✹ WEEKLY FILM RUNDOWN: December 13-19

Jerod Ra'Del Hollyfield -

The latest releases and special screenings hitting Music City this week. For a complete list of upcoming releases, check out our 2024 Film Guide.

Kraven The Hunter (Dir. J. C. Chandor; Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Russell Crowe)  Its brutal reviews make other Spider-Man spinoff Madame Web look like an Oscar contender. Still, who doesn’t want to see the kid from Kick-Ass getting superpowers from a lion bite and going vigilante on his hammy Russian mob don father–especially with the director of A Most Violent Year at the helm? Now playing in theaters. 

The Belcourt’s Holiday Classics As expected, Nashville’s nonprofit cinema brings the Christmas cheer with holiday classics (Love Actually, It’s a Wonderful Life, Die Hard) and some inspired seasonal cult fare. This week brings Home Alone, Babe, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Silent Night, Deadly Night: Part 2, Night of the Comet (35mm), Deep Red, Edward Scissorhands, Brazil (Director’s Cut), Blast of Silence, Bad Santa, and Rosemary’s Baby. 

Note: AMC jumps into the festivities by playing the 2018 version of The Grinch during the week.

Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrim (Dir. Kenji Kamiyama; Starring Brian Cox and Miranda Otto) Who ordered an anime prequel to Tolkien’s classic for Christmas? Now playing in theaters. 

Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat (Dir. Johan Grimonprez) Louis Armstrong goes to the Congo to distract from a rebellion in this doc about U.N. intrigue. Now playing at The Belcourt.

The End (Dir. Joshua Oppenheimer; Starring Tilda Swinton and Michael Shannon) The director of the self-absorbed white-liberal guilt doc classic The Act of Killing breaks into fiction with this apocalypse musical set in a rich family’s bunker. Not even these actors can break through this dude’s narcissism.  Now playing at AMC Thoroughbred 20. 

La Cocina (Dir. Alonso Ruizpalacios; Starring Rooney Mara) This petty crime tale set in the back-of-house at a trendy NYC restaurant finds a migrant on the hook for some missing cash. Now playing at the Belcourt. 

The Man in the White Van (Dir. Warren Skeels; Starring Madison Wolfe) Unsurprisingly, the titular man stalks a teen girl in this well-reviewed light horror offering based on a true story. Now playing in theaters. 

Black Dog (Mandarin) (Dir. Hu Huan; Starring Eddie Peng) A recently released ex-con befriends a mutt when he gets a job ridding the streets of strays before China hosts the Olympics in a movie compared the best of Italian-Neorealist Vittorio DeSica. Now playing at Regal Hollywood 27.

Daft Punk & Leiji Matsumoto Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem The classic anime epic from the French electronic pop duo about an alien pop band kidnapped by a record producer gets a 20-year-anniversary celebration. Now playing in theaters.