Holiday movie wish list: ‘Last Jedi’ and others

Just in case the area theaters are listening, I'm offering the following list of movies that I most want to see before the year is out:

"Lady Bird": After hitting the film-festival circuit, Greta Gerwig's film starring Saoirse Ronan about a young woman with a unique temperament was released on Nov. 3. Still waiting.

"Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri": Frances McDormand stars as a woman doing whatever she can to find the murderer of her daughter. The film by Martin McDonagh ("In Bruges") also played the festival circuit but opened in theater Nov. 10. Still waiting.

"The Disaster Artist" (11/25): This exploration of Tommy Wiseau and the making of his cult classic "The Room" will get a limited release. Let's hope that includes Spokane. My wife loves director/star James Franco.

"The Shape of Water" (12/1): Guillermo del Toro's latest stars Sally Hawkins who fights to free a mysterious water creature from the clutches of a sadistic government operative played by Michael Shannon.

"Star Wars: The Last Jedi" (12/15): Do I really have to add anything here?

"Downsizing" (12/22): Alexander Payne's latest stars Matt Damon and Kirsten Wigg who consider shrinking themselves so that they can live out their lives as four-inch tall beings. The idea could go any way, but Payne has proven capable in the past.

There are a few foreign-language releases I want to see, too. But we'll have to wait for the Magic Lantern to get them. Stay tuned.