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The Museum of Modern Art is spring cleaning its archives for a special ode to Old Hollywood. The exhibit “Face Value: Celebrity Press Photography,” which will open June 28, 2025 and be on display through June 21, 2026, features the best studio shots of iconic stars such as Clara Bow, Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Barbara Stanwyck, Elizabeth Taylor, Harry Belafonte, and more.

This is the first major exhibition of Hollywood studio portraiture to be showcased from the Museum Department of Film’s film stills archive since 1993. “Face Value” will feature over 200 works from 1921 to 1996, with studio photography of Joan Crawford, Louis Armstrong, Carole Lombard, Louise Brooks, Mia Farrow, Dennis Hopper, Lena Horne, Buster Keaton, Anna May Wong, W. C. Fields, Hattie McDaniel, Lupe Velez, Mae West, Bela Lugosi, Carmen Miranda, Elvis Presley, Diana Ross, Spencer Tracy, and Oprah Winfrey, in addition to the aforementioned stars. Historical figures such as Jackie Robinson, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis,...

When you first see “Palm Royale’s” prospective patrician Maxine Douglas Dellacourte, played by Kristen Wiig, she is drowning off the coast of Palm Beach, Fla. Despite her precarious position, Maxine is fabulously dressed in a pink cocktail gown embellished with tulle-beaded flowers and 20 yards of multicolored chiffon.

“[Maxine] has this shiny positivity about her and it reminded me of little girls and their unbridled optimism. So we modeled her a little bit after a doll or like how a little girl might dress herself,” says “Palm Royale” costume designer Alix Friedberg. “[The dress] feels very Maxine and very doll-like as I said before, so that was a good little silhouette. As simple as it was, it was a really difficult dress to build.”

Based on the book “Mr. and Mrs. American Pie” by Juliet McDaniel, the AppleTV+ series “Palm Royale” follows the fabulistic antics of Maxine Dellacourte, who after marrying the last...

For more than 60 years, Bob Mackie has reigned as the over-the-top couturier for Hollywood’s elite. After gaining attention as the costumer for The Carol Burnett Show, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour and Cher’s solo variety show, the designer became the go-to choice for divas like Judy Garland, Diana Ross, Barbra Streisand, Madonna and Elton John, and created clothes for 60 Barbies. In the process he won an impressive nine Emmys, a Tony and a Cfda lifetime achievement award, plus three Oscar nominations.

Now with a long-awaited documentary devoted to his life in showbiz, Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion, arriving this summer (a distribution deal has not yet been finalized), the so-called Sultan of Sequins, Rajah of Rhinestones and Guru of Glitter seems to be having yet another major moment, with his archival pieces worn today by the likes of Anya Taylor-Joy and Zendaya.

“It’s kind of weird,” the 85-year-old designer tells THR.

Midway through the first big budget Batman film in 1989, Jack Nicholson’s Joker takes a moment to pout. The title character has just run off in the Batmobile while Mistah J stands by stunned and dejected. Finally he even laments, “Where does he get those wonderful toys?”

The irony of this scene is that, sure, the Batmobile is cool (especially that model), but for generation after generation, the man in the purple suit is always the one audiences savor playtime with. Whether it’s Nicholson hamming it up for ‘80s audiences, Heath Ledger vamping like a rock star from hell, or Joaquin Phoenix turning Travis Bickle into a clown, it seems our hearts are always won over by the guy with green hair. Consider that the Joker is one of only three roles that has produced multiple Oscar winners—putting Ledger and Phoenix into elite company with Marlon Brando and...

Just under three decades ago, the stop-motion animated classic "The Nightmare Before Christmas" was released. Directed by Henry Selick, the film introduced us to Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town in charge of the holiday. He's starting to get bored with being spooky, though. One day he discovers the door to Christmas Town and sees a different sort of celebration. Jack formulates a plan to kidnap Santa Claws — who he thinks is named Sandy Claws — and take over the winter festivities himself. Chris Sarandon voiced the role of Jack Skellington, with score composer Danny Elfman singing the songs for the character.

Santa Claus was voiced by Ed Ivory in the film, but the role originally went to someone who is very familiar with scary things. That man was horror legend Vincent Price, according to a Daily Beast interview with Selick from 2013. He wasn't the only person they saw for the role,...

We've all been there: you're in a romantic relationship that isn't exactly the healthiest, and it eventually triggers your inner loca, or what men love to refer to as "psycho b*tch." Maybe they were unfaithful or treated you poorly, eventually breaking both your heart and your trust in them. You might have tolerated it for weeks, months, or even years until it drove you temporarily to lose your sh*t. This is exactly what Mexican singer and icon Thalía tapped into when she wrote her latest single, "Psycho B*tch," which dropped on Friday, Nov. 4, 2022. Thalía managed to take an ugly reality and an exhausting stereotype - cause Latinas stay getting a bad rep for being spitfire locas - and turned it into something both humorous and empowering. It's relatable, to say the least.

"It's just that fun aspect of like don't push my buttons. You're going to find me.

Tuesday, October 18, will mark the 50th anniversary of the Quad Cinema opening its doors in New York City. Over the last five decades, the independent theater has established itself as a haven for cinephiles with its frequent showings of rare films, new restorations of classics, and indie hits. To celebrate the landmark anniversary, the Quad is devoting its Theater U to showing the four films that played when the theater first opened: “Butterflies Are Free,” “Play It Again, Sam,” “Slaughterhouse-Five,” and “The Gang’s All Here.”

Milton Katselas’ “Butterflies Are Free” tells the story of a romance that blossoms between a blind man (Edward Albert) and his neighbor (Goldie Hawn) after the man moves into his first apartment by himself. The film was an adaptation of Leonard Gershe’s hit Broadway play of the same name, with the playwright returning to write the screenplay. Eileen Heckart won an Oscar for...

Jane Powell, who starred as an angelically visaged young actress in a number of MGM musicals including “Royal Wedding” and “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” during the 1940s and 1950s, has died of natural causes. She was 92 years old.

The blonde, blue-eyed Powell usually played characters with a gentle mischievous streak in her musical comedies, but she would shatter the light-hearted atmosphere of her films when she sang: A surprisingly powerful coloratura would emerge from the diminutive (5-feet-1) thesp.

Her producer and mentor was MGM’s Joe Pasternak, who had earlier developed the talents of Deanna Durbin at Universal.

Auditioning for Louis B. Mayer and for David O. Selznick, she quickly drew a seven-year contract with MGM in 1943. Her first film, on loan-out, was 1944 musical “Song of the Open Road,” in which the actress played a child film star who runs away. She took her character’s name, Jane Powell,...

Willard Scott, whose exhuberant personality and penchant for honoring fans who reached 100 made him a beloved television icon, died this morning at 87. His death was confirmed by fellow Today show host Al Roker. No cause of death was given.

“We lost a beloved member of our @todayshow family this morning,” Roker shared on Instagram. “Willard Scott passed peacefully at the age of 87 surrounded by family, including his daughters Sally and Mary an.d his lovely wife, Paiis. He was truly my second dad and am where I am today because of his generous spirit. Willard was a man of his times, the ultimate broadcaster. There will never be anyone quite like him.”

Scott joined Today in 1980. He began his 65-year career with NBC as a page at the affiliate station in Washington, D.C., in 1950. Born Alexandria, Virginia, Scott’s broadcasting career began after he graduated from American University in Washington.

Movie audiences go to see Liam Neeson get revenge the way they once went to see John Wayne ride a horse or Carmen Miranda dance with fruit on her head; the movie itself could be great or mediocre, but there’s that satisfaction of watching a movie star do the exact thing that you want and expect them to do. As “solidly senior Liam Neeson kicks ass” vehicles go, “Honest Thief” falls firmly in the middle, nowhere near the heights of “Taken” but well above the depths of “Taken 3.”

Neeson, as a bank robber trying to turn himself in, is the above-the-title draw here, but “Honest Thief” ultimately belongs to Jai Courtney as a crooked FBI agent who complicates the title character’s confession by attempting to steal the money and kill anyone who gets in his way.

One in a series of handsome character actors that Hollywood has...

The centerpiece of Scott Ora’s cluttered San Fernando Valley apartment is the 1939 Oscar his step-grandfather, the late lyricist Leo Robin, was presented for co-writing “Thanks for the Memory.” Sung by Bob Hope and Shirley Ross in the film “The Big Broadcast of 1938,” the trophy sits proudly on the piano where Robin worked on some of his biggest hits. The movie marked the comedian’s breakout role and Leo’s tune, co-written with frequent collaborator Ralph Rainger, soon became Hope’s theme song. It was Robin’s only Academy Award win out of a total of 10 nominations.

Over the course of 20 years, from 1934 (when the best original song category was introduced and he was nominated for “Love in Bloom”) through 1954, Robin, a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame who died in 1984 at the age of 84, earned 10 Oscar nominations (two in 1949 alone). His impressive catalog includes signature tunes for Maurice Chevalier...

As BroadwayWorld sadly reported yesterday, stage star Phyllis Newman passed away yesterday, September 15, at the age of 86.Newman got her start in show business at 4 years old imitating Carmen Miranda in theatres and clubs. Her portrayal of Martha Vail in the Jule StyneComden and Green musical Subways Are For Sleeping - costumed only in a bath towel - earned her a Tony Award. Her other Broadway credits include Bells Are Ringing, The Apple Tree, On the Town, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, Awake and Sing, Wish You Were Here, First Impressions, and her one-woman musical The Madwoman of Central Park West, which she co-authored with Arthur Laurents. She garnered a Tony Award nomination for her highly-acclaimed performance in Neil Simon's Broadway Bound.

When Jerry Evans was hired to choreograph the blockbuster superhero comedy “The Mask,” which celebrates its 25th anniversary Monday, he was surprised when director Chuck Russell informed him he was secretly making a musical.

“I said, ‘Secretly?” recalled Evans, adding that Russell admitted that “I haven’t told anybody other than you and my producer. We’ll just tell everybody when it’s time, I guess.’ He had a plan. I said ‘Sounds good to me. I love it.”’

And so did audiences and critics in the summer of 1994.

Variety‘s review called the showcase for Jim Carrey’s talents “adroitly directed, viscerally and visually dynamic and just plain fun.”

Based on the popular Dark Horse comic book series of the same name, “The Mask” turned Carrey into a superstar as the sweet, nebbish, cartoon-loving loan officer Stanley Ipkiss who turns into a green-faced human cartoon when he dons a magical mask he found.

There’s something extremely cathartic about watching a Latinx comedian get his own platform to do as he pleases, ripping cliches in the entertainment industry and beyond with invigorating vehemence. With his new Comedy’s Central sketch show “Alternatino,” Arturo Castro has the rare opportunity to tell his own story and skewer the inevitably cringe-inducing perceptions of it, and he seizes it with palpable gusto.

Castro’s best known for his wildly different turns in “Broad City” (as Ilana Glazer’s sweet roommate) and “Narcos” (as an entitled son of a cartel boss), so it’s fitting that he continues to show his range in “Alternatino.” With the help of a prolific hair and makeup department, Castro transforms himself into several different characters per episode, ranging from well-meaning dads to sly sendups of Latinx stereotypes to singing sensation Pitbull (Mr. Worldwide!). In between sketches, he explores the everyday indignities of...

The publicity push for the Elton John biopic “Rocketman” starring Taron Egerton (the “Kingsman” franchise) that opens May 31 continues apace as a new video focuses the flamboyant stage costumes designed by Julian Day, who also dressed Oscar-winning actor Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury in last year’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” That includes the white leather jacket that Queen’s lead singer sports on screen, which bandmate Brian May says makes him look like “an angry lizard.”

Egerton appears on camera in character with a cowboy hat and black and white houndstooth-check jacket with red accents and says, “I have found the process of inhabiting Elton John and his wardrobe incredibly liberating.” We then hear Egerton sing “Bennie & the Jets,” which of course is a partly a salute to rock-star clothing choices.

The actor goes on to say that Day “is definitely the most brilliant designer I have ever worked with,” as...

Robert Siodmak’s first film noir is a visually expressive masterpiece in the lush romantic tradition that imposes a dreamlike mood on a nightmarish story. Ella Raines goes to extreme lengths to break the conspiracy that’s sending her boss to Death Row, aided by the Kafka-like indifference of modern Manhattanites. Franchot Tone is the man with the weird hands, but Woody Bredell’s chiaroscuro cinematography is what puts this proto-feminist tale in the top tier.

Phantom Lady

Blu-ray

Arrow Academy

1944 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 87 min. / Street Date March 5, 2019 / Available from Arrow Video / 39.95

Starring: Franchot Tone, Ella Raines, Alan Curtis, Aurora Miranda, Thomas Gomez, Fay Helm, Elisha Cook Jr., Andrew Tombes, Regis Toomey, Joseph Crehan, Doris Lloyd, Virginia Brissac, Milburn Stone.

Cinematography: Woody Bredell

Film Editor: Arthur Hilton

Written by Bernard C. Schoenfeld, based on the novel by William Irish (Cornell Woolrich)

Produced by Joan Harrison

Directed by Robert Siodmak

1944’s...

Popeye The Sailor: The 1940s Volume 1

Blu ray

Warner Archive

1943 – 45 / 1.33:1 / Street Date – December 11, 2018

Starring Jack Mercer, Harry Foster Welch (Popeye), Margie Hines , Mae Questel (Olive Oyl), William Pennell, Jackson Beck (Bluto)

Directed by Dan Gordon, I. Sparber, Seymour Kneitel

The most animated of the great philosophers, Popeye relied on his fists to express his unapologetic mantra – “I am what I am.” Created by newspaper cartoonist E.C. Segar in 1929, the cantankerous but big-hearted sailor was brought to the screen by Max Fleischer and his brother Dave in a series of blissfully rowdy cartoons running from 1933 till 1942 – which is when everything went south.

1942 was the year that Max’s relationships with both Dave and Paramount fell apart – leading to the brothers’ exit and the beginning of Famous Studios, an in-house animation factory at Paramount staffed by Fleischer’s former creative team. But it may have been the sailor at the...

True Stories

Blu ray

Criterion

1986 / 1.85:1 / 89 Min. / Street Date – November 27, 2018

Starring David Byrne, John Goodman, Swoosie Kurtz, Pops Staples

Cinematography by Ed Lachman

Directed by David Byrne

A concert film filmed over four nights at the Pantages Theater in 1983, Jonathan Demme’s Stop Making Sense has the redemptive quality of a classic noir – as Talking Heads’ music churns from slow simmer to barn-burning tent-show revival, band leader David Byrne contends with his own Hollywood style character arc – at movie’s end the “tense and nervous” loner has reclaimed his soul in more ways than one.

The success of Demme’s film lead to Byrne’s next incarnation, as a movie director and oddball tour guide investigating a small southwestern town in 1986’s True Stories. Animated by unpredictable mood swings, quirky tempos and cosmopolitan naiveté, it’s the cinematic equivalent of a Talking Heads song.

After an introductory film within a...

Bill Maher (Real Time with Bill Maher) is a controversial grown up that likes to stir the pot every now and then with childish rants. In a recent post on his blog, Maher went off on a rant slamming Americans for “using their smarts on stupid stuff” like comic books and in the process made sure to disrespect the late Stan Lee, saying:

"The guy who created Spider-Man and the Hulk has died, and America is in mourning. Deep, deep morning for a man who inspired millions to, I don’t know, watch a movie, I guess. Someone on Reddit posted, 'I'm so incredibly grateful I lived in a world that included Stan Lee.'

"Personally, I’m grateful I lived in a world that included oxygen and trees, but to each his own. Now, I have nothing against comic books – I read them now and then when I was...

In the wake of Stan Lee’s recent passing, fans and celebrities have come forward with a number of ways to pay tribute to the late, great comic book creator.

The Hollywood Reporter, for instance, published several full-page ads from various companies and associates remembering the man. Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman, meanwhile, offered up a musical performance, while Netflix introduced a new feature that honored Stan the Man in a clever way.

But it would seem that not everyone’s deeply saddened by the passing of the comic book legend. Controversial television personality Bill Maher took to his blog this week to air his thoughts on Stan Lee and the industry in general, and let’s just say his comments are sure to make a lot of people very, very mad.

“The guy who created Spider-Man and the Hulk has died, and America is in mourning,” wrote Maher. “Deep,...

Gina Rodriguez’s upcoming film “Miss Bala” is being hailed as a barrier-breaking action film. That’s the glass-half-full take on things. There’s another way of looking at the story of a beauty queen trying to escape a violent drug cartel, however. When it opens Feb. 1, “Miss Bala” will represent one of the starkest reminders of the dearth of big-studio films featuring Latinos in leading roles.

In 2017, just two of the year’s top 100-grossing films featured Latino actors in lead roles, according to USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative’s annual report on female and minority film representation. None of last year’s top 100 films featured a Latina actress in the lead role, and nearly 65 had speaking roles for Latinas. The release of “Miss Bala” comes at a time in Hollywood when other landmark films featuring African-American and Asian-American performers such as “Black Panther” and “Crazy Rich Asians” have dominated the box office.

What happened? Somehow the American Music Awards turned out to be bizarrely undisastrous this year. As cheesy award shows go, this one has always been on a sub-cheddar level, usually held back for the holiday season and usually totally ignored. But for some reason, the AMAs decided to be a big deal last night, packing the show with stellar performances, from Taylor to Cardi. They invited Khalid instead of Khaled. They did an Aretha Franklin tribute that focused on music instead of Madonna giving a speech. Tracee Ellis Ross hosted in style,...

Elections have consequences, and by electing Taylor Swift as the American Music Awards’ artist of the year, pop fans gave the superstar another platform from which to spread her crazy, incendiary, rabble-rousing entreaties to… find a polling place. “Every single award given out tonight was voted on by the people,” Swift said, upon picking up her third and final award of the evening, “and you know what else is voted on by the people is the midterm elections Nov. 6. Get out and vote.” As if we needed a reason to like her about 25% more right now.

No one would accuse the AMAs of getting repeatedly or unusually political in the broadcast that took place from L.A. Microsoft Theater Tuesday night, but one presenter did take a cue from Swift, and that was presenting comedian Billy Eichner, who took the audience to church as he sermonized, “Young people of America,...

Stars: Sally Hawkins, Doug Jones, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Octavia Spencer | Written by Guillermo Del Toro, Vanessa Taylor | Directed by Guillermo Del Toro

After A Cure for Wellness, here’s another heavily production-designed sci-fi with horror elements to give us the BioShock feels, from the austere early-‘60s setting right down to individual sound effects. I wish Gore Verbinski or Guillermo Del Toro (the latter directing and co-writing here) would go the whole hog and transport us to Rapture, because once again we have a talented filmmaker delivering a beautiful, disjointed disappointment.

The talented Sally Hawkins plays Elisa, a lonely, orphaned mute. She sleeps on an immaculate sofa in a grand apartment above a cinema with the sounds of classical Hollywood echoing through the floor. Just to hammer home the escapist point, Elisa spends her spare time with her gentle neighbour Giles (Richard Jenkins), watching Shirley Temple, Betty Grable and Carmen Miranda.

Part of the Jerry Lewis tribute A Mubi Jerrython. Writer, director, star of stage, screen and television, humanitarian, producer, and total filmmaker—Jerry Lewis was all of the above. For the first six years of his career he was also a professional lip syncher. At age twelve, desperate to follow his parents on stage, Jerry began developing a “record act.” A staple on the lower rungs of the Borscht Belt, burlesque, vaudeville, and nightclubs, record acts (a.k.a. dummy acts) were cheap and easy: they consisted of a performer or performers miming away to recordings. Always considered pretty corny, they were the poor stepchildren on the theatrical bills, but there were plenty of budding comics who broke into show business that way. Jerry Van Dyke was another newbie who started his career doing record acts, and much later Andy Kaufman would put his own spin on it mouthing only...

Close-Up is a feature that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. Busby Berkeley's The Gang's All Here (1943) is showing December 25, 2017 - January 24, 2018 on Mubi in the United States. Busby Berkeley makes no attempt to hide, or even downplay, the glorious Technicolor fabrication of The Gang’s All Here. From its very first scene, as an apparent bit of dramatic action is revealed to be an elaborate stage production, which then, in turn, detaches from the platform and enters the audience, the wall between illusion and actuality comes joyously crumbling down. From there, the crowd of spectators become themselves part of the show—we’re all part of the show when it comes to this 1943 musical comedy, accepting and delighting in its escapist frivolity. Favoring overt exaggeration and artful indulgence over any semblance of realism, Berkeley engages a gleeful composition of color, music, dance, calculated choreography, and exotic, albeit superficial,...

Chrissy Teigen is leaning on her fans for support after her dog had a health scare on Sunday night. 

"At the emergency vet with my old man bulldog Puddy," the 31-year-old supermodel tweeted of her older English Bulldog. "Please send him happy doggy thoughts -- my first born baby."

When one of Teigen's Twitter followers asked for an update on how her pet was doing, she replied: "Heart failure but he is stable at the moment --  not sleeping tonight that's for sure. Thank you."

Photos: Chrissy Teigen and John Legend Dress as Carmen Miranda and Groucho Marx With Baby Pineapple Luna

Teigen recently got another bulldog, who appears to be getting along with his owners, especially Teigen and John Legend's 1-year-old daughter, Luna. 

In addition to adding another dog to their brood, Teigen told Et that she and Legend are planning for baby number two. "Oh my God, a little boy is...

Chrissy Teigen sure knows how to brighten someone's day!

After dining at an Outback Steakhouse in Centerville, Ohio, last Friday, the model left her waitress, 21-year-old Mikayla Scott, a $1,000 tip.

According to local news station Whio, Scott says Teigen arrived to the restaurant with her 1-year-old daughter, Luna, and four friends. Naturally, the brunette beauty ordered one of the restaurant's most popular items: the Bloomin' Onion!

"She walked in with all her glam," Scott recalled. "I was so nervous I was going to do something wrong."

More: Chrissy Teigen and John Legend Dress as Carmen Miranda and Groucho Marx With Baby Pineapple Luna: Pics!

In addition to a selection of appetizers, Teigen also ordered a cripsy chicken sandwich with a glass of Pinot Grigio. The bill came to $193.81, with Teigen leaving a 516 percent tip.

"People kept saying, 'You are going to get a fat tip,'" Scott said. "I was like, 'Oh my god, praise...

Chrissy Teigen and John Legend went all out for their Halloween costumes this year. The sickeningly sweet couple, who tied the knot in September 2013, paid homage to the 1947 musical comedy Copacabana by dressing up as Carmen Miranda and Groucho Marx. Not only was the model's flashy headdress full of fruity details, but they even dressed their daughter Luna up as a pineapple to complete the group costume. After posing for a family photo at home, the pair continued the festivities at their Halloween party in La by snapping a few pictures in the photo booth. Seriously, this might top Luna's adorable pop-culture costumes from last year. RelatedThese 2017 Celebrity Halloween Costumes Will Either Make You Lol or Scare the Sh*t Out of You...

And a pineapple makes three! Chrissy Teigen and John Legend went for an adorable family-themed Halloween look on Tuesday night.

The 31-year-old supermodel dressed as singer Carmen Miranda, complete with a fruit-covered headdress, crop top and frilly skirt. Legend, 38, went as the thick-eyebrowed Groucho Marx, cigar and all.

Photo: Snapchat

And their precious 1-year-old daughter, Luna, dressed as a little pineapple to complete the homage to the 1947 musical comedy Copacabana.

Not in on the family costume was Teigen’s hilarious mom, Vilailuck Teigen, who dressed as (according to Chrissy) a “Thai banana leaf ghost.”

Photo: Snapchat

The group seemed to have a blast with their ornate ensembles, as Luna tried to pick off some of her mom’s fruit while Legend wiggled his giant eyebrows around.

More: Chrissy Teigen Reveals Her Biggest Fear, Pet Peeves in Halloween-Themed Interview With 'Vogue'

Teigen also shared some photo booth pics with her man on Instagram.

Earlier in the day...

Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of film critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday. (The answer to the second, “What is the best film in theaters right now?”, can be found at the end of this post.)

This week’s question: What is the best performance in an otherwise bad movie?

Joshua Rothkopf (@joshrothkopf), Time Out New York

There’s a Cult of Val (Kilmer, obviously) that I proudly belong to. Mainly it revolves around movies like “Real Genius,” “Top Secret!” and “Heat,” all excellent movies that don’t fit the parameters of this question. But you really don’t know Val until you’ve made your peace with Oliver Stone’s beyond-awful “The Doors.” The apocryphal anecdotes around Kilmer’s deep dive into Jim Morrison are insane: insisting that no one look him in the eye on set, wearing the same leather pants for months,...

Good neighbor policy? Wartime exigencies inspired an intra-hemisphere cultural exchange, with the movies seizing on the new popularity of Latin music. Republic’s contribution gives us the great songs of Ady Barroso and a full soundtrack of his compositions — in a featherweight musical romance, of course.

Brazil

Blu-ray

Olive Films

1944 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 91 min. / Street Date December 6, 2016 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98

Starring Tito Guízar, Virginia Bruce, Edward Everett Horton, Robert Livingston, Veloz and Yolanda, Fortunio Bonanova, Richard Lane, Frank Puglia, Aurora Miranda, Billy Daniel, Dan Seymour, Roy Rogers.

Cinematography Jack A. Marta

Film Editor Fred Allen

Songs Ary Barroso, Hoagy Carmichael

Written by Frank Gill Jr., Laura Kerr, Richard English

Produced by Robert North

Directed by Joseph Santley

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

The wartime ‘Good Neighbor Policy’ was a P.R. blitz intended to steer South America toward the U.S. and away from the Axis.

David Crow Sep 26, 2019

We look at what each of the movie Joker actors have brought to the role, from Cesar Romero in Batman '66 to Joaquin Phoenix.

Whether or not you liked Jared Leto as the Joker in Suicide Squad, you can't argue with a $746 million in worldwide box office. That 2015 movie once again reminded Warner Bros. that the Clown Prince of Crime is their most bankable screen villain, and not even anemic reviews could keep audiences away. For that reason, it's no surprise we are on the verge of getting our first solo Joker movie, this time starring Joaquin Phoenix in a completely original concept from director Todd Phillips and producer Martin Scorseese.

The Joker is a character historically infamous for his theatricality; he’s a scion of chaos, the maestro of malevolence, and a twisty yin to Batman’s straight-laced yang. He’s a comic icon that was...

David Crow Sep 26, 2018

We look at what each of the movie Joker actors have brought to the role, from Cesar Romero in Batman '66 to Joaquin Phoenix.

Whether or not you liked Jared Leto as the Joker in Suicide Squad, you can't argue with a $746 million in worldwide box office. That 2015 movie once again reminded Warner Bros. that the Clown Prince of Crime is their most bankable screen villain, and not even anemic reviews could keep audiences away. For that reason, it's no surprise we are on the verge of getting our first solo Joker movie, albeit the reviews might explain why it stars Joaquin Phoenix in a completely original concept from director Todd Phillips and producer Martin Scorseese.

This is a character historically infamous for his theatricality; he’s a scion of chaos, the maestro of malevolence, and a twisty yin to Batman’s straight-laced yang. He’s a...

Wonderful isn't a good enough word to describe this joyful, funny and visually intoxicating Alice Faye musical by Busby Berkeley. Decades later it became part of a big Camp revival, but the real draw is still the Benny Goodman swing music, delightful performers like Carmen Miranda, and Berkeley's bizarre Technicolor visions. The Gang's All Here Blu-ray Twilight Time 1943 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 103 min. / Street Date July 19, 2016 / Available from Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95 Starring Alice Faye, Carmen Miranda, Phil Baker, Benny Goodman and Orchestra, Eugene Pallette, Charlotte Greenwood, Edward Everett Horton, Tony De Marco, James Ellison, Sheila Ryan, Dave Willock, Jeanne Crain, Frank Faylen, June Haver, Adele Jergens. Cinematography Edward Cronjager Special Effects Fred Sersen Original Music Harry Warren, Leo Robin, Hugo Friedhofer, Arthur Lange, Cyril J. Mockridge, Alfred Newman, Gene Rose Written by Walter Bullock, Nancy Wintner, George Root Jr., Tom Bridges Produced by William LeBaron Directed by Busby Berkeley

Reviewed...

Before he was an Oscar winning filmmaker, actor and sometimes political pundit, before he was a rising star on “ER,” George Clooney was just like every young actor around Hollywood hoping to catch his big break. And that sometimes meant taking gigs just for the experience as he did on the late ’80s campy, schlock […]

The post Exclusive Clip: George Clooney Conjures Carmen Miranda In Blu-ray Release Of ‘Return Of The Killer Tomatoes’ appeared first on The Playlist.

When jewelry designer Stacey Papp learned that some of her closest friends from the fashion world were among those killed and injured in the horrific June 12 Orlando massacre, she immediately wanted to help their families. Her longtime friend, Javier Jorge-Reyes, was murdered that night. Another longtime friend, Leonel Melendez, is in a coma fighting for his life. Says Papp, who owns the Orlando-based Bay Hill Jewelers: "I kept calling their best friend, saying, 'What can I do?'" As a jewelry designer and a philanthropist who started the Bridges of Light Foundation in 2004 to help at-risk children and foster kids,...

When jewelry designer Stacey Papp learned that some of her closest friends from the fashion world were among those killed and injured in the horrific June 12 Orlando massacre, she immediately wanted to help their families. Her longtime friend, Javier Jorge-Reyes, was murdered that night. Another longtime friend, Leonel Melendez, is in a coma fighting for his life. Says Papp, who owns the Orlando-based Bay Hill Jewelers: "I kept calling their best friend, saying, 'What can I do?'" As a jewelry designer and a philanthropist who started the Bridges of Light Foundation in 2004 to help at-risk children and foster kids,...

Marília Pêra: Actress starred in Brazilian movie classic 'Pixote.' Marília Pêra: Brazilian film, TV and stage star Remembering Brazilian stage, television, and film star Marília Pêra, whose acting and singing career spanned more than five decades. Pêra died of lung cancer on Dec. 5, '15, in Rio de Janeiro. Born Marília Soares Pêra on Jan. 22, 1943, in Rio, she was 72 years old. 'Pixote' prostitute Internationally, Marília Pêra is best known as the loud, vulgar prostitute Sueli, who becomes acquainted with São Paulo street kid Fernando Ramos da Silva in Hector Babenco's well-received social drama Pixote / Pixote: A Lei do Mais Fraco (1981),[1] a fierce indictment of Brazilian society's utter disregard for its disadvantaged members. In one pivotal – and widely talked about scene – she lets the titular character (da Silva, at the time 12 years old)[2] suckle her breast. In another, she pulls down her panties and sits in...

Joan Crawford in 'Mildred Pierce.' 'Mildred Pierce' review: Very entertaining soap opera Time has a way of making some films seem grander than they really are. A good example is Mildred Pierce, the 1945 black-and-white melodrama directed by Casablanca's Michael Curtiz, and that won star Joan Crawford a Best Actress Oscar. Mildred Pierce is in no way, shape, or form great art, even though it's certainly not a bad film. In fact, as a soap opera it's quite entertaining – no, make that very entertaining; and entertainment is a quality that can stand on its own. (The problem in recent decades is that cinema has become nothing but entertainment.) In the case of Mildred Pierce, the entertainment is formulaic and rather predictable – but in an enjoyable, campy sort of way. Unbridled Hollywood melodrama Now, what makes Mildred Pierce a melodrama is something known as the Dumbest Possible Action – Dpa for short.

Kitty Gordon: Actress in silent movies and on the musical comedy stage. Rediscovering a long-forgotten silent film star: Kitty Gordon It seems almost unthinkable that there are still silent stars who have not been resurrected, their lives and films subject to detailed, if not always reliable, examination. Yet I am reminded by Michael Levenston, a Canadian who has compiled what is best described as a “scrapbook” of her life and career, that there is one such individual – and not just a “name” in silent films, but also from 1901 onwards famed as a singer/actress in musical comedy and on the vaudeville stage in both her native England and the United States. And she is Kitty Gordon (1878-1974). 'The Enchantress' and her $50,000 backside Kitty Gordon was a talented lady, so much so that Victor Herbert wrote the 1911 operetta The Enchantress for her; one who also had a “gimmick,” in that...

Marília Pêra: Actress starred in Brazilian movie classic 'Pixote.' Marília Pêra: Brazilian star and National Board of Review Best Actress winner dead at 72 This article is being revised and expanded. Please check back later. Actress Marília Pêra, a top Brazilian stage, television, and film star whose acting and singing career spanned more than five decades, died of lung cancer on Dec. 5, '15, in Rio de Janeiro. Pêra (born on Jan. 22, 1943, in Rio de Janeiro) was 72 years old. 'Pixote' prostitute Internationally, Marília Pêra is best known as the loud, vulgar prostitute who becomes acquainted with São Paulo street kid Fernando Ramos da Silva – who suckles her breast in one pivotal scene – in Hector Babenco's well-regarded social drama Pixote, a fierce indictment of Brazilian society's utter disregard for its disadvantaged citizens. Although Pêra's screen time is relatively brief, she made enough of an impact to be...

Constance Cummings: Actress in minor Hollywood movies became major London stage star. Constance Cummings: Actress went from Harold Lloyd and Frank Capra to Noël Coward and Eugene O'Neill Actress Constance Cummings, whose career spanned more than six decades on stage, in films, and on television in both the U.S. and the U.K., died ten years ago on Nov. 23. Unlike other Broadway imports such as Ann Harding, Katharine Hepburn, Miriam Hopkins, and Claudette Colbert, the pretty, elegant Cummings – who could have been turned into a less edgy Constance Bennett had she landed at Rko or Paramount instead of Columbia – never became a Hollywood star. In fact, her most acclaimed work, whether in films or – more frequently – on stage, was almost invariably found in British productions. That's most likely why the name Constance Cummings – despite the DVD availability of several of her best-received performances – is all but forgotten.

Child actor Dickie Moore: 'Our Gang' member. Former child actor Dickie Moore dead at 89: Film career ranged from 'Our Gang' shorts to features opposite Marlene Dietrich and Gary Cooper 1930s child actor Dickie Moore, whose 100+ movie career ranged from Our Gang shorts to playing opposite the likes of Marlene Dietrich, Barbara Stanwyck, and Gary Cooper, died in Connecticut on Sept. 7, '15 – five days before his 90th birthday. So far, news reports haven't specified the cause of death. According to a 2013 Boston Phoenix article about Moore's wife, MGM musical star Jane Powell, he had been “suffering from arthritis and bouts of dementia.” Dickie Moore movies At the behest of a persistent family friend, combined with the fact that his father was out of a job, Dickie Moore (born on Sept. 12, 1925, in Los Angeles) made his film debut as an infant in Alan Crosland's 1927 costume drama The Beloved Rogue,...

Live Hard, Sell Hard: Jacobs’ Fluffer Sequel Has One Track Mind

Considering the interest and financial success of 2012’s Magic Mike, it’s no surprise to see its shimmery abdominal muscles make a robust return with a bigger, broader, and unapologetically upbeat sequel, Magic Mike: Xxl. With original director Steven Soderbergh still undergoing his self-imposed retirement from ‘film’ directing (he returns as cinematographer here), assistant director Gregory Jacobs takes the reins. Previously helming two indie features himself, Jacobs takes on a glorious calling card here, seemingly with the intentions of simply giving core audiences (heterosexual women, gay men) what they want, a fun ride uncompromised by finicky doses of reality or seriousness.

It’s been three years since Mike (Channing Tatum) bowed out of his vainglorious life as a respected stripper, now struggling to maintain a failing relationship as he builds his own furniture company. Out of the blue...

It's Latin Night on "Dancing with the Stars," dance fans, and I was preparing myself for a night of slightly raunchy choreography. I'm so happy to say, it wasn't like that at all. Even the great opening number (choreographed again by Mandy Moore) and the post-break in-betweeners have more actual dancing and less strutting and posing than they did last season.

Tom Bergeron is his usual hysterical self, and even Erin Andrews is getting more comfortable with the gig, getting some good jokes in. At week three, the judges are getting pickier, and the contestants have come down a little after last week's stellar round. But they've all rallied pretty well, and some dancers are still leading the pack.

Let's check out My Top 5:

Rumer & Val's Disco Salsa: Rumer and Val start the night off with a bang and a smoking hot Disco Salsa. She's awesome, and clearly fearless,...

'Cat People' 1942 actress Simone Simon Remembered: Starred in Jacques Tourneur's cult horror movie classic (photo: Simone Simon in 'Cat People') Pert, pouty, pretty Simone Simon is best remembered for her starring roles in Jacques Tourneur's cult horror movie Cat People (1942) and in Jean Renoir's French film noir La Bête Humaine (1938). Long before Brigitte Bardot, Mamie Van Doren, Ann-Margret, and (for a few years) Jane Fonda became known as cinema's Sex Kittens, Simone Simon exuded feline charm in a film career that spanned a quarter of a century. From the early '30s to the mid-'50s, she seduced men young and old on both sides of the Atlantic – at times, with fatal results. During that period, Simon was featured in nearly 40 movies in France, Italy, Germany, Britain, and Hollywood. Besides Jean Renoir, in her native country she worked for the likes of Jacqueline Audry...

Pioneering woman director Lois Weber socially conscious drama 'Shoes' among Library of Congress' Packard Theater movies (photo: Mary MacLaren in 'Shoes') In February 2015, National Film Registry titles will be showcased at the Library of Congress' Packard Campus Theater – aka the Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation – in Culpeper, Virginia. These range from pioneering woman director Lois Weber's socially conscious 1916 drama Shoes to Robert Zemeckis' 1985 blockbuster Back to the Future. Another Packard Theater highlight next month is Sam Peckinpah's ultra-violent Western The Wild Bunch (1969), starring William Holden and Ernest Borgnine. Also, Howard Hawks' "anti-High Noon" Western Rio Bravo (1959), toplining John Wayne and Dean Martin. And George Cukor's costly remake of A Star Is Born (1954), featuring Academy Award nominees Judy Garland and James Mason in the old Janet Gaynor and Fredric March roles. There's more: Jeff Bridges delivers a colorful performance in...

Each year, the Library of Congress selects 25 films to be named to the National Film Registry, a proclamation of commitment to preserving the chosen pictures for all time. They can be big studio pictures or experimental short films, goofball comedies or poetic meditations on life. The National Film Registery "showcases the extraordinary diversity of America’s film heritage and the disparate strands making it so vibrant" and by preserving the films, the Library of Congress hopes to "a crucial element of American creativity, culture and history.” This year’s selections span the period 1913 to 2004 and include a number of films you’re familiar with. Unless you’ve never heard of "Saving Private Ryan," "The Big Lebowski," “Rosemary’s Baby” or "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." Highlights from the list include the aforementioned film, Arthur Penn’s Western "Little Big Man," John Lasseter’s 1986 animated film, “Luxo Jr.," 1953’s “House of Wax,...

Spanning the years 1913-2004, the 25 films to be added to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry for 2014 include Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby, Arthur Penn’s Little Big Man, John Hughes’ Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and the Coen brothers’ The Big Lebowski. The annual selection helps to ensure that the movies will be preserved for all time. This year’s list brings the number of films in the registry to 650.

Also on the list are John Lasseter’s 1986 animated film, Luxo Jr; the original Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory with Gene Wilder; and Howard Hawks’ classic 1959 Western Rio Bravo. Documentaries and silent films also make up part of the selection which represents titles that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant; they must also each be at least 10 years old. Check out the rundown of all 25 movies below:

2014 National Film Registry...