November’s TTRs are quite a mix, from Ridley Scott’s action-packed Gladiator to the Shakespeare-inspired rom-com Anyone But You, and the bizarre body-horror The Substance to the ode to composer John Williams Music by John Williams, there’s certainly something for everybody this month.

November’s TTRs consists of: Anyone But You, The Boy and the Heron, Gladiator, Immaculate, Music by John Williams, Lee, The Substance, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, andWoman of the Hour.

Director: Will Gluck
Writer: Ilana Wolpert, Will Gluck
Cast: Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell, Alexandra Shipp, GaTa, Hadley Robinson, Michelle Hurd, Dermot Mulroney

In this somewhat modern loose adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, Bea (Sweeney) and Ben (Powell) meet in a coffee shop and immediately hit it off. But then, personal issues and a bad bout of eavesdropping results in a falling out. But when they are reunited at the wedding of two women they are connected to and decide to pretend they like each other. Much Ado About Nothing is my personal favourite Shakespeare play, and although a comparison would be a little unfair, I think to say it doesn’t quite live up to the wit of the play would be fair. Anyone But You does have its own fairly decent level of comedy though, and the performances are still fun, particularly from Mulroney. It’s no Kenneth Branagh film, but it’s fun.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Writer: Hayao Miyazaki
Cast: (Japanese) Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Aimyon, Yoshino Kimura, Takuya Kimura, Shōhei Hino, Ko Shibasaki, Kaoru Kobayashi, Jun Kunimura (English) Luca Padovan, Robert Pattinson, Karen Fukuhara, Gemma Chan, Christian Bale, Mark Hamill, Florence Pugh, Willem Dafoe, Dave Bautista

Well, considering Miyazaki “came out of retirement” for this, he has proven why he really should never retire. During WWII and after the death of his mother when the hospital she was in was burned, Mahito (Santoki/Padovan) moves to the country, where his father has married Mahito’s aunt, his mother’s sister. Finding it had to adapt to his new surroundings, he comes across a strange heron (Pattinson) that acts as a catalyst for a fantastical adventure. This film follows in a similar vein to the likes of Spirited Away and Grave of the Fireflies, but it is also remiscent of non-Ghibli films and stories such as Pan’s Labyrinth and The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. It has a lot of the heart the Miyazaki puts into his films, with a highly poignant story, and keeps the beautiful art style that Studio Ghibli is famous for.

Director: Ridley Scott
Writer: David Franzoni, John Logan, William Nicholson
Cast: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Oliver Reed, Connie Nielsen, Derek Jacobi, Djimon Hounsou, Richard Harris

With a sequel released in a couple of weeks (at the time of writing) it felt like the right time to revisit this film. It’s 180 AD and Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Harris) passes away. He intended to leave the Empire in the hands of his top general Maximus Decimus Meridius (Crowe). However, Marcus’s son Commodus (Phoenix), does not want that to happen and thus throws Maximus’s life into turmoil. Twice in my life I have attempted to watch this film and fallen asleep both times. Finally, although I did get sleepy midway, I did make it through, and honestly, I was rather underwhelmed. The weak dialogue has a strange mix of classical and modern vernacular, making for some rather janky and almost comical scenes, some of which also felt slow and monotonous. It does have great production value, a great score, good performances, a good balance of dialogue versus action and the overall pacing of the plot is good, but I don’t believe it has aged well.

Director: Michael Mohan
Writer: Andrew Lobel
Cast: Sydney Sweeney, Álvaro Morte, Dora Romano, Benedetta Porcaroli 

When her parish church closes down, young nun Sister Cecilia (Sweeney) heads to a convent in Italy for dying nuns at the invitation of Father Sal Tedeschi (Morte) to take her final vows. While there, she experiences an ‘immaculate conception’, and she is revered as a new Mary, mother of Christ. However, Cecelia soon learns that Father Tedeschi has bigger plans for her. An intriguing, if not entirely original, premise for sure, and I certainly hadn’t high hopes for it (nuns? The supernatural? Yawn). It did get off to a bit of a slow start, but then it builds momentum up until the shocking end. It does feel like Mohan missed a few tricks, or perhaps Lobel did in his storywriting, as they could definitely have taken the story further or done something more interesting with it, but it stands fairly sturdy as a horror film.

Director: Laurent Bouzereau.

A delightful and stunning recount of the career of John Williams, one of the world’s greatest composers, and one of film’s greatest composers, if not the greatest film composer ever. His music has made many films what they are, and he has greatly enhanced and enriched the lives of millions of people. This documentary interviews both those he has collaborated with and those whose own lives and/or careers have been shaped in some way by his music, and although each story is unique, they all have Williams in common. I for one have had my life greatly shaped and affected by his music, and this is a wonderful tribute to an enduring legacy.

Director: Ellen Kuras
Writer: Liz Hannah, John Collee, Marion Hume
Cast: Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Andrea Riseborough, Andy Samberg, Noémie Merlant, Josh O’Connor, Alexander Skarsgård

In this semi-biopic, we are taken on a journey through a few years of the life of Lee Miller (Winslet), a model-turned-photographer who witnessed and photographed some of the most harrowing events and consequences of World War II, and ultimately kept much of her work to herself, until her son, Antony (O’Connor), discovered the depth of her work and introduced it to the world. As with many films that deal with WWII and the holocaust, this one goes beyond the lines and details Lee’s determination, bravery and fear while documenting some of the worst atrocities, along with some lighter moments and controversial occurrences (a particular photo/scene to do with Hitler’s own bathroom is particularly emotionally confusing – is it funny? Sad? Disrespectful? Empowering?). Winslet herself turns in an excellent performance, and what she went through to get this film funded and made is a testament to a woman’s will to tell the story of another strong-willed woman.

Director: Coralie Fargeat
Writer: Coralie Fargeat
Cast: Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid

In a tale as old as time, aging actress Elisabeth (Moore) finds herself fired from her television job as an aerobics instructor. Feeling the effects of aging, particularly in her industry, Elisabeth is offered a ‘Substance’, a fluid that she can inject to create a separate, symbiotic younger version of herself, named Sue (Qualley). Every seven days, they must switch back in order to keep their bodies alive. Although they are encouraged to consider themselves as ‘one’, they soon make enemies of one another, and become intent on destroying each other. The film is shot magnificently, with the vintage aesthetics betraying Elisabeth’s feeling of being stuck in time, and the rigid and uniform angles give a very sterile feel to the film. The cinematography and soundtrack are reminiscent of films such as Under the Skin and Yorgos Lanthimos films, and it even boasts a darkly comical vein throughout. Qualley gives an awesome performance, but Moore is exceptional. With excellent themes on the mentality of aging and the objectification of female bodies, a massive Cronenberg influence (which can only be a good thing) and fantastic prosthetics, this is one body horror film you don’t want to miss.

Director: Eric Appel
Writer: Al Yankovic, Eric Appel
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Evan Rachel Wood, Rainn Wilson, Toby Huss, Julianne Nicholson

Much like the titular character/real bloke, this film is pretty weird. It follows Al Yankovic, aka Weird Al (Radcliffe) as he charts his rise to stardom, albeit with much exaggeration throughout. It features many of his songs and inflates the stories behind their creation. It’s quite a ride, but to the point where you may wonder what exactly is real, and what the point of the whole things is. Yankovic may have been satirising biopics, using comedy to make his own story more ‘interesting’, but it all feels a little redundant. If you are a Weird Al fan you may derive some entertainment from this, but if you’re not, or his music has never really been on your playlists, then you might not get as much of a kick out of it.

Director: Anna Kendrick
Writer: Ian McDonald
Cast: Anna Kendrick, Daniel Zovatto, Nicolette Robinson, Tony Hale

Based on a true story, aspiring actress Sheryl (Kendrick) goes on a dating show to boost her profile Little does she know, one of the bachelors is a serial killer in he midst of his crime spree. In her directorial debut, Kendrick shows a knack for good angles and keeping things interesting, and as poignant as the film is in its message of misogyny and believing the word of women, much of it feels quite one-dimensional. Where most films of this genre delve into the mind of a killer and perharps more into the background of their victims, this film was more surface-level. I agree with not letting the story fall into obscurity (I had never heard of the Dating Game Killer until this film), however it could have been executed with more depth and meaning.