Movies

Movies often serve as a way for filmmakers to work through their own experiences with loss. Every director and writer handles this sensitive topic differently, bringing their unique perspective. Some films explore death indirectly, using animals or animation to represent loss, while others focus on how characters cope with grief – showing it as feelings of guilt or loneliness, and challenging any shame associated with those feelings. And some movies even delve into what might happen after death, both realistically and imaginatively.

Peter Jackson won’t be directing the new Lord of the Rings films, The Hunt for Gollum and The Shadow of the Past, but he’ll still be heavily involved as an executive producer. Andy Serkis, famous for playing Gollum, will direct The Hunt for Gollum and reprise his role as the character. The Shadow of the Past will be directed by Stephen Colbert and his son, Peter McGee. Longtime writers Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh are also returning to work on the stories.

In 2022, Condal experienced firsthand how intensely negative some Game of Thrones fans could be, reacting strongly even to small details they didn’t like within the show’s world.

The film Bitter Christmas opens in 2004, introducing Elsa (Bárbara Lennie), an advertising director who previously directed two films that gained a dedicated, though small, following. She lives in a beautiful, brightly decorated Madrid apartment with her caring boyfriend, Bonifacio (Patrick Criado). Though successful, Elsa suffers from increasingly severe migraines, leading to a recent emergency room visit – at a hospital she once used for a film shoot. The story quickly reveals that Elsa’s life feels intentionally disjointed, as if she’s inhabiting someone else’s experience. This is because she’s a fictionalized version of a character being written by Raúl (Leonardo Sbaraglia), a filmmaker in 2026 who is crafting the story of Elsa and Bonifacio as his new screenplay.

Truck-kun, a common trope in isekai anime, actually serves a purpose: guiding characters to where they’re meant to be, even if the method is a bit… drastic. While getting run over by a truck isn’t ideal, it often leads to a positive outcome, revealing Truck-kun’s surprisingly kind nature. Some of these unfortunate incidents are hilariously awkward, deeply sad, or even strangely endearing. Whether fatal or not, each encounter with Truck-kun is memorable for the audience.

In this week’s episode of “Marat Sade,” Daisy is back working undercover, and it’s clear she’s not up to the task. Throughout the season, it’s been obvious that her grief and tendency to be easily influenced make her a poor choice for this assignment, and this episode confirms those concerns. Daisy arrived in Gilead wanting revenge, and the harsh justice system there has actually appealed to her desire for retribution. Her mother cautioned her that seeking revenge only leads to more suffering, but Daisy now seems to be questioning that very idea.

Many viewers commented after last week’s episode that the show’s pace and overall feel changed suddenly, moving away from its typically lighthearted, whimsical style – and it was a bit jarring. I understand that perspective; the story about Jinx struggling and the visit from Child Protective Services might have unfolded more smoothly over a few episodes. However, I believe the show aims to be a comforting fantasy world with occasional touches of realism.

The series Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed launches Maslany’s character into a complex and increasingly unsettling mystery. This impacts her colleagues at the magazine (played by Kiarra Hamagami Goldberg and Charlie Hall), intensifies her custody dispute, and steadily increases the pressure on her. Following a screening, a Vulture-hosted panel featuring series creator David J. Rosen, Maslany, Flynn, and Goldberg discussed the show’s blend of horror and humor, the challenges of filming Zoom scenes, and how the story taps into a contemporary desire for human connection.

Sometimes, a show’s ending needs to be more than just entertaining, and that’s definitely true for the finale of this series. “Blood and Bone” highlights problems that started back in season three with the writing. The plot became repetitive – for example, focusing on a storyline to kill off a character we knew would survive – and the show lost its focus on developing its characters. While the writers continued to give each character their own story, those stories lacked the depth and emotional resonance they once had, making the important moments feel less impactful than they did in the earlier seasons.

“Would you like an appointment?” says a voice on the other end.