y UK coastguard urges people to stay home after increase in calls By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-05-09T15:16:18Z Meanwhile police in London say they’re ‘losing the battle’ as people gather in parks despite coronavirus clockdownCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe coastguard has urged the public not to ignore the government’s stay-at-home message after recording its highest number of distress calls in a single day since the lockdown began.The rescue service said it dealt with 97 incidents on Friday, more than half the daily average over the previous month. Continue reading... Full Article Coronavirus outbreak UK news
y ‘Of course I smoked marijuana!’ Elliott Gould on stardom, Streisand and Elvis Presley By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-04-20T05:00:03Z The star of M*A*S*H, The Long Goodbye – and more recently, Friends – talks about drugs, his fiery marriage to Barbra Streisand and getting his best reviews from Groucho Marx and Muhammad AliThe best review ever received by Elliott Gould – renowned actor and star of M*A*S*H and The Long Goodbye; not to mention, Ross and Monica’s dad on Friends – was from Groucho Marx. The two of them had become close in the comedian’s latter years – so close, Gould says, “he used to let me shave him”. One day Marx asked Gould to change a lightbulb in his bedroom. Gould took off his shoes, stood on the bed and replaced the broken bulb. Marx told him: “That was the best acting I’ve ever seen you do.”Gould, now 81, has been telling the story for decades – but it is clear even in our pixelated video call that it still delights him. “Isn’t that great?” he says, his distinctive nasal, New York baritone now deepened with age. As we speak he is sitting at a computer at a friend’s house in Los Angeles, relaxed in a blue hoodie, with a seemingly bottomless mug of coffee before him. In isolation on either side of the Atlantic, neither of us has anywhere to be. And after more than half a century in Hollywood, in which he went from leading man to exile and, eventually, fixture – Gould could fill days, not just hours, with his stories. Even without his eight-year marriage to Barbra Streisand. Continue reading... Full Article Film Culture Friends Barbra Streisand Television & radio
y Hayley Squires: 'Who do I most admire? Two friends who work for the NHS' By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-04-25T08:30:40Z The I, Daniel Blake star on her parents’ generosity, working in a call centre and her love of ice-creamBorn in London, Squires, 32, studied at Rose Bruford College in London. She starred in the Ken Loach film, I, Daniel Blake in 2016, earning a Bafta nomination and winning most promising newcomer at the British Independent Film awards. Her West End debut in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof followed in 2017. Her television work includes The Miniaturist and Collateral; in the autumn she will play the lead in the Channel 4 drama, Adult Material.What is your greatest fear?Snakes. Continue reading... Full Article Life and style Hayley Squires Channel 4 Theatre Ken Loach Culture Stage Film
y Gael García Bernal: 'The pandemic has taught me that I need something to say' By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-05-01T05:00:15Z He’s played a revolutionary hero, a horny teen – now Gael García Bernal is a reptilian choreographer in Ema, and locked down in Mexico city. Just don’t ask him to move to LA when all this is overAt the start of the century, the director Alfonso Cuarón was casting Y Tu Mamá También, the bawdy but plangent road movie he had written with his brother Carlos about two oversexed Mexican teenagers, the wealthy Tenoch and his poorer, grungier friend Julio. “Alfonso called me very excitedly,” recalls Carlos Cuarón. “He said: ‘I know who’s going to play Julio! I’ve seen him in Alejandro’s movie.’” Alejandro González Iñárritu, that is, whose ferocious dog-fighting drama Amores Perros was about to be released. “I said: ‘No, no, I’ve found Julio; I saw the perfect actor in this short film, De Tripas, Corazón. He’s incredible: his eyes, the way he manages silence ...’”Eventually, the brothers realised they were talking about the same person: Gael García Bernal, who was then just 21. The son of theatre actors, he had become a star in his early teens on the Mexican soap opera El Abuelo y Yo (Grandpa and I) before decamping to London to study at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Iñárritu plucked him out mid-term for Amores Perros and he stole that movie as the twitchy-hipped tearaway who was every bit as feral as his champion rottweiler. His mutable features could switch from cherubic to lupine to gravely smouldering; his nerve endings felt exposed like frayed electrical wires. Continue reading... Full Article Film Gael Garcia Bernal Culture
y Tracee Ellis Ross: 'As a kid, singing was too scary a dream' By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-05-02T08:00:18Z She’s acted, modelled, worked with Kanye West and Drake. But the Black-ish star didn’t dare follow her mother, Diana Ross – until nowThere is a strange noise coming from Tracee Ellis Ross’s Los Angeles garden. Hang on, she says, looking away from her computer screen to the window with an alarmed expression. “I’m just going to go check that out. Stand by!”If this were a horror movie, then the stylish woman disappearing into the distance would never come back. But it isn’t a horror movie, it’s a Zoom interview, and Ross, a Golden Globe-winning actor best known for her role in the US sitcom Black-ish, is talking to me from the sunny living room of her home. Or at least she was; right now, I’m staring at a fiddle-leaf fig tree and a comfortable-looking couch. Continue reading... Full Article Film Culture Television Television & radio Diana Ross
y Giving millionaires the boot: why Cahiers du Cinéma editors quit en masse By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-02-28T17:48:17Z Staff of the magazine that kicked off the French New Wave say its new elite owners pose a threat to editorial independenceThe mass resignation of the staff of Cahiers du Cinéma, the film journal that launched the French New Wave, has reignited debate in France about the possibility of critical independence in a society whose major stakeholders frequently operate in several spheres.On Thursday, the 15 staff writers and editors announced their resignation, saying they believed its new owners posed a threat to the magazine’s cherished independence. Continue reading... Full Article Film industry France Magazines Newspapers & magazines Media Paris World cinema
y Meghan Marvel: which superhero should the duchess play? By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-03-02T12:32:59Z A princess seeking revenge after her royal privileges are revoked? A drifter trying to get away from her awful father? Or maybe a guardian of Captain Britain?Now that Meghan Markle has had her royal purse strings cut, the time has come for her to prove that she is capable of making a living on her own merits. And, ever the everywoman, it has been reported that Markle’s first step is exactly the same one that we’d all make upon finding ourselves suddenly short of money – she has instructed her agent to find her a role in a superhero film.At this point it’s best to assume that she’s looking for something more substantial than her pre-royal movie career offered; she won’t want a made-for-TV superhero movie, or to appear in a single scene of a larger film as a nameless woman whose only purpose in the universe is to give the middle-aged leading man something to absent-mindedly flirt at. So, who should she play? Luckily, as crowded as the superhero genre currently is, there is still plenty of untapped potential for her. Here are my suggestions. Continue reading... Full Article Superhero movies Meghan Duchess of Sussex Film Culture Action and adventure films Monarchy Prince Harry Marvel DC Comics Comics and graphic novels
y Gwyneth Paltrow said starring in Shallow Hal was a 'disaster' – here’s why she is right By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-03-02T17:10:48Z The actor said wearing a fat suit for the 2001 movie taught her what it is like to be humiliated as an obese person. Why are TV and film characters so rarely treated with dignity and respect?‘Disaster” is how Gwyneth Paltrow has summed up her role in the 2001 film Shallow Hal, which will surprise few people who have actually seen it. Jack Black plays Hal, a man so shallow he has to be hypnotised in order to date a fat woman, who, through his boggled eyes, he sees as a very thin woman.The nastiness of Shallow Hal, which has long appalled critics and fans alike, was front and centre in the trailer, where Hal’s friend attempts to “rescue” him from speaking to a fat woman, Rosemary, who is, in fact, willowy Paltrow dressed in a fat suit. But because he cannot see what she looks like, he falls for her “inner beauty”. It is an uncomfortable mix – a film that pretends to preach body acceptance while simultaneously inviting laughter at bodies that don’t fit into jeans size six and under. Take the scene where she is called a “rhino”, or the one where she cannonballs into a swimming pool causing a tidal wave. The message built into the script’s DNA is simple: fat is funny; it is OK to laugh at fat people. Continue reading... Full Article Gwyneth Paltrow Film Obesity
y Max von Sydow: an aristocrat of cinema who made me weep | Peter Bradshaw By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-03-09T17:04:28Z From his fateful game of chess to a moving turn in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Von Sydow was the last standard bearer of Bergman’s high-minded movie idiom•Max von Sydow dies aged 90•A life in picturesThe opening of the seventh seal in the Book of Revelation, disclosing the truth of God’s existence and the second coming, will result in a mysterious silence in the kingdom of heaven – then the sound of trumpets and the thunderous uproar of Earth’s apocalyptic ending. In the movies, no actor has ever represented these ideas more seriously, nor shown humanity’s anguish in the face of God’s implacable silence or unassuageable anger more clearly, than Max von Sydow. He was virtually a book of revelation in himself.The passionate severity of Von Sydow – and his ability to impersonate the ascetic nobility of some impossibly remote priestly or knightly order but with very human flaws – formed the bedrock of Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal and the staggering series of films he was to make with Bergman in the 1950s and 1960s. Beyond that, he virtually epitomised an entire, distinctively high-minded attitude to cinematic art in Europe. His films for Bergman were composed in a movie idiom that drew on Ibsen and Strindberg, Sjöström and Dreyer – and of which, since Bergman’s death in 2007, Von Sydow could be said to be the final standard bearer. Continue reading... Full Article Max von Sydow Film Culture The Exorcist Ingmar Bergman William Friedkin Hannah and Her Sisters Woody Allen Julian Schnabel The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
y Reports of the death of the film industry have been greatly exaggerated By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-04-14T06:00:34Z Hollywood loves a good comeback, and post-coronavirus will be no exception, writes costume designer Kristin M BurkeCoronavirus and culture – a list of major cancellationsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageMany events have killed the film industry: the 1918 influenza epidemic, the second world war, the invention of television, the invention of VCRs, the invention of the internet, 9-11, strike after strike after strike. And yet, like a phoenix, it rises, every time stronger than before. The appetite for its product is insatiable especially in times of political trouble and uncertainty about the future. People want to escape. They want to be entertained.The way we make movies most certainly must change. In the best of circumstances, we are a crew of 75 people jammed into a room with very little ventilation, holding our breath until we hear “CUT”. We are in close contact with one another all day long. We never really thought about it before. All of that is about to change. Film sets usually function as big families, and moving forward, that family unit will take on a stronger, protective meaning. This is how we self-regulate in the post-pandemic era. Continue reading... Full Article Film Film industry Culture Business Coronavirus outbreak
y Tender and honest, Tigertail is a beacon of hope in today's tide of anti-Asian bigotry | Georgina Quach By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-04-15T09:24:22Z Alan Yang’s film about the lack of understanding between generations strikes a chord, and is so relevant as coronavirus racism spreadsRead all the Lockdown watch films hereThe best arts and entertainment during self-isolationInflamed by President Trump’s casual phrase “Chinese virus”, anti-Asian sentiment is erupting all over the world. As a British-Vietnamese person who has been spat on because of the colour of her skin, the film Tigertail is a glimmer of hope – a way of showing the truth, and connecting Asian communities at a time when panic and misinformation serve to break us apart. Alan Yang’s multi-generational love story Tigertail weaves in Yang’s cultural self-discovery and features memories of Taiwan, as experienced by the protagonist Pin-Jui. Weighted against the present tide of anti-Asian bigotry, this tender story about honesty and lost love is more relevant than ever.“American culture has been negligent in portraying Asian-American people as fully realised human beings,” Yang told the Deadline podcast. Yang, who worked on Parks and Recreation before co-creating Master of None, recalled the trepidation he felt in the early days of his career, in a cultural landscape where east Asians were rarely represented, or stereotyped as hardworking automatons. Yang said he had felt restricted to using only white characters in his early pilots, fearing that all-Asian or Asian-American scripts would never be accepted. But this was before the film successes of Crazy Rich Asians, The Farewell and Parasite brought real Asian faces to mainstream culture. Continue reading... Full Article Film World cinema Taiwan Drama films Race World news Culture Asia Pacific Coronavirus outbreak Donald Trump US news Vietnam
y You, in your bedroom, with your laptop. That's not the future of film festivals | Peter Bradshaw By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-04-28T10:50:27Z In the wake of Covid-19, We Are One: A Global Film Festival is taking the experience online. But cinema is a bigger encounterEvery year, at Cannes (and other festivals) there’s a plaintive argument about what Cannes (or other festivals) are really all “about”. Some Savonarola-type person will dash the glass of rosé out of your hand, throw your canape into the Med and tell you Cannes is not about red-carpet narcissism, not about stars preening in the flashbulb glare of celeb-worship, not about L’Oréal sponsorship, not about getting drunk at a million late-night parties. It’s about the movies, about cinema itself.Of course. And that’s what the new Covid-19-related We Are One: A Global Film Festival appears to offer: the 10-day online festival, beginning 29 May, curated by Jane Rosenthal of the Tribeca film festival, featuring arthouse films (though not the big-ticket Hollywood items) from Cannes, Venice, Berlin and many more, streaming for free in return for an optional donation to the World Health Organization’s Covid-19 fund. So there you have it. A festival with all the frills and extras and flummeries stripped away. Just you, in your bedroom, with your laptop, communing with cinema. Isn’t that what it’s all about? Continue reading... Full Article Film Festivals Cannes film festival Venice film festival Tribeca film festival Culture Coronavirus outbreak World news YouTube Technology
y Oscars on demand: will the Academy be able to put the streaming genie back in the bottle? By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-04-29T15:25:40Z With cinemas closed and major titles delaying their release, the Academy has changed its rules to welcome some streaming titles. Will they regret it?‘What about the Oscars?” might not be the question at the top of your mind as you consider the manifold uncertainties raised by the coronavirus pandemic. A Hollywood awards ceremony scheduled for the end of February 2021, one might think, has fewer immediate concerns than most cultural institutions do right now. Yet panic has been rising within the Academy: the show itself may go on, but with cinemas closed for the foreseeable future and dozens of major titles either rescheduling or indefinitely delaying their release dates, will it have have enough standout films to celebrate?For some weeks now, the joke around the industry has been that Leigh Whannell’s hit psychothriller The Invisible Man – one of the few popular and critical successes to be released in the year’s early months – may as well collect its gongs now. But a crucial rule change announced on Tuesday by Academy CEO Dawn Hudson and president David Rubin has ensured that it will face some competition after all, even if its rivals never see the inside of a cinema. Continue reading... Full Article Oscars Film industry Awards and prizes Culture Film
y Gladiator at 20: how Ridley Scott's epic rejuvenated the historical blockbuster By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-05-04T08:00:15Z The Oscar-winning sword-and-sandals Russell Crowe vehicle refreshed old cliches, before ushering in a spate of copycats “Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?” the creepy pilot asks the small boy in Airplane!. To younger audiences, the joke no longer makes any sense. In Airplane!’s day, sword-and-sandals movies had become an outdated, unwittingly homoerotic joke. But then came Gladiator, and the joke was on us. Released 20 years ago this month, Ridley Scott’s Roman epic gave the old cliches a new lease of life. It was all here: Colosseum action! Rippling man-flesh! Tigers! But Gladiator had its cheesecake and ate it. It served up crowd-pleasing spectacle and airline-ad visuals but also solemn, Oscar-worthy drama (and, in retrospect, a fair degree of camp). Related: The Guide: Staying In – sign up for our home entertainment tips Continue reading... Full Article Gladiator Film Culture
y The trial of Harvey Weinstein – podcast By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-01-21T03:00:44Z Ed Pilkington looks ahead to Weinstein’s court battle where he faces charges of rape and sexual assault, which he denies. And Jamie Grierson on why counter-terror police have listed Extinction Rebellion as a ‘key threat’The film producer Harvey Weinstein will stand trial this week in New York City accused of five charges, including rape and sexual assault. Weinstein denies all allegations. The trial, expected to last about six weeks, will focus on the witness accounts of two alleged victims who claim they were assaulted by Weinstein. The Guardian’s Ed Pilkington has been in court for the jury selection process in which 2,000 potential jurors were whittled down to 12 who will decide Weinstein’s fate. He tells Anushka Asthana that the case will cause a sensation in the US and around the world, but that it should not be seen as #MeToo on trial. Continue reading... Full Article Harvey Weinstein Rape and sexual assault #MeToo movement Extinction Rebellion UK security and counter-terrorism Film US crime
y Zoe Brock: my case against Harvey Weinstein – podcast By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-01-22T03:00:13Z Like dozens of women in the entertainment industry, the actor, model and writer Zoë Brock has claimed she had a traumatic encounter with the film producer Harvey Weinstein. Now she is faced with a settlement offer that she believes would allow him to escape blame for the alleged assaults. Also today: Lily Kuo on the spread of the deadly coronavirus in ChinaThe actor, model and writer Zoë Brock was on a retreat in the New Zealand bush in 2017 when an email pinged into her inbox. It was from a friend sending a link to a breaking news story of allegations against Harvey Weinstein. The claims from several women against the film producer were eerily familiar to an incident that Brock alleges happened to her.This week, Weinstein goes on trial charged with rape and sexual assault. But for dozens of women with claims against him, their only recourse is to civil courts. Brock tells Anushka Asthana that while she is part of the class action suit against Weinstein, she is deeply unhappy with the terms of the proposed settlement, which she believes would allow him to accept no blame for the allegations. Continue reading... Full Article Harvey Weinstein Film US crime US news
y Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas: his most memorable roles – video By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-02-06T02:51:50Z Kirk Douglas, Hollywood legend and star of Spartacus, has died aged 103. Douglas was nominated for three Oscars and his extensive filmography includes Paths of Glory, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Lust for Life. The Hollywood legend's death was announced by his son, fellow actor Michael DouglasKirk Douglas, Hollywood legend and star of Spartacus, dies aged 103 Continue reading... Full Article Kirk Douglas Film Culture
y Why are the Oscars still so white? – podcast By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-02-07T03:00:00Z Following a strikingly white and male list of Bafta nominees, this year’s Academy Awards shortlists are barely more diverse. It’s a chronic problem in an industry running out of excuses for its slow pace of change. Lanre Bakare examines why the Oscars are still so white. Plus: Joan E Greve on a hectic week of US politicsWhen the lists of nominees for the major film awards in 2020 were announced, there was, once again, a glaring anomaly. Not a single person of colour was nominated in the Bafta acting categories, while the Oscars managed only Cynthia Erivo for her part in Harriet. It is an issue that the industry is well aware of: in 2015, the ceremony saw #OscarsSoWhite trending on Twitter, while actors such as Eddie Murphy were rebuking the academy from the stage back in the 1990s. So what explains the glacial pace of change? Guardian arts and culture correspondent Lanre Bakare tells Anushka Asthana that there have been plenty of false dawns over the years in the quest for greater diversity. Continue reading... Full Article Oscars 2020 Oscars US politics World news US news Film Culture Race
y Why are period dramas so white? - video By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-03-10T16:00:56Z Have you ever noticed that in film and on TV, period dramas tend to have almost entirely white casts? It’s almost as if, at least in film and TV land, black people do not feature in British history at all. The Guardian’s Josh Toussaint-Strauss finds out how accurate costume dramas are in terms of racial diversity, and looks into the reasons why period dramas might get whitewashed Continue reading... Full Article Film Period and historical films Period drama (TV) Julian Fellowes Armando Iannucci Media
y Circus of Books review – tender doc about family life and gay porn By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-04-17T08:00:09Z An affectionate and absorbing documentary from film-maker Rachel Mason about her devout parents, who ran a famous adult bookstore in early-80s LA Here is a documentary with an absorbing and unexpectedly complicated story to tell, whose paradoxes and sadnesses are not entirely resolved by the end. Artist and film-maker Rachel Mason has created an affectionate portrait of her elderly parents, Karen and Barry, who in many ways are like one of the (fictional) old couples in When Harry Met Sally.Karen is a former journalist, devoutly Jewish, and Barry is a former special visual effects engineer who worked on Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 and invented a modification for kidney dialysis machines. But they found themselves in a tough financial spot in the early 1980s and took over Circus of Books, a gay porn bookstore in Los Angeles that also sold movies called things like Confessions of a Two Dick Slut and Don’t Drop the Soap, and was one of Larry Flynt’s first distribution points. Under their shrewd management, the store boomed, opened another branch and became a well-known meeting place for LGBT people, while all the time, the Masons were a conventional family who kept their three children well away from the business. Karen movingly – and honestly – recounts how upset she was to discover that one of her sons was gay: the business and family life were that separate. Continue reading... Full Article Documentary films Booksellers Sexuality Pornography Los Angeles Film Culture Older people Magazines LGBT rights Family Books Media Society US news Retail industry Life and style
y Beastie Boys Story review – Spike Jonze and the boys are back in town By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-04-20T16:00:39Z Ad-Rock and Mike D host a convivial trip down memory lane in this filmed record of a live show staged in tribute to third member Adam YauchThe release of this documentary coincides with #MeAt20, a heart-twisting craze on social media for posting pictures of yourself at 20 years old. Middle-aged people’s timelines are speckled with funny, sweet and sometimes unbearably sad images of themselves in unlined, unformed youth, doing goofy things in milky analogue pictures from back when you had 12 or 24 exposures on your roll-film camera and getting them developed at Boots was a pricey business. That’s what I thought of while watching this engaging, oddly moving film from Spike Jonze: a record of the live stage show he devised at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, New York, in tribute to white hip-hop stars and tongue-in-cheek party-libertarian activists the Beastie Boys. It is presented by the two surviving members, Adam Horovitz and Michael Diamond, in tribute to the third member, Adam Yauch, who died of cancer in 2012. Jonze is reuniting with the band after having directed a string of their music videos, including the crime-TV spoof for their single Sabotage in 1994.Horovitz and Diamond amble on stage, apparently dressed head-to-toe in Gap, and appear for all the world to be about to unveil the iPhone 4S, although actually their jokey anecdotalism makes the show in some ways like the regional tours once presented by George Best and Rodney Marsh. With amiably rehearsed back-and-forth banter, they introduce the embarrassing photos and excruciating TV clips that are shown on a big screen. And the effect of seeing them juxtaposed with the plump-faced frizzy-haired imps of 1986 is startling and bizarre. In the present day, the advancing years seem to have boiled away the badass attitude, leaving behind the quirky humour. Continue reading... Full Article Documentary films Film Music documentary Spike Jonze Beastie Boys Music Culture Rap Hip-hop
y The Willoughbys review – imaginative animated Netflix adventure By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-04-20T15:46:27Z A manic pre-summer caper skirts near dark territory but remains a mostly kid-friendly tale of an unusual familyA year after Sony’s wonderfully inventive Into the Spider-Verse became the first non-Pixar/Disney/Dreamworks film to win the best animated feature Oscar since 2011, the race was again populated by outliers. Frozen 2 was snubbed and instead Laika crept back into the spotlight with Missing Link (after winning the Golden Globe) and Netflix snuck in with two originals – Klaus and I Lost My Body – marking the streamer’s first time breaking into the pack. While Toy Story 4 might have ultimately won out, the lineup continued to reflect both a widening field and an embrace of more left-field choices, a much-needed jolt of energy in what used to be a two-horse race. Related: Trolls World Tour review – eyeball-frazzling sequel offers same again Continue reading... Full Article Animation in film Film Netflix Culture Comedy films Comedy Ricky Gervais
y Extraction review – hokey, high-octane action thriller By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-04-22T15:00:48Z Chris Hemsworth plays a super-tough mercenary on an all-guns-blazing mission to rescue a crime lord’s kidnapped sonSadly, this has nothing to do with dentistry. Extraction is a made-for-Netflix action thriller from veterans of the Marvel Comic Universe – screenwriter Joe Russo, stunt-specialist-turned-director Sam Hargrave and star Chris Hemsworth. It’s based on the graphic novel Ciudad (which Russo co-authored), transferring the action from the Paraguayan city of Ciudad Del Este to Dhaka in Bangladesh.Extraction is a little bit hokey and absurd, and the very end has an exasperating cop-out – but it has to be admitted that, in terms of pure action octane, Russo and Hargrave bring the noise, and there are quite a few long-distance “sniper” scenes in which people get taken out from miles away as the bullet travels through their skulls with a resonant thoonk. Continue reading... Full Article Action and adventure films Netflix Film adaptations Chris Hemsworth Culture Marvel Books Film Comics and graphic novels Thrillers (film) Drama films
y Blood Quantum review – grimy zombie horror offers intriguing twist By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-04-29T07:10:09Z A visually distinctive, semi-effective Canadian thriller pits a First Nation community against a zombie invasion Given how movies about the undead refuse to die, a tweak on what’s become a decaying formula is always a welcome surprise, especially if said tweak involves a little more than “what about zombies but strippers”. Back in the 60s, and at rare times since, the zombie subgenre has been used as a way of sneaking social commentary into horror, the set-up of an invading force destroying a community allowing for a range of sly metaphors. Related: 'I'm indigenizing zombies': behind gory First Nation horror Blood Quantum Continue reading... Full Article Horror films Zombies Culture Film Thrillers (film)
y A Secret Love review – moving portrait of two women's 60-year romance By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-04-29T13:00:16Z This heartwarming documentary traces the lives of a baseball star and her partner, now in their 90s, who pretended to be ‘just good friends’ for decadesThis documentary from Netflix is a real heart-soother. Directed with tremendous sensitivity and intimacy by Chris Bolan, it’s a love story about two women now in their 90s – Terry Donahue and Pat Henschel, who have been together since the 1940s.For decades they kept up the pretence of being “just good friends” to their families before finally coming out a few years ago. Talking to outsiders, they still describe each other as “cousins”. The legacy of shame and fear among older people in the gay community is explored in the film, but the overwhelming mood here is love. Continue reading... Full Article Documentary films Film Netflix Baseball Culture Media Sport World news Sexuality LGBT rights
y Dangerous Lies review – diverting yet dopey Netflix thriller By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-04-30T13:00:20Z A ridiculously titled film about a couple who stumble upon a stash of money is absurd and cliched but mostly entertainingOne of the most surprising reveals of last October’s unprecedented Netflix data dump was the astounding popularity of cheap psycho-thriller Secret Obsession. While the streamer proudly touted new films from Alfonso Cuarón, Paul Greengrass and the Coens in the same period, it was a no-star, dim-plotted slab of schlock that netted more viewers, with an estimated 40m households eager to find out just how secret that obsession really was. Modelled after a Lifetime TV movie (with a Lifetime TV director at the helm), it was an important victory for Netflix because it revealed a substantial audience for tiny-budgeted thrillers with generic titles, a bracket they could easily fill at little expense. Related: The Half of It review – charming Netflix teen comedy takes on Cyrano Continue reading... Full Article Thrillers (film) Film Netflix Culture
y The Half of It review – charming Netflix teen comedy takes on Cyrano By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-04-30T06:15:13Z A talented trio of young actors enliven a familiar yet engaging tale of a queer love triangle at high schoolThere’s a satisfying ease to Netflix high school comedy The Half of It, a charming twist on the Cyrano de Bergerac formula that deserves slightly more attention than most of the streamer’s other made-to-order sleepover pics. A teen market that had been underserved by studios has now been exhaustively cornered by the company but often without much care or inventiveness, a conveyor belt of content that prioritises quantity over quality. It’s refreshing then to see a film such as this emerge from the same production line, slickly ticking all the same boxes but with a noticeable uplift in enthusiasm, grafting its own identity on to the boilerplate format. Related: Never Have I Ever review – Netflix teen series slowly finds its voice Continue reading... Full Article Comedy films Comedy Culture Film Netflix Romance films
y All Day and a Night review – stylish Netflix father-son crime drama By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-05-01T08:20:19Z Moonlight’s Ashton Sanders gives a compelling lead performance as a young man trying to escape his father’s shadowIt’s an unusually stacked week for new films on Netflix (one they might regret when pre-pandemic content starts to dry up) with a teen comedy, a B-thriller and a romantic documentary all launching before the weekend, a feast for viewers at home but a glut that could overshadow one of their finer offerings quietly releasing alongside. All Day and a Night, a tough-minded drama from Black Panther co-writer Joe Robert Cole, might not be quite worthy enough for their awards slate (although it’s a damn sight more compelling than The Two Popes …) but it’s a step up from what one might expect of an unhyped May movie from the streamer. Think of it as a classier boutique release, deserving of a higher shelf placement. Related: The Half of It review – charming Netflix teen comedy takes on Cyrano Continue reading... Full Article Drama films Film Culture
y UK cinemas lobbying government for June reopening By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-05-06T12:30:14Z The UK Cinema Association aims to resume business before July release of Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster Tenet, as studios and distributors scramble to protect theatrical business model The UK cinema industry is understood to be lobbying the government to approve a proposed reopening scheme that would see venues welcome customers by the end of June.Phil Clapp, the chief executive of the UK Cinema Association said: “We’ve made representations to government on the safeguards which UK cinemas would look to have in place for audiences and staff alike upon re-opening, and have asked that consideration be given – with these in mind – to allow cinemas to open by the end of June.” Continue reading... Full Article Film industry Film Culture Business Christopher Nolan Universal Pictures
y Andy Serkis to read The Hobbit nonstop to raise money for the NHS By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-05-07T09:54:51Z The actor, best known for playing Gollum in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films, will read the entire JRR Tolkien novelAndy Serkis is to give a continuous, live reading of The Hobbit – lasting around 12 hours – in aid of charity. The actor, best known as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films, will read the entire book from start to finish with no breaks.Money raised from the performance will be split equally between NHS Charities Together and Best Beginnings. Continue reading... Full Article Film Andy Serkis The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey JRR Tolkien Culture Books
y 'First petri dish': Sundance film festival may have been Covid-19 incubator By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-05-07T11:21:49Z The Hollywood Reporter says numerous attendees returned from the late-January festival with coronavirus symptomsA new report suggests that January’s Sundance film festival, the annual gathering of cinephiles in Park City, Utah, may have been a key early hub for coronavirus in the US. The article, in the Hollywood Reporter, cites numerous attendees who experienced Covid-19-like symptoms either during or immediately after the festival. None were believed to have been tested for the disease.Sundance this year attracted about 120,000 people to the small mountain resort, to watch films and party in confined spaces. The snowy conditions that make Park City perfect for skiing mean that socialising indoors is common, as are some flu-like symptoms as a result of the low temperature and high altitude. Continue reading... Full Article Sundance 2020 Film Culture Sundance film festival Festivals Utah US news World news Coronavirus outbreak Film industry Business
y Robert De Niro: 'I'd like to play Cuomo in pandemic movie' By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-05-07T14:18:00Z In another blistering attack on Donald Trump, the actor says the New York governor is doing what a president should doRobert De Niro has said he would be keen to play New York state governor Andrew Cuomo in a future movie about the coronavirus epidemic, as the actor made another blistering attack on Donald Trump.Appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, De Niro expressed his admiration for Cuomo, saying: “He’s doing what a president should do.” He added: “I could see [a President Cuomo]. I am for Biden, and want everything to go well for Biden, but at least we have a person who is very capable, a very capable backup, if you will … he’s doing a great job, he’s doing what any president should do.” Continue reading... Full Article Robert De Niro Film Donald Trump Andrew Cuomo US news Coronavirus outbreak Culture
y My favourite film aged 12: Gold By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-05-08T14:17:51Z My friend Tom convinced me that Roger Moore’s finest non-Bond moment was this 1974 corker about a maverick mining engineer. He’ll convince you, tooRead all the other Lockdown watch choicesRead all the other My favourite film choicesRead all the What I’m really watching choicesRead the other classic missed films choicesThe pre-eminent film in Sir Roger Moore’s non-Bond oeuvre was released in 1974, between Live and Let Die and The Man With the Golden Gun.I was born in 1978, so I was far too young to see Gold in its first flush of youth, let alone mine. So was my friend Tom. Continue reading... Full Article Roger Moore James Bond Film Culture Thrillers (film)
y Streaming: the joy of romcoms By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2020-05-09T07:00:50Z Elizabeth Sankey’s fine documentary on the genre, premiering on Mubi, could be the perfect spark for your own romantic comedy love-inRomantic comedies are a perennially undervalued genre: even very fine ones are often described as “guilty pleasures”. That’s always a nonsense term, given that no pleasure is without value or grace – least of all these days. Under lockdown, don’t you find yourself more inclined towards romantic comedies both great and mediocre, to sink yourself in the familiar warmth of stories driven by love and tenderness, where everything tends to turn out fine?Mubi has thus chosen an opportune moment to premiere Romantic Comedy, a spry, affectionate documentary by musician turned film-maker Elizabeth Sankey that gives this maligned genre its due. A short, accessible film essay that did the festival rounds last year, it cuts to the heart of why romcoms have to work harder to be taken seriously – hint: they tend to prioritise the female viewer – and unpicks their history of flawed gender politics and heteronormative bias. But it’s a loving exercise, overlaid with droll personal commentary, and one that will have you jotting down a playlist of films to watch right after. Continue reading... Full Article Romance films Film Culture
y Sayles confident of making Vikings By www.winnipegfreepress.com Published On :: Mon, 4 May 2020 06:11:54 CDT More than 55 million viewers tuned into last week’s three-day NFL Draft and you better believe Marcus Sayles was one of them. He saw the Minnesota Vikings draft three cornerbacks in ... Full Article
y Ice busy signing draft selections to contracts By www.winnipegfreepress.com Published On :: Mon, 4 May 2020 20:52:57 CDT It’s that time of the year in the WHL. News of player signings are a daily occurrence and the Winnipeg Ice’s management team has been busy. On Monday, the club announced ... Full Article
y Loss of beloved pet worst injury Beaulieu suffered in bone-breaking, pandemic-paused season By www.winnipegfreepress.com Published On :: Wed, 6 May 2020 18:55:39 CDT You know who you are. You know what you did. And to the driver who killed Nathan Beaulieu’s dog in a cowardly hit-and-run, the Winnipeg Jets defenceman wants you to ... Full Article
y CFL players preparing for the worst By www.winnipegfreepress.com Published On :: Thu, 7 May 2020 06:16:05 CDT The B.C. Lions made sure to count every last penny when announcing a new contract for free-agent quarterback Mike Reilly ahead of the 2019 Canadian Football League season. Reilly, who had ... Full Article
y Bisons send skater away By www.winnipegfreepress.com Published On :: Fri, 8 May 2020 11:19:41 CDT The fallout came swiftly Thursday after vulgar and insulting messages traded on a private Instagram chat surfaced on social media a day earlier. The University of Manitoba Bisons released Jeremey Leipsic ... Full Article
y U of M swimmer Wog named Canada West Female Athlete of the Year By www.winnipegfreepress.com Published On :: Thu, 7 May 2020 21:58:05 CDT Complacency is not a word in Kelsey Wog’s vocabulary. Every season, the fourth-year Bisons swimmer finds a way to take her game to the next level and break records along the ... Full Article
y Local sporting royalty's entitlement exposed By www.winnipegfreepress.com Published On :: Fri, 8 May 2020 12:03:01 CDT They come from some of the most prominent hockey families in Manitoba, a group of young men blessed with athletic gifts that allow them to be better than most at ... Full Article
y Journeyman pilloried, superstar adored By www.winnipegfreepress.com Published On :: Fri, 8 May 2020 20:26:07 CDT Go ahead and applaud taking down a group of boorish hockey “bros” for their despicable behaviour. But you might want to hold off on a full-fledged victory lap. Brendan Leipsic said ... Full Article
y CFL looking at way more trouble than it can handle By www.winnipegfreepress.com Published On :: Fri, 8 May 2020 20:50:08 CDT For the first time since taking over as commissioner of the Canadian Football League in July of 2017, Randy Ambrosie was finally forced to publicly reveal the financial truth about ... Full Article
y Texas Residents Warned Not to Flush Gloves and Face Masks, After Workers Unclog Sewage Pumps 20 Times in a Day By www.newsweek.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 00:21:49 -0400 Water utility workers in El Paso, Texas were forced to unclog pumps over 20 times in 24 hours after residents refused to heed their call to refrain from flushing personal protective equipment and other coronavirus-related items down the toilet. Full Article
y Mega Millions Results, Numbers for 5/8/20: Did Anyone Win the $231 Million Jackpot Prize Last Night? By www.newsweek.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 04:38:58 -0400 The winners and results of last night's Mega Millions lottery, plus how to avoid falling victim to a lottery scam. Full Article
y Obama Slams Dropping of Michael Flynn Case, Calls White House COVID-19 Response 'Absolute Chaotic Disaster': Report By www.newsweek.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 07:02:27 -0400 Audio of a private conversation shows the 44th president's unvarnished views about the former national security adviser's case and the White House's COVID-19 response. Full Article
y 'Fortnite' Party Royale Event With Steve Aoki & Deadmau5 - Tracklist & What Happened By www.newsweek.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 08:02:27 -0400 "Fortnite" Party Royale had another big show on May 8. Here's everything you need to know about the Dillion Francis, Steve Aoki and deadmau5 concert that just took place. Full Article
y Putin Says Russians are 'Invincible' in Speech During Coronavirus-Hit Victory Day Ceremony By www.newsweek.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 08:11:05 -0400 The president appeared outside the Kremlin walls to praise the Soviet effort in what is known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War. Full Article
y Chrissy Teigen Responds to Alison Roman's Digs at Her and Marie Kondo: 'This is a Huge Bummer' By www.newsweek.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 08:17:16 -0400 Jameela Jamil also came to Teigen and Kondo's defense, calling Roman "distasteful" and "cliche" for criticizing women of color for being successful in business. Full Article
y 'ARK' Crystal Isles PC Release Date & 5th Anniversary Event Announced By www.newsweek.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 09:03:36 -0400 "ARK: Survival Evolved" Crystal Isles is coming to PC soon, alongside a huge anniversary event on all platforms. Get the full details here. Full Article