role, one that positions him as the personification of pure evil but also (wisely) never stops to explain or justify that evil. He's basically the slasher in a horror movie, only with a cowboy hat instead of a mask. We spoke to Morgan last week over the phone about Desierto and what it's like to play someone so unrepentantly evil. We also...

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This weekend Ben Affleck adds his star power to the faltering fall box office. His action thriller “The Accountant” (Warner Bros.) boasts the best chance to land atop the Top Ten this weekend, ahead of two other wide openers: comedy “Kevin Hart: What Now?” (Universal) and Mattel actioner “Max Steel” (Open Road). But if it falters, “What Now?” might be an upset winner.

Happily for studio accountants, all three films are at the low end of budget ranges, all economical enough to make profits more likely. But theater revenues could fall 20% or more from the same mid-October weekend last year. Last year’s Top Ten totaled $109 million. This year’s should fall short of $100 million.

Last year also saw three openers—”Goosebumps,” “Bridge of Spies” and “Crimson Peak” (ranging from $24 to $15 to 13 million respectively)— along with strong holdover grosses for “The Martian” and “Hotel Transylvania 2.” Every position this...

Give “Desierto” credit for this: There has never been a more appropriate time for a tense thriller about Mexican immigrants avoiding the murderous advances of a gun-wielding American lunatic. Released a little over a year after Donald Trump labeled the majority of undocumented Mexicans living in the U.S. as drug-dealing rapists in the same breath as announcing his presidency, the first feature from director Jonas Cuarón (the son of “Gravity” director Alfonso, with whom the younger Cuarón wrote the screenplay) doesn’t deliver much in the way of ingenuity. But it’s baked in a topical kind of dread.

“Desierto” takes the form of a minimalist B-movie, spending only a modicum of time setting up the premise before settling into the prolonged cat-and-mouth dynamic that dominates the story. After a handful of Mexicans assemble on the outskirts of the U.S. border, surrounded by barren desert, their transit hits...

Actor Gael Garcia Bernal called Sunday’s town hall face-off between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump “one of the worst debates I’ve seen in my life.” The 37-year-old Golden Globe winner recently sat down with TheWrap to discuss his new film, “Desierto,” in which he stars as a Mexican worker who is being hunted by a vigilante (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) as he attempts to cross the border into the U.S. in order to reunite with his wife and daughter. Directed by Jonas Cuaron, the film opens in select theaters on Friday and is the Mexican entry in the Oscar foreign-language race.

Yesterday afternoon, the long list of countries submitting films for contention in Best Foreign Language Feature at the Oscars was revealed. With 85 movies in play, this is a record breaking group. Honestly, from what I could see, only three snubs seemed to be here, which was Belgium not choosing The Unknown Girl, Korea not choosing The Handmaiden, and Romania not choosing Graduation. Aside from those, all of the expected suspects are here for consideration. That gives us the first bit of information in trying to narrow down what will be nominated. My predictions will have to be updated (look for that either at the end of this week or next week), but that will be taken care of. For now, we just know the players. What you’ll see below are more contenders than ever before. Among the higher profile titles are Canada’s It’s Only the End of the World from Xavier Dolan,...

  In Desierto, Confederate flag-waving, hard-drinking Sam (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) has only one thing on his mind: hunting illegal immigrants. As a truckload of Mexican migrants becomes stranded out in the desert, Dean's Sam picks them off one by one... until only two, Moises (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Adela (Alondra Hidalgo), are left on the run from Sam's relentless rifle attack.  In this clip, watch as they try to escape Sam's gunfire -- and his terrifying dog. Will...

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A new clip from the upcoming horror thriller Desierto has been released and it shows that Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s portrayal as “The Walking Dead’s” Negan isn’t the only truly evil villain he’ll be showcasing this Fall. What begins as a hopeful journey to seek a better life becomes a harrowing and primal fight for survival when a […]...

Eighty-five countries have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 89th Academy Awards. Yemen is a first-time entrant.

The 2016 submissions are:

Albania, “Chromium,” Bujar Alimani, director;

Algeria, “The Well,” Lotfi Bouchouchi, director;

Argentina, “The Distinguished Citizen,” Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat, directors;

Australia, “Tanna,” Bentley Dean, Martin Butler, directors;

Austria, “Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe,” Maria Schrader, director;

Bangladesh, “link=tt5510934 auto]The Unnamed[/link],” Tauquir Ahmed, director;

Belgium, “The Ardennes,” Robin Pront, director;

Bolivia, “Sealed Cargo,” Julia Vargas Weise, director;

Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Death in Sarajevo,” Danis Tanovic, director;

Brazil, “Little Secret,” David Schurmann, director;

Bulgaria, “Losers,” Ivaylo Hristov, director;

Cambodia, “Before the Fall,” Ian White, director;

Canada, “It’s Only the End of the World,” Xavier Dolan, director;

Chile, “Neruda,” Pablo Larraín, director;

China, “Xuan Zang,” Huo Jianqi, director;

Colombia, “Alias Maria,” José Luis Rugeles, director;

Costa Rica, “About Us,” Hernán Jiménez, director;

Croatia, “On the Other Side,...