12 of the best movies to watch in December

It was released on December 25 in the United Kingdom and December 26 in the United Kingdom

Scout pictures

11. Ann Lee’s will

One of the most popular films of last year was The Brutalist, directed by Brady Corbett and co-written with his partner Mona Fastvold. “The Will of Anne Lee” serves as a companion piece, directed by Fastvold and co-written with Corbett. Like Savage, it is an ambitious historical epic, shot on 35mm celluloid, about a European who brings radical ideas to the United States. The film’s heroine is a real person, played by Amanda Seyfried, who went from being a cotton mill worker in Manchester, England, to the leader of a religious sect of the Shakers in 18th-century New York. Daniel Blumberg, who composed the Oscar-winning score for The Brutalist, provides the music, including songs sung by Seyfried. Yes, The Testament of Ann Lee is a musical, like everything else. “The music, cinematography, costumes and production design are all worthy of attention,” says Radhika Seth in Vogue, as does Seyfried, who has always been excellent, but here she finally gets a big-screen leading role worthy of her talent.

It was released on December 25 in the United States

Venice International Film Festival

12. There is no other option

Director Park Chan-wook is known for such acclaimed works as “Oldboy,” “The Handmaiden” and “Decision to leave,” but “No Other Choice” is the most reviewed film of his career. Park’s satirical thriller is based on the Donald Westlake novel, and stars Lee Byung-hun (Squid Game’s leading man) as a happily married South Korean family man. He thinks his life is perfect, but after losing his job at a paper mill, his savings are dwindling, and it looks like he will have to sell his house to a neighbor who despises him. Fortunately for him, there is an upcoming job that suits him – but to be on the safe side, he decides to kill all other well-qualified candidates. Drawing comparisons to Bong Joon Ho’s Oscar-winning Parasite, No Other Choice is “a masterwork of smooth, silky, sumptuous storytelling,” says Nick Schager at The Daily Beast. “Park strikes just the right strain of goofiness for his almost parasitic critique of the modern struggle to stay afloat, and his command (in tone and narrative) never falters.”

It was released on December 25 in the United States

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