Latest news with #EasternPromises
Irish Independent
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
What to watch on TV and streaming today: Tracks and Trails, Eastern Promises and Welcome To Wrexham
Tracks and Trails RTÉ One, 8pm Doireann Ní Ghlacáin meets ex-rugby player Barry Murphy of folk rock band Hermitage Green, who wants to show off the delights of his Co Limerick home during a cycle ride along the Limerick Greenway from Abbeyfeale to Rathkeale. Alison Hammond's Big Weekend BBC One, 8.30pm New series in which the host gets to know various celebrities by spending an entire weekend with them, beginning with singer Perrie Edwards. The Zoo RTÉ One, 8.30pm Phantasmal poison frogs are on their way from the Amazon, and zookeeper Garth is determined to make them feel at home by creating a special eco-habitat. Plus, a garter snake and a southern white rhino require treatment from the vet team. Mrs Harris Goes to Paris RTÉ One, 9.35pm Lesley Manville stars in this light-hearted tale set in the 1950s. She plays a widowed cleaning lady who journeys to the French capital after setting her sights on a couture Dior dress; it's a trip that will change her life. Isabelle Huppert, Lambert Wilson and Jason Isaacs co-star. Eastern Promises BBC Two, 11pm Director David Cronenberg's tough thriller stars Naomi Watts as a London midwife searching for the family of a Russian teenager who died in childbirth. Viggo Mortensen also appears as a gangster who tries to help, unwittingly introducing her to the city's underworld in the process. Welcome To Wrexham Disney+, streaming now It's season four, you know the score. Overcompensating Prime Video, streaming now Meet Benny and Carmen. He's a closeted former football legend, she's a determined outsider, as they navigate hook-ups, flavoured vodka and fake IDs on the college campus. If you're in a dystopia loop, The Assessment might be a better fit. Two of the UK's most prolific killers are once again under the microscope due to recently unearthed police recordings. Untold: The Liver King Netflix, streaming now By ritualistically horsing into raw meat on social media, The Liver King created an enterprise around supplements. And he supposedly had the muscles to show it. How did he get so enormous...? Speaking of ripped physiques: in the week following WrestleMania, last night saw WWE superstars seeking retribution against past opponents and beginning new rivalries. Even Cena isn't safe. Bad Thoughts Netflix, streaming now If you fancy Black Mirror vibes but with bloody slapstick humour, this collection of wildly disturbing stories pushes the boundaries of decency in ways only Tom Segura could conjure. Expect tales from a country music star who mines people's misery in exchange for spoiled prawns, a tortured barista, and lots of other delightful weirdness. Speaking of which, a new volume of Love, Death and Robots landed yesterday. A Deadly American Marriage Netflix, streaming now The story of Jason Corbett and Molly Martens was always going to be made into a Netflix documentary. Corbett, a widower, got married in 2008 to Martens, his Tennessee au pair. They left Ireland to start over in North Carolina with his kids, Jack and Sarah. Their story took a dark turn in August 2015, when Molly and her dad, former FBI agent Thomas Martens, were in an altercation resulting in Jason's death. Molly later entered a no-contest plea, claiming self-defence, while Thomas was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in 2023. After their 2024 prison release, uncertainty remained about certain facets. Directed by Jessica Burgess and Jenny Popplewell, this documentary includes exclusive interviews providing insight into the divergent perspectives of those involved, leaving some grappling with the question of: 'Who was the real victim?' And, given Jack and Sarah's unbelievably brave contributions, the answer to that would be: the kids. Octopus! Prime Video, streaming now Narrated by Phoebe Fleabag Waller-Bridge, this marvellous mash-up chronicles being killed by a lover, losing yourself in Mexico, spotting a unicorn, befriending a competitive quilter, exploring our connection with aliens, and extra Tracy Morgan. This is how all nature documentaries ought to be produced from now on. Rose International Dance Prize Marquee TV, streaming now For those unfamiliar with Marquee TV, it's your global streaming platform for the arts. This 60-minute film, narrated by Fiona Shaw (Bad Sisters, Harry Potter, plus too many more to mention), sees internationally acclaimed choreographers compete for dance's version of the Oscars. The Match Netflix, streaming now If you're watching season two of The Devil's Plan and wondering why there's always a Go master in the line-up, this cut-throat drama could give you some context. For something at the other end of the spectrum entirely, Vince Vaughn, Susan Sarandon and a rake load of other famous people star in Nonnas.
San Francisco Chronicle
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
‘The Shrouds' review: David Cronenberg mixes eroticism, body horror in his wildest film yet
It's one thing to be a little bit nuts, but to be a little bit nuts in the exact same way for 50 years — that's worthy of respect. At this point, it's clear that David Cronenberg has not been trying to gross us out purely for effect. He has been coming from a real place inside, and that place has never seemed more honest and raw than in 'The Shrouds,' his best film since 2007's ' Eastern Promises.' It's the story of a businessman, Karsh, who is grieving the death of his wife to such a degree that he wishes he could crawl into the grave with her. Instead he invents a new kind of cemetery, in which bodies are buried with multiple cameras all around them, so that loved ones can monitor the deceased's decomposition. Cronenberg's wife died in 2017, and he has said that this film comes indirectly out of that harrowing, anguished experience. As if to emphasize the personal connection between the lead character and the director, Vincent Cassel as Karsh wears his hair in the distinctive Cronenberg style: white, combed straight back and shaped like a parabola. There are scenes of decomposition here that are genuinely disgusting and disturbing. (I did mention this is a Cronenberg movie, right?) But what is surprising is that the movie has an erotic component, as well. When his wife (Diane Kruger) was alive, Karsh was obsessed with her body. It was the locus and meaning of his life. Now in death, while she appears to him in dreams and flashbacks, he has his wife's lookalike sister (also played by Kruger) and there's definitely an erotic element to their interactions. But Cronenberg is not so creepy as to suggest that Karsh is attracted to his wife's corpse. Rather, there's the suggestion that this man's love for his wife and his obsession with her as a physical entity preclude the possibility of him ever being grossed out by her — even in a decomposed state. For Kruger, 'The Shrouds' is quite a showcase, in that she plays two sisters with very different styles and personalities. Both roles are extremely frank in terms of nudity and sexuality, and yet one can see why Kruger thought the movie worthy of such intense investment. There's nothing salacious about it. In its own deeply weird and appalling way, it's a film about something beautiful. This is Cronenberg's version of ultimate romance, of eternal love. And yet, I've revealed very little about the story here. It's hard to make much sense of it, anyway. There's something to do with computer hacks, and a plot by the Chinese and the Russians. Originally conceived as a series for Netflix, 'The Shrouds' might have thrived in that format had the streaming giant taken him up on it. Instead, what we get in this film is what would have been the first episode — and it feels like it. It's the worst thing that can be said for 'The Shrouds,' which ends on a diminuendo and with very little resolved. That's what keeps it from being the great film it might have been. But still, it's an absolutely original vision. It's a wail of grief, an expression of love, a testament to the body. Cronenberg puts it all on the line here, and he gets his actors to put it all on the line with him. If you don't feel its visceral charge, you're not paying attention.
New York Times
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
‘The Shrouds' Review: For Cronenberg, Grief Is an Obsession
In David Cronenberg's latest film, 'The Shrouds,' the lines between life and death, emotion and pathology, biology and technology, become blurred. Even the movie's tone lands in a liminal space where gravitas slips into comedy — I couldn't help but snicker when someone tells the main character, 'Karsh, don't crash!' A dry macabre humor has long run through Cronenberg's work, and the uncertainty behind some of his intentions here creates thought-provoking ambiguity. Since an important source of inspiration was the death of Cronenberg's wife from cancer, in 2017, are we really supposed to find this funny? I would argue, yes — among other details in keeping with the Canadian director's approach, a woman is revealed to find conspiracy theories sexually arousing — but there is still enough doubt to mess with viewers' heads. The aforementioned Karsh (an understated Vincent Cassel, in his third Cronenberg movie after 'A Dangerous Method' and the terrific 'Eastern Promises') is a Tesla-driving Toronto entrepreneur. His business, GraveTech, involves burying the dead in shrouds that transmit images to screen-embedded headstones. At his cemetery, you can, in effect, watch a livestream of a decomposing body. (This is not so far-fetched, considering recent developments in both wearable technology and invasive voyeurism.) Karsh is personally invested in this corpse cam because his wife, Becca (Diane Kruger), died of cancer four years earlier. She is buried in one of his shrouds, and he can check on her decay's progress. This we all learn in a surreal introductory scene in which Karsh explains GraveTech to a lunch date, Myrna (Jennifer Dale), at a restaurant overlooking his wired-up cemetery. He even shows her Becca's feed, which might not beat brandy as a digestif. Before long the plot properly kicks into gear. Thanks to his technology's high resolution, Karsh notices odd growths on Becca's corpse. They don't look organic, so then what are they? Who put them there? Shortly thereafter, the graves are vandalized. Again: Who? Why? With each new plot development, the movie lurches in a different direction before then abandoning it. 'The Shrouds' is about a disturbing new gizmo. No, it's about grief, a force as mighty as it is paralyzing. Wait, it's about surveillance and espionage, and could involve Russia or China. Or maybe it is about fixating not so much on the dead as on death itself, and the need to accept it. A hint perhaps: In 2021, Cronenberg, with his daughter, directed a minute-long film, 'The Death of David Cronenberg,' in which he kisses then hugs his own corpse. Amid scenes that are plain baffling (we expect those from Cronenberg), there are plot switchbacks and red herrings that don't add up. Still, the movie keeps returning to reality and fantasy, fetishism and desire, and the moment when love becomes obsession becomes stalking. That last progression, in particular, feels like an inevitability in the world Karsh inhabits. Many of those themes are common in Cronenberg's movies, and if anything, 'The Shrouds' is almost conventional compared with its perversely erotic predecessor, 'Crimes of the Future' (2022). Karsh's relationships with women follow a pattern; he seems to experience them solely as his wife's proxies. As in Hitchcock's 'Vertigo,' romantic fixation is a necrophiliac fever dream. Those women include Becca's look-alike sister Terry (Kruger), a vet turned dog groomer with whom he has a push-pull connection; and the blind Soo-Min (Sandrine Holt), a prospective client's wife. The scariest of all is an avatar: Karsh's artificial-intelligence assistant, Hunny (Kruger, again), a creepily perky glorified emoji who knows all, controls all, and might be even more invasive than the Russian secret service. It makes sense, then, that the key counterpoint to our lead is Terry's ex-husband, Maury (Guy Pearce, in yet another memorable supporting turn). An old-fashioned hacker who clickety-clacks away on his computer, Maury is as greasy and rumpled as Karsh is glossy and smooth. They feel like two sides of one coin, though. 'The Shrouds' is overstuffed and often clunky, but if there is a takeaway, it's that some men engage with technology to disengage with reality. And that is more unsettling than any body horror.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
High in the Alps With Moncler Grenoble and Vincent Cassel
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Quick question: Who's the most stylish French actor alive today? The correct answer: Vincent Cassel. The 58-year-old is one of those impossibly cool French actors in the vein of Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo. His most notable English-language credits include Eastern Promises, Oceans Twelve and Oceans Thirteen, and the HBO series Westworld. But long before he was appearing in America cinemas, Cassel was making movies in France and winning awards along the way. (Watch his 1996 movie L'Appartement.) He's also a darling of the fashion world, having appeared in campaigns for Prada and Saint Laurent and walked in a fashion show for the French brand Ami. Today, he's an icon. Last weekend, I was at the French ski resort Courchevel, where the Italian brand Moncler staged a fashion show for its Fall/Winter 2025 Grenoble line. It was a weekend of festivities that included a boozy lunch at the restaurant Bagatelle atop one of the ski mountains. One of the guests weaving his way through the tables caught my attention, because he looked stylish as hell. This was Vincent Cassel. We should all be so lucky to look as good as him in our 50s. The fashion show took place later that night on the runway of Courchevel's airport (technically it's an "altiport"), the highest in Europe at more than 6,500 feet above sea level. For someone coming from sea level, it takes at least half a day to shake off the splitting headache and nausea of altitude sickness. The airport is famous for not only the altitude—and the hair-raising landings—but also its place in movie history. The opening scene of the James Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies, was shot at the airport. As far as I can tell, Moncler staged the first-ever fashion show there. Fitting for a label that specializes in high-end ski and outerwear, the show included a heavy snow shower that blanketed the models, orchestra, and audience—which included Adrien Brody, Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway, Shaun White, Chloe Kim, Penn Badgley, and Cassel. After Cassel arrived, I stopped him and asked what his secret is for looking so stylish on the slopes. He seemed to find the question amusing. 'I'm more of a beach guy,' he told me. 'I don't really ski a lot, but I still remember how to do it.' Okay, not exactly an answer, but he continued: 'Listen, as a kid, when I used to ski, I wore Moncler. It was one of those brands that was everywhere. And then it kind of faded away, and then it came back. And now it's like a phoenix—it's bigger than ever.' Indeed, Moncler is bigger than ever. It's a publicly traded company in Italy with a market capitalization of more than 17 billion euros, or $18.5 billion. In 2003, the Italian businessman Remo Ruffini bought the company and since then its profile—and stock price—has risen sharply. Last year, it held a fashion show for its Grenoble line on a mountainside in the swanky Swiss ski town St. Moritz. Grenoble is a famous ski destination in France, as well as the name of Moncler's skiwear collection. The clothes are technical, meaning they serve a function and do it well (namely, suiting you up for a cold day on a mountain). But its hallmark is that you can also wear these clothes off the mountain—even in the city. I own this coat from the brand, and it's gotten far more use on the streets of New York than on any ski mountain. It certainly kept me warm during the brand's fashion show 6,500 feet above sea level. It's a coat even a beach guy could pull off. You Might Also Like Kid Cudi Is All Right 16 Best Shoe Organizers For Storing and Displaying Your Kicks
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The writer, producer and director of Peaky Blinders is making a movie of the Oasis reunion tour
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Surprise surprise. There's going to be a movie made of Oasis' (TBC triumphant) 2025 reunion gigs. And, following what's probably been the most hard-fought battle in documentary filmmaking of the last ten years, it's Steven Knight, the BAFTA and Oscar-nominated writer, producer and director of Peaky Blinders, that's just landed the boss-man behind-the-camera gig. Doubtless telling the story of the band's get-togethers and rehearsals, the gigs themselves and – it's to be hoped – all the scrapping and tantrums you'd expect from a behind-the-scenes off-limits Gallagher or two, it's Knight's job to make sure that fans get to see their heroes in all their [what's the story morning] glory during all their ups and downs. And it's a gig that – provided he can keep his artistic and all-access no-stone-unturned side of the deal – is going to be a sure-fire commercial winner given the band's ability to sell out every single date on the tour, taking an estimated £400 million in ticket sales with the two brothers trousering £50 million each. Guy Ritchie must be furious. Knight also wrote David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises, Stephen Frears' Dirty Pretty Things and scripted, produced and directed Locke, starring Tom Hardy. Recent musical jaunts include creating and writing the ska documentary series This Town for the BBC and writing Maria, the Oscar-nominated film about Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie. The upcoming Knight-produced Oasis opus will be directed by Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace with the pair toting major musical form in the shape of LCD Soundsystem's documentary and concert film Shut Up And Play The Hits and Meet Me In The Bathroom the acclaimed documentary on the early 2000s NYC music scene. As yet there's no word of a release date or what medium (or streaming platform) the finished product will eventually reach their fans on, but, whatever the band chooses here's hoping it's not 'dynamically priced', eh?
