What's on in November

Given the Jay’s incredible run in October, I haven’t got around to watching most of the things I highlighted in the October blog.  November is definitely going to be a catch-up month!

One of the recommended shows that I manage to start watching was The Pitt.  It’s a medical drama that takes place in the emergency department of Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center (a fictionalized hospital).  The entire season takes place over the course of a single 15-hour work shift with each episode covering a one-hour period of that day.  The show is fast paced, hard hitting as the staff deal with a frantic massively over-crowded and understaffed setting with patients (many who are in pretty bad shape) waiting for over eight hours to be seen.  As the story unfolds you quickly get to know the personalities of the doctors, residents, nurses and support staff as they do their best to deal with a wide variety of medical emergencies in a chaotic setting.  The character development is remarkably fast, with each character possessing qualities that helps you distinguish them apart and develop a quick attachment to them.  You are drawn into a rapid-fire series of emotionally difficult situations much like the staff are. As a viewer you experience momentary empathy for the characters in a particular scene, then you quickly are brought into another equally challenging situation where you are forced to set aside the emotions of the previous scene to attend to the current matter (much like medical staff need to do). The Pitt has won accolades for just how realistic their portrayal of the ER is. I was talking with a medical student friend of mine (also a subscriber to this blog!), who has worked in many hospital emergency departments, and he does concur that The Pitt does an excellent job capturing the intensity of the Emergency Room environment.  At the end of each episode, I feel pretty drained, but since most episodes end on a bit of a cliffhanger, there is a temptation to binge this show. Season 2 starts on January 6^th, so if you haven’t watched this show yet, this is a fine time to catch up on it.  In Canada, The Pitt is streaming on Crave.

Since we are heading into Oscar contender movie release time, I will be including the occasional take on some of the in-theatre movies we’ve recently seen.  Once again, just like the TV shows that are highlighted on this blog, the selection of, and opinions reflect my admittedly narrow focus of interest.  We went to see Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere on its opening weekend.  I really like Bruce Springsteen.  But admittedly it took me a little bit of time to really embrace his music.  Back in my high school days, I heard about this Springsteen guy coming on the scene. People were saying he was the new Dylan.  So, I picked up his new album at the time (Born to Run) expecting to hear a close variation of Dylan.  It was good (over time however that good evolved into an awesome) but he wasn’t Dylan and because of that initial expectation, it took me a bit of time to truly warm up to Springsteen. So, heading to the movie theatre last week to see Deliver Me from Nowhere, I was worried that I was going to re-live my high school dilemma all over again! I consciously tried not to compare the Dylan bio pic (A Complete Unknown) which I totally loved every moment of, to the Springsteen bio pic!  But as much as I tried, it was hard not to do that! Where a Complete Unknown landed you in an iconic time in history and grounded you in the events of that time, Deliver Me from Nowhere does not.  For much of Deliver Me from Nowhere I was uncertain where it was going. There seemed to be a bunch of story lines such as the hardship growing up, hanging out in the New Jersey bar and music scene, a relationship with a woman (who was a composite of many women Springsteen was with at the time), Springsteen dealing with depression, and the part of the  movie that was most compelling and interesting, the creative process that went into producing his album Nebraska. It showed how he stood up to record executives and did not compromise on his vision for this album. I kind of felt that the Nebraska story could have been the sole focus of the movie. Given that Nebraska was a huge departure from his previous albums and was released without the usual tour and promotions to support it, Nebraska was still a big success largely because its that good. I am a Springsteen fan, but I’m not a mega fan like many of my friends are.  So, I’m curious how they feel about this movie.  And as for me, just like Dylan coloured my original impression of Springsteen, will my opinion of this movie also change over time?

Nuremberg the movie is set to be released in Canada on November 7^th.  This historical drama that is based on the 2013 book by Jack El-Hai called the Nazi and the Psychiatrist chronicles the story of psychiatrist Douglas Kelley (played by Rami Malek) who was tasked with determining if Hermann Goring (played by Russell Crowe) was fit for trial at the Nuremberg Trials at the end of World War II.  The 1961 film Judgement in Nuremberg also portrayed this landmark moment in history.  That movie fictionalized characters in the various roles whereas the 2025 version of this movie portrays the actual people involved in the trial.  Much of the film focuses on Dr. Kelley’s attempt to understand Goring and how he and the other Nazi leadership were able to carry out such atrocities.  The film has received accolades for its acting and for tackling a hugely important issue, which given recent world events needs to remain top of mind.  At the same time, reviews suggest the movie does try to tackle too much, with the large number of characters portrayed making it a bit confusing and parts of the movie are said to be a bit slow moving. It is also important to note that at TIFF this fall Nuremberg did receive one of the longest standing ovations in the festival’s history. So, I am hoping, the positives outweigh these drawbacks and it is deserving of further discussion in an upcoming blog.

Merry Little Ex-Mas – November 12 on Netflix.  New Christmas movies are being released nearly every day during the month of November.  I am highlighting this particular one because my friend Stephen Levitt served as the Property Master on this film (the props guy).  The irony of this is that Stephen is one of the most Jewish-focused person I know.  So, I found it quite amusing that for many months last year Stephen was totally immersed in Christmas. I’m keen to watch this movie just to see how well Stephen did capturing the Christmas spirit and also to see if he managed to sneak something Jewish into a scene or two!

One to One -John & Yoko is a 2024 documentary. The film follows a couple of years which John Lennon and Yoko Ono spent in a Greenwich Village apartment while also tracing developments in American politics like the presidency of Richard Nixon and their opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War. It is centered around Lennon and Ono's "One to One" benefit concert for the children at Willowbrook.  This will be airing on HBO on November 14^th 8:00 pm and 11:00 pm and is available to rent on Apple +, Google, and Prime. 

A Man on the Inside Season 2 launches on November 20^th on Netflix.  This Season retiree-turned mole Charles Nieuwendyk (Ted Danson) goes undercover at a Liberal Arts College.  We enjoyed season one when Charles went undercover at a retirement home.  It’s a light and fun comedy and we’re hoping that season two brings more of the same.

That’s it for now.  Of course, your comments and shares are always welcome.  And check out some of the other blogs on roncollis.ca.