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      Know What’s Funny About Getting Old? These Movies Do.

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      Star-studded with leading ladies, who are all a bit older, recent comedies like “The Fabulous Four” and “80 for Brady” are establishing a popular new genre.There are two new films this year in which Academy Award-nominated actresses in their 70s whip out tiny sex toys. In “Summer Camp,” Kathy Bates offers up wee vibrators to Alfre Woodard and Diane Keaton. In “The Fabulous Four,” it’s Bette Midler giving Susan Sarandon a kegel ball that she later flings at a bike thief.You might confuse these comedies with “Book Club” (2018), where Keaton, again, finds herself in the company of fellow older luminaries (Jane Fonda, Mary Steenburgen and Candice Bergen). Or with “Poms” (2019), which places Keaton on a retirement community cheer squad with Jacki Weaver, Rhea Perlman and Pam Grier. Then, again, there’s also “80 for Brady” (2023), where Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Sally Field and Rita Moreno go to the Super Bowl.From left: Kathy Bates, Diane Keaton and Alfre Woodard in “Summer Camp,” directed by Castille Landon. “It’s important that we see people having fun,” Landon said.Roadside AttractionsThough the circumstances are different, the similarities in plot, casting and themes make the films easy to classify but tough to label. “Legendary ladies of cinema do a light romp,” is a little long; “Old lady comedies” might seem demeaning, but that is, essentially, how the films identify themselves. In the “80 for Brady” trailer, Moreno sums it up by saying: “The Super Bowl is no place for four old women.”Regardless of the label, this growing genre of star-studded comedies has become popular in recent years, with “Four,” which hit theaters on Friday, becoming the latest installment in the canon.You can usually see the same types of characters in each film. At least one of the women is a stick in the mud. In “The Fabulous Four” that’s Sarandon’s job. As Lou, she’s a serious doctor who loves cats and is holding a grudge against Midler’s character over a long-ago offense. Often Keaton, with her turtlenecks, is the most uptight of her group. And Fonda, when she appears, plays sexually adventurous characters, prone to making off-color jokes. Megan Mullally has that gig in “Four,” with an assist from the famously bawdy Midler. There are usually high jinks involving behavior that one might not expect from seniors. They get high. They go on adventurous excursions like parasailing or ziplining. They experiment with technology and social media. (“The Fabulous Four” has a whole bit about Midler on TikTok.)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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      Hollywood’s Message to Red States: Our Movies Are for You

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      After a period of openly using movies to display progressive values, studios seem to be heeding a message from many ticket buyers: Just entertain us.For nearly two decades, Hollywood has seemingly missed no opportunity to sound the alarm about climate change.There have been cri de coeur documentaries, most notably “An Inconvenient Truth.” Superheroes have been concerned, with Batman bemoaning mankind’s treatment of the planet in “Justice League.” Nary an award show goes by without a star or several begging viewers to take environment-saving action.So it was startling when the weather-focused “Twisters” arrived from Universal Pictures this month with no mention of climate change at all. If ever there was a perfect vehicle to carry Hollywood’s progressive climate change messaging — a big-budget movie about people caught in worsening storm patterns — wasn’t this it?Apparently not. Movies should not be about “preaching a message,” Lee Isaac Chung, who directed “Twisters,” said in a prerelease interview that served as a dog whistle to conservative ticket buyers.Trend spotting in cinema is a hazardous pursuit. Sometimes a movie is just a movie. “Twisters,” however, is emblematic of a clear shift in Hollywood: After a period of openly using movies to display progressive values, sometimes with success at the box office (“Barbie”) and often not (“Strange World,” “The Marvels,” “The Color Purple,” “Dark Waters”), studios seem to be heeding a message that many ticket buyers — especially in the center of the country — have been sending for a long time: We just want to be entertained, no homework attached.Put bluntly, it amounts to an attempt by Hollywood to bend to red state audiences.“It’s a reflection of economics and the desperation of the film industry,” said Corby Pons, a movie marketer who focuses on the faith community and is based in Nashville. “We want you to attend our movies. We need you to attend our movies.”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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      What’s on TV This Week: ‘Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes’ and ‘House of the Dragon’

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      HBO airs a new documentary. The “Game of Thrones” spinoff wraps up its second season.For those who still enjoy a cable subscription, here is a selection of cable and network TV shows, movies and specials that broadcast this week, July 29-August 4. Details and times are subject to change.Monday30 FOR 30: AMERICAN SON 7 p.m. on ESPN. In 1989, when Michael Chang was 17 years old, he won the French Open and became the youngest person to win a singles major. He was also the only Chinese American playing tennis at that level at the time. This documentary goes through Chang’s family history, his experience as a child of immigrants and his career in tennis.TuesdayJennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo in “30 Going on 30.”Barry Wetcher/Columbia Pictures13 GOING ON 30 (2004) 8 p.m. on Bravo. Now, being close to 30, I sometimes wish I were 13, but this movie is the opposite of that. It follows Jenna Rink (Jennifer Garner), a 13-year-old girl who wishes she could advance time and be an adult with a boyfriend. Part of her wish comes true, and she wakes up the next morning as a 30 year old. Along the way, she runs into her childhood friend Matt Flamhaff (Mark Ruffalo), and, of course, sparks fly. “As acted by Ms. Garner, the older Jenna has a coltish gawkiness that is never quite sublimated,” Elvis Mitchel wrote in his review for The New York Times. “She plays Jenna as someone who is secretly peeking inside her own head and can’t contain her giddiness.”WednesdayREAL CSI: MIAMI 9 p.m. on CBS. The scripted version of the show, which existed in the very extensive “CSI” universe, ended in 2012. But this reboot brings back the concept as a documentary series that follows real-life detectives in Miami. In the first season finale, the series examines the murder of Jill Halliburton Su, who was discovered her stabbed to death in her bathtub.ThursdaySIMONE BILES AT THE OLYMPICS GAMES 12:15 p.m. on NBC. During the 2020 Olympics, the gymnast Simone Biles withdrew from the finals because she had the “twisties,” a colloquial expression for when a gymnast feels lost in the air, making it difficult and dangerous to attempt a routine. But now, Biles is back and ready to perform in the women’s all-around finals, with events including vault, uneven bars and balance beam over the following days.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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      A Guide to Every ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Cameo

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      Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are the stars, but they get help from a host of actors you may know from other superhero movies.“Deadpool & Wolverine” expects its audience to have a very good memory. To get the most out of the movie you have to not only be well-versed in the previous films starring the characters of the title — Ryan Reynolds’s foul-mouthed mercenary and Hugh Jackman’s gruff mutant with spiky claws — but you also should be able to recall the last 25 or so years of movies inspired by Marvel comic books. Even the ones that perhaps Marvel would like to forget.It also helps to know your Hollywood deal history. The film, directed by Shawn Levy, refers repeatedly to the fact that Disney, the owner of Marvel Studios, purchased Fox, Deadpool’s previous home. There are all sorts of appearances from previous Marvel stars thanks to a timeline-hopping plot in which Deadpool recruits Wolverine to help him save his friends from destruction. Along the way they meet heroes and baddies from various versions of this universe, many of whom have very familiar faces. Most of these characters have been discarded in what is called the Void, a wasteland of unwanted superpowered individuals first introduced in the Disney+ series “Loki.”Here’s a guide. Be warned: These are all spoilers.Chris Evans as Johnny StormWhen Chris Evans is first unveiled in “Deadpool & Wolverine,” both Deadpool and the audience assume he is playing Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America. After all, Deadpool is now part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But Evans is actually here as the superhero he played before Captain America: Johnny Storm, the Human Torch. Evans portrayed that Fantastic Four member in 2005’s “Fantastic Four” and “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” (2007). Those films were decidedly not as acclaimed or beloved as any of the Captain America flicks. So Evans’s appearance here as Johnny is both something of an intentional letdown and a more dastardly joke. It’s the first sign that “Deadpool & Wolverine” is going to be heavily referencing the pre-M.C.U. era of Fox Marvel movies.Jennifer Garner as ElektraJennifer Garner in “Elektra,” her 2005 superhero movie.20th Century FoxAfter Evans, there are three other stars who make for the most gasp-worthy cameos. The first is Jennifer Garner, back in leather as Elektra, whom she played in the 2005 movie of the same name. “Elektra,” a spinoff of “Daredevil” (2003), was not reviewed positively at the time, with The New York Times calling it a “rickety vehicle.” What about her Daredevil, played by Garner’s ex-husband, Ben Affleck? He does not show up in “Deadpool & Wolverine,” a fact acknowledged with a knowing laugh line. (Mostly, seeing Garner just made us wish for an “Alias” reboot.)Wesley Snipes as BladeWesley Snipes as Blade, a character that was better received than some of the others making cameos.New Line CinemaWe 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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      Celebrities Support Plan to Reopen Upper West Side Movie Theater

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      Martin Scorsese, Ethan Hawke and John Turturro are all listed as advisers to a new proposal to buy the former Metro Theater, which closed in 2005.After almost two decades of failed attempts to reopen, a landmark Upper West Side movie theater may be resurrected with a plan from a potential new buyer and celebrity support.The independent film producer Ira Deutchman is spearheading the project, along with Adeline Monzier, the U.S. representative of the French film promoter Unifrance and a programmer at the Metrograph, a Lower East Side theater. They have formed the Upper West Side Cinema Center, a nonprofit corporation, whose website lists Martin Scorsese, Ethan Hawke and John Turturro as advisers, along with Bob Balaban, Griffin Dunne and the “American Psycho” director Mary Harron. (They would call it the Metro Cinema Center.)Representatives for Scorsese and Dunne confirmed their involvement.The plan was reported earlier by IndieWire.The proposal includes a five-screen theater dedicated to art house releases, classic film and special events; it would also have an education center and a cafe.Mark Levine, the Manhattan borough president, said he has spoken with two other parties that are talking with the owners about a potential sale, but Deutchman’s proposal is the most fully developed. The estate of the former owner also has yet to engage a broker for the sale, Levine said.The Upper West Side, once a hot spot for art house theaters, is now served by selections at Film at Lincoln Center and large multiplexes. “This is a really underserved audience that is in a community that clearly has an interest in the kinds of movies we’re talking about,” Deutchman said in an interview.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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      ‘Deadpool’ Refresher: What to Know Before Seeing ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’

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      The new installment draws on decades of Marvel and X-Men history. It helps to know the back stories ahead of time.In the new “Deadpool & Wolverine,” two beloved superhero franchises will finally come together in a frenzy of irreverent jokes, gory action and Easter eggs. Drawing on decades of movie history and featuring a dizzying array of characters and references to past plots, it’s the kind of film that rewards longtime fans. For those who haven’t seen the X-Men or Deadpool films in a while, here’s what you need to know before watching.What’s Deadpool’s back story?Before he got his own Deadpool movies, Ryan Reynolds debuted the character in the X-Men franchise, appearing in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” in 2009. The role didn’t go over well with fans — his mouth was sewn shut in the film — and Reynolds wanted a separate movie to explore the character more fully.Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool.20th Century Fox“Deadpool” (2016), the first of three films in the franchise, introduces Wade Wilson, a foul-mouthed mercenary who falls in love with a woman named Vanessa. After getting a diagnosis of terminal cancer, Wilson volunteers for a shadowy program that promises to heal him. There, he is tortured by the villainous Ajax until his body mutates and receives self-healing powers, similar to those possessed by Wolverine. Aided by an elderly sightless woman, Blind Al, and two other X-Men, Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Deadpool eventually hunts down Ajax and reconciles with Vanessa.His relationship with Vanessa is short-lived, however, as “Deadpool 2” (2018) opens with her being killed by one of Wilson’s old mercenary targets. Grieving her loss, he joins the X-Men and works to stop a time-traveling soldier named Cable from killing a young mutant. In that film’s mid-credits scene, Wade uses Cable’s time-traveling device to journey through the past, reversing the death of his friends and the murder of Vanessa.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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      María Félix and Cantinflas Star in Gems From Mexico’s Golden Age of Cinema

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      A Lincoln Center retrospective puts the spotlight on midcentury movies aimed at the masses that continue to influence filmmakers.Charitable charlatans, clumsy womanizers, enigmatic dames and even a monster-fighting paladin captured the imagination of Mexico’s audiences during the mid-20th-century golden age of the country’s film industry.An era of prolific production in all genres and of stars with exclusive studio contracts, it rivaled the Hollywood system in the quality and variety of its output. Today, most homegrown Mexican productions struggle to find screens amid the ubiquitous presence of American blockbusters that entice local moviegoers.But from the mid-1930s to the late 1950s, Mexican cinema thrived partly as a consequence of American involvement in World War II. With American resources being allocated to the war effort, Mexican companies saw an opportunity to produce movies for and about their own country that could also travel to other Spanish-speaking territories.Featuring titles largely from this period, the retrospective “Spectacle Every Day: Mexican Popular Cinema” begins Friday at Film at Lincoln Center. Entertainment made for the masses, these movies often set their sights on unlikely heroes and heroines who, despite personality quirks or individual circumstances, exhibited a sturdy moral compass and unshakable pride. They (mostly) do what’s right in the end, even if human weaknesses obstruct their best intentions more than once.For several decades after their original theatrical runs, most of these films endured in the collective Mexican consciousness and continue to influence popular culture through their uninterrupted availability on broadcast TV. As a child in 1990s Mexico City, I caught fragments when visiting my grandmothers for whom the men and women then on the small screen had been larger than life in their youth.In the retrospective, Cantinflas is represented by “The Unknown Policeman” from 1941.Filmoteca UNAMWe 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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      Watch a Reynolds and Jackman Diner Chat in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’

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      The director Shawn Levy narrates a scene from the latest sequel in the franchise.In “Anatomy of a Scene,” we ask directors to reveal the secrets that go into making key scenes in their movies. See new episodes in the series on Fridays. You can also watch our collection of more than 150 videos on YouTube and subscribe to our YouTube channel.You probably expect plenty of slicing and dicing in “Deadpool & Wolverine.,” also plenty of irreverence. But what you might not expect is a quiet, softer moment of reflection. This scene, narrated by the film’s director, Shawn Levy, offers exactly that.Featuring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, the sequence takes place in the Void, an environmental dumping ground of sorts where the refuse of various timelines is discarded, and where Deadpool and Wolverine find themselves. They come across an empty retro diner and go inside.“It’s a pause along the journey,” Levy said in an extended interview, “and it’s the first meaty and substantial dialogue scene between the two characters, one of whom is famously motor-mouthed, the other of whom is famously laconic and internal.”“This has always been one of Ryan’s and my favorite scenes from the moment we wrote it,” Levy continued, “because it puts two iconic antiheroes in this incredibly generic trope of the Americana road movie. So the mismatch of these visuals, two superheroes sitting in a booth in a ’50s diner while Patsy Cline plays on the jukebox — that was a thrill.”Read the “Deadpool & Wolverine” review.Sign up for the Movies Update newsletter and get a roundup of reviews, news, Critics’ Picks and more. More