MOVIES

Opus: clunky satire about an evil celebrity cult has plenty to say – it just doesn’t know how to say it. Opus, the film debut of former GQ editor-turned-director Mark Anthony Green has been described as a horror-musical. And while this new hybrid-genre film clearly has something to say, what that is remains frustratingly unclear. Produced by independent film company A24, often a hallmark of quality, the film follows Ariel Ecton (Ayo Edebiri), a young writer striving to make her mark in entertainment journalism. While it gestures toward themes of celebrity culture and the toxicity of extreme fandom, the film ultimately feels tangled in a jumble of unfocused ideas and derivative references to other – arguably stronger – works. Despite talent and determination, Ariel struggles with her...

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Steve McQueen’s “Blitz” follows the epic journey of George (Elliott Heffernan), a 9-year-old boy in World War II London whose mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) sends him to safety in the English countryside. George, defiant and determined to return home to his mom and his grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller) in East London, embarks on an adventure, only to find himself in immense peril, while a distraught Rita searches for her missing son. Written and directed by Academy and BAFTA Award-winning McQueen, the film stars Academy and BAFTA Award nominee Ronan and newcomer Heffernan, with Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clementine, Kathy Burke, Weller, Stephen Graham, Leigh Gill, Mica Ricketts, CJ Beckford, Alex Jennings, Joshua McGuire, Hayley Squires, Erin Kellyman and Sally Messham rounding out the cast...

“Bread & Roses” offers a powerful window into the seismic impact that the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in 2021 had on women’s rights and livelihoods. The film follows three women in real time as they fight to recover their autonomy. Sahra Mani captures the spirit and resilience of Afghan women through a raw depiction of their harrowing plight. Release Date November 22, 2024 Every product/service is selected by editors. Products/Services you buy through these links may earn "Alliance Media Group and "The IRL News" a commission or revenue.

The world's favorite Bad Boys are back with their iconic mix of edge-of-your seat action and outrageous comedy but this time with a twist: Miami's finest are now on the run. Every product/service is selected by editors. Things you buy through these links may earn "Alliance Media Group and "The IRL News" a commission or revenue.

ChatGPT and the movie ‘Her’ are just the latest example of the ‘sci-fi feedback loop’. In May 2024, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sparked a firestorm by referencing the 2013 movie “Her” to highlight the novelty of the latest iteration of ChatGPT. Within days, actor Scarlett Johansson, who played the voice of Samantha, the AI girlfriend of the protagonist in the movie “Her,” accused the company of improperly using her voice after she had spurned their offer to make her the voice of ChatGPT’s new virtual assistant. Johansson ended up suing OpenAI and has been invited to testify before Congress. This tiff highlights a broader interchange between Hollywood and Silicon Valley that’s called the “sci-fi feedback loop.” The subject of my doctoral research, the sci-fi feedback loop explores how scie...

The movie "Wildflower," starring Kiernan Shipka, is a captivating and poignant coming-of-age drama that delves into the complexities of family dynamics, personal growth, and resilience. The film follows the journey of Bea Johnson, a teenage girl facing unique challenges as she navigates life with two intellectually disabled parents and a fractured extended family. From the moment we are introduced to Bea, played with depth and vulnerability by Shipka, we are immediately drawn into her world of domestic turmoil and emotional turmoil. Despite her circumstances, Bea is a determined and resilient young woman who is determined to carve out her own path in life, even as she grapples with the weight of her family's struggles. As Bea navigates the turbulent waters of adolescence, she must confro...

How ‘Dune’ became a beacon for the fledgling environmental movement − and a rallying cry for the new science of ecology. “Dune,” widely considered one of the best sci-fi novels of all time, continues to influence how writers, artists and inventors envision the future. Of course, there are Denis Villeneuve’s visually stunning films, “Dune: Part One” (2021) and “Dune: Part Two” (2024). But Frank Herbert’s masterpiece also helped Afrofuturist novelist Octavia Butler imagine a future of conflict amid environmental catastrophe; it inspired Elon Musk to build SpaceX and Tesla and push humanity toward the stars and a greener future; and it’s hard not to see parallels in George Lucas’ “Star Wars” franchise, especially their fascination with desert planets and giant worms. And yet when Herbert ...

‘Jaws’ portrayed sharks as monsters 50 years ago, but it also inspired a generation of shark scientists. Human fear of sharks has deep roots. Written works and art from the ancient world contain references to sharks preying on sailors as early as the eighth century B.C.E. Relayed back to land, stories about shark encounters have been embellished and amplified. Together with the fact that from time to time – very rarely – sharks bite humans, people have been primed for centuries to imagine terrifying situations at sea. In 1974, Peter Benchley’s bestselling novel “Jaws” fanned this fear into a wildfire that spread around the world. The book sold more than 5 million copies in the U.S. within a year and was quickly followed by Steven Spielberg’s 1975 movie, which became the highest-grossing...