HOLLYWOOD, CA — This week's lineup considers what happens when a polished facade finally cracks under the weight of ambition, fear and desire.
"Ebenezer" and "Victorian Psycho" examine individuals trapped within rigidly maintained worlds of historical confinement, whether a gothic reimagining of Dickensian London or an isolated estate where dark obsessions fester beneath upper-class etiquette.
Meanwhile, "Paper Tiger" brings its explosive crime drama to 1986 Queens, tracking the volatile collision between private secrets and public ruin.
Elsewhere, "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power — Season 3" and "Black Doves — Season 2" plunge familiar characters into total, high-stakes warfare, exploring the heavy price of loyalty, institutional betrayal, and the fragile art of keeping secrets.
Ready to dive in? Scroll on for the full lineup as the capsules below explore the stories, themes and creative ambitions behind this week's most notable releases.
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Johnny Depp, Ian McKellen, Rupert Grint, Andrea Riseborough, Sam Claflin; directed by Ti West
Ti West's "Ebenezer" treats Charles Dickens's 1843 holiday staple not as a cozy family tradition, but as a playground for gothic horror and atmospheric dread, trading traditional festive sentimentality for an unflinching 19th-century realism.
The narrative revisits familiar thematic territory, interrogating the moral rot of extreme greed, the heavy burden of past regrets, and the radical grace of redemption. However, Nathaniel Halpern's screenplay proves to be a double-edged sword. While it attempts to anchor its philosophical weight in the visceral terror of confronting one's past, the script occasionally struggles with bloat and tonal inconsistency.
West's tactile craftsmanship and the film's stellar supporting cast — notably Ian McKellen's sinister Jacob Marley and Andrea Riseborough's haunting Ghost of Christmas Past — easily rank among its greatest assets. Less consistent is Johnny Depp in the title role; while his bitter reinvention of Scrooge captures the character's misanthropy, the performance occasionally tips into cartoonish excess.
Ultimately, "Ebenezer" is a striking testament to West's atmospheric audacity — even if its grand gothic ambitions occasionally outpace its narrative discipline.
Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Miles Teller; directed by James Gray
In James Gray's "Paper Tiger," the tension between domestic preservation and economic survival drives a harrowing descent into the criminal underworld, examining what remains of a family when the relentless pursuit of the American Dream collides with ruthless forces.
Set within the tight-knit, claustrophobic milieu of 1986 Queens, the film follows Gary Pearl (Adam Driver), a smooth-talking former cop, and his idealistic engineer brother Irwin (Miles Teller), whose attempt to capitalize on a lucrative business opportunity pulls them into a dangerous collision with the Russian mafia.
Through Gary and Irwin, the film details the uneasy transition from confident bravado to stark self-preservation, finding profound psychological depth beneath the mechanics of a high-stakes crime thriller. Driver and Teller balance swaggering machismo with raw vulnerability, anchoring a domestic core that is fiercely protected and quietly strained by Scarlett Johansson's unsentimental turn as Hester.
Though its premise recalls familiar crime narratives, "Paper Tiger" distinguishes itself through its uncompromising austerity, evocative period atmosphere, and a nuanced understanding of domestic collapse. More than a story about underworld fallout, it suggests that true destruction lies not in external threats, but in the impossible choices forced upon those we love.
Maika Monroe, Thomasin McKenzie, Jason Isaacs, Ruth Wilson; directed by Zachary Wigon
Expanding the constraints of traditional period dramas, Zachary Wigon's "Victorian Psycho" follows Winifred Notty (Maika Monroe), a cunning young governess whose arrival at the isolated Ensor House turns domestic service into a playground for stylized mayhem and quiet terror. Her unsettling assimilation transforms a familiar gothic setup into a sharper exploration of institutional rot, societal hypocrisy, and the explosive release of unbridled psychosis beneath the corset.
As the film's manic anchor, Monroe delivers a fierce, deadpan performance akin to a Victorian-era Patrick Bateman brought to life, balancing razor-sharp dark humor with a chilling, unhinged intensity. Surrounding her is a stellar supporting cast — including Jason Isaacs and Ruth Wilson as the eccentric heads of the estate, and Thomasin McKenzie as a fellow staff member — lending rich atmospheric unease to the carnage.
Wigon approaches the material with aesthetic confidence and kinetic energy, balancing macabre set pieces with wry, blood-soaked satire. Though its narrative mechanics occasionally struggle to ground its deeper social critiques and uneven pacing, "Victorian Psycho" remains a stylish, darkly entertaining gothic romp that finds wicked pleasure in puncturing the stiff decorum of the past.
Morfydd Clark, Charlie Vickers, Robert Aramayo, Ismael Cruz Córdova; created by J.D. Payne & Patrick McKay
Five years after the devastating fall of Eregion, Amazon Prime Video's sprawling fantasy adaptation returns with a narrative pivot that plunges Middle-earth directly into total, multi-front warfare. Showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay drop viewers in medias res as Sauron's armies consolidate power from the shadows of Barad-dûr, forcing fractured kingdoms, isolated dwarf halls, and embattled elven realms into desperate, survivalist alliances.
Morfydd Clark anchors the ensemble with an increasingly hardened, battle-worn Galadriel, whose emotional arc intersects with the long-awaited introduction of Jamie Campbell Bower as Celeborn. Charlie Vickers continues to drive the central tension as a chillingly methodical Sauron, while expanded storylines track Gandalf's (Daniel Weyman) path alongside new heavyweight additions like Eddie Marsan as Thrain and Zubin Varla as Khamûl.
Though its massive cross-continental canvas occasionally struggles to balance every competing subplot, "The Rings of Power" positions this new chapter as an unyielding, high-stakes descent into mythic catastrophe, inviting audiences into a sprawling conflict built around survival, corruption and the heavy price of resistance.
Keira Knightley, Ben Whishaw, Sarah Lancashire, Ambika Mod, Neve Campbell; created by Joe Barton
Netflix's razor-sharp British spy thriller series picks up as Helen Webb (Keira Knightley) walks an increasingly perilous tightrope — secretly funneling state intelligence while her husband, Wallace (Andrew Buchan), ascends to the office of Prime Minister. When a coordinated internal purge targets powerful handler Reed (Sarah Lancashire), Helen and her world-weary assassin partner Sam (Ben Whishaw) are dragged into a high-stakes conspiracy involving Russian oligarchs, international defense envoys, and dangerous new players like Ambika Mod's Laila and Neve Campbell's Cecile Mason.
Fueling the narrative is the magnetic chemistry between Knightley and Whishaw, whose performances balance lethal cold-blooded efficiency with deep, bruised vulnerability, as they navigate the widening chasm between domestic deception and operational violence.
Barton and directors Julian Farino and Kieron Hawkes approach the material with sleek aesthetics and pitch-black wit. In the end, Season 2 of "Black Doves" emerges as a stylish, fiercely unpredictable descent into the human cost of statecraft.
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