{"id":318509,"date":"2025-11-28T11:40:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T11:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/318509\/"},"modified":"2025-11-28T11:40:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T11:40:10","slug":"12-of-the-best-films-to-watch-this-december","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/318509\/","title":{"rendered":"12 of the best films to watch this December"},"content":{"rendered":"

Released on 25 December in the UK and 26 December in the UK<\/p>\n

\"SearchlightSearchlight PIctures11. The Testament of Ann Lee<\/p>\n

One of the last year’s most acclaimed films was The Brutalist<\/a>, directed by Brady Corbet and co-written by him and his partner, Mona Fastvold. The Testament of Ann Lee is a kind of companion piece, in that it was directed by Fastvold and co-written by her and Corbet. And, like The Brutalist, it’s an ambitious historical epic, shot on 35mm film stock, about a European bringing radical ideas to the US. Its heroine is a real person, played by Amanda Seyfried, who went from being a cotton-mill worker in Manchester, England, to the leader of the Shakers religious sect in New York in the 18th Century. Daniel Blumberg, who composed The Brutalist’s Oscar-winning score, provides the music, including the songs sung by Seyfried. Yes, The Testament of Ann Lee is a musical, as well as everything else. “Its music, cinematography, costumes, and production design all deserve attention,” says Radhika Seth in Vogue<\/a>, “as does Seyfried, who has always been excellent, but here finally gets a big-screen leading role worthy of her talent.”<\/p>\n

Released on 25 December in the US<\/p>\n

\"VeniceVenice International Film Festival12. No Other Choice<\/p>\n

Director Park Chan-wook is known for acclaimed works like Oldboy, The Handmaiden, and Decision to Leave, but No Other Choice<\/a> is the best-reviewed film of his career<\/a>. Adapted from a novel by Donald Westlake, Park’s satirical thriller stars Lee Byung-hun (the Frontman in Squid Game) as a happily married South Korean family man. He believes his life is perfect, but after he loses his job at a paper factory, his savings dwindle, and it looks as if he’ll have to sell his house to a neighbour he despises. Luckily for him, there is a job coming up which would suit him \u2013 but to be on the safe side, he decides to kill all of the other well-qualified candidates. Earning comparisons to Bong Joon Ho’s Oscar-winning Parasite<\/a>, No Other Choice is “a masterclass of lithe, silky, sumptuous storytelling”, says Nick Schager in The Daily Beast<\/a>. “Park locates just the right strain of zaniness for his quasi-Parasite\u00a0critique of the modern fight to stay afloat, and his command (of tone and narrative) never wavers.”<\/p>\n

Released on 25 December in the US\u00a0<\/p>\n

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