There are well-known archetypes of movie bad guys, and each says something about the culture from which they sprang. Menacing Russians were a Cold War-era staple, and given the turn of world affairs, they’re enjoying a recent resurgence. Evil tech bros have been cast as villains for years, reflecting our modern unease with the men manipulating the machinery on which we’re ever more reliant.
The affectionate making-of music documentary “The Return of Tanya Tucker – Featuring Brandi Carlile” charts the recording of Tucker’s Grammy-winning 2019 album “While I’m Livin,’ ” via fresh interviews, studio footage and archival film clips. In the film, Tucker calls the circumstances surrounding the record a “relaunch,” not a comeback. (This, despite the fact that it was the now-64-year-old singer’s first album of original material in 17 years. Her 2009 album “My Turn” featured only covers.)
Topicality is baked into the film "Call Jane," director Phyllis Nagy's historical drama about a pre-Roe v. Wade network of underground abortion providers in late-1960s Chicago. But for this undercooked endeavor, such relevance is more of a burden than a boon.
In the opening shot of "The Good Nurse," a slow, steady, unilluminating drip of a medical mystery, a serial killer in scrubs named Charles Cullen (Eddie Redmayne) watches his victim die. The patient has gone into convulsions, and Charles, the nurse who sounded the alarm, stands back as the doctors swoop in and try in vain to save the day. In a perhaps inadvertently telling gesture, the camera eases the suffering, flatlining patient out of the frame and creeps slowly toward Charles, whose inscrutable expression is meant to chill you to the bone. It's as if the murderous satisfaction he feels — and the anxious concern he's trying to project — have somehow canceled each other out, leaving only a curious, malevolent blankness.
Beyond the WandThe Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a WizardBy Tom FeltonGrand Central Publishing. 304 pp. $28.- - -"Beyond the Wand," Tom Felton's self-portrait of child stardom and adulthood aimlessness, follows beats not unlike the arc of his Harry Potter performances. As Slytherin bully Draco Malfoy, Felton delivered a requisite amount of sneering during the eight-movie series' early installments, then cast a more nuanced spell in the last few films. Such is the rhythm of the 35-year-old actor's memoir, subtitled "The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard": After offering many a rote recollection from the saga, he summons his demons and delves deeper in the final pages.That introspection, about Felton's more recent struggles with drugs and alcohol, elevates what otherwise would be a diverting but disposable tome of Harry Potter trivia. Still, if you don't know a horcrux from a hippogriff, feel free to move along - "Beyond the Wand" should only be assigned reading for Hogwarts completists.That's partially because Felton liberally pulls from the wizarding lexicon, referring to his parents and three older brothers as his "Muggle family" and recalling how Harry Potter props "miraculously apparated" inside one mischievous sibling's bag. But it's mostly because Felton's on-set observations feel painstakingly curated. Although he has little to say about the Harry Potter filmmakers (aside from original director Chris Columbus) and dances around touchier matters (such as co-star Jamie Waylett's arrest and franchise exit), Felton does drop endearing tidbits about the movies' parade of British acting royalty.Michael Gambon is the subject of a charming story from the filming of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," when he and Felton shared a smoke between takes of Dumbledore's death scene. Felton also recounts Hagrid actor Robbie Coltrane's playful streak, and marvels at Jason Isaacs for being able to flip a switch from the heinous Lucius Malfoy to his gentler real-life persona. An anecdote in which Felton draws Alan Rickman's ire by trampling on his flowing robes amuses, as does the disarming thought of the Snape actor lining up for lunch on set. "I was rather intimidated by Alan from day one," Felton writes. "But seeing him wait patiently, in full Snape mode, for his sausage sandwich took the edge off just a little."When it comes to being cast as Draco and rocketing to global fame, Felton is self-aware about his good fortune and cautions that he was "born enthusiastic rather than talented." He's more generous toward his youthful cohorts, lauding Daniel Radcliffe for playing Harry with dedication to his craft and portraying Rupert Grint as an easygoing goof with a big heart - not unlike Ron Weasley. But he has the most to say about Hermione Granger actress Emma Watson, whom he acknowledges had to navigate altogether different terrain in a world that unfairly sexualizes female stars. Dutifully, if vaguely, he addresses their long-standing dating rumors: "I've always had a secret love for Emma, though not perhaps in the way that people might want to hear."For a book so dominated by Harry Potter - down to the chapter titles, which are chock full of Easter eggs - it's Felton's experiences outside the Wizarding World that make "Beyond the Wand" worth reading. His brothers come across as colorful characters whose ribbing went a long way toward keeping Felton grounded. (The story of one brother overindulging on champagne at the premiere of "The Borrowers," Felton's first film, is a riot.) And Felton's disastrous audition alongside Anthony Hopkins for the 2012 film "Hitchcock" is deliciously cringeworthy.When Felton finally opens up on his personal struggles, the change in tone isn't entirely unexpected. Earlier, he alludes to the uneasy burdens of being a teen star - including receiving a death threat when he was 15 - while also citing his problems with tutoring and a few brushes with the law. As Felton details his post-Harry Potter life in Southern California, grinding through the audition circuit, he paints a striking picture of a well-adjusted actor beaten down by Hollywood's superficiality."Beyond the Wand" finds greater purpose when Felton explains how he fell into his drinking habits, and chronicles the intervention that shook his world. His experience sneaking out of rehab and wandering the Pacific Coast Highway, trying to find his way back to his neighborhood bar on foot, is especially distressing. "Just as we all experience physical ill-health at some stage in our lives, so we all experience mental ill-health too," he writes. "There's no shame in that. It's not a sign of weakness. And part of the reason that I took the decision to write these pages is the hope that by sharing my experiences, I might be able to help someone else who is struggling."Ultimately, the hook of Felton's memoir is his perspective on living a one-in-a-billion experience. Yet "Beyond the Wand" is most insightful when Felton translates his tale into something more universal. Sure, the "boy who lived" was never Draco's moniker - but considering his eventful existence, it suits Felton just fine.
Sam Shepard’s “True West” is a play about sibling rivalry between two brothers gone kablooey, and for the first third or so of the new film “Raymond & Ray” on Apple TV+ starring Ewan McGregor and Ethan Hawke, there are hints that we’re headed in a similarly intriguing direction.
When it comes to rom-com movie weddings, beware Julia Roberts — she’s already run away as a bride and sown chaos at her best friend’s nuptials, and now, in “Ticket to Paradise,” her character has set her matrimony-disrupting sights on her own daughter’s union. Written and directed by Ol Parker, “Ticket to Paradise” reunites Roberts with the rom-com, and with her “Ocean’s Eleven” co-star George Clooney, too, but what should be a slam dunk is instead a missed free throw.
