Three-time Oscar-winning Italian-American director Frank Capra was born in 1897 in Sicily and emigrated with his family to Los Angeles as a child. With an engineer’s mind and a talent for self-promotion and collaboration from early on, it was perhaps inevitable that he would build a career in the movies. Capra confidently talked his way … Read more

The Idea of You (2024)Director: Michael ShowalterScreenwriters: Michael Showalter, Jennifer WestfeldtStarring: Anne Hathaway, Nicholas Galitzine Before Amazon Prime released The Idea of You, its author Robinne Lee—whose 2017 novel inspired the film—pushed back against the notion that her book is merely thinly veiled fan fiction about a specific pop star. Despite her clarification, the movie … Read more

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)Director: Wes BallScreenwriter: Josh FriedmanStarring: Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Kevin Durand, Peter Macon, William H. Macy, Lydia Peckham, Travis Jeffery, Sara Wiseman, Neil Sandilands, Eka Darville More than half a century after the original film launched an enduring sci-fi franchise, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes arrives … Read more

Abigail (2024)Directors: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler GillettScreenwriters: Stephen Shields, Guy BusickStarring: Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Alisha Weir, Kathryn Newton, Angus Cloud, Giancarlo Esposito There’s something almost nostalgic about seeing a mainstream film reach back toward the old Universal monster tradition, even if the result is uneven. Abigail attempts to blend a heist-thriller setup with a vampire … Read more

Challengers (2024)Director: Luca GuadagninoScreenwriter: Justin KuritzkesStarring: Zendaya, Mike Faist, Josh O’Connor When 18-year-old rising tennis star Tashi Duncan (Zendaya) first meets friends and players Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor) and Art Donaldson (Mike Faist), she insists tennis is more than a sport — it’s a relationship. On a wind-blown beach, as waves break behind them, Tashi … Read more

Star Wars is arguably the most beloved film franchise in history. For nearly half a century, the galaxy far, far away has fired the imagination of audiences worldwide—on the big screen, at home, at viewing parties, and across every medium. It speaks to people of every generation and from every corner of the globe. The … Read more

Seven Samurai (1954)Director: Akira KurosawaScreenwriters: Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, Hideo OguniStarring: Toshiro Mifune, Seiji Miyaguchi, Isao Kimura, Daisuke Katō, Yoshio Inaba, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima, Kamatari Fujiwara Often a film is more than its surface — more than its genre label, more than a set of images to be catalogued or critiqued by checklists. Sometimes … Read more

The year is 1956. On the radio, Jean Shepherd—host of Night People—introduces a 26-year-old actor who is in town to promote his latest film, Edge of the City. That same night, without knowing it, the actor John Cassavetes would help invent a kind of grassroots film financing that resembles modern crowdfunding. What began as a … Read more

New York-born actor Al Pacino has given so much to cinema. Across more than fifty years, he has delivered some of the most memorable performances in film history. His presence on screen can be quietly devastating; occasionally a single stare from Pacino is more powerful than a lengthy speech. He has explored a wide range … Read more

The Book of Clarence (2023)Director: Jeymes SamuelScreenwriter: Jeymes SamuelStarring: LaKeith Stanfield, RJ Cyler, Omar Sy, Anna Diop, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Micheal Ward, Caleb McLaughlin, Alfre Woodard, James McAvoy In the golden age of Hollywood, Biblical epics were a cinema staple—from grand retellings of scripture to films that borrowed its aesthetics. Jeymes Samuel, who drew praise for … Read more