Month: February 2023

Italian actor-turned-director Andrea Di Stefano, whose gritty police drama “The Last Night of Amore” is launching from the Berlin Film Festival’s Berlinale Special Gala section, reps an Italian anomaly. “Amore,” which refers to a police lieutenant named Franco Amore, oddly marks Di Stefano debut directing an Italian-language film after helming well-received U.S. indie thrillers “Escobar:

Martin Scorsese is executive producing Argentine filmmaker Celina Murga’s latest drama, “The Freshly Cut Grass,” which has begun production.  Produced by “Argentina, 1985” producers Infinity Hill, the film stars Oscar nominee Marina de Tavira (“Roma”) who plays opposite Argentina’s Joaquin Furriel (“The Boss, Anatomy of a Crime”) in what is described as “an exploration of

To director Mira Fornay, there are no three things more important in life than trees, water and children. And with “She-Hero,” playing as part of the Generation strand at the 73rd Berlin Film Festival, the Slovakian filmmaker gathers all three in telling the story of Romy (Rozmarína Willems), a young girl who embarks on a

Publisher Puffin U.K. will release “The Roald Dahl Classic Collection,” which will have the author’s original texts. “The Roald Dahl Classic Collection” will be available alongside the newly released Puffin Roald Dahl books for young readers, “which are designed for children who may be navigating written content independently for the first time,” Puffin said. “Readers

Boasting an intriguing premise, a compelling ensemble and frequently crisp, handsome filmmaking, Mark Burman’s “Ambush” almost qualifies as an above-average Vietnam-era nailbiter — were it not for the hopelessly below-average performances contributed by the two actors whose names stand tallest in its credits block. Aaron Eckhart and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, usually complex and appealing even

For a solid decade, the U.K. contributed some of the most iconic floppy-haired lotharios, airport dashes and front-door confessions in romcom history. Films such as “Four Weddings and a Funeral” (1994), “Notting Hill” (1999) and “Love Actually” (2003) basically invented such hallmarks of the genre. But in the last decade, the global-facing British romcom has

“Luther: The Fallen Sun” starts by punishing its protagonist — scruffy, cross-the-line Detective Chief Inspector John Luther (Idris Elba) — for all his past sins after the franchise’s latest villain, played by Andy Serkis, releases details of Luther’s rule-bending tactics to the media. On the phone with some kind of Estonian henchman, Serkis’ Robey implies

Given the reportedly frequent use of puppets as aids to the therapeutic process, one might expect a family of third-generation puppeteers to be among the most well-adjusted people in the world. Or among the least, given the other connotation of puppetry, as a conduit for demonic, psychotic or otherwise malign energies. Sadly, neither is the

There’s a parched austerity to the landscape of the Australian outback, along with an embedded history of conflict between Indigenous and invading occupants, that makes it irresistibly well-suited to screen westerns. But there’s a loneliness to it, too, a sense that its quiet vastness could swallow you whole and without trace, that lends itself as

Adonis Creed, like Rocky Balboa before him, is a fighter who faces down his demons and finds his triumph-of-the-human-spirit mojo, all leading up to his inevitable delivery of that knockout punch (well, okay, Rocky actually lost the fight in “Rocky”). The first two “Creed” films, like the six “Rocky” films, were rah-rah crowd-pleasers, with the

News of a fresh horror comedy from Christopher Landon, director of the joyously silly “Happy Death Day” and its sequel, should be greeted with cautious optimism at the very least. He’s been working in the space for some time now, having also co-written and directed “Freaky,” “Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse” and the more

“Linoleum” starts out as one kind of movie, drops teasing hints that it might be another type of film and ultimately plot-twists into, well, something else. All of which makes it difficult to review, much less describe in detail, without spilling an economy size bag of beans. But wait, there’s more: It’s also a movie

Jennifer Siebel Newsom, one of the star witnesses of Harvey Weinstein’s west coast trial, says justice was served with the convicted rapist’s 16-year sentencing on Thursday, but warns there is more work to be done. A filmmaker and actor, Siebel Newsom is married to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, making her the First Partner of the

The woman whose grueling testimony led to Harvey Weinstein’s L.A. rape conviction told the court in tearful statement on Thursday that she had blamed herself for the assault. The woman, identified as Jane Doe #1, spoke of the impact of the rape just before Weinstein was sentenced to an additional 16 years behind bars, on

Tapping into the Japanese national zeitgeist once again with “Suzume,” writer-director Makoto Shinkai surpasses his peers in making films for and about teenagers. Now 50 years old, the anime master christened his latest blockbuster after its heroine, Suzume Iwato (voiced by Nanoka Hara), a 17-year-old orphan on the southwestern island of Kyushu swept up in