Latest news with #Liesl
Pink Villa
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
General Hospital Recap, August 6 Episode: Willow Admits Drew Blackmailed Portia in Shocking Slip
The August 6 episode of General Hospital delivered several emotional moments and tense confrontations. From Willow revealing a big secret to Jason stepping in to protect Rocco, the day was filled with family drama and complicated decisions. Willow spills a secret to Isaiah at GH At General Hospital, Willow crossed paths with Sonny while he was there to support ADA Justine Turner after her softball injury. Sonny politely asked for another nurse, and Willow obliged. Later, she opened up to Isaiah and shared details about her past, including her marriage to Chase and her affair with Michael. Things took a turn when Willow accidentally mentioned that Drew had blackmailed Portia. She quickly realized she shouldn't have said that and asked Isaiah to keep it between them. Isaiah assured her the secret was safe. Sonny stayed by Justine's side as she got her ankle checked. They spoke about the custody ruling in Michael's favor, which Sonny supported despite his personal feelings. Their conversation grew more personal, and Sonny offered to drive her home. Jason stops Liesl's ice cream plans with Rocco Meanwhile, Jason interrupted Liesl's outing with Rocco and Danny after their softball win. Although Liesl tried to treat the boys to ice cream, Jason pulled her aside. He firmly warned her not to come between Rocco and his parents. Liesl eventually backed off, claiming she forgot her lactose pills. Afterward, Rocco told Jason he wished he had known Britt. Jason admitted he felt the same. Rocco is clearly curious about Britt and Liesl, even though his parents have concerns. At Carly's place, Lulu asked for help in pushing Liesl out of town. Carly refused unless Lulu could prove Liesl was a threat. Lulu got emotional, worried about losing more time with her son. Carly gently reminded her that Rocco should be free to explore his own questions about Liesl and Britt. Deception votes to stay quiet about Sonny Tracy called a meeting with Maxie, Brook Lynn, and Lucy about the Deception-Sonny evidence. She revealed plans had changed, they would no longer hand it over. A vote followed, and Tracy, Brook Lynn, and Lucy outnumbered Maxie. Still, Tracy warned Brook Lynn that Maxie might not stay silent. Laura asked Dante about Marco's kidnapping but said she didn't want Sonny dragged down, especially with Rocco already going through enough. Dante admitted things would be easier if Britt were still alive. While Lulu is against it, Dante seemed more open to Rocco learning about Britt.
IOL News
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- IOL News
Missing in action: Dr Musa Mthombeni's hilarious social media love letter to his wife
Dr Musa Mthombeni shares a sweet and funny tribute to his wife, Liesl, while she enjoys her girls' trip in Paris. Image: Instagram. Dr Musa Mthombeni has never been one to shy away from expressing his love for his wife, Liesl Laurie-Mthombeni. In his latest post, he pulled out all the stops to let people know how much he misses his wife, who has been on a girls' trip in Paris, France. The radio and TV presenter has been enjoying her stay in the City of Love. She has been sharing the moments spent at different renowned parts of Paris with her girls on her Instagram feed, captivating her followers with her stunning, chic looks. While Liesel had been out and about for a couple of days, her loving husband was back home, missing her and struggling to keep it together. In his witty and dramatic nature, he took to social media to post a 'Missing' person picture of the presenter. Another picture has 'Wanted for stealing my heart' written on it. The jokester went as far as jokingly pledging a R1 billion reward for his wife's return. The caption of the post read: 'ALERT! General Mkhwanazi has issued an urgent public service announcement! The following people are both MISSING and WANTED by the National Intervention Unit. 'The suspects are extremely gorgeous and dangerous at the same time. If spotted, please contact Musawenkosiwesizwesethusamazulu Mthombeni! Reward- R100 000 000.' The two lovebirds got engaged in June 2021 and tied the knot in August 2021 have since been giving their followers a glimpse into their happy marriage with their social media presence. Musa, who is also known for his banter, has previously shared monthly celebrations of their love and union, calling them 'monthversary'. When they got married, the couple opted to wait to start a family, allowing them to enjoy their time together before having a full house. They have since been travelling the world together, celebrating their love for one other in different destinations such as Greece, Germany and Hong Kong to list a few.
Eater
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Eater
Restaurants, Art, and ‘The Phoenician Scheme'
This essay contains spoilers for The Phoenician Scheme Anatole 'Zsa-Zsa' Korda is concerned about the same thing every complicated, slightly hateful, extremely rich man is concerned about: his legacy. We meet him dodging assassins and conspiring governments, traveling the world to raise money for his scheme; what he is building we don't know, only that it involves a host of shady and unethical practices that have made him a target in the first place. Wes Anderson's latest film, The Phoenician Scheme , is his 13th feature film over nearly 30 years. You imagine the director may be concerned with legacy and executing ever grander visions before he is no longer able. But in the end, all the scheming and espionage of The Phoenician Scheme lands Korda (played by Benicio Del Toro) and his daughter Liesl (played by Mia Therapleton) not in a 16th century mansion or as the keepers of a grand fortune, but as the chef and waitress of Cafe Zsa Zsa, a humble bistro on a gray streetcorner. The Phoenician Scheme appears to be the latest in one of my favorite genres of film: movies about making movies. This is the story of a man with big ideas, who spends most of his time convincing people with money — train barron brothers, a cousin with an armaments fortune, a weird nightclub owner — of the worthiness of his vision, each of whom insists on their own revisions of the big plan, but who are ultimately necessary to it happening at all. Sometimes Korda swindles them, sometimes he tries to convince Liesl that slavery or causing a destabilizing famine is necessary for his great plan to work. But it is a great plan, he tells himself, one that will ultimately bring good to the world. Though the audience never quite sees what it is. This, of course, sounds like every 'job creator' who is convinced their myopic tech startup is actually going to benefit humanity. But it also sounds like every artist questioning whether art, primarily their art, can change the world. It's an alluring idea that your work could inspire others and touch their hearts or minds, one that most artists secretly hope will happen. Maybe your book will get readers to think differently about the identity of its main character. Maybe your restaurant will get diners to respect the country where the cuisine originated. And of course, the way to get your art in front of other people is with money. So surely the more money you get, the more people your art will reach, and the greater impact it can have. Oh boy, is this idea pernicious in restaurants. Cooking is a specific art form, one that more deeply embodies the idea of service. Because there is no point in the art unless someone else consumes it, unless it literally enters their body and aids in keeping them alive. It's important, but it's also easy to get pompous, believing this specific restaurant, or tasting menu, or franchise is the thing that does good. It is so easy to equate personal success with wider importance, masking it all under the veil of 'service.' Back to the movie. We don't know what the Phoenician Scheme is, only that Korda believes it to be his lasting legacy, and that he's willing to do terrible things to get the resources to make it happen. Is he in it for himself or for the good of 'the people?' Does one matter when the other is at stake? Who hasn't imagined how much more they could do with deeper pockets? So you bargain with God over how little you can pay the people helping you realize this dream; about whether or not it's okay to destabilize a region, about how you want to be famous because with fame comes money, and with money comes the ability to do what you need. Even if it's not quite your vision. Even if you have to answer to the people you borrowed from and hurt along the way. It is Liesl who pulls Korda back from total moral rot. She insists the laborers must be paid, and her brothers must be raised in the same house as their father. The scheme 'may be a sizable step backwards for civilization,' says Liesl, 'but it will produce some good works, I'm sure of it.' A compromise. Meanwhile, she makes her father give up the fortune he'd amassed over his life of scheming, and live a plainer life. The end finds the family laboring together in Cafe Zsa Zsa. Perhaps a restaurant is just a good visual representation of simplicity in contrast to Korda's rich origins. But Korda admitted to Liesl he's always been a good cook, after learning in the kitchen with his childhood nanny. It's not a grand place. It's crowded and everyone is sweaty and stained. According to Liesl, everyone is happy. A neighborhood restaurant is not inherently the antithesis of corruption and greed. Korda and Liesl are not made good because they give up the money and wash dishes instead. But they are not beholden to anyone but themselves. Whatever they decide to put into the world is their choice alone, uninfluenced by investors and governments. They choose to serve the same roast pigeon that Korda served to guests in his mansion earlier in the film. But this time, it's service without the self-importance, without many resources, and it's perhaps better for it. It's an honest legacy, at least. See More: Eater at the Movies Movies
Scroll.in
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scroll.in
‘The Phoenician Scheme' review: Benicio del Toro grounds the latest Wes Anderson whimsy
In the entry on Wes Anderson in The New Biographical Dictionary of Film (2004), British critic David Thomson said about the American filmmaker: 'Watch this space. What does that mean? That he might be something someday.' This brutal, terse dismissal came after such well-regarded films as The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004). The relentless whimsy, the meticulously designed and colour-coded sets that resemble dollhouses or model building kits, the grown-ups who behave like brilliant but emotionally stunted children, the gnomic humour – Anderson annoys some viewers but also has a loyal fan base. His latest film is equally divisive. The Phoenician Scheme is something of a return to form after the follies The French Dispatch (2021) and Asteroid City (2023). The new film isn't at the level of Anderson's superb The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), but at least it's grounded in something resembling the present. In the 1950s, the industrialist Anatole Korda (Benicio del Toro) decides to pass on his fortune to his daughter, Liesl (Mia Threapleton), who is training to be a nun. Liesl does not cast aside her habit but nevertheless starts following her father as he tries to fund his ambitious Korda Land and Sea Phoenician Infrastructure Scheme. The project claims to bring immense wealth to an underexploited region. Like the buccaneers before him and the Silicon Valley bros after him, Korda promises more than he can deliver. Underfunded and overleveraged – it is debatable what remains for Liesl to inherit – Korda charms an array of investors while dodging assassination attempts by his rivals. Within the predictable quirkiness is a cautionary tale about Western conquerors setting off to conquer far-off lands about which they know little and care even less. The film ever-so glancingly addresses American-style expansionism, whose effects are ricocheting within the present-day boundaries of the place that Korda seeks to exploit. The 105-minute confection is written by Anderson and based on a story by him and Roman Coppola. The packaging is typically impeccable: gorgeous production design by Adam Stockhausen, precise camerawork by Bruno Delbonnel, a charming score by Alexander Desplat. Korda's up-down relationship with Liesl creates tension within the perfectly symmetrical sets, also giving the 105-minute film something of an emotional core, especially in its dying moments. The cast has a staggering number of cameos, from Tom Hanks and Riz Ahmed to Scarlett Johansson and Benedict Cumberbatch. Michael Cera creates an impression as Korda's mysterious secretary. The film belongs to a lovely Benicio del Toro, who has a solidity that weights Korda, a sense of enigma that makes him unpredictable and the sleekness that befits a man with nine lives. The deceitful but also remorseful Korda's wheeling-dealing pauses only to build bridges with his estranged daughter. Del Toro creates layers of depth in a film that gives the illusion of being something more than the sum of its neatly assembled parts. Play
Straits Times
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
The Phoenician Scheme review: Wes Anderson's beautiful but lifeless political satire
At The Movies: The Phoenician Scheme is a lifeless satire while The Life Of Chuck uplifts The Phoenician Scheme (NC16) 110 minutes, opens on June 5 ★★☆☆☆ The story: In 1950, the corrupt and internationally reviled millionaire Anatole 'Zsa-zsa' Korda (Benicio del Toro) is looking to cement his legacy with a massive construction project in the nation of Greater Independent Phoenicia. However, the tycoon is beset by those seeking his downfall, among them various governments, members of his family and business partners he has betrayed. After surviving a plane crash – the latest in a string of assassination attempts – Korda reconnects with his convent-raised daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton), hoping that she will continue his work in case the assassins succeed. Father and daughter, accompanied by Norwegian tutor Bjorn (Michael Cera), head overseas to raise money for the project. When billionaires today get nostalgic about returning the world to a Golden Age, they are thinking about the time when the ultra-rich did the things they do today – sire offspring by as many women as they can, topple and install governments, build empires on the backs of forced labour – but without the annoyance of officials carping about alimony, child support or paying workers a living wage. Korda is American film-maker Wes Anderson's cartoonishly exaggerated version of the 1950s tycoon. The scoundrel has fobbed off his many children to a dormitory that houses them in pauperish conditions. A few of his former wives have died under mysterious circumstances, including Liesl's mother. He cares nothing for his kin. All he worries about is his legacy, the project of the film's title. This is Anderson's most political film since the Oscar-winning The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), which used a fictional setting to explore the real consequences of 1930s fascism. Greater Independent Phoenicia might also be fake, but men like Korda were real, as were his equally wealthy and ruthless associates – Leland (Tom Hanks), his brother Reagan (Bryan Cranston) and Marty (Jeffrey Wright) – each representing an aspect of 1950s crony capitalism of the kind that secured monopolies in mining, shipping and industry in the wake of post-war decolonisation. Also lovingly lampooned are the movements that rose in response to men like Korda. British comedian and writer Richard Ayoade is Sergio, a Marxist rebel seeking to derail Korda's pet project, and Scarlett Johansson is Cousin Hilda, hoping to establish a kibbutz-like utopia in the desert. Despite some funny jokes and clever slapstick, it all feels like an arid exercise in moving chess pieces around a beautifully decorated board. Fine performances by Threapleton and del Toro breathe some humanity into the story, but even they cannot overcome the feeling that The Phoenician Scheme is a trip to an art gallery featuring mid-century aesthetics and not much more. Hot take: Anderson's visually gorgeous but cartoonish satire of post-war power and legacy takes a cool, distant view of a subject that deserves a more emotional assessment. The Life Of Chuck (NC16) 111 minutes, opens on June 5 ★★★☆☆ Tom Hiddleston in The Life Of Chuck. PHOTO: SHAW ORGANISATION The story: Best-selling American author Stephen King co-scripted this adaptation of his 2020 novella about an everyman named Charles Krantz (Tom Hiddleston). The Life Of Chuck opens into a world of deluges, wildfires and mass suicides. The internet then crashes in the surest indication of the end times. A schoolteacher (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and a nurse (Karen Gillan) are a divorced couple seeking connection, while puzzling at the sudden proliferation of billboards around their American town congratulating what looks like Marvel Cinematic Universe antagonist Loki on his retirement after '39 great years'. Charles 'Chuck' Krantz is this accountant embodied with mild-mannered charm by British actor Hiddleston. Three chapters will narrate in reverse his orphaned childhood (wonderfully played in succession by Benjamin Pajak, Cody Flanagan and Jacob Tremblay) with his grandparents (Mia Sara and Mark Hamill) to his death at age 39 from cancer, back at the movie's start. The universe is a manifestation of his lived experiences, and its accelerating obliteration of his relationships, memories, every moment of sadness and joy, including an exhilarating impromptu promenade dance to a busker's (played by American dummer The Pocket Queen) drum: This seven-minute centrepiece has gone viral for Hiddleston's fabulous footwork. Here is the humanist King of Stand By Me (1986) and The Shawshank Redemption (1994), rather than the touted 'King of Horror' of American producer, director and writer Mike Flanagan's previous King adaptations – Gerald's Game (2017) and Doctor Sleep (2019). The two constant collaborators are a match in creative sensibilities. Grandpa's haunted attic aside, the only supernatural pondered in their thoughtful and unexpectedly touching metaphysical fable is the wonder of life, even one as ordinary as Chuck's. Hot take: Soppy? Sure. But this uplifting tale on the fullness of the human existence is completely without cynicism. 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