We are overwhelmed this week with the sheer number of new releases, which is not atypical for the second full week of October, but, nonetheless, feels overwhelming.
So we must be even more selective than usual, and yet we still have ten titles of interest. We've already reviewed a couple of the films, and have plans to review several others. Yet others are films we definitely want to see, as time allows.
All that talk aside, here is our guide to what to watch in the wild, wonderful world of genre fare, opening in movie theaters this week.
Whalefall
The film opens Friday, October 16, only in movie theaters, via 20th Century Studios.
Official synopsis: "Following the death of his father (Josh Brolin), Jay Gardiner (Austin Abrams) goes diving off the central Coast of California in search of his remains, but is swallowed by a massive sperm whale. While trapped inside its belly with only one hour of oxygen left, Jay comes to realize that the hard-earned lessons his father imparted may be the key to his escape."
Street Fighter
The film opens Friday, October 16, only in movie theaters, via Paramount Pictures.
Official synopsis: "Set in 1993, estranged Street Fighters Ryu (Andrew Koji) and Ken Masters (Noah Centineo) are thrown back into combat when the mysterious Chun-Li (Callina Liang) recruits them for the next World Warrior Tournament: a brutal clash of fists, fate, and fury. But behind this battle royale lies a deadly conspiracy that forces them to face off against each other and the demons of their past. And if they don't, it's GAME OVER!
"Helmed by director Kitao Sakurai, Street Fighter is set to bring the battle from the arcade to the big screen with Hadoukens, roundhouses, and all your favorite characters."
Ken Russell's The Devils
The film opens Friday, October 16, only in movie theaters, via Warner Bros. Klockwork.
Official synopsis: "WARNING: This trailer is not for everyone. It also contains flashing lights or patterns that may potentially trigger seizures for people with photosensitive epilepsy. Pray for us all.
"'The restoration of the material is like cleaning the Sistine Chapel with saliva. It is insane, the epic size of the film. I mean, I've seen it on the big screen in Telluride at a theater - but I've never never seen the movie until I saw this restoration.' - Guillermo del Toro.
"An enduring masterpiece of cinema starring Academy Award®- winner Vanessa Redgrave and Oliver Reed, Ken Russell's The Devils is a prescient epic of obsession and corruption - and a defining work of art from seminal filmmaker Ken Russell.
"Assembled from the original camera negative, this new 4K restoration presents Ken Russell's definitive vision of The Devils by referencing the edit he privately constructed in 2004. Ken Russell's The Devils is the uncut and unfiltered theatrical experience that Russell always envisioned - and the first time the film will be presented restored and in 4K."
Musk
The film opens Friday, October 16, only in movie theaters, via Bleecker Street Media.
Official synopsis: "An incisive look behind the legend of Elon Musk, the world's most heralded 'inventor-entrepreneur' who has enormous influence on the world in which we all live."
You Can See Everything
The film opens Friday, October 16, only in movie theaters, via A24.
Official synopsis: "Thirty-four days before she's sent to prison, notorious Silicon Valley founder Elizabeth Holmes invites a skeptical film crew to document her every move. What begins as an intimate portrait of an enigmatic felon becomes a mind-bending three-year journey into the abyss. From boundary-pushing directors Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim."
Crawlers
The film opens Friday, October 16, only in movie theaters, via Roadside Attractions.
Official synopsis: "In Crawlers,, a catastrophic infestation of venomous and deadly spiders sends an apartment building into lockdown. Trapped inside by a police-mandated quarantine, building manager Serena (Lutz) and her residents battle to survive as the creatures multiply by the second. Armed with her intimate knowledge of the complex, Serena may be the only one who can keep them alive--if she can confront her deepest fear."
Sense and Sensibility
The film opens Friday, October 16, only in movie theaters, via Focus Features.
Official synopsis: "An irresistible new take on Jane Austen's iconic Sense and Sensibility: a charming, witty, and deeply relatable story of love and sisterhood starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles."
La Bola Negra
The film opens Friday, October 16, only in movie theaters, via Netflix.
Our review by Ankit Jhunjhunwala: "Moments of levity do not detract from the gravity of La Bola Negra. Hopefully, audiences will give it a chance on the big screen, as Netflix intends, because the sprawling canvas of the Javis' vision deserves to be experienced in a theatrical setting."
Official synopsis: "La Bola Negra tells the story of three generations of men whose lives are intimately connected through desire, pain, and love. Starring Spanish music sensation Guitarricadelafuente, Miguel Bernardeau, Carlos González, Milo Quifes, Lola Dueñas, Julio Torres, Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close. From Cannes-winning directors Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi ('Los Javis')."
Once Upon a Time in Harlem
The film opens Friday, October 16, only in movie theaters, via Neon.
Official synopsis: "A decade after his death, genre-defying filmmaker William Greaves has one last trick up his sleeve with what he considered the most important event he captured on film: a 1972 party he engineered with the living luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance. For four hours, this extraordinary group - many of whom had not seen each other in fifty years - reminisced, critiqued, argued, laughed and drank while wrestling with their place in a rapidly shifting cultural landscape.
"Shot on 16mm film, newly restored and now directed by Greaves' son David, this landmark film is at once a self-exploration and an inquiry into the heart of the critical mass of energy called the Harlem Renaissance. William Greaves' intent was not only to document these artists and intellectuals as they spoke about their lives and work but also to plumb the meaning of the extraordinary creative period in which they lived to help us better understand how culture has been passed on from one generation to another and the role that the artist plays in keeping it alive."
The Only Living Pickpocket in New York
The film opens Friday, October 16, only in movie theaters, via Sony Pictures Classics.
Our review by Mel Valentin: "Something truly special, a character study that doubles as a crime drama, a crime drama that also functions as a snapshot in time, a time capsule for a vanishing New York City and the multitudes who are born, live, and die in one of the greatest cities in America, leading not lives of quiet desperation, but lives of quiet contentment."
Official synopsis: "Harry Lehman (John Turturro) is an aging pickpocket who plies his trade with ever-diminishing returns in a drastically changed New York. Wallets stuffed with cash have been replaced by easily canceled credit cards, and Harry struggles to make ends meet as he cares for his disabled wife, Rosie. When he unwittingly purloins and fences a valuable USB stick, Harry finds himself in a race against time to return the loot or face the rage of a vengeful crime family."
Opening This Week celebrates the cinematic experience, in movie theaters and at home.