Films we’re Hungry for this November
Spooky season is officially over, which means two things — you can put that pumpkin spice candle in the bin where it belongs, and October’s barrage of horror films is about to fade into the eerie abyss (apart from those crap Christmas-themed ones that are, unfortunately, yet to come). But never fear, November comes with its own array of releases to enjoy. So, strap in for the films we’re Hungry for this November… Don’t expect to see Wicked on this list.
Kicking things off, we have Andrea Arnold’s hotly anticipated Bird. And who plays one of the leads? None other than HUNGER Issue 32 cover star, Barry Keoghan. The story follows Bailey (Nykiya Adams), who is raised in a Kent squat by father Bug (Keoghan). Bug leaves Bailey to her own devices a lot so he can take drugs with his “drug toad” (we’re not really sure about this either), resulting in her embarking on solo adventures, until she comes across a strange local named Bird (Franz Rogowski). It’s an emotional coming-of-age story, set against a backdrop of street culture (think Bull Terriers and punch-ups), which ultimately nabbed it the Prix de la Citoyenneté at this year’s Cannes film festival. Scenes from the film were also adapted for Fontaines D.C.’s “Bug” music video, if you fancy a watch.
Next (and no, we’re not taking the piss) we have Paddington in Peru. Everyone knows that Paddington is one of the cutest creatures in the filmscape. Why else would one of London’s largest railway stations be named after him? While that’s obviously a joke, that marmalade-guzzling runt’s adorableness is not. And, as this country fades into eternal darkness thanks to Greenwich Mean Time, there’s no better form of escapism than watching Paddington and his adopted human family have a wholesome adventure in sunny South America. For some inexplicable reason there’s also a load of nuns in the film, which makes it ever-more intriguing.
Hugh Grant may have been replaced as the ‘baddy’ in the third instalment of the Paddington franchise, but the quintessentially-English lover boy can be seen this November in Heretic. This time, however, Grant is making his debut into horror (sorry, we lied when we said scary films were a thing of the past). Heretic has only been out since the first of the month and the reviews are mixed, but nobody can deny the film has an original plot and top-notch acting. Why has Grant turned to horror? Either because he’s just too old to play the designated male slag in British rom-coms, or because he’s just that versatile. Who cares — we’re into it.
Speaking of lover boys — Paul Mescal is back on the scene, this time in Gladiator II (nice touch with the Roman numerals, there). It goes without saying that the “Roman Empire” trend is now deep in the TikTok archives. There is something, we’d argue, very timeless about watching men fight to their death, though. The Gladiator franchise is (of course) not exactly historically-accurate, but it does provides a nice little insight into ancient Rome’s absolutely wild culture under the tyranny of empirical rule. And, if you can’t be enticed by the period-drama element, you can probably be lured to the cinema by the so-called “internet daddy”, Pedro Pascal.
Last up, we have Anora. Described as a “screwball Cinderella tale”, the film takes place in New York and follows the exotic dancer, Anora (Mikey Madison), who marries an oligarch’s son. When news of the marriage reaches Russia, his husband’s parents seek to get the marriage annulled. It’s the latest venture from Sean Baker, the brains behind the multi-award winning Tangerine (yes, the movie that was filmed exclusively on iPhone 5s) and The Florida Project. As for Anora, the comedy-drama has received rave reviews — it’s no surprise since the film won the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
