Movies Update: Fall festival season has arrived.

Plus, "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" hits theaters.

View in browser|nytimes.com September 6, 2024 By Stephanie Goodman It won't technically be autumn until later in September, but in movieland the fall season arrived at the end of August. That's when the major film festivals in Venice and Telluride, Colo., got underway, followed by Toronto on Thursday. A few films quickly grabbed the headlines. In Venice, the erotic drama "Babygirl" wowed audiences with a performance from Nicole Kidman baring all as a tech-company chief executive embroiled in an S&M relationship with the office intern (Harris Dickinson). My colleague Kyle Buchanan described "Babygirl" as "bracing" and argued that the film "is exactly what Kidman has shied away from in recent years, a daring indie that re-establishes her as one of our most fearless actresses. Everyone who's watched this spiky, sexy film in Venice wants to talk about it." It's due in theaters at Christmastime. In Telluride, the big titles included "The Apprentice," about the rise of the rise of former President Donald J. Trump (Sebastian Stan), and "Saturday Night," a minute-by-minute chronicle of the moments before the 1975 premiere of "Saturday Night Live." Though the Trump movie actually debuted at Cannes in May, it only found a distributor last week, and my colleague Nicole Sperling noted that the Colorado showing was its first Stateside, a screening that was introduced by its visibly nervous director, Ali Abbasi. She noted that Jason Reitman, the director of the "S.N.L." movie — a drama despite the subject matter — also seemed tense, pacing the theater ahead of that premiere. As for Toronto, I'm interested to learn more about a number of films there. "The Brutalist," directed by Brady Corbet and starring Adrien Brody, has been talked up on Film Twitter though it is looooong. And "Nightbitch," starring Amy Adams as a mother turning feral, arrives with hopes for the actress's awards season prospects (so far she's 0-6 at the Oscars), but the trailer arrived this week to a very divided reception. Stay tuned! Geordie Wood for The New York Times Michael Keaton Michael Keaton Michael Keaton In "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice," the actor returns to a role now enshrined in pop culture — with 35 years of ups and downs and an Oscar nomination under his belt. By Leah Greenblatt and Geordie Wood Marco Bertorello/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Joaquin Phoenix and the Big Question at the 'Joker: Folie à Deux' Premiere At the Venice Film Festival with his co-star, Lady Gaga, would the actor answer questions about dropping out of a Todd Haynes movie? By Kyle Buchanan Courtesy of Sundance Institute At Telluride, Experimental, Topical and Sometimes Crazy Movies A documentary made with Legos and a biopic starring a CGI monkey showed alongside films about abortion restrictions and other subjects in the news. By Nicole Sperling CRITICS' PICKS A24 Critic's Pick 'Look Into My Eyes' Review: Emotional Rescue This fascinating documentary that profiles seven New York City psychics is both profoundly sad and surprisingly hopeful. By Jeannette Catsoulis Menemsha Films/Moonshaker Critic's Pick 'The Goldman Case' Review: Sticking to the Facts An electrifying courtroom drama based on a real 1976 case calls the very nature of equality and justice into question. By Alissa Wilkinson Utopia Critic's Pick 'Red Rooms' Review: A True Crime Obsession Unravels A mysterious young woman becomes deeply invested in the trial of an accused serial killer in this courtroom thriller. By Beatrice Loayza Sunrise Films Critic's Pick 'Hoard' Review: Dirty Romancing A spiraling teenager and a tenderhearted garbage collector bond over debris in this stunningly unconventional drama. By Jeannette Catsoulis MOVIE REVIEWS Parisa Taghizadeh/Warner Bros. 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' Review: Delightfully Undead Again Tim Burton has brought the band back together — Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, even Bob the shrunken head guy — for a fun but less edgy sequel. By Manohla Dargis Allyson Riggs/Netflix 'Rebel Ridge' Review: Their Corruption, His Destruction This crime drama from Jeremy Saulnier stars Aaron Pierre as a man whose run-in with small-town police officers uncovers uncomfortable secrets. By Amy Nicholson Special Occasion Studios 'Lover of Men' Review: The Heart of President Lincoln Subtitled "The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln," the film gathers an array of historians to argue that Lincoln had romantic relationships with men. By Nicolas Rapold Brainstorm Media 'I'll Be Right There' Review: Her Maternal Commitment is Apparent Edie Falco plays a matriarch bending over backward for her grown children in this uneven character study. By Natalia Winkelman Jon Pack/A24 'The Front Room' Review: A Force Too Malevolent for This Movie Kathryn Hunter is enjoyably creepy in this new horror film starring Brandy Norwood. Too bad the rest of the freakouts are predictable. By Manohla Dargis Mubi 'My First Film' Review: Arriving Where You Started Zia Anger's movie about her first movie is full of nested layers, but mostly it's a meditation on how, and why, we create. By Alissa Wilkinson NEWS & FEATURES Pool photo by Steven Hirsch U.K. Prosecutors Drop Indecent Assault Case Against Harvey Weinstein The Crown Prosecution Service said that it had "decided that there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction." By Alex Marshall Ramsay De Give/Reuters Prosecutor Says Manslaughter Case Against Alec Baldwin Should Be Revived The special prosecutor asked a judge in New Mexico to reconsider her decision to toss the charge against the actor during his trial. By Julia Jacobs Ettore Ferrari/EPA, via Shutterstock Nicole Kidman Bares Everything in the Sexy Drama 'Babygirl' The star is taking chances again in this look at a woman reconciling her sexual fantasies. The movie was the talk of the Venice Film Festival. By Kyle Buchanan Alberto Pizzoli/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Pedro Almodóvar, Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton on 'The Room Next Door' The director's first English-language feature inspires talk of beauty, hope and more collaborations. By Kyle Buchanan Fabio Frustaci/EPA, via Shutterstock Daniel Craig Gets Explicit (and Romantic) in Luca Guadagnino's 'Queer' At the Venice Film Festival, the star said he embraced the scenes with sexual encounters: 'If I wasn't in the movie and saw this movie, I'd want to be in it.' By Kyle Buchanan Alberto Pizzoli/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images In Venice, George Clooney Talks President Biden and American Politics He also addressed the release plan for his new movie, "Wolfs," co-starring Brad Pitt. By Kyle Buchanan Paramount Pictures In a Robbie Williams Biopic, the Star Is a C.G.I. Monkey. Take That. The director Michael Gracey hopes Americans will finally get the British hitmaker, who's depicted warts, fur and all in "Better Man," debuting at the Telluride Film Festival. By Nicole Sperling STREAMING RECOMMENDATIONS Netflix The Best Movies and TV Shows Coming to Netflix in September A glitzy mystery starring Nicole Kidman arrives early this month; later, a new true-crime series tells the troubling tale of Lyle and Erik Menendez. By Noel Murray Christopher Raphael/Blueprint/Sony Pictures Television, via Prime Video The Best Movies and TV Shows Coming to Disney+, Max, Hulu and More in September "Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist," "A Very Royal Scandal," a "Walking Dead" spinoff and "Agatha All Along" arrive. By Noel Murray 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. Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Movies Update from The New York Times. To stop receiving Movies Update, unsubscribe. 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