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      ‘Paddington in Peru’ Review: Homeward Bound

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      The genial bear embarks on an Amazonian journey of self discovery in this movie, which cannot measure up to “Paddington 2” despite its charms.It’s rare for a sequel to outshine its original, and there’s hardly a case that comes to mind quicker than “Paddington,” the live-action franchise about a clumsy, gentlemanly bear from Peru who was brought up in London. Based on Michael Bond’s books, the original movie and especially the sequel stand out for their appeal to all ages — from the children toward whom they’re geared to the abundance of adults who relish their sincerity, humanity and flair.“Paddington in Peru,” an amiable effort to continue the trend, moves its star into the action-adventure genre. The movie finds Paddington (voiced by Ben Whishaw) on a safari through the Amazon jungle of his youth to rescue his aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton), who has mysteriously gone missing from her retirement home.If “Paddington” hinges on blundering and “Paddington 2” on relentless civility, the third stages a more personal journey of self discovery. It’s a somewhat rote exercise in soul-searching, and the script lacks subtlety. (At one point, a character actually says, “you have found yourself.”) But the experience is still a worthy one for our furry leading man. Finally, Paddington graduates from nuisance to pathfinder, from struggling to fit in to forging his own identity.The movie begins by catching us up with the Brown family in their picturesque townhouse in London. The kids — now adolescents — have gained independence, and Mrs. Brown (Emily Mortimer, taking over from Sally Hawkins) is missing the days when the fivesome would spend time as a family. So, when Paddington learns that Lucy is in trouble, Mrs. Brown jumps at the opportunity for some vacation bonding and ushers her family into a Peruvian rescue mission.In his feature debut, the director, Dougal Wilson, nods to the adults in the room by taking the straightforward story and packing it with cinematic references. Early on, there’s a singalong where the retirement home’s Reverend Mother (Olivia Colman) belts to the hills with the sound of music. Later, action scenes sponge ideas from Buster Keaton and Indiana Jones. And among the ensemble, the intrepid Hunter Cabot (Antonio Banderas) plays a local river guide whose support of the Browns is tainted by an ulterior motive.Watching Hunter’s schemes unfold, viewers can appreciate the central challenge facing “Paddington in Peru.” How do you measure up to “Paddington 2” when much of its magic came from Hugh Grant, who’s nowhere to be found? Instead, the filmmakers call on Colman and Banderas to fill the void, and although the actors commit with manic enthusiasm, their goofing can’t conjure what came before. Like chivalry from a genial bear, it’s a tough act to follow.Paddington in PeruRated PG. Running time: 1 hour 46 minutes. In theaters. More

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      ‘Anora’ Wins Big at Producers and Directors Guild Awards

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      The film that takes those two major industry prizes almost always goes on to win the best-picture Oscar.This tumultuous Oscar season has a certified front-runner.On Saturday night in Los Angeles, more than a month after “Anora” lost every award it was nominated for at the Golden Globes, the Sean Baker-directed comedy took top honors at awards shows held by the Directors Guild of America and the Producers Guild of America. The later victory is especially telling: Since 2009, when both the PGA and the academy expanded their number of best-film nominees from five, the PGA winner has gone on to claim the best-picture Oscar all but three times.The ceremonies were held opposite each other in Beverly Hills and Baker had to race from the DGAs, which wrapped first, to the PGAs. While accepting his award at the earlier ceremony, he appeared gobsmacked.“My impostor syndrome is skyrocketing right now,” Baker said, “as well as my cortisol levels.”The victories capped a good weekend for “Anora,” which also won the top prize at the Critics Choice Awards on Friday night. And though Baker may be battling impostor syndrome, 18 of the last 20 DGA winners also went on to take the best-director Oscar, which puts him in good company.Other winners at both shows included “Shogun,” and “Hacks,” which won drama-series and comedy-series awards, respectively. “Nickel Boys” director RaMell Ross took the DGA award for first-time theatrical filmmaker.“Emilia Pérez,” which led the Oscar field with 13 nominations but has been battered by controversy involving old tweets made by its star Karla Sofia Gascón, failed to take a prize at either ceremony.Here is the list of PGA winners:FilmFeature Film“Anora”Animated Feature“The Wild Robot”Documentary“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story”TelevisionEpisodic Drama“Shogun”Episodic Comedy“Hacks”Limited or Anthology Series“Baby Reindeer”Television Movie or Streamed Movie“The Greatest Night in Pop”Nonfiction Television“STEVE! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces”Live, Variety, Sketch, Stand-up or Talk Show“Saturday Night Live”Game or Competition Show“The Traitors”Sports Program“Simone Biles Rising”Children’s Program“Sesame Street”Short-Form Program“Succession: Controlling the Narrative”And here is the list of DGA winners. For the complete list, go to dga.org.FilmFeatureSean Baker, “Anora”Read our review.First-Time FeatureRaMell Ross, “Nickel Boys”Read our review.DocumentaryBrendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev, “Porcelain War”TelevisionDrama Series“Shogun,” Frederick E.O. ToyeRead our review.Comedy Series“Hacks,” Lucia AnielloTelevision Movies and Limited Series“Ripley,” Steven Zaillian More

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      Critics Choice Awards Winners 2025: See the Full List

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      Here’s who went home a winner from the 30th annual Critics Choice Awards.See all the arrival photos from the 2025 Critics Choice Awards red carpet.The 30th annual Critics Choice Awards were held in Santa Monica, Calif., on Friday. Here’s who walked away with hardware from one of the last major bellwethers before the Oscars.FilmBest Picture“Anora”Best ActorAdrien Brody, “The Brutalist”Best ActressDemi Moore, “The Substance”Best Supporting ActorKieran Culkin, “A Real Pain”Best Supporting ActressZoe Saldaña, “Emilia Pérez”Best Young Actor or ActressMaisy Stella, “My Old Ass”Best Acting Ensemble“Conclave”Best DirectorJon M. Chu, “Wicked”Best Original ScreenplayCoralie Fargeat, “The Substance”Best Adapted ScreenplayPeter Straughan, “Conclave”Best CinematographyJarin Blaschke, “Nosferatu”Best Production DesignNathan Crowley and Lee Sandales, “Wicked”Best EditingMarco Costa, “Challengers”Best Costume DesignPaul Tazewell, “Wicked”Best Hair and MakeupStéphanie Guillon, Frédérique Arguello and Pierre-Olivier Persin; “The Substance”Best Visual EffectsPaul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer; “Dune: Part Two”Best Animated Feature“The Wild Robot”Best Comedy“A Real Pain”“Deadpool & Wolverine”Best Foreign Language Film“Emilia Pérez”Best Song“El Mal,” from “Emilia Pérez”Best ScoreTrent Reznor and Atticus Ross, “Challengers”TelevisionBest Drama Series“Shogun”Best Actor, Drama SeriesHiroyuki Sanada, “Shogun”Best Actress, Drama SeriesKathy Bates, “Matlock”Best Supporting Actor, Drama SeriesTadanobu Asano, “Shogun”Best Supporting Actress, Drama SeriesMoeka Hoshi, “Shogun”Best Comedy Series“Hacks”Best Actor, Comedy SeriesAdam Brody, “Nobody Wants This”Best Actress, Comedy SeriesJean Smart, “Hacks”Best Supporting Actor, Comedy SeriesMichael Urie, “Shrinking”Best Supporting Actress, Comedy SeriesHannah Einbinder, “Hacks”Best Limited Series“Baby Reindeer”Best TV Movie“Rebel Ridge”Best Actor, Limited Series or TV MovieColin Farrell, “The Penguin”Best Actress, Limited Series or TV MovieCristin Milioti, “The Penguin”Best Supporting Actor, Limited Series or TV MovieLiev Schreiber, “The Perfect Couple”Best Supporting Actress, Limited Series or TV MovieJessica Gunning, “Baby Reindeer”Best Foreign Language Series“Squid Game”Best Animated Series“X-Men ’97”Best Talk Show“John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in L.A.”Best Comedy Special“Ali Wong: Single Lady” More

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      Can We Make Pop Culture Great Again?

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      When “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” debuted together late last month, there was a painful attempt to call their shared box office success “Glicked” — a reference to the portmanteau of “Barbenheimer” that described the joint cultural triumph of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” in the summer of 2023.It was painful because the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon was a genuine old-fashioned Hollywood success story: Two unusual and vivid and original stories (based, yes, on real history and a famous doll, but no less creative for all that) from directors working near the peak of their powers that managed to be culturally relevant and open for interpretive debate.Whereas “Wicked” and the “Gladiator” sequel are conventional examples of how Hollywood makes almost all its money nowadays — through safe-seeming bets on famous brands and franchises that can be packaged into just-OK-enough cinematic entertainments. Neither is as egregiously mediocre as “Moana 2,” the other blockbuster of the season: The musical numbers in “Wicked” and Denzel Washington’s Roman scenery-chewing lend energy that’s absent in the Disney empire nowadays. But neither are anything like the expression of mass-market creativity that we used to call The Movies.I’ve been writing lately about how American politics seem to have moved into a new dispensation — more unsettled and extreme, but also perhaps more energetic and dynamic. One benefit of unsettlement, famously adumbrated by Orson Welles’s villainous Harry Lime in “The Third Man,” is supposed to be cultural ferment: “In Italy for 30 years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.”There are certainly signs of ferment out there, in technology, religion and intellectual life. But I’m worried about pop culture — worried that the relationship between art and commerce isn’t working as it should, worried that even if the rest of American society starts moving, our storytelling is still going to be stuck.Or maybe not stuck so much as completely fragmented, with forms of creativity that are all intensely niche, like the podcast-splintered marketplace of news consumption.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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      Timotheé Chalamet and the Stars of ‘A Complete Unknown’ Pack NYC Premiere: Photos

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      “I saw him,” said Charlotte Barbié, 18, who stood outside the SVA Theater on Friday night, shaking from either the cold or the excitement. “He was blond.”She indicated her white Adidas sneaker had just been signed in black marker by the actor Timothée Chalamet.Ms. Barbié stood among a gaggle of young fans who shrieked when Mr. Chalamet arrived at the New York premiere of “A Complete Unknown,” the Bob Dylan biopic in which he stars that has been nominated for three Golden Globes.The premiere took place just down West 23rd Street from the fabled Manhattan hotel where Mr. Dylan had lived 60 years earlier. The film, directed by James Mangold, traces Mr. Dylan’s arrival in New York as a teenager and his ascent through the Greenwich Village music scene.Mr. Chalamet sang live in the movie and said he had spent five years working with a harmonica coach to nail the singer’s mannerisms. Although his dark hair is tousled to Dylanesque proportions in the film, on Friday, it was blond and straight, sticking out from a turquoise beanie. Mr. Chalamet appeared to be dressed as Mr. Dylan had at a Sundance Film Festival appearance in 2003 for the premiere of the film “Masked and Anonymous,” which the musician starred in and co-wrote.“A Complete Unknown,” which will be released in theaters on Dec. 25, is based on the 2015 book “Dylan Goes Electric!” by Elijah Wald, which recounts the years leading up to Mr. Dylan’s polarizing performance with electric instruments at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965.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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      ‘Emilia Pérez’ Tops Golden Globe Nominations

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      The movie received 10 nominations, the most of any movie. “Conclave,” “Wicked” and “Anora” will be among the other films contending for the top prizes.The point of the Golden Globes has become clearer in recent years: It’s a cash register masquerading as an awards show — an opportunity to sell advertising, promote winter movies and flog designer gowns.Celebrity attendance makes the whole thing run, of course, and so trophies are dangled as bait. On Monday, the companies behind the Globes announced the 2025 list of nominees, and — ka-ching! — there are a ton of stars on it, including Angelina Jolie, Timothée Chalamet, Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman, Jamie Foxx, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ariana Grande, Keira Knightley, Pamela Anderson, Zendaya, Demi Moore, Glen Powell, Selena Gomez, Daniel Craig, Kate Winslet, Miley Cyrus and Denzel Washington.Netflix’s “Emilia Pérez,” a Spanish-language musical exploring trans identity, received 10 nominations, the most of any movie, including one for best comedy or musical. “The Brutalist,” “Conclave,” “Wicked” and “Anora” will be among the other films contending for the top prizes, with “The Bear,” “Shogun,” “Only Murders in the Building” and “Baby Reindeer” among the programs vying for the TV equivalents.[Read the full list of nominees.]Notable nominations included Winslet, a surprise nominee for best actress in a drama for her performance in “Lee,” a little-seen biographical drama with mediocre reviews. The best director category included Coralie Fargeat for her satirical body horror film “The Substance.”Some nominees are Globes warhorses. Kidman, nominated for best actress in a drama for her performance in “Babygirl,” an erotic thriller, has been nominated 18 times before. (She’s a six-time winner.) The comedian Nikki Glaser will host the 2025 Globes, which CBS and Paramount+ will broadcast live on Jan. 5.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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      Steve Mensch, President of Tyler Perry Studios, Dies at 62

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      Mr. Mensch, a longtime supporter of the film industry in Georgia, died in a plane crash on Friday in Florida, according to officials.Steve Mensch, a film executive in Georgia who pushed for state policies to support the industry and who was the president of Tyler Perry Studios, died in a plane crash in Florida on Friday. He was 62.Mr. Mensch was the sole occupant of a small-engine fixed-wing aircraft that crashed on Highway 19 in Homosassa, Fla., just after 8 p.m. on Friday, according to the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.Mr. Mensch worked at Tyler Perry Studios for more than eight years, managing the 330-acre studio in Atlanta that was once home to Fort McPherson, a U.S. military base that closed in 2011, according to the company.Mr. Perry, the actor and entertainment mogul whose movies and television shows often depict the lives of Black Americans, bought the decommissioned base for $30 million in 2015.The lot has been a host to many of Mr. Perry’s projects, like “Boo! A Medea Halloween,” featuring Mr. Perry in his comedic role. Since his breakout role as Madea, Mr. Perry has appeared in nearly 50 shows and movies, including “Don’t Look Up” and “Gone Girl” and has over 70 producer credits, according to IMDb.Other shows and films have been shot at his studio, including “Pitch Perfect 3,” “The Walking Dead” and “Black Panther.”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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      Miho Nakayama, Japanese Music and Movie Star, Dies at 54

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      A top-selling pop singer as a teenager in the 1980s, she also had an award-winning career as a dramatic actress.Miho Nakayama, a reigning J-pop star of the 1980s who broke through to become a critically acclaimed dramatic actress and gained international attention for her starring role in the sentimental Japanese drama “Love Letter,” died on Friday at her home in Tokyo. She was 54.Ms. Nakayama was found dead in a bathtub, according to a statement from her management company. The statement added, “We are still in the process of confirming the cause of death and other details.”The Japan Times reported that Ms. Nakayama had canceled an appearance at a Christmas concert in Osaka, Japan, scheduled for that same day, citing health issues.Born in the city of Saku in Nagano Prefecture on May 4, 1970, and raised in Tokyo, Ms. Nakayama — known by the affectionate nickname Miporin — rocketed to fame in 1985, becoming one of Japan’s most successful idols, as popular young entertainers there are known, with the release of her first single, “C.” That same year, she took home a Japan Record Award for best new artist.She exploded on both the big and small screens that same year with starring roles in the comedy-drama series “Maido Osawagase Shimasu” (roughly, “Sorry to Bother You All the Time”) and the film “Bi Bappu Haisukuru” (“Be-Bop High School”), an action comedy set on a dystopian campus filled with uniformed schoolgirls and brawling schoolboys.Such stories were popular teenage fare at the time, as evidenced by her subsequent role in “Sailor Fuku Hangyaku Doumei” (“The Sailor Suit Rebel Alliance”), a television series that made its debut in 1986, in which Ms. Nakayama played a member of a group of martial arts-savvy girls who squared off against wrongdoers at a violence-marred high school.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