SCARY MOVIE (2026)

Written by Marlon Wayans & Shawn Wayans & Keenen Ivory Wayans & Rick Alvarez



Directed by Michael Tiddes



Where & When: TCL Chinese Theatres, Hollywood, CA June 10, 2026 5:10 PM



It has been fourteen years since the last "Scary Movie", a spoof on horror films and other moments in popular culture, last appeared on the big screen. This series of comedies, originally conceived by Marlon and Shawn Wayans along with writing partners, Buddy Johnson and Phil Beauman, is filled with raunchy humor and comedic spins of popular slasher flicks. The first "Scary Move" back in 2000 was directed by their brother, Keenen Ivory Wayans, who was the creator and host of the sketch comedy series, "In Living Color", and went on to become a box-office hit with a sequel quickly released the following year. But by the time for a third film, the Wayans brothers were forced off the film when they could not come to a salary agreement with the studio at time, Miramax. David Zucker, who was a co-creator and director of "Airplane!" and "The Naked Gun" films, went on to helm the next two "Scary Movie" sequels with Malcolm D. Lee directing a fifth as the box-office results diminished with each subsequent film.

"Scary Movie" is now back to offer parodies on current horror movies to modern viewers and the Wayans brothers along with stars, Anna Faris and Regina Hall have also returned for this sixth installment of the series. Filled with plenty of sight gags and wacky recreations of characters from popular scary movies, "Scary Movie" also attempts to create humor from the frightening culture wars of today. But this film never feels like it has made any real effort to evolve, remaining stuck retreading stale comedy that was barely funny in the previous era.

Our story opens with goth teenager, Tuesday Campbell (Savannah Lee Nassif) being attacked by the return of the deranged killer, Ghostface. At the hospital, her sister, Sara (Olivia Rose Keegan) along with her boyfriend, Jack (Cameron Scott Roberts) realize that this seems similar to what happened with the girls' estranged mother, Cindy (Faris) twenty-six years ago and decide to go to her for help. Living as a recluse, Cindy is too frightened to get directly involved. Sara and Jack team up with Brad (Gregg Wayans) and Dei (Sydney Park) who happen to be the children of Brenda Meeks (Hall) to try solve who is the killer behind the mask.

As we move through this thin narrative, we are given comic send-ups of the genre movies, "Ma", "Get Out", "M3GAN", "Smile", "Longlegs", "Sinners" and there's even a brief animated sequence inspired by "KPop Demon Hunters". And much like many "Saturday Night Live" skits, these comedy bits loosely strung together throughout the film are hit-or-miss routines, filling the screen with either laugh-out-loud occasions or (more often) plodding, groan inducing moments.

Faris and Hall remain the only noteworthy performers here but these comic vets wind up having to take a backseat to the younger characters who lack presence and serious comedy chops. Others who make a reappearance from the past are Brenda's stoner brother, Shorty (Marlon Wayans), reporter, Gail Hailstorm (Cheri Oteri) and the mentally challenged, Doofy Gilmore (Dave Sheridan) who had turned out to be the original Ghostface. And Teyana Taylor make a brief cameo in the opener playing herself in a spoof of this movie series called "Horror Movie".

Since the very beginning of this franchise, "Scary Movie" has focused far more about being clever than actually funny. The latest version wants to appeal to a new generation yet fails to take into account that the world and comedy has changed considerably since the first movie hit theaters. This "Scary Movie" feels dated, extremely lazy and way too formulaic in it's approach and delivery to succeed in its attempt to find laughs spoofing horror movies.

COMING SOON

William Greaves, who was first an actor before moving behind the camera to become a pioneering documentarian, had invited every surviving creator during the Harlem Renaissance he could locate back in 1972 to Duke Ellington’s home in Harlem for a party. Over the next four hours, Greaves filmed as this group of artists reminisced and debated about their experiences and how they had shaped the culture. 

The director behind the "Symbiopsychotaxiplasm" films struggled for years trying to figure out how to best utilize his footage. But Greaves died in 2014 at the age of eighty-seven with the film incomplete. Louise Greaves, his widow, would go on working on the project until she died in 2023. Then their son, David and daughter, Liani would continue on with this work until they were able to finally complete the film.

"Once Upon a Time in Harlem" made its world premiere at this year's Sundance Film Festival where it was well received and highly praised. The documentary will be released theatrically this fall by Neon who won the bidding war following the screening during the fest.

"Once Upon A Time In Harlem" is due in US theaters on October 16, 2026

I LOVE BOOSTERS (2026)

Written & Directed by Boots Riley

Where & When: TCL Chinese Theatres, Hollywood, CA  May 26, 2026  4:10 PM

Boots Riley has finally returned with a follow-up to his cleverly absurdist comedy, "Sorry To Bother You" with "I Love Boosters", a lively comedy that pushes even more aggressively to be hilariously deranged, visually eye-popping and slyly thought provoking. Propelled by an impressive and game cast, Riley certainly wants to entertain while discretely delivering a weighty message with his latest. But "I Love Boosters" is unable to seamlessly merge these sentiments into an effective and meaningful manner.

Corvette (Keke Palmer) is the ringleader behind the Velvet Gang who are sort of like a modern-day Robin Hood and his merry men, regularly shoplifting from high-end designer shops and turning around to sell the expensive clothes to help out the common fashionistas for a far more affordable price point. Along with Mariah (Taylour Paige) and Sade (Naomi Ackie), Corvette's main focus is on a chain of stores called Metro that is run by designer, Christie Smith (Demi Moore). As an aspiring fashion designer, Corvette greatly admires Christie who views what she does as important, transformative art.

The trio get jobs at one of the Metro stores which will make it far easier to get their hands on the clothing. But before they are able to steal the store's inventory, someone else has beat them to it and emptied out the store. Using the surveillance footage, which shows the robber vacuuming up all the merchandise into a large bag, the gang are able to track down the retail thief. It turns out to be Jianhu (Poppy Liu), an employee at the Metro manufacturing plant in China. She explains that the company uses a teleporter to ship their merchandise, saving them a lot of money. But the working conditions at the factory remains miserable and dangerous, so she's using a stolen teleporter to ship the clothes back to China so the workers will have some leverage against the company.

Enhanced by the colorfully vivid production design by Christopher Glass, the delightfully gaudy costumes from Shirley Kurata and the quirky musical score by indie pop artist, Tune-Yards, "I Love Boosters" chugs along with a manic energy, continuously throwing us off balance with chaotic visuals. Riley thrillingly lets his imagination run wild by throwing in absurdist humor (with a black character able to appear as a white woman when she hold her breath), stop-motion animation and a madcap, car chase that utilizes a miniature set. But by the time we reach the third act, our story shifts even deeper into a surreal atmosphere, still with some amusing moments, that becomes more narratively convoluted and exhausting.

As a filmmaker, Riley displays a persuasive confidence, boldly and fearlessly expressing his social and political views which at this period in time could be considered very risky. The film may be filled with intellectual vigor, savvy street style and highbrow sci-fi but the characters in "Boosters" end up being not much more than sketches lacking in the fine details that would bring them properly to life.

But this doesn't mean that the actors on board are not able to shine with some dazzling performances. Palmer plays to her strengths, delivering plenty of smarts, sass and style while Moore gets to chew up the fabric as the ego-driven mastermind behind the fashion company. We also get Will Poulter as a prissy manager of a Metro store where the ladies are employed, an unrecognizable Don Cheadle playing a pyramid schemer and LaKeith Stanfield appears as the Pinky Ring Guy, a smooth taking dude who has an peculiar interest in Corvette.

Without a doubt, Riley is a true cinematic innovator, an audacious and compelling visionary eager to challenge audiences to consider stories and perspectives outside of what is continuously being spoon fed to them through all types of media. I really wanted to love "I Love Boosters". Really. But this whimsical yet fiery call for resistance ends up being a wild jumble of mind-bending thoughts and twisted ideas that unfortunately disappoints because the relentlessly outrageous style winds up overwhelming the political agenda.

2026 BLEAK WEEK: CINEMA OF DESPAIR

From May 31st through June 7th, Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair will be returning to theaters for the fifth year. This festival, which has expanded globally this year to seventy-three cities, began in Los Angeles by the American Cinematheque to present a weeklong event that spotlights some of the greatest films from around the world that explore the darkest sides of humanity, as well as some of the bleakest points in human history. This year's series continues with some of the world’s greatest filmmakers who completely embrace a cinema of despair in pursuit of unpleasant truths and raw empathy.

Some of the films presented will include appearances by filmmakers and actors for discussions with highlights include French acting icon, Isabelle Huppert with six of her films that will feature "The Piano Teacher", "Elle" and the infamous, "Heaven's Gate"; filmmaker, Ari Aster will have a retrospective that will include his bleak classics, "Hereditary", "Beau is Afraid" and a director's cut of "Midsommar"; Steven Spielberg's timely, "A.I Artificial Intelligence" will celebrate it's 25th Anniversary with actor, Haley Joel Osment; The Coen Brothers' underappreciated 2001 film, "The Man Who Wasn't There" with the theatrical world premiere of a new restoration and Q&A with cinematographer Roger Deakins; Theresa Russell will be present for a screening of "Bad Timing", a now cult classic that co-starred Art Garfunkel and directed by her then-husband, Nicolas Roeg; the U.S. premiere of a new 4K restoration of Jane Campion's Oscar-winning drama, "The Piano" from 1993; and Al Pacino will be in-person for a Q&A following a screening of "The Godfather Part II" on June 2nd.











The screenings will take place at the Los Feliz 3 Theatres, The Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood and Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. For the complete list of films, please click below:

2026 Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair

For more information on venues participating outside of Los Angeles, please click below:

2026 Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair Global Film Festival

WINNERS OF THE 2026 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL

Cristian Mungiu’s drama, "Fjord" won the Palme d’Or at the conclusion of the 79th annual Cannes Film Festival. The Romanian director, who previously received the festival’s prize for his film, "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" in 2007, becomes the tenth director to win the coveted award twice. Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve star as a conservative couple who decide to move to the remote village in Norway where the wife was born with their children. But their new life does not go as planned when they come up against a couple who become concerned about how they're raising their family. And theatrical distributor, Neon (which will release "Fjord") continued to make history at Cannes with its seventh straight Palme d’Or winner with Bong Joon Ho’s 2019 film, "Parasite" and Sean Baker's 2024 feature, "Anora" both going on to win the Best Picture Oscar.

Russian director Andreï Zviaguintsev’s "Minotaur" went on to receive the Grand Prize which is the runner-up. Based on the 1969 French film "The Unfaithful Wife" by Claude Chabrol, "Minotaur" is set in a Russian small town and follows business executive on the verge of laying off his employees when he discovers his wife is having an affair.

This year's jury, lead by Park Chan-Wook, seemed to have great difficulty narrowing down just one winner as there our multiple films sharing prizes. The directorial duo, Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi for "La Bola Negra" and Paweł Pawlikowski of "Fatherland" both won the Best Director award. Virginie Efira and Tao Okamot jointly received the Best Actress award for their performances in "All Of A Sudden" while Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagneshare, the stars of Lukas Dhont’s World War I drama, "Coward", shared the Best Actor Award.

Here is the list of winners of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival:

Palme d’Or: "Fjord"
Grand Prize: "Минотавр (Minotaur)"
Jury Prize: "Das Geträumte Abenteuer (The Dreamed Adventure)"



Best Director: Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, "La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)" and Paweł Pawlikowski, "Fatherland" (Tie)





Best Screenplay: Emmanuel Marre, "Notre Salut (A Man of His Time)"
Best Actress: Virginie Efira and Tao Okamo, "Soudain (All Of A Sudden)"
Best Actor: Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagneshare for "Coward"



Camera d’Or: "Ben’Imana"
Short Film Palme d’Or: "Para los contrincantes (For The Opponents)"
Honorary Palme d’Or: John Travolta and Barbra Streisand

2026 SUMMER MOVIE PREVIEW

This year in cinema has gotten off to a rousing start this spring which has been driven by several blockbuster hits that include "Project Hail Mary", "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie", "Michael" and "The Devil Wears Prada 2".  All of this appears to be a healthy sign that the upcoming summer movie season should continue the momentum of eager attendance, leading to big numbers at the box-office.

There are many films that look intriguing that will be released over the next three months but these movies I've listed below have really captured my attention.

All release dates are subject to change:

"BACKROOMS"

Release date: May 29, 2026

The twenty year old, Kane Parsons makes his feature film directorial debut with "Backrooms", a sci-fi horror thriller which expands upon the 2022 web series he created with a screenplay by Will Soodik. Oscar-nominee Renate Reinsve plays a therapist to Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who owns a furniture store, as he tries to explain to her some strange happenings at his location. But he soon disappears into this dimension beyond reality and she must venture into the unknown to try and save him.



"DISCLOSURE DAY"

Release date: June 12, 2026

Steven Spielberg's upcoming film, "Disclosure Day" takes us back into the world of dark sci-fi where aliens seem poised to invade our planet. Not many clear details have been revealed but we have Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, Eve Hewson, Colin Firth and Colman Domingo all on board in a story that involves solving a mysterious conspiracy about revealing evidence of extra-terrestrial life that has been long hidden by the government. This thriller is based on a story by Spielberg with the screenplay by his long-time collaborator, David Koepp.



"STOP! THAT! TRAIN!"

Release date: June 12, 2026

"Stop! That! Train!" is set in the wacky world created by the RuPaul's Drag Race franchise with many of the stars of that television competition program appearing in this wild ride of riotous comedy. Train stewardesses, Tess (Ginger Minj) and DeeDee (Jujubee), best friends who work together on the Stank Rail for the Glamazonian Express. A horrific storm threatens to derail the high-speed train and crash it into Los Angeles unless the girls along with the passengers come together to save the day. Drag queens, Latrice Royale, Monét X Change, Brooke Lynn Hytes and Symone plus non-drag queens, Lisa Rinna, Jerry O'Connell, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicole Richie and Charo also star. And of course, RuPaul makes an appearance as President Judy Gagwell. Adam Shankman directs.



"LEVITICUS"

Release date: June 19, 2026

Creating a buzz at this year's Sundance Film Festival, "Leviticus" is a queer horror-drama about two Aussie teenage boys (Joe Bird, Stacy Clausen) that are falling in love but live in a religious environment. They are soon being tormented by an evil and violent entity who is able to create havoc by taking the form of each other. The Australian filmmaker, Adrian Chiarella makes his directorial debut with this film.



"THE INVITE"

Release date: June 26, 2026

Olivia Wilde’s third directorial effort, "The Invite" follows Joe and Angela (played by Wilde and Seth Rogen), a long married couple going through some challenging times in their relationship, who are hosting a dinner for their upstairs neighbors, Pina (Penélope Cruz) and Hawk (Edward Norton). But the evening does not go smoothly with the neighbors making an unexpected offer to the couple. This comedic-drama (written by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack) is based on the 2020 Spanish film, "The People Upstairs" and made an impressive splash during its premiere at this year's Sundance Film Festival, leading to a bidding war for distribution rights with A24 becoming the victor.



"SUPERGIRL"

Release date: June 26, 2026

She briefly made an appearance near the end of the "Superman" reboot last year and now "Supergirl" is the focus of her own movie, directed by Craig Gillespie. This is the latest iteration of this DC comic-book character following the campy 1984 movie and the 2015 television series that lasted six seasons. Based on the 2021–22 comic book miniseries, "Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow", Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock), the cousin of Superman who was raised on a chunk of the destroyed planet Krypton before that soon perished, travels across the galaxy to celebrate her twenty-third birthday with her dog, Krypto. But her celebration is interrupted when she is asked by a young girl (Eve Ridley) to help avenge her father's death. Matthias Schoenaerts and Jason Momoa (who appears here as the alien bounty hunter, Lobo even though he played Aquaman in several movies) also star.



"THE ODYSSEY"

Release date: July 17, 2026

For his next feature film, Christopher Nolan is taking on an adaptation of Homer's ancient Greek epic, "The Odyssey". On his very long journey home to reunite with his wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway) following the Trojan War, Odysseus (Matt Damon), the king of Ithaca, encounters many treacherous obstacles that will delay him which includes sirens, the witch-goddess, Circe (Charlize Theron) and the Cyclops. A very impressive cast has been assembled with Tom Holland, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Mia Goth, Jon Bernthal, John Leguizamo and Lupita Nyong'o to name just a few on board.



"THE END OF OAK STREET"

Release date: August 14, 2026

"The End of Oak Street" is a sci-fi thriller involving a family that begin to notice very strange events happening on their street. Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor play the parents of two teenage children (Maisy Stella and Christian Convery) who live a comfortable life in a suburban neighborhood. After a mysterious cosmic event, their entire street is transported to some perilous other world and they must work together in order to survive. This is the latest feature film from writer/director, David Robert Mitchell ("It Follows", "Under The Silver Lake").



"TONY"

Release date: August 7, 2026

Anthony Bourdain was a celebrity chef, author and host of the popular television cuisine travelogue program, "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations" before shockingly ending his own life in 2018. Now there is a biopic about how Bourdain became the famous culinary bad boy with "Tony", co-written and directed by Matt Johnson. Dominic Sessa stars as Bourdain, a nineteen year old who wants to be a writer but fails to get accepted for a fellowship. Discouraged, he winds up working at a seafood restaurant in Cape Cod, run by the no-nonsense owner, Ciro (Antonio Banderas), where his eyes are reluctantly opened to possibilities. Emilia Jones and Leo Woodall also star.

MICHAEL (2026)

Written by John Logan



Directed by Antoine Fuqua



Where & When: TCL Chinese Theatres, Hollywood, CA. April 28, 2026 3:55 PM



Despite his tragic death at the age of fifty in 2009 from a drug overdose and some disturbing allegations that have continued to muddy his legacy, Michael Jackson has managed to maintain his position as one of the biggest global pop music stars on the planet. The biographical musical drama, "Michael", capably directed by Antoine Fuqua, focuses on the singer's life from childhood as the highlight of the popular singing group with his brothers, the Jackson 5 to him going on to become even more famous as a solo artist after anxiously breaking free from the tight grip of his manager who also happened to be his father. With Graham King, who was the producer behind the rock band, Queen's bombastic yet neutered bio-pic, "Bohemian Rhapsody", John Branca, Jackson's former attorney and co-executor of the estate and the participation by most of the Jackson family all on board, "Michael" is slickly packaged, visually stunning propaganda, presenting a Jackson that fans would want to believe existed: gifted, enigmatic, quirky, a little sad but relatively harmless.

The film wastes no time jumping us straight into Gary, Indiana in 1966 where we witness the conflict between Joseph Jackson (Colman Domingo) and his five sons, Jackie (Nathaniel Logan McIntyre), Tito (Judah Edwards), Jermaine (Jayden Harville), Marlon (Jaylen Lyndon Hunter) and the youngest, Michael (Juliano Krue Valdi). He has assembled his children as a musical act and believes that in order to achieve success, they must constantly rehearse. But since they are kids, this isn't how they really want to spend all their time doing. However, Joseph, frustrated at his job at a steel mill, wants a better life for his family and isn't asking them, expecting his boys to obey otherwise face being beaten into submission.

Their first break comes two years later while opening for Gladys Knight (Liv Symone) and the Pips when the Jackson boys catch the attention of Suzanne de Passe (Laura Harrier), an executive at Motown Records. They are signed to the label, named "The Jackson 5", record their debut album and become an instant sensation. While they are a group, it is Michael, who is the lead singer, that receives the most recognition. Shy and timid off stage, Michael's confidence as a person (and later as an artist) is helped by Motown founder, Berry Gordy (Larenz Tate) who takes the young boy under his wing, guiding him on how the recording process works.

Years later, the Jacksons have left Motown and signed with Epic Records. Now a young man, Michael (played by Jaafar Jackson) is ready to make another solo album and teams with Quincy Jones (Kendrick Sampson) to produce. "Off The Wall" becomes a best-selling smash hit but Michael isn't able to fully enjoy his success because Joseph, who still manages his son's career, expects him to hit the road with his brothers to promote their album. Michael begins to take steps to try and control his own life: first by having surgery to make his nose smaller and then hiring John Branca (Miles Teller) as his attorney and has him fire his father as his manager. Then Michael begins recording his follow-up album with Jones which will be called "Thriller".

Since the estate of the pop singer was behind the production of this film, it was clear that "Michael" was never going to be an in-depth and revealing examination into who Jackson actually was and his turbulent personal history. The film, with a serviceable screenplay by John Logan, simply rehashes the familiar details of his career that many people are probably already fully aware. The only revelation I learned from this film was how severely Michael had been injured during the filming of the Pepsi commercial when a spark from the pyrotechnics sets his hair on fire, actually leaving him with third-degree burns on his scalp and nerve damage. Fuqua, who has made his career as a proficient filmmaker who was behind "Training Day" and "The Equalizer", doesn't try to elevate this movie with any artistic flourishes instead just sticks to the basics in his storytelling, briskly taking us from point A to point B, leaving no room for introspection.

Jaafar Jackson (the nephew of Michael and son of Jermaine) does make a dynamic impression with his acting debut playing his uncle. With an obvious advantage of having a family resemblance, his performance also captures the soft spoken, sweet-natured side of Jackson while expertly recreating some of the dazzling dance moves and musical highlights of the chart-topping artist with the singing in the film is largely from Michael's recordings. Domingo, buried under heavy prosthetics, does what he can with the one-note villain role of Joseph. But since there's nothing revealed about what made this ruthless man tick, we simply witness him terrorizing and manipulating everyone in his orbit with his horrid behavior. Nia Long appears as the matriarch of the family, Katherine Jackson who isn't given much to do or say beyond looking grave and concerned as she silently watches her husband abuse their children.

It is quite jarring that several key members of the Jackson family are treated like they just don't exist (most notably the second most famous Jackson, Janet) in this movie. But the rest of the Jacksons who did agree to appear in "Michael" are largely just shadows, with nothing made known about them and are simply filling up space around the actual star of this story when needed. And an unrecognizable Mike Myers makes a very brief appearance as Walter Yetnikoff, the president of Jackson's label, CBS Records who plays a vital part in helping take the performer to the next level by getting his videos played on MTV, which had largely refused to run Black artists, by threatening to pull all of the label's acts from the music channel.

"Michael" ends after his final tour with his brothers, completely severing professional ties with his family and begins his first solo tour in 1988. This means that this film doesn't deal with any of the child sexual abuse accusations against Jackson which began about five years later. There had been plans originally to include the allegations and scenes were apparently shot. But after "Michael" had been nearly completed, the producers were informed that they could not mention the accuser due to a clause in the settlement. You would have thought that since this was such an extremely sensitive subject matter that the production's legal team would have made some effort to look into this long before the cameras rolled.

Due to the overwhelming and expected success of "Michael" (with a half billion dollars earned at the global box-office to date and still growing), there is a follow-up planned of Jackson's story which will continue with his career and apparently deal with some of the more unsavory aspects that occurred later in the pop superstar's life. But much like this well made yet toothless bio-pic, there isn't any expectation that the sequel will dig too deep nor make Jackson appear in any way that would actually make him seem deceitful or threatening. "Michael" was never intended to disrupt the connection between the last King of Pop and his devoted and loyal fanbase. This film was supposed to serve as a solid and entertaining reminder of the extraordinary talent and enduring influence of Michael Jackson, never to tarnish his image or question his morals. And with that, "Michael" largely succeeds.

2026 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL

The 79th annual Cannes Film Festival is set to begin with the glamourous star-studded event will run from May 12-23 on the French riviera. This international celebration of cinema will be the first opportunity to see some of the exciting new works that will reach screens throughout the rest of the year and beyond. The poster for this year's fest features the image of Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon as "Thelma & Louise" in Ridley Scott's 1991 road-trip drama that made it's world premiere at Cannes going on to become a critical and commercial success.

The festival opens with the world premiere of "La Vénus électrique (the Electric Kiss)" from Pierre Salvadori which will be screened Out of Competition. The film stars Pio Marmaï as Antoine Balestro, a painter in 1920's Paris who has been unable to work since the death of his wife, Irène (Vimala Pons), much to the frustration of his gallery owner, Armand (Gilles Lellouche) who goes through some drastic measures to try and get him in front of an easel.



Korean writer/director Park Chan-Wook will serve as this year's jury president. He will be joined by American actress, Demi Moore; Swedish actor, Stellan Skarsgård; Irish actress, Ruth Negga; Ivorian-French actor, Isaach De Bankolé; Chinese writer/director Chloé Zhao; Chilean writer/director Diego Céspedes; Belgian writer/director, Laura Wandel and Britsh screenwriter Paul Laverty to select the winners of the top prizes.

There have been twenty-two films selected for Competition that will feature an impressive collection of films by a wide range of international filmmakers. Some of the movies will include new works by acclaimed directors, Andrey Zvyagintsev ("Минотавр (Minotaur)"), Pawel Pawlikowski ("Fatherland"), Lazlo Nemes ("Moulin"), Cristian Mungiu ("Fjiord"), Hirokazu Kore-eda ("箱の中の羊 (Sheep in the Box)"), Lukas Dhont ("Coward"), Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi ("La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)"), Marie Kreutzer ("Gentle Monster"), Asghar Farhadi ("Histoires Parallèles (Parallel Stories)") and Pedro Almodóvar ("Amarga Navidad (Bitter Christmas)"). This year will be very slight in regards to an American film presence at Cannes with only Ira Sachs' "The Man I Love", a musical fantasia set during the AIDS crisis and the recent addition of James Gray's "Paper Tiger", a crime-drama featuring Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson, as the only movies from the US selected for competition.





In the Un Certain Regard section, which presents a lineup which recognizes emerging talent and innovative cinema, will feature the latest film from Jane Schoenbrun with "Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma" which will be the opening film; American actor/comedian, Jordan Firstman's directorial debut, "Club Kid"; "A Girl’s Story" the debut feature directed by French actress, Judith Godrèche and Greek director Konstantina Kotzamani’s "Titanic Ocean" about a special school in Japan that trains teenage girls into being professional mermaids.



Some intriguing films that will be shown out of competition includes the return of the Danish filmmaker, Nicolas Winding Refn with his horror-thriller, "Her Private Hell", his first feature film in ten years. The actor, Andy Garcia will premiere his second film as a director with "Diamond", a crime-drama that stars Garcia, Vicky Krieps, Brendan Fraser, Bill Murray and Dustin Hoffman. Steven Soderbergh will screen his documentary, "John Lennon: The Last Interview", the controversial film that will combine AI visual elements with the audio of the former Beatle's final interview with Rolling Stone magazine and Ron Howard will debut his documentary "Avedon" about the life and career of the famed photographer, Richard Avedon.

And Peter Jackson, the New Zealand filmmaker best known for his work on the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, will be presented this year with an honorary Palme d’Or. The Academy Award winning director will also participate in the fest's Talks program along with fellow Oscar-winners, Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton for separate onstage conversations.

COMING SOON

The writer, Colleen Hoover has enjoyed some great success with having her best-selling novels transformed into motion pictures. The first, "It Ends with Us", which starred Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, became a huge commercial success in 2023, grossing over three hundred and fifty million dollars worldwide. Her other books, "Regretting You" and "Reminders of Him" were also made into films and while neither managed to reach the same massive box-office heights, both were still able to attract a sizable audience.

Now Hoover's latest book-to-screen adaptation is "Verity" with this drama driven with some major star power. Bestselling author, Verity Crawford (played by Oscar-winner, Anne Hathaway) has become incapacitated and her husband (Josh Hartnett) has hired Lowen, (Dakota Johnson), a struggling writer, to help complete his wife's popular book series. While living in the Crawford's home to work, Lowen discovers a hidden manuscript that contains some disturbing information about the author.

Based on the teaser trailer, "Verity", directed by Michael Showalter, appears to be filled with suspense and psychological tension, diving into shifting boundaries between truth and fiction. And this will be the fifth movie featuring the very busy Hathaway released this year following the indie drama, "Mother Mary", the long-awaited sequel, "The Devil Wears Prada 2", Christopher Nolan's historical epic, "The Odyssey" and the sci-fi thriller, "The End of Oak Street".

"Verity" is due in US theaters on October 2, 2026

KRZYSZTOF KIESLOWSKI: AN AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUE RETROSPECTIVE

The esteemed Polish filmmaker, Krzysztof Kieślowski will be honored with a tribute by the American Cinematheque with a screening of his best known works which includes his celebrated "Three Colours" trilogy. The retrospective will begin on May 3rd and running through July 12th with screenings held at the Aero Theatre, Los Feliz 3 and Egyptian Theatre.

Kieślowski, who passed away in 1996 at the age fifty-four during open-heart surgery following a heart attack, had been awarded numerous prizes throughout his career that included a 1988 Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize, the Venice Film Festival Golden Lion in 1993, the Berlin International Film Festival Silver Bear as well as receiving Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay in 1995.

Born in Warsaw, Kieślowski had no real career goals, briefly attending firefighters' training school and then wanted to become a theatre director but lacked the proper education and settled on cinema. He applied to the Łódź Film School and was rejected three times before finally being accepted. After making several short films, Kieślowski's first major project was a documentary and his first film for television, "Workers '71: Nothing About Us Without Us" in 1972 which focused on workers discussing the reasons for the mass strikes of 1970. Frustrated by the censorship of his film by the government when it aired, Kieślowski decided to focus largely on fiction which would allow him more artistic freedom and control over his work.

His first feature film was "Personnel", a 1975 television drama about a young man who finds work as a tailor at an opera and becomes disillusioned by the harsh realities of stage productions, that would win numerous awards at national festivals including the Grand Prize at the Mannheim International Film festival. Kieślowski's work during his early period were shot in a documentary style with many nonprofessional actors which includes "Blizna (The Scar)", "Przypadek (Blind Chance)" and No End "Bez końca (No End)". This lead to the 1988 television movie, "Dekalog" which featured a series of ten hour-long episodes set in a Warsaw tower block, each loosely based on one of the Ten Commandments. The program helped Kieślowski attract foreign financing for his next films, mainly from France, which allowed him to have a bigger budget and expand his vision to create his work.

The first was "The Double Life of Veronique" in 1990 which starred Irène Jacob as two women, one Polish and the other French that do not know each other, who share a deep, emotional bond that transcends language and geography. This film became internationally acclaimed, winning the FIPRESCI Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, as well as the Best Actress award for Jacob.

His next project was the ambitious feature film trilogy, "Three Colours (Blue, White, Red)", which explores the virtues symbolized by the French flag. "Blue" (which symbolizes liberty) starred Juliette Binoche as a woman whose husband and daughter are killed in a car accident and then tries to isolate herself from life. "White", about equality, is a psychological comedy involving a Polish man (Zbigniew Zamachowski) living in Paris that suffers several humiliating circumstances after being left by his French wife (Julie Delpy). And Irène Jacob starred in "Red" (which represents fraternity) with her playing a model whose life dramatically collides with a bitter retired judge (Jean-Louis Trintignant). Despite the critical acclaim for these films, Kieślowski announced he was retiring in 1994 following the premiere of "Red" at the Cannes Film Festival. He had become physically and emotionally exhausted from the process of filmmaking as well as claiming to really never enjoyed making movies.

Whether this was true or not, Kieślowski revealed himself to be a true cinematic visionary, leaving behind an indelible collection of films ranging from the social realist examinations of life under communism to the universal complexities of the human condition.

Please click below for additional information and to purchase tickets:

Krzysztof Kieślowski: An American Cinematheque Retrospective

YOU, ME & TUSCANY (2026)

Written by Ryan Engle



Directed by Kat Corio



Where & When: AMC The Grove 14, Los Angeles, CA. April 16, 2026 4:15 PM



"You, Me & Tuscany" is the latest rom-com that is attempting to revive this beloved genre back on the big screen. And while this film, nimbly directed by Kat Coiro, is filled with glowing charm and sweet romance that's set in an incredibly beautiful location, the end results still feels too uninspired and formulaic. Our leads, Halle Bailey and Regé-Jean Page are certainly charismatic and have a lovely chemistry together which certainly helps distract from the comedy's deficiencies in style and substance.

After Anna (Bailey) has been fired from her job house-sitting in a NYC high-rise apartment due to her being caught wearing the wealthy owner's clothing, she essentially becomes homeless. She did have a dream of becoming a professional chef but her mother's illness and eventual death would derail her plans, leaving her emotionally adrift and unable to continue her passion. Anna contacts her friend, Claire (Aziza Scott), who works in a ritzy hotel, to see if she can crash with her for a while. While waiting for her to get off her shift, Anna goes to the bar where she meets Matteo (Lorenzo de Moor), a handsome and charming Italian. Through an evening with plenty of drinks and conversation, Anna and Matteo make a connection with him sharing about his estranged relationship with his family and his empty villa back in Tuscany. They end up in his hotel room but he passes out from jet lag before anything romantic can happen.

The next morning, after Matteo apologizes for falling asleep and takes off on his business trip, Anna impulsively decides to go to Italy. But once she arrives, with no real plan or hotel reservations, Anna finds she has no place to stay in Tuscany due to a yearly festival. With the help of a quirky cab driver (Marco Calvani), Anna ends up breaking into Matteo's villa for shelter. But she's soon discovered by Matteo's family that includes his mother (Isabella Ferrari), father (Paolo Sassanelli), nonna (Stefania Casini) and cousin, Michael (Page). Anna avoids getting arrested after they assume she's Matteo's fiancé due to her wearing an engagement ring she found in a drawer. And the situation, which she continues to delay in correcting, becomes even more complicated when she starts to develop an attraction to Michael.

Diane Lane spontaneously buys a villa in Tuscany hoping it will change her life in "Under The Tuscan Sun" while Sandra Bullock is assumed to be the fiancé of an injured man she saved due to a case of mistaken identity in "While You Were Sleeping". Both of these romantic-comedies were able to transform their breezy concepts and create substantial movies with memorable characters that have managed to endure. "You, Me & Tuscany" is never able to muster the same energy. While it is wonderful that we have a beautiful, African-American woman as our protagonist, it's unfortunately just not enough. This movie, with a lackluster screenplay by Ryan Engle, remains slight, narratively lazy and never makes any real effort to move beyond formula. 

With her appearance in the live-action remake of "The Little Mermaid", Bailey proved she has a great screen presence. Yet much more is required of her in this movie. The sweet-faced Bailey is able to keep us on her side despite all of the lies and deception that Anna commits throughout this story but her character comes across far too innocent and angelic, considering her many dishonest actions, to be convincing. Page doesn't have much to do here beyond being alluring and looking very good without his shirt on.

"You, Me & Tuscany" doesn't aspire to be much more than a Lifetime television movie with a bigger budget. What we end up with tends to work far better as an enticing travelogue of Tuscany than as an engaging rom-com. And that's okay. This beautifully rendered film (with cinematography by Danny Ruhlmann) is a pleasant enough distraction that entertains with a few laughs, complicated romance, some delicious-looking meals and an absolutely gorgeous location.

COMING SOON

"Practical Magic" was a romantic fantasy film (released in 1998 and based on the popular novel by Alice Hoffman) about two sisters who are descendants of a long line of witches. After their parents' tragic death from a family curse, the young girls are raised by their aunts (Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest) and taught the uses of practical magic. And it comes in handy years later when the adult sisters (played by Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman) must unite to use their powers to destroy an evil spirit.

The movie was only a modest success and largely critically panned when it was initially released. Yet over time, thanks to it's constant appearance on cable stations, the film's style aesthetic and themes of female empowerment, "Practical Magic" would develop a rabid cult following with millennial and Gen Z women. 

Now twenty-seven years later, a sequel is on the horizon. "Practical Magic 2" reunites Kidman and Bullock, who are now both bigger stars and Oscar-winners, to play the sisters. The teaser trailer for the movie has just been released and it looks like this encore could provide some enchanting delights.

Based on the sequel "The Book of Magic" that Hoffman wrote in 2021 and directed by Susanne Bier, this story is set twenty-five years after the events of the first film with Kylie (Joey King), the daughter of Sally (Bullock), discovers the family's hidden secrets and develops her own magical abilities. With Gillian (Kidman) and the aunts (Channing and Wiest also return), they all come together to try and finally break the curse that has haunted their lineage for centuries.

"Practical Magic 2" will be in US theaters on September 11, 2026

THEY WILL KILL YOU (2026)

Written by Kirill Sokolov and Alex Litvak



Directed by Kirill Sokolov



Where & When: TCL Chinese Theatres, Hollywood, CA.  March 29, 2026  5:10 PM



Zazie Beetz first attracted attention for her performance as Van in Donald Glover's Afro-absurdist comedy series, "Atlanta" for four seasons. Since then, the actress has made several notable appearances in films that includes "Deadpool 2", "Bullet Train", lending her voice to the animated film, "The Bad Guys" and the sequel and featured in the two "Joker" movies. These have all been largely supporting roles but with the vigorous action-comedy thriller, "They Will Kill You", Beetz is finally front and center, carrying the film with remarkable style and an imposing lethal presence. The Russian filmmaker, Kirill Sokolov makes his English-language debut with his third feature film, perfectly delivering a hilariously deranged, brutally violent, blood soaked thrill ride.

Asia (Beetz) and her younger sister, Maria (Orefile Moloi) are on the run, trying to escape from their abusive father (Darron Meyer). When he has them surrounded by his gang of thugs, Asia pulls out a gun, shoots her father and takes off running, leaving her sister behind.

Ten years later, Asia is showing up for a job as a maid for the Virgil, an exclusive high-rise building in New York City. Going by an alias, she's greeted by the building's manager, Lilith (Patricia Arquette), a stern Irish woman who explains the strict rules of this complex that caters to the very wealthy. After settling in for the evening, Asia is awakened by a horde of masked intruders that have broken into her room and try to take her. But she is no easy target, having arrived heavily armed and more than willing to fight back. Asia winds up killing all of them which included some of the guests (Heather Graham, Tom Felton) she had met earlier and informs Lilith that she's there to rescue her sister (now played by Myha'la) who works as a maid at the Virgil. Then all of the attackers heal themselves and come back to life, forcing Asia to go on the run until she can figure out what's going on.

There is the bombastic visual and non-linear narrative inspiration in "They Will Kill You" that is clearly drawn from Quentin Tarantino, particularly the writer/director's grindhouse opus, "Kill Bill". Yet Sokolov, who also cites the works of Sergio Leone, Park Chan-wook and Martin Scorsese as influences, reveals his own singular approach to this film. His first feature, "Why Don't You Just Die!" from 2018 is distinctly Russian in spirit with dry, dark humor while incorporating Western-styled action thrills that was made to appeal to a wider international audience. With "They Will Kill You", Sokolov is able to really let loose, briskly and stylishly, with some creatively gruesome, battle scenes and wildly elaborate chase sequences throughout many of the nooks and crannies of this archaic building.

Asia soon discovers that she's fighting against the supernatural through Ray (Paterson Joseph), the building's Black maintenance man (and also happens to be Lilith's husband) who explains to her that the residents of the Virgil worship Satan and are given eternal life as long as they regularly offer him human sacrifices. And that's where Asia comes in although she had traded places with the woman who was actually hired in order to locate Maria. After the sisters find each other, their reunion is less warm and forgiving but more filled with aggression and animosity.

While the film hits all of the familiar beats expected in a bloody action-thriller, what makes "They Will Kill You" really stand out is having an African-American woman as our protagonist. Much like what "Sinners" accomplished by deftly incorporating traumatic African-American historical elements into the long established vampire lore, this film offers a rarely seen focus on a fierce and determined Black female combatant (who learned to fight during her time in prison) able to stand her ground against those trying to stop her from her mission of locating her estranged sister. Race relations does not play as large of a part in this film and it is far more subtle: from the racial hierarchy between the residents and the staff to Lilith's sentimental motivation behind her continuing to work for the Virgil.

But Sokolov has no real interest in offering a film that's a game changer or tries to elevate the genre. "They Will Kill You" keeps it simple and fun, wisely maintaining an engaging, oddball atmosphere that is ferociously intense, vividly fast-paced and visually explosive.

THE BRIDE! (2026)

Written & Directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal



Where & When: TCL Chinese Theatres, Hollywood, CA. March 9, 2026 4:00 PM

For her second feature film as a writer and director, Maggie Gyllenhaal, best known for her acting performances, has taken on a classic horror character and has attempted to capture a more modern and highbrow element to this story originally written by Mary Shelley back in 1818. Yet "The Bride!", which involves Frankenstein's monster in search of a female companion, offers us a punk rock energized reimagining of the 1935 Hollywood movie, "Bride of Frankenstein" that ends up being chaotically structured and narratively disjointed.

The film begins when we meet the spirit of the long dead writer Shelley (played by Jessie Buckley) who has another story she wants to tell regarding her creation. She decides to take possession of a young woman in 1936 Chicago named Ida (also Buckley) who she has spill the secrets of a crime boss, Lupino (Zlatko Burić) in the middle of a very public nightclub. A couple of Lupino's associates (John Magaro, Matthew Maher), who know Ida personally, take her out of the ballroom to try and talk some sense into her. But Shelley has a firm grasp upon her which causes an accident where Ida falls to her death down a flight of stairs.

At the same time, Frankenstein's monster (Christian Bale), who now goes by the name "Frank", has arrived in Chicago to seek the help of Dr. Cornelia Euphronius (Annette Bening). The doctor has been experimenting with reanimating the dead and a very lonely Frank would desperately like her to create a female version of himself. Hesitant to get involved, Dr. Euphronius relents and they go out to find the perfect specimen. After digging up Ida's body, she is brought back to "life" with no memory of her past and a black stain across her face from the toxic chemicals used to reanimate her. Frank, deciding this would be easier for all involved, tells her that she's his bride.

After catching a movie starring Frank's favorite song-and-dance man, Ronnie Reed (Jake Gyllenhaal), the undead couple are harassed by a gang of hoodlums. In an act of self-defense, Frank kills some of these men and they soon become lovers on the run, heading to New York City (of all places) to hide.

Buckley, who recently won the Best Actress Oscar for her devastating turn in "Hamnet", does the best she can with her dual roles of author and monster. Without being given much of a backstory for Ida (or of Shelley for matter), we can only gather that she was an impoverished, marginalized person, just trying to get through each day, who continued to be subjugated even in her rebirth. But Ida does manage to find her own voice and with her halo of a bleach blonde bob and inventive face smudge, Buckley is certainly visually stunning. The rest of the supporting cast is distinguished which includes Peter Sarsgaard and Penélope Cruz as police detectives trying to track down the couple and Jeannie Berlin as Dr. Euphronius' maid yet they all struggle with their underwritten roles.

There is no question that "The Bride!" is impressive to look at with a beautiful, period perfect production designed by Karen Murphy, exquisite costumes by three time Oscar-winning veteran, Sandy Powell, eerie makeup designed by Nadia Stacey and expertly filmed by Lawrence Sher. But this is all wasted on a film that is tonally all over the place and Gyllenhaal's ponderous screenplay doesn't help matters beginning with the clunky framing device of the ghost of Shelley narrating this story and inexplicably provoking the death of an innocent young woman.

There are a few interesting ideas at play in "The Bride!" but it feels overloaded, with all of the details not really sorted out and fine-tuned before the cameras began to roll. It's unclear exactly what the outcome of this film was even supposed to be: there is some graphic violence and gore to be found but does not offer any of the ghastly frights we have come to expect from our standard horror film. We have a frenzied song-and-dance musical number involving the monster couple that unfortunately comes across more like a moment from Mel Brooks' hilarious comedy, "Young Frankenstein" which isn't helped by the use of the song "Putting on the Ritz". And there is the considered feminist outrage and organized social protest against the patriarchy in this story. Yet it seems oddly out of place considering the era this movie is set in.

"The Bride!" ends up being a misguided attempt of trying to use the horror genre to artfully express our current fears and anxieties involving several social issues. I think Gyllenhaal's provocative movie might have worked better if it was scaled back and more intimately told. Instead, we have a quirky, indie film trapped in the body of a major Hollywood production with an impractical, almost one hundred million dollar price tag.

MY VIEWING DIARY: PART SEVENTEEN

"Stay Hungry" (1976)

"Stay Hungry", a muddled and weirdly conceived comedic-drama from Bob Rafelson, involves a privileged young man searching for direction in his aimless life that is really only notable today due to its leading cast of Jeff Bridges, Sally Field and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who were all in the early stages of their movie careers at the time.

Bridges plays Craig Blake, the young spawn of a wealthy Southern family. After his parents died in a plane crash, he's not motivated in doing much more than lounging around the family mansion. Craig gets himself lured into a real estate scam by a slick con artist (Joe Spinell) who wants him to handle buying a small gym so it can be torn down for an office high-rise. While fronting as a businessman, Craig becomes fascinated by the eccentric owner, Thor (R. G. Armstrong) and the employees, Franklin (future "Nightmare on Elm Street" star, Robert Englund), Newton (Roger E. Mosley), the receptionist, Mary Tate (Field) and Joe (Schwarzenegger) who is training at the gym for an upcoming Mr. Universe body building contest. Far more engaging than the country club life he's used to, Craig soon finds himself becoming part of their fitness world while putting off the scam investors about the deal's progress.

Considered one of the key players in the New Hollywood movement of the 1970s, this was the fourth feature by Rafelson, who got his start co-creating "The Monkees" television series, following his acclaimed films, "Five Easy Pieces" and "The King of Marvin Gardens". "Stay Hungry" is far from one of the director's best, too unfocused and indulgent, but the film does manage to have a few moments that are somewhat entertaining and oddly amusing. Yet once we reach the conclusion at a body builder competition with skimpily clad, muscle men running wildly amok throughout the city, it's clear that Rafelson had no interest in anything close to a conventional narrative, fully content in keeping viewers baffled.

Since his first major role in Peter Bogdanovich's 1971 coming-of-age drama, "The Last Picture Show", Bridges had been working his way with more leading roles, expertly carrying this film with his trademark charm and offbeat manner. A popular actor on television who would win an Emmy Award later in the year for her astonishing performance in the tv movie, "Sybil" as a woman with multiple personalities, Field was actively trying to move into the movies but this was at time when that was not an easy transition. This role as the love interest is a complete waste of her talents yet it does give Field an opportunity to reveal her potential as a big screen presence. And Schwarzenegger was looking for a career change after his great success as a bodybuilding champ and Hollywood seemed like it could be the perfect fit. This was his first major film role, handling himself quite capably despite his heavy Austrian accent and limited acting skills, and would even win a Golden Globe as New Star of the Year for his performance here. Fannie Flagg, Joanna Cassidy, Ed Begley Jr. and Scatman Crothers also make appearances in the film.

An intriguing time capsule from the '70's filled with fractured storytelling, trippy situations and quirky characters, "Stay Hungry" still manages to achieve the impressive feat of being both a half-baked and overcooked offering.

"Who Killed Teddy Bear?" (1965)

The crime thriller, "Who Killed Teddy Bear?" pushed its provocative themes involving pornography, voyeurism and homosexuality as far as it could go at the time as the restrictions of the Motion Picture Production Code would not be fully lifted until three years after this film's release. Wildly over-the-top, the film still manages to entertain with 

its salacious vibe and swinging dance sequences.

Set in New York City, Norah (Juliet Prowse) is a beautiful aspiring actress who works nights spinning records at a nightclub run by the flinty manager, Marian (Elaine Stritch). After receiving several obscene phone calls by someone watching her and a decapitated teddy bear was left behind after her apartment was broken into, Norah is encouraged to contact the police. Police detective, Dave Madden (Jan Murray) takes on her case, having had personal history dealing with a dangerous sociopath who murdered his wife, leaving him to raise his daughter on his own.

Norah is surrounded by possible suspects who could be terrorizing her: Lawrence (Sal Mineo), a waiter at the nightclub with a sister (Margot Bennett) suffering from brain damage due to accident following witnessing her brother's sexual indiscretion as a child. Perhaps Marian who may seem like she want to help and comfort her during this troubling time yet might also have more amorous feelings towards her. Or possibly even Det. Madden, spending much of his time obsessively studying the behavior of sexual deviants and trying to get a little too close to Norah.

We discover who the culprit is midway through, not offering much suspense or surprise. Yet "Who Killed Teddy Bear?", with an underdeveloped script by Arnold Drake and Leon Tokatyan and adequate direction by Joseph Cates, is only interested in taking sheltered audiences of this time and trying to shock them with the seedier side of big city living, filled with immoral decadence, perversion and dangerous criminals. Even when the film was first released, it was viewed as frivolous and exaggerated but "Teddy Bear" has since gone on to be rediscovered and greatly appreciated by modern viewers for it's campy pleasures.

Following his breakthrough performance in "Rebel Without a Cause" and receiving two Academy Award nominations (for "Rebel" and "Exodus" in 1960), Mineo's career had begun to suffer due to typecasting and rumblings of him being gay by the time he made this film. Hopeful that "Teddy Bear" could turn his fortunes around, this film failed to really do that although Mineo would continue to work, most prominently on stage, before he was tragically murdered during a mugging in 1976.

Notable for actually filming in Times Square and 42nd Street as the area was beginning to shift into a more sleazy part of New York City, "Who Killed Teddy Bear?" is a middling yet fascinating drama set in a period when American cinema was transitioning from the sexual repression of the 1950's and moving into the relaxation of the prevailing conservative social order.



"Mata Hari" (1931)

One of the biggest box-office hits she made during her potent yet brief film career, Greta Garbo enchants and seduces in "Mata Hari" based on the real-life Dutch courtesan who would be executed following accusations of being a spy during World War I. Shot admiringly by MGM cinematographer, William Daniels (who became known as Garbo's personal lensman, filming all but three of the twenty-five movies she made for the studio), the actress is at her most beautiful, radiating effortlessly her powerful, sensual allure. 

With France in the middle of the war, the head of the French spy bureau, Dubois (C. Henry Gordon) wants to get answers out of a captured spy by offering to spare his life if he reveals any other spies hiding in plain sight. Refusing to talk and confirm his suspicions that Mata Hari (Garbo) was also a spy, Dubois is still determined to expose her. Russian Air Force Lieutenant, Alexis Rosanoff (Ramon Novarro) has arrived in Paris with correspondence from his country. Having heard of the exotic Mata Hari, he goes to see her dance and becomes smitten by the enchantress. She's also attracted to the handsome solider and they spend the evening together. The next morning, Rosanoff is making plans for them as a couple while Mata sets him straight that this was simply a one-time fling. But she is actually collecting information for a spy ring, having an affair with General Shubin (Lionel Barrymore) and assigned to get the contents of the dispatches Rosanoff brought to him. However, Mata finds that she has fallen for Rosanoff, with her mission endangering him and herself.

"Mata Hari", proficiently directed by George Fitzmaurice, is a classic Hollywood romantic melodrama, glamourizing the colorful life of this femme fatale accused of espionage with a lavish production and serviceable script. While the accusations against Mata Hari was never in question during the time this film was released, her actual guilt seems to be in doubt today due to a lack of specific evidence that was revealed in the released court transcripts one hundred years after her trial in 2017. Made during the pre-code era, "Mata Hari" would be censored following it's re-release later with scenes of her body revealing dance and romantic encounters trimmed.

A performer of understated authority, Garbo as Mata is able to keep you locked in on her with a compelling tangle of sweeping gestures, icy reserve and smoldering glances. Novarro holds his own matched against the enigmatic Garbo yet together they are unable to stimulate much credible heat between them. One of the top box-office attractions of the silent film era, the Mexican-born actor struggled during the transition to sound and was dropped by MGM a few years after this film. Novarro, closeted throughout much of his career, would sadly be remembered largely for his brutal murder at his home by a couple of hustlers in 1968.

THE 98TH ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS

The 98th annual Academy Awards, a celebration of awarding the best achievements in cinema, was an enjoyable yet long evening filled with over three hours of honoring the historic moments and film excellence of the previous year. 

For a second year in a row, Conan O'Brien returns to host, beginning the show with a hilarious, filmed segment of his being made up to look like Aunt Gladys in the horror film, "Weapons" and has him running from possessed children through scenes of all of the nominated movies this year. Clearly more comfortable this time, O'Brien brought a little more edge to his jokes, even delivering a few political zingers although he wasn't too harshly direct. He also found a moment to offer sincere thoughts on the importance of the globalization of cinema and the collaborative attempts in creating something of "beauty" before launching into a grand, comedic musical number with Josh Groban singing about if O'Brien became an Oscar winner with an "eagle" flying down to hand him the award.

Speaking of politics, it was relatively quiet on that front with only presenter, Javier Bardem calling out "No to War and Free Palestine" before announcing the Best International Feature winner. Other more subtle expressions included Joachim Trier, the director of the winner, "Sentimental Value", closing his speech with a quote from James Baldwin to remember that all adults are responsible for all children and not vote for politicians who don’t take this seriously and David Borenstein, who co-directed the winner of the Best Documentary Feature, "Mr. Nobody Against Putin", stated that his film is about how you lose your country through countless small, little acts of complicity.

Once again, the Best Original Song nominees were not all performed on the telecast, which is simply outrageous and not fair to the writers of these honored compositions. Only "I Lied To You" from "Sinners" which recreated the powerful moment in the film which surreally linked the past, present and future of African-American music and "Golden", the smash hit from the eventual winner of Best Animated Feature, "KPop Demon Hunters", were performed during the show. The producers claimed they wanted to highlight the cultural impact of music and storytelling last year using these songs. That is all fine and good but they still could have found time to have the other three songs performed in some capacity during the program.

The highlight of the evening turned out to be the always melancholic segment of the program; In Memoriam. We lost some major talents last year; Robert Redford, Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall, Rob Reiner to name a few and it did seem more than fitting to pay extended tribute to some of them. Billy Crystal started with a remembrance of Reiner, the director of many classic films that included "The Princess Bride", "A Few Good Men" and "When Harry Met Sally", and was joined on stage by many of the cast members who starred in his films. Rachel McAdams appeared next to talk about the impact of Keaton and then Barbra Streisand came on stage to speak warmly about her "The Way We Were" co-star, Redford and even closed by singing briefly the movie's iconic theme song. 

And one final thought: there really needs to be a better way to move the show along than cutting off a winner's acceptance speech. It was noticeably bad this year. Perhaps shorten the attempts at witty banter during the introduction of the categories which for the most part are strained and not usually amusing. But cutting the mic off from someone who has won during their brief moment in the spotlight is really rude and downright insulting.

"One Battle After Another" wound up becoming victorious in wining Best Picture after a tight race of going back and forth with "Sinners" throughout award season. With his tenth feature and numerous previous nominations, Paul Thomas Anderson would finally receive three awards for this film by the end of the evening, also winning Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. "One Battle" would lead with six awards total including Best Film Editing, the very first Best Casting award and Sean Penn taking Best Supporting Actor (becoming the seventh actor to have won three Oscars) but was a no-show at the ceremony, apparently deciding to visit Ukraine instead. "Sinners" had a good night as well, winning four Oscars with Coogler receiving Best Original Screenplay, Michael B. Jordan awarded a well deserved Best Actor prize and Best Cinematography went to Autumn Durald Arkapaw who became the first woman to win this honor.

The wins by these two films, along with Amy Madigan for Best Supporting Actress in "Weapons", helped Warner Bros. do very well this evening by collecting eleven awards, tying the record of the most wins for a studio in a single night. This was also a bittersweet victory as the future of this legendary movie studio is up in the air as its about to be acquired by Paramount with steep layoffs and reduced production is certainly going to occur when (or more hopefully if) this deal is finalized.

What made this Oscars ceremony such a thrilling, nail bitter is that it was such a strong year of great movies with most of the nominees in each category would be a well deserved winner. This was played out with there even being a very rare tie (only the seventh time in Oscar History with the most famous occurring with Katharine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand being a draw as Best Actress in 1968) for Best Live Action Short. As we officially say goodbye to 2025, this current year has already delivered some promising films that have a credible possibility to be recognized during the next award season.

Here is the complete list of winners of the 98th Annual Academy Awards:

Best Picture: "One Battle After Another"
Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson, "One Battle After Another"
Best Adapted Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson, "One Battle After Another"
Best Original Screenplay: Ryan Coogler, "Sinners"
Best Actress in a Leading Role: Jessie Buckley, "Hamnet"
Best Actor in a Leading Role: Michael B. Jordan, "Sinners"
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Amy Madigan, "Weapons"
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Sean Penn, "One Battle After Another"
Best International Feature: "Affeksjonsverdi (Sentimental Value)" (Norway)
Best Documentary Feature: "Mr. Nobody Against Putin"
Best Documentary Short: "All the Empty Rooms"
Best Animated Feature: "KPop Demon Hunters"
Best Animated Short: "The Girl Who Cried Pearls"
Best Live Action Short: "The Singers" and "Two People Exchanging Saliva" (Tie) 

Best Casting: Cassandra Kulukundis, "One Battle After Another"
Best Cinematography: Autumn Durald Arkapaw, "Sinners"
Best Film Editing: Andy Jurgensen, "One Battle After Another"
Best Production Design: "Frankenstein" (Production Design: Tamara Deverell; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau)
Best Original Score: Ludwig Göransson, "Sinners"
Best Original Song: "Golden" from "KPop Demon Hunters" (Music and Lyrics by EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seon and Teddy Park)
Best Sound: Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo and Juan Peralta, "F1"
Best Costume Design: Kate Hawley, "Frankenstein"
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey, "Frankenstein"
Best Visual Effects: Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett, "Avatar: Fire and Ash"

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Dolly Parton

Honorary Oscars:

Debbie Allen

Tom Cruise

Wynn Thomas