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It’s a question that kept bouncing around my head during last week’s Investors Day call, where the Walt Disney Company put on quite a show, bombarding critics and fans alike with news of pending content, most of which draws from the organization’s endless troves of intellectual property. There was a clear feeling of dominance at the event, which also announced that the streamer’s subscriptions had reached nearly 90 million — a full four years sooner than its pre-launch goals....

This lurking sense of drama likely comes from the fact that there really isn’t any drama to speak of currently within the world of TV awards. Various guilds are recognizing winners that repeat themselves show after show, “The Crown,” “Ted Lasso,” “The Queen’s Gambit,” repeat. And if a show does deviate from the script it’s often only to honor a series that won’t be eligible for the upcoming Emmy season, which primarily means “Schitt’s Creek....

HBO’s synopsis for “The Nevers” reads: “In the last years of Victoria’s reign, London is beset by the ‘Touched’: people – mostly women – who suddenly manifest abnormal abilities – some charming, some very disturbing. Among them are Amalia True (Laura Donnelly), a mysterious, quick-fisted widow, and Penance Adair (Ann Skelly), a brilliant young inventor. They are the champions of this new underclass, making a home for the Touched, while fighting the forces of…well, pretty much all the forces – to make room for those whom history as we know it has no place....

Produced by Focus Features for somewhere in the vicinity of $70-90 million, “The Northman” is the rare U.S. studio production directed by a rising auteur that doesn’t show the mark of compromise. Production started in March 2020 before COVID shutdowns, and resumed at the end of the year. Eggers assembled a remarkable team of historical advisers and craftspeople to recreate an entire Viking village, as his Icelandic saga (which was loosely adapted into “Hamlet”) finds the Viking prince Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård) hellbent on tracking down his uncle (Claes Bang) to avenge the death of Amleth’s father (Ethan Hawke)....

In his first lead role, Brian Tyree Henry (“Widows,” “Atlanta”) brings nuance to Charles, the introverted homebody at the center of Nozkowski’s good-hearted but ultimately minor feature. Meant to debut at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, one of the first major film events to be cancelled last year, Charles’ quest to get out of the house now takes on an unexpected tone. Still, the film is predictable in its revelations: Maybe it’s a good idea to broaden your horizons, even if that just means finding out the name of the kid who lives above you....

The Academy Award winner stars as Augustus Landor, a former detective forced out of retirement to investigate a series of West Point hangings. Augustus (Bale) joins forces with Edgar Allan Poe (Harry Melling) to solve the serial killer case that may have a supernatural element. Based on the novel by Louis Bayard, “The Pale Blue Eye” is directed by Scott Cooper (“Crazy Heart”) and releases in theaters December 23 and streams on Netflix January 6....

If “The Phantom of the Open” lacks the same magic that Farnaby helped sprinkle over the masterful comedies he co-wrote about the world’s sweetest bear, well, what doesn’t? It’s enough that this heartfelt delight makes par on its premise; there’s a birdie here and a bogey there, but director Craig Roberts (“Eternal Beauty”) keeps a firm grip on the film’s whimsical tone from start to finish, the former “Red Oaks” star finding a way to have fun with his shots without risking his straightforward approach to the pin....