Take heart friends; the third and final movie push of the year is upon us. With the majority of the movie industry shifting towards spectacle, the blockbusters aren’t locked into the Summer window any longer, but don’t sleep on movies being dropped just in time for “your consideration.”

Thor: Ragnarok

While Thor has long since been the least loved of the main series Avengers film franchises, Ragnarok seems poised to buck that trend by completely re-writing the Marvel formula. Leaning heavily into the comedic background of director Taika Waititi, this version of Thor promises to be a breath of fresh air for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

A Bad Moms Christmas

The original Bad Moms came out last year, so the fact that we’re getting a holiday themed follow up already is surprising. For a movie genre that feels about a decade past its prime, we were gifted Girls Trip earlier this year so maybe this will be… okay?

Roman J. Israel, Esq.

Denzel! When I’d first heard about this movie, I was interested in what I perceived to be another film with Denzel Washington as a lawyer. Seeing that it essentially devolves into an action thriller bums me out a little bit, but this still looks interesting.

Last Flag Flying

This dramedy seems poised to come out a very interesting time, considering the climate around the flag currently. What’s more interesting to me though is the chemistry that should be in abundance considering the stars of this film are Walter White, Micheal Scott and Cowboy Curtis.

Lady Bird

Is this a movie about 36th First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson? No. Is this a historical re-imagining of a world where Larry Bird was a lady? Sadly, no as well. But this movie is directed by Great Gerwig so, yay?

Ittefaq

Would it be a gigantic stretch to say this is the Indian Rashomon? Yes. I also have no idea how this is supposed to be pronounced so I’m happier than ever to be working in a non-audio medium. (It’s a fact?!)

Blade of the Immortal

This movie seems destined to be watched by me on Netflix, some late night in the future when I finish binge watching some series. Being the 100th film by Japanese director Takashi Miike, I don’t really expect this one to stray to far from the genre but hopefully the fight choreography will be top notch.

My Friend Dahmer

I really don’t know how I feel about this one. I didn’t know how I felt about the graphic novel it was based on either, recounting the “true story” of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in high school. It’s kind of a slippery slope to normalize or humanize people that represent the most base evil humans are capable of, particularly when that luxury is not passed along across the board to everyone who commits heinous acts. Not stoked about this one.

LBJ

Re-framing administrations by humanizing the folks up top has been film fodder for decades and is almost always Oscar bait. What’s interesting about this particular foray is that LBJ is being helmed by one Rob Reiner who as a young man, protested the Johnson administration.

The Light of the Moon

A 90 minute drama that’s sure to be light on content and long on montage, The Light of the Moon stars Stephanie Beatriz who is amazing in Brooklyn Nine-Nine and 100% crush material. It’ll be a little weird to see her in a more serious role but who knows?