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Mark Kermode on… Kathryn Bigelow, a stylish ruffler of feathers

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From vampire noir to Bin Laden, Point Break to Detroit, the first woman to win an Oscar for best director has never pulled her punches Watching new Jeff Nichols release The Bikeriders , starring Austin Butler and Tom Hardy as 60s Chicago greasers, I was reminded of two other movies: László Benedek’s 1953 Marlon Brando vehicle The Wild One , explicitly cited as an inspiration, and The Loveless , the 1981 feature debut of Kathryn Bigelow , the American film-maker (b.1951) who would go on to become the first woman to win a best director Oscar with her 2008 war drama The Hurt Locker . A symphony of leather-clad posing (with just a touch of Kenneth Anger ), The Loveless was a staple of the late-night circuit in the 80s, often on a double bill with David Lynch’s Eraserhead . Sharing directing credits with Monty Montgomery, Bigelow playfully deconstructed masculinity and machismo in a manner that was one part wry to two parts relish. I remember seeing The Loveless at the Phoenix in East
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Priyanka Chopra to no longer be involved with her NYC restaurant Sona: “She has stepped away from her partnership”

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Back in 2021, Priyanka Chopra announced that she now has her own restaurant in New York in partnership with Maneesh K. Goyal. The restaurant exclusively offers Indian cuisine. However, after two years, the actress has now stepped away from the partnership and will no longer be involved with Sona restaurant. “Priyanka has stepped away from her partnership at Sona,” a representative said in a statement to PEOPLE publication. “Bringing Sona to life will invariably be a proud and significant moment in her career. Priyanka has always endeavored to bring Indian culture to the fore through storytelling, whether that’s via engaging content for film and TV, or a beautifully plated dish that embodies the haute cuisine of India.” But, the actress will mostly be involved food scene and hospitality. “Stepping away from Sona allows her to broaden these ambitions on a more global scale, and she’s excited about the possibilities that await,” the spokesperson added. Maneesh K. Goyal, co-founder of S
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Billion Dollar Heist review – cybercrime documentary relives tech chaos

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A hit-and-miss documentary often struggles to explain the hows and whys of the Bangladesh Central Bank cyber heist of 2016 Cybercrime, on top of being difficult to detect and even more so to prove, is notoriously tricky to visualize. The impact may be tangible, even devastating – nuclear plants damaged , hospitals disabled , pipelines shut down – but the perpetrators are shadowy and inscrutable, the crime unseen and insidious, the methods vague and indecipherable to lay people without a knack for computer science. Billion Dollar Heist, a new feature-length documentary, attempts the formidable challenge of turning one of the biggest financial crimes in history – the February 2016 cyber heist of $81m from the US Federal Reserve accounts for the central bank of Bangladesh – into informative entertainment. Director Daniel Gordon employs a range of cinematic techniques – some illuminative, some overly cliched – to get at a highly sophisticated cyber crime involving several countries, tim
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The Idiots review – Lars von Trier’s appalling-taste Dogme satire is irritatingly original

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Whether intended as a satire of bourgeois hypocrisy or not this tale of boorish nihilists announced von Trier as a consummate provocateur Lars von Trier’s film from 1998 is re-released as part of the ongoing retrospective dedicated to this director, a film pioneeringly shot on digital video according to the minimalist guidelines of the Dogme 95 collective, which undoubtedly helped create an affordability-revolution in indie film-making. After a quarter of a century, The Idiots looks as cheerfully shallow, smug and manipulative as anything he has ever done, yet revisiting this needlingly insistent and epically tiresome film does bring into focus the way in which the debate around disability representation has changed, and also the subversive prank aesthetic that has to some degree governed the entire career of this unique film-maker. The Idiots is about people playing tricks, gigglingly pretending to have cerebral palsy or some form of learning disability in order to freak out the upt
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Vicky Kaushal's Uri: The Surgical Strike breaks over two-decade ban, marks the return of Hindi films to Manipur

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In a heartwarming turn of events, Manipur is witnessing the resurgence of cinema culture as it welcomes Hindi films back into its fold. The long-anticipated reopening of the silver screen commenced with a special screening of the acclaimed Bollywood film, Uri: The Surgical Strike, featuring Vicky Kaushal. The event, held in Churachandpur, has ignited a renewed enthusiasm among the locals. The curtain was raised on this cinematic celebration thanks to the initiative of the Hmar Students Association (HSA), an organization that staunchly opposes the over two-decade-long ban on Hindi movies. The ban, instituted in September 2000 by the 'Revolutionary People’s Front,' the political arm of the proscribed People’s Liberation Army, a Meitei terror group, has held sway over the region for years. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum, which represents the voice of the Kuki tribes, voiced their stance in favour of the event. Prior to the movie screening, the air was charged with patrioti
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The Monkey King review – lively Netflix animation revives ancient Chinese classic

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The streaming service is capable of interesting works for children, with this one based on 16th century novel Journey to the West featuring an irritating protagonist Despite recent budget cuts, Netflix’s in-house animation division continues to produce lively, interesting works that, if released theatrically, might be diverting some of the applause that gets automatically lavished on Disney and Pixar’s currently mediocre output. Not that this is anywhere as rich and strange as the streaming service’s last big title, the Oscar-winning Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio . The latest in a 10,000-mile-long line of adaptations of Journey to the West, the 16th-century Chinese novel attributed to Wu Cheng’en, bounces along energetically, and has some exceptionally fun frills around the edges, such as a flouncy vocal performance from Bowen Yang as spiteful, effete baddie the Dragon King, who gets to sing the film’s best musical number. (Vowing to flood the world as revenge for being mocked for hi
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Welcome To The Jungle: Akshay Kumar blocks Christmas 2024 for Welcome 3 starring Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi

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The third installment of Welcome has been in the work for a while. It was recently announced that Welcome 3, titled Welcome to the Jungle, will star Akshay Kumar in the lead role with Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi joining the cast in pivotal roles along with Paresh Rawal. Earlier, it was reported that Nana Patekar and Anil Kapoor are now no longer part of the project. Now, the makers have locked Christmas 2024 as the release date for the third installment. Just like the first Welcome which released on Christmas of 2007, producer Firoz A Nadiadwala has decided to bring this family entertainer in Christmas 2024. The film is expected to go on floors next year after Akshay Kumar wraps Jolly LLB 3 and Housefull 5. Recently, Warsi confirmed the project by saying, “The scale of Welcome 3: the cost, the climax, is unreal. It is an insanely larger-than-life theatrical film which I will be a part of. It has me, Akshay Kumar, Sanju (Sanjay Dutt), Paresh Rawal and lots of other people.” With thi
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Zo Reken review – Toyota Land Cruiser becomes a safe space in conflict-ridden Haiti

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Debates on national identity and foreign aid are par for the course for car riders – though this documentary is itself tangled up in the country’s complex power structures ‘Zo reken” means “shark bones” in Haitian Creole, and refers to a traditional cane liquor purported to increase virility. It is also a local nickname for the Toyota Land Cruiser, a high-powered car that can breezily weather the tough road conditions in Port-au-Prince. Largely shot in the back of one of these vehicles, Emanuel Licha’s documentary is structured around a steady flow of conversations on national identity, political conflicts and foreign intervention. Emerging from these discussions is discontent at the government of Jovenel Moïse – the country’s former president who was assassinated in 2021 – as well as a distrust of international humanitarian aid. One passenger, for example, laments on the irony of how support from NGOs has had the negative effect of increasing Haiti’s dependence on wealthier countri
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Rana Daggubati pens a heartfelt apologetic note to Sonam Kapoor after trolls target her

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Rana Daggubati recently attended an event of Dulquer Salmaan starrer King of Kotha where he couldn’t stop appreciating the Sita Ramam actor for his calm nature. In a video from the event which has gone viral, Rana was heard sharing an incident about Dulquer and his patience as well as calmness while shooting with a leading Bollywood actress on the sets of a Hindi film. While the actor didn’t mention anyone’s name, netizens were quick to make their conclusions that Rana was referring to actress Sonam Kapoor and that the incident was from the shoot of The Zoya Factor. For the unversed, Rana Daggubati was seen talking about how Dulquer was a polite person ever since he knew him as a junior from his acting school. “We became friends there. He is a very polite person. He was doing a Hindi movie and the shoot was happening near my house. The producers are my friends and I went there to meet everyone. While he was standing in the corner with the spot boy, a big Hindi heroine who was doing th
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Akshay Kumar announces Indian citizenship on Independence Day; shuts down trolls

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Akshay Kumar, who is known for doing some of the most patriotic films like Airlift, Rustom, among others, has decided to renounce his Canadian citizenship. The actor, who was often trolled for holding the citizenship of a different country, has decided to choose his nation India over others as he has officially been declared as the citizen of this country and the actor took to social media on the occasion of India’s 77th Independence Day to make this announcement. A few moments ago, Akshay Kumar took to Twitter to share a photo of a legal document later adding in the caption that he has renounced his Canadian citizenship and become the citizen of India. He penned a note in Hindi along with the photo on social media saying, “Dil aur citizenship, dono Hindustani (Heart and Citizenship are both Indian). Happy Independence Day! Jai Hind!” Dil aur citizenship, dono Hindustani. Happy Independence Day! Jai Hind! ???????? pic.twitter.com/DLH0DtbGxk — Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) August 15, 20
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Bigg Boss OTT Season 2: Elvish Yadav walks away with the trophy; defeats Abhishek Malhan

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Bigg Boss OTT 2, which kept audiences entertained with its high voltage drama and controversies, came to an end on August 14. After getting a six-week extension owing to its popularity, Salman Khan yesterday announced the winner of the reality show, and it is none other than social media influencer Elvish Yadav. The influencer bagged the trophy after defeating Abhishek Malhan who was the runner up of the show. Audiences would be aware that the grand finale kicked off with the top five contestants fighting for the trophy which included actresses Pooja Bhatt and Bebika Dhurve along with social media influencers, Elvish Yadav, Abhishek Malhan, and Manisha Rani. While Pooja was the first to get eliminated, Bebika found a position in top four but was later evicted leaving Manisha, Abhishek, and Elvish as the top three contenders. With Manisha too bidding adieu to the trophy later in the show, the tough competition between Abhishek and Elvish, who are both known for their massive fan follow
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