Movies Update: ‘Armageddon Time’ and More

Plus, scary movie recommendations.

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story October 28, 2022 By Stephanie Goodman Film Editor Hi, film fans! Halloween is almost here and aside from trying to get my dog to sit still long enough to put on this lobster costume, I plan to watch a few terrifying movies. At the top of the list is "Barbarian," a haunted-house thriller that was a Critic's Pick when it was released a few months ago and is now on HBO Max. Also piquing my curiosity is "Run Sweetheart Run," a slasher flick on Amazon described as "a bloodstained 'After Hours,'" a fine film to be likened to in my view. And there are classics I still haven't seen, like "The Black Cat," with Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. It has been the subject of some Film Twitter chatter and is on the Criterion Channel. My colleague Erik Piepenburg, a true horror fan, also has recommendations for you. If you're not in the mood to be frightened, "Armageddon Time," the director James Gray's autobiographical tale of growing up Jewish in the race- and class-stratified Queens of the 1980s, is a Critic's Pick for A.O. Scott. He writes that the film is "astutely, uncomfortably and in the end tragically" about privilege. Manohla Dargis didn't give the Critic's Pick distinction to "Call Jane," a fictionalized look at a Chicago group that helped women get abortions when it was illegal, but should you see it? "You bet," she writes, and not just for the performances of Elizabeth Banks, Sigourney Weaver and Wunmi Mosaku. "This is a story that needs to be told, again and again." Whatever you decide to watch, enjoy the movies! Wilson Webb/Roadside Attractions 'Call Jane' Review: Abortion History That's Being Repeated Now A fictionalized drama about the Jane Collective, a clandestine group that helped women secure safe, illegal abortions before 1973, is of the moment. By Manohla Dargis Focus Features Critic's Pick 'Armageddon Time' Review: Hard Lessons About Life in America New York in 1980 is the setting for James Gray's brooding, bittersweet story of family conflict and interracial friendship. By A.O. Scott Paramount Pictures 5 New Horror Movies to Rattle Your Bones 🎃 It's been a stellar year for scary movies, so if you'd like to spend Halloween inhaling candy and catching up on new horror, you're in luck. By Erik Piepenburg Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT CRITICS' PICKS Cinema Guild Critic's Pick 'The Novelist's Film' Review: Real Talk In Hong Sang-soo's latest study in small moments and chance encounters, a visit to an old friend prompts a writer in crisis to try something new. By Austin Considine MOVIE REVIEWS Netflix 'Wendell and Wild' Review: Not Wild Enough This devilish stop-motion horror comedy from Henry Selick and Jordan Peele can't quite breathe life into its narrative. By Maya Phillips JoJo Whilden/Netflix 'The Good Nurse' Review: Bad Medicine This true-crime tale, starring Eddie Redmayne and Jessica Chastain, dramatizes the story of Charles Cullen, a nurse who was discovered to be a serial killer. By Amy Nicholson Reiner Bajo/Netflix 'All Quiet on the Western Front' Review: The Spectacle of War Edward Berger's German-language adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque's novel aims to rattle you with its relentless brutality. By Ben Kenigsberg Laurent Champoussin/Les Films du Kiosque 'Peaceful' Review: A Homage to French Filmmaking Emmanuelle Bercot's drama about a man diagnosed with late-stage cancer plays like a eulogy for a nearly bygone era of French cinema and its stars. By Beatrice Loayza Music Box Films 'Please Baby Please' Review: Hyper-Masculinity, on Its Head This 1950s satire from Amanda Kramer broadens the scope of the queer leather canon. By Teo Bugbee Prime Video 'Run Sweetheart Run' Review: Escape in L.A. Bursts of experimental style are at odds with a simplistic premise in this slasher movie that poses the tired idea that the patriarchy is a killer. By Natalia Winkelman Utopia 'Holy Spider' Review: Brutality Tale Like many a serial-killer drama, this movie about a real-life Iranian murderer who targeted prostitutes is a grisly thriller parading as a morality tale. By Devika Girish RLJE Films 'The Lair' Review: Going Underground A band of grunts takes on mysterious underground monsters in this goofy horror movie. By Jeannette Catsoulis Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT NEWS & FEATURES Devin Oktar Yalkin for The New York Times With 'The Good Nurse,' a Director Takes on a Serial Killer and a System Tobias Lindholm emphasizes his characters' humanity, an approach that won over Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne, stars of the Netflix true-crime thriller. By Dave Itzkoff Netflix When Henry Selick and Jordan Peele Team Up, Things Get Wild The stop-motion animator and the horror writer-director collaborated on the screenplay for Selick's latest darkly comic fable "Wendell & Wild." By Carlos Aguilar Cinedigm How 'Terrifier 2' Slashed Its Way to Box Office Success The low-budget, ultraviolent, no-stars, killer-clown horror film has been in the Top 10 since it was released theatrically earlier this month. By Erik Piepenburg ReinerBajo/Netflix In a German 'All Quiet on the Western Front,' History Has a Starring Role More gruesome than previous film adaptations of the novel, a new Netflix feature looks to other conflicts past and present. By Christopher F. Schuetze Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office Sheriff Delivers Results of 'Rust' Shooting Investigation to Prosecutors The Santa Fe County District Attorney's Office must now decide whether to file charges. The sheriff's office sought to determine how a live round got into the gun Alec Baldwin was holding. By Julia Jacobs and Graham Bowley STREAMING RECOMMENDATIONS Well Go USA Five Science Fiction Movies to Stream Now Clones, robots, predators and prey make up this selection of sci-fi treats. By Elisabeth Vincentelli Alex Bailey/Amazon Studios The Best Movies on Amazon Prime Video Right Now New films, and classics, just keep coming, but you don't have to drill down to find the finest selections to stream. We'll do the heavy lifting. You press play. By Jason Bailey Warner Bros. The 50 Best Movies on Netflix Right Now Movies upon movies await, and you don't even have to drill down to find them. By Jason Bailey Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT How are we doing? We'd love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to moviesupdate@nytimes.com. Like this email? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up here. 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