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‘I Play Rocky’ Review: Anthony Ippolito Channels Sylvester Stallone in Peter Farrelly’s Cleverly Crafted Crowd-Pleaser About the Making of ‘Rocky’

For a biographical drama to work, it’s not required that the central actor do a pinpoint uncanny, so-close-to- the-real-thing-you-might-think-it’s-the-real-thing impersonation of the person he’s playing. But Peter Farrelly’s “I Play Rocky” may be a special case. It’s a movie about the making of “Rocky” — about how Sylvester Stallone, then a two-bit actor in his […]

VarietyVarietyOwen Gleiberman13 Sept

Lucy Dacus on Doing a Hollywood Bowl Orchestra Show to End Her ‘Forever Is a Feeling’ Cycle, After Previously Bringing the Boygenius Era to a Close There: ‘Maybe It’s a Place Where I’m Supposed to Cry’

“Forever Is a Feeling,” Lucy Dacus promised in the romantic-sounding title of her 2025 solo album. Feelings are transitory things, of course, and some of the good ones must come to an end, which is why Dacus is commemorating the end of that era Sunday night with a show at the Hollywood Bowl that will […]

VarietyVarietyChris Willman13 Sept

‘Everybody Wants to F— Me’ Review: Giddily Genre-Crossing Comedy Sees Right Through Taron Egerton’s Nice-Guy Act

Just when the victim/villain discourse about sleeper smash “Obsession” was finally beginning to die down, along comes “Everybody Wants to Fuck Me” — another story of a young man’s desires getting violently over-satisfied — to start it all up again. Merging romantic comedy, body horror and gender-war satire as casually as its handsome, outwardly affable […]

VarietyVarietyGuy Lodge12 Sept

‘SNL U.K.’ Weekend Update Takes Aim at Trump’s New Hair — and Paddy Young Says the Punchline Was ‘Taken From Me by Our Legal Team’

U.S. President Donald Trump’s new hairstyle was heavily mocked in “Saturday Night Live U.K.’s” Weekend Update segment. “This week, President Trump stepped off Air Force One sporting a different hair color,” quipped co-anchor Ania Magliano. “He appears to be trialling a new shade of brown. Or, he’s shat his head.” “People are questioning, does the […]

VarietyVarietyEllise Shafer12 Sept

Jeff Goldblum Performs a Jazz Number to Open ‘SNL U.K.’ Season 2: ‘Hoping You’ll Like Me More Than Nando’s or Marmite’

Jeff Goldblum kicked off his hosting duties on “Saturday Night Live U.K.” by employing his musical skills in a jazzy number about spending time in London. “Can you believe this is Saturday night, first of all?” Goldblum asked the live audience after making his grand entrance. “And me, I’m hosting this gosh darn ‘SNL U.K.’ […]

VarietyVarietyEllise Shafer12 Sept

Camera-Shy Chrissie Hynde on Finally Allowing a Definitive Doc to Be Made About ‘The Pretenders,’ Bowing in Toronto: ‘I Just Wanted to Be in a Band. I’ve Never Graduated Beyond That Initial Interest in It’

At this late date, what the Pretenders accomplished is no mystery achievement. But it’s also a story that has never been extensively chronicled on film until “The Pretenders,” a Joss Crowley-directed doc that premieres Sunday at the Toronto International Film Festival. The band released what might rightly be considered the best rock ‘n’ roll debut […]

VarietyVarietyChris Willman12 Sept

‘SNL U.K.’ Mocks Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s British Return in Cold Open: ‘Don’t Tell Me You’ve Spent All Your Netflix Money Already!’

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s recent much-publicized return to England was mocked in the cold open of the first episode of “Saturday Night Live U.K.” Season 2. The cold open began with Larry Dean as King Charles II and Emma Sidi as Queen Camilla relaxing at Balmoral Castle in Scotland (“I do love our weekends […]

VarietyVarietyEllise Shafer12 Sept

‘Letters From the Silenced Country’ Wins Golden Globes Impact Prize for Documentary Presented During Venice Film Festival (EXCLUSIVE)

Belarusian director Andrei Kutsila’s “Letters from the Silenced Country,” a portrayal of contemporary Belarus seen through the lives of five individuals whose existence has been upended by state violence and political repression, is the winner of The Golden Globes Impact Prize for Documentary awarded in partnership with Artemis Rising Foundation at the Venice Film Festival. The […]

VarietyVarietyNvivarelli12 Sept

Mia Wasikowska Fills Out the Screen As ‘Agata the Writer’ in Kuba Dorabialski’s Venice Drama: ‘It’s Our Responsibility to Understand Each Other’

Mia Wasikowska fills out the screen in Kuba Dorabialski’s “Agata the Writer.” Metaphorically and figuratively, as one especially arresting sequence shows her in close-up looking directly at the audience and recounting the rest of the story.   “I was so curious about it,” she says.   “Luckily, when I’m doing something, I don’t think too much about […]

VarietyVarietyMarta Balaga12 Sept

Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Venice Jury Didn’t Award ‘Woman Unknown’ the Golden Lion Just Because It Was Directed by a Woman: It ‘Was Like a Laser Beam’

Maggie Gyllenhaal kicked off her term as Venice jury president by calling out the lack of women filmmakers in the running for the prestigious Golden Lion. And on Saturday night, she concluded it by awarding the prize to the only film solely directed by a woman: May el-Toukhy’s “Woman Unknown.” But at a press conference […]

VarietyVarietyEllise Shafer12 Sept

Andrew Scott Gets Candid at TIFF About ‘Elsinore’ and People Against Gay Actors Playing Straight Roles: ‘That’s Just Prejudice’

Could Andrew Scott make history? That is the big question concerning the Irish actor’s towering performance in “Elsinore,” which debuted in Telluride before playing the Toronto International Film Festival. Directed by Simon Stone, the film features Scott as Ian Charleson, a Scottish actor whose career has slowed down since featuring in “Chariots of Fire.” The […]

VarietyVarietyMarlow Stern12 Sept

Pierce Brosnan Thinks the Next James Bond Will Be ‘Someone That None of Us Know About’: ‘There Are Lots of Good Hats in the Ring’

Ever since Denis Villeneuve’s forthcoming James Bond film was announced, the million-dollar question has been: Who will take on the role of the iconic spy? Now, former 007 Pierce Brosnan is offering his thoughts.  In a recent interview with The Times, the actor, who played the character in four films from 1995 to 2002, said […]

VarietyVarietyPayton Turkeltaub12 Sept

‘Oasis’ Review: A Sleek, Strange Parable about Bullying and Bonding at the Most Difficult Age

The difficult teenage years are sometimes characterized as a wasteland, but more resemble a forest for the interdependent trio at the sinking heart of Jannis Lenz’s “Oasis,” the German-born, Austrian-trained filmmaker’s creepy, controlled debut feature. Retreating to the woods surrounding their German hometown, three ostracized high-schoolers create an arcane shared reality that provides them with […]

VarietyVarietyJessica Kiang12 Sept