Avatar wave crashes ashore

And SNL says goodbye to 11-year veteran

What to know

• Avatar: The Way of Water came in under expectations, but don’t panic… 13 years later, Avatar 2 is finally here and it did… OK. Much like the original, which didn’t open big but went on to have the longest of legs, Way of Water brought in $134M domestic and $435M global. That’s the 3rd highest opening post-pandemic (behind Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange 2), but below the $150-175M estimates. Insiders are optimistic the movie will have staying power — and it better, as James Cameron has said Way of Water will need to become one of the highest grossers of all time to justify its cost. Despite the soft-ish opening, this does seem like good news for the box office in general. Personally, I won’t be seeing Way of Water until the end of the month, so I guess I fit into the narrative of those long legs. 💦

• Cecily Strong departs SNL with hilarious and heartfelt goodbye… SNL is on a hot streak right now, turning out solid episode after solid episode. The announcement of Strong’s departure came suddenly Saturday evening, but it’s not unexpected as she’s been around for quite a while (11 seasons) and most of her classmates from the 2010s have moved on. What followed the announcement was an incredible episode that was riotously funny and also made me emotional no less than 3 times. The future is bright at 8H. 🗽

• James Cameron did some science to prove that Jack could not have fit on the door… Because of course he did. This is the most Jim Cameron thing ever. How dare anyone question the logic of his movies? 🚪

• Tom Cruise delivered a special holiday message to fans while jumping out of a plane… Tom Cruise gonna Tom Cruise. ✈️

• Tom Cruise did a motorcycle base jump stunt for the new Mission Impossible movie… And Tom Cruise some more. 🏍

• RRR director S.S. Rajamouli “seriously working on story” for the sequel… But how will they top the first one? 🐯

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What’s new

• The Best Man: The Final Chapters — Dec 22 | Peacock miniseries | 🍅

• Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery — Dec 23 | Netflix movie | 🍅 93%

• Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical — Dec 25 | Netflix movie | 🍅 90%

• Returning: Emily in Paris s3, Jack Ryan s3, I Hate Suzie s2, The Head s2, The Witcher: Blood Origin

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What to watch

There’s no denying Steven Spielberg is the father of modern cinema, the master of blockbuster moviemaking, perhaps the best to do ever do it — but why, at 76, is he still putting his neck out there with a bold new project almost every year? Especially when his track record in recent years has been inconsistent, to say the least. The Fabelmans provides the answer — while being an outstanding and emotional late career addition.

Spielberg has never been shy about letting his personal life influence his movies. All the movies about children in broken homes and problematic fathers yearning for connecting are the director working out his origin story and upbrinding. The Fabelmans is the literal telling of that tale, a movie memoir and the keystone to his entire filmography. It is a thoughtful and heartrending examination of a family falling apart, through the eyes of a child. That perspective is key here because, in a bold but effective choice, the movie intentionally withholds from us. Spielberg has always brought childlike wonderment and gaze to his movies, but here he uses it against us to break out hearts. He’s reckoning with the sacrifices his parents made, with mental illness, with love, and the part he played in his family’s story when he chose to put a camera between himself and those around him. This is the director going as deep as he’s ever gone.

Like many of Spielberg’s greats, The Fabelmans is shot with dreamlike haze by Janusz Kaminski and scored with the usual aplomb by John Williams. Kaminski, Spielberg, and Williams bathe the celluloid in nostalgia both good and bad. The fact that the movie presents as a collection of memories allows for some large, beating-heart performances from Michelle Williams, Judd Hirsch, Seth Rogen, and an incredible cameo from David Lynch. On the opposite end, Paul Dano is necessarily grounded and reserved as father Burt Fabelman, while Gabrielle LaBelle quietly yet firmly holds the movie together as our hero Sam. While chiefly a family opus, the film also gives Spielberg room to examine and mythologize on his coming of age as an artist. When The Fabelmans diverts into a high school drama in its last act, Spielberg and co-writer Tony Kushner give us one of the best scenes of the year—a standoff between Sam and his two bullies—that could fill volumes with its thoughts on the power of art and filmmaking.

As The Fabelmans confesses, Steven Spielberg is driven to make movies by his need for control (very relatable), by his hope for connection, and also by his quest for self aggrandizement and artistic glory. Remarkably, it’s all there in this movie, a film that reveals more to you about the filmmaker the more you think about it. It would make complete sense if this was Steven Spielberg’s last movie, him saying, “Fine, I will finally let you in fully to who I am and who I think am.” But if he’s anything like Sam Fabelman, there’s not a chance he’s stopping now. The Fabelmans is in theaters and on demand.

For all past ‘what to watch’ recommendations, see the full list here!