Dan Jolin

What is war good for? Absolutely nothing, of course. That said, war has produced some pretty good movies, and none more than World War II. It has fascinated filmmakers more than any other conflict, which is understandable, given the atrocities it involved and its impact on human history. So many movies have been made about it that it stands apart from other war movies as a genre unto itself.  It’s rather daunting, then, to choose the best World War II movies ever made. But we know someone who has thoughts on the subject: director Quentin Tarantino, a man who knows quite a bit about making a great WW2 film himself. He and a grizzled squad of Time Out writers helped craft this definitive list of the greatest movies centred around that global battle, and it includes screen-filling epics, intimate dramas, devastating documentaries, and even a comedy or two.  Written by Tom Huddleston, Adam Lee Davies, Paul Fairclough, Anna Smith, David Jenkins, Dan Jolin, Phil de Semlyen, Alim Kheraj & Matthew Singer Recommended: ⚔️ The 50 best war movies of all-time🎖️ The best World War I movies, ranked by historical accuracy🇺🇸 The 20 best Memorial Day movies

For the first half of 2024, the main talking point around the movies was that no one was going to see them. Why weren’t audiences flocking to see Ryan Gosling drive stunt cars and flirt with Emily Blunt? Why did Furiosa flop when the last Mad Max film was such a hit? It was especially perplexing given that last year, the worldwide box office had seemed to finally rebound from the post-pandemic doldrums. Studio fortunes are improving, however, on the backs of some major kids movies and the monster success of Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine. So how about we all stop wringing our hands, and begin appreciating what’s been a pretty great year for movies so far, both in the mainstream and at the arthouse? You’ll notice some of these movies came out in the US at the back end of 2023, but we’re basing this list on UK release dates to include the best worldwide releases from between January and December. And there is plenty more coming, so keep this one bookmarked. RECOMMENDED: 📺 The best TV shows of 2024 (so far) you need to stream🔥 The best horror movies and shows of 2024🎥 The 100 greatest movies ever made

British cinema is as diverse and ever-shifting as the country itself. In 2024, it encompasses everything from David Lean’s historical epics to Ken Loach’s socialist missives, and Steve McQueen’s muscular biographical dramas to Joanna Hogg’s intimate mood pieces. Danny Boyle’s pitch-black comedy ‘Trainspotting’ is a quintessential British film – but so too, in another way, is the Richard Curtis-penned romcom ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’. And more recent dazzling recent such as Charlotte Wells' aching coming-of-age tale ‘Aftersun’ and Molly Branning Walker's prickly, ambiguous ‘How to Have Sex’ are pushing the medium into bold, bracing new territory. In compiling this list of the best British movies of all-time, we surveyed a diverse array of actors, directors, writers, producers, critics and industry heavyweights, including Wes Anderson, Mike Leigh, Ken Loach, Sam Mendes, David Morrissey, Sally Hawkins, Thandiwe Newton and the late Terence Davies. Unsurprisingly, it’s a richly varied and fascinating collection of must-see movies. Written by Dave Calhoun, Tom Huddleston, David Jenkins, Derek Adams, Geoff Andrew, Adam Lee Davies, Paul Fairclough, Wally Hammond, Alim Kheraj, Matthew Singer & Phil de Semlyen Recommended: 💂 50 great British actors🔥 The 100 best movies of all-time🎥 The 100 best movies of the 20th century so far🇬🇧 The 100 best London songs 

Cada uno tiene sus preferencias, así que cualquier debate sobre cuáles son los mejores largometrajes de todos los tiempos se puede alargar horas y horas. ¿Puede haber algún listado que los agrupe todos? Es difícil, pero hemos intentado incorporar desde las revoluciones cinematográficas más clásicas hasta las más modernas, grandes estrenos, todos los géneros, países, épocas... cine para todos los gustos, haciendo equilibrios entre la racionalidad y el sentimentalismo. El reto ha sido enormemente complicado, pero no nos hemos podido resistir a elaborar una buena lista, nuestra lista, de las películas que hay que ver, al menos, una vez en la vida. Decidnos hasta qué punto nos hemos equivocado. ¡Y, ah, prohibido repetir directores! RECOMENDADO: Las 50 mejores películas para ver en familia. 

Comedy gets no respect, no respect at all. Sure, everyone loves to laugh, and just about every film buff has a comedy movie they hold close to their heart. But for some reason, when it comes to awards and canonisation, comedies still get short shrift in the history of cinema. That’s probably because, more than any other genre, comedy is dependent on context. What’s funny in 1924 might land with a thud in 2024. And that’s to say nothing of varying tastes in humour.  That makes coming up with the best comedy films of all time especially tricky. We had to ask ourselves: what makes a truly great comedy? There’s many criteria, but one of the most important is the question of: ‘Is this film still funny now, and will it still be funny five years, ten years… a century from now?’ With the help of comedians like Diane Morgan and Russell Howard, actors such as John Boyega and Jodie Whittaker and a small army of Time Out writers, we believe we’ve found the 100 finest, most durable and most broadly appreciable laughers in history. No matter your sense of humour - silly or sophisticated, light or dark, surreal or broad - you’ll find it represented here.  Recommended: 🔥 The 100 best movies of all-time🤣 The best comedies of 2024 (so far)🥰 The greatest romantic comedies of all time

Television used to be considered one of the lowest forms of entertainment. It was derided as ‘the idiot box’ and ‘the boob tube’. Edward R Murrow referred to it as ‘the opiate of the masses’, and the phrase ‘I don’t even own a TV’ was considered a major bragging right. And for a long time, it was hard to say that television’s poor reputation was undeserved.  A lot has changed. Television is now the dominant medium in basically all of entertainment, to the degree that the only thing separating movies and TV is the screen you’re watching on. Now, if you don’t own a television – or a laptop or a tablet or a phone – you’re basically left out of the cultural conversation completely. The shift in perception is widely credited to the arrival of The Sopranos, which completely reinvented the notion of what a TV show could do. But that doesn’t mean everything that came before is primordial slurry. While this list of the greatest TV shows ever is dominated by 21st century programs, there are many shows that deserve credit for laying the groundwork for this current golden age. Chiseling them down to a neat top 100 is difficult, so we elected to leave off talk shows, variety shows and sketch comedy, focusing on scripted, episodic dramas, comedies and miniseries.  So don’t touch that dial – these are the greatest TV shows of all-time. Recommended: 📺 The best TV and streaming shows of 2024 (so far)🔥 The 100 greatest movies of all-time🎬 The most bingeable series on Netflix

Has movie music ever been better? With legends like John Williams and Howard Shore still at work, Hans Zimmer at the peaks of his powers, and the likes of Jonny Greenwood, AR Rahman, Mica Levi, and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross knocking it out of the park, the modern film score is a Dolby Atmos-enhancing feast of modernist compositions, lush orchestral classicism and atmospheric soundscapes.What better time, then, to celebrate this art form within an art form – with a few iconic soundtracks thrown in – and pay tribute to the musicians who’ve given our favourite movies (and, to be fair, some stinkers) earworm-laden accompaniment? Of course, narrowing it all down to a mere 100 is tough. We’ve prioritised music written for the screen, but worthy contenders still missed out, including Dimitri Tiomkin’s era-defining score for It’s a Wonderful Life and Elton John’s hummable tunes for The Lion King.To help do the narrowing down, we’ve recruited iconic movie composers, directors and broadcasters like Philip Glass, Carter Burwell, Max Richter, Anne Dudley, AR Rahman, Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch, Edgar Wright and Mark Kermode to pick their favourites. Happy listening!Recommended: 🔥 The 100 best movies of all time.🪩 The 50 best uses of songs in movies.💃 The greatest musical movies ever made.

A comédia é um género frequentemente ignorado pelos prémios e pela crítica. Mas produzir uma grande comédia, uma comédia intemporal, é uma das maiores conquistas no cinema. É uma forma de arte em grande parte dependente do contexto: aquilo que faz uma plateia chorar a rir em 2024 pode ser recebido mais tarde com olhares vazios – nem sequer é preciso passar meio século, como é muitas vezes o caso; bastam alguns anos de diferença. Por isso mesmo, aqueles que nos fizeram rir durante décadas são verdadeiramente especiais. Para elaborar esta lista das 100 maiores comédias de sempre, pedimos a comediantes como Diane Morgan e Russell Howard, a actores como John Boyega e Jodie Whittaker e a uma pequena legião de escritores da Time Out sobre os filmes que mais os fazem rir, e por mais tempo. Ao fazê-lo, acreditamos ter encontrado as melhores, mais intemporais e amplamente apreciáveis 100 comédias da história do cinema. Independentemente do seu sentido de humor – disparatado ou sofisticado, leve ou sombrio, surreal ou mais abrangente – vai encontrá-lo representado aqui. Recomendado:🔥 Os 100 melhores filmes de sempre🥰 As melhores comédias românticas de sempre

Cada uno tiene sus preferencias, así que cualquier debate sobre cuáles son las mejores películas de todos los tiempos se puede alargar horas (o, en nuestro caso, toda la vida). ¿Puede haber alguna lista que las agrupe a todas? Es difícil, pero hemos intentado incorporar desde las revoluciones cinematográficas más clásicas hasta las más modernas, todos los géneros, países, épocas... cine para todos los gustos, haciendo equilibrios entre la racionalidad y el sentimentalismo. El reto ha sido enormemente complicado, pero no nos hemos podido resistir a elaborar una buena lista, nuestra lista. Decidnos hasta qué punto nos hemos equivocado. Ah, al final contaréis 53, consideradlas 'bonus tracks', algunas de ellasmuy pero que muy recientes. NO TE LO PIERDAS: Las 29 películas más esperadas de 2023  

Tothom té les seves preferides, per això, qualsevol debat sobre quines són les millors pel·lícules de tots els temps es pot allargar hores (o, en el nostre cas, tota la vida). Hi pot haver alguna llista que les agrupi a totes? És difícil, però hem intentat incorporar-hi des de les revolucions més clàssiques de la història del cinema fins a les més modernes, tots els gèneres, països, èpoques i per a tots els gustos... tot fent equilibris entre la racionalitat i el sentimentalisme. El repte ha sigut enormement complicat, però no ens hem pogut resistir a elaborar una bona llista, la nostra llista. Feu-nos saber fins a quin punt ens hem equivocat. Ah, al final en comptareu 53, considereu-les 'bonus tracks', algunes de ben recents. NO T'HO PERDIS: Les 29 pel·lícules més esperades del 2023

While the debate rumbles on over who should play the next 007, here’s an idea for the next Bond villain: Hugh Grant. Okay, sure, sounds ludicrous but consider that one of his newest roles, Guy Ritchie’s Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, has him playing a kind of modern-day version of Brad Whitaker in The Living Daylights – only much, much more fun – and his CV reads like one long audition for the pinnacle of big-screen villainy.And if the James Bond dream doesn’t come to pass – and lord knows, Grant would help puncture the aura of melancholy that settled over the franchise during the late Craig era – there’s still pleasure to be had in taking stock of his career arc to date. Those foppish early days as a romcom stalwart, all floppy curtains and golly-gosh self-effacement, have given way to a run of arch antiheroes, straight-up bad guys, and at least one cannibal. Few actors are making being bad look like so much fun as mid-career Grant. 

⭑⭑⭑⭑✩ Si tienes la mala suerte de recordar la última película titulada Dungeons & Dragons, no dejes que eso te desanime —muchos estámos en tus zapatos—. Si bien el monstruoso fracaso de 2000 es sin duda es algo que nos decepcionó, este segundo intento de traducir el enormemente popular juego de rol de fantasía en magia cinematográfica es muy superior. Además de enraizarse adecuadamente en la tradición del juego, una victoria para sus jugadores, que encontrarán muchos huevos de Pascua geek aquí, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves captura de manera crucial el espíritu del juego: esa sensación de reunirse con amigos para embarcarse en misiones mortales, al mismo tiempo reír a carcajadas. Los escritores y directores John Francis Daley y Jonathan Goldstein son proveedores experimentados de comedia a quienes también les encanta subvertir las convenciones de género, como lo demostraron con la estridente comedia de acción Game Night de 2018 . Esta es una aventura de fantasía que le debe más a Python que a Tolkien, especialmente durante una secuencia hilarante en la que sus héroes intentan obtener una pieza clave de información al interrogar a los cadáveres a través del hechizo "Hablar con los muertos", que solo permite que el interrogador haga cinco preguntas.  La razón por la que hacen esto es menos importante que la diversión de su viaje, aunque en esencia la película es otra historia de un mal padre. Aquí, es Edgin, un ladrón convertido en convicto, interpretado con un atr

It’s reassuring that, at 94, Clint Eastwood can still surprise us. After a long run of middling movies, he returns with his best since 2008’s Gran Torino. Sure, Juror #2 appears to be yet another polished, predictable courtroom drama; the kind we got a lot of during the ’90s. But thanks to Eastwood and first-time screenwriter Jonathan A Abrams, it’s a deeply involving and thought-provoking new spin on the genre, which serves up a ripe moral quandary that goes deeper than anything John Grisham ever managed.  The murder case around which the film revolves is deceptively small-scale: in Georgia, a thuggish guy (Gabriel Basso) is accused of beating his girlfriend (Eastwood’s daughter Francesca) to death and dumping her body in a roadside gulch. The only reason it’s big news is that the slick prosecutor (Toni Collette) is fighting an election to become District Attorney – much to the disappointment of her earnest friend and courtroom rival (Chris Messina). But that’s really the sideshow. The main attraction for us audience members is the fact that one of the jurors – nice, normal guy Justin Kemp (Collette’s About A Boy co-star Nicholas Hoult) – suddenly realises during the opening statements that he is responsible for the killing. The rainy night of the homicide, his car hit something which he assumed was a deer. Turns out, it was the victim.  So begins a fascinatingly fraught tension-ratcheter, which plays out like a morally inverted 12 Angry Men (here the Henry Fonda equivalent

Back in 1990, actor-director Kevin Costner defied expectations and turned a three-hour passion-project western into an Oscar-winning hit. During production, some waggish commentators had dubbed it ‘Kevin’s Gate’, riffing on 1980 western flop Heaven’s Gate. It was, of course, Dances With Wolves, a seven-Oscar-winning smash. Thirty-four years – and another excellent western in 2003’s Open Range – later, Costner the director is back with something even more ambitious. Clocking in at roughly the same runtime as Wolves, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 thuds down as merely the first instalment in a planned four-part mega-epic, with which Costner apparently intends to fill with every conceivable western trope, as well as a cast with 170  speaking parts. Has he, at last, bitten off more than anyone can possibly chew? The film opens in the San Pedro Valley in 1859, with the attempted foundation of a new town, Horizon, in the middle of the vast American wilderness. This goes awry when the local Apache lead a raid on the nascent community and massacre its inhabitants. Meanwhile, about an hour into the film Costner appears as a gunslinging ‘saddle tramp’. Via an encounter with a plucky sex worker (Abbey Lee) in a Wyoming mining camp, he becomes embroiled in a bitter family feud, making him a hunted man. Also meanwhile, a wagon train packed with hopeful settlers heads along the Santa Fe Trail, and must deal with some internal tension, as well as a growing sense of external threat fr

The ape-ocalypse continues, in the latest entry to a 56-year-old sci-fi franchise. But it’s a saga which refuses to act its age, thanks to its ever-improving VFX, persistent thematic relevance, and bold narrative leaps. This ninth instalment the series delivers on all three counts, despite losing both its leading ape (Andy Serkis) and most recent director (Matt Reeves). Rather than continuing directly from 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes and following dead chimp leader Caesar’s (Serkis) offspring, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes underlines its behind-the-scenes change-up by rejoining the story 300 years later with an entirely new set of characters, who must all wrestle with Caesar’s legacy. Now under the directorial supervision of The Maze Runner’s Wes Ball, Earth (or more specifically, California) is loosely dominated by disparate tribes of apes, with a mute humanity reduced to the status of pesky vermin. We’re introduced to this new world via about-to-come-of-age chimp Noa (Owen Teague), who lives among mankind’s visually pleasing foliage-wreathed ruins as a member of the Eagle Clan – so called because they’ve managed to domesticate golden eagles. If that feels a tad fantastical for a previously sombre sci-fi, it at least speaks to Ball’s fresh, brightly lit epic-quest tone, which sends the impressionable Noa on a perilous journey to rescue his folks from a rival tribe who have superior, electric-powered weaponry. However, his adventure is complicated by a human (Th

If you’ve always wanted to see an octopus riding a giant seahorse, then Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is the movie for you. Unfortunately, you’ll need to wade through a lot of garish CGI and painfully clunky dialogue to get to it.  With a hokey voiceover, James Wan’s eager-to-please sequel reintroduces Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry, reminding us that he is ‘the king of frickin’ Atlantis’ while revealing he now has a baby and is struggling to balance fatherhood on land with bossing around merpeople in the sea. This setup is scuppered by baddie Black Mantis (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, inflicted with the script’s shoddiest lines), who’s found a magic trident and starts rapidly accelerating global warming.  The Lost Kingdom doesn’t so much end things with a whimper as with an enthusiastic bang that shoots off in the wrong direction For reasons never made clear, Arthur must free his imprisoned nemesis-brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) to help him stop the villain. What follows is mostly a ‘good guy teams up with a bad guy’ buddy movie which, despite some fun bantz between Momoa and Wilson, pales in comparison to the similar dynamics in the Thor movies. At one point, Arthur even calls Orm ‘Loki’. The last gasp of the now-defunct DC Extended Universe, The Lost Kingdom doesn’t so much end things with a whimper as with an enthusiastic bang that shoots off in the wrong direction –  like an expensive back-garden firework that winds up in the neighbours’ pond. In UK cinemas Dec 21 and in the US Dec 2

‘Good writers have the sense to borrow from their betters,’ says Richard E. Grant, as a fêted but fading author, early on in The Lesson. ‘Great writers steal.” It’s a recurring line – stolen, with a wink, from T S Eliot – that positions this crisp chamber piece among the likes of The Hoax and Can You Ever Forgive Me? in a slender but intriguing thriller subgenre: the literary heist movie. English lit postgrad Liam (Good Luck to You, Leo Grande’s Daryl McCormack) has landed what appears to be a plum summer tutoring gig, teaching the younger son of his favourite novelist, the now reclusive JM Sinclair (Grant), at their secluded manor house. Liam has his own writing ambitions, and gradually earns the attention (if not the respect) of his idol – rendered prickly and frostily aloof by Grant – while also gaining the affection of his art-curating wife (Julie Delpy). However, the suicide of the Sinclair’s oldest son remains a cloud over the household which, as framed by first-time feature director Alice Troughton (Doctor Who), seems bleached by grief – brittle and sterile. Together with screenwriter Alex MacKeith (another debutant), Troughton makes her film a study of discomfort, where conversations stutter awkwardly and passive-aggression courses beneath the surface of every interaction. As such, despite its thorough classiness and pristine presentation, it is not a film you can really warm to – much like its characters.  Despite its classiness, it’s not a film you can really warm t

El multiverso está de moda. Después de que Marvel nos regalara varios Spider-Man y Doctor Strange en sus dos últimas películas, ahora tenemos el dúo de directores the Daniels (Kwan y Scheinert), que exploran el mismo metaterritorio de mundos paralelos, pero a su manera. El concepto es un sueño con zumo cómico y lleno de emociones visuales. Los habitantes de otro universo han descubierto una forma de saltar a la mente de su yo alternativo y absorber sus habilidades. Lo consiguen haciendo algo inesperado, como comerse un pintalabios o profesar amor por alguien que apenas conocen. Esto abre la puerta a 139 minutos de acción loca y que Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh) vaya cambiando de identidad: una estrella de acción de artes marciales no tan distinta a su yo real; una chef de teppanyaki que descubre que su colega está controlado en secreto por un mapache que habla, y una mujer con hot dogs en lugar de dedos. Los Daniels hacen malabares con gags tontos y dadaístas y, aunque la película está algo hinchada, nunca acaba de perder el norte. Los conceptos pesados ​​(nihilismo y existencialismo) se ven aligerados por su hábil vinculación a las tribulaciones relacionadas con una familia, como los problemas fiscales y la fricción intergeneracional. Por no hablar de la gran simpatía de los personajes principales: Ke Huy Quan (el Data de los Goonies) como dulce marido de Evelyn; Stephanie Hsu como la hija, llamada irónicamente Joy, y la propia Yeoh, que lo peta hasta la última escena.

Ironically for the ‘boy who never grew up’, Peter Pan has gone through a lot of changes during the past few years. Since 2015, he’s popped up in Joe Wright’s misfiring big-budget prequel Pan, Brenda Chapman’s intriguing Come Away (a low-key origin-story mash-up with ‘Alice in Wonderland’) and Benh Zeitlin’s bold, surreal update Wendy. Now we have the inevitable Disney live-action remix of its own 1953 adaptation, in which writer-director David Lowery (who did a lovely Disney do-over with Pete’s Dragon) brings his own take on JM Barrie’s pixie-dusted urchin.Rather than uninspiringly covering the same plot beats as the animated feature (à la Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin), Lowery wisely shifts his focus away from Peter – an inherently obnoxious character, let’s be honest – towards Wendy (peppy newcomer Ever Anderson, the daughter of Milla Jovovich), a dynamic modern young woman who starts the story feeling anxious and resentful about being packed off to boarding school, and quickly spurns any notion of playing ‘mother’ to Peter and his Lost Boys (and Girls) once she and her little brothers arrive in Neverland. But Lowery is just as fascinated by Captain Hook (played with snarling gusto by a lank-wigged Jude Law), concocting a back story that ties him closer to Peter (Alexander Molony, doing his best with a thin character) and even teases out some empathy for the old rapscallion.  Captain Hook is played with snarling gusto by Jude Law  Of course, this being Disney, the film’

If you’re unfortunate enough to remember the last movie titled Dungeons & Dragons, don’t let that put you off this one. While 2000’s monster flop is admittedly a low bar, this second attempt to translate the hugely popular fantasy tabletop role-playing game into cinematic magic is vastly superior. As well as properly rooting itself in the game’s lore – a win for its players, who will find plenty of geeky Easter eggs here – Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves crucially captures the spirit of the game: that sense of gathering with friends to embark on deadly quests, while also having a bloody good laugh. Writer-directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein are seasoned purveyors of comedy who also love subverting genre conventions, as they proved with 2018’s raucous action-comedy Game Night. This one is a fantasy-adventure caper which owes more to Python than Tolkien, especially during one hilarious sequence in which its heroes attempt to glean a key piece of information by interrogating corpses via a ‘Speak with Dead’ spell, which only allows the interrogator five questions (‘That’s arbitrary,’ someone notes).  Hugh Grant plays each scene like a tomcat with a ball of wool Why they’re doing this is less important than the fun of their journey, though at its core the film is another tale of a bad dad. Here, it’s bard-turned-thief-turned-convict Edgin, played with roguish appeal by Chris Pine, who must win back his alienated daughter (Chloe Coleman), while also battlin

Darren Aronofsky is not a director who makes easy films. Whether drug addiction (Requiem for a Dream), terminal illness (The Fountain) or obsessive self-harm (The Wrestler, Black Swan), he tackles difficult subjects head on, presenting profound challenges to his audience – especially those of a sensitive disposition. And he does it brilliantly.  Despite being an adaptation of a play (by American playwright Samuel D Hunter) and set almost entirely in a single location, The Whale is no exception. In fact, it bears closest resemblance to 2008’s The Wrestler, though rather than suicidal pro wrestling, it’s extreme weight gain and social isolation that define its main character. He’s a grieving, apartment-bound college tutor named Charlie (Brendan Fraser), who’s desperate to reconnect with his alienated daughter before his ailing heart gives out. Thanks to some astonishing prosthetic make-up work (by Canadian make-up artist Adrien Morot) that somehow makes the one-time George of the Jungle totally recognisable yet utterly transformed, The Whale serves up several distressing moments – not least the scenes where Charlie brutally gorges himself on, well, whatever food he can find. Yet it is not the grim, voyeuristic grind it might have been. Charlie is neither an object of ridicule (as characters of his girth often are in Hollywoodland), nor the focus of disgust and derision. Aronofsky and Hunter (adapting his own work) ensure he’s compellingly textured and, for all his flaws, deeply

Darren Aronofsky no es un director que haga películas fáciles. Ya sea la adicción a las drogas ('Réquiem por un sueño'), la enfermedad terminal ('The Fountain') o la autolesión obsesiva ('The Wrestler', 'Black Swan'), aborda temas difíciles, presentando profundos retos a su público, especialmente los de carácter sensible. Y lo hace de forma brillante. Pese a ser una adaptación de una obra de teatro (del dramaturgo estadounidense Samuel D. Hunter) y estar ambientada casi en su totalidad en un solo lugar, 'The Whale' no es una excepción. De hecho, se asemeja más a 'The Wrestler' de 2008, aunque más que la lucha profesional suicida, es el aumento de peso extremo y el aislamiento social que definen a su personaje principal. Charlie (Brendan Fraser) es un profesor universitario aquejado y confinado en un apartamento que está desesperado por volver a conectar con su hija alienada antes de que su corazón enfermizo se agote. Gracias a unos sorprendentes trabajos de maquillaje con prótesis (del maquillador canadiense Adrien Morot) que de algún modo hacen que el antiguo George of the Jungle sea totalmente reconocible, pero totalmente transformado, 'The Whale' ofrece varios momentos angustiosos, sobre todo las escenas donde Charlie engulle cualquier cosa que pueda comer. Sin embargo, el filme no es ni tan triste ni tan voyeurista como podría haber sido. Charlie no es ni un objeto de ridículo (como a menudo lo son los personajes de sus características en Hollywoodland), ni el foco del as

Darren Aronofsky no és un director que faci pel·lícules fàcils. Ja sigui l'addicció a les drogues ('Rèquiem per un somni'), la malaltia terminal ('The Fountain') o l'autolesió obsessiva ('The Wrestler', 'Black Swan'), aborda temes difícils de cara, presentant reptes profunds al seu públic, especialment els de caràcter sensible. I ho fa de manera brillant. Tot i ser una adaptació d'una obra de teatre (del dramaturg nord-americà Samuel D. Hunter) i estar ambientada gairebé íntegrament en un sol lloc, 'The Whale' no n'és una excepció. De fet, s'assembla més a 'The Wrestler' del 2008, tot i que més que la lluita professional suïcida, és l'augment de pes extrem i l'aïllament social que defineixen el seu personatge principal. Charlie (Brendan Fraser) és un professor universitari afligit i destinat a un apartament que està desesperat per tornar a connectar amb la seva filla alienada abans que el seu cor malaltís s'esgoti.  Gràcies a uns sorprenents treballs de maquillatge amb pròtesis (del maquillador canadenc Adrien Morot) que d'alguna manera fan que l'antic George of the Jungle sigui totalment reconeixible però totalment transformat, 'The Whale' ofereix diversos moments angoixants, sobretot les escenes on Charlie endrapa qualsevol cosa que pugui menjar.  No obstant això, el film no és ni tant trist ni tant voyeurista com podria haver estat. Charlie no és ni un objecte de ridícul (com sovint ho són els personatges de les seves característiques a Hollywoodland), ni el focus del fàst

Based on a short story by Stephen King’s son Joe Hill, The Black Phone trades on every parent’s worst fear: their child being snatched off the street by a shadowy predator, never to be seen alive again. But its focus is not the older generation’s anguish (in fact, the main parent here – played by Jeremy Davies – is an abusive and remorseful alcoholic), rather the nightmare suffered by the young abductees, primarily 13-year-old Finney Shaw (Mason Thames). A resident of North Denver in 1978, Finney is the latest in a string of kids imprisoned in a dingy basement by a serial abductor known as ‘The Grabber’ – portrayed by Ethan Hawke, who spends the majority of the movie hidden behind a series of creepy demon masks. It sounds like ultra-grim viewing, but director and co-writer Scott Derrickson (reuniting with Hawke for the first time since Sinister ten years ago) gives the film a propulsive escape-room feel, presenting the resilient Finnie with a puzzle to be solved: how to break free of this horrific predicament before The Grabber’s ‘Naughty Boy’ games finish him off. Finney, you see, has help. Back home, his plucky and amusingly sweary younger sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) is experiencing handy psychic dream-visions. Meanwhile, The Grabber’s previous victims (all teenage boys) call up Finney on a disconnected telephone, to provide clues and whisper advice from the grave. Ethan Hawke leaves you in no doubt of his flair for villainy So this is not a horror in the traditional sen

世界が最初のロックダウンを経験した2020年前半のことを思い出してみたい。春先に始まった暗黒の日々が明けた7月、営業を再開したイギリスのいくつかの映画館が最初に企画したのは『ハリー・ポッター』の一挙上映だった。 一方、同月のイギリスの映画興行成績のトップ5には、20年近く前の作品である『ロード・オブ・ザ・リング』のエクステンデッドカット版が登場した。当時、新作映画が少なかったことは確かだが、そうなったのにはほかにも理由がある。それは、人々がファンタジーを求めていたということだ。 ファンタジー作品の製作ラッシュ それから1年以上がたった今、ファンタジー作品を渇望する気持ちは、最高の布陣で満たされつつある。2022年は2つの巨大かつ、人気ファンタジー作品の前日譚が大手動画配信プラットホームやテレビで公開されるためだ。Amazonが配信を予定しているのは、壮大な『ロード・オブ・ザ・リング』の新作、HBOでは『ゲーム・オブ・スローンズ』のスピンオフとなる『ハウス・オブ・ザ・ドラゴン』の放送が控えている。 これらの作品に掛けられている予算は、（『​​ゲーム・オブ・スローンズ』に出てくる）ブレーヴォスの「鉄の銀行」を長持ちさせるほど、潤沢。HBOはオリジナルの『ゲーム・オブ・スローンズ』のファイナルシーズンで、1話につき1,500万ドル（約17億円）を費やしていたが、今後の製作費も縮小される見込みはない。 一方Amazonは、2017年にJ・R・R・トールキンの著作『指輪物語』の映像化権を2億5,000万ドル（約288億円）という驚異的な金額で購入。9月2日（金）にスタートするテレビシリーズ版『ロード・オブ・ザ・リング』の第1シーズンには、推定で1億5,000万ドル（約173億）を投じている。 もちろん動画配信大手のNetflixも、この絶好の機会を黙って見ているわけではない。同サービスでは、2018年にSF・ファンタジーが人気ジャンルになって以来、新作のオリジナルコンテンツのほぼ3分の1が同ジャンルのものだ。 分析会社のAmpere Analysis社は「Netflixは高度な顧客分析で加入者の嗜好（しこう）の変化に迅速に対応している。SFやファンタジーの需要が増えれば、コンテンツの量も増える」とレポートしている。 人々がファンタジー作品を求める理由 この需要の原動力は何なのだろうか。ファンタジーは人々を現代のストレス、特にテクノロジーの複雑さから開放し、過去に少し似つつも実際の歴史に縛られていない世界へと導いてくれる。SFが抗争しなければならない暗黒世界を扱う傾向があるのに対し、ファンタジーは理想化された牧歌的な世界が、存亡の危機に直面する物語を描くことが多いといえる。 作家で哲学者のG・K・チェスタトンは、20世紀の変わり目にこう指摘した。「おとぎ話は子どもに悪や醜いものの観念を与えているのではない。そうしたものは、すでに子どもの中にも、世界にもあるもの。おとぎ話が最初に子どもに与えるのは、化け物を倒すことができるという明確な発想だ」 つまりファンタジーは、単純なヒロイズムという安心感と、多くの場合、魔法という明るい輝きを与えてくれるもの、と捉えることができる。 Lord of the Rings. Image: Amazon Prime 今世紀の初め（9.11のわずか数カ月後に）『ロード・オブ・ザ・リング』と『ハリー・ポッター』が映画化されるまで、ファンタジーはマニアックで恥ずかしいもの、80年代のB級映画のネタでしかなかったが、メインストリーム

Tots alguna vegada, i més d’una, ens hem passat hores i hores davant la pantalla mirant una sèrie. Probablement una d’aquestes sèries que es converteixen en vici és ‘The Crown’, el drama de Netflix que dona vida al regnat d’Elisabet II al Regne Unit. Si parlem de moments històrics en la política britànica, el 4 de maig del 1979 va ser transcendental, quan per primera vegada una dona, Margaret Thatcher, es convertia en primera ministra. I si parlem de moments històrics de ‘The Crown’, el dia en què Gillian Anderson va acceptar donar vida a Margaret Thatcher  va ser, també, vital. Avui entrem al set per saber exactament com sota una laca molt espessa, la ‘Dona de ferro’ es desfà en la forma riallera de Gillian Anderson.  Netflix “Vaig entendre perquè m’ho va demanar. Vull dir, Thatcher i jo tenim algunes similituds, que no compartiré". Els aficionats a la sèrie tenen marcat en vermell al calendari el mes de novembre i és que ha estat en aquest mes que ‘The Crown’ ha estrenat la quarta temporada, que ens endinsa al govern de Thatcher, la ‘Dona de ferro’. I és aquí on Gillian Anderson fa el seu debut a la sèrie. Però, com Anderson va arribar a Thatcher? El creador d’aquesta sèrie, Peter Morgan, va dir un dia: “Hmmm. Creus que series capaç d’interpretar Margaret Thatcher?”, al que Anderson va contestar: “Vaig entendre perquè m’ho va demanar. Vull dir, Thatcher i jo tenim algunes similituds, que no compartiré". Els estudis Elstree, on una vegada hi va haver la casa del ‘Big Brot

Todos nos hemos pasado horas y horas delante de la pantalla mirando una serie. Probablemente una de estas series que se convierten en vicio es 'The Crown', el drama de Netflix que da vida al reinado de Isabel II en el Reino Unido. Si hablamos de momentos históricos en la política británica, el 4 de mayo de 1979 fue trascendental, cuando por primera vez una mujer, Margaret Thatcher, se convertía en primera ministra. Y si hablamos de momentos históricos en 'The Crown', el día en que Gillian Anderson aceptó dar vida a Margaret Thatcher fue, también, vital. Hoy entramos en el set para saber exactamente como, bajo una laca muy espesa, la 'Mujer de hierro' se deshace en la forma risueña de Gillian Anderson. Photograph: Des Willie/Netflix “Entendí por qué me lo pidió. Quiero decir, Thatcher y yo tenemos algunas similitudes, que no compartiré". Los forofos de la serie tienen marcado en rojo en el calendario el mes de noviembre, ya que ha sido en este mes cuando ‘The Crown’ ha estrenado la cuarta temporada, que nos adentra en el gobierno de Thatcher, la 'Mujer de hierro'. Y es aquí donde Gillian Anderson hace su debut en la serie. Pero, ¿cómo Anderson llegó a Thatcher? El creador de la serie, Peter Morgan, le dijo un día: "¿Crees que serías capaz de interpretar a Margaret Thatcher?", a lo que Anderson contestó: "Entendí por qué me lo pidió. Quiero decir, Thatcher y yo tenemos algunas similitudes que no compartiré".Detrás de los estudios Elstree, donde una vez estuvo la casa de '

1. He’s the new MiyazakiNot since Hayao Miyazaki (‘Spirited Away’) has an anime director had as much worldwide acclaim. Mamoru Hosoda’s last film, ‘The Boy and the Beast’, made a humongous £40 million in Japan. His latest, ‘Mirai’, premiered at Cannes to a standing ovation. 2. His films will give you all the feelsHosoda’s stories are both touchingly intimate and beautifully fantastical. ‘Wolf Children’, his 2012 film in which a single mother has to raise two half-werewolf kids, was a tribute to his mum, who had died three years earlier. His latest, ‘Mirai’, about a time-travelling four-year-old, was inspired by his experience of becoming a dad. Take a hankie.   ©2018 STUDIO CHIZU             3. He’s getting his own London exhibition Noho Studios in Fitzrovia is hosting ‘an interactive visual experience’ based around his films this month. Get along and find out why he’s an animation legend.  ‘The Works of Mamoru Hosoda’ runs Sat Oct 13-Oct 20 at Noho Studios and is free to attend. Opening hours are 10am-6pm, apart from Mon Oct 15 (10am-3pm). ‘Mirai’ screens at the LFF on Sat Oct 13-Sun Oct 14 and is in cinemas from Nov 2. Looking for more animated gems? Discover the 100 best animations ever made.

‘A Prayer Before Dawn / Şafaktan Önce’den daha eziyetli bir film seti düşünemiyoruz. Bangkok’taki yıkık dökük bir hapishanede çekilen film, uyuşturucu müptelası boksçu Billy Moore’un hayatından esinleniyor. Şiddet dolu bu film için doğal olarak darbelerle mücadele edebilecek bir başrol oyuncusu gerekmiş. Şanslı isim ise ‘Peaky Blinders’daki John Shelby rolüyle tanıdığımız, 29 yaşındaki Londralı oyuncu Joe Cole olmuş. Cole, rolü kabül ettiği için hiç pişman olmadığını söylüyor. ‘A Prayer Before Dawn’ hayli özveri gerektiren bir filme benziyor. Rolü neden kabul ettiniz? Hep böyle bir rol aramıştım. Erkek karakterleri irdeleyen ‘Bronson’ veya ‘Hunger / Açlık’ gibi hapishane filmlerinin hikayelerini son derece iyi anlattıklarını düşünüyorum. ‘Offender’ adlı, genç suçluların kaldığı bir hapishanede geçen bir filmde oynamıştım. O da bu konuya değiniyordu. Ama gerçek birini, bir bağımlıyı, ilginç bir adamı canlandırmak bambaşka. Bedenimi bir araç gibi kullandım, her şeyimi riske atmama sebep olacak fiziksel ve duygusal bir yönü vardı. Rolü kabul ettiğimde, “Vay canına, çok zor olacak. Hadi bakalım.” demiştim. Gerçekten acı çekiyormuşsunuz gibi gözüküyor. Mümkün olduğunca gerçekçi olması için uğraştık, yani birkaç şişliğe ve sıyrığa hazırlıklıydık. Jean [yönetmen Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire] uzun sahneler çekiyor, bu yüzden her yumruk ve tekme, hedefine ulaşıyor. Makyaj sanatçısı vaktinin çoğunu dev kesikleri ve morlukları kapatmaya harcadı. Taylandlı boksçular ve eski mahkumlarla çalışm

動画配信サービス『Netflix（ネットフリックス）』が、4月27日（金）よりオリジナルドラマシリーズ『孫悟空の遊勇伝』の配信をスタートさせた。伝説的な子ども向けテレビシリーズ『西遊記』（堺正章が孫悟空を演じ、1978〜1979年にわたって放送された）を見たことがある人は、大好きだったはずだ。もし好きでなかったとしても、風変わりな孫悟空を知るのは今からでも遅くない。ここで1978年に放送された、堺正章版を再確認しよう。 1. テーマソング 1978年に放送された『西遊記』のテーマ曲は、日本のバンド、ゴダイゴが演奏した。この軽快なテーマ曲は、今でもほとんどの人が番組のタイトルを『モンキーマジック』だったと誤解している理由である。親しみやすさのレベルを正確に表していると言える。 2. 子ども向けブルース・リーだった 『燃えよドラゴン』には若すぎた？ 孫悟空は、子どもの格闘技入門テレビ番組だった。ドラマは、毎回ハイキックの闘いで終わっていた。当時、学校の校庭は少林寺拳法の訓練所に変身した。 3. 悪い手本がいた 品行方正なテレビの世界では、ヒーローの猿（堺正章）は笑えるほどわがままで、自己中心的である。たとえば最初のエピソードでは、仏に尿をかけたため、天国を追い出されてしまうのだ。 4. 猪八戒 孫悟空の友だちには、陰気臭いかっぱと愛されキャラで食いしん坊な豚の悪魔、猪八戒がいた。くだらないうえに、武器は熊手だった。それでもみんな大好きだった。 5. 本当に変わっていた 孫悟空はペットの雲に乗り、指に息を吹きかけることで猿の戦士たちを召喚できる。男のはずの三蔵法師を、明確な理由もなしに、女性（夏目雅子）が演じていた。このことについて何か問題があっただろうか？それもない。 6. 奧深くもあった エピソードは毎回、「みんなの思いで世界を作る」という言い回しで始まり、孫悟空は仏の教えに夢中であった。知らないけど。もしかしたら少しは身に染みたのかも。いや、それはないだろう。 7. そのレガシー ネットフリックスの新番組は、16世紀の中国の小説『西遊記』からインスパイアされた最新の解釈である。本作に関するアニメシリーズやビデオゲームなども作られており、ゴリラズのデーモン・アルバーンとジェイミー・ヒューレットによるオペラまであった。魔法が消えることはないのだ。 公式サイトはこちら 原文はこちら