Cinema News: Movies Update: ‘Wakanda Forever,’ ‘The Fabelmans’ and More

November 11, 2022

By Stephanie Goodman

Film Editor

Hi, film fans!

So many great movies are coming out this weekend that it's hard to know where to start. How about with one about the movies: "The Fabelmans," Steven Spielberg's autobiographical tale of his formative years and the disintegrating marriage of his parents, played by Michelle Williams and Paul Dano. Manohla Dargis made the tale a Critic's Pick, in part because of Williams's "exquisite delicacy," noting that "her open, translucent face with its quicksilver changes speaks more vividly to the story's emotional stakes than any line of dialogue."

In an interview with my colleague A.O. Scott, Spielberg said that casting this film was extremely difficult and it wasn't until he saw Williams as the dancer Gwen Verdon in the series "Fosse/Verdon" that he was encouraged to try her in the role.

What else is out this weekend? Oh just a little sequel called "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever." After the passing of Chadwick Boseman, we all wondered (or heatedly debated) how the new film would treat his death, and in his review, A.O. Scott notes that "the director Ryan Coogler feeds his own and the public's grief into the story, infusing the movie with somber notes of family loss and collective mourning." Still, he writes, it's "a Marvel movie, for sure. But a pretty interesting one," partly because of "the director's signature interplay of genre touchstones, vivid emotions (emphasized by Ludwig Goransson's occasionally tooth-rattling score) and allegorical implications."

Whatever you decide to watch, have fun at the movies!

Marvel Studios

'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' Review: Women on the Home Front

Shadowed by Chadwick Boseman's death, this sequel focuses King T'Challa's mother and the women helping her to contend with a slippery new villain.

By A.O. Scott

Merie Weismiller Wallace/Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment

CRITIC'S PICK

'The Fabelmans' Review: Steven Spielberg Phones Home

The director's latest movie focuses on a budding filmmaker a lot like himself. But Michelle Williams, as his mother, is the soul of this fractious family drama.

By Manohla Dargis

Chantal Anderson for The New York Times

Steven Spielberg Gets Personal

In making his autobiographical film "The Fabelmans," he confronted some painful family secrets, as well as what it means to be Jewish in America today.

By A.O. Scott

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CRITICS' PICKS

Film Forum

CRITIC'S PICK

'A Couple' Review: Tolstoy Story

In a rare turn to dramatic work, Frederick Wiseman directs a one-woman film about the long-suffering wife of a famous author.

By Ben Kenigsberg

Arrow Films

CRITIC'S PICK

'Incredible but True' Review: Track to the Future

A suburban couple makes a life-altering discovery in the basement of their new home in this delightfully odd comedy.

By Jeannette Catsoulis

MOVIE REVIEWS

Claire Folger/Apple TV+

'Spirited' Review: A Whole Lot of Humbug

Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell star in this musical spin on "A Christmas Carol" from Apple TV+.

By Maya Phillips

Netflix

'Is That Black Enough for You?!?' Review: A Miracle Decade

This documentary from Elvis Mitchell looks back at a golden age of daring Black cinema.

By Brandon Yu

Netflix

'My Father's Dragon' Review: Apocalypse Howl

A boy befriends a colorful creature in this animated film that struggles to maintain a consistent tone.

By Amy Nicholson

Scott Everett White/Netflix

'Falling for Christmas' Review: Tripped Down Memory Lane

Lindsay Lohan stars as an amnesiac who falls off a mountain and in love in this Netflix holiday romance that is all too familiar.

By Calum Marsh

National Geographic

'Retrograde' Review: The U.S. Withdrawal From Afghanistan

This documentary follows one Afghan general, Sami Sadat, to tell an emotional story.

By Nicolas Rapold

Saban Films

'Paradise City' Review: John Travolta and Bruce Willis Reunite

Almost 30 years after "Pulp Fiction," these kings of cool team up for a Hawaii-set action feature that isn't as much fun as it sounds.

By Glenn Kenny

Vertical Entertainment

'Sam & Kate' Review: It's a Family Affair

Darren Le Gallo's drama stars two real-life parent-child duos — Dustin and Jake Hoffman, and Sissy Spacek and Schuyler Fisk — as lonely small-towners looking for love.

By Devika Girish

Showtime

'Nothing Lasts Forever' Review: Mining the Diamond Myth

This documentary positions an intriguing investigation into the rise of synthetic diamonds within a broader excavation of the myths these stones carry.

By Natalia Winkelman

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ALL ABOUT WAKANDA

Simone Niamani Thompson for The New York Times

FALL PREVIEW

The Women of 'Wakanda Forever'

For the "Black Panther" sequel, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright and their castmates leaned on each other to get through the grief-stricken shoot.

By Salamishah Tillet

Marvel Studios

'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' Is in Theaters. Let's Talk About It.

Here is what people are writing about the movie.

By Kalia Richardson

Eli Adé/Marvel Studios

Who Is Namor, the 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' Villain?

Though he's just making his debut in a Marvel film, he has a history rooted at the very beginning of Marvel Comics.

By George Gene Gustines

Marvel Studios

ALBUM REVIEW

'Wakanda Forever' Forges International Alliances on a Somber Soundtrack

Rihanna, Burna Boy, Snow Tha Product and Stormzy perform songs from and inspired by the second "Black Panther" movie.

By Jon Pareles

NEWS & FEATURES

20th Century Studios

A Walk Through the 'Barbarian' Basement With Zach Cregger

The writer and director of the twisty horror film "Barbarian" discusses its secrets while addressing some of the online chatter.

By Erik Piepenburg

Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times

For Elvis Mitchell, Critic Turned Filmmaker, a Chance to Show and Tell

His new documentary on Netflix, "Is That Black Enough for You?!?," spotlights unsung Black cinema of the 1970s.

By Reggie Ugwu

Michael Tyrone Delaney for The New York Times

D.I.Y. Sci-Fi: A Talk With Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead

The filmmaking and acting team discuss their latest low-budget science fiction movie, "Something in the Dirt," and their work on the Marvel Disney+ series "Moon Knight."

By Andrew Crump

Zipporah Films

Examining the Regrettably Modern Marriage of Leo Tolstoy and Sophia Tolstaya

Frederick Wiseman set aside the documentaries he's known for to work on "A Couple," a solo drama putting Leo Tolstoy's much-burdened wife at its center.

By Nicolas Rapold