WHAT TO WATCH

The Marvels (in theaters) 

It’s been a long time since I’ve had this much fun at an MCU movie. 

“The Marvels,” the sequel to 2019’s “Captain Marvel,” is a delightful romp of a film as well as one of the best team-up movies the MCU has ever made. Though it struggles against the MCU’s current habit of burying half its backstory in streaming shows, there’s enough humor, action, and sheer charm here to make up for it. Add in enough real emotion to bring a tear to your eye, and you’ve got an adventure I’d be happy to go on again. 

The first lead of the movie is Captain Marvel, who has been superheroing around space since her last movie (which was set in the 1990s). The second is Monica Rambeau, who was a cute little girl in “Captain Marvel” and the agent who accidentally got superpowers from Scarlet Witch in the 2021 streaming series “WandaVision.” The third is Kamala Kahn, a teenager with powers and a magic bracelet who stars in the 2022 streaming series “Miss Marvel.”

The movie does everything it can to catch you up on what you might have missed, and more importantly, does a beautiful job establishing why you should care about these people. The interaction between the three women is the best part of the film, from the warm banter to the complicated fight scenes. They’re a mess sometimes, but you also trust that they’re completely capable of saving the universe. 

Add in Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury at his most entertaining, as well as Goose the alien cat, and Marvel fans will have a happy night at the theater. 

Grade: Three and a half stars

The Holdovers (in theaters)

If you like your holiday movies bittersweet, come spend the season with “The Holdovers.”

The latest from director Alexander Payne, the movie is the melancholy, occasionally funny, and ultimately tender story of misfits finding common ground with each other. Fans of the director might expect more biting commentary, but “The Holdovers” is more like 2011’s “The Descendants” in its humane exploration of grief, disappointment, and loss. Realizing you’re not alone doesn’t necessarily fix your pain, but sometimes it makes it easier to bear. 

The movie starts slow, partly because two of its main characters are the kind of people it’s not easy to warm up to. Paul Giamatti’s Paul is a professor who almost no one likes, and in return can’t stand either his students or fellow staff members. Domenic Sessa’s Angus is a student far better at making enemies than friends, his moments of kindness hidden by sarcasm and willfulness. 

They’re parallels in a way neither wants to realize at first. As the two slowly find common ground, however, a prickly sweetness emerges. It’s been a long time since either of them had someone, and no matter how annoying you are (or they are) there’s something profound about not feeling alone anymore. 

The real star, though, is Da’Vine Joy Randolph. As Mary, the school’s head cook who recently lost her son to war, Randolph brings an aching precision to the role that feels almost too profound for the movie around her. In a movie focused entirely on her, I’m quite sure she could bring me to my knees. 

This isn’t that movie, but there’s still a lot here to appreciate.

Grade: Three stars