Fairy tales, animated horror, military dramas, cannibal romance: What films to see or skip?

With a torrent of films released on or just before Thanksgiving, I’ve suddenly found myself in catch-up mode. And over the holiday weekend, I dove head first into all that I missed. What I discovered, I share with you below. Among these six offerings, are some must-see gems. But, be warned, there are also a couple of leftover turkeys. I leave it to you to decide:

'Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio' goes dark

In straying far from Carlo Collodi’s 1883 novel, Guillermo del Toro has cobbled together a much darker, more relevant boy of pine. In fact, it’s not wooden at all, as del Toro and stop-motion animator Mark Gustafson resuscitate the age-old tale and transform it into a moving parable encompassing love, grief and fascism. All that’s recognizable from Collodi’s original is woodcarver Geppetto (voiced by David Bradley) and his no-strings-attached “puppet boy,” Pinocchio (Gregory Mann), whose nose mysteriously grows each time he tells a fib. The script, penned by del Toro and Patrick McHale, is significantly more Grimm than Disney. But it’s also stirring in the manner in which it melds Collodi’s original idea with del Toro’s use of ghouls, fairies and alchemy as metaphors to illustrate his distaste for authoritarian leaders. In this case, it's Mussolini. And in that respect, “Pinocchio” is akin to del Toro’s masterpiece, “Pan's Labyrinth,” in which an imaginative child is subjected daily to war and death. It begins when Geppetto’s “real” son, Carlo, is killed in a church bombing. To alleviate the father’s debilitating grief, a sympathetic Wood Sprite (Tilda Swinton) gifts him Pinocchio, and the talking cricket, Sebastian (Ewan McGregor), residing in a hollow within the puppet’s torso. Initially, Geppetto rejects his pseudo-son. But the “boy” proves so sweet and kind that he relents, while also worrying that war will take this “son” as well. Like all del Toro works, “Pinocchio” is awash in horror and beauty. And it’s abetted by a terrific cast that also includes Christoph Waltz as an evil count; Cate Blanchett as the count’s much-abused chimp, Spazzatura; and Ron Perlman and Finn Wolfhard as depraved father-son followers of Mussolini. Observing Pinocchio goose-stepping in the count’s traveling revue is jarring, but give it time. By the finale, del Toro deftly converts sap to tears. See it on Netflix on Dec. 9. Grade: A-

'My Father's Dragon' is a don't-miss

Aware that “Pinocchio” may be a tad too unsettling for small fries, Netflix counterprograms with Nora Twomey’s lovely, deeply moving animated tale of a lonely boy realizing his value when he comes to the aid of an impossibly sweet dragon held captive on a sinking island. While the premise is a bit silly, Twomey ("The Secret of the Kells") and writer Meg LeFauve ("Inside Out") effectively evoke the soul of Ruth Stiles Gannett's 1948 fable of natural “enemies” coming together to accomplish great things. The little ones will likely miss the underlying themes of environmentalism, subjugation and stereotyping, but they’ll savor the colorful visuals and consistently adorable animals who want only one thing: to live. Every moment is utterly charming, albeit tinged with melancholy. As the voices of the boy and the childlike dragon, Jacob Tremblay and Adam Brody display a wonderful camaraderie. Their characters come to respect each other’s strengths and weaknesses. But it’s Ian McShane who steals the limelight as Saiwa, the wrong-headed gorilla whose fascist tendencies are meant with the best of intentions, as he pulls out all stops to reverse the fading hopes of the doomed critters residing on Wild Island. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you’ll be consistently awestruck by Twomey’s gorgeous story of love and friendship. See it on Netflix. Grade: A-

Pugh is a 'Wonder'

Director Sebastian Lelio does little to mask his ire for Catholicism while working from a script by Emma Donoghue ("Room") about a depressed Irish town hoping to survive the potato famine by exploiting for profit a teenage girl they claim to be a saint. To authenticate this “miracle” girl (a very good Kila Lord Cassidy) surviving months without a bite of food, the town’s all-male council hires a nun and a nurse in Florence Pugh’s Lib Wright to monitor her around the clock. Lelio (“Disobedience,” “Gloria”) continues his reverence for strong women through Pugh’s haunting portrayal of Lib, a stoic lady who does not suffer fools, which is attributive to just about everyone in this remote Irish village lacking not just for money and sustenance, but humanity. The one exception is a nosy journalist (Tom Burke) who rightly smells a rat. Or, should I say, bird? Lelio repeatedly exploits the metaphor of a caged creature longing to be free in telling a somewhat sordid tale that may involve not just chicanery, but also incest, rape and misguided beliefs in God and salvation. You’ll eat it up. See it on Netflix. Grade: B+

'Devotion':Glen Powell earns his wings as Fall River fighter pilot in military drama

'The Inspection' passes muster

Writer-director Elegance Bratton makes an impressive debut recounting the story of his rise from living on the streets to ranking among the few, the proud, the Marines. It’s an ascent made more difficult by the absence of support from a mother (Gabrielle Union) who disowns him because he’s gay. His fellow recruits aren’t so keen on his sexuality, either, singling out his alter-ego, Ellis French (a soulful Jeremy Pope), after discovering his “secret.” It’s an example of martyrdom at its finest, witnessing the kid doggedly fight to achieve his goal in the wake of emotional and physical abuse inflicted by his peers and his unrelenting drill sergeant (Bokeem Woodbine, excellent as always). At times, it plays like a recruiting campaign, but mostly, it’s a deeply moving treatise on what determination and perseverance can gain you, especially when you’re so down and defeated you have nothing left to lose. See it in theaters. Grade: B+

'Disenchanted' is a dud

If, like me, you were enchanted by 2007’s “Enchanted,” be prepared to be sorely disappointed by this straight-to-Disney+ sequel in which instead of popping out of a manhole, Giselle ‒ Amy Adams’ cartoon character come to life ‒ is swept into a sewer of bad writing and overly busy direction by “Hairspray’s” Adam Shankman. The script, by Brigitte Hales and J. David Stern, is essentially “Enchanted” in reverse, as Giselle, her lawyer hubby, Robert (Patrick Dempsey), and now-teenage stepdaughter, Morgan (Gabriella Baldacchino, taking over for Rachel Covey), depart the Upper West Side ‒ with a new baby in tow ‒ for a land called Monroeville. On a map, it looks like any ordinary suburb of NYC. But Shankman, taking the reins from Kevin Lima, imagines it as a realm of castle-like structures lorded over by the mother of all mothers, Malvina (Maya Rudolph, shamelessly camping it up). But when Giselle accidentally casts a spell that transforms Monroeville into a “real” fairyland, all hell breaks loose. The plot is as contrived and ridiculous as it sounds. Even the songs, again written by Alan Menken, are lifeless and pat. That it’s at all watchable is entirely due to Adams, whose clueless, but clever, Giselle is a sparkling delight. She, along with Rudolph and James Marsden, as Giselle’s former beau, Edward, seem to be the only actors in on the joke, having the time of their lives mocking every cliche in the annals of sexist Disney fairy tales. As for Dempsey and Idina Menzel as Edward’s new squeeze, Nancy, it’s not Monroeville, it’s Dullsville. Skip it on Disney+. Grade: C-

Movie review:In 'The Fabelmans,' Steven Spielberg gets personal

An unappetizing 'Bones and All'

Director Luca Guadagnino and his muse, Timothée Chalamet, toss us a daring change-up, venturing far from a gay, Italian romance in “Call Me By Your Name” to a story of cannibalistic teen lovers on the run across America's Heartland.  But daring is all it is, as Chalamet and Taylor Russell (of the excellent “Waves”) struggle to bite into David Kajganich's gory adaptation of a novel by Camille DeAngelis that ultimately suggests you are what you eat. Chalamet has never been better, but the movie belongs to Russell, whose Maren is in flux after her father ditches her in the wake of his debauched offspring chomping off a bestie’s finger. The story reeks of contrivance, as two magnificent-looking teens just happen to find each other. Make that “smell” each other, which is in keeping with the story’s premise that “eaters” emit a scent their brethren can detect a mile away. Advancing the ridiculousness is an over-the-top Mark Rylance as a looney toons eater who’s taken an unhealthy liking to Maren. Russell is very good as a very bad girl, somehow convincing you to root for a cold-blooded killer. But she’s powerless to attach meaning to a human-eat-human existence in a world that somewhat ironically frowns on cannibalism. Palatable, it’s not. Skip it in theaters. Grade: C

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: See or Skip? 'Pinocchio,' 'Bones and All,' 'The Wonder' and more