2014 Preview: November

Welcome back to Rhode Island Movie Corner’s year-long preview of the films that are set to come out during 2014. This is Part 10 of 11 (previously 12) and today we’ll be looking at the films that will be hitting theaters this November. It’s actually going to be a lighter month than you might expect as there are only 1-2 new wide releases coming out every week (not counting the few limited releases I’m including here as well). Still, there are quite a lot of big names in movies that are headlining this month, from Christopher Nolan to Katniss Everdeen to Disney.  So let’s get started as we look at the films of November.

NOVEMBER 7- Two big-name wide releases start off the month; one is the latest from Christopher Nolan, the other is the new Disney film. There’s also one major limited release that comes out this weekend.

*Director Christopher Nolan takes on his first project following the conclusion of the ‘Dark Knight Trilogy’ with ‘Interstellar’. Taking place in a future where Earth’s resources are diminishing, the film centers on a former NASA test pilot turned farmer/engineer (Matthew McConaughey) who is hired to lead a space expedition in order to save the human race. The film also stars Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Casey Affleck, Wes Bentley, and Michael Caine.

(Note: ‘Interstellar’ will open in limited release and in IMAX two days before it is released nationwide in theaters that still utilize the 70 mm and 35 mm film format)

*Following the $1.2 billion success of ‘Frozen’, Disney releases their next animated feature, ‘Big Hero 6’. This will be the first time Disney utilizes the Marvel Comics brand, which as you know they bought back in 2009, as it is based off of the comic series of the same name by Steven T. Seagle and Duncan Rouleau. The film takes place in the futuristic metropolis of ‘San Fransokyo’ and centers on Hiro Hamada (Ryan Potter), a young robotics prodigy, and his healthcare companion robot Baymax (Scott Adsit), who form a team of crime fighters in order to stop a criminal plot. The film’s voice cast also includes Jamie Chung, T.J. Miller, Maya Rudolph, Damon Wayans Jr., and Alan Tudyk.

*Opening in limited release is ‘The Theory of Everything’, a biopic on famed physicist Stephen Hawking. Eddie Redmayne stars as Hawking in this film, which focuses on his relationship with literature student Jane Wilde (Felicity Jones) and the diagnosis of the disease that forever changed his life; ALS.

NOVEMBER 14- The long awaited sequel to a comedy classic hits theaters along with a notable limited release.

*Two decades after the release of ‘Dumb and Dumber’, everyone’s favorite dim-witted duo return for ‘Dumb and Dumber To’. Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels reprise their roles as Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne, respectively, who in this film head out on a journey when they learn that Harry has a long-lost daughter.

*One of the major award contenders of the year, ‘Foxcatcher’ is directed by Bennett Miller (‘Moneyball’, ‘Capote’) and is based off of the true story of Olympic wrestler Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) and his relationship with his coach John du Pont (Steve Carell), which ended up taking a very, very dark turn. The film also stars Mark Ruffalo as Mark’s brother Dave.

NOVEMBER 21- Only one major new release but given the pedigree that it has, who would even dare try and challenge it at the box office?

*The ‘Girl on Fire’ returns with ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay: Part 1’, the first half of the conclusion to the ‘Hunger Games’ film series based off of the book ‘Mockingjay’ by Suzanne Collins. Jennifer Lawrence reprises her role as Katniss Everdeen, who in this film finds herself right at the forefront of the growing rebellion amongst the citizens of Panem against the Capitol. Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Liam Hemsworth, Sam Claflin, Jena Malone, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and many more reprise their roles from the previous films and are joined here by Julianne Moore and Natalie Dormer.

NOVEMBER 28- This Thanksgiving, we’re getting two new wide releases that are coming early on November 26^th, the day before Thanksgiving.

*Another successful comedy, 2011’s ‘Horrible Bosses’, gets a sequel this week in ‘Horrible Bosses 2’. Jason Bateman, Jason Sudekis, and Charlie Day return as Nick, Kurt, and Dale, who in this film decide to launch their own business. However, when they end up getting screwed over by their investor (Christoph Waltz), they decide to kidnap his son (Chris Pine), in order to save their new business. Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Foxx, and Kevin Spacey also reprise their roles from the previous film.

*Finally, we have ‘The Penguins of Madagascar’, a spin-off of Dreamworks’ ‘Madagascar’ series centered on its most popular characters; the Penguins. In this film, the Penguins end up getting enlisted into an elite undercover animal task force called the North Wind in order to stop a villainous octopus from taking over the world. The film’s voice cast features Benedict Cumberbatch, John Malkovich, and Ken Jeong.

And those are the films that will be coming out this November. Check back next month for the final part of this year’s monthly previews as we look at the final films hitting theaters in 2014 that are coming out this December.