The good news is that it’s been a great year for movies. The bad news is that, now, the battle for best picture will be bloodier than ever. With such a wide field of acclaimed contenders, plenty of worthy films will be dealt a bad hand when the Oscar nominations are announced on Jan. 23. … Read more
Even when Hollywood saw little use for Black performers other than as mammies and butlers, the musical genre, a storytelling mode composed of magical realist fantasy and hoofing artistry, provided space for Cab Calloway, Lena Horne and Dorothy Dandridge to manifest their glamorous glow. Through rapturous songs, sung in resplendent gowns and tailored tuxedos, the … Read more
Michael Mann’s new drama “Ferrari,” about several important weeks in the life of the racecar driver and manufacturer Enzo Ferrari, is many things: biographical drama, thriller, period costume film, and also a story about business rivalries, domestic disputes and personal grief. Adam Driver plays the automotive magnate as a man divided between his obsessive pursuit … Read more
In “Anatomy of a Scene,” we ask directors to reveal the secrets that go into making key scenes in their movies. See new episodes in the series on Fridays. You can also watch our collection of more than 150 videos on YouTube and subscribe to our YouTube channel. Shug Avery knows how to make an … Read more
“My name is Blitz Bazawule. And I’m the director of ‘The Color Purple.’” [SNAPPING] “So, this scene is where Shug Avery, played by the incredible Taraji P. Henson, performs at the juke joint for the very first time. Her character’s enigmatic. We’ve been hearing about her throughout. And we haven’t seen her perform yet. And … Read more
The designer Holly Waddington had wide latitude in envisioning the costumes for “Poor Things,” Yorgos Lanthimos’s mad comedy starring Emma Stone. “The only brief really was that he didn’t want it to be overtly like a period drama” — the script is set in the 1880s — “and he didn’t want it to be overtly … Read more
The filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, a founder of the animation house Studio Ghibli, is one of the last practitioners of hand-drawn animation. His new coming-of-age fantasy, “The Boy and the Heron,” has been praised for a style that seems like a relic from the past. The IndieWire critic David Ehrlich called it “among the most beautiful … Read more
Listing some of the many perils of womanhood in a still patriarchal society, the monologue that the actress America Ferrera delivers in “Barbie” with the intensity of a rallying cry, became one of the most talked-about movie moments of 2023. “I’ve never been a part of something so eagerly anticipated,” Ferrera said during an interview … Read more
In “Oppenheimer,” the writer and director Christopher Nolan’s summer blockbuster biopic — three words that generally don’t go together — the character of Kitty Oppenheimer is effaced twice over. Kitty, played by Emily Blunt, is the woman behind the man: Though a scientist herself, she is the sidelined wife of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), … Read more
Holland Cotter The Met Looks to Right a Historic Wrong Early in 1969, the Metropolitan Museum sparked an uproar with an exhibition called “Harlem on My Mind: Cultural Capital of Black America, 1900-1968.” Although conceived as the museum’s first big-ticket acknowledgment of African American creativity, it included no visual art beyond documentary photomurals. Black artists, … Read more
Wilkinson (no relation, though publicists used to ask me), who died on Saturday at 75, is one of those actors everyone knows even if they can’t quite place him. He is the guy from “The Full Monty,” from “Batman Begins,” from “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol.” He did everything from “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” … Read more
Tom Wilkinson, the actor who could turn a manic lawyer, a steel-foreman-turned-stripper and parts small and large into mesmerizing turns, winning Oscar nominations and plaudits for his performances in movies like “Michael Clayton” and “The Full Monty,” died on Saturday, according to The Associated Press. He was 75. The A.P. cited a statement from his … Read more
‘The Killing of a Sacred Deer’ (Jan. 22) Stream it here. The director Yorgos Lanthimos and the actor Barry Keoghan have two of the most talked-about movies of the fall in “Poor Things” and “Saltburn”; back in 2017, they collaborated on a film that makes both of those efforts seem comparatively tame. Colin Farrell stars … Read more
If you were planning on watching the final season of “Jack Ryan” or eight seasons of “House” without commercials on Amazon Prime next year, get ready to dig a little deeper into your pockets. In September, Amazon announced it would soon add advertisements to Prime Video, its streaming service, and this week announced when that … Read more
Rodrigo realizes that, in its first throes, “Love Is Embarrassing.” (It is.) On that throbbing track, she admits the hold “some weird second-string loser” has on her. On another, “Get Him Back,” she jokingly lays out a conflicted revenge plot as the bridge drops to a whisper: “I wanna kiss his face, with an uppercut,” … Read more
I read the news today, oh boy. John Lennon’s lyric popped into my head Tuesday as soon as I read the texts from my friend Marcy Carriker Smothers. The first was a photo of a guitar next to a fire and Christmas poinsettia. The second included the news. “Beautiful and peaceful passing today at 1:40P. … Read more
“The Three Musketeers” is to France what Mickey Mouse is to America — a cultural force with a lock on the country’s imagination. The 19th-century cloak-and-dagger tale, written by Alexandre Dumas, has lived countless lives onstage and onscreen, with stars including Charlie Sheen, Charlton Heston, Milla Jovovich and even Barbie resurrecting the classic tale of … Read more
As 2023 comes to a close, our monthly showcase of hidden gems on your streaming subscription services showcases a handful of worthwhile releases from this year that may have escaped your notice: character-driven dramas, dark comedies, smart documentaries, and romantic comedies both sunny and disturbing. ‘A Thousand and One’ Stream it on Amazon Prime Video. … Read more
“I am not understanding this complicated feeling,” Bella remarks dispassionately at one point, as Duncan snivels over her sleeping with another man. The line lands as a joke; Duncan’s weepy reaction is entirely uncomplicated. But Bella’s confusion also hits on something real. Duncan doesn’t own Bella, as much as he would like to, and he … Read more
At the center of 2023’s “The Marvels” is Carol Danvers, a.k.a. Captain Marvel, who, if you’ll recall from the 2019 film “Captain Marvel,” destroyed the all-powerful A.I. leading the Kree empire. Joining Carol Danvers is Monica Rambeau, a.k.a. Photon a.k.a. Pulsar a.k.a. Spectrum, who was first introduced in “Captain Marvel,” then later featured in the … Read more