Celebrity heartbreak 2023: The 15 most shocking, messy splits of the year
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TV and Streaming
![Bradley Cooper, take a bow. Cooper gives a symphonic performance as legendary American composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein in “Maestro” and, in his first film as a director since his Academy Award-nominated 2018 update of “A Star Is Born,” is a borderline-masterful conductor himself. “Maestro” — released recently in select markets, going a bit wider this week and landing on Netflix on Dec. 20 — is only so interested in Bernstein’s creative process. Do not expect lengthy sequences of, say, him working with lyricist Stephen Sondheim and others to craft the 1957 Broadway musical “West Side Story.” It does, of […]](https://www.morningjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/TNH-L-FilmReview-Maestro-WBOX-120823-03-2.jpg?w=123 "Bradley Cooper, take a bow. Cooper gives a symphonic performance as legendary American composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein in “Maestro” and, in his first film as a director since his Academy Award-nominated 2018 update of “A Star Is Born,” is a borderline-masterful conductor himself. “Maestro” — released recently in select markets, going a bit wider this week and landing on Netflix on Dec. 20 — is only so interested in Bernstein’s creative process. Do not expect lengthy sequences of, say, him working with lyricist Stephen Sondheim and others to craft the 1957 Broadway musical “West Side Story.” It does, of […]")
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‘Maestro’ review: Music meets marriage in Bradley Cooper’s near-masterpiece
Bradley Cooper, take a bow. Cooper gives a symphonic performance as legendary American composer and...
![At the end of Rumaan Alam’s consuming 2020 novel “Leave the World Behind,” about a wealthy Black couple and a working-class white family thrown together during what may be the apocalypse, you are left with questions. They’re not so much of the variety of “Where does humanity go from here?” — although that would be a reasonable thing to ask, as Alam paints an impactful if also vague vision of the future in his final paragraphs — but more along the lines of “How would I have behaved in that situation?” That’s also true of “Mr. Robot” creator Sam Esmail’s […]](https://www.morningjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/TNH-L-FilmReview-LeavetheWorldBehind-WBOX-120823-04-2.jpg?w=140 "At the end of Rumaan Alam’s consuming 2020 novel “Leave the World Behind,” about a wealthy Black couple and a working-class white family thrown together during what may be the apocalypse, you are left with questions. They’re not so much of the variety of “Where does humanity go from here?” — although that would be a reasonable thing to ask, as Alam paints an impactful if also vague vision of the future in his final paragraphs — but more along the lines of “How would I have behaved in that situation?” That’s also true of “Mr. Robot” creator Sam Esmail’s […]")
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‘Leave the World Behind’ review: An enthralling apocalypse now from Sam Esmail
At the end of Rumaan Alam’s consuming 2020 novel “Leave the World Behind,” about a...
![“Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” begins by taking us back to 1973. And to Skull Island. It is there and then we are reunited with John Goodman’s Bill Randa from the enjoyable 2017 movie “Kong: Skull Island,” making film recordings of what he sees, much of which is chaos. At one point, he turns the camera on himself and addresses someone, saying he can’t change the past — he can’t make up for his mistakes — but perhaps he can leave a “legacy.” Soon, he is running from one of those giant spider monsters we saw in the movie. Reaching the […]](https://www.morningjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/TNH-L-TVReview-Monarch-WBOX-111723-06.jpg?w=132 "“Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” begins by taking us back to 1973. And to Skull Island. It is there and then we are reunited with John Goodman’s Bill Randa from the enjoyable 2017 movie “Kong: Skull Island,” making film recordings of what he sees, much of which is chaos. At one point, he turns the camera on himself and addresses someone, saying he can’t change the past — he can’t make up for his mistakes — but perhaps he can leave a “legacy.” Soon, he is running from one of those giant spider monsters we saw in the movie. Reaching the […]")
‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ review: Big MonsterVerse fun on small screen
“Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” begins by taking us back to 1973. And to Skull Island....
Matthew Perry, Emmy-nominated ‘Friends’ star, has died at 54, reports state
Matthew Perry, who starred as Chandler Bing in the hit series “Friends,” has died. He...
![Know only its premise and that it’s based on a video game series, and you may get the wrong idea about “Five Nights at Freddy’s.” Well, the wrong idea … kinda. More treat than trick, the PG-13-rated Halloween season offering from Universal Pictures and BlumHouse Productions debuts this week in theaters and on Peacock. It does have an irresistible hook, the horror tale taking place largely inside a mostly abandoned theme restaurant akin to a Chuck E. Cheese. Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria was an establishment where kids enjoyed pizza and games in the company of colorful animatronic characters. You’d be forgiven […]](https://www.morningjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/TNH-L-FilmReview-Freddys-WBOX-102723-03.jpg?w=132 "Know only its premise and that it’s based on a video game series, and you may get the wrong idea about “Five Nights at Freddy’s.” Well, the wrong idea … kinda. More treat than trick, the PG-13-rated Halloween season offering from Universal Pictures and BlumHouse Productions debuts this week in theaters and on Peacock. It does have an irresistible hook, the horror tale taking place largely inside a mostly abandoned theme restaurant akin to a Chuck E. Cheese. Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria was an establishment where kids enjoyed pizza and games in the company of colorful animatronic characters. You’d be forgiven […]")
‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ review: Surprising depth amid frightening fun
Know only its premise and that it’s based on a video game series, and you...
![In the opening moments of “The Killer,” Michael Fassbender’s unnamed titular character remarks that doing nothing can be remarkably exhausting. In narration that will remain a constant throughout the latest film from director David Fincher, the man tells us that if you cannot handle boredom, the life of an assassin is not for you. We watch as The Killer, having rented a WeWork office space in Paris that appears to be unfinished, sits blanketed next to a space heater and gazes out a window facing another building. He listens to music. He practices yoga. He sleeps. He waits. Boring, this […]](https://www.morningjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/TNH-L-FilmReview-TheKiller-WBOX-111023-03.jpg?w=140 "In the opening moments of “The Killer,” Michael Fassbender’s unnamed titular character remarks that doing nothing can be remarkably exhausting. In narration that will remain a constant throughout the latest film from director David Fincher, the man tells us that if you cannot handle boredom, the life of an assassin is not for you. We watch as The Killer, having rented a WeWork office space in Paris that appears to be unfinished, sits blanketed next to a space heater and gazes out a window facing another building. He listens to music. He practices yoga. He sleeps. He waits. Boring, this […]")
‘The Killer’ review: Fincher crafts captivating portrait of meticulous assassin
In the opening moments of “The Killer,” Michael Fassbender’s unnamed titular character remarks that doing...
![We are told from the onset that “Pain Hustlers” is “inspired by real events.” It quickly becomes clear that what that means in this case is the movie, though largely entertaining, is not telling a dramatized true tale set within the country’s opioid crisis. Its characters — including those played by appealing leads Emily Blunt and Chris Evans — never feel all that authentic. And as for what transpires … let’s just say “Pain Hustlers” isn’t afraid to lay it on a little thick now and then. That said, does this story of ambitious folks getting caught up in pushing […]](https://www.morningjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/TNH-L-FilmReview-PainHusters-WBOX-102723-01.jpg?w=132 "We are told from the onset that “Pain Hustlers” is “inspired by real events.” It quickly becomes clear that what that means in this case is the movie, though largely entertaining, is not telling a dramatized true tale set within the country’s opioid crisis. Its characters — including those played by appealing leads Emily Blunt and Chris Evans — never feel all that authentic. And as for what transpires … let’s just say “Pain Hustlers” isn’t afraid to lay it on a little thick now and then. That said, does this story of ambitious folks getting caught up in pushing […]")
‘Pain Hustlers’ review: Emily Blunt helps lift slight drug-scandal drama
We are told from the onset that “Pain Hustlers” is “inspired by real events.” It...
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‘Bosch: Legacy’ Season 2 review: Half the show works like gangbusters. The other half is just a bust
“Bosh: Legacy,” now in its second season on Freevee, is proof that Harry Bosch’s story...
The cheap streaming era is over. Here’s why your bills are going up
In 2022, prices for the 10 largest streamers have increased an average of 10% and...