What Movies to See in Miami Theaters in November

November means the fall film festival season has closed, and major awards contenders are finally starting to trickle into theaters. New Times will have a complete guide to all the must-see movies going for gold this winter, but for now, we’ve compiled the best of what’s coming to theaters this November.

Highlights include a smattering of arthouse classics, a monster movie favorite returning to theaters, animated goodies, and two massive Hollywood blockbusters releasing on the same day. No, it’s not Barbenheimer, it’s Gladicked! Wickediator? Never mind.

Godzilla Minus One 70th Anniversary Re-Release

Oscar-winning triumph Godzilla Minus One, the best film in years from the long-running franchise that invented the kaiju genre, is coming back to theaters in celebration of the original Godzilla‘s 70th anniversary. If you missed it then – or even if you’ve already seen it – this might be your last chance to watch one of the decade’s most entertaining, full-hearted films on the big screen. After all, a giant monster needs a massive screen.

Our Take: Turning back the clock even further than the first Godzilla, Minus One picks up in the immediate aftermath of WWII. Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki), a kamikaze pilot who backed out of his suicidal mission, has returned home to find his house destroyed and his family dead. After taking in a wayward young woman named Noriko (Minami Hamabe) and Akiko, the orphaned girl in her care, the three begin to rebuild their lives as an unconventional family unit. But something sinister is on the way: Just before the war ended, Shikishima witnessed the monster Godzilla wipe out an entire air base, and now, the creature has returned to take an already-battered Japan, starting from zero, back to an even worse state. Far more than a mere monster movie remake, Minus One is an instant classic of humanist cinema, a brilliantly composed production that expresses the rebirth and regrets of an entire nation. Shikishima’s quest is not simply to destroy the monster, which remains as it was in 1954, a potent metaphor for the atomic bombs that annihilated Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but to end the war of guilt and shame within him. This combination of intimate personal struggle with societal resilience makes Godzilla Minus One a powerful, moving piece of cinema. In theaters Friday, November 1.

Emilia Pérez at O Cinema

The premise of this inexplicable Cannes winner sounds too good to be true: A closeted transgender cartel boss (Karla Sofía Gascón) in Mexico recruits a lawyer (Zoe Saldaña) to help her fake her death so she can escape justice and live as her true self. And that’s only the first act, as Emilia Pérez becomes even more lurid and telenovela-esque as it goes on. We will have a full review of the film, undoubtedly the most high-profile Latin American film of the year, closer to its streaming release on Netflix, but if you’d like to get a sneak peak in theaters, O Cinema will be running the film for a week starting this Friday. Friday, November 1, through Thursday, November 7, at O Cinema South Beach, 1130 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; o-cinema.org. Tickets cost $11.60-$14.10 via o-cinema.org.

Do The Right Thing and La Dolce Vita at Cosford Cinema

Cosford Cinema’s “Watching Movies With” series on Saturdays is all about inviting locals of note to present their favorite films, and they’re bringing the heat this month. On November 2, artist and photographer Carl Juste will host a screening of Spike Lee’s classic Do The Right Thing, and on November 9, journalist and author Ana Menéndez will show Federico Fellini’s masterpiece La Dolce Vita.

Our Take: Both of these films are required viewing for any self-respecting cinephile, but they also happen to be uproariously entertaining as well. Filmed in Spike Lee’s typically vivid style, Do The Right Thing sets us down in a pre-gentrification Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, on the hottest day of the year. As the heat climbs, tensions rise between the neighborhood’s Black residents, white business owners, and police until an unbearable incident of violence unleashes chaos upon the community. At once a parable of race relations in America and a totally distinctive calling card for its director, Do The Right Thing is among the greatest films ever made. La Dolce Vita takes place in another ultra-specific setting among the glamor of post-war Rome. Federico Fellini follows Marcello (Marcello Mastroianni), a gossip journalist with artistic ambitions who flits among the Eternal City’s party class in search of the titular “sweet life.” Instantly controversial upon release, thanks to its abundance of sex and sordidness, the film later became iconic for scenes such as its famous Trevi Fountain sequence. Although its depiction of celebrity decadence might seem quaint compared to now, the film still holds resonance for anyone familiar with or seduced by the supposed good life of the leisure class.

Heretic

Evil Hugh Grant? Evil Hugh Grant. The rom-com icon is breaking bad in this horror film from A24 and director duo Beck & Woods, the writers behind 65 and the A Quiet Place movies. Playing against type, Grant is the villain in this twisted tale of devotion, which sees a pair of Mormon missionaries knock on his door. The two girls are forced into a sinister test of faith in order to escape the mysterious man’s clutches. Opens Friday, November 8.

Blitz at Coral Gables Art Cinema

Missed it at Gems? Don’t wanna shell out for an Apple TV+ subscription? You’re in luck because Coral Gables Art Cinema is showing master filmmaker Steve McQueen’s latest epic, Blitz, this month for one week only.

Our Take: Three harrowing days in the lives of young single mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) and her biracial son George (newcomer Elliott Heffernan) during the Battle of Britain. After they part in anger when she sends him out of London, the regretful young lad jumps off his evacuation train and embarks on a treacherous journey home, braving German bombs and seedy characters. Known for his parallel career as a video artist, director McQueen’s latest film is probably his most conventional, yet it still manages to convey Britain at its best and worst, detailing the selflessness and bravery of the people of London while not shying away from the racism experienced by the empire’s nonwhite subjects – yes, there were Black and brown people in World War II. A tense, well-made period piece depicting an oft-mythologized chapter of history, Blitz serves as another phase in the filmmaker’s ongoing project of telling untold stories while simultaneously cueing us into the parallels between wars fought in the past and today. Friday, November 8, through Thursday, November 14 at Coral Gables Art Cinema, 260 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables; 786-472-2249; gablescinema.com. Tickets cost $10 to $11.75.

Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival

If you thought Miami was the only South Florida city with its own film festival, you’re sorely mistaken. Taking place at venues across Broward, including the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival will show hundreds of unique films from around the world, starting Friday, November 8, and running through Sunday, November 17. Highlights include Cannes Un Certain Regard winner Black Dog, a film from Northwest China about a dogcatcher who befriends one of the strays he’s meant to dispose of; the innovative animated film Flow from Latvia, made entirely in the 3D graphics program Blender; and the Peruvian, Quechua-language historical drama Once Upon a Time in the Andes. Plus, if you missed it at Miami Film Festival Gems, there’s a second chance to catch Matthew Rankin’s droll conceptual comedy Universal Language, about an alternate-universe Canada where Persian culture, rather than English, rules. Friday, November 8, through Sunday, November 7, at multiple venues; fliff.com. Tickets cost $8 to $300.

Ghost Cat Anzu

Didn’t get enough anime charm from Look Back? Thankfully, GKids is bringing another heartwarming Japanese cartoon to theaters with Ghost Cat Anzu, a fun hangout movie in which a young girl stuck in a rural town befriends a wily anthropomorphic feline. Impressively, the entire film was created through rotoscoping: Directors Yoko Kuno and Nobuhiro Yamashita filmed a group of actors, and then the folks at studio Shin-Ei drew the cartoon characters on top of the live-action footage. The result is a unique piece of artful animation. Opens Friday, November 14.

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters at Cosford Cinema

The University of Miami’s Cosford Cinema continues its hot streak with another great month of rep cinema, wrapping their Sunday at the U with Movies series with three arthouse classics. While the Spanish drama The Spirit of the Beehive, screening November 3, and the high-concept documentary spectacular Koyaanisqatsi, screening November 10, are both worth catching, Paul Schrader’s staggering biopic Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters from 1985, showing on November 17, must not be missed.

Our Take: Artist, writer, intellectual, warrior, bodybuilder, samurai, insurrectionist – many words could describe Yukio Mishima (played by Ken Ogata in the film). One of the most celebrated Japanese authors of the 20th Century, he’s known just as much for his art as how he lived – and died. In 1970, he infamously committed seppuku as part of a doomed coup d’etat, taking hostages at a military base in Tokyo with a private army and calling for the restoration of Japan’s emperor before killing himself. In this lavish, unconventional biopic, Paul Schrader reconstructs the last day of Mishima’s life, weaving in marvelous recollections of his life and work. Aided by music from Philip Glass and the incredible production design of Eiko Ishioka, the director builds a stunning gilded chamber to retell The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, along with other theatrical sets for Kyoko’s House and Runaway Horses, while shooting the writer’s past in gritty black and white. Still unreleased in Japan due to threats from the country’s extreme right and the disapproval of the author’s widow – the film depicts him as a closeted homosexual – Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters is a visually sumptuous work of inspired, iconoclastic filmmaking that seeks to understand one of the most enigmatic literary figures of the last 100 years. 1 p.m. Sunday, November 17, at Cosford Cinema, University of Miami, 5030 Brunson Dr., Memorial Bldg. Ste. 225, Coral Gables; 305-284-9838; cosfordcinema.com.

Anora on 35mm at Coral Gables Art Cinema

If you haven’t already seen this outrageous Oscar contender, now’s the time: Sean Baker’s Anora is getting a 35mm screening courtesy of Coral Gables Art Cinema. If you have seen the film already, here’s a chance to relive the madcap adventure in a medium appropriate for the vivid, bombastic tale of a stripper’s dalliance with a Russian oligarch’s son.

Our Take: Read our review of the film here. 9:30 p.m. Thursday, November 21, at Coral Gables Art Cinema, 260 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables; 786-472-2249; gablescinema.com. Tickets cost $10 to $11.75.

Gladiator II

A year after his Napoleon biopic, 86-year-old Ridley Scott is diving back into his own cinematic history, directing a 24-years-later sequel to his mega-hit, Oscar-winning sword-and-sandals epic Gladiator from 2000. The feverishly anticipated film has been under intense scrutiny. So far, we know that Paul Mescal has been tapped to replace Russell Crowe as the protagonist, playing Lucius, the son of the original hero, Maximus. After undergoing his fall from grace at the hands of General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal), Lucius is forced into slavery as a gladiator and unites with the ambitious arms dealer Macrinus (Denzel Washington) to battle for freedom and glory. Though he’s been in the mix as a leading man in dramas such as Aftersun, All of Us Strangers, and the hit TV series Normal People, this is Mescal’s first major Hollywood part and a big test for him as a leading man. Acting alongside veterans like Washington and Pascal is sure to feel like a gladiator battle in and of itself. Opens Friday, November 22.

Wicked

It’s one of the most successful Broadway musicals of the last quarter century, and it’s finally coming to the big screen – in two parts, no less. Director Jon M. Chu’s epic adaptation of Wicked, based on Gregory Macguire’s 1995 novel, which is based on L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz, is the other big blockbuster of the winter season, one that’s very different from its brawny competitor, Gladiator II. Telling the story of the witches of Oz before the arrival of Dorothy, the movie features a stacked cast: Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba (the would-be Wicked Witch of the West), Ariana Grande as Galinda (aka Glinda the Good Witch), Jeff Goldbloom, Michelle Yeoh, Bowen Yang, Peter Dinklage, and plenty of other talents. Opens Friday, November 22.

Moana 2

The newest film from Disney Animation Studios is a return to the Polynesian world of Moana. A direct sequel to the 2016 film, the action picks up three years later as Moana receives a new call to action from her ancestors and embarks on a new adventure to break a god’s curse. Auli’i Cravalho reprises her role as the titular Pacific princess, while Dwayne Johnson returns as the buff demigod Maui; Lin-Manuel Miranda, who contributed original songwriting, sits out this time – which may be a good thing depending on how much you like Hamilton, if at all. Opens Wednesday, November 27.