Looking for a way to reward yourself for getting out there and snagging some great deals on Black Friday, or just wanting to avoid the crush of shoppers altogether? Then get to an area theater and see one (or more) of the movies recommended by Up to Date's indie, foreign and documentary film critics.
Cynthia Haines
Moonlight, R
- The story of a young black man struggling to find and accept himself while growing up in a rough neighborhood in Miami.
A Man Called Ove, PG-13
- The story of a young family that befriends (and softens) their crotchety, isolated neighbor after accidentally flattening his mailbox when they first move to the neighborhood.
Arrival, PG-13
- Amy Adams plays the linguist leading an elite team investigating a series of alien spacecraft landings in this thought-provoking film.
Steve Walker
Loving, PG-13
- Joel Edgerton and Ruth Nega give performances of subdued intensity as the interracial couple whose marriage led to the Supreme Court's decision to end laws outlawing such unions.
The Handmaiden, Not rated
- In both Japanese and Korean, Chan-Wook's intricately plotted and gorgeously shot combination of film noir and melodrama riffs on a domestic worker's aspirational dream to marry into money.
Moonlight, R
- After surviving vicious bullying in school and neglect from a drug-addict mother, a black boy in the Miami projects grows into manhood struggling with sexuality and intimacy.