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When Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons) is kidnapped the ELF team of the North Pole steps in to save Christmas. Heading up the security detail is Santa’s most trusted advisor, Callum Drift (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), the beefiest mythological protector aside from a polar bear. But, tracking Santa’s captor will take some special skills, to that end, world hacker and bounty hunter Jack O’Malley (Chris Evans) finds himself called in to action. It’s naughty vs. nice and the clock is ticking, will hope prevail?Written by Chris Morgan and Hiram Garcia and Directed by Jake Kasdan this globe trotting action adventure for the holidays delivers surprisingly decent action set pieces and clever adventure premise in a surprisingly touching and feel good way, a careful dichotomy tightrope act that once again proves Johnson’s charisma and humor seems to have a magic ability to thread success in the face of what could be utter flop or failure, left in the hands of someone less adept and the “magic” of Red One might not be so magical at all. Meanwhile efforts from Evans, Simmons, Lucy Liu, Bonny Hunt, Kiernan Shipka, and Kristofer Hivju add more fun and flair to the mix. Surely this won’t go down in history along side other family favorites such as Miracle on 34th Street or A Christmas Story, but for creativity in weaving folklore, action, and fun, this may be one of the better Holiday offerings we’ve seen in some time, albeit irreverent, but fun. And, with production design and CGI that stays consistent, it’s all about the look and the feel, it must be Christmas. Running just a little longer than necessary at 2 hours and three minutes, Red One is Rated PG-13.

Upon the Pope’s (Bruno Novelli) death the cardinals are gathered for Conclave to vote and decide who will become the next leader of the Catholic Church. At the head of the Conclave proceedings is the respected and dutiful Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes). But, as powerplays are in order and politics begin to take hold within the church itself, several front runners find themselves shaded and discredited from acquiring the Papacy; with questioning of faith and the church at its core central to each Cardinal’s heart, it could take divine intervention to select the next Pope. Written by Peter Straughan and Robert Harris and Directed by Edward Berger this master’s class in cinema and acting shines with its lead and further ensemble including Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini; each and all delivering the goods in what could be a simple procedural but instead turns whodunit amidst the nuanced stickiness that faces the Catholic church in present day. Beautifully captured cinematography and further notes to the production design, costuming, and score all elevate this piece to the top of the class as we head into award season. And, while the film’s finish is telegraphed well in advance, it’s still a pleasure to watch all the pieces come together over the two hour runtime. Totally worth it, Conclave is rated PG.

Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and his symbiotic partner from space, collectively known as Venom, are on the lamb from the law, but, en route to New York the two are stopped by an interstellar bounty hunter that’s searching for a codec destined to free an evil and imprisoned king galaxies away. Now sought by officials on earth and threats from out of this world Eddie and his buddy will have to make difficult decisions that could end their partnership, lest the earth be turned to dust. Written by Kelly Marcel and Tom Hardy and Directed by Kelly Marcel, this jam packed conclusion to the Venom trilogy hits the ground running and delivers the semi-irreverent but simple enough humor and of course requisite gore to signify an alien with a taste for human flesh. Albeit, the plot line here isn’t exactly Tolstoy, but that’s not the point, fans of the graphic novel most likely aren’t looking for dramatic subtext or rich meaning, instead we’re offered a basic good guy/bad guy duopoly, and that’s it. Side plots are quickly abandoned with little explanation, end result, a rockin’ conclusion, yet even for it’s brief runtime, an hour and forty nine minutes including credits, the whole act seems a bit overstayed. But, if you’ve stayed with the franchise this long, chances are the Marvel Fatigue won’t hit now, enjoy Venom: Last Dance, which comes in with a strategic and guideline fitting PG-13 rating.