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Oscar-winner Walter Salles, fresh from scoring the best international feature statuette for “I’m Still Here,” discussed the impact of his political drama on youth audiences in Brazil and underlined the importance of cinema as “an extraordinary tool of resistance” while attending the Doha Film Institute’s Qumra workshop in Qatar.

“I’m Still Here,” the story of Brazilian activist Rubens Paiva’s 1970 disappearance at the hands of the Brazilian military dictatorship and his wife Eunice Paiva’s subsequent search for justice, recently marked a historic first Oscar win for Brazil. Salles also pointed out that the film has now been “embraced by young generations of Brazilians” for whom it provided “access to a part of their history that had somehow been hidden.”

”The film has become their film,” Salles added, noting that Brazilian youths “took possession” of “I’m Still Here” and then “went to social media to narrate their own stories...

"Gateway horror" is a hot topic among genre fans. Movies and shows that mixed kid-friendly content with more mature scares initiated many young viewers into the horror world, and for many, such a gateway was found in Eerie, Indiana. Though it only ran for a single season, the 1991 series has since gained a cult following, inspiring horror aficionados like Alex Hirsch, the mind behind Gravity Falls.

Eerie, Indiana may have looked like an ordinary kids' show on the surface, but it offered its young fans dark thrills worthy of The Twilight Zone and The X-Files. Under the creative guidance of Joe Dante, the genius behind modern classics like Gremlins and The 'Burbs, the show blended family entertainment with sharp social satire and considerable spookiness, leaving a lasting impression on its rapt audience. It may only have lasted 19 episodes, but Eerie, Indiana is still a must for fans of Goosebumps and...

[Editor’s Note: this list was originally published in August 2017. It has since been updated to include more of Soderbergh’s films, including “Black Bag.”]

Steven Soderbergh’s directing career started with “Sex, Lies and Videotape,” a massive breakout that not only launched his career — it changed the industry of independent filmmaking in America. While struggling to find his footing after becoming a household name at age 26, Soderbergh never let himself become frozen by his early success or some preconceived notion of what his career would be. Instead, he dogmatically followed any story that piqued his interest, regardless if it was building the slick “Ocean’s Eleven” franchise or an experimental film he shot in his hometown with friends (“Schizopolis”).

He has been careful to build a career that was commercially viable so as to maximize his ability to be constantly creating and experimenting with films that were sometimes aggressively uncommercial. Along the way, he has fought to be as efficient a filmmaker as possible — constantly trying different approaches and new technology to make...

“The Mirage” (2024), written and directed by Bikash Mochahary, takes place in the present and is a fictionalized attempt to tell a story of insurgency in Assam. As the story goes, Jagat, a young and unemployed youth, disheartened with the multiple denials and perils of the existing system, joins an underground rebel group called Assam Sangrami Sangathan. But very soon he realizes that, only the revolutionary ideals of a banned outfit that preys on innocent lives are not sufficient to claim a new dawn.

The film, told in chapters, opens with the final part of a mission called Himalayan Blossom. A few unnamed characters stealthily operate in the dark to successfully abandon a two-wheeler under the Ganeshguri flyover of Guwahati. The sequence by design is tense and immediately brings interest to the setup of the plot. In the subsequent morning, a thunder crackles as black smoke rises in the air and...

The Brazilian director on his Oscar-nominated new film, I’m Still Here, the importance of remembering shared history, and Brazil’s double pandemic

Walter Salles, 68, is Brazil’s most internationally celebrated film-maker. He came to global prominence in 1998 with the poignant road movie Central Station, which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin film festival and received two Oscar nominations, and has since released English-language films including Dark Water and On the Road and had an arthouse hit with the Che Guevara biopic The Motorcycle Diaries. For his first feature film in 12 years, I’m Still Here, he returned to Brazil to tell the true story of Eunice Paiva, an activist and mother coping with the forced disappearance of her husband during the country’s military dictatorship. Last month, its star, Fernanda Torres, won the Golden Globe for best actress and the film is up for three Oscars, including one for best...

Cinema is a profound language of emotion and storytelling; few understand this as deeply as Denis Villeneuve. His curated selections for the Criterion Collection reveal a director’s intimate connection with transformative filmmaking. These choices span decades and continents, showcasing films that challenge narrative conventions, explore human complexity, and push artistic boundaries. Villeneuve’s picks are not mere recommendations but a masterclass in cinematic appreciation—each film is a testament to storytelling’s power to illuminate the human experience.

1. Three Colors: Blue (Krzysztof Kieślowski)

Kieślowski’s masterpiece represents cinematic poetry in motion. Denis Villeneuve is captivated by its meticulous artistic synthesis—the delicate interplay between visual composition, emotional narrative, and musical score. The film explores grief through a devastatingly intimate lens, tracking a woman’s journey of loss and eventual emotional reconstruction. Its visual language transcends traditional storytelling, creating a symphonic experience that moves viewers at a profound, almost cellular level.

In 2002, the hype for Japanese horror films was declining rapidly, as the sequels to series like “Ring” or “The Grudge” were commercially and critically unsuccessful. Even though directors such as Hideo Nakata and Takashi Shimizu came to Hollywood to helm the remakes to their films or their sequels, Hollywood had already adapted J-horror tropes to its own productions. As Jerry White points out, one of the perhaps most disappointing entries in the J-horror remakes was Jim Sonzero’s version of Kiyoshi Kurosawa‘s “Pulse” (2001). Perhaps it was this particular experience which made Kurosawa change genres with his next project “Bright Future”.

Bright Future is screening at Black Movie

In general, Kurosawa is best known for his unique horror films such as “Pulse” or “Cure”, films which years after their release now unfold their true impact. At the same time, the director has also repeatedly explored the gap between youth and adults,...

Homer’s relationship with his mother Mona has always been one of the saddest stories in The Simpsons history, but season 36 of the series managed to make it so much worse with a new twist. There are very few things that The Simpsons takes seriously. Even though The Simpsons season 37’s renewal has not yet been announced, season 36’s premiere mocked the idea of the series ending with an in-universe “Series finale” written by the AI program “Hack Gpt.” The show mocks even its own longevity and has never spared politicians, public figures, religions, or institutions.

Related The Simpsons' Showrunner's Idea On How To End The Show Sounds Like The Perfect Series Finale

The Simpsons showrunner Matt Selman recently explained his ideal ending for The Simpsons, and season 36 proves this proposed series finale could work.

One of the darkest stories in The Simpsons season 36 even used the real-life “Miracle of the Andes” for inspiration,...

Che Guevara is unquestionably one of the most important political figures of the 20th century, as he led several noteworthy campaigns within the Cuban Revolution that shaped the democratic makeup of modern South America. Given that Guevara was both a significant political leader and an iconic force in popular culture, it is no surprise that his life story has been adapted to the big screen several times; Steven Soderbergh even cast Benicio del Toro in an epic two-part historical drama called Che. However, the legendary director Walter Salles opted to take a different route when he adapted Guevara’s memoir The Motorcycle Diaries. By lifting from the words that would go on to define Guevara’s life, The Motorcycle Diaries is a compelling coming-of-age drama about the moments that shaped a future revolutionary hero.

Sales company Lightdox has boarded Igor Bezinović’s hybrid documentary “Fiume o morte!,” which premieres in the Tiger Competition section of the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

The Croatian-Italian-Slovenian coproduction takes the audience back to 1919, when the Italian nationalist poet, dandy and preacher of war Gabriele D’Annunzio occupied the city of Fiume.

“Today, the citizens of Fiume, now called Rijeka, retell and reinterpret the bizarre story about the 16-month occupation of their city in a brutally factual yet defiantly punk cinematic journey,” a statement explains.

“‘Fiume o morte!’ is a film on poetry, dynamite, cocaine, machine guns, football, airplanes, furniture flying out of windows, concerts, prisons, sunbathing, thousands of soldiers, millions of bullets, endless speeches, a platypus and on the power of political performativity. D’Annunzio might as well be considered its trailblazer heralding some of the biggest masters of ghastly political showmanship of our age.”

The film is Bezinović’s third feature,...

People are always on a journey in the films of Walter Salles. His 1998 breakout film Central Station saw an abandoned nine-year-old go looking for the father he’s never known, while 2004’s The Motorcycle Diaries had a carefree young Che Guevara becoming radicalized while searching for the soul of South America. More literally, there’s On the Road (2012), his adaptation of the 1957 novel in which beat writer Jack Kerouac tapped into the exploits of his rather more adventurous friends to send himself on a freewheeling trip through postwar USA.

His new film, I’m Still Here, however, has more in common with 2001’s Behind the Sun, a period piece about two feuding rural Brazilian families at the turn of the 20th century. In both of these films, the trek is more of a moral crusade than a matter of geography, as their protagonists try to confront entrenched and seemingly endless cycles...

Killer. Robin Hood. Cannibal gang leader. Revolutionary. These are some of the conflicting labels that have been attached to Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier, the former police officer-turned-gang chieftain at the center of Haiti’s spiraling violence. Since the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse plunged the country into anarchy, mainstream news outlets and social media have portrayed Chérizier as a kind of arch-villain. He and his supporters counter he’s being targeted for daring to upend an entrenched political order in which armed gangs have done the bidding of moneyed elites.

Griselda Gonzalez Gentile’s Luminosa Venture Films has boarded the animated series “Hollow Flowers,” created by multi-media artist and filmmaker Daniel Yepes.

“Hollow Flowers” joins a Luminosa production slate that includes “Ernesto Che Guevara, un Canto Incluso,” a documentary revisiting the legacy of Che Guevara’s thoughts in the contemporary world, and “The Beauty of the Instant,” a fiction feature presenting at this year’s Sanfic Industria Ibero-American Work in Progress sidebar.

Currently in development, the “Hollow Flowers” series is part of a trans-media dark fantasy animated project for teens and adults. It will also include a short film, a video game and a comic. The series will be 20 episodes long, with each clocking in at 15 minutes. Yepes has already produced a teaser and a bible and is courting potential partners for the various formats.

Early iterations of “Hollow Flowers” have already featured extensively at markets and festivals around the world,...

Being a name synonymous with perfection and brilliance, Benedict Cumberbatch has become one of the rare actors in Hollywood whom we can truly call versatile. Having a massive range from intellectual drama to superhero flicks, the English actor even proved his comic skills during his appearance at Letters Live 2019.

Benedict Cumberbatch in Star Trek Into Darkness | Paramount Pictures

Sending the crowd into a total euphoria, with his iconic and hilarious speech about cats and dogs, Benedict Cumberbatch even put his MCU counterpart, Chris Hemsworth to shame. Despite rising to popularity through several comedy movies, Hemsworth might have to bow down to Cumberbatch, after his Letters Live performance.

Benedict Cumberbatch’s Hilarious Speech at Letters Live 2019

Rising to global fame through his appearance in BBC’s hit TV series Sherlock, Benedict Cumberbatch quickly became one of Hollywood’s prominent figures. Now, there’s barely anyone unaware of the existence of the English icon.

This post contains spoilers for X-Men ’97 episode 8.

“Magneto was right.” That phrase, spoken by Val Cooper at the end of the eighth episode of X-Men ’97 “Tolerance is Extinction Part One,” sent shivers down the spines of everyone watching. The extreme intolerance of humans like Bastion shattered Xavier’s dream, suggesting that humans and mutants could never, ever co-exist. The humans just won’t let the mutants be.

Before that statement occurred to Val Cooper, it appeared as a T-shirt. Specifically, a T-shirt worn by Quentin Quire, an incredibly powerful and incredibly condescending teen who attended Xavier’s School for Gifted Children. In New X-Men #135 (2003), written by Grant Morrison and penciled by Frank Quitely, Quire completes a transformation many of us experienced, from shy nerd to condescending punk. He dons an outfit to match, consisting of died purple hair, hip spectacles, and a T-shirt that read “Magneto Was Right.

From Sergei Eisenstein to Andrei Konchalovsky, Russian filmmakers perfected a formula for manufacturing social reality out of highly concentrated mixes of activist outrage and artistic chutzpah. Political hindsight overshadows their unparalleled toying with film language, but it also deepens great works of art like Aleksandr Dovzhenko’s Earth and Mikhail Kalatozov’s I Am Cuba. These two enthralling synergies of sight and sound were made with the support of a communist machine that would eventually fail the people of the Soviet Union and Cuba, but they’re first and foremost exaltations of the rebel spirit, hurled at audiences with a fierce conviction and belief in cinema as a propagandistic vehicle for change.

For the Soviet Union, I Am Cuba was an opportunity to promote socialism abroad during de-Stalinization in the Khrushchev era, and for Cuba it was a way of staking out a cinematic presence. So it is that the...

There are very few television shows or movies out there that capture the horrors of hijackings, which were very common from the 1960s to the 1980s across the world. As stated in this Netflix Original as well, there were over 380 hijackings that happened all around the world, and most of them happened in Latin America ever since the rise of communism, with Che Guevara and Fidel Castro becoming the faces of it. It is appalling to learn such stories never made it to the screen, but decades later, The Hijacking of Flight 601, a Colombian Netflix original, brings a story inspired by a real-life event that took place in the year 1973. Created by C.S. Prince and Pablo Gonzalez, the six-part miniseries, was released on April 10, 2024.

The Hijacking of Flight 601 is a detailed retelling of an incident that occurred in South America in the same year as mentioned in the series.

Veteran actor Stellan Skarsgård has recently praised the series Andor, hailing the Disney+ show as "Star Wars for grownups."

The actor discussed the Tony Gilroy series with Vanity Fair while promoting his latest film, Dune. Skarsgård praised Andor's more mature themes. "Human beings are more than two characters," he said. "We are different when we meet our family and when we are with our friends and when we are. It's sort of a natural state, but played two characters here in Andor, or it was like. First of all, it was very well written. It was Tony Gilroy who wrote it. It's like Star Wars for grownups. It's a very oppressive society. It's a fascist society, and you feel the presence of it. The characters are very well drawn."

Related 'George Was Initially Against the Idea': Star Wars Star Pushed for Big Change to Anakin Anakin Skywalker actor Hayden Christensen...

“What looks at first to be remarkable, bizarre, will soon reveal itself to be part of a pattern,” sings Ethan Dobson (Ben Levi Ross), a just-out-of-Princeton wünderkind, at the start of the new musical The Connector, as he lands a coveted job writing features for a legendary magazine. And though he explains that the lyric is a quote from the venerated founder of the titular magazine, what’s quickly revealed is that it’s Ethan himself who’s remarkable, bizarre, and part of a pattern we’ll soon recognize all too well.

That pattern, especially as exposed under the blazing spotlight shone by Robin Martinez (Hannah Cruz), an overlooked female Latina staffer at the magazine and the musical’s blistering narrator, is nothing less than the patriarchy. “Half the stories of the world are left unwritten/Half the stories of the world are kept unread,” Robin protests in “Cassandra,” the...

In director Roger Ross Williams’ Cassandro, we first meet Saúl Armendáriz — the real-life luchador portrayed by Gael García Bernal — when he’s still scraping his way through the amateur circuit. He’s got an uphill battle ahead: Not only is he smaller and lighter than most of his brawny opponents, he’s also openly gay and the subject of taunts and jeers from his leotard-clad colleagues.

And then, about 20 minutes in, Cassandro arrives. Armendáriz decides to embrace a new identity as one of lucha libre’s exoticos, extravagant male fighters...

How do you deal with a world where finger-pointing, bureaucracy, mob actions and a lack of initiative stall progress? That was the running theme of Friday’s Real Time on HBO, as a downbeat Bill Maher took on a world that was clearly vexing him greatly.

The show started out with an appearance by former Democratic Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo and his former Chief of Staff, Melissa DeRosa, author of What’s Left Unsaid: My Life at the Center of Power, Politics and Crisis.

Cuomo was forced to resign his post because of sexual harassment allegations. But there’s apparently more to the story than the accusations, and DeRosa and Cuomo blamed the New York Times and the lemming-like approach of the media in sloppily telling the story for Cuomo’s fall from grace.

Maher – who said he didn’t want to carry water for the two – did...

Steven Caple, Jr.'s 2023 movie, "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts," took place partly in Peru and was filmed in notable locations around the country. According to Andina, the Peruvian news agency, "Rise of the Beasts" was filmed partly in the lush jungles of San Martin where Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) and Optimus Primal (Ron Perlman) met to discuss tactics in taking down the wicked robot Scourge (Peter Dinklage). Other parts of "Beasts" were shot in Saqsayhuaman on the outskirts of the ancient city of Cusco, which is an enormous stone network of structures in the shape of a puma. It is one of Peru's most-visited locations. The filmmakers also filmed near the thousands of salt ponds of Maras, as well as near Macchu Picchu, the 15th-century Incan citadel you read all about in your fifth-grade geography class. 

Naturally, the Peruvian tourism boards have begun offering "Transformers"-themed tours of Machu Picchu.

Bill Maher has caved, too.

In an 11th hour reversal, Maher announced Monday that he is delaying the Sept. 22 return of Real Time With Bill Maher in light of the writers’ strike. The HBO series was slated to be the first late-night offering to return since the Writers Guild of America began its work stoppage in May

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“My decision...

Bill Maher believes that writers are not "owed" a living and that the strike demands can be excessive and unrealistic. Maher empathizes with the writers on strike and recognizes the need for proper residuals from streaming platforms. While Maher supports his own writers, he understands that the strike has broader implications and that there are other people who are also being affected.

Bill Maher isn’t one to sugarcoat his opinions. And as the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes continue, Maher has stated that writers are not “owed” a living. Maher addresses the point in its proper context while hosting his podcast, Club Random:

“They’re asking for a lot of things that are, like, kooky. What I find objectionable about the philosophy of the strike [is] it seems to be, they have really morphed a long way from 2007’s strike,...

This is Day 128 of the WGA strike and Day 55 of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul paid a surprise visit to striking writers and actors outside Netflix offices in Manhattan on Wednesday, making good on what one union officer said was a “very, very last-minute” decision to briefly join the picket line and meet strike leaders.

In an appearance lasting about 10 minutes that caught most picketers and passersby off-guard, the state’s top elected official exchanged hugs and handshakes with WGA and SAG-AFTRA officers, paused for photos and, protest sign in hand, waded into the march for a couple of laps — flanked by aides, security and visibly delighted union figures including SAG-AFTRA president Duncan Crabtree-Ireland.

Hochul didn’t address the rally, but as she readied to leave, she spoke to a small circle of union leaders — all of them surrounded by onlookers — and encouraged the strikers to “stay strong.

Notable political commentator Bill Maher believes the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike is misguided, claiming scribes aren't "owed" a living amid their fight for better pay and treatment.

Speaking with comedian Jim Gaffigan on the Club Random podcast, Maher questioned the purpose of the writer's strike, suggesting the WGA is too entitled as negotiations between the union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) continue to stall. “They’re asking for a lot of things that are, like, kooky,” Maher said. “What I find objectionable about the philosophy of the strike [is] it seems to be, they have really morphed a long way from 2007’s strike, where they kind of believe that you’re owed a living as a writer, and you’re not. This is show business. This is the make-or-miss league.”

Related: Poll Finds Majority of Americans Support WGA and SAG-AFTRA Strikes

Maher later...

Bill Maher criticized the WGA strike during a discussion with comedian Jim Gaffigan on the “Club Random” podcast. Maher, whose HBO talk show “Real Time” ended its most recent season in April just ahead of the WGA strike, shared his thoughts after Gaffigan noted the strike might kill late-night television for good.

“They’re asking for a lot of things that are, like, kooky,” Maher said about the WGA. “What I find objectionable about the philosophy of the strike [is] it seems to be, they have really morphed a long way from 2007’s strike, where they kind of believe that you’re owed a living as a writer, and you’re not. This is show business. This is the make-or-miss league.”

The WGA strike started in May and hit the 100-day mark last month. Maher said he agreed with the guild regarding streaming platforms having to report viewership data.

“I feel for my writers.

“They’re asking for a lot of things that are, like, kooky.”

That’s Bill Maher’s take on the current state of the Writers Guild strike after his opinions were voiced on the latest episode of his podcast Club Random.

“What I find objectionable about the philosophy of the strike [is] it seems to be, they have really morphed a long way from 2007’s strike, where they kind of believe that you’re owed a living as a writer, and you’re not. This is show business. This is the make-or-miss league,” said Maher about the WGA’s demands to the AMPTP in a work stoppage that’s gone on for 127 days.

“I’m not saying they don’t have points,” Maher added, agreeing that streaming platforms should be reporting viewing data.

The conversation started when this week’s guest, Jim Gaffigan, broached that the strike might kill late-night. Maher...

Sitting with comedian Jim Gaffigan on Sunday’s episode of the “Club Random” podcast, Bill Maher shared some of his thoughts on the ongoing writers’ strike and the WGA’s demands, some of which he called “kooky.”

“They’re asking for a lot of things that are, like, kooky,” Maher said. “What I find objectionable about the philosophy of the strike [is] it seems to be, they have really morphed a long way from 2007 strike where they kind of believe that your owed a living as a writer, and you’re not.”

He then added that Hollywood has always been about the hustle.

“This is show business,” he said. “This is the make-or-miss league.”

Earlier in a clip of the podcast making its way around social media, Maher raised concern over the non-writers of the industry who are being negatively impacted by the ongoing dual strike of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA,...

Locarno– New titles from “The Pretenders’” Vallo Toomla and Sara Summa, director of “The Last to See Them,“ rub shoulders with Nina Menkes’ “Minotaur Rex” and scarefest “All the World Drops Dead,” from Kevin Kopacka, in a lineup of some 150 projects being brought to Locarno Pro networking and co-production forum Match Me!

Shepherding them are 30 producers hailing from the length and breadth of Europe, plus Taiwan and the Dominican Republic, in town for the three-day event, kicking off Friday.

Set up at mainly young-ish production houses, they underscore major trends now coursing through European cinema: the rise of genre and animation – such as Christophe Reveille’s “To Live and Die with Che Guevara” an animated doc feature about three guerrillas who pledged allegiance to Che Guevara – as well as films of large artistic ambition made on contained budgets, such as Taiwan’s “Goodbye North, Goodbye.”

Above all, there’s a...

The freedom and restlessness of summer are perfectly suited to the constant, airy movement found in many road trip movies. The form is versatile, suiting genres from action-comedy to meditative drama; all that’s really required for a film to qualify as a road trip movie is a main character whose journey from one place to another is spotted with constant stops in fresh locales. However, the great examples of the form tap into a deeper appeal. The summer road trip movie is about gradual development; it’s about two or more people stuck with each other against a constantly changing backdrop who come to understand more about one another and themselves.

The road puts things in perspective, and the best road trip movies lead characters to numerous distinct locations that subtly needle at the character’s preconceived notions and offer them fresh, joyful experiences. Strong chemistry between the central cast is essential,...

Keshet International (Ki) has racked up several deals for scripted formats and finished tape in the Central and Eastern Europe region.

Ki has sold the format rights for Duo Productions’ 8 x 60’ relationship thriller “Too Much Love” (“L’homme qui aimait trop”) to Slovakian free-to-air broadcaster TV Joj. Originally created by Canadian writing duo Michel d’Astous and Anne Boyer (“Taboo”) for Bell Media’s Quebecois streamer Noovo, the Slovakian adaptation will be produced by Piknik Pictures (“Traffic Light”). Currently in pre-production, with casting in progress, shooting will commence later this year ahead of a 2024 premiere on TV Joj.

Kelly Wright, Ki’s MD of distribution, described the show as “something of a conversation starter because of the anti-hero’s controversial lifestyle choices,” with Marcel Grega, CEO of TV Joj adding that the show “is the perfect example of a modern drama that opens subjects that are considered taboo.”

Ki’s sales manager...

It took Andor's Stellan Skarsgård a couple of tries to get his iconic Luthen Rael monologue just right.

Appearing on Entertainment Weekly's Dagobah Dispatch podcast, Skarsgård reflected on filming his speech in the episode "One Way Out" and what about its production stood out to him the most. "I mean, of course I knew I had a speech that was very well written, and it was probably one of the best scenes in the season. And I worked on it," he said, adding, "When we shot it, somehow I was tense. I think I said, 'Let's go again, let's go again.' I think I did it 10 times in a row, very fast, right on top of each other. 10 times, like "Go, go, go." And then it was good. Then, I was satisfied, and the director was satisfied."

Related: Star Wars: Visions' 'The Spy Dancer' Is Another Angle On Andor...

It's been well over two decades since Tupac Shakur passed away, but to this day, his legacy remains as powerful as ever. The iconic artist was finally honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on June 7, and at the ceremony, his sister Sekyiwa "Set" Shakur said that the event "speaks volumes to the lasting impact he's had on this world."

"Dear Mama: The Saga of Afeni and Tupac Shakur" director Allen Hughes also honored Shakur's legacy at the event, calling him "a global symbol of rebellion - a symbol as visible and important as Malcolm X and Che Guevara, and an inspiration for activists" and adding that "the entire world feels Tupac's message."

To this day, Shakur's musical and creative contributions continue to reverberate, and of course, there's also still talk about the women who were in his life. We already know Shakur was once married...

Tupac Shakur has finally received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. On June 7, the rapper was honored in a posthumous ceremony hosted by radio personality Big Boy, with Tupac's sister Sekyiwa "Set" Shakur accepting the honor on the late star's behalf. Writer Jamal Joseph, Los Angeles City Council member Hugo Soto-Martinez, and "Dear Mama: The Saga of Afeni and Tupac Shakur" director Allen Hughes also spoke at the event.

In his speech, documented in Variety's live stream, Hughes recognized Tupac's radical legacy, saying he "has become a global symbol of rebellion - a symbol as visible and important as Malcolm X and Che Guevara, and an inspiration for activists . . . Indeed, the entire world feels Tupac's message."

Joseph, who was Tupac's godfather, also paid tribute to the way Tupac has continued to inspire people around the world. "Put your hands over your heart if that phrase, 'The rose that grew from concrete,...

Nearly 30 years after his shooting death at age 25, rapper and actor Tupac Shakur was honoured with his own posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

During the ceremony, held on Wednesday, the late rapper’s family and friends were on hand to pay tribute to his enduring legacy.

Shakur’s sister, Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur, accepted the award during the ceremony, which was emceed by radio personality Big Boy.

Read More: Tupac Shakur To Receive Star On The Hollywood Walk Of Fame One Week Before Birthday

“He defied the distinction between art and activism,” Big Boy said at the start of the ceremony, as reported by USA Today. “Though his career lasted just five years, Tupac Shakur remains one of the most complex and prolific artists of his generation with over 75,000 records sold worldwide.”

The rapper’s sister fought back tears as she spoke from the podium.

“From the first...

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Madonna was due to perform one of the final shows on her Drowned World Tour at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. By noon, the show had been rescheduled and the world had changed irrevocably.

After completing the tour, she wasted little time before getting straight back in the studio with producer Mirwais, with whom she had created most of 2000’s Music. Shaken by 9/11, Madonna was in a period of introspection, telling reporters that fame and fortune had made her oblivious to the gruesome realities of the world.

Alcarràs Photo: Courtesy of London Film Festival

Alcarràs, Mubi now

If you have a Mubi subscription then don't miss this top-notch ensemble drama from Carla Simón, which tracks a family over a sultry summer. After lifetime of peach farming, they are facing losing their livelihood and their home as the trees are replaced by solar panels. Simón handles the multi-layered experiences of both the children and adults with balanced ease, whether its grandad Rogelio (Josep Abad) contemplating what is to be lost, youngsters getting up to mischief amid the orchards or teenagers taking shape into the adults they will become. Simón shows the frictions of family life but also emphasises the way that clans also come together as a unit when it counts.

The Motorcycle Diaries, 1.10am, Film4, Wednesday, March 1

Gael Garcia Bernal was fast cementing his name among international audiences when he starred as the young Che Guevara in...

Beauty queen, rebellious daughter of the head of Portugal’s secret service, housewife fascinated by Che Guevara, fighter – “Annie” Silva Pais was many, many things. Now, she is also the subject of Portuguese period drama “Cuba Libre.”

“I have been thinking about this story for 20 years,” admits creator Henrique Oliveira ahead of its bow at Berlinale’s Series Market Selects.

“That’s when I first read an article about her in [a local newspaper] Expresso. I fell in love right away. This woman was ahead of her time.”

While Oliveira, who also directs, had to wait decades to realize his dream, it actually worked out for the best, he claims.

“In the past few years, so many things have changed, especially when it comes to streaming. The TV market is completely different now. I had all this time to mature, to [figure out how to] pay tribute to this woman in the best possible way,” he says.

Matt Damon and Steven Soderbergh have collaborated on nine films together and the low watermarks of their partnership are as worth watching as the high. Soderbergh is known for a hyper-stylized kind of filmmaking that uses wipes, cross-cutting, side-by-side action, and layered plots that slowly reveal themselves throughout the course of the film. For his part, Damon is one of the top movie stars in the world. He can play a leading man or a supporting character and has the range to be sinister, a hero, comical, or an everyman, and Soderbergh has the talent to tap into his versatility.

The director and actor have one major thing in common and that is their work ethic. Both Damon and Soderbergh have vast catalogs of movie credits, and are top talents in the industry. Damon won an Academy Award for co-writing the Good Will Hunting script with another frequent collaborator, Ben Affleck,...

Ever since the ’80s, action films have been overwhelmingly basic in concept, execution, and title. So when you hear that the new Gerard Butler film is called “Plane,” you’d be forgiven for thinking that you can run the entire movie through your head in the blink of an eye. Gerard Butler on a plane (check). He’s probably the pilot (check). There’s probably a criminal onboard (check). The film will be a low-flying, B-grade “Air Force One,” with Butler’s windpipe-smashing grizzled lug saving the day in the same way that Harrison Ford’s heroically resourceful chief executive did.

Actually, no.

Butler, in his broken-down-dad-with-a-chip-of-gold-on-his-shoulder mode, does indeed play a commercial airline pilot, Captain Brodie Torrance, who in the early scenes boards a passenger jet that he’s piloting on New Year’s Eve from Singapore (where he’s based) to Tokyo. There is indeed a criminal onboard...

This Region-Free import gives us both versions of Gillo Pontecorvo’s fictional tale of colonial misdeeds that sums up old Europe’s attitude toward the New World. Marlon Brando’s agent provocateur and freebooting soldier of fortune foments revolution against the Portuguese and then hires out to reverse everything he’s done for English interests. The big scale production was filmed in several locations across the globe; it has a standout performance from Evaristo Márquez as a charismatic peasant eager to become a conqueror.

Burn!

Region Free Blu-ray

Viavision [Imprint] 194

1969 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 129, 112 min. / Street Date December 28, 2022 / Available from Viavision / au 79.95

Starring: Marlon Brando, Evaristo Márquez, Norman Hill, Renato Salvatori.

Cinematography: Marcello Gatti, Giuseppe Ruzzolini

Production Designer: Sergio Canevari

Art Director: Piero Gherardi

Film Editor: Mario Morra

Original Music: Ennio Morricone

Written by Franco Solinas, Giorgio Arlorio

Produced by Alberto Grimaldi

Directed by Gillo Pontecorvo

The enterprising Italian producer Alberto...

Seeing is disbelieving when it comes to Rrr, an Indian blockbuster set during the rule of the British Raj. Starring Telegu icons Ram Charan and N.T. Rama Rao Jr. (N.T.R.), it’s a lavish adventure based loosely — very loosely — on two legendary Indian freedom fighters of the early 20th century, Alluri Sitarama Raju (Charan) and Komaram Bheem (N.T.R). Whether these two ever did drive motorcycles through exploding trains, fight with lions and tigers and bears, and challenge Delhi’s high society to a dance battle is a moot point, but the magic of S.S. Rajamouli’s delirious, incendiary epic — those three Rs stand for Rise, Roar, Revolt — is that it piles on the spectacle without ever losing its sense of fun.

Deadline: When did the idea for Rrr first come to you?

S.S. Rajamouli: I can’t pinpoint that, really. There were two or...

Exclusive: Keshet International has secured rights to Cuba Libre, a buzzy drama about a follower of Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara that’s being billed as one of Portugal’s most ambitious television series ever. The six-part biopic, based on the life of Ana Maria Silva Pais, will form part of Ki’s slate at Mipcom Cannes next month.

Produced by Hop! Films for Portugal’s public service broadcaster Rtp, the drama follows newcomer Beatriz Gordinho in the lead role of Annie, a young Portuguese woman joined the Cuban revolution and gave everything to Che Guevara. The show debuts on Rtp tomorrow (September 21) and you can watch the trailer below, with English subtitles.

Pais, whose story is told against the backdrop of the Cold War, was the only daughter of the Director General of Portugal’s secret service, the Pide. Considered a culture lover and legendary beauty, she often clashed with...

Terrence Malick first arrived on the scene as part of the New Hollywood movement in the 1970s with his directorial debut "Badlands" and its 1978 follow-up "Days of Heaven," and both are now listed in the National Film Registry for their historic significance. After making "Days of Heaven," however, Malick disappeared from show business for two full decades. It was only in 1998 that he finally returned to the big screen with his Oscar-nominated World War II movie, "The Thin Red Line."

That two-decade absence may have been partially rooted in Malick's experience on "Days of Heaven," which was a particularly daunting film for him and Billy Weber to edit. In an oral history of "Badlands" for GQ, Weber recalled that they spent two years editing "Days of Heaven" — an inordinately long time for a film to be in post-production. Paul Lee, a philosophy instructor at Harvard College and MIT, also recalled...

My favorite tracking shot in film history is not a tracking shot. It's a shot of a tracking shot.

The scene in question opens Jean Luc-Godard's "Contempt," and, visually, consists of little more than a movie camera gliding down a dolly track toward a stationary camera, which serves as the audience's Pov. As the camera moves closer into view, we see that it is shooting, at a 90-degree angle square to our perspective, a young woman (Giorgia Moll) scribbling notations in a book. Eventually, the camera rolls to a stop directly in front of our camera, which is now a low-angle shot of the film's cinematographer, Raoul Coutard, who pans his implement 90-degrees before pointing it downward at the audience. The effect is at once startling and amusing. We have, in essence, locked eyes with the filmmaker.

This may not sound terribly thrilling in writing, but factor in a...

Godard was the inspired maverick of the French New Wave, the Lennon to Truffaut’s McCartney, and kept his radical imagination to the very end

• Godard dies at 91

The last great 20th-century modernist is dead. At the last, Jean-Luc Godard had become like a charismatic but remote cult leader; it was as if Che Guevara had evaded assassination and grown old hiding out in the Bolivian jungle: less visible, less important, but still capable of masterminding from afar those bank-heists and spectacular acts of armed resistance which reminded people of his revolutionary vocation. Godard was at first hero-worshipped and adored and then shrugged at and yawned at: as unthinkingly mocked and jeered at as he was once unthinkingly swooned over. He was influential in the sense that the French New Wave shook up Hollywood and all film-makers; his own rarefied experimental procedures have nowadays migrated to video art.

Godard exploded...

This What We Do in The Shadows review contains spoilers.

What We Do in the Shadows Season 4 Episode 10

Guess what? We don’t have to guess what anymore. What We Do in the Shadows’ season 4 finale doesn’t give all the answers, but it breaks through walls to try. The vampire mockumentary series has made a running gag of breaking the fourth wall, and leans back into it for revelations, brisk rebuttals, and sad goodbyes. “Sunrise, Sunset” closes the chapter by erasing much of it. We can almost hear Nadja’s (Natasia Demetriou) lulling tones reminding the audience to forget what we should have remembered.

Like the vampire club Nadja’s, which lost its bite and is now bleeding out cash, with no nutritional value beyond whatever fluids human improv comedy troupes bring from outer space. The montages of the club’s demise into children’s entertainment hit comic sweet spots,...

There is no Athena housing project in Paris. That’s a name invented by “Athena” director Romain Gavras and partner in crime Ladj Ly for the banlieu apartment block that becomes a kind of makeshift fortress in an epic standoff between residents — first- and second-generation Black and Arab immigrants tired of being mistreated — and the French national police. Naming it thus lends what unfolds there a classical resonance, one that ties Gavras’ astonishing third feature to the tradition of Greek tragedy, though the situation could hardly be more timely.

“Athena” tells the story of four brothers, one murdered on camera by a group of unidentified men in police uniforms, the three others torn about what to do next. Who were these assailants, shown stomping an innocent 13-year-old to death? Why does the French police seem to be protecting the culprits? And what will it take to obtain justice?

These questions...

Jay-Z has claimed that “capitalist” is a derogatory term invented to bring down the black community.

On Thursday (1 September), the 52-year-old rapper participated in Twitter Space hosted by journalist Rob Markman to promote his recent song “God Did” with DJ Khaled.

During the discussion, Jay-Z addresses those who have criticised his business ventures.

“We not gone stop,” he said. “Hip-hop is young. We still growing. We not falling for that tricknology the public puts out there now.

“Before it was the American Dream. ‘Pull yourself up by your bootstraps. You can make it in America’ – all these lies that America told us our whole life. And then when we start getting it, they try to lock us out of it. They start inventing words like ‘capitalist’ and things like that.

“We’ve been called n****s and monkeys and s***. I don’t care what words y’all come up with.