LOS ALAMITOS, CA — With Thanksgiving last week and Christmas coming up, it is the perfect time to release movies for students to binge during winter break. Some of the most anticipated movies out in November and December are “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”, “The Thanksgiving Killer”, “The Marvels”, and “Wonka.”

There have been numerous movies released this year that were phenomenal such as “Barbie”, “Spider-man: Across the Spider-verse”, “Oppenheimer”, and countless others. Now that 2023 has almost come to a close, hopefully, these new movies coming out will finish this year strong. 

“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”

Suzanne Collins’ astounding prequel to “The Hunger Games” has finally been adapted into a movie! “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” follows Lucy Gray Baird, a tribute in the Tenth Annual Hunger Games, and Coriolanus Snow, a top-performing student at his academy. 

After being chosen as Lucy’s mentor, Snow has to juggle the growing relationship between Lucy and himself and his desire to bring success to the Snow family name.

“I really loved ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ movie. I read the book beforehand and I think they did such a good job portraying all the characters in the books” said Catherine Stom, a senior.

Fans seem to be amazed at the quality of the movie and how it depicted the book wonderfully. Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler did an incredible job representing the intense emotions that each character displays in the book while still bringing a new perspective to the characters. If you’re a fan of “The Hunger Games” movies, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” will not disappoint! 

“Thanksgiving”

Despite the harmless name, “Thanksgiving” delivers a tribute to the seasonal horror community from famous horror film producer and director, Eli Roth. 

After a bloody Black Friday sale at Right Mart, a murderer known as John Carver starts striking fatal blows to the participants of the killer sale as a pilgrim. 

Will the killer be captured? Who will survive? If you haven’t already seen this gory movie, it is available in theaters but has not yet confirmed what streaming service it will land in. 

“The Marvels”

Captain Marvel has come back! “The Marvels” is the sequel to the first MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) female-led and co-ed-directed movie in the MCU. Captain Marvel has to battle the burden of an unstable universe after reclaiming her identity from the dictatorial Kree. When her powers are tangled with two other superheroes after following a lead about the Kree revolutionary, the Captain must fight to save the universe once again. 

Unexpectedly, the superhero film had the worst domestic gross earnings in MCU history when it was released on Nov 10, but a student argues that the movie was great. 

“[‘The Marvels was] one of the best Marvel movies I’ve seen in a while. I love how it was a really heartfelt movie about finding a [found family] and the action was super cool,” said Tasha Johnson, a freshman who has watched “The Marvels.”

If you are interested, check it out yourself to determine your own opinion on the new movie! 

“Wonka”

Roald Dahl has further proven that even from the grave he will touch generation after generation with his writing and in the new movie adaption, “Wonka”. In “Wonka,” the odd backstory of the famous chocolatier, Willy Wonka played by Timothee Chalamet, creates the central theme for the movie. Dahl’s imaginative writing creates a lasting impact that continues to be timeless in film, therefore the movie must be a worthy accolade to his eccentric mind. Hopefully, this film will surpass all expectations. 

Enjoy watching these new movies in theaters Los Al, and don’t forget the popcorn!