More than anything, Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace is a fascinating cultural object. It’s been 25 years since I saw the film in theaters, and over a decade since I last rewatched it (in a vain attempt to help my Trekkie wife catch up to the prequels). I’ve had enough time to … Read more
Presenters for this year’s Oscars include Zendaya, Michelle Pfeiffer, Chris Hemsworth, Anya Taylor-Joy, John Mulaney, Bad Bunny, Dwayne Johnson, Melissa McCarthy, Catherine O’Hara, and Michael Keaton; 2023 winners Brendan Fraser, Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and Jamie Lee Curtis; past Oscar winners Regina King, Lupita Nyong’o, Mahershala Ali, Jennifer Lawrence, Matthew McConaughey, Nicolas Cage, Ben … Read more
LOS ANGELES (AP) — It’s the Oscars’ time to shine. After an abnormally packed awards season that included the Emmys, Grammys, Screen Actors Guild Awards, BAFTAs and Golden Globes, the Academy Awards will hand out filmmaking’s top honor in 23 categories. Even in its 96th year, the Oscars are finding ways to reinvent itself, with … Read more
Oscar night, 2006. I still feel foolish about it. The award for Best Picture was widely assumed to be a two-horse race between Brokeback Mountain, Ang Lee’s devastating neo-Western about a pair of gay cowboys and their doomed love affair, and Crash, a tapestry of intersecting stories about race and reconciliation in modern-day Los Angeles. … Read more
Even though the 2024 Oscars ceremony does not have the same cultural impact the awards show had during its peak viewership decades ago, actors, filmmakers, and anyone involved with the moviemaking business still yearn to win one of those golden statues handed out Sunday night. Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the 96th Academy Awards will take … Read more
“How to Have Sex,” the first feature by the young British filmmaker Molly Manning Walker, is a far more substantial film than its clickbait title suggests. It’s a coming-of-age story centered on a sexual awakening—an almost hackneyed premise, but one that, in Walker’s hands (as both writer and director), produces results of unusual emotional intensity. … Read more
DIFFICULT MORAL QUESTIONS: How do we know whether we’re doing the right thing when we voluntarily expose ourselves to media that conflicts with the message of the Gospel? Q. As I am a Catholic, is it a sin to watch movies such as The Goonies (1985)? I struggle with some films, especially from the ’80s, … Read more
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Hollywood is ready to party as the Golden Globes return for its annual boozy celebration of film and television’s biggest names. Here’s what you need to know about the 81st annual Globes, including how to watch, stream and follow along live on Sunday. WHAT TIME DO THE GOLDEN GLOBES START? … Read more
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — The Golden Globe Awards are back on the first Sunday in January with plenty of behind-the-scenes changes aimed at cementing a yearslong comeback effort. The show is known for its boozy celebration of film and television and as an early stop for awards season contenders. Scandals have led to a … Read more