SoCal new movies, Dec. 27-Jan. 3: ‘Ferrari,’ ‘Memory,’ ‘The Color Purple’ and more
Adam Driver drives, Jessica Chastain remembers and two of Hong Kong’s finest share the screen
Welcome to the latest edition of TV or Not TV’s curated guide to new and current releases screening in LA and OC this week. I’m Matt Cooper, former listings coordinator for the Los Angeles Times’ Calendar.
(And if you are looking for the Classic Movies roundup, it is now its own separate newsletter, but it will still go out Wednesday mornings and post here.)
Lights, camera and … action!
• New this week
‘The Boys in the Boat’ Members of a collegiate rowing team prepare to compete at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin in this 2023 historical drama directed by George Clooney. With Callum Turner and Joel Edgerton. 124 mins. Rated PG-13. Various theaters
‘The Color Purple’ The hit 2005 Broadway musical based on Alice Walker’s acclaimed 1982 novel about the close friendship between two Black women in the Jim Crow South comes to the screen in this 2023 film adaptation. Blitz Bazawule directs and Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson and Danielle Brooks star. 140 mins. Rated PG-13. Various theaters
‘The Crime is Mine’ An aspiring actress in 1930s Paris stands accused of murdering a lecherous theater empresario in this 2023 romp directed by François Ozon. With Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Rebecca Marder and Isabelle Huppert. 102 mins. Not Rated. laemmle.com
‘Ferrari’ Adam Driver portrays the legendary Italian race car driver turned automobile manufacturer in this 2023 bio-drama directed by Michael Mann. With Penélope Cruz, Shailene Woodley, Sarah Gadon, Gabriel Leone, Jack O’Connell and Patrick Dempsey. 130 mins. Rated R. Various theaters
‘Memory’ A social worker (Jessica Chastain) reconnects with a childhood acquaintance (Peter Sarsgaard) who now suffers from dementia in this potent 2023 drama from writer-director Michel Franco. With Josh Charles and Merritt Wever. 100 mins. Rated R. memory-film.com
‘The Teacher’s Lounge’ A newly minted middle-school teacher (Leonie Benesch) in Germany finds herself caught up in office politics and a clash of cultures in this complex drama directed by Ilker Çatak. In German, Turkish, Polish, English with English subtitles. 99 mins. Rated PG-13. laemmle.com
• Opening Friday, Dec. 29
‘The Goldfinger’ Legendary Hong Kong actors Tony Leung and Andy Lau co-star in this 2023 action drama about corporate skullduggery in 1980s Hong Kong near the end of British colonial rule. In Cantonese with English subtitles. 126 mins. Not Rated. Various theaters
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