A great movie title sets you up for a great moviegoing experience. Our introduction to the tale about to unfold, it can be clever, insightful or silly — but most crucially, it should be memorable. A tepid title blows that one chance to engage viewers from the first word. Here’s a rundown of some of this season’s more well-wrought titles — along with a few missed opportunities.

“A Real Pain,” by writer-director-star Jesse Eisenberg, sees him working opposite Kieran Culkin as his cousin, who’s obviously the real pain in question. Except that’s only part of the story. As the film progresses, we watch as they face their family’s tragic history, and their uncertain future, and the real pain deepens and becomes profound.

Earlier this year, screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes hit with his first produced screenplay, “Challengers,” directed by Luca Guadagnino. The title wraps itself coyly around its three tennis-star lead characters, aptly describing the personal and professional entanglements to come.

Star Nicole Kidman has said that as soon as she read the title “Babygirl,” from writer-director Halina Reijn, “I was like, ‘Right, that’s my film.’” The word can apply to someone of any age, or any gender, as she and all the kids know; “babygirl” is now a slang term of endearment for a cute, appealing man. Star Harris Dickinson is finding out that audiences seem to agree.

Love it or hate-watch it, “Saturday Night Live” altered the television landscape. With its title, the movie about the sketch series immediately claims “Saturday Night” as its own. Director Jason Reitman co-wrote the script with Gil Kenan, and they set the entire film on the first Saturday night the show aired, 50 years ago. An early exchange in the film has a young Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) explaining to a guard who won’t let him into the building that he’s the producer of “Saturday Night,” and the guard retorts, “Oh, the whole night?” Yeah, the whole night.

With its title, Jason Reitman’s “Saturday Night,” starring Gabriel LaBelle, left, Kaia Gerber and Cory Michael Smith, claims the night as its own.

(Hopper Stone/Sony Pictures)

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Writer-director Megan Park’s film “My Old Ass” stars Maisy Stella and Aubrey Plaza as the same character at different ages, the latter of whom possesses the ass in question. The irreverent title may have kept some people away, though, which is a shame, because it’s a delightful film. It’s also a lot of fun to tell someone, “You have to see ‘My Old Ass,’ it’s fantastic.” (It’s streaming on Prime Video.)

“September 5” is as assured and sober a piece of work as its title suggests. The entire film takes place on that date in 1972, at the Munich Olympics, a day that ought to live in infamy. No embellishment is necessary.

“September 5” is as assured and sober a piece of work as its title suggests. No embellishment is necessary.

(Jurgen Olczyk/Paramount Pictures)

Conversely, the title “Sabbath Queen” is giving humor, it’s giving religion, it’s giving queer joy. For over 20 years, documentarian Sandi DuBowski followed Amichai Lau-Lavie, a descendent of 35 generations of rabbis, as he evolved from radical faerie and drag queen (name: Hadassah Gross) to assuming the mantle of his forefathers.

Who even cares what “Nightbitch” is about? The title alone is worth a ticket. With that inventive, invented word, writer-director Marielle Heller (“Can You Ever Forgive Me”) lets us know from the get-go that a horror/comedy is about to commence.

The recently released “A Complete Unknown” was written by Jay Cocks with James Mangold, who also directed, and is based on the book “Dylan Goes Electric!” by Elijah Wald. Changing the title from the source material makes great use of Bob Dylan’s lyric to look at the early days of the legendary yet still enigmatic star.

“A Complete Unknown,” starring Edward Norton and Timothee Chalamet, makes great use of a Bob Dylan lyric to look at the early days of the legendary yet still enigmatic musician.

(Macall Polay / Searchlight Pictures)

Sequels, no matter how brilliant they are (I’m looking at you, “Inside Out 2”), need to do more than add a number. Did 1984’s lyrical title “Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo” teach us nothing? The only exception to this rule is “The Godfather: Part II.” But then look at “III.” No, wait, don’t.

And “Moana 2”? It was right there waiting for you: “Mo’ Moana.”

Ridley Scott revisits his old Coliseum stomping ground with “Gladiator II,” and yes, the Roman numerals are better than a “2,” because: Rome. But didn’t anyone think of “Gladiators,” plural? After all, Scott’s earlier triumph, “Alien,” was followed by its first sequel, “Aliens,” a breathtakingly elegant choice. “Dumb and Dumberer” is only slightly less brilliant.

Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal star in “Gladiator II,” a title that could have been more elegant.

(Aidan Monaghan/Aidan Monaghan)

We’re setting aside most franchises, since you have to dance with the IP that brung ya. But the musical “Wicked” has been broken into two films, the second of which is due next fall. The films are directed by Jon M. Chu, from screenwriters Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, based on the play (book by Holzman), which is based on the book by Gregory Maguire. That is way too much talent for the second installment to fall into the “Part Two” trap.

So congratulotions all around for the perfectly thrillifying “Wicked: For Good.”

Violence, corruption, cartels, kidnappings and drug runners. These are the negative stereotypes one thinks of when they think of the worst aspects of Mexico City. But for drug lord, Juan “Manitas” Del Monte (Karla Sofia Gascón) they are a way of life. Hell, he is the one responsible for it and profiting from it all. But it is time for a change of sorts.

Rita Mora Castro (Zoe Saldaña) is a brilliant yet unappreciated lawyer disillusioned with her career. After successfully defending yet another scumbag criminal, she is offered work from a new client, Manitas. Manitas has an odd request (well a demand) one which comes from having always felt like they were born into the wrong body. They want Rita to facilitate gender affirming surgery in secret so that they can begin a new life as a woman. With a huge payday in store, Rita throws her scruples to the wind and helps Manitas fake his death and find a doctor. Manitas is no more and so ‘Senora Emilia Perez‘ is born.

Four years later, Rita finally has the life and respect she always wanted, until Emilia comes back with another request, wishing to be reunited with Juan‘s wife Jessi (Selena Gomez) and children under the guise of being Manitas‘ wealthy cousin. While this farce works at first, it isn’t long before the past catches up to Emilia as they attempt to turn over a new leaf and right the wrongs of Mexico. But remember, Manitas was a violent drug lord after all…

One of the most lauded and awarded films of 2024 finally sees its Australian release in 2025. The second most nominated film in Golden Globe history went home with 4 wins including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and a Best Supporting Actress award for Saldaña. However, visionary filmmaker Jacques Audiard‘s genre bending story of redemption and crime has proven to be not without controversy at the same time.

Emilia Perez is a story with a lot of heart, a lot to say and honestly a lot of moralising. This has been called into question with a French filmmaker and a cast of foreigners telling a story with themes and subjects so important to Mexican people. Lack of local talent and Audiard’s admitted lack of research into context has been criticised. The Spanish dialogue which to an outsider simply reading subtitles might seem acceptable, may also seem off to those who can speak it fluently.

But looking past that, I can appreciate Audiard‘s originality and refusal to tell this story in any sort of conventional way. Often even if something doesn’t work, it’s still admirable for a filmmaker to take a chance. While praise has been heaped on Emilia Perez, I still believe that there’s many ways the film just doesn’t quite come together.

It seems ironic that a film entirely about finding your true self can be so lost in grasping an identity of its own. Is this a pop musical? A violent crime thriller? A family drama? A story of redemption or of being unable to truly change who you are deep down? It’s a little bit of everything, and so none of it really feels like it takes centre stage. 

The story of a violent drug lord trying to literally become a completely different person is a fascinating one. Gascón switches between the two personas impressively yet is never given a chance to play it as anything more than a bipolar transperson. Saldaña as well earns the acclaim which has come her way but ‘Rita‘ becomes lost amongst endless twists. The sanctimoniousness of her character looking down on the corruption of the elite as she wilfully takes money to whitewash and reinvent a drug kingpin feels unexplored.

This is all despite Emilia Perez‘ lengthy runtime and much of it is due to the film failing as a musical. Giving ‘Joker Folie à deux‘ a run for its money, Emilia Perez just seems to want to be a musical without figuring out how to make it work. While some musical scenes feature stunning choreography from Damien Jalet, others just have the cast reciting run on dialogue that’s set to a beat. Every time this occurs; it detracts from the film rather than enhancing it.

Imagine having a normal conversation which changes into a strangely structured and forced song and dance before suddenly going back to regular speech patterns. Sounds incredibly obnoxious and irritating, right? Well congratulations, you’ve grasped Jacques Audiard‘s approach to the musical genre!

Emilia Perez is considered by some to be one of the greatest films of the year. However, I found it to be an incredibly unlikable and grating experience. A hodgepodge of ideas rolled up into a mess of film genres and styles, one which is bold and not afraid to take chances, but not one which is successfully executed in any meaningful way.

Emilia Perez is in cinemas from January 16th.

Warning: This story contains spoilers from the season finale of “Landman.”

Billy Bob Thornton had a hunch that his latest series, “Landman,” would strike a chord with viewers. Like the blockbuster hit “Yellowstone,” the Western-flavored drama about a fixer for a Texas oil company fits comfortably in the Taylor Sheridan universe, anchored by the writer-producer’s distinctive flair for crusty, no-nonsense heroes and stories juiced by plenty of country music, sex and violence.

But even Thornton, who plays chain-smoking crisis manager Tommy Norris in the series, is overwhelmed by the impressive ratings of “Landman,” which aired its Season 1 finale on Sunday. After premiering in November, the series attracted 14.9 million households in its first four weeks, becoming the most popular original project on the Paramount+ streaming service.

“I’ve been in some iconic movies over the years where the response has been pretty big,” Thornton told The Times during a recent video call. “But I’ve never seen anything like this. I have people coming up to me every day, everywhere I go, reciting lines. We’re blown away by it, in other words.”

Although a decision on whether “Landman” will return has not been announced, Thornton said he was pleased with how the freshman season wrapped up.

The whirlwind finale features an onslaught of major developments. Monty Miller, the president of the M-Tex oil company played by Jon Hamm, dies of complications from a heart attack, but not before handing over the reins of the corporation to Norris. Miller’s widow, Cami (Golden Globe winner Demi Moore), who has been mostly on the sidelines, becomes more involved with the company. A gang of cartel thugs captures and tortures Norris. The episode also introduced Andy Garcia as Galino, a powerful and cunning cartel boss.

During the interview, Thornton, who continues to perform with his rock band, the Boxmasters, addressed the season and the finale, working with Sheridan and his thoughts about a possible second season.

Are you surprised at the reception of “Landman”?

We knew we were making something really special. We thought people would like it. But the response has been so much beyond what we thought. Traditionally, Taylor’s stuff is more of a middle-of-the-country kind of thing. But with this, it’s the middle of the country, the coasts and other countries, too. We’re humbled by that. When people come up and want to talk about it, it means a lot. There’s something very genuine about it. You can tell they’re not just handing a bill of goods because they’re in front of you.

What do you feel viewers are connecting to?

Taylor wrote a guy who has so much pressure on him. He’s got the world on his shoulders every day. Peace is not something that exists in his life. And Tommy is driven to succeed. He doesn’t to want to be seen as a failure for his boss, who ultimately passes. He is handed the torch. I don’t think he wants to be in that position but he knows he has to be, and he’s probably the right guy to do it.

Also, people have never had a peek behind the curtain of the oil business. Not since “Giant” have you ever seen a lot about the oil business. That movie really struck me, and I think people wanted to see the daily life of how this stuff works. I told someone the other day that “Landman” is “Giant” with cursing.

And they seem to enjoy your performance.

I’ve always believed in being natural and organic in a part, no matter what it is. Taylor wrote great dialogue. Every once in a while, I’ll throw one of mine in. My roles in “Goliath” and “Landman” I would call the right pair of shoes. They fit in the same world. I try to put myself in every character I play. If you’re playing yourself, it’s going to be a stronger performance. I feel very fortunate that Taylor thought of me.

There’s a lot to unpack in the finale.

I think Taylor wrapped up the season very nicely, while giving the show the possibility of carrying on. The greatest thing about the finale, in terms of my part in it, is that Tommy is facing the rest of his life. He is facing very serious reflection and having to examine his philosophical beliefs, who he is and how he fits into this world. He also introduced Andy Garcia’s character. It’s the calm before the storm, and there’s already been the storm.

What would you like to see if the show continued?

I would certainly hope that the family dynamic continues and deepens. I would also hope that we explore the weird position that Tommy is in with Andy’s character. Is he going home at night feeling guilty and wondering, “Am I in cahoots with criminals? I guess I am.” How is this going to work out? Tommy isn’t dealing with henchmen anymore. He knew how to deal with them. But now he’s got a smart guy on the opposite side of the law who is his equal. We’re in a chess match, and I hope that’s explored.