Don’t be confused about the title The Apprentice. This is not a movie version of the NBC reality TV series in any way, but instead a smart, sharp and surprising origin story of the man who hosted it. In this case the actual “apprentice” is Donald Trump, infamous real estate developer, former President of the United States and current presumed GOP nominee for 2024.
But the political Trump is not in Iranian-Danish director Ali Abbasi’s compelling film, which instead zeroes in on a specific period of Trump’s life in the early ’70s when he was in his 20s and struggling to make a name for himself in the world of real estate in New York City. But it isn’t just about him — it is equally focused on his unique relationship with his lawyer, the notorious Roy Cohn, often referred to as vicious, cruel, ruthless and sadistic, a...
But the political Trump is not in Iranian-Danish director Ali Abbasi’s compelling film, which instead zeroes in on a specific period of Trump’s life in the early ’70s when he was in his 20s and struggling to make a name for himself in the world of real estate in New York City. But it isn’t just about him — it is equally focused on his unique relationship with his lawyer, the notorious Roy Cohn, often referred to as vicious, cruel, ruthless and sadistic, a...
- 5/20/2024
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
The Academy Awards have a chance to do something that has only been done three previous times in their entire history. With Paul Giamatti (“The Holdovers”) and Emma Stone (“Poor Things”) nabbing surprising wins at the Critics Choice Awards, it’s the first time ever that both of their lead acting winners matched with the Golden Globe Musical/Comedy champions. If they both repeat at the Oscars on March 10, it would only be the fourth time that the winners of Best Actor and Best Actress paired with the Globe comedy winners.
The first time we had this match since the Golden Globe category creation in 1950 was for the year 1964 when musical films dominated the awards with Rex Harrison winning for “My Fair Lady” as Professor Henry Higgins and Julie Andrews for “Mary Poppins” as the title character. Those movies went on to be the top two nominated films at the...
The first time we had this match since the Golden Globe category creation in 1950 was for the year 1964 when musical films dominated the awards with Rex Harrison winning for “My Fair Lady” as Professor Henry Higgins and Julie Andrews for “Mary Poppins” as the title character. Those movies went on to be the top two nominated films at the...
- 1/22/2024
- by Christopher Tsang
- Gold Derby
There are films you watched every time they pop up on TCM or streaming services. It’s like visiting an old friend. These movies put a smile on your face and a song in your heart. And one such film is “Charade,” which celebrates its 60th anniversary on Dec. 5. Deftly directed by Stanley Donen from a fun and thrilling Peter Stone screenplay, “Charade” stars Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn who exude a William Powell/Myrna Loy style chemistry that leaps off the screen. And let’s not forget that gorgeous Henry Mancini score, the romantic Oscar-nominated title tune “Charade,” with lyrics by Johnny Mercer and the pulsating Saul Bass title sequence.
I saw “Charade” when it was released, and I’ve probably seen it at least 15 more times. And each time seems like the first. Not many films have that kind of power. A 2010 Criterion Collection article by film historian...
I saw “Charade” when it was released, and I’ve probably seen it at least 15 more times. And each time seems like the first. Not many films have that kind of power. A 2010 Criterion Collection article by film historian...
- 12/6/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
“I ought to be thy Adam,” says the Creature in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. “But I am rather a fallen angel.” It’s the basis for every mad scientist story: You try to create man and end up with a monster. Fuck around with playing God and see what happens. Poor Things wants to add a few what-ifs into the Prometheus-myth mix. What if the Creature wasn’t a hideous Adam, but a gorgeous Eve that enticed every man who came into contact with her? And, like Shelley’s existentially miserable reanimation,...
- 12/5/2023
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
They instructed her no one must turn their back to the king, but she did so anyway. They warned that she was not to look Louis Xv directly in the eyes, lest others take it as “an invitation,” but she ignored Versailles’ advisers on this point as well, defiantly meeting the king’s gaze.
Jeanne Bécu was not the type of woman to do as she was told. In this respect, divisive French actor-director Maïwenn can relate, casting herself as the courtesan-turned-comtess in “Jeanne du Barry,” a sensitive and surprisingly low-key portrait of the French monarch’s last mistress. That Maïwenn saw fit to engage tabloid-embattled Johnny Depp as “her king” is just one of the many hurdles she set for herself — but then, no one embarks on such a project with the intention of pleasing her critics.
Kicking off the Cannes Film Festival just two weeks after Charles III’s coronation across the Channel,...
Jeanne Bécu was not the type of woman to do as she was told. In this respect, divisive French actor-director Maïwenn can relate, casting herself as the courtesan-turned-comtess in “Jeanne du Barry,” a sensitive and surprisingly low-key portrait of the French monarch’s last mistress. That Maïwenn saw fit to engage tabloid-embattled Johnny Depp as “her king” is just one of the many hurdles she set for herself — but then, no one embarks on such a project with the intention of pleasing her critics.
Kicking off the Cannes Film Festival just two weeks after Charles III’s coronation across the Channel,...
- 11/16/2023
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Just two years after Anita of “West Side Story” became the first non-white fictional character to inspire multiple Academy Award nominations, three others are on their way to earning the same distinction. As was the case in 1986, 30% of 2024’s female acting Oscar slots could be filled by stars of “The Color Purple,” the new version of which serves as an adaptation of the similarly titled stage musical rather than Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. If Fantasia Barrino, Danielle Brooks, and Taraji P. Henson all reap bids for their fresh takes on the parts for which Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, and Margaret Avery were previously recognized, the overall list of doubly Oscar-nominated fictional characters will expand to include 20 examples.
In “The Color Purple,” Barrino executes the lead role of Celie Johnson, who she initially played on Broadway as a direct successor to 2006 Tony-winning originator Lachanze. As in the book and first film,...
In “The Color Purple,” Barrino executes the lead role of Celie Johnson, who she initially played on Broadway as a direct successor to 2006 Tony-winning originator Lachanze. As in the book and first film,...
- 11/14/2023
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
There is almost no Elvis Presley music in Priscilla. There is an Elvis, played ambiguously by Jacob Elordi, and a few moments where he flicks the piano ivories or stretches the creases of a caped jumpsuit, but unlike nearly every film set in the world of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, there’s hardly any rock. This is, of course, the point for Sofia Coppola, who achieves her aim in making a film that is neither about a so-called king or, for that matter, a queen. This is the story of a woman so young and in love that she mistakes gilded cage bars for the Gates of Graceland.
In this way, Priscilla is as pensive and quiet a character study as any in Coppola’s oeuvre; a film that finds the interiority which eludes nearly all glossy musical biopics. The lovers at the movie’s center can, in fact,...
In this way, Priscilla is as pensive and quiet a character study as any in Coppola’s oeuvre; a film that finds the interiority which eludes nearly all glossy musical biopics. The lovers at the movie’s center can, in fact,...
- 10/12/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone have reteamed and the result, “Poor Things,” is being heralded as a new classic for the ages.
In “Poor Things,” Stone plays a young woman named Bella Baxter who is brought back to life by the “brilliant and unorthodox scientist” Dr. Goodwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). Under Baxter’s protection, Bella is eager to learn. Hungry for the worldliness she is lacking, Bella runs off with Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), a slick and debauched lawyer, on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, Bella grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.
The reviews for the movie have been effusive in their praise and social media is hailing the film for embracing both Lanthimos’ brand of wackiness while also being extremely graphic.
Film critic Alex Billington said, “Poor Things is… the raunchiest film of the decade?! Everyone...
In “Poor Things,” Stone plays a young woman named Bella Baxter who is brought back to life by the “brilliant and unorthodox scientist” Dr. Goodwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). Under Baxter’s protection, Bella is eager to learn. Hungry for the worldliness she is lacking, Bella runs off with Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), a slick and debauched lawyer, on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, Bella grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.
The reviews for the movie have been effusive in their praise and social media is hailing the film for embracing both Lanthimos’ brand of wackiness while also being extremely graphic.
Film critic Alex Billington said, “Poor Things is… the raunchiest film of the decade?! Everyone...
- 9/1/2023
- by Kristen Lopez
- The Wrap
Clockwise from top left: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert (MGM), Tangerine (Magnolia Pictures), The Birdcage (MGM), Moonlight (Lionsgate)Graphic: AVClub
June means Pride Month, and Pride Month means celebrating queer art—which we could all use more of given the current state of things. In the spirit of 2023 Pride,...
June means Pride Month, and Pride Month means celebrating queer art—which we could all use more of given the current state of things. In the spirit of 2023 Pride,...
- 6/1/2023
- by Richard Newby, Manuel Betancourt, Brandon Kirby, Jack Smart, Alison Foreman
- avclub.com
Harry Hadden-Paton, Maura Tierney and Sasha Lane have joined the ensemble cast for Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. and Amblin Entertainment’s Twisters, a new chapter following the 1996 storm-chasing blockbuster Twister.
Also boarding the project to be directed by Minari helmer Lee Isaac Chung is Kiernan Shipka, Nik Dodani, David Corenswet, Tunde Adebimpe and Katy O’Brian.
Tierney stars in the upcoming A24 film Iron Claw and the television series American Rust. Hadden-Paton recently reprised his role of Professor Henry Higgins in the West End revival of My Fair Lady, while Lane will next appear in The Crowded Room for Apple TV+.
Shipka is best known for her recurring role as Sally Draper in AMC’s Mad Men series, Dodani had a breakout role as Zahid in Netflix’s Atypical series, Corenswet had a lead role in FX pilot The Answers, Adebimpe is a musician, actor, director, and visual artist best known...
Also boarding the project to be directed by Minari helmer Lee Isaac Chung is Kiernan Shipka, Nik Dodani, David Corenswet, Tunde Adebimpe and Katy O’Brian.
Tierney stars in the upcoming A24 film Iron Claw and the television series American Rust. Hadden-Paton recently reprised his role of Professor Henry Higgins in the West End revival of My Fair Lady, while Lane will next appear in The Crowded Room for Apple TV+.
Shipka is best known for her recurring role as Sally Draper in AMC’s Mad Men series, Dodani had a breakout role as Zahid in Netflix’s Atypical series, Corenswet had a lead role in FX pilot The Answers, Adebimpe is a musician, actor, director, and visual artist best known...
- 5/17/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Universal and Amblin Entertainment have rounded out their Twisters cast with the addition of Maura Tierney (The Affair), Harry Hadden-Paton (Downton Abbey), Sasha Lane (American Honey), Kiernan Shipka (Mad Men), Nik Dodani (Atypical), David Corenswet (Pearl), Tunde Adebimpe (Spider-Man: Homecoming) and Katy O’Brian (The Mandalorian).
The actors join an ensemble for the disaster pic, following on the heels of the 1996 storm-chasing blockbuster Twister, that also includes Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos, Brandon Perea and Daryl McCormack, as previously announced. No character details have been disclosed.
Details as to the plot of the new film are also under wraps. The original starring Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton was written by Michael Crichton and directed by Speed‘s Jan de Bont, with Steven Spielberg on board as an EP. Twister was lauded for its groundbreaking special effects and scored $494M+ at the worldwide box office.
Lee Isaac Chung (Minari) is...
The actors join an ensemble for the disaster pic, following on the heels of the 1996 storm-chasing blockbuster Twister, that also includes Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos, Brandon Perea and Daryl McCormack, as previously announced. No character details have been disclosed.
Details as to the plot of the new film are also under wraps. The original starring Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton was written by Michael Crichton and directed by Speed‘s Jan de Bont, with Steven Spielberg on board as an EP. Twister was lauded for its groundbreaking special effects and scored $494M+ at the worldwide box office.
Lee Isaac Chung (Minari) is...
- 5/17/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Editor’s Note: This review originally published during the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. Vertical Entertainment will release “Jeanne du Barry” on Friday, May 3.
Zeroing in on a glamorous notable from this or that royal court, and using them a kind of mannequin over which to drape lofty themes and embellishments, “Jeanne du Barry” is a perfectly serviceable entry in a genre born of the stage and perfected by Old Hollywood: the star showcase. That the icon in the spotlight is writer-director-lead actor Maïwenn, and not her American co-star Johnny Depp, should come as a relief to some, a crushing disappointment to others, and surprise to absolutely no one. Just look at the film’s title.
Or, look to the auteur behind this year’s Cannes Film Festival opener. For those whose familiarity with the diva ends at the blue makeup she wore in Luc Besson’s “The Fifth Element,” the French...
Zeroing in on a glamorous notable from this or that royal court, and using them a kind of mannequin over which to drape lofty themes and embellishments, “Jeanne du Barry” is a perfectly serviceable entry in a genre born of the stage and perfected by Old Hollywood: the star showcase. That the icon in the spotlight is writer-director-lead actor Maïwenn, and not her American co-star Johnny Depp, should come as a relief to some, a crushing disappointment to others, and surprise to absolutely no one. Just look at the film’s title.
Or, look to the auteur behind this year’s Cannes Film Festival opener. For those whose familiarity with the diva ends at the blue makeup she wore in Luc Besson’s “The Fifth Element,” the French...
- 5/16/2023
- by Ben Croll
- Indiewire
It’s straight in at the deep end with Bertie Carvel. The London actor, who was once the most hated man in the country as Suranne Jones’s cheating suburban hubby in Doctor Foster, is speaking to me about the second season of his Channel 5 detective drama, Dalgliesh. He appears over Zoom from the Hampstead house he grew up in, which he moved back into with his wife during the pandemic. That must have provided some comfort in uncertain times, I proffer. He tilts his head sideways. “Well, it was distressing in some ways, because we moved back here because my mum had passed away.” Oh, right. “It was a lot to encounter all of your history in that way, but amazing, too.” Around the same time, Carvel’s son was born. “I was looking back over my life as he was starting his,” he says. “It was sort...
- 4/24/2023
- by Tom Murray
- The Independent - TV
"My Fair Lady" is a 1964 movie musical based on the 1956 Lerner and Loewe stage musical of the same name, which is in turned based on the 1913 stage play "Pygmalion" which, in its own turn, is based on Greek mythology. Sure, that trail ends with Hollywood, but Broadway is up to exact same shenanigans when it comes to remakes and reboots. Although the story of "My Fair Lady" is significantly altered from the original mythos, the core relationship between creator and creation is unchanged. Well, it's now about British high society and not about a sculptor and a sculpture anymore. Close enough, right?
Anyway, the 1964 film stars the one and only Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle, the titular fair lady. Co-starring as professor Henry Higgins, the titular claimant of possessing a "fair lady," is Rex Harrison, who also played the role opposite Julie Andrews in the original Broadway production. Wilfrid Hyde-White,...
Anyway, the 1964 film stars the one and only Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle, the titular fair lady. Co-starring as professor Henry Higgins, the titular claimant of possessing a "fair lady," is Rex Harrison, who also played the role opposite Julie Andrews in the original Broadway production. Wilfrid Hyde-White,...
- 1/8/2023
- by Cameron Roy Hall
- Slash Film
(Welcome to Did They Get It Right?, a series where we take a look at an Oscars category from yesteryear and examine whether the Academy's winner stands the test of time.)
Last week, I went through the eight Academy Award nominations of Glenn Close to examine why the renowned actor has yet to win even a single Oscar in her career. She holds the record for the actor with the most nominations in history without winning, but she doesn't hold that record alone. She shares it with someone I think is safe to call a legend: Peter O'Toole. The British thespian of stage and screen who became an instantaneous movie star in 1962 with the release of "Lawrence of Arabia" was also nominated eight times over the course of his career and never won, and because he died back in 2013, the chance to win is obviously gone, whereas Close still could.
Last week, I went through the eight Academy Award nominations of Glenn Close to examine why the renowned actor has yet to win even a single Oscar in her career. She holds the record for the actor with the most nominations in history without winning, but she doesn't hold that record alone. She shares it with someone I think is safe to call a legend: Peter O'Toole. The British thespian of stage and screen who became an instantaneous movie star in 1962 with the release of "Lawrence of Arabia" was also nominated eight times over the course of his career and never won, and because he died back in 2013, the chance to win is obviously gone, whereas Close still could.
- 1/5/2023
- by Mike Shutt
- Slash Film
Hollywood has never had a healthy relationship with sex. Torn between leering salaciousness and code-mandated puritanism, the end results on-screen have often been messy, thematically conflicted, and deeply unsexy. Much has been made about the state of on-screen sensuality in 2022 and the blockbuster age, where ultra-muscular and fit bodies are fetishized yet entirely divorced from sex itself. As one viral article published last year in Blood Knife out it, "everyone is beautiful and no one is horny."
Things are improving in small ways, mostly on streaming thanks to shows like "Bridgerton" that undeniably f***, but everything remains pretty limited in terms of what goes on between the sheets. Kink of any kind is still a no-go topic for screens big and small. While the highly profitable adaptation of the much-derided "Fifty Shades" trilogy was sold as a journey into the dark pleasure of Bdsm, the end results were decidedly vanilla and not all that erotic.
Things are improving in small ways, mostly on streaming thanks to shows like "Bridgerton" that undeniably f***, but everything remains pretty limited in terms of what goes on between the sheets. Kink of any kind is still a no-go topic for screens big and small. While the highly profitable adaptation of the much-derided "Fifty Shades" trilogy was sold as a journey into the dark pleasure of Bdsm, the end results were decidedly vanilla and not all that erotic.
- 9/20/2022
- by Kayleigh Donaldson
- Slash Film
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