The Venice Film Festival continued its ascent this year, rivaling Cannes — long the undisputed king of all film festivals — in its capacity to draw stars, spark debate and drive sales of first-rate art films. While some of the bigger titles fizzled (Todd Phillips’ gonzo musical sequel to 2019 Golden Lion winner “Joker” disappointed, and Kevin […]

“The Easy Kind” isn’t the easiest kind of film to describe for someone who is getting a first look, as audiences did in its premiere screenings at the Telluride Film Festival this past weekend. On first blush, it might appear to be a documentary of the esteemed country singer Elizabeth Cook, who enjoys a sizable […]

In August Wilson’s play “The Piano Lesson” — revived on Broadway in 2022, adapted with care and much the same cast for the screen by Malcolm Washington — Berniece hasn’t played the piano since her mother died. It just sits in her living room, reminding her of everything her parents, and their parents before them, […]

The 51st edition of the Telluride Film Festival concluded on Labor Day, with three standout films generating significant Oscar buzz: Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or winner “Anora,” Jacques Audiard’s Spanish-language musical “Emilia Pérez,” and Jason Reitman’s dark comedy “Saturday Night.” Distributed by Sony Pictures, “Saturday Night” marks Reitman’s return to both directing and screenwriting, collaborating with […]

People are falling in love with “Anora.” Sean Baker has made his mark on indie cinema with notable features such as “The Florida Project” and “Red Rocket.” His latest film, “Anora,” a reimagining of “Pretty Woman” that trades Richard Gere’s debonair corporate raider for Mark Eydelshteyn’s sex-crazed son of a Russian oligarch, is his most […]

“The Piano Lesson” seems to be hitting all the right Oscar notes. With Black excellence, impeccable filmmaking, and towering performances, Netflix’s “The Piano Lesson” hit the awards season scene this weekend at the Telluride Film Festival. Debut director Malcolm Washington and stars John David Washington and Danielle Deadwyler were on hand as the film premiered […]

When Robbie Williams told an interviewer that he felt like a performing monkey, he didn’t mean it literally. But that’s exactly how “The Greatest Showman” director Michael Gracey interprets the remark in “Better Man,” an off-the-wall musical biopic that surely would have seemed banal — as opposed to downright bananas — had it featured a […]

From “Boy A” (the movie that launched Andrew Garfield’s career) to “Zero for Conduct,” movies set in broken boarding schools and juvenile reformatory centers are a dime a dozen. With “Nickel Boys,” director RaMell Ross finds fresh colors in such a rigidly codified genre, turning a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel into a minimalist tone poem. The […]

A hot sales title and potential Oscar contender is generating buzz on the festival circuit: Tim Fehlbaum’s tension-filled drama, “September 5.” If any studio feels like adding another worthy awards hopeful to its slate, this film could go far under the right guidance. The film, which has received outstanding reviews at both Venice and Telluride, […]

Live from Telluride, Sony Pictures’ biographical dramedy “Saturday Night” has officially entered the Oscar race thanks to its superb ensemble, sizzling script and expert craftsmanship. The film drew significant attention at the festival, where nearly 300 people were turned away, and the first attendees arrived as early as 2:30 p.m. for the 7:15 p.m. screening. […]

As I sat through the North American premiere of Pablo Larraín’s biopic of Maria Callas at the Telluride Film Festival, which stars Angelina Jolie as the famed opera singer, I couldn’t help but recall a line from Al Pacino in “The Godfather Part III” (1990): “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me […]

Over nearly 1,000 episodes, “Saturday Night Live” has given America some of its most successful comedians, iconic characters and quotable catchphrases. Now, just one year shy of the pop phenom’s 50th anniversary, director Jason Reitman gives back, turning an oral history of the very first episode into a rowdy, delectably profane backstage homage. “Saturday Night” […]

With “The Act of Killing,” director Joshua Oppenheimer approached the documentary form in a radical, seemingly unthinkable way, inviting his subjects — Indonesian gangsters who had once served on the country’s death squads — to reenact their crimes on camera. Why should his narrative debut be any more conventional? For “The End,” Oppenheimer conceives a […]

If, before 2022, you were ever called “hysterical” for voicing your concerns that a U.S.-based woman’s constitutionally protected right to have an abortion was actually hanging by a thread, you’ll find an intrepid sympathizer in Molly Duane. She is the tireless Center for Reproductive Rights attorney at the center of “Zurawski v Texas,” Maisie Crow […]

In “The White House Effect,” directors Bonni Cohen, Pedro Kos and Jon Shenk’s document how a chance to take real action on global warming was not just squandered but deliberately undermined by the George H.W. Bush administration (1988-1992).  Bush took office in 1988, which, at the time, was the planet’s hottest year on record. The former president promised […]

Most people probably can’t remember “global warming” or whatever you want to call it being a significant issue — let alone a political football — before the last decade or two. But as “The White House Effect” underlines, about 35 years ago it was both prominent in the public eye and not yet politically divisive. There […]

If you think the American presidential election has been unpredictable, wait’ll you see how capricious things get at the Vatican when the cardinals assemble to choose a new pope in “Conclave.” Adapted from the Robert Harris novel by Edward Berger, who assumes a very different challenge after “All Quiet on the Western Front,” this thinking […]

Before his death, French actor Alain Delon had said that he wished for his dog, Loubo, to be put down when he passed. Delon believed the bond between him and his rescued Belgian Malinois was so strong that the dog would miss him dearly when he died and preferred to spare his pet such pain. […]

Legendary musicians Pharrell Williams and Robbie Williams — unrelated despite their shared surname — are each choosing to tell their life stories through unconventional mediums. Pharrell’s story is brought to life in Focus Features’ “Piece by Piece,” directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville, known for his documentary “20 Feet from Stardom.” The film uses Lego […]