brightlight Archives

Sep102024 by cineverseNo Comments

James Earl Jones, Distinguished Actor and Voice of Darth Vader, Dies at 93

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By Adam B. Vary, Carmel Dagan According To The variety James Earl Jones, the prolific film, TV and theater actor whose resonant, unmistakable baritone was most widely known as the voice of “Star Wars” villain Darth Vader, died Monday morning at his home in Dutchess County, N.Y., his rep confirmed to Variety. He was 93. After overcoming a profound stutter as a child, Jones established himself as one of the pioneering Black actors of his generation, amassing a bountiful and versatile career spanning over 60 years, from his debut on Broadway in 1958 at the Cort Theatre — renamed the James Earl Jones Theatre in 2022 — to his most recent performance in 2021’s “Coming 2 America.” For that film, Jones reprised his role as King Jaffe Joffer from the 1988 Eddie Murphy...

Sep92024 by cineverseNo Comments

Eden’ Review: Ron Howard’s Historical ‘Thriller’ Strands Us On an Island with Characters Who Grow More Dislikable by the Minute

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By Owen Gleiberman According To The variety Ron Howard has always taken pride in being an eclectic filmmaker — in the last 40 years, he has made movies about mermaids, cocoons, auto factories, astronauts, firefighters, newspapers, beautiful minds, cave rescuers, the Grinch, the Da Vinci Code, the Beatles, and Pavarotti. But at the Toronto Film Festival premiere of his latest movie, “Eden,” he declared that the film stands farther apart from his other work than anything he has ever done. He’s right, though not for the reason he thinks. “Eden,” which is based on events that unfolded 100 years ago on one of the Galápagós Islands, is a difficult movie to characterize. It’s been labeled as a “thriller,” but I would describe it as a misanthropic survivalist “Robinson Crusoe” meets “Wh...

Sep92024 by cineverseNo Comments

Bruce Springsteen Contemplates Mortality With Toronto Film Festival Documentary ‘Road Diary’: ‘If I Went Tomorrow, It’s OK. What a F—ing Ride!

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By Brent Lang, Rebecca Rubin According To The variety Toronto welcomed “The Boss” on Sunday night. But it was a more contemplative Bruce Springsteen on display at the Roy Thomson Hall for the world premiere of “Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band,” a look at the rock legend and his tight-knit group of collaborators, which also served as a meditation on mortality. Throughout the film and in the post-screening Q&A, though, the 74-year-old rocker stressed that he doesn’t plan to hang up his guitar any time soon. He wants to keep rocking until “the wheels come off.” “If I went tomorrow, it’s OK,” Springsteen told the crowd to loud applause. “What a fucking ride!” Also in the documentary, Springsteen’s wife and E Street bandmate Patti Scialfa revealed s...

Sep72024 by cineverseNo Comments

Orlando Bloom Spoke to Director Andy Serkis About New ‘Lord of the Rings’ Movies and Wants to Return: If Peter Jackson ‘Says Jump, I Say How High’

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By Ethan Shanfeld According To The variety A few days after Ian McKellen expressed interest in returning as Gandalf in Peter Jackson’s new live-action “Lord of the Rings” movies, his co-star Orlando Bloom is adding his name to the list. When asked by Variety if he was interested in returning to the Tolkien franchise, the Legolas actor said, “Oh, man, those things are amazing. Yeah. I don’t know how they’d do it. I guess with AI you can do anything these days. But, if Pete [Peter Jackson] says jump, I say, ‘how high?’ I mean, he started my whole career.” The new Middle-earth movies will kick off in 2026 with “Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum,” directed by Andy Serkis, who will reprise his role of Gollum/Sméagol. Original franchise director Jackson is on bo...

Sep72024 by cineverseNo Comments

Elton John Cries as Intimate Documentary Looking Back on His Life Premieres at TIFF: ‘On My Tombstone, I Want It to Say He Was a Great Dad’

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By Rebecca Rubin, Ethan Shanfeld According To The variety “I have one question… who is wearing sequins?” It’s a fair query for Cameron Bailey, Toronto International Film Festival’s CEO, to ask at Friday night’s world premiere of “Elton John: Never Too Late,” a revealing look at the generation-spanning musical (and fashion) icon. Although he’s one of the best-selling artists of all time, a tearful John told the crowd at Roy Thomson Hall that family is more important to him than fame. “On my tombstone, I don’t want it to say he sold a million records. I want it to say he was a great dad and great husband.” “Never Too Late” captures John’s journey to becoming one of the world’s biggest rock stars, bookended by his landmark performances at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles in 1975 to m...

Sep12024 by cineverseNo Comments

Jude Law Is Officially Back After 7-Minute Standing Ovation at Venice for Fighting White Supremacy in ‘The Order’

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By Alex Ritman, Nick Vivarelli According To The variety Jude Law lit up the Lido with his powerful performance as an FBI agent fighting neo-Nazi terrorists in Justin Kurzel‘s timely crime thriller “The Order” that elicited a seven-minute standing ovation at its Venice Film Festival premiere. Prior to the screening Jude Law, looking dashing in a black shirtless suit, took selfies with screaming fans on the Palazzo del Cinema red carpet. When the lights went up, Law was glowing as he and director Kurzel and co-stars Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan and Jurnee Smollett soaked up the rapturous seven-minute applause, which could have lasted longer had they not exited the theatre waving to the still cheering crowd. Based on true events, the film is set ...

Aug312024 by cineverseNo Comments

Conclave’ Review: Ralph Fiennes, Looking Tortured, Leads a Tense Search for a New Pope

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By Peter Debruge According To The variety If you think the American presidential election has been unpredictable, wait’ll you see how capricious things get at the Vatican when the cardinals assemble to choose a new pope in “Conclave.” Adapted from the Robert Harris novel by Edward Berger, who assumes a very different challenge after “All Quiet on the Western Front,” this thinking man’s thriller unfolds like a murder mystery behind the locked doors of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where the College of Cardinals is cloistered, except no one suspects foul play in the previous pontiff’s death. Still, intrigues abound as the papabili — those considered next in line for the job, played by such formidable actors as Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow — pull whatever levers ...