Whether you're home for the holidays and looking for something to do with the family or looking for a low-key after-work activity before New Year's Eve, consider a trip to the movie theater this week. See all of our critics' picks for doing just that below, including new releases like the adaptation of August Wilson's play Fences, the dark and funny Elle, and the inspiring drama Lion. Skip Passengers, which Erik Henriksen describes as "mostly crappy," and instead get around to watching the ominous, thrumming Arrival or the grand, razzly-dazzly La La Land. As always, check out our complete movie times calendar for more options, or our Things To Do calendar for all of the everything happening this week.
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1. Arrival
Arrival is an ominous, thrumming, beautiful thing that starts out being about aliens who need a decoder ring. It ends up being about something quite different. Arrival is about Big Thingsâand the manner in which Villeneuve gets to them, as his camera slowly traces structures and landscapes both familiar and strange, canât help but surprise and impress. Visually and aurally remarkable, Arrival sometimes unfolds like a clever puzzle and other times like a raw-nerve thriller; throughout, with heart and wit, Heisserer and Villeneuve never lose sight of the filmâs charactersâcreatures in a situation thatâs weird and mournful, exciting and threatening. ERIK HENRIKSEN
Various locations
2. Doctor Strange
The psychedelic visuals, the clever asides, the pure pleasure of having as good an actor as Cumberbatch at the center of a silly superhero epicâall of that cast a spell on me, and I came out of the theater utterly content. Doctor Strange might have a lot of baggage, but more than anything else, itâs fun. SUZETTE SMITH
Meridian 16
3. The Eagle Huntress
The Eagle Huntress looks amazing. The documentaryâs imagesâfeaturing a grinning 13-year-old Aisholpan Nurgaiv as she holds a splendid eagle half her sizeâare the stuff of myths. I went in pumped up to see a girl-power/girl-falconer documentary with plenty of big, cool-looking birds, and I was not disappointed. First-time director Otto Bell accomplishes a level of visual beauty we associate with BBC nature specials or, IDK, Lord of the Rings? Itâs breathtaking. SUZETTE SMITH
Meridian 16
4. Elle
Elle, Paul Verhoeven's first feature since 2006âs Black Book, is a breathtakingly twisted piece of work, utilizing a tremendous central performance by Isabelle Huppert that bridges some markedly taboo fault lines concerning power and sexuality. And somehow the damned thing is also funny, usually at the least opportune moments. Based on a novel by Philippe Djian, the plot follows a rich, gives-no-shits Parisian video game producer (Huppert), who suffers a horrific sexual assault at the hands of a masked home invader. After the attack, she proceeds to do... virtually nothing expected, investigating her friends and neighbors while moving towards an endgame that even she seems to find mysterious. Her small smile while buying an axe could launch a thousand think pieces. ANDREW WRIGHT
Seven Gables
5. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
"I'm annoying," says Eddie Redmayne to Dan Fogler in the opening half-hour of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Heâs like Doctor Who with gout, and yetâjust like the good Doctor in even his lamest incarnations, thereâs just enough charm glimmering beneath the surface and shining through the contrivances that you canât write him off entirely. Fantastic Beasts, featuring an original screenplay by J.K. Rowling, is annoying in the manner of Scamander: It is eager to please and amaze, but undersells its spectacle until that spectacle becomes perfunctory. Itâs a goofy blast of kid-lit in love with Looney Tunes-inspired adventureâexcept when itâs a sour metaphor for child abuse and intolerance that owes one hell of a debt to Stephen Kingâs famous prom queen. But somehow, the two stories are sewed together just tightly enough that the TV pilot-esque clumsiness of Fantastic Beasts (there will be four more of these films, likely transforming ASAP into The Dumbledore Prequels) can be forgiven for the power in its climax. BOBBY ROBERTS
Pacific Place
6. Fences
Recently, while leaving a screening of the solid and engaging film adaptation of August Wilson's play Fences, which was directed by Washington himself, a man walking behind me said to the woman walking next to him that this is not the kind of Denzel Washington film he likes. It's too act-y, it's all about the Academy Awards. Clearly, he wanted Washington to shoot more and talk less. But Fences has no guns and a whole lot of talking about lifeâit deals with failed dreams, race relations in mid-century America, marital problems, parenting problems, working-class problems, drinking problems, problems with debts, mental health, and, ultimately, death. What might kill the character Washington plays in Fences, Troy Maxson, is not a car chase or a shoot-out, but blocked arteries to the heart. He is a normal guy with a very standard suite of personal and social issues. The man behind me was correct: It is likely that Washington will be recognized by the Academy for this performance. And thank God! It is good to see a great actor take a break from his fall into the abyss of crap and produce something of social, artistic, and cultural value. The Academy will probably also recognize Viola Davis, who plays Rose Maxson, Troy's wife. CHARLES MUDEDE
Various locations
7. It's a Wonderful Life
Shortly after It's a Wonderful Life's 1946 release, James Agee, the most astute and eloquent American film critic of all time, noted the film's grueling aspect. "Often," he wrote, "in its pile-driving emotional exuberance, it outrages, insults, or at least accosts without introduction, the cooler and more responsible parts of the mind." These aesthetic cautions are followed, however, by a telling addendum: "It is nevertheless recommended," Agee allowed, "and will be reviewed at length as soon as the paralyzing joys of the season permit." Paralyzing joys are the very heart of George Bailey's dilemma; they are, to borrow words from George's father, "deep in the race." The sacrifices George makes for being "the richest man in town" resonate bitterly even as they lead to the finale's effusive payoff. Those sacrifices are what make It's a Wonderful Life, in all its "Capraesque" glory, endure. SEAN NELSON
Grand Illusion
8. La La Land
You guys, I LOVED La La Land, and you will too. Donât be afraid of it just because itâs a musical about a struggling actress (Emma Stone) and a pretentious jazz musician (Ryan Gosling) who meet and fall in love and sing and dance in a romanticized, cartoony LA. Yeah, itâs splashy and grandiose and full of hazy violet Southern California sunsets, but its emotional core is genuine. Take it from shriveled-hearted me, the Unearned Sentiment Police: La La Land is a grand, over-the-top, razzly-dazzly love story that wonât make you puke one bit. It might even help you forget the horrors of reality, however momentarilyâand after the year weâve had, that practically makes La La Land a public service. MEGAN BURBANK
Pacific Place & SIFF Cinema Uptown
9. Lion
Based on Saroo Brierleyâs memoir A Long Way Home, the film, an inspiring drama that earns tears without jerking them, begins with five-year-old Saroo (played by a bouncing ball of energy named Sunny Pawar) becoming separated from his mother and brother and ending up a thousand miles away in Calcutta. Sarooâs path may be unclear, but Lionâs isnât: Like the train that took him away in the first place, the film moves steadily toward its tearful destination, propelled by sincere performances and Volker Bertelmann and Dustin OâHalloranâs gently urgent musical score. Kidman shows great tenderness as the adoptive mother, underscoring the theme of âfamilyâ not being limited by biology, and Patel is serious-minded and haunted. But itâs little dynamo Sunny Pawar that youâll remember best, his infectious cheery optimism encapsulating the filmâs hopeful tone. ERIC D. SNIDER
Meridian 16 & Sundance Cinemas
10. Jackie
Natalie Portmanâs portrayal of then-First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy is nothing less than amazing, perfectly capturing Jacquelineâs intense drive, strength, occasional pettiness, and overwhelming grief. She, along with director Pablo LarraĂn and a talented cast, go a long way to reshape our shared memories of Kennedy as simply a fashion plate in a pink pillbox hat, revealing a figure far more complicated and heroic. Jackie is a stunning, heart-wrenching meditation on truth, the American ideal, and the incredible pressure on first ladiesâwomen who represent just as much, if not more, than their husbands. WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY
SIFF Cinema Egyptian & Guild 45th
11. Manchester by the Sea
In Manchester, Lee Chandler (Affleck) seems content to shovel walkways and unclog toilets for a living in Boston, until word comes that his older brother Joe (Kyle Chandler, seen in flashbacks) has died of a heart attack. Joeâs will stipulates that he wants Lee to move back to his titular hometown and become Patrickâs guardian. Lee, however, is haunted by past events and resists, with a toddlerâs tenacity, every effort by the people around him to help him come to terms. I feel for the guy, and you will too, but after two hours, I wanted to grab him by the collar and tell him to buck up. After all, heâs at least going to get an Oscar nomination out of it. MARC MOHAN
Various locations
12. Moana
Moana is the Disney princess movie everyone needs right nowâor, at the very least, Moana is the princess I've been dreaming of since I was a little girl. Not every kindergartner can see herself in Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, or, even nowadays, Frozen. After years of witnessing people of color gunned down and beaten on-screen, having a whole movie dedicated to showcasing the knowledge and beauty of brown people felt restorative. Yes, Moana is an animated children's movie, but it is important for children of color to be able to see movie audiences sit in awe of their people's stories. Representation matters regardless of age. ANA SOFIA KNAUF
Various locations
13. Moonlight
Moonlight is a film that has all of the major film critics in the country singing the loudest praises, and is already breaking box-office records, and happens to be a coming-of-age tale of a black American male. But I want to make this clear: The director of Moonlight, Barry Jenkins, did not come out of nowhere. He also directed and wrote one of the best films of the previous decade, Medicine for Melancholy (2008). The wonder is that it took him so long to make his second feature, which will most likely make a big splash at the next Oscars. Expect Jenkins to be one of the few black Americans to win the award for best director. CHARLES MUDEDE
Meridian 16 & Sundance Cinemas
14. Office Christmas Party
Office Christmas Party rolls out joke after joke like an ever-patient Santa with a bottomless bag of toysâplenty of âem donât work, but only a Grinch wouldnât crack a smile as the party devolves into expected chaos. McKinnon, as the officeâs repressed HR rep, is an expected standout, but I was surprised by Aniston, whose unbelievably mean boss might be even funnier. You probably wonât want to talk about it the morning after, but this Office Christmas Party is a surprisingly fun time while it lasts. NED LANNAMANN
Meridian 16 & Varsity
15. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
This is one of the darkest films in the Star Wars series. In Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the theology of that faraway galaxy with its Force takes a backseat, and the troubled soul of the rebellion is at the controls. The Empire is not a joke. Its economic and military power is immense, and the power of its uniformity is almost unstoppable. To challenge it, you need more than just the Force. A rebel must, above all, feel that the realization of the ideal futureâhere in the form of a harmonious, heterogeneous galactic societyâfar surpasses (1) the evils of war and (2) the self. If you miss this point, the sacrifices of a revolution, then you will not understand the greatness of Rogue One. CHARLES MUDEDE
Various locations
16. Things to Come
French filmmaker Mia Hansen-Løve is 35, and Things to Come is her fifth feature. But while 2014âs Eden explored the pleasures and perils of youth, the new film revolves around a 63-year-old woman. Aside from the fact that Hansen-Løve, the daughter of philosophy teachers, avoids the stereotypes usually associated with films about older women, it's more about change than age. During the course of the film, Nathalie (played by Isabelle Huppert), a philosophy teacher, loses her marriage and her mother (the formidable Edith Scob), but those things happen to younger women, too. She also tangles with a publishing company that wants to bastardize her textbook to boost sales. But just when it seems as if things can't get much worse, they don't. KATHY FENNESSY
Sundance Cinemas
