The stop-motion animated darkly comic dramaAnomalisais one of the best-reviewed films of the year, and I have a feeling it’s going to have a very good next few weeks as critics groups begin to roll out their end-of-year awards. The picture hails from the wholly unique mind ofCharlie Kaufman, as he co-directs withDuke Johnsonthe story of a man crippled with the mundanity of his life who crosses paths with a fascinating young woman while on a business trip in Cincinatti....

Late night television is finding a way to push forward through this coronavirus shutdown that has all of Hollywood basically going dark. Governmental guidelines and city ordinances have basically put a halt to all film and TV production throughout the country, including late night shows. ButJimmy FallonandStephen Colbertwere the first to break out with “home editions” of their shows—Colbert recordeda monologue from his bathtub, while Fallon launched the first of a series of10-minute episodesthat he’ll record live in his home and put on YouTube each day....

2021 has certainly not been short on musicals fromJon M. Chu’sIn The Heights,Stephen Chbosky’sDear Evan Hansen,Leos Carax’sAnnette,Lin Manuel-Miranda’sTick Tick Boom, and of courseSteven Spielberg’sWest Side Story. The year will conclude with acclaimed directorJoe Wright’s take on the Hollywood musical withCyranostarringGame Of ThronesstarPeter Dinklage. Wright has directed a wide range of films from adapting classic literary works such asPride & PrejudiceandAnna Karenina, prestige Oscar-winners likeAtonementandDarkest Hour, a feel-good crowd-pleaser in the form ofThe Soloist, a gritty action-thriller withHanna, the big-budget family blockbusterPan, and thepulpy thrillerThe Woman In The Window....

Sideshow has unveiled a new Darth Vader figure for theirStar WarsMythos Statue collection. The Mythos line of figures depicts some ofStar Wars’ most iconic characters in dynamic battle poses, helping to create stories of their own that expand on current canon. The new figure shows Darth Vader, with a red lightsaber in hand, standing menacingly over a crashed X-Wing. The X-Wing is a classic ship used by the Rebel Alliance, so the figure is actually showing the result of a brutal battle between the Sith Lord and some poor pilots who dared to stand in the Empire’s way....

And with a mighty roar, Godzilla proclaimed “That’s how it’s done, Hollywood.” History has always shown that no matter how popular certain trends and practices may be, everything is subject to change. With the release ofGodzilla Minus One, Toho’s firstGodzillafilm in seven years, and the struggle that many recent bloated budget blockbusters have faced, something just might be in the water. A sea change, perhaps! Despite being a mega-franchise movie with city-sized explosions and a giant monster,Minus Onehas areported budget of a measly $15 million....

L.A.-based vintage designerMicheline Pittis adding a whimsicalEdward Scissorhands-inspired collaboration to her Vixen line for Pitt’s premier retro-inspired fashion house. The collection will feature one-of-a-kind designs that capture the unique magic ofTim Burton’s 1990 film, made to fit sizes XS through 4X. The Vixen line is available to pre-order now, scissor-hands not included. Struck by the potential of the Gothic and fantastical elements of one of her favorite films, California designer Micheline Pitt has launched the first-ever officially licensedEdward Scissorhandscollection for women’s fashion....

From executive producersGreg BerlantiandAva DuVernay, the eight-episode CBS limited drama seriesThe Red Lineis an emotional punch to the gut, as it follows three very different Chicago families on intersecting journeys toward healing after a tragedy. Daniel Calder (Noah Wyle) is mourning the death of his husband, an unarmed African American doctor who was shot by a white cop (Noah Fisher), and falling short on how to handle things with their grieving daughter, Jira (Aliyah Royale), while she searches for her birth mother (Emayatzy Corinealdi) to learn more about what it means to be a young black woman today....

The drama seriesKeeping Faith(available to stream at Acorn TV) follows Faith Howells (Eve Myles), a lawyer, wife and mother whose life was turned upside down by the sudden disappearance of her husband, Evan (Bradley Freegard, Myles’ real-life husband). Now eighteen months later and still navigating the aftermath of his betrayal, Faith takes on the case of a local farmer accused of murdering her husband in cold blood while working to find a balance between her business and her life with her family, protecting her children from her husband’s choices and figuring out just how much inner strength she truly has....

One of the great new annual traditions is filmmakerSteven Soderbergh’s carefully maintained list of everything he read and watched in the previous year. While it’s not really important and doesn’t really have any bearing on anything at all, it’s undoubtedly fascinating to see the entertainment that one of our best filmmakers consumes on a yearly basis. Soderbergh is nothing if not eclectic, and he’s certainly not averse to bingeing a great TV show—or bailing on one that sours after a few episodes....

Production onFast & Furious 8has undergone a striking location shift. When last we checked in with the highly anticipated sequel,filming was underway in Cubaon what proved to be a historic shoot—the first Hollywood film to shoot in Cuba since before the embargo. But now, directorF. Gary Gray(Straight Outta Compton) has moved to a rather chilly locale for the next setup, as a new officialFast & Furious 8set video shows off the production’s Iceland set piece....

Fifty Shades of Greywas a literary phenomenon when it was released in 2011. While the book and its sequels,Fifty Shades DarkerandFifty Shades Freed, may still have their fans, the movies feel like they’re paying off an obligation even though the fervor has died down. Nowhere is that more clear than withFifty Shades Freed, a movie that’s largely indiscernible from its predecessor except for a handful of minor plot points.Freedis what these movies have always been—two actors who lack chemistry, sex scenes that have no spark, and brazen displays of wealth....

From Marvel Studios, the highly anticipated sequelGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2has more action, more laughs and more heart than the first installment (which already had a lot!), adding intriguing new allies and unexpected new enemies, all while further expanding the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This time around, the story follows the ragtag team as they protect the universe doing mercenary work for hire around the cosmos, and Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), finally unravels the mysteries of his true parentage....

There’s a good bet that, if you were excited by seeing a full-size Gundam in action in this year’sReady Player One, then this news is going to give you palpitations. News out of the ongoing Anime Expo 2018 revealed that Legendary and Sunrise are teaming up for aGundammovie, the first-ever live-action, feature-length film for the long-running anime series. Folks who don’t know theirGundamfromVoltronorTransformersprobably don’t care much about this, but for nerds out there who may have participated in their very ownGundam-themed original RPG or spent a lot of time building1/100 scale models, this is massive....