As the calendar turns to November, we begin to shake our fists at the 5 p.m. darkness, battle the duelling forces of anticipation and dread about the upcoming holidays, and, most importantly, enjoy a series of new releases vying for your attention and eventual awards consideration.

And what a weekend it is for new releases. Molly will be back next week (I promise), but for now, here’s a rundown of some of the things you should be watching and reading as you wonder how much work you really have to do this close to the end of the year. And as always, be sure to find some time to call your reps. You’d be surprised by what a difference people can make.

Pluribus

There are few things I love more than an established creator using their previous success as an excuse to get weird with it. And after finding said success with the totally relatable story of an American who turns to crime to pay his medical bills, I can’t wait to see Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan’s return to the sci-fi genre with* Pluribus*.

Vince Gilligan wants you to know as little as possible about Pluribus before you watch it, and I do not intend to betray his wishes here. It helps that I also know very little about the show. What I do know is that the prospect of watching the great Rhea Seehorn save the world from a sudden epidemic of constant joy sounds like just the thing to make my cynical heart grow three sizes this day. Am I at all concerned that watching Gilligan return to his genre roots could itself cause an epidemic of joy? Yes, though in that scenario, I may get to meet Rhea Seehorn. A win is a win, one supposes.

Pluribus premieres on Apple TV on November 7.

Death By Lightning

Those of you whose ears perk up at the mention of a political drama filled with period-accurate costumes (there are dozens of us) will not need to be sold on Netflix’s new series Death by Lightning. Based on the Candice Millard book “Destiny of the Republic,” Death by Lightning follows the presidency of James A. Garfield all the way up to his assassination at the hands of the ultimate historical fanboy, Charles J. Guiteau. Is this the place to begin a discussion about how The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is one of our great pieces of incel hero worship criticism? My editors are telling me it is not.

For everyone else, allow me to inform you that this show’s cast is simply insane. Michael Shannon, Matthew Macfadyen, Betty Gilpin, Shea Whigham, Bradley Whitford, Nick Offerman… one of you has been reading my diary, and I’m beginning to suspect it is Death by Lightning showrunner Mike Makowsky.

And for some of you, it is very much worth noting that this is indeed one of the major historical assassinations covered in Stephen Sondheim’s incredible 1990 musical, Assassins. Is this the place to begin a discussion about the need for an* Assassins *revival? My editors are yelling that it is not.

Death by Lightning premieres on Netflix on November 6.

Predator: Badlands

You could certainly argue that Dan Trachtenberg’s Prey is the best movie prequel ever. Various creators spent years trying to throw every idea at the Predator franchise (“Put a Shane Black on it,” they said) to… let’s go with “mixed” results. Then Trachtenberg came along and reminded us that the thrill of the franchise is in watching the ultimate action hero fight what is essentially the universe’s final boss. The fact that the movie starred the brilliant Amber Midthunder and was set in the 1700s against the backdrop of the colonization of America only made it so much the better.

With Badlands, Trachtenberg isn’t necessarily trying to prove he isn’t a one-trick pony (Predator: Killer of Killers arguably already did that). Instead, he’s trying to show that he is the one who can take this franchise into a truly bold new direction. As the PG-13 sdtory of a predator who encounters a Weyland-Yutani synth (yes, from the Alien universe) as it struggles to hunt the ultimate prey, Predator: Badlands is about as far removed from most of the other *Predator *movies as it could possibly be. Yet, it’s hard to look at this movie and not see both a compelling standalone story and the set-up for so much more to come. For what is a sequel if not a franchise persevering?

Predator: Badlands releases in theaters on November 7.

The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession

Between the Louvre heist (the year’s feel-good story) and the release of Kelly Reichardt’s new movie The Mastermind, I’ve understandably seen a lot of people recommending books, movies, and shows about museum heists. And while there’s no shortage of incredible works within that genre, one story that can never get enough love is Michael Finkel’s 2023 book The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession.

The Art Thief tells the story of Stéphane Bréitwieser: perhaps the most successful art thief of all time. Never heard of him? Well, there are reasons for that which I will not spoil here, but the biggest reason why is that Bréitwieser wasn’t actually interested in selling his stolen works. As recounted in one of the breeziest books you’ll read this year, Bréitwieser was instead something of an enthusiast who wished to surround himself with beautiful things.

Observations about what it means to “own” art and the people who are driven to possess it certainly elevate the telling of this incredible true story. However, *The Art Thief *often works best when it is describing exactly how Bréitwieser got away with some of the most incredible (yet often strangely mundane) heists you will ever have the pleasure of knowing about. You will never look at a poorly secured museum the same way again.

5 Times The Animatronic Fox On Splash Mountain Addressed Me By Name And Told Me He Was Going To Marry My Dad

Is there any particular reason I’m recommending the 2016 Clickhole article “5 Times The Animatronic Fox On Splash Mountain Addressed Me By Name And Told Me He Was Going To Marry My Dad?” Not really. There’s no anniversary related to the piece, and I can’t say it’s relevant to any modern global events. However, I firmly believe everyone should have that one article they always read whenever they need a good laugh. If you don’t already have one, allow me to share mine.

This article explores the question we’ve all asked ourselves in the darkness among the comfort of our own thoughts: “What if the animatronic fox on Splash Mountain kept threatening to marry my father?” However you envisioned that scenario playing out, allow me to assure you that nothing can prepare you for the truth. If you’re not cry laughing by the time said fox threatens to marry the subject’s “religious dad” in a wedding “without refreshments,” I’m not sure what to do for you.

Underrated Noir Movies For Noirvember

One of the best decisions in recent years has been the growing agreement that November is actually “Noirvember” in the film fan community. This is the month we celebrate private detectives, dangerous dames, and rooms full of truly astonishing amounts of second-hand smoke. There’s no shortage of incredible noir films out there, but here are a few slightly lesser-known noir movies to check out if you haven’t already.

• **The Sweet Smell of Success (1957): **“Underrated” may be a stretch, but The Sweet Smell of Success really does deserve to be considered one of the great American films. Anchored by some of the best dialog in movie history, this film follows a sweaty press agent as he desperately tries to fulfill a powerful entertainment journalist’s personal request before his career (and possibly life) is ended. Hey, remember when one of the most powerful people in NYC was a theater critic?

• ***Gun Crazy (1950): *This movie’s initial title (Deadly Is the Female) actually says quite a bit more about what makes it so brilliant. Gun Crazy follows young lovers Bart and Laurie as circumstances and fascinations send them on a cross-country crime spree. It’s the inspiration for a series of far lesser films and the definition of couple goals.

• Kiss Me Deadly (1955): Perhaps the noirest noir ever,* Kiss Me Deadly* offers an intoxicating blend of absurd machismo, mystery, and generally seedy material. Yet, what initially appears to be some of the most immaculate genre vibes you’ll ever lay eyes on gradually morphs into one of the most shocking films of the 1950s. Seriously, this one may boast one of the absolute wildest endings in movie history.

• Cover Up (1949): I love a Christmas crime movie, and Cover Up is absolutely one of the most underrated examples of that subgenre. It offers the compelling story of an insurance investigator who heads to a small town to tie up some loose ends about a recent murder and wraps the whole thing up in a warm blanket of Christmastime atmosphere.

• Body Double (1984): Body Double is not Brian De Palma’s best Hitchcockian thriller. That would be Blow Out. However, Body Double remains the director’s most misunderstood masterpiece. At the time of its release, some critics blasted this film as a bewildering blend of sex, violence, and cinematic style that seemed to have been made for an audience of one (De Palma). Now it’s easier to appreciate it as one of the most striking examinations of the inherent voyeurism of the filmmaking (and film-watching) process.