Movies

A big-hearted, deeply traditional Vietnamese father juggles the wants, needs and occasional indignities of his dysfunctional extended family in actor and comedian Tran Thanh’s “Dad, I’m Sorry.” This comedy drama currently stands as Vietnam’s highest grossing movie of all-time (beating “Avengers: Endgame”), so it’s no surprise it’s the country’s 2022 Oscar international feature submission. Tran,

In Variety‘s Up Next, we asked four Oscar winners to pick the one person who represents the future of Hollywood. Jared Leto loves a good transformation, as exhibited by his latest performance in Ridley Scott’s “House of Gucci” — where he’s unrecognizable under layers of prosthetics as Paolo, the black sheep of the fashion family.

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) announced the nominations for their annual AACTA International Awards, with “Belfast” leading the pack of film nominations and “Succession” and “The White Lotus” as the top contenders for the TV awards. “Belfast” picked up seven nominations, including best film; direction and screenplay nods for Kenneth Branagh;

Walk Like a Duck Entertainment has acquired the life rights to the story of John Fairfax, an adventurer who crossed both the Atlantic and the Pacific in a rowboat. The company plans to make a film about Fairfax and believes his extraordinary exploits have the making of gripping cinema. Fairfax crossed the Atlantic, becoming the

In Variety‘s Up Next, we asked four Oscar winners to pick the one person who represents the future of Hollywood. Our cover subject Guillermo del Toro is one of the most prolific directors working today, but he’s acutely aware that it carries an important responsibility to other upcoming filmmakers. He executes that duty by producing

The American Cinematheque announced today the honorees for the inaugural Tribute to the Crafts, which will take place in-person on Jan. 26, at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, Calif. Tribute to The Crafts will honor those who are at the very heart of filmmaking and have exhibited extraordinary work behind the camera, over the

Rare is the filmmaker with so many unrealized projects that there’s an entire Wikipedia page devoted to them, but “rare” has always been an apt descriptor for Guillermo del Toro. You can probably count on one hand the number of foreign-born filmmakers who began their career making independent horror films in their native country (“Cronos,”

Guillermo del Toro’s “Nightmare Alley” exists in a kind of moral murk as its central character goes on a journey that will earn him wealth and influence but will also plunge him into a dark crisis of the soul. Now, the film will get a re-release with a color palette that more completely reflects that

Just a few years ago, in 2015, Reinaldo Marcus Green was a grad student at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, angling for extra time with his professor — Spike Lee. Flash-forward six years: Marcus Green has directed one of the best-reviewed dramas of 2021 — “King Richard,” starring Will Smith as Richard Williams, the

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” blew the doors off the box office, earning a massive $50 million in Thursday previews. The Sony Pictures release is on pace to pull in between $150 million to $180 million over its opening weekend, setting a new high-water mark for blockbusters during the COVID era. Even rising cases of the

In 2020, Jordan Goudreau, a former U.S. Army special forces medic who won three Bronze Stars for bravery in combat, partnered with a rebellious former Venezuelan military officer accused by the U.S. of being a drug kingpin to organize an insurrection to topple President Nicolas Maduro. That failed overthrow will be the basis for a

Denmark has just shut down cinemas, stores and restaurants in the run up to the holidays to cope with a surge in COVID-19 cases and curb the spread of the new variant. The Scandinavian country reported 11,194 cases of infections for the first time during the pandemic. It’s one the highest numbers of omicron cases

Will Smith learned a lot about building a family on his first television show, “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” And now that he’s starring in “King Richard” as the patriarch of the Williams family and father to tennis phenoms Venus and Serena Williams, he understands how those off-screen relationships are often reflected on-screen. Directed by

Some of the best films are about people making life-altering decisions that not only change the course of events, but also their own actions and personalities. And this year’s films are filled with women making some doozies. From Lady Gaga’s Patrizia Reggiani taking a murderous turn to Nicole Kidman’s Lucille Ball dealing with a pivotal

There’s a sense throughout “Io sto bene” that writer-director Donato Rotunno knows his characters deeply. Unfortunately, that impression doesn’t translate to three-dimensional portraits that might let viewers understand them as more than fleeting figures in a fragmented memory piece. The trifurcated tale of an elderly man who, while grieving his recently deceased wife, looks back

The uneasy feeling of being a stranger in your own country brings two damaged souls together in “Hail, Driver!,” a bittersweet drama about life on the social and economic margins in Kuala Lumpur. This low-key tale about an unlicensed taxi driver and a disillusioned sex worker is light on plot but rewarding as a commentary

SPOILER ALERT for those who have not seen the film “Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui.” Bollywood A-lister Ayushmann Khurrana headlines the cast of transgender-themed romance “Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui,” which is currently on release worldwide. Across Indian cinema as a whole, trans characters have been portrayed sensitively as leads of films like “Daayra” (1996) “Tamanna” (1998), “Just Another

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” has achieved pandemic-era records in its first two days in Korean cinemas. But Korean theater operators are warning of industry “collapse” as the country adopts revived anti-COVID measures on Saturday. The new measures were announced on Thursday and mean a return of social distancing measures and restrictions for a minimum of

Ending a year begun saving her baby from a gremlin in deliberately outrageous “Shadow in the Cloud,” Chloë Grace Moretz again suffers peril-fraught maternity as half of the title equation in “Mother/Android.” This sci-fi thriller, launching on Hulu Dec. 17, offers a more sobersided survival tale set in an imminent future where humanity’s artificial helpmates

The first reactions to “The Matrix Resurrections” are in — and it’s a mixed bag, ranging from “terrific” to “bogged down in exposition.” As the film’s social media embargo lifted on Thursday night, film critics and journalists took to Twitter to share their opinions about the franchise’s latest installment. Film critic Courtney Howard called it

The shadow of a certain massively popular fantasy television show looms large over Charlotte Sieling’s “Margrete: Queen of the North,” a glossy period drama that amounts to a what-if expansion on an incident from medieval Scandinavian history. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing — anyone missing their weekly dose of sumptuously recreated George R.

“The Novice” is a dark-side-of-sports thriller. It’s a movie, like “Personal Best” or “Prefontaine,” that a lot of star athletes will probably be able to relate to, but it’s also a movie for anyone who ever felt existentially uncomfortable in gym class. The central character — and that’s no exaggeration, since her moody, relentless thousand-yard

Warner Bros. has announced release dates for several films including DC’s “Blue Beetle,” directed by Angel Manuel Soto, which is now due Aug. 18, 2023. The superhero saga was originally set to premiere on HBO Max, but will now start its run exclusively in theaters. Starring “Cobra Kai” actor Xolo Maridueña, “Blue Beetle” will focus

“Kimi,” the latest twisty thriller from director Steven Soderbergh, will debut exclusively on HBO Max Feb. 10. Soderbergh is no stranger to the streamer. His most recent film “No Sudden Move,” which starred Don Cheadle, Benicio del Toro, David Harbour, Jon Hamm and Brendan Fraser, hit HBO Max in July. Soderbergh’s “Let Them All Talk,”

Janice Min’s first hire in her new role as editor in chief of the Ankler newsletter will not be joining the Hollywood news startup and is headed to Rolling Stone, Variety has learned. Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that Min — the editor who led the Hollywood Reporter into revived visibility but

ViacomCBS chief Bob Bakish was forced to apologize to staff on Wednesday after statements he made during a company-wide town hall about return-to-work plans were seen as insensitive by some employees. Bakish was hosting one of his “Bob Live” discussions with Chief Technology Officer Phil Wiser and Chief People Officer Nancy Phillips when he began

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be announcing shortlists on Monday for 10 Oscar races. The categories and number of films to be revealed are documentary feature (15), documentary short subject (10), international feature (15), makeup and hairstyling (10), original score (15), original song (15), animated short film (10), live action short

Harvey Weinstein is serving a 23-year sentence on rape and sexual assault charges, which make him ineligible for parole until after his 87th birthday. He’s also facing additional charges in Los Angeles that carry a maximum sentence of 140 years. But the disgraced producer could go free in just a few months if a New

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has promoted Jennifer Davidson to Chief Communications Officer. She will be reporting to Academy CEO Dawn Hudson. In her new role, Davidson will continue to oversee publicity and corporate communications campaigns, including the Oscars and internal membership communications. She will also oversee the press outreach for the

Barack Obama is an unapologetic cinephile who loves foreign films, documentaries and musicals. The former president, as has been his wont in recent years, shared his list of favorite movies from 2021 on social media — he’s already listed the books he enjoyed and will shortly reveal some musical highlights. The film list includes Steven