As we head into the holidays, Hollywood likes to release its Oscar hopefuls and prestige pictures. But it was "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" that dominated the box office with a $220 million weekend, the second-highest opening weekend of all time. Here to talk about "The Last Jedi" and some other holiday releases with Maureen Cavanaugh are KPBS Cinema Junkie Beth Accomando and Moviewallas’ Yazdi Pithavala.
Only Winston Churchill was brave enough to face off against "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" over the weekend. Gary Oldman's turn as the famous British prime minister is the centerpiece of "Darkest Hour." But the Allies fighting the Germans was no match for rebels taking on the First Order.
With Christmas just ahead, filmgoers will be able to find a coming of age love story in "Call Me By Your Name," a social satire film from Alexander Payne called "Downsizing," the Bellas reuniting for yet another "Pitch Perfect" film, someone other than Rey searching for answers about her parents in "Father Figures," Aaron Sorkin's feature film directing debut with "Molly's Game" and Ridley Scott's "All the Money in the World" where Kevin Spacey was replaced just before the film was to be released.
Our critics agreed that "The Last Jedi" and "I, Tonya" (a film about Olympic skater Tonya Harding that has no San Diego release date yet) are well worth checking out. But there were split decisions about "Call Me By Your Name" and "The Post" (opening in San Diego on Jan. 12).
