Mike, Dave, and Darren suss out the forthcoming Avatar sequel, which needs to make approx $2 billion in order to break even, before getting down to Violent Night (David Harbour as a pissed-off Santa and a “transcendent” scene that acts as a hilarious corrective to the Home Alone house-defense sequence); RRR (an Indian action musical that’s “really over-the-top and well-staged,” with musical numbers that are “insanely good, insanely well-choreographed and fast and fun”); Sr (a Netflix documentary about Robert Downey Jr getting to know Robert Downey Sr, who died in 2021); Stutz (doc about Jonah Hill’s therapy with Dr Phil Stutz — better than it sounds); Causeway (an Aghan War vet played by Jennifer Lawrence which ”could have been better”); and All Quiet on the Western Front (an adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s 1929 novel about a German soldier’s experience in the First World War — “talk about ‘Violent Night’!” — that may well be an Oscar-winner when that hallowed event finally rolls around).

“Violent Night,” “RRR,” “Sr,” “Stutz,” “Causeway,” and “All Quiet on the Western Front”