Movie Preview: 15 Films to See in November

This month's notable theatrical releases

Below, our editors have selected 15 interesting films debuting this month, listed in alphabetical order.

. Brooklyn Watch trailer(s)
PG-13 Drama | November 4 | Directed by John Crowley

Based on Colm Tóibín’s 2009 novel and adapted for the screen by Nick Hornby, this tale of a young Irish immigrant follows Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan) as she finds her way in 1950s Brooklyn. Eilis is homesick for Ireland, but when she meets Tony (Emory Cohen), an Italian boy who falls for her immediately, love lifts her out of sadness, until her past comes calling once again. John Crowley's film earned very good reviews when it premiered at Sundance this year.

. By the Sea Watch trailer(s)
R Drama | November 13 | Directed by Angelina Jolie

Set in the 1970s, Angelina Jolie Pitt’s third feature as director, following In the Land of Blood and Honey and Unbroken, looks at the marriage of Roland, a writer, and Vanessa, a former dancer, as they vacation at a seaside resort in France. Melanie Laurent and Melvil Poupaud co-star as young newlyweds, and Niels Arestrup and Richard Bohringer play two of the local inhabitants in this intimate drama written by Jolie Pitt and echoing the films of the decade in which it takes place.

. Carol Watch trailer(s)
R Drama | November 20 | Directed by Todd Haynes

Adapted from Patricia Highsmith’s 1952 novel The Price of Salt, Todd Haynes’ first big-screen effort in eight years was universally praised by critics at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where Rooney Mara was a surprise best actress winner over co-star Cate Blanchett. The film chronicles the love affair between Blanchett’s Carol, the married mother of a young daughter, and Mara’s Therese, a department store clerk. Also starring Kyle Chandler and Sarah Paulson, the drama looks likely to land on plenty of critics’ year-end top-ten lists and earn nominations in a number of categories this awards season.

. Creed Watch trailer(s)
Drama | November 25 | Directed by Ryan Coogler

Michael B. Jordan reunites with his Fruitvale Station director, Ryan Coogler, to play Adonis Johnson, Apollo Creed’s son, opposite Sylvester Stallone as an ailing Rocky Balboa in this seventh film to feature the Italian Stallion (and first Rocky movie since 2006's Rocky Balboa). While it might follow a familiar path of mentorship and redemption, Coogler and his cast—including Tessa Thompson (Dear White People) as Bianca, a singer-songwriter who becomes involved with Adonis, and Phylicia Rashad as Mary Anne Creed, Apollo’s widow—could inject this aging series with enough energy to inspire a few more films.

. The Danish Girl Watch trailer(s)
R Drama | November 27 | Directed by Tom Hooper

Critics have been split so far on the latest offering from Tom Hooper (Les Miserables, The King’s Speech). The film chronicles the journey of Einar and Gerda Wegener (Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander), husband and wife painters in 1920s Copenhagen, as Einar discovers his desire to become a woman and begins one of the first documented male to female medical transitions. Both Vikander and Redmayne earned praise from critics for their performances, but nominations aren’t guaranteed for this “prestige” picture.

. The Good Dinosaur Watch trailer(s)
PG Animation/Family | November 25 | Directed by Peter Sohn

What if the asteroid that forever changed life on Earth missed the planet completely and giant dinosaurs never became extinct? That's the question pondered by Pixar’s second release of 2015, which will have a tough time matching the critical and financial (over $800 million worldwide) success of Inside Out. The feature directorial debut from Peter Sohn, The Good Dinosaur follows Arlo (voiced by Raymond Ochoa), an Apatosaurus with a big heart. As Arlo roams the Earth searching for his family, he gains an unlikely companion: a human boy. The voice cast includes Jeffrey Wright, Sam Elliott, Steve Zahn, Frances McDormand, and Anna Paquin.

. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 Watch trailer(s)
PG-13 Action-Adventure/Sci-fi | November 20 | Directed by Francis Lawrence

This month The Hunger Games will finally come to an end (or will it?). Picking up where the critically and financially disappointing (relative to the first two films) Part 1 left off, Mockingjay's action-packed finale finds Jennifer Lawrence wielding her bow and arrows as Katniss for one last time as she faces off against President Snow (Donald Sutherland). Supporting her (some more than others) will be Liam Hemsworth, Sam Claflin, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Natalie Dormer and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in his final screen role.

. In Jackson Heights
NR Documentary | November 4 | Directed by Frederick Wiseman

The latest documentary from Frederick Wiseman (National Gallery, At Berkeley) looks at the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens. It's one of the most diverse communities in the world— 167 languages are spoken by its residents—but that diversity is now threatened by gentrification. Critics who saw the film at Venice and TIFF once again embraced Wiseman’s observational cinema, noting that a visit to a class for taxi drivers was a particular highlight.

. James White Watch trailer(s)
R Drama | November 13 | Directed by Josh Mond

Critically acclaimed when it premiered at Sundance, this debut feature from Josh Mond, who makes up one third of Borderline films along with Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene) and Antonio Campos (Simon Killer), stars Christopher Abbott as the title character, a troubled New Yorker struggling with the extra responsibility brought on by his mother’s (Cynthia Nixon) increasingly serious illness. Inspired by Mond’s experiences dealing with his own ailing mother, the is a unique and raw story brought to life by an excellent cast that also includes Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi, Ron Livingston, David Call, and Mackenzie Leigh.

. Mustang Watch trailer(s)
NR Foreign/Drama | November 20 | Directed by Deniz Gamze Ergüven

Deniz Gamze Ergüven’s directorial debut about five sisters in a village in northern Turkey won the Europa Cinemas prize in the Directors' Fortnight at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Co-written with Alice Winocour (Augustine), this tale of how the five girls fight against the limits imposed on them is France’s official submission for this year's foreign-language film Oscar.

. The Night Before Watch trailer(s)
R Comedy | November 20 | Directed by Jonathan Levine

Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt reunite with their 50/50 director Jonathan Levine, and bring Anthony Mackie along, for this comedy about childhood friends having one last crazy Christmas Eve before adulthood takes hold. With a supporting cast that includes Jillian Bell, Lizzy Caplan, Miley Cyrus, Michael Shannon, Mindy Kaling, and Kanye West, the film follows the three friends as they search for the “Holy Grail of Christmas parties” — the Nutcracka Ball.

. Secret in Their Eyes Watch trailer(s)
PG-13 Thriller | November 20 | Directed by Billy Ray

This remake of Juan José Campanella's critically-acclaimed Argentinian film The Secret in Their Eyes (winner of the Oscar for best foreign language film in 2009) is written and directed by Billy Ray (Breach). Set in Los Angeles and starring Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Kelly, and Dean Norris, this Americanized version makes some changes to the original narrative with a story about a FBI investigator whose daughter is brutally murdered, but it also nods to the original’s famous “one-shot” stadium chase sequence.

. SPECTRE Watch trailer(s)
PG-13 Action/Thriller | November 6 | Directed by Sam Mendes

Early reviews have been split—but are still mostly positive—for the 24th Bond film, which has already set box office records in the UK. Picking up where Skyfall left off and bringing back directors Sam Mendes, writers John Logan, Neil Purvis and Rob Wade, and Daniel Craig as Bond, Ralph Fiennes as the new M, Naomie Harris as Moneypenny and Ben Whishaw as Q, the film provides plenty of callbacks to previous films and its fair share of action, exotic locales, villains (Christoph Waltz and Dave Bautista) and, of course, Bond girls (Léa Seydoux, Monica Bellucci, Stephanie Sigman).

. Spotlight Watch trailer(s)
R Drama | November 6 | Directed by Thomas McCarthy

After a rare stumble with the Adam Sandler-starring The Cobbler, writer-director Thomas McCarthy looks to win back moviegoers with his most ambitious film yet. Co-written with Josh Singer, this true story follows the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team as they investigate allegations of widespread child molestation and systematic cover-up in the Catholic Church. With its strong ensemble (Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, Brian D’Arcy James, John Slattery, Billy Crudup, and Stanley Tucci), potent story, and critical kudos, Spotlight appears to have all of the ingredients to be a major player during awards season.

. Trumbo Watch trailer(s)
R Drama | November 6 | Directed by Jay Roach

In this biopic from director Jay Roach, Bryan Cranston stars as Dalton Trumbo, the successful screenwriter whose career came to an end when he and many others working in Hollywood were blacklisted for their political beliefs. The film follows Trumbo as he fights the government and Hollywood studios by working on projects under various pseudonyms (eventually winning Oscars for The Brave One and Roman Holiday). Louis C.K., John Goodman, Helen Mirren, Elle Fanning, Diane Lane, Michael Stuhlbarg, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Stephen Root, and Alan Tudyk also star in a film that earned generally favorable reviews when it premiered at TIFF.

What do you think?

Which films are you looking forward to this month? Let us know in the comments section below. For a complete, updated listing of all upcoming film releases by date, including films arriving later in 2015, visit our Movie Calendar.