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      in Movies

      Zoë Kravitz’s ‘Blink Twice’ Is a Horror Mystery Inspired by Her Frustrations

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      In the summer of 2017, Zoë Kravitz, on a break from shooting a movie, posted up at a cafe in London with her laptop and began drafting her first full screenplay.It wasn’t immediately clear to her what it would become, she said: “At first I wrote this kind of stream-of-consciousness novella, where the characters came to life.”They eventually inhabited “Blink Twice,” her directorial debut, which revolves around a tech billionaire with a private party island and the guests — whether unsuspecting, or complicit — who are lured there. It’s a Bacchanalia with shades of “Lord of the Flies” and Adam and Eve. At once a psychosexual thriller, a horror-mystery, a revenge fantasy, a dark comedy and a commentary on gender and class, “Blink Twice” was not inspired by any one event, or by her professional trajectory, Kravitz said in a recent video interview.“It was more of an emotional thing that I was trying to work out — a combination of my own experiences and experiences of friends and family, other women that I’m close to, and not really having a place to put those frustrations and complicated feelings,” she said.She had always wanted to direct, she said, but had no plans for how that would come to pass. But as she wrote — she finished the screenplay with her friend E.T. Feigenbaum — she realized she couldn’t “trust somebody else with this vision that I was having.”The polished “Blink Twice,” due Friday, stars an ensemble led by Channing Tatum, now Kravitz’s fiancé, and Naomi Ackie (“Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker”). The cast includes Adria Arjona (“Hit Man”), Haley Joel Osment and Geena Davis. They shot on location in the Yucatán, “about an hour away from any real town,” Kravitz said, giving them a heightened sense of camaraderie. “We ate all our meals together. We hung out on the weekends. It was like this magical, magical time.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 125 Shares199 Views

      in Television

      ‘Rings of Power’ Returns, With More Creatures and More Evil

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      For its second season, the creators of Amazon’s pricey “Lord of the Rings” prequel aim to raise the bar, and have leaned into psychodrama.What does it take to bring Tolkien’s Middle-earth to life? In part, ambition on a scale to rival the fantasy writer’s epic tales, if the set for Amazon’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” is any indication.In April last year, the production for Season 2 sprawled across several sites around Windsor, England. Shuttle cars sped hundreds of crew members and craft makers between vast studios and forests. For about eight months, nearly 90 cast members spent hours in hair and makeup to be transformed into elves, dwarves, orcs and other Middle-earth dwellers.A building housed racks of costumes and specially molded or 3-D-printed trinkets and armor. Outdoor sets the size of playgrounds plunged the actors into a court in Númenor or the trenches of an orc camp. And nearby, machinery waited in a muddy field to film a gritty battle scene inspired by films like “Saving Private Ryan.”“I kept saying constantly on set: more blood, more dust, more mud, more everything,” Charlotte Brandstrom, who directed four of the upcoming season’s episodes, said in an interview. (Some scenes set in Rhûn were also filmed in the Canary Islands.)This, after all, might be the most expensive series in TV history, a blockbuster prequel that reportedly cost Amazon $715 million for its first season, and premieres the first three episodes of its second season on Thursday.“Rings of Power” introduces — or reintroduces — viewers to an ensemble of characters spread across the expanse of Middle-earth.Ross Ferguson/Prime VideoWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Movies

      1999 Was a Great Year for Movies. It Was the Best Year to Write About Them.

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      At the box office 25 years ago, hits like “Runaway Bride,” “The Sixth Sense” and “Bowfinger” hint at the abundance that overwhelmed a young critic.One thing to love about time is how liberating it can be. I, for instance, am at liberty to look at the Top 10 movies for the weekend of Aug. 20, 1999 — when “The Sixth Sense,” in its third week out, began its monopoly of the chart — and declare “The Thomas Crown Affair” the best of the lot.What could be going on here? Am I actually saying that a Pierce Brosnan-Rene Russo remake of the old Steve McQueen-Faye Dunaway love heist, from 1968, was always superior to M. Night Shyamalan’s where’d-that-come-from supernatural smash? Or have 25 years ripened one and grayed the other? Hadn’t “The Blair Witch Project” opened in July yet was still very much a thing? (It had, yet it was, down at No. 5.) Only one of the 10 movies was a sequel. In the mix were Julia Roberts, at her commercial peak, in “Runaway Bride” (No. 4, after opening in July) and Steve Martin and a gonzo Eddie Murphy, holding at second, in “Bowfinger.” More

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      in Movies

      Alain Delon, Godfather of the Belted Trench

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      As a titan of French cinema, he dressed the part, even when playing a killer.Alain Delon, the French film star who died on Sunday at 88, was not big on smiling.He smiles little in “Le Cercle Rouge,” the 1970 caper in which he plays the mastermind of a jewel heist.He smiles little in “La Piscine,” the sexy 1969 thriller in which he plays the boyfriend of a woman whose friendship with an older man drives him to madness.And he smiles little in “Le Samouraï,” the luscious 1967 noir that cemented his status as a titan of French cinema and arguably does as much to glorify fashion as it does a life of crime.That one opens with a shot of Mr. Delon, as a hit man named Jef Costello, lying fully dressed on his bed, staring at the ceiling as he smokes a cigarette.The room is dim and bare. The suit he wears is a beautiful cadet gray. The double-breasted trench coat he puts on before exiting onto the street — well, that quickly becomes its own character.We see Jef step into a car, which is not his car. We know this in part because he carries a bracelet of keys with which to boost it. The shot of him reaching for the correct one serves as an opportunity to show off the thin leather strap of his Baume & Mercier watch.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Movies

      Awkwafina Won’t Forget This Play’s Monologue Anytime Soon

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      “It gives me the chills right now thinking about it,” said the actress and comedian, who stars in the film “Jackpot!” with John Cena and Simu Liu.When Awkwafina started training for Paul Feig’s action-comedy “Jackpot!” — about the winner of a dystopian California lottery — her co-star, the professional wrestler John Cena, had some advice.“It’s kind of obvious science, but your brain is a muscle, so you have to work it out every day,” she said, explaining his theory in a video call from Los Angeles. “He was learning jazz piano in his trailer.”Now Awkwafina, a scene-stealer in “Ocean’s 8” and “Crazy Rich Asians” and a Golden Globe winner for “The Farewell,” has established a routine incorporating physical and mental exercise. And, she added, a new relationship that doesn’t exist for her in any other capacity.“I’ve definitely begun my fitness journey because of this movie,” she said, ticking off squats, planks, weight reps and posture exercises. “But honestly, it’s like play. It’s fun and it’s thrilling and you want to do well.”She also spoke about the book her mother gave to her before she died; her karaoke go-to, Cam’ron’s “Hey Ma”; and crossing the language divide with “My Cousin Vinny.”These are edited excerpts from the conversation.1Fried Egg and Soy Sauce on Top of White RiceMy grandma used to make that for me, and it’s a little bit of a Broke Boyz meal. There’s something so warm about the rice and the egg that feel like a hug.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 150 Shares169 Views

      in Movies

      Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni and the ‘It Ends With Us’ Drama, Explained

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      What’s happening onscreen has become secondary to the conversation about differences between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, her co-star and director.The Blake Lively romantic drama “It Ends With Us” revolves around a florist, and the film’s marketing campaign, including the red carpet and the posters, has been entirely floral-themed. But the press tour has hardly come up roses.The movie itself is a box office hit, earning $50 million after its release last weekend. The plot centers on Lily Bloom (Lively), who escapes a rough childhood, opens her dream flower store and soon meets her seemingly dream guy, Ryle Kincaid, played by the film’s director, Justin Baldoni.Based on a best-selling Colleen Hoover novel, “It Ends With Us” is ultimately about breaking the cycle of domestic violence that entraps one generation after another. But the film has been at the center of a surprisingly varied number of controversies that have raised a number of questions:Has there been a rift between Baldoni and the cast?Hints that things were off first surfaced at the New York and European premieres. Though Baldoni was in attendance, he wasn’t posing for the cameras with anyone else involved in the movie and wasn’t participating in joint interviews. Fans speculated that this was a marketing tactic, given that he plays an abusive husband. The theory seemed to be that the distance was a statement about not romanticizing the relationship between the Lively and Baldoni characters.But that conjecture was quickly discarded when it emerged that Lively, her husband, Ryan Reynolds, other cast members and even Hoover had unfollowed Baldoni on social media. The interpersonal drama was fueled by reports of conflict during the making of the film — all of it related by anonymous sources, of course.Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, at the New York premiere. Cindy Ord/Getty ImagesDoes the rift involve Ryan Reynolds?Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, secured the rights to the book in 2019, and in 2023 it was announced that Lively had signed on to star. Crucially, both had executive producer roles.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 100 Shares119 Views

      in Television

      Four Arrested in Killing of ‘General Hospital’ Actor

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      The police said they arrested three men on murder charges in the fatal May 25 shooting of Johnny Wactor, 37, in Los Angeles. A fourth person was also charged.The authorities have arrested four men in the killing of “General Hospital” actor Johnny Wactor, who was shot dead in May as three men attempted to steal the catalytic converter from his vehicle in downtown Los Angeles.The Los Angeles Police Department on Thursday announced the arrests of Robert Barceleau, Leonel Gutierrez and Sergio Estrada. All three men are 18 and from Los Angeles County. They will face murder charges.They were arrested Thursday and were being held on $2 million bond, jail records show. A fourth man, Frank Olano, 22, was arrested on an accessory charge for helping at least one of the suspects evade the authorities.Mr. Wactor was gunned down at around 3:25 a.m. on May 25 when he returned to his parked vehicle after finishing a shift at a downtown Los Angeles bar where he worked. The 37-year-old came across three men who were in the middle of stealing his car’s catalytic converter.“When Wactor arrived at his vehicle, he was confronted by three individuals who had Wactor’s vehicle raised up with a floor jack and were in the process of stealing the catalytic converter,” the police said. “Without provocation, the victim was shot by one of the individuals.”The actor was walking with a co-worker and initially thought that his car was being towed, his mother, Scarlett Wactor, told ABC7 news.She added that one of the persons “looked up, he was wearing a mask, and opened fire.”Mr. Wactor was transported to the hospital by emergency workers where he was pronounced dead.The three men were able to get away in a stolen sedan, the police said in August.Mr. Wactor was known for appearing in more than 160 episodes of the soap opera “General Hospital” as the character Brando Corbin. He also appeared in other shows, including “Westworld” and in one episode of “Criminal Minds,” according to IMDb.Catalytic converter thefts have become more common across America in recent years.The emissions-control devices contain rare and expensive metals like palladium and rhodium, making them a hot target for thieves.In a Thursday evening phone call, Ms. Wactor said she was glad to hear that the arrests had been made and said she hoped the men are convicted.“It’s a great early birthday present for Johnny,” Ms. Wactor said.Her son, she said, would have been 38 on Aug. 31. More

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      in Movies

      Gena Rowlands Shows Her True Power in ‘A Woman Under the Influence’

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      In “A Woman Under the Influence,” her gloriously, terrifyingly imperfect Mabel was emblematic of the actress’s work, especially with John Cassavetes.Midway through “A Woman Under the Influence” (1974) — one of a number of astonishing films starring Gena Rowlands, who died Wednesday, and directed by her husband John Cassavetes — the distance between you and what’s onscreen abruptly vanishes. It’s the kind of moment that true movie believers know and yearn for, that transporting instance when your world seems to melt away and you’re one with the film. It can be revelatory; at times, as with Rowlands’s performance here, it can also be excruciatingly, viscerally painful.Rowlands is playing Mabel, an exuberantly alive woman of great sensitivities whose husband, Nicky (Peter Falk), loves her deeply but doesn’t understand her. They’re home and he has just yelled at her in front of some colleagues, who’ve fled. Now, as this husband and wife look at each other across their dining-room table, they struggle to push past the rancor and hurt. But Mabel is struggling harder because her purchase on everyday life has begun to badly slip, bewildering them both. Her love for Nicky and their children feels boundless, and it radiates off her like a fever, but Mabel is headed for a breakdown.Working with Cassavetes, Rowlands was helping find a new way to make American cinema.Faces InternationalAs the two begin working it out, Cassavetes cuts between them, framing each in isolating close-up. At first, Nicky looks at her with a faint, inscrutable smile that Mabel doesn’t return. Instead, she stares at him and holds up a thumb, as if she were getting ready to hitch a ride out, then she begins a strange pantomime. She screws her face into a scowl, waves her arms, mimes some words. Rowland had an incredibly expressive, near-elastic face and equally extraordinary control of it, and the quicksilver shifts she uses here are unexpected and destabilizing; you want to keep watching Mabel but aren’t sure you can.Within seconds, Nicky and Mabel are talking again and revisiting or, really, relitigating what just happened. “Wacko!” he yells. “I like your friends,” she answers, her voice rising. As Mabel keeps talking, Rowlands widens her eyes but she also shifts the character’s focus inward. Suddenly, Mabel isn’t looking at Nicky and she isn’t exactly talking to him, either. Instead, as Mabel animatedly continues, her gestures and expressions growing more exaggerated, she no longer seems present. She’s somewhere else and then just as abruptly she returns to the here and now, and everything shifts again. Mabel looks at Nicky, her face open and soft. “Tell me what you want me to — how you want me to be,” she says. “I can be that. I can be anything.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More