This Thanksgiving weekend, go watch a film!

As holiday movies go, Christmas and Halloween seem to dominate. But plenty of worthy holiday releases are playing in Philadelphia in time for Turkey Day. Whether you’re looking to bond with family or (maybe) just need a couple hours to yourself taking in a motion picture remains a reliable holiday tradition — especially for those who tire of a long weekend of wall-to-wall college football contests.

One thing about Rian Johnson’s 2019 thriller Knives Out: You could watch it with your parents. Its ensemble cast sparks flickers of recognition from boomer audiences — ”There’s Christopher Plummer! … That’s Jamie Lee Curtis! Is that the guy from Miami Vice?” — all wrapped inside a broadly entertaining whodunit structure. In this sequel, “gentleman sleuth” Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is back on the case, ingratiating himself among another who’s-who cast, including Ed Norton, Kate Hudson, and Ethan Hawke. Catch its limited theatrical run before producer Netflix dumps it to small screens.

Opens 11/23 in various cinemas.

Perhaps no American artist north of Norman Rockwell has been able to capture the spirit of nostalgic, all-American, suburban normalcy quite like Steven Spielberg. Now, the American cinema’s master showman turns his camera on himself, after a fashion. The Fabelmans lenses the coming-of-age of wunderkind filmmaker, who escapes into his cinematic pursuits as way of processing the divorce of his quarreling parents (Paul Dano and Michelle Williams). As Hollywood’s elder statesman, Spielberg can be permitted a little syrupy self-indulgence.

Now playing in various cinemas.

Writer/director James Gray (We Own the Night, Ad Astra) offers an un-nostalgic, anti-Spielbergian take on the bildungsroman with his latest. Set in Queens in the early 1980s, Armageddon Time filters issues of class, race, and assimilation through aloof adolescent Paul Graff (Banks Repeta), an aspiring artist and classroom troublemaker.

Alienated from his parents (Jeremy Strong and Anne Hathaway) but deeply connected to his ailing grandfather (Anthony Hopkins), the young Paul struggles with the responsibilities of his impending adulthood and the grim prospects of living a moral, adult life.

Consider it the bitter cranberry accompaniment to Spielberg’s more sumptuous spread.

Now playing in various cinemas.

There’s arguably no more all-American film than John G. Avildsen’s original Rocky. Philadelphians may have the Italian Stallion’s hard-luck story laced into their DNA, but the holidays are a great time to reconnect with the city’s favorite putty-faced bum (Sly Stallone) and root for his Alger-esque quest against the world heavyweight champion (Carl Weathers).

Also, the film’s Thanksgiving dinner sequence — which sees Talia Shire’s Adrian butting heads with her loser brother (Burt Young), resulting in a turkey being chucked out the window — hits home for anyone who has ever squirmed through an uncomfortable holiday meal.

Nov. 28, Bryn Mawr Film Institute, 824 W. Lancaster Avenue. brynmawrfilm.org.

Turkey. Pumpkin pie. Too much wine. Napping fitfully while watching sports. These are all worthy Thanksgiving traditions. Phoenixville’s historic Colonial Theater marks the holiday with its own perennial ritual: screenings of Monty Python’s 1975 Arthurian send-up. An absurd, riff on British medieval literature, the legendary comedy troupe’s first film remains their finest. (Or maybe it’s tied with Life of Brian, depending which Python nerd you ask.) This weekend, get reacquainted with King Arthur, Bravely Bold Sir Robbin, and that menacing knight who keeps lobbing off his own limbs accidentally. It’s probably the most British thing you can do at one of the most American of holidays.

Nov. 25-27, Colonial Theater, Phoenixville, 227 Bridge St., thecolonialtheatre.com

If the prospect of the Thanksgiving holiday — with its roiling undertones of whitewashed colonial violence — is enough to turn your stomach, consider RRR a bracing tonic.

This south Indian breakout from director S. S. Rajamoulli has dazzled global audiences, with its mélange of action, dance, and male friendship. Set in British-ruled India, RRR sees a muscly rural tribesman and a defiant Indian imperial policeman teaming up to take down their tyrannical British oppressors. Already a hit, this one-off screening offers the chance to catch one of the year’s most wildly entertaining pictures, packed with plenty of anti-colonial violence (a menagerie of wild animals attacking a British garden party and mauling pith-helmeted Englishmen is, somehow, one of the film’s tamer sequences).

7 p.m., Nov. 26, PFS Bourse Theater, 400 Ranstead St., filmadelphia.org.