Latest news with #Pansy
USA Today
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
From 'The Brutalist' to 'Mickey 17,' 10 movies you need to stream right now
From 'The Brutalist' to 'Mickey 17,' 10 movies you need to stream right now Show Caption Hide Caption 'The Brutalist' trailer: Adrien Brody stars in Golden Globe winner Adrien Brody is a visionary architect in post-World War II America in the three-time Golden Globe-winning "The Brutalist." Love movies? Live for TV? USA TODAY's Watch Party newsletter has all the best recommendations, delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now and be one of the cool kids. It's official: Summer movies have arrived. And once you've had your holiday weekend fill of Tom Cruise and Stitch on the big screen, hit the couch for more flicks. In addition to the Memorial Day dogs and burgers, feast on a mess of films now available on your favorite streaming services, from Netflix and Max to Paramount+ and Hulu. There are theatrical releases if you need to catch up, like a Robert Pattinson sci-fi satire and Jack Quaid action comedy, plus original fare like a Natalie Portman and John Krasinski heist adventure and a revealing Pee-wee Herman documentary. Here are 10 notable new movies you can stream right now: 'The Brutalist' Still haven't see the best movie of last year? Now's the time to finally fix that. Director Brady Corbet's Oscar-nominated historical epic doesn't lose any of its splendor on your TV. A Hungarian-Jewish architect (Adrien Brody) finds a job in postwar America, brings his wife (Felicity Jones) over from Europe, and weathers his own ego and vices in an unforgettable exploration of the immigrant experience and a toxic American dream. Where to watch: Max 'Fear Street: Prom Queen' The latest slasher movie based on R.L. Stine's "Fear Street" books doesn't have the imagination or innovation of the 2021 trilogy, but it does work as a retro fest with some talented new faces. On prom night 1988, the queen candidates of Shadyside High start dropping like flies thanks to a masked killer, though the best drama is between underdog Lori (India Fowler) and her mean-girl neighbor Tiffany (Fina Strazza). Where to watch: Netflix 'Fountain of Youth' While Guy Ritchie's adventure borrows liberally from "Indiana Jones" and "National Treasure," it tweaks the globe-trotting formula with two A-list heroes instead of one. Natalie Portman and John Krasinski play estranged siblings brought back together to find the mythical Fountain of Youth using art masterpieces and religious artifacts, with cops and a mysterious Vatican-approved protector (Eiza González) trying to foil their efforts. Where to watch: Apple TV+ 'Hard Truths' Mike Leigh's dramedy is worth streaming just for English actress Marianne Jean-Baptiste's stellar performance as a thorny woman with a litany of issues. Pansy (Jean-Baptiste) lays into everyone with angry vigor, be it store workers or her own husband and son. But the whys behind her outbursts reveal themselves as Pansy faces her emotions and her cheerier sister (Michele Austin), who urges Pansy to visit their mom's grave. Where to watch: Paramount+ 'I'm Still Here' Based on a true story, Walter Salles' intense Oscar-nominated family drama is set in Brazil during the politically unstable 1970s. A former congressman (Selton Mello) working as a civil engineer and living an idyllic life by the beach is taken by military forces and disappears. His wife (Fernanda Torres) begins the long process of finding out what happened to him while also fighting to keep their family together and figuring out a new life for herself. Where to watch: Netflix 'The Last Showgirl' In director Gia Coppola's introspective ensemble drama, Pamela Anderson has her meatiest role ever as the feather-clad 30-year veteran of a legendary Las Vegas show who's forced to figure out the next chapter of her life. Anderson proves worthy of some knockout emotional moments, Jamie Lee Curtis shines as a feisty cocktail waitress, and Dave Bautista steals scenes as the show's pensive stage manager. Where to watch: Hulu 'Mickey 17' Oscar-winning director Bong Joon Ho ("Parasite") has another thought-provoking satire, with some 'Monty Python'-style silliness, in this dark sci-fi comedy starring Robert Pattinson as a hapless space worker who keeps getting killed and printed out again like a sheet of paper. Pattinson lets loose with the physical humor as multiple Mickeys have to save the day in a tale of empathy over cruelty. Where to watch: Max 'Novocaine' Jack Quaid stars in the action comedy as Nate Caine, who because of a genetic condition feels no pain. After his first date with a crush-worthy co-worker (Amber Midthunder), she's taken hostage in a robbery, and Nate goes into hero mode risking life and limb – and getting stabbed, burned and more – to rescue her. Quaid makes the most of his first lead action role in a playfully gory romp that also features a nifty villain turn from Ray Nicholson. Where to watch: Paramount+ 'Paddington in Peru' In the third outing in this sweetly goofy series, the adorable Paddington (voiced by Ben Whishaw) has just become an official British citizen when he gets word that his beloved Aunt Lucy is ailing in Peru. The bear and his human family head to South America to visit, discover Lucy has gone missing and go to find her, running into a shady singing nun (Olivia Colman) and a suave boat captain (Antonio Banderas) obsessed with finding El Dorado. Where to watch: Netflix 'Pee-wee as Himself' The fascinating two-part documentary is a must-see for 1980s kids who grew up watching Pee-wee Herman. But here it's Paul Reubens, the comedian behind the pop-culture icon, who finally has his voice heard. Reubens, who died in 2023, is affable but prickly as he navigates topics with humor and honesty, from why he was a closeted gay man to the emotional consequences of his later legal troubles and being labeled a pedophile. Where to watch: Max
New Indian Express
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Cinema Without Borders: A fraught family—Hard Truths
It was quite fitting for me to have seen the film on Mother's Day with one of the principal scenes in Hard Truths being all about Chantelle trying to take a hesitant Pansy to their mom Pearl's grave on Mother's Day to mark her fifth death anniversary. A scene that brings to fore Pansy's hidden grudges—of being forced into responsibilities as an elder child when her father abandoned them and being neglected at the cost of her sister. It also establishes her inability in processing loss, pain and grief. Despite the span of time, a closure still eludes her. Hard Truths makes for an endlessly hard watch with a seemingly unfluctuating screenplay (as static as Pansy's own life) moving from one simmering encounter of hers to another. It doesn't rely on action but is heavy on the dialogue. In that sense it's an unhappy slice of a London-based extended working class black family life, a vivid portrayal of not just one feverish mind but the turmoil that her mental health issues throws her entire family into. The psychologically dense portrait of a woman in the breakdown mode is also an incisive probe into the heart and mind of those surrounding her. Dick Pope's camera is a perfect ally of Leigh in that exercise—intense in its gaze, piercing with the close-up shots. The film rides on Jean-Baptiste's deeply felt and wonderfully nuanced performance. The ensemble around her is just as layered. Webber and Barrett as her husband and son are specially chilling in their seeming unresponsiveness—to her and to their own fragile selves. They just keep bearing with her to their own detriment and you wonder when either of them will erupt with all the pent up rage or reach a breaking point. Even as the film shows the unconscious psychological cruelty and violence underlying the situation, it also tries to understand Pansy's behavioural patterns with empathy, tenderness, love and care. Leigh doesn't offer any easy cure for her affliction but, despite her being a bad wife, mother, sister and aunt, he isn't willing to give up on her as a far from perfect human being. The ties that bind us more often than not transcend the barriers of pain and hurt.
Korea Herald
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Films worth catching at this year's Jeonju film fest
From meditation on grief to immigrant narratives, three standouts worth seeking The 26th Jeonju International Film Festival, South Korea's premier showcase for independent and art-house cinema, kicked off Wednesday, bringing 224 films from 57 countries to the cozy North Jeolla Province city through May 9. This year's lineup features 80 world premieres amid a spectrum of narrative innovations and cultural perspectives. For those making the pilgrimage to Jeonju — the historic city known as much for its culinary heritage as its cultural significance — here are three standout films that exemplify the ethos of thoughtful, penetrating cinema. Tickets can be purchased through JIFF's official website (English interface available). But move quickly — seats fill up quickly, especially during the festival's opening days. "Hard Truths" (2024) Mike Leigh, the unflinching chronicler of British working-class life, returns with a work of remarkable emotional precision. In what may be her finest performance since her Oscar-nominated turn in Leigh's "Secrets & Lies" (1996), Marianne Jean-Baptiste embodies Pansy, a woman whose corrosive rage has calcified around unprocessed grief. The film opens with Pansy jolting awake with a gasp — a fitting introduction to a character perpetually at war with the world. Her husband Curtley (David Webber) and adult son Moses (Tuwaine Barrett) move through their immaculately kept home like hesitant guests, while her more ebullient sister Chantelle (Michele Austin) attempts to penetrate Pansy's formidable defenses. Leigh's patient, observational style allows spaces for revelation without forcing epiphanies. The restrained visual composition — Pansy's immaculate living spaces contrasted with Chantelle's warmly cluttered home — speaks volumes about emotional states without overstatement. What might have been merely an unpleasant character study in lesser hands becomes a profound meditation on the nature of suffering through Leigh's unfailing empathy and Jean-Baptiste's tour-de-force performance. "Hard Truths" screens at Megabox Jeonju Gaeksa on May 2 at 10:00, May 5 at 21:30, and May 8 at 21:00. "Winter in Sokcho" (2024) In Japanese-French filmmaker Koya Kamura's feature debut, a seaside Korean border town in winter becomes both setting and metaphor for a story of cultural dislocation and unfulfilled yearning. Adapted from Elisa Shua Dusapin's award-winning novel, the film follows Soo-Ha (Bella Kim in her screen debut), a young woman of mixed Korean-French heritage who works at a guesthouse in off-season Sokcho. When enigmatic French artist Yan Kerrand (Roschdy Zem) arrives seeking inspiration, their tentative interactions disturb Soo-Ha's carefully maintained composure. Kamura constructs a delicate visual framework where landscapes mirror inner isolation. The cold, gray winter light of Sokcho, a profound meditation on the nature of suffering situated within viewing distance of North Korea, creates a liminal space where identities become as porous as borders. For Soo-Ha, whose father disappeared before she was born, Kerrand's arrival prompts an uncomfortable reckoning with her fragmented sense of self. The film insists on subdued expression, almost to a fault — the relationship between these two figures unfolds less through dramatic confrontations than through silences, glances and the physical spaces surrounding them. In so doing, it sidesteps the predictable conventions of cross-cultural romance, offering instead a layered examination of alienation, creativity and the fundamental human longing to be truly seen by another. "Winter in Sokcho" plays at CGV Jeonjugosa on May 2 at 21:30, May 3 at 21:00, and May 7 at 13:30. "Mongrels" (2024) Korean-Canadian filmmaker Jerome Yoo's dreamlike feature debut presents an immigrant family's displacement as both geographical and subliminal reality. Set in rural British Columbia during the 1990s, the film follows widowed father Sonny Lee (Kim Jae-Hyun), who relocates with his teenage son Hajoon (Nam Da-Nu) and young daughter Hana (Jin Sein) after being recruited to cull feral dogs that threaten local livestock. Yoo structures the narrative in three distinct chapters, each focusing on a different family member's experience of grief and dislocation. This fragmented approach mirrors the disorientation of the immigrant experience itself — the characters process death and uprooting differently, creating psychological fissures even as they share the same house. Yoo's visual sensibility proves remarkably assured for a debut feature. The film's surrealist approach reveals itself through stark imagery where boundaries between humans and animals merge, with recurring canine figures that function both as ominous portents and as metaphors for displaced identity. The performances, particularly Kim's portrayal of a father whose stoic focus on survival masks his inability to process loss, anchor the film's more expressionistic elements. "Mongrels" screens at CGV Jeonjugosa on May 2 at 17:30, May 3 at 17:00, and May 7 at 17:00. moonkihoon@
Scotsman
29-04-2025
- Lifestyle
- Scotsman
Flowering Plants For Window Boxes 2025: Here are 13 plants to that don't need a garden to thrive
According to the Scottish Environmental Horticulture Growth Strategy there are over one million people in Scotland who are regular gardeners . These plants all thrive in window boxes. | Canva/Getty Images From communal tenement gardens to expansive private grounds, we love our borders, rockeries, lawns and patios. It's hugely satisfying to see a plant you've cared for bloom into beautiful flowers, but you need to be careful what you choose and where you place it. But not all of us are lucky enough to have access to a garden, in which case you can still exercise your green fingers on window boxes perched outside windows. And there are plenty of pretty flowering plants that can thrive in these restricted conditions - even in the notoriously unpredictable Scottish climate . Here are 13 of our favourites. 1 . Viola Hardy and cheerful, violas bloom for months even in the notoriously-fickle Scottish weather. They tolerate partial shade and bring vivid splashes of purple, yellow, and blue to any window box. | Canva/Getty Images Photo Sales 2 . Pansy From the same group of plants as the Viola, but with larger flowers, Pansies come in a wide range of colours and are equally resiliant making them a great choice for Scottish window boxes. Perfect for cooler climates, pansies provide bold, colorful blooms through spring and autumn. | Canva/Getty Images Photo Sales 3 . Lobelia The glorious trailing Lobelia produces masses of tiny blue, white, or purple flowers and positively thrives in the cool, damp conditions otherwise known as a Scottish summer. It is ideal for softening the edges of window boxes and flowers prolifically all the way from late spring to early autumn - offering great value for money. | Canva/Getty Images Photo Sales 4 . Pelargonium Often (mistakenly) refered to as Geraniums, Pelargoniums offer vibrant summer color and will flower even in breezy, coastal Scottish conditions. Their drought-tolerance also helps during unexpected dry spells, while their upright or trailing forms suit any window box. | Canva/Getty Images Photo Sales Related topics: PlantsScotlandGardening
The Independent
30-01-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Mike Leigh's Bafta-nominated Hard Truths will make you laugh and cry
There are Pansy Deacons all over the place. She's the focus of Mike Leigh's Hard Truths – a vessel of formless rage played by Bafta nominee Marianne Jean-Baptiste. When a furniture store employee dares to ask her if she needs help, she immediately snaps back with 'Are you threatening me?' and demands to speak to the manager. She picks fights with customers behind her in the checkout queue, with her dentist, with other drivers – with anyone, really, who dares enter her orbit. She complains about charity workers (too cheery), dogs in coats (arrogant), and well-dressed babies ('What's a baby got pockets for? What's it going to keep in its pocket, a knife?'). We're used to this kind of everyday spectacle. The public display of nonconformism. Erratic behaviour. Eccentric garb. Sudden outbursts. We watch these strangers with crooked smiles, betraying some combination of fear, bemusement, and sympathy. Or perhaps, instead, we stare down at the floor and try to disappear them from our minds. These, though, are exactly the sort of people Leigh has always shown an interest in: be it the curdled, isolated masculinity of David Thewlis's Johnny Fletcher in Naked (1993), or the boundless cheer of Sally Hawkins's Poppy in Happy-Go-Lucky (2008). And when we talk about realism in Leigh's work, about his particular methodology of using extensive rehearsals to develop his scripts in tandem with his casts, it's ultimately about interrogating that spectacle. In the small and gradual reveal of her life – scene by scene, mundane incident by mundane incident – we start to see Pansy's rage as sorrow. It's a symptom of life history, social circumstances, and, inevitably, a sprinkle of late-stage capitalistic ennui. Pansy's anger is so outsized that, from a distance, it seems almost parodic. Leigh – one of the best chroniclers of Britain, past and present – is wise enough not to stifle the instinct to laugh. In fact, Pansy has some pretty solid one-liners: 'Your balls are so backed up you've got sperm in your brain!' She also has health issues, chronic migraines and muscle aches – they're either the source of her stress or a symptom of it. She's wife to a nervous, uncommunicative husband (David Webber) and mother to a son (Tuwaine Barrett), implied to be autistic, that she doesn't know how to care for. There's never any quiet, never any rest. Her mother died recently. She hasn't dealt with it as well as her sister Chantelle (Michele Austin, luminous) because of the differences in their childhoods. 'I want it all to stop,' Pansy tells her, in a rare moment of clarity. Leigh, working with regular cinematographer Dick Pope, who died last October, renders small beauties out of the ordinary. We're drawn in close to Jean-Baptiste's features (the actor reunites with Leigh after her breakout in his 1996 film Secrets & Lies) – titanic in their expressiveness, twisted by an unseen poison. The actor never shaves down any of Pansy's thorns, but lets us love her despite them. Hard Truths withholds catharsis, instead choosing simply to let the shutters swing open on its protagonist's psyche for a brief interlude. After being presented with a small, perhaps meaningless gesture of kindness, Pansy's lips start to quiver, then tear open with hysterical laughter swiftly followed by angry, ancient-sounding sobs. No one in her family knows what to say. They simply let her weep. But Leigh has shown us all we need to see, the soul inside that's always been easier to ignore. Dir: Mike Leigh. Starring: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Michele Austin, David Webber, Tuwaine Barrett, Ani Nelson, Sophia Brown, Jonathan Livingstone. Cert 12A, 97 mins.
