The list of films shot or produced on location in Malta is a short one, with the island’s shimmery Mediterranean beauty primarily the backdrop for swords-and-sandals epics. A rare locally-produced film that is also about Malta itself, and features actual Maltese people, “Luzzu” marks the debut of director Alex Camilleri with a vérité fishing drama populated by nonprofessional actors. A neorealist telling in the tradition of the Dardenne brothers, who also work with locals on their films, “Luzzu” is beautifully shot, if at times emotionally restrained, in its centering around a man who’s occasionally hard to read....

Even if you don’t know the name Phil Tippett, you definitely know his work. The legendary VFX artist has revolutionized creature design, stop-motion, and CG-character animation, having worked in everything from “Star Wars,” and “RoboCop,” to “Piranha” and “Jurassic Park.” His passion project, “Mad God,” is 30 years in the making, with Tippett shooting early footage during the making of “RoboCop 2” before shelving the project until the ’00s, when he started slowly adding to the epic production....

“I want to convey the incredible journey that life has taken me on as an artist, a musician, a dancer – a human being, trying to make her way in this world,” Madonna said in a statement. “The focus of this film will always be music. Music has kept me going and art has kept me alive. There are so many untold and inspiring stories and who better to tell it than me....

While Gyllenhaal contributed a short film to the quarantine omnibus “Homemade,” this marks her first time in the director’s chair. Previously, though, she portrayed someone working behind the camera as her character Candy Merrell in HBO’s beloved cult series “The Deuce.” Candy is a sex worker turned entrepreneur turned porn film director. And it was playing that role, as Gyllenhaal explained at the Venice Film Festival press conference, that made her realize she’s a filmmaker....

“I’m always looking for something that just excites me, and this material did,” the actress said in a recent interview with IndieWire. “It was so unusual. I’d never read anything like it.” No, really: That’s not just fussy performer talk. “French Exit” truly is a different role for Pfeiffer, the kind of spiky comedy of bad manners she’s never dipped into before. And that shock of the new seems to be the ongoing secret to her success....

In the game, the player takes the role of a Hunter, slaying or trapping large monsters across various landscapes as part of quests. Some quests involve the gathering of a certain item, which can put the Hunter at risk of facing a particular monster. The logline for the film is: “When Lt. Artemis and her loyal soldiers are transported to a new world, they engage in a desperate battle for survival against enormous enemies with incredible powers....

So, no, this year’s packed fall festival season doesn’t look quite the same as it did even two years ago, but 2021 promises to feel more like old times than 2020 ever did. That includes a robust selection of new films rolling out through the next few weeks, including works from perpetual festival favorites like Pedro Almodóvar, Paul Schrader, Paolo Sorrentino, Joanna Hogg, Joachim Trier, and Sean Baker; major events from the likes of Denis Villeneuve, Edgar Wright, and Julia Ducournau; and newly minted awards contenders from Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Ridley Scott, and Pablo Larrain....

Making good TV is hard. This isn’t (or shouldn’t be) some mind-blowing revelation, but it’s a truth that appears to be taken for granted more and more these days. Take Marvel’s two major players in the streaming game this year: “WandaVision” and “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” The latter released its sixth and final episode last Friday to a lackluster response that left many fans channeling Peggy Lee and wondering, “Is that all there is?...

With that in mind, it was not necessarily an event full of surprises at the Sunday night ceremony, with Netflix riding high on the horse for the TV winners, buoyed by multiple wins for “The Crown” and “The Queen’s Gambit.” Apple TV+ also had plenty of reasons to celebrate, what with three wins for freshman series “Ted Lasso,” which makes the sports comedy the current frontrunner at the Emmys. The Critics Choice Awards always feel a bit like an awards show on the verge....

Netflix’s original film slate might be packed with all manner of auteur-driven features, especially as we continue to lumber through awards season, but tucked inside offerings that includes everything from new films from Jane Campion, first-time efforts from Lin-Manuel Miranda and Rebecca Hall, and yet another small screen blockbuster in the form of “Red Notice,” the streamer has also carved out a stellar assortment of content for kids. Related ‘1899’ Canceled By Netflix After One Season ‘Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story’ Sneak Peek: Adjoa Andoh’s Lady Danbury Origin Story Is Revealed Related Martin Scorsese’s Favorite Movies: 53 Films the Director Wants You to See Guillermo del Toro’s Favorite Movies: 45 Films the Director Wants You to See Alongside recent live-action movies for slightly older viewers, like rom-com series “To All The Boys” and “The Kissing Booth” or the sweet dramedy “Finding O’Hana,” Netflix isn’t content to let a whole patch of the population live without their own Netflix Originals....

Netflix has produced a steady supply of awards-pursuing titles for several years now. But only a handful — Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” is the rare case — have ever reached the #1 spot on the streamer’s own daily movie chart. Most of them have minimal appearances. Last year, David Fincher’s “Mank,” despite its later multiple Oscar nominations, showed up on the chart for one day only, and only then at #10....

After Coppola again slammed comic book films as “one prototype movie that is made over and over and over and over and over again to look different,” Cage revealed in a March GQ interview that he doesn’t “understand the conflict” between Marvel and independent cinema. “Yeah, why do they do that?” Cage posited to GQ regarding directors like Coppola and Scorsese bashing comic book films. “I don’t understand the conflict....

The 93rd annual Academy Awards came and went with no shortage of excitement, and “Nomadland” became the 93rd film to be honored with the Academy’s most prestigious award, for Best Picture. You’re certainly not alone if hearing those stats made you wonder how many of the other 93 you’ve seen. The Oscars often rekindle our interest in Hollywood history, regardless of whether you’re a casual viewer or a die hard cinephile....

Other big names didn’t fare quite as well — and this year’s joke song is barely worth a smirk — but any category that puts Sparks in the same conversation as Reba McEntire while still making room for the acoustic indie sweetness of “CODA” can’t be all bad. Here are all 15 songs still eligible for Best Original Song at the Oscars next March, ranked from worst to best. Related Oscars 2023: Best Original Song Predictions ‘Lift Me Up’ Rises to Frontrunner Status in Best Original Song Race Related The Best Film Sound of 2022 The 15 Best Vampire Movies Ever Made...

On March 27, Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes, and Regina Hall will put their stamp on the hallowed gig. If they’re half as hilarious as usual, the term “dynamic duo” may forever be replaced with “tremendous trio.” To hear Hall tell it, this year’s Oscars show will lean heavy on the comedy. (Something we can all be thankful for.) “Well, Amy punched me and Wanda spit on me, that was in our first rehearsal,” Hall joked during a recent interview with IndieWire....

The question, then, on everyone’s minds throughout the project was: How have things changed, if at all? “I learned…that it’s a constant battle,” Ephron said. She said it often felt like a continuous stream of police violence was happening while working on the project. “What’s important is for people to understand that issues of police violence against Black people…have been with us throughout the 20th century,” said Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Educational Fund, Inc....

At the press conference for “The Human Voice,” starring a dazzlingly styled Tilda Swinton as a jilted woman waiting on a very important phone call from an old flame, Almodóvar said he has also written an unconventional western, and has plans for two additional short films. One of them is inspired by current events, a dystopian narrative set in a world where arts and cultural centers like theaters have vanished....

The shows celebrated for the work of their producers is another interesting combination of mainstay contenders and up-and-comers and over the past few weeks it’s been increasingly clear which series are on the rise and which could use a boost as Emmy season looms in the (far) distant future. Among shows on the upswing is Netflix’s comedy series “Cobra Kai,” a continuation of the events that took place during the original “The Karate Kid” movies....

“Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!” Trump said on Twitter. CNN reported that the president’s physician, Navy Commander Dr. Sean Conley, told reporters around 1 a.m. ET that he received confirmation of the positive tests on Thursday evening. “The President and First Lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence,” Conley wrote....

The 28-year-old posted his first story of the pandemic in September. Three months later, his work was discovered by Ground Control Entertainment’s Scott Glassgold. In June, Netflix announced a screen-rights deal for his story “We Used to Live Here,” with Blake Lively attached to star and produce alongside Ground Control and Matt Reeves’ 6th & Idaho. “If it wasn’t for CERB (the unemployment program), I would be landscaping right now,” Kliewer told IndieWire....