“Origin” tops our list of must-see releases, along with an intense standoff in space and a family drama set next door to a Nazi death camp.

Here’s our roundup.

“Origin”: Ava DuVernay accomplishes the impossible, adapting Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist/author Isabel Wilkerson’s uncinematic book, “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent.” It’s a hefty tome that postulates the root of oppression is tied not to skin color nor creed but to a global caste system that anoints a select group to be superior over all. From this hefty thesis DuVernay delivers an intellectually stimulating, emotionally gratifying film swirling with ideas. It’s a screenwriting and directorial triumph for the visionary filmmaker of “Selma.” Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor turns in an impassioned performance as Wilkerson, an accomplished writer who reluctantly embarks on a research mission as she’s reeling from a one-two punch of family tragedies. DuVernay’s screenplay crackles with brainy, kinetic energy and generates complex, substantial conversations that put lightning into Wilkerson’s theory. She also devotes equal time to making Wilkerson, beautifully played by Ellis-Taylor, a multi-dimensional person struggling with the heft of history and a sudden burden of grief.

Through historical flashbacks and research trips that jet Wilkerson to Germany and India, along with enlightening talks with loved ones, Wilkerson pieces together a convincing argument that opens the window to looking at race and oppression of others into a thought-provoking new way. DuVernay’s film will make your heart ache in the process, as will Jon Bernthal’s tender performance as Wilkerson’s husband. This is exciting, challenging filmmaking that works on every emotional and intellectual level. What a shame “Origin” hasn’t gained traction in this year’s Oscar conversation. It more than deserves to be right alongside other contenders bucking for that best picture prize. Details: 4 stars out of 4; opens Jan. 19 in Bay Area theaters.

“The Zone of Interest”: Jonathan Glazer’s latest ambitious feature — the best film of 2023 – defies categorization and convention. It gives us a front-row seat to the comings-and-goings and daily routines of a high-ranking German couple and their spawn. The difference here is that the year is 1943, and the patriarch of the family is Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel), commandant of the notorious Nazi death camp, Auschwitz, which borders the family’s sprawling estate. Glazer loosely adapts Martin Amis’ 2014 novel and has created a silent scream on the mundanity of evil, and how tasks performed within our own zones of interest — perhaps advancing one’s career or gaining power and influence — can make being responsible for the massacre of a million people seem like just another stepping stone in one’s career. Friedel and Sandra Hüller, as his aggressively ambitious wife, wear their masks of evil chillingly well. “The Zone of Interest” is a unique cinematic experience (the sounds issuing from Auschwitz are almost a supporting performance, and will haunt you forever) that all but demands it be viewed in one sustained gulp in a theater, not at home. I’ve seen it twice and will see it again, not only being astonished by the craftsmanship displayed in every scene but for its timeless warning that sadly will never grow outdated. It’s brilliant. Details: 4 stars; in theaters now.

“I.S.S.”: If you come to Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s thoughtful “what if” space movie anticipating a pure adrenaline ride that’s bereft of ideas, get an E-ticket to a different destination. That’s because the director of “Blackfish” and “Megan Leavey,” along with screenwriter Nick Shafir, venture beyond standard sci-fi tropes to convey a dire warning about our paranoia of “the other.” Don’t get me wrong. This “trapped door” space odyssey is no slouch in the suspense department as six International Space Station cosmonauts – three Americans, three Russians – face orders from their governments to take over I.S.S. by any means necessary after war breaks out on Earth. The sharp-edged premise makes its bloody point well while the cast headed by Oscar winner Ariana DeBose and Chris Messina make us care about what happens in space and on the ground. Details: 3 stars; opens Jan. 19 in area theaters.

“The Beekeeper”: There’s something cathartic and downright therapeutic about seeing Jason Statham as a retired operative kick the living daylights out of hackers preying on an older generation. Screenwriter/director David Ayer relishes in going wildly over the top in preposterous ways, amping up the violence to ridiculous extremes and never allowing the audience to come up for air. It’s a classic B-movie (get it?) steeped in tortured bee metaphors that’ll make you chuckle and action set pieces that’ll have you cheering. Everyone in the cast cranks up the hamminess to delirious levels, from Josh Hutcherson as an annoying coke-snorting rich brat who’s the ringleader of the online hoodwinking scams and Oscar winner Jeremy Irons as a total tool who runs security for said brat. Much of it is illogical, preposterous over-the-top ridiculous, which is what makes it such a guilty pleasure and one of Statham’s and Ayer’s best films. We can only hope there’s a whole colony of “Beekeeper” movies in the future. Details: 3 stars; in theaters now.

Find of the week

“Driving Madeline”: Sometimes that weathered adage about looks being deceiving does prove out. In its opening moments, one might assume this drama centered on 92-year-old Madeleine’s (Line Renaud) taxi ride with driver Charles (Dany Boon) through Paris will be a ham-fisted tearjerker. But this much more ambitious than a pull-on-the-heartstrings road trip. Christian Carion’s seventh feature steers clear of hackneyed tropes, alternating between jarring flashbacks of Madeleine’s hard domestic younger years and those intimate conversations between this unlikely duo who form a bond as the day shifts into night. “Madeleine” is a showcase for its two leads; both are exceptional. So is the film, which gently reminds us to feel compassion for others since we never quite know where another person has been or where they might be going. Details: 3 stars; opens Jan. 19 at select theaters.

“Hazbin Hotel”: Amazon Prime’s raucous, raunchy new series is certain to be one of the hottest animated comedies of the season. It takes place in a hotel in hell (you read that right) run by a do-gooding princess tinkering with a plan to help guests earn their wings in order to augment the overpopulation problems plaguing damnation. It’s a hilarious premise, and originated as a 2019 YouTube pilot from creator Vivienne Medrano that garnered more than 92 million views. Each outlandish episode is filled with wicked wit and even busts out with a bit of song and dance.  A revolving team of guest voices descend to these fiery pits of what will likely turn into a cult sensation. Details: 3 stars; drops Jan. 19 on Amazon Prime.

“The Woman in the Wall”: The nondescript title suggests creator Joe Murtagh’s six-part BBC One series (releasing on Showtime and Paramount+) will be another routine domestic thriller, a hazy mystery along the lines of “The Woman in the Window.” While there are conventional elements tossed in here and there and a few comedic moments, this one’s shooting for bigger fish, focused on Lorna (Ruth Wilson), an outcast in a small Irish village that time forgot as she confronts more trauma in the wake of the abusive time spent when she was younger at a fictional convent that’s part of the Magdalene Laundries. A well-known priest’s murder sets off an investigation headed by a Belfast detective (Daryl McCormack of “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”) who also has childhood ties to the church and the dead man. Shortly thereafter, the prone-to sleepwalking Lorna wakes up after a night of drinking and bad behavior and finds a body of a woman in her house. Although “The Woman in the Wall” relies too often on coincidences, it’s a compulsively watchable series with a volcanic performance by Wilson and another appealing one from McCormack. Details: 3 stars; available on streaming and On Demand Jan. 19 for Paramount+ subscribers with Showtime and then releasing Jan. 21 on Paramount+ with Showtime.

“Death and Other Details”: This Hulu mystery series set on a ritzy cruise liner containing obnoxious rich folk will float the boat of any Agatha Christie fan, especially those wishing there was some sex, kinky and otherwise, going on below decks. Showrunners Mike Weiss and Heidi Cole McAdams don’t go overboard in that department as the so-called “world’s greatest detective” Rufus Cotesworth (Mandy Patinkin) joins sleuthing forces with someone who absolutely detests him, a hanger-on to a wealthy family on board, Imogene Scott (Violett Beane). The estranged duo crossed paths when Rufus was investigating the murder of Imogene’s mother and failed to nab the killer. That crime surfaces again as all sorts of sordid shenanigans — blackmail, dirty business takeovers and so on — go down once Rufus’ loyal assistant winds up dead with a harpoon in his chest. More get slain and there are many seaworthy suspects in this engaging if overextended mystery (eight episodes would have been fine), which benefits from fine deductive interplay between Patinkin and Beane — who should become a star. Hulu only made eight of the 10 episodes available to watch, and the series picks up steam as it proceeds. Details: 2½ stars; two episodes available now with one episode dropping each Tuesday through March 5.

“The Settlers”: At the turn of the 20th century on Tierra del Fuego, three men — a Texas braggart (Benjamin Westfall), an out-of-his-league Scottish officer (Mark Stanley) and a wary mixed-race tracker (Camilo Arancibia) — embark on a journey at the behest of a corrupt landowner to pinpoint the best route for transporting cattle. That synopsis sounds like this is nothing more than a John Ford/Sergio Leone homage, but Chile’s Oscar submission for best international film corrals bigger ideas, with director/co-screenwriter Felipe Galvez Haberle’s debut exposing colonization’s inherent nastiness. Details: 3½ stars; opens Jan. 19 at the Roxie in San Francisco.

“The Teachers’ Lounge”: A bad situation only worsens hour by ticking hour for principled teacher Carla Nowak (Leonie Benesch) in director Ilker Çatak’s beyond-intense feature, Germany’s short-listed Oscar entry for best international feature. A seemingly minor theft observed by Carla in the teachers’ lounge snowballs into an ethical avalanche, uprooting educators, parents and students. Çatak puts Benesch through the acting wringer in one of the year’s most propulsive, nerve-rattling dramas you’ll see this year. Not for one second does this film lag. Details: 3½ stars; now in select theaters.

Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.

“True Detective: Night Country”: The fourth installment in the praised but uneven neo-noir HBO series plunges watchers deep into the murky seasonal darkness of frostbitten Ennis, Alaska, a hardscrabble spot where iron-willed detective Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis) don the bulkiest of parkas while they probe the bizarre disappearance of eight male scientists working at a remote research center. The investigation leads the tenacious women, each of whom is combating their own demons, down one of the most macabre paths that this venerable series has ever trekked as it dredges up a savage unsolved murder of an activist. The groundwork paves a return to form for “True Detective” in a season that’s as bold and original as the first one with Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey.

Showrunner/co-writer/director and executive producer Issa López (“Tigers Are Not Afraid”) deserves the credit for putting the series back on track. She evocatively and authentically re-creates what life is like for the hardened inhabitants of this rugged fictional town where mysticism holds just as much weight, sometimes more, as deductive reasoning. True to her horror roots,  López coats “Detective” with a supernatural veneer, which is applied with a measured hand throughout all six of its handwringing, eerie episodes. (There’s a brief, clever tip of the hat to John Carpenter’s “The Thing” in Episode 1; watch for it.)

López is enabled in her efforts by two strong female protagonists (a first in this male-dominated series) played well by her two stars, and a stellar supporting cast. And what a pleasure it is to watch Foster in action again, a gifted actor who expresses a cluster of moods with a blinkable glance and the smallest of gestures. She crawls into the raw psyche of Liz, a real survivor who’s harshly judged by townsfolk for her sexual appetites. Reis is her equal in every way. The former boxer struck like a viper in her debut in 2021’s “Catch the Fair One” (rent it) and again taps into a roiling turmoil for another visceral, rage-stuffed performance. Other standouts include durable John Hawkes as Hank, a shifty detective that Liz works with; and Finn Bennett as Hank’s do-gooding son who is Liz’s badgered but tireless deputy.

Their acting fireworks mirror the combustible nature of “True Detective’s” satisfyingly twist-filled narrative that goes beyond an average murder mystery and its resolution. As with all the “True Detective” series, this is an atmospheric mood piece that pries open what lies festering underneath the darkest of human nature and possibility. Details: 4 stars out of 4; first episode drops Jan. 14 on HBO and will be available on Max with an episode dropping Sunday until Feb. 18.

“Echo”: With its first American Indian-focused action series on Disney+, Marvel Universe regains the storytelling grip that’s been absent from many of its big-screen projects. This mature-themed (there’s violence and profanity) five-parter centers on the badass Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox), a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma first introduced on “Hawkeye” opposite Jeremy Renner, who makes a welcome guest appearance along with Daredevil (Charlie Cox). Maya, who is deaf and has a prosthetic leg, is fueled by vengeance since she lost her mother as a child in a horrific car accident that she feels responsible for, making her an anti-hero with a backstory and legacy (she has visions linked to events from American Indians past) Her move from Oklahoma to New York finds her crossing paths with one of the best Earthbound Marvel villains — Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio, playing it, wisely, to the rafters).  After a bloody showdown in New York, Maya hops on her motorcycle and returns to her childhood home of Tamaha, where she reconnects with her skating rink-owner uncle Henry “Black Crow” Lopez (Chaske Spencer, in a standout performance), her estranged grandma (Tantoo Cardinal), her hilarious cousin Biscuits (Cody Lightning), a lovable shop owner (Graham Greene, running away with the series in his mostly comedic scenes), and eventually her cousin Bonnie (Devery Jacobs). “Dark Winds’” Zahn McClarnon appears briefly in the critical role of Maya’s dad. Disney+ made only three episodes available for review, and they speed by and feature some great action sequences along with some good and some mediocre special effects. What distinguishes this is how it opens a window into American Indian culture and heritage while telling a brisk, exciting mystery that steers Disney+ to a new horizon of not only more complicated and edgier storytelling but one told from an often overlooked perspective. Details: 3 stars; all five episodes now available on Disney+.

Find of the week

“The Zone of Interest”: Jonathan Glazer’s latest ambitious feature – the best film of 2024 – defies categorization and convention. It gives us a front-row seat to the comings-and-goings and daily routines of a high-ranking German couple and their spawn. The difference here is that the time is 1943, and the father of Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel), commandant of the Jewish-killing machine, Auschwitz, borders the family’s sprawling estate. Glazer loosely adapts Martin Amis’s 2014 novel and has created a silent scream on how the ordinariness of evil where rote tasks performed within our own zones of interest – perhaps advancing in one’s career or just getting ahead and gaining power – can make being responsible for the massacre of a million people seem like just another assignment, even stepping stone in one’s career.  Friedel and Sandra Hüller, as his aggressively ambitious wife, wear their masks of evil chillingly well. “The Zone of Interest” is a unique cinematic experience (the sounds issuing from Auschwitz are almost a supporting performance, and will haunt you forever) that all but demands it be seen in one sustained gulp in a theater, not at home. I’ve seen it twice and will see it again, not only being astonished by the craftsmanship displayed in every scene but for its timeless warning that resonates now and, sadly, forever. It’s brilliant. Details: 4 stars; in theaters Jan. 12.

“Criminal Record”: A battle of wits between two detectives ensues after a desperate, anonymous emergency phone call pins the blame of a grisly murder on someone other than the convicted Black man behind bars. That’s the premise of Apple TV+’s polished and perfectly tuned eight-part vehicle that’s far more ambitious than what it sounds like. Series creator Paul Rutman (“Vera”) balances the mystery/thriller aspects with a character-driven story that bristles with point-blank observations about racism and sexism which then turns into a tug of war between two detectives — the up-and-coming biracial Detective Sergeant June Lenker (Cush Jumbo) and veteran Detective Chief Inspector Daniel Hegarty (Peter Capaldi). She kicks it new school, he kicks it old, and it does get personal. It also gets political and uncovers dirty deeds and issues that aren’t always clear cut. “Criminal Record” builds on the tension and offers more than a meticulous procedural as it exposes a legacy of layered coverups while exploring the emotional frailties of these two unlike but smart characters. Both Jumbo and Capaldi give extraordinary performances in a series that digs deep into the complicated home lives of both. “Criminal Record” deserves to become a hit and here’s hoping for a second season. Details: 3½; first two episodes drop Jan. 10 with a new episode following every week through Feb. 21.

“Monsieur Spade”: Everyone needs a change of scenery now and then. Dashiell Hammett’s iconic San Francisco-based detective Sam Spade gets that and a bunch of nun corpses in this intricate six-part brain-twister from AMC. In the opening episode, Spade, portrayed with a vintage wink and deadpan wit by Clive Owen, visits and winds up living in the pastoral French town of Bozouls, where he retires, gets married and then becomes a widower. Flash forward to 1963 and Spade finds a serpentine new case that involves blackmail, a smarty-pants teen, multiple murders, the Algerian War and duplicitous people with plenty of secrets. Created by Scott Frank and Tom Fontana, “Monsieur Spade” gives anyone mourning the loss of HBO’s “Perry Mason” series a reason to rejoice. The crisp one-liners are delivered with vigor and go down with the snap of a shot of whiskey. Executive produced by Barry Levinson and Owen, “Monsieur Spade” is rich in period details and is really the equivalent of a jigsaw puzzle, one with numerous pieces that might seem all but impossible to connect before Spade sweeps in and fits them into place with just the right amount of aplomb and snark. Get ready to give those brain cells a workout and witness Alfre Woodard steal the show in its final episode. Details: 3½ stars; first episode drops Jan. 14 on AMC, AMC+ and Acorn TV, with a new episode dropping every Sunday until Feb. 18.

“The Brothers Sun”: At eight episodes, this violent Netflix martial arts comedy starring Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh could have learned a lesson from co-star Justin Chien’s abs: get rid of the fat!. At times, Byron Wu and Brad Falchuk’s series goes slack and switches tones too abruptly while firing off jokes that go splat. That doesn’t kill the joy of “Brothers Sun” — in which various triads from Taipei jockey for power in Los Angeles — but it does weigh things down at times. Yeoh’s and Chien’s confident presence props up “Sun” whenever it veers off course. Both juggle the incredible martial arts sequence (the best one keyed off the 1985 cult classic “Gymkata” in Episode 7) and the comedic/dramatic shifts with skill. Yeoh plays Mama Sun, who is estranged from the father of her older son Charles (Chien) — a handsome killer — and her younger son Bruce (Sam Song Li) — a confrontation-adverse improv wannabe. After an attempt on dad’s life lands him in the hospital, Charles journeys to L.A. to protect his family. “The Brothers Sun” does ramble on, but when Yeoh and Chien bust out those fancy moves and gather around the family table with Song Li, its pure action/drama magic. Details: 2½ stars; now on Netflix.

“Solo Leveling”: Netflix isn’t the only streamer hitting it out of the anime park. Crunchyroll is a big beacon for fans, and the gory “Solo Leveling” proves why, an ace meld of mythological elements and outlandish action sequences. It’s a mashup of “Stargate” and a superhero series as “hunters” stalk and take down evil entities itching to get out of their alternate dimension. It’s adapted from a Korean web novel, and after watching two episodes (one drops weekly on the streamer), I’m certainly hooked. Details: 3 stars, available on Crunchyroll.

Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.

For the most part, you’ll be thrilled with what you’ll be given, particularly “The Iron Claw,” “American Fiction,” “The Color Purple” and “All of Us Strangers.”

Here’s our roundup.

“The Iron Claw”: Four brothers (Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson and Stanley Simons) deep in the heart of Texas sacrifice their dreams, careers and even their lives for their domineering manager/coach/father (Holt McCallany) who aims to create a wrestling dynasty.

Director/screenwriter Sean Durkin treats this portrait of the real-life Von Erich family — a dominant force in sport in the late ‘70s and ‘80s — as if it were an American and Shakespearean tragedy. It makes for a potent combination, a knockout in every way.

As he’s done with all the works that bear his imprint — “Martha Marcy May Marlene,” “The Nest” and the Amazon Prime series “Dead Ringers” — Durkin thrusts an exemplary cast into a distinctive environment that he renders perfectly, from the brothers’ wild, unkempt hair, to the tighty-whities they wander around the house in and even to the Rush/Blue Oyster Cult-fueled soundtrack. Durkin centers the story on the most earnest, innocent and steadfast brother, Kevin (a never-been-better Efron). He and his siblings — Olympics-bound track star Kerry (Allen White), laid-back joker David (Dickinson) and the more artistic-minded Mike (Simons) — get sucked into their dad’s obsession to win no matter the cost to his sons’ bodies or souls. The performances and the settings are so authentic it’s like watching a documentary filmed during that era. But it’s Efron’s sensitive performance and his transformation into an intimidating physical presence that you can’t help but gawk at in astonishment, all while it breaks you apart. Like Charles Melton in “May December,” Efron’s performance ranks as one of the best of the year, and deserves to earn him a major seat at the awards table in a film that also ranks as one of the best of 2023. Details: 4 stars out of 4; opens Dec. 22 in area theaters.

“The Color Purple”: What could have come out as contrived, even clunky — the amalgamation of Alice Walker’s classic 1983 novel, Steven Spielberg’s lauded 1985 movie and the Broadway musical version of both — turns into a rousing show-stopper of a movie musical that doesn’t top the emotional heights reached in the novel or the original film, but offers more than enough spirited performances and sassy dance and song numbers that you won’t mind. The film is powered by a trio of impassioned performances: From Colman Domingo, as the cruel and abusive Mister; Fantasia Barrino, who flings herself full force into Celie, the part made famous by Whoopi Goldberg (who has a great cameo); and Danielle Brooks, who plays nobody’s-fool Sofia, the forceful part that earned Oprah Winfrey (a producer of this version) an Oscar nomination. Director Blitz Bazawule’s craftsmanship as a musician serves him exceptionally well and draws out the emotion in the musical numbers — in particular “What About Love” (performed by Barrino and Taraji P. Henson as the flamboyant Shug Avery) and the belt-it-out-to-the-heavens survivor song “I’m Here,” performed by Barrino. Those songs need to soar and move the audience, and they do all that and more thanks to the performers and Bazawule. What also helps is Oakland-born Marcus Gardley’s effective and affecting screenplay, which stitches together old elements and creates something new, vibrant and — above all else — entertaining. Details: 3½ stars; in theaters Dec. 25.

“Ferrari”: Michael Mann outfits this biopic with visual sheen, per his norm, but there’s just not enough under the hood of his latest to keep you interested. “Ferrari” narrows its focus on one aspect of the life of Italian car designer Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver) — when his and his wife’s (Penelope Cruz) company faced a dire financial crisis and decided to funnel their hopes for a turnaround into entering the 1,000-mile Mille Miglia road race. The filmmakers’ decision is a bold one — and a mistake. “Ferrari” never gains traction, leaving us with a running-on-empty portrait of an enigma who looks sullen a lot. Doesn’t help matters that the Italian accents are erratic and out of control (the one from Shailene Woodley, playing Ferrari’s mistress, is baffling). The film remains stuck in a somber mode — understandable, given the Ferraris are mourning the loss of their son. There is one hellish crash scene that’s directed to the hilt but most of this film spends too much time idling. Details: 2 stars; in theaters Dec. 22

“American Fiction”: There’s an art to balancing pointed social commentary with family pathos and humor. In his first feature, director/screenwriter Cord Jefferson balances these elements with the skill and precision of an Olympic gymnast and delivers a modern masterpiece. Jeffrey Wright summons his thespian skills to portray irascible literary author/professor Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, who is forced to be more involved with his family as his mother (Leslie Uggams) is suffering from Alzheimer’s and his hard-partying brother (Sterling K. Brown), who just came out, is around more. Then there’s his potential love connection with a well-adjusted neighbor (Erika Alexander) near the family’s beach house outside of Boston. Monk also wrangles with and grouses about a woke publishing industry and the public’s appetite for gritty “urban” stories from Black writers. When he jokingly authors a stereotype-drenched “Black” book to make a point, it becomes a runaway it. Naturally. Jefferson’s hilarious and poignant comedy/drama — based on Percival Everett’s novel “Erasure” — mixes the family chaos with sharp-edged observations about being Black in modern America and how everyone’s bumbling along trying to do what we think is right (when it might, in fact, be wrong). “American Fiction” doesn’t chastise us for our deficiencies when it comes to family, love and racial issues, but it does point out — in a manner that is comforting and discomforting at the same time — that we have a ways to go before figuring all of this stuff out. Details: 4 stars; in theaters Dec. 22.

“All of Us Strangers”: Filmmaker Andrew Haigh takes what could have been a cringe-inducing, even laughable idea — a lonely London writer (Andrew Scott) starts hanging out with the ghost of his parents (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell) — and turns it into a heart-wrenching queer tearjerker that touches on universal themes. Haigh loosely adapts Taichi Yamada’s novel “Strangers” and creates an emotional story of the relationship of two isolated gay men (the other being Paul Mescal) in an apartment building. “All of Us Strangers” is set in Christmastime and brings to the holiday table the spirits of the past and present, some of which are friendly and caring and others distant and ostracizing. Details: 3½ stars; in theaters Dec. 25.

“The Boys in the Boat”: George Clooney’s adaptation of Daniel James Brown’s bestseller about the against-all-odds University of Washington rowing team and its appearance at the 1936 Olympics is sturdy and leak-proof and sticks to the old-school playbook for making sports dramas. It’s a classy if not overly innovative production that will particularly hold appeal to Bay Area rowers, since it depicts a showdown between the Cal Bears and the Washington crew. The cast is steady if a little unremarkable. Callum Turner makes a fine fit to play Joe Rantz, a resourceful athlete who lived alone and in poverty at an early age. Turner’s physicality suits the role well as does Joel Edgerton’s approachable intensity as Coach Al Ulbrickson. But it is Jack Mulhern as laconic rower Don Hume who adds needed snap to the proceedings. Details: 2½ stars; opens Dec. 25 in area theaters.

“MENUS-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros”: It takes a rare documentarian to turn a four-hour cinema vérité culinary experience into one that’s as appetizing and satisfying as the Michelin-starred meals it observes getting created from farm to crafted table. But at age 93, Frederick Wiseman achieves that as he follows the French Troisgros family as members go to farmers’ market, talk to sommeliers, ranchers and customers, and set a high bar for their employees both in the kitchen and on the floor, even gathering to discuss customers’ dietary restrictions while creating something miraculous in the kitchen. This is the movie for the ultimate foodie as Wiseman watches father Michel in 2022 prepare to hand over his three-Michelin-star restaurant to his son César. It requires patience and a resolve to not exit the theater in a fit of pure hunger. If you can show that restraint then you’re in for a revealing film worth savoring for years to come. Details: 3½ stars; opens Dec. 22 at the Roxie in San Francisco.

“Percy Jackson and the Olympians”: Sick of superheroes? Here’s a satisfying alternative: a batch of ego-driven Greek gods and their enterprising demi-god children who want to help humankind out. Author Rick Riordan’s best-selling page-turners get the full Disney+ treatment in this exciting series — filled with cameos (including Lin-Manuel Miranda) — in which Percy (Walker Scobell) discovers who his absentee dad really is while trying to save his mom. Two theatrical films (both of which received poor reviews and failed to gain the blessing of Riordan) preceded this impressive eight-episode spectacle, which wields a Riordan-approved (he executive produced) Midas touch that’ll appeal to kids and Bullfinch-loving adults. Details: 3 stars; two episodes released Dec. 20, with one episode following each week.

Find of the week

“Northern Shade”: Christopher Rucinski’s debut feature proves — yet again — that a blockbuster budget isn’t essential when making an intense, character-driven thriller. Shot mostly in Connecticut, “Shade” taps a raw national nerve here about a veteran Justin (an impressive Jessie Gavin) suffering from PTSD but returning to Afghanistan to search for his missing brother Charlie. Rucinski is equally at home as a screenwriter as he is a director, and the of-the-minute “Northern Shade” — with a cast that consists, in a large part, of veterans — shows this first-time filmmaker is already walking on a firm foundation. Details: 3 stars; available for free on Tubi and available to rent elsewhere.

Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.

“Monster” is one such film that should get more attention and love. We’ll tell you why, and check in on the “Chicken Hill” gang (23 years later) and spotlight a riveting new Italian mob series.

Here’s our roundup.

“Monster”: Three unique perspectives guide and dramatically shift the serpentine narrative course of Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda’s exquisite movie — one of 2023’s most amazing tightrope walks. It begins with a striking image of a mother and son observing from their apartment a fire that’s devouring a tall building (an image that could well serve as a mirror to the warring firestorm of emotions roiling inside each of its characters). But what seems to be emerging as a standard family drama soon pivots in Yuji Sakamoto’s award-winning script, which is assembled like a jigsaw puzzle. And Kore-eda, director of “Shoplifters” and “Broker,” interlocks the pieces into a gorgeous, touching portrait of the solace of friendship and our universal need to connect with others so we can fully embrace the person we were meant to be. The story centers on single mom Saori (Sakura Ando) — harried and mourning the loss of her husband — and her fifth-grade son Minato (Soya Kurokawa), an emotionally shut-off kid who starts to act strangely in the aftermath of a heated exchange with homeroom teacher Mr. Hori (Eita Nagayama).

Loosely structured like Akira Kurosawa’s iconic “Rashomon,” “Monster” then offers events from the eyes of socially awkward Mr. Hori, who grows more desperate and, well, awkward and believes that Minato has in fact been bullying Yori (Hinata Hiiragi), a sweet, ethereal kid who’s picked on at school and at home. A grieving principal (Yūko Tanaka) hobbled by a horrific tragedy, rounds out the foundation of emotionally scarred characters, all of whom are viewed by others in this small Japanese city as different and/or abnormal, a perception reflected in the film’s title.

But as “Monster” so gracefully and sensitively points out, there is no reason for anyone to walk this path alone when there are so many willing to walk it with you. Details: 4 stars out of 4; in theaters Dec. 15.

“Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget”: While it isn’t as good as its 23-year-old predecessor “Chicken Run,” a hilarious homage in part to the classic Steve McQueen actioner “The Great Escape,” this chipper and lovable Aardman stop-motion animation effort is certain to delight people of all ages. Parents be prepared, though: Your kids might never want to order chicken nuggets again, since our foul friends are trying to escape the clutches of a massive factory poultry plant and its evil nugget inventor Mrs. Tweedy (voice of Miranda Richardson) who wants to turn our heroes into deep-fried, dippable chunks of fast food. Looking to foil that plan is the Wonder Woman of the poultry set, the brainy and athletic Ginger (voice of Thandie Newton). She, her less-agile-of-mind hubby Rocky (Zachary Levi), their resourceful daughter Molly (Bella Ramsey) and her goofy chum Frizzle (Josie Sedgwick-Davies) wing it from Chicken Island, where they’ve been roosting comfortably, to the evil Compound to save the day. “Dawn of the Nugget” gets better as soon as it lands at the Compound, where the pace picks up and a barbed message about the dangers of mass production and animal cruelty is hatched. Expect questions, parents. Details: 3 stars; drops Dec. 15 on Netflix.

“The Lovers”: In this witty opposites-attract rom-com series, Belfast suicidal supermarket clerk Janet (Roisin Gallagher) and overly confident British political commentator Seamus (Johnny Flynn) get cozy even though he has a social-media savvy girlfriend (Alice Eve). A large reason this six-part series works is because the two leads work so well off each other. Gallagher is hilarious as a quick-tempered and quick-witted working-class person who is unimpressed by all the notable politicos Seamus so proudly interviews and grills. It’s their interplay and the two actors’ natural charisma that draw us in. The writing is as nimble and spirited as the leads — not a shock since the screenplay is by playwright David Ireland (“Cyprus Avenue”), who ditches the schmaltz in favor of tart, edgy interplay. He also introduces some tricky material near the final third that gives the series another dimension that reflects on the Troubles and its lasting impact. Details: 3 stars; now available on Sundance Now and AMC+.

Find of the week

“Suburraeterna”: One of the best Italian mob stories running shows no sign it’ll be swimming with the fishes anytime soon. This eight-parter set amid the turmoil of 2011 Rome finds Alberto “Spadino” Anacleti (Giacomo Ferrara) drawn reluctantly back into the bloody family business — a la Michael Corleone from “The Godfather Part III” — when his mother is killed by a rival family that wants to control the drug biz in the seashore tourist town of Ostia. Spadino — a central figure in “Suburra: Blood on Rome,” which ran for three seasons (and is available on Netflix), ditches his male partner and his job in Berlin and enters a bloody, tangled mess that involves criminals, overzealous politicians and even the Vatican. While it certainly helps to watch previous seasons, this limited-series release can stand on its own. Hopefully, Netflix won’t leave us dangling and pick it up for another season. Details: 3 stars; now on Netflix.

“Fast Charlie”: Hankering for a deep-fried Southern neo-noir that’s stripped off all its fat? Rent Phillip Noyce’s well-seasoned, blood-splattered throwback, a smooth ride that doesn’t wear out its welcome at a brisk 90 minutes. It stars Pierce Brosnan as Charlie Swift, a put-upon hitman whose latest job hits a snag and sets off a mob turf war. If quippy exchanges such as this — Q: “What do you want?” A: “You! Not breathing” — make you giggle, don’t miss Noyce’s jaunty thriller, which features the late James Caan in a small role. Based on Victor Gischler’s “Gun Monkeys” Details: 3 stars, available on several streaming platforms and rental platforms.

“The Sacrifice Game”: Co-screenwriter/director Jenn Wexler slips under the tree a perfect present for horror fans, a bloody homage to ‘70s horror and the tropes that defined it. Wexler twists those cliches – a quartet of young Satanists, an isolated creepy school for girls and not one but perhaps two final girls (Madison Baines and Georgia Acken). Wexler’s supernatural slasher is a twisted variation on Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers” with two girls school students Samantha (Baines) and Clara (Acken) with no place to stay during Christmas but at a creepy girls school with their sweet teacher (Chloe Levine) and her cute boyfriend (Gus Kenworthy) — sitting ducks for that four pack of Satanists. “Sacrifice Game” doesn’t bend any genre rules per se, but when it doesn’t need to – since everything about this one works and even surprises halfway. Details: 3 stars; now available on Shudder.

Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.

Just consider what awaits you: Emma Stone turns into a twitchy Frankenstein-like creature with a hardy sexual appetite; a flock of evil gargantuan parakeets terrorize in Hayao Miyazaki’s latest animated fable; and a mysterious, life-altering event turns mild-mannered deer into menacing creatures that freak out Julia Roberts.

Here’s our roundup, but a word of advice. It’s best to keep a mind wide open while viewing.

“Poor Things”: Yorgos Lanthimos will never be accused of coasting on his laurels and playing it safe. The Greek filmmaker all but gobsmacked audiences with “The Lobster,” “The Favorite” and “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” and he relishes coloring way outside of conventional narrative lines. And frankly contemporary modern cinema is better for it. His latest is true to form, and is as warped, brilliant and brazenly deluded as the legendary creator that it creatively tips its hat to — Baron von Frankenstein. Mary Shelley’s classic serves as a template for this enterprise, a bonkers, sexy, excessive but thoroughly entertaining odyssey festooned around an outrageously inspired performance from Emma Stone, going for broke right along with Lanthimos.

Stone plays child-like Bella Baxter — BB, for short — a clever double meaning. The Victorian-era Bella has the brain of a child but the bod of a woman. She was brought back to life, pieced together really, by the scarred Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), or God, who, ironically, likes to tinker with animal parts to create something new. Bella develops an unquenchable appetite for knowledge and sex, which leads to a fantastical journey — including a visually spectacular passage on a ship — with leering lawyer Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), who wants to possess her for sex and doesn’t want her to become her own person. Broken down in fabulist chapters, the feminist “Poor Things” is certain to offend some viewers, but that’s part of its wacko charm. It’s a rollercoaster ride that curlicues around numerous inspirations (including the fantastical work of director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Jean Cocteau’s “Beauty and the Beast,” Elia Kazan’s “A Streetcar Named Desire” and, of course, James Whale’s/Shelley’s “Frankenstein” to name but a few). But it also tears down the male desire to dominate and shape women around them, a deluded notion aimed to stifle and box in someone like Bella. In “Poor Things,” Bella learns she also harbors the power and smarts to create. And oh how satisfying it is to watch her — and Stone — wield that liberated power. Details: 3½ stars; in theaters Dec. 8.

“The Boy and the Heron”: Hayao Miyazaki’s 12th animated feature is a mesmerizing beauty, even if it doesn’t soar to the same heights as his classics such as “Spirited Away,” “Princess Mononoke,” “Ponyo,” “Howl’s Moving Castle” and others. Still, the justly revered filmmaker’s first feature in 10 years is an entrancing delight, and must be seen on a massive screen to appreciate its visual splendor. Miyazaki mines aspects of his own childhood and centers “Heron” on the grieving-for-his-mom Mahito Maki, a 12-year-old who warily moves to an estate with his father who just wed his dead mom’s sister, Natsuko. Once there, a feisty blue heron with magical properties pesters Mahito with the two eventually entering an alternative realm where evil gargantuan parakeets keep watch over a now kidnapped and pregnant Natsuko. Filled with elegantly rendered imagery that few other animated features could approach, it’s another lovely, lively fable that weaves a magical spell and is filled with ache and layered meaning. The last scene, however, is abrupt and perfunctory unfortunately. Details: 3½ stars; in theaters now.

“Leave the World Behind”: What’s the danger of wanting to exist only in our own individualized bubbles, comfortable spaces we’ve created where “strangers” on the outside aren’t welcome? Well-to-do New Yorkers Amanda (Julia Roberts) and Clay (Ethan Hawke) and their teen-aged son Archie (Charlie Evans) and daughter Rose (Farrah Mackenzie) find out the problem with that ideology when a cataclysmic event disconnects them from the outside world while they’re kicking it at a remote Airbnb. After a harrowing day at the beach where a cargo ship plows into it, a Black man (Mahershala Ali) and his daughter (Myha’la) knock at the rental property and say they live there and want to stay. That’s the tinder-box setup for director/screenwriter Sam (“Mr. Robot”) Esmail’s eerie, uncomfortable-making adaptation of author Rumaan Alam’s apocalyptic novel, which shook us out of our own insular, walled-in shells while reading it in the midst of COVID-19. Executive produced by the Obamas’ Higher Ground Productions company (the novel landed on Barack Obama’s 2021 best list), “Leave the World Behind” burrows under the skin and exposes festering racism hidden inside as our so-called “connected” world gets shattered and conspiracy theories and fears abound while nature watches, waits and stares. It’s an unsettling, well-acted experience with layers and cautionary warnings to spare. And it’ll have you looking at your bicuspids afterwards. Details: 3½ stars; drops Dec. 8 on Netflix.

Find of the week

“The Three Musketeers — Part I: D’Artagnan”: You’re first reaction might be: not another one. Alexandre Dumas’ oft-adapted 1844 swashbuckler gets another turn in director/co-screenwriter Martin Bourboulon’s new film. But watch 10 minutes of this action-packed crowd pleaser stuffed with royal intrigue, swordplay and guy camaraderie and you’ll be all in. The cast is ridiculously first class and includes Vincent Cassel as the falsely accused Athos, Eva Green as the slithery Milady de Winter, Louis Garrel as the threatened King Louis XIII, Romain Duris as the charmer Aramis and François Civil as the cocky D’Artagnan. The production values are exquisite, the cinematography gorgeous and the fighting sequences exciting. It’s on a par with Richard Lester’s 1972 version, and that is saying something. Details: 3½ stars; available On Demand; Part II will be released next year.

“Eileen”: Seasonally appropriate in a strange and twisted way, this dark, dark noir — set near Boston during Christmastime in the 1960s — is cut from the same pulpy antihero cloth favored by such iconic crime writers as Jim Thompson and Patricia Highsmith. Like the works of those genre specialists, “Eileen” coughs up a dim view of human nature. Director William Oldroyd’s shadowy psychological thriller is adapted from Ottessa Moshfegh’s serpentine, character-driven 2015 novel of the same name, a Booker Prize finalist that earned praise for its unique voice. Moshfegh adapted her novel for the screen with writer Luke Goebel, and the duo have produced one of the smartest screenplays of 2023, one that presents Thomasin McKenzie and Anne Hathaway with juicy parts. McKenzie sheds all innocence to play the title character, a voyeuristic 24-year-old caregiver to a belittling and drunken dad (Shea Whigham). She’s mesmerized by the striking entrance of flashy new counselor Rebecca (Hathaway, in full femme fatale mode) who drives into the office parking lot that’s full of beige and boring autos in a sporty red car. Rebecca’s unorthodox ways and professional practices tantalize Eileen and turn many heads, naturally. As they two get closer, “Eileen” hits you at the two-thirds point with a huge surprise — it’s not a wowza, and it works, as does just about everything else in this demented and twisty thriller. Details: 3½ stars; opens Dec. 8 in San Francisco, opens wider next week.

Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.

Dig in, folks.

“Thanksgiving”: Here’s a reason to be grateful: Eli Roth downplays the torture to create a campy and scary horror offering that’s a bloody good time. Roth is in a skewering mood and sharpens his knives and stabs at consumerism. A horrific melee at a Plymouth Rock megastore triggers a pilgrim-masked killer to go on his own spree a year later, picking off the bozos in the store who were caught on a since-vanished tape. A gallery of attractive suspects is on the chopping block with even People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive — Patrick Dempsey — getting caught up in a blood-drenched parade. It’s easily one of Roth’s best horror banquets — gory, ridiculous and over the top. I might even head back for seconds. Details: 3 stars; now in theaters.

“Dashing Through the Snow”: Atlanta social worker Eddie (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges) wants nothing to do with Christmas but when he sees Nick (Lil Rel Howery) stuck in a chimney, he slowly begins to wonder if this whole Santa thing might be real. Director Tim Story and screenwriter Scott Rosenberg keep this one peppy and fun throughout, but it is the pairing of Howery — hilarious as a chipper but possibly delusional Santa — and Bridges as a griping holiday naysayer that really make it jingle all the way. Details: 3 stars, now on Disney +.

“Genie”: Although you wish it wouldn’t have tripped over its own set of rules near the finale, this sweetheart of a remake of rom-com expert Richard Curtis’s screenplay for  the 1991 British television film “Bernard and the Genie” works because of Paapa Essiedu’s endearing performance. He plays workaholic New York antiques dealer Bernard Bottle, who unleashes a goofball genie (Melissa McCarthy, working her magic). The duo try to repair Bernard’s disintegrating marriage to Julie (Denée Benton), but will it do the trick? Alan Cumming brings the right touch as Bernard’s awful and vain boss, but this is Essiedu’s opportunity to shine, and does he ever take full advantage of it. Details: 3 stars; streaming on Peacock.

“The Naughty Nine”: In this clever, sugary confection, a group of conniving 5th-graders stuck on Santa’s naughty list team up to pull off an “Ocean’s 11”-like heist at the North Pole so they can nab their asked-for, now shelved, gifts. Director Alberto Belli’s film features consistently energetic performances by its young cast, offering a families a gift that won’t wear out its welcome in years to come. Details: 3 stars; available on Disney Channel and Disney+.

“The Velveteen Rabbit”: In this reverential and tender, if sometimes overly stiff, adaptation of the classic Margery Williams fable, lonely 7-year-old William (Phoenix Laroche) connects with a stuffed rabbit who wishes to be real, not a toy. Told in a brisk 40 minutes, this “Rabbit” sprinkles in some animation and works its gentle magic, even if it never quite approaches the emotional breadth of its source material. Details: 2½ stars; available on Apple TV+.

“Best. Christmas. Ever.”: More of a holiday concept than legit film, Netflix’s flimsy and phony offering flounders around and strands Heather Graham and pop singer/actor Brandy Norwood, not to mention Jason Biggs and Matt Cedeno, in the cinematic equivalent of a lump of coal about a jealous Charlotte (Graham) trying to get some dirt about her old friend Jackie (Norwood) who annually sends out annoyingly accomplished Christmas holiday letters. Director Mary Lambert fared much better with “A Castle for Christmas.” Details: 1½ stars; now on Netflix.

Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.

Here’s our roundup.

“Saltburn”: Emerald Fennell has found her kindred spirit in the late, great novelist Patricia Highsmith, the influential noir author of “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and “Strangers on the Train” — both of which got turned into classic films. Highsmith’s spirit inhabits every crevice of Fennell’s wickedly entertaining and just plain wicked follow-up to her feminist stunner “Promising Young Woman.” Barry Keoghan gives it his all — and I mean all — to play scrappy Oxford University student Oliver Quick, an envious and odd fella who gets an invite from the exceedingly handsome Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi) to summer at his family over-the-top estate during their break. Oliver puts on his modest footwear and steps into the domain of a well-heeled pretentious family headed by two catered-to parents (Rosamund Pike and Richard E. Grant, having devilish fun). What goes down there is certain to upset pious viewers while thrilling those who love twisted, decadent thrillers. And, oh my goodness, what an ending. Details: 3½ stars out of 4; in theaters Nov. 24.

“Napoleon”: Ridley Scott’s epic about notorious conqueror Napoleon Bonaparte winds up being a 2½-hour contradiction — it’s both too long and not long enough. The battlefield scenes are brilliantly staged violent military showdowns — particularly the battles of Austerlitz and Waterloo — but the film spends too little time on these and too much time on the rest of his life, and still never explains why this deluded Frenchman and momma’s boy was so adored. We need more context, and that’s skipped right over. Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix delivers a curious turn in the title role — with the prolific Scott seemingly in agreement — presenting Bonaparte as a tantrum-prone enfant terrible, a coarse, cocky and somewhat bored brat who engages in quick jackrabbit sex with his wife (Vanessa Kirby, given too little to do) and then blames her for not siring him an heir. Whenever Scott ventures away from the blood battlefields, “Napoleon” retreats into laughable exchanges of marital weirdness that are more “House of Gucci” than “Gladiator.” It makes for an awkward, disjointed epic with flashes of brilliance and flashes of utter nonsense. Details: 2 stars; in theaters Nov. 24.

“Fargo”: All hail showrunner Noah Hawley. He continues to accomplish the extraordinary with FX’s “Fargo,” channeling the tricky black comedy spirit of the Coen Brothers while making the Minnesota-set crime thriller all his own. Juno Temple is ideally cast as Dorothy “Dot” Lyon, a resilient stay-at-home mom whose past threatens her cushy life with car salesman hubby (David Rysdahl) and whose mom (Jennifer Jason Leigh in one of the best performances you’ll see this year) sneers at her and operates a lucrative bankruptcy collection firm. Enter renegade North Dakota sheriff Roy Tillman (Jon Hamm, also perfectly cast) who operates under his own laws and is a toxic male in every sense of the word. He wants Dot — at any cost. As in the previous seasons, Season 5 is based on a real case, and what makes it so exceptional is how Hawley spins it into a parable about the debts we think we are owed, and how some profit from those debts while some might even die from them. This season takes risks galore and comes up a winner every time. Details: 4 stars; Now available on FX and Nov. 29 on Hulu; with one episode dropping every week after.

“Leo”: While this Adam Sandler-backed feature fails to reach the level Netflix’s best animated features, such as “Nimona” and “The Mitchells vs. the Machines,” it’s still a charmer. Sandler voices 74-year-old lizard Leo while Bill Burr voices the turtle Squirtle. Leo deals with an existential crisis, believing he will die soon, and regrets having never ventured out of a classroom terrarium. He gets his chance when various students take him home and he eventually ventures outdoors. Sandler co-wrote the screenplay and the various songs, which seem wedged in and sometimes stop the action in its tracks. It’s no classic, but it is funny and endearing. Kids will love it. Details: 2½ stars; available on Netflix.

“Rustin”: Colman Domingo’s impassioned performance as the overlooked and under-appreciated gay civil rights leader outshines this satisfying biopic that barely can contain his performance. Domingo’s Bayard Rustin, the primary designer of the landmark 1963 March on Washington, puts a fire in the belly of every calculated scene, so much so that Tony Award-winning director George C. Wolfe wisely hands over the film to him. Written by Julian Breece and Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, “Rustin” keeps its eye on the prize throughout, affording Rustin, whose role in the civil-rights movement was overlooked due to his sexuality, a rightful place in history. And with campaigns afoot nowadays to strip the contributions of gay and Black individuals from textbooks, “Rustin” winds up being a even bolder film than was likely intended. Details: 3 stars; now on Netflix.

“Fallen Leaves”: Aki Kaurismäki’s droll, deadpan dramedy — his 20th feature — is pure movie magic from its wry beginning to its satisfying end. It’s a compassionate yet unsentimental story about two lonely working-class people in Helsinki going through the routine of their humdrum existence where possibilities never get a chance to breathe. When the two spot each other at a karaoke bar — a joint where Holappa (Jussi Vatanen) gets blotto way too often — you’d expect the sparks to fly like it would in an American rom-com. Doesn’t happen. Kaurismäki seeks something deeper than that, and does so without ever forcing Holappa and grocery store clerk Ansa (Alma Pöysti), who eats alone at night while listening to depressing radio reports about the war in Ukraine, to instantaneously embrace happiness or even each other. “Fallen Leaves” is about wounded, downtrodden people finding a glint, a glimmer of something that might awaken their souls. And in a season of bloated running times, Kaurismäki’s tonally perfect feature runs a compact 81 minutes and makes every second count. Details: 4 stars; opens Nov. 24 at the Smith Rafael.

“Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain”: There’s an undeniable goofy, shaggy-dog charm to producer Judd Apatow’s original comedy. But the adult “Goonies”-like shenanigans grow tiresome as this “Saturday Night Live” sketch gets stretched till it snaps near the two-thirds point. That happens when a “cult” gets involved. Till then this formless exercise about three arrested development buddies — played with spirit by Ben Marshall, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy — scurrying to get rich and find the so-called treasure. Conan O’Brien pops in as Ben’s obnoxious dad, but the scene stealers besides a bird of prey, are Meg Statler and X Mayo as two park rangers who want in on the action. There are some laugh-out-loud moments you won’t be able to resist, but it just gets sloppy in the end. Details: 2½ stars, now streaming on Peacock)

Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.

This week we check out a contender for that title,  Alexander Payne’s seasonally appropriate — for December — “The Holdovers.”

Take that perennial Christmas chestnut you watch time and time again. Sprinkle in elements of “Dead Poets Society.” Then let someone like the late filmmaker Hal Ashby, who graced us with “Harold and Maude,” baste it and bake it.

That somewhat conveys what you have with Alexander Payne’s holiday-themed treat, a droll but fragile character study about three loners stuck together in 1970 at a snowy New England prep school during what’s allegedly the “most wonderful time of the year.”

Payne has always specialized in giving us multi-dimensional, quirky individuals, characters you sometimes like and sometimes simply can’t stand. In essence, they’re flawed and act an awful lot like you and me. That’s true of the trio that screenwriter David Hemingson crafts with such genuine and delicate care. They include a crabby professor (Paul Giamatti, who had his breakthrough role in Payne’s “Sideways) whose pontifical retorts are often anchored to arcane historical references that no one can understand; a grieving Black chef (Da’Vine Joy Randolph, channeling every genuine emotion the script calls for) spending her first Christmas without her son, killed in Vietnam; and a brainy but volatile teen (Dominic Sessa, a welcome newcomer) who got pawned off by his mom and her new and wealthy husband.

They are very different people with a common ailment: each is nursing deep-seated pain.

It’s one of Payne’s best funny-sad films, and it’s steeped in a nostalgic fondness for early ‘70s filmmaking — evident in the throwback credits and in the film’s faded color palette and unrushed pacing. That does mean it takes its meandering time to get to the “meat” of the story — if you can call it that — but patience proves out as “Holdovers” fleshes out its leads and reveals their secrets and the intense feelings inside each of them.

For that reason and others (including the soundtrack), “The Holdovers” is way tastier than your average holiday movie leftovers. Payne brings to the vast tableau of Christmas films a departure — a  movie about  three lonely people having a dickens of a time connecting and dealing with their feelings until they get thrown together to find comfort and joy from each other. And isn’t that exactly what the holidays are supposed to do? Details: 3½ stars out of 4; in theaters Nov. 3.

Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.

Those were the days when she was known for her effervescent gold-standard performances in “When Harry Met Sally” (written by Ephron) and “Sleepless in Seattle” and “You’ve Got Mail” (directed and co-written by Ephron).

In the same vein of those rom-com essentials, “What Happens Later” tells a sentimental, defiantly uncynical story. That’s by intention, says its star.

“This is a movie that just has its heart on its sleeve and that’s the boldest thing about it,” Ryan said. “It’s just vulnerable.”

Ryan not only stars in “What Happens Later,” she directs, serves as an executive producer and co-wrote the film with playwright Steven Dietz. It’s is Dietz’ stage comedy “Shooting Star,” which Ryan says she has not seen, that is the basis for the new film.

Audiences haven’t seen much of the multi-talented Ryan lately. She did pop up in her directorial debut “Ithaca,” a poorly reviewed 2015 adaptation of William Saroyan’s “The Human Comedy” with Tom Hanks (Ryan’s co-star in “Seattle” and “Mail”) and Ryan’s son Jack Quaid.

Her previous rom-com role, though, came over a decade before, in 2009’s “Serious Moonlight” opposite Timothy Hutton.

So where the heck has she been?

Ryan says she decided to take a break to focus on other aspects of her life. It’s an approach she feels makes for a healthier involvement in show business.

“It’s nice to think of (acting) as a job and not a lifestyle,” as she told People magazine. “And that is a great way of navigating it for me.”

Now with her return to the genre, Ryan dedicates “What Happens Later” to the late Ephron, the iconic writer and filmmaker who helped turn her into a star. Ephron died in 2012.

The new film is an R-rated release that pivots on two people who were college sweethearts — the worrywart Bill (“The X-Files’” David Duchovny) and the more live-in-the-magical-moment Willa (Ryan) — who reunite decades later when they get stranded for one night in a snowed-in airport, reliving their pasts and enduring cheesy airport-friendly covers of classic songs.

It opens Friday in area theaters.

In an interview with both stars (who received an interim agreement from SAG-AFTRA to promote the film despite the actors strike), Ryan recalled what was so special about working with Ephron.

“It was really fun to be on her set,” Ryan recalls. “She was delighted to be a storyteller. It delighted her… . She would laugh to herself and hide her face and just wouldn’t be able to believe certain things were going on, on the things that she directed. Or that the movies she wrote…she just couldn’t believe that they came to life. They were in her imagination one morning and now they’re here with the whole crew having opinions.”

Her costar, also known for starring in the Showtime comedy “Californication” for several years, has pulled back from acting jobs of late as he focuses on his writing career, having published five novels.

But Duchovny has found his comeback working with Ryan the actor — who is “the best ever at this particular genre,” he says — and Ryan the filmmaker to be a joyful experience. But that didn’t mean they just horsed around and didn’t take what they were doing to heart.

“We get paid to play around,” Duchovny said. “You know, make believe. You can go on one side and say well that’s a stupid way to live your life. But we play seriously. The other part is you’ve got to take playing seriously. Like that’s an oxymoron. It doesn’t really make sense. But Meg’s own vibe, her personality is seriously playful. And that was perfect for this area.”

What needed to seriously work onscreen was the kinetic chemistry between the two stars. Given that Duchovny gets so often associated with his darker, mostly unromantic role of FBI agent Fox Mulder on the influential “The X-Files” series (although the relationship between Mulder and and FBI partner, Gillian Anderson’s Dana Scully, did turn romantic at times), he wouldn’t seem to be the obvious choice.

“It was like a leap of faith for Meg,” he said.

Ryan, though, dismisses that and said she was impressed by Duchovny, who indeed demonstrated his range in “Californication” for seven seasons. During their Zoom rehearsals prior to shooting in two locations in Bentonville, Arkansas, — the Northwest Arkansas National Airport and the Crystal Bridges art museum — an undeniable connection became event.

Since the bulk of the film rests entirely on their shoulders, it was essential those sparks flew when the cameras rolled.

“We just really had to be partners,” Ryan said. “We just had to be.”

“I guess it didn’t have to work,” Duchovny adds.

“It didn’t have to work,” Ryan agrees. “We’re just lucky it did.”

It’s that fluid banter between the two that clicks not only on the screen but during their promotional appearances, including stints on the talk show circuit.

Duchovny has appeared in romantic-themed films before, including 2000’s “Return to Me” with Minnie Driver, and has been a fan of rom-coms. But for the most part, he says, “There was a time when I wanted to kind of exist in that world but the opportunity wasn’t really there.”

So “it was a dream come true” when he landed the part opposite Ryan.

Given that they enjoyed working together and respect each other, would they want to did it again? Their response shows the kind in-sync timing that suggests it’s a real possibility.

“I would do a movie with Meg every year if I could,” Duchovny says.

“I would do the same,” Ryan concurs, without missing a beat.

We’ll just have to see what happens later.

Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.

Oh, yeah.

Here’s our roundup.

“The Fall of the House of Usher”: It’s risky to modernize or repurpose classic literary works and try to create something unique and visionary in the process. Even Oscar-winning filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón failed with a misguided “Great Expectations,” starring Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow.

But upscale horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan could write a textbook on how to do it right with his eight-part ode to legendary horror writer Edgar Allan Poe. This inspired “Usher” infuses Poe’s tales of terror with contemporary relevance and respects the source material.

Flanagan’s macabre update of Poe’s story of familial depravity and madness serves as a table setting for an “And Then There Were None” schematic in which the ones getting picked off are soulless members of a privileged, uber-wealthy family that has built its pillar of wealth by addicting Americans to painkillers.

Lording over this dynasty is a vile twosome with a rotten childhood to say the least: brother Roderick (the underrated Bruce Greenwood) and his conniving sister Madeline (the equally underrated Mary McDonnell).

Ostensibly, Roderick is the patriarch in charge but he has a hard time corralling his narcissistic adult children (inheritors), all of whom have kinky dark sides that lead them down the bloody road to a Poe-inspired fate. Flanagan wrote or co-wrote all but one episode, and the writing is as razor-blade sharp and bloody clever as with his signature works, Netflix’s “The Haunting of Hill House,” “Midnight Mass” and the underrated standalone film “Doctor Sleep.”

The creepy production values are top-notch and the scares are not only frightening but disturbing. (“Usher” is more gory and loads up on more sex than Flanagan’s past series). The cast is consistently strong and features Mark Hamill going gruff as the extra-busy Usher lawyer Arthur Pym, who attempts to mop up the family’s many messes. Another treat is seeing Flanagan regular Carla Gugino as a mysterious presence popping up throughout the lives of Roderick and Madeline. It all makes for ghoulish fun that’s well-suited for the upcoming Halloween season. Make no mistake, though, this isn’t just a bingeworthy streamer; “The Fall of the House of Usher” just so happens to be one of the best series Netflix has ever produced. Details: 4 stars out of 4; all episodes drop Oct. 13.

“Lessons in Chemistry”: Ask any book club member to choose one of their favorite novels from 2022 and chances are Bonnie Garmus’ beguiling novel featuring a quirky brainiac with one of the best names ever — Elizabeth Zott — will pop up on that list. While the misfortune was mine for not reading it beforehand, I will definitely do so after watching showrunner Lee Eisenberg’s moving eight-part adaptation for Apple TV+.

I can see why “Lessons in Chemistry” found a favored spot on bookshelves everywhere. But as fans know, divulging too much about what happens to Elizabeth (played to the eccentric hilt by Oscar winner Brie Larson) would be a recipe for hate mail. Suffice to say she stars as a brilliant chemist whose career is blotted by the patriarchy ruling the science world of the ‘50s. What can be also be said is that there is great chemistry between Larsen and Lewis Pullman as hot-shot chemist Calvin Evans who shares the same passion as she and is just as equally socially awkward. A turn of events upends their careers and leads the resilient Elizabeth on a path to a subversive cooking show. “Lessons in Chemistry” could have been tighter (trimmed to six episodes), and a subplot about Black neighbor Harriet (Aja Naomi King) fighting racial injustice could be more developed. Still, “Chemistry” comes up with a winning formula in the end. And one episode that gets told from the perspective of the family dog Six Thirty (voice of B.J. Novak) tears you up — particularly if you’re a pet owner. Details: 3 stars; two episodes drop Oct. 13, with a new episode dropping every Friday through Nov. 24.

“Foe”: What unfolded well on paper doesn’t fare so well on screen in Garth Davis’ misguided but very good-looking version of Iain Reid’s ambitious sci-fi-tinged psychological drama. Its central premise about a stranger (Aaron Pierre) making an extraordinary offer that calls into the question the relationship of an isolated couple (Paul Mescal and Saoirse Ronan) in a farmhouse and separates them for an extended period of time is indeed intriguing, but the unpredictable turns in the screenplay — written by Davis and Reid — wind up ringing false and unraveling into a pretentious, impenetrable mess. There are big themes explored here — including AI — but the should-be unsettling material gets way too cluttered and at times becomes laughable, disconnecting us from the plight of these two, who seem to use up a hell of a lot of water during a drought that’s killing off the planet. That is just one of the puzzling aspects of a production that unfortunately squanders the talents of Mescal and Ronan and its gorgeous production values. Just read the book. Details: 1½ stars; opens Oct. 13 in San Francisco theaters and Oct. 20 at the Piedmont Theatre in Oakland.

“The Caine Mutiny Court Martial”: In one of his final acts as director, the late, great William Friedkin presented his cast — notably Kiefer Sutherland as the quick-tempered Lt. Philip Francis Queeg (a part made immortal by Humphrey Bogart) — with the greatest gift he could offer, allowing each actor to take juicy command of the camera as it hones in on every facial tic and twitching hand on the witness stand. Each gets a chance to shine in this contemporized courtroom drama that’s based on Herman Wouk’s play. Queeg doesn’t get much screen time but his presence lingers throughout. Viewed as an old guard who’s out of touch, Queeg’s blamed by Lt. Steve Maryk (Jake Lacy, giving the role some shading) and others for putting members of the Navy at risk during a storm at sea. Maryk’s decision to step in and take command gets him branded as a mutineer and lands him in a court-martial trial, along with his reluctant lawyer (Jason Clarke). It makes for a classic courtroom thriller, and comes with a zinger at the end — a warning from a filmmaker who’s irreplaceable. Details: 3 stars; available on Showtime and Paramount+.

“Castlevania: Nocturne”: In eight briskly told animated episodes, showrunners Kevin Kolde and Clive Bradley relocate the popular vampire streaming series in the French Revolution with vampire hunter Richter Belmont (voiced by Edward Bluemel) taking on a nasty batch of aristocrats preying on poor people. The action does get bloody and features a batch of new and intriguing characters, including the gay Olrox (voice of Zahn McClarnon of “The Dark Winds” series), an Aztec bloodsucker responsible for the death of Richter’s mom. He too senses that something major and ominous is in the works, and doesn’t like it. My only beef about this intricately plotted season is that its eighth episode lacks a true ending, making us gnash our teeth for another season. Fortunately, we’ll get it since Netflix just announced “Nocturne” has been renewed. Details: 3 stars; available now on Netflix.

Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.