Film

Film

Nearly every Christmas film hinges on a seasonal, often kitschy surge of sentimentality in the final act. But for all the reunions, reconciliations and promises of renewal that occur at the end of the year, there is something to be said for the filmmakers who tap the rest of the winter months' potential as a backdrop for introspective, humanist storytelling.

The Sundance Film Festival has unveiled its massive 2026 slate, with a lineup that includes Olivia Wilde's directorial follow-up to her 2022 film Don't Worry Darling and a project starring Natalie Portman and Jenna Ortega about a gallerist attempting to sell a dead body at Art Basel. Starry narrative slate, aside, the lineup also includes a small but mighty group of music projects, including docs on Courtney Love ( Antiheroine)

Two projects featuring Charli XCX will premiere at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival: , the Aidan Zamiri-directed mockumentary starring Charli as a pop star, and I Want Your Sex, the Gregg Araki-directed erotic thriller featuring Charli in an undisclosed supporting role. The Moment was conceived based on an original idea from Charli XCX, who sought to fictionalize her experiences rolling out an album and embarking on a debut headlining tour while also satirizing the music industry.

Perhaps the greatest difference between the 1956 Philip K. Dick novella "The Minority Report" and the 2002 film Minority Report is the fact that on the page, John Allison Anderton (Tom Cruise) is an old guy close to retirement, and in the film, he's a vibrant 40-year-old who looks 25. In fairness, Dick may have imagined a balding guy in his fourties when he wrote "The Minority Report," since, at the time, Dick was only 28.

Wicked: For Good is coming to Blu-ray after it finishes its box office run, and fans can look forward to multiple limited-edition versions, along with standard Blu-ray and DVD versions, all of which are available to preorder now. The most extravagant release is the Amazon-exclusive Wicked: For Good Gift Set, available for $230, which includes the film on 4K Blu-ray and a selection of exclusive collectibles.

Eilish's new concert film will be presented in immersive 3D and will hit theaters on March 20th, 2026. The trailer captures Eilish in the midst of her massive "Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour," a worldwide outing that arrived in support of her third album Hit Me Hard and Soft. With the arena concerts happening in-the-round, the trailer shows several sweeping shots of Eilish performing songs old and new from a variety of different angles, soundtracked by renditions of "bury a friend," "bad guy," and "THE GREATEST."

It's the most wonderful time of year, and we at Defector are proud to bring back our series discussing some of the most, uh, available holiday movies. Sabrina Imbler: Thanks so much Kelsey and Alex for trudging through this "film" with me. Alex Sujong Laughlin: I am so excited to be here to talk about one man's sexual tension with Santa. Kelsey McKinney: Hello. I am here to discuss the queer film My Secret Santa, is this the correct place?

Divia, which had its world premiere at the 2025 Karlovy Vary Film Festival, is a haunting, meditative journey through Ukraine's wounded landscapes-told entirely without dialogue.

Russell Crowe has said that the makers of Gladiator II did not understand what made that first one special. In interview excerpts posted on social media by Australian radio station Triple J, Crowe said that the Gladiator sequel, which starred Paul Mescal and was released in 2024, was let down by the people in that engine room not actually understanding what made that first one special.

Released earlier this year, Tron: Ares was a box office bomb. The movie grossed only $142 million worldwide and received lukewarm critical reception at best. Audience reviews have been kinder, and while the film may not have reached the same heights as the original Tron or 2010's Tron: Legacy, there is still appreciation for how it pushes the franchise's concepts further and for its hard-hitting Nine Inch Nails soundtrack.

Paramount Pictures' official X account was hacked on Tuesday, briefly rebranded as a proud arm of a fascist regime message as it attempts a hostile takeover of Warner Bros Discovery. For several minutes, the pointed message was emblazoned on the account's bio. It quickly vanished restored to The official X account for Paramount Pictures but not before screenshots ricocheted across the internet.

The front of the Wheaties box has served as a hall of fame for some of the greatest athletes of all time, from baseball star Lou Gehrig to boxer Muhammid Ali, basketball legend Michael Jordan, and seven-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles. Now, a fresh face is gracing the box's hallowed orange frame: Marty Mauser, the fictional ping-pong player played by Timothée Chalamet in A24's upcoming film Marty Supreme.

I decided to create the music video like it was a personal vlog - something I could link to my own memories and look back on years from now together with my child. In line with the album's concept, I considered my animation as my own 'answer' to the interview question. I look forward to watching it with my child in the future,

Great cinema has never died, but there's something particularly heartening about the fact that it survived 2025. Looking back at this turbulent year, rife with the usual industry concerns over the viability of the theatrical experience, young people's slipping attention spans, and Hollywood's overreliance on franchises, unearths a diverse crop of gems. Many of my favorite films were major studio releases-blockbusters, even-that challenged audiences in innovative, surprising ways.

A casual disregard for human life contrasts with a colorful, hard-partyin' atmosphere of 1977 Carnaval in Brazil in The Secret Agent, director Kleber Mendonca Filho's momentous epic, a mercurial adventure in filmmaking that reminds us of how dangerous but important it can be to resist an unjust system. Secret Agent also urges us to be aware of the swath of corruption that settles in places high and low and to respect and embrace the bloodlines that flow through us.

Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (Joao Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; abandoned by his parents, the wide-eyed young man finds solace in the arms of others. On an evening out with his rowdy group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler more than twice his age. Bathed in the flickering glow of a neon-lit porn cinema, their first meeting is sensuous and erotic, with an edge of danger.

There are so many memories I have from growing up with two incredible grannies - baking pies, gardening, going on long walks - but nothing gives me those ultra-cozy vibes like rewatching the movies and shows I watched with my grannies. From big technicolor musicals to old black-and-white comedies and a whole lot of super cheesy, wholesome television shows, this brand of entertainment is peak Granny-core.

Directed by Jay Duplass, this microbudget dramedy follows an improv comic named Cliff (Michael Strassner, who co-wrote the script) a few months after a failed suicide attempt. Now sober and adjusting to a loving but controlled relationship with his fiancée, Brittany, Cliff's Christmas Eve dental emergency leads him to the office of Didi (Liz Larsen), a dentist distracted by the idea that her ex-husband just got remarried that morning.

Benicio del Toro, who in the morning had received a Golden Globe nomination for his supporting role in " One Battle After Another," was one of a clutch of celebrities who filed into the Fort Mason Center on Monday night. Also present were Kristen Stewart ("Love Lies Bleeding"), Wunmi Mosaku (" Sinners"), Boots Riley ("Sorry to Bother You"), Regina Hall ("One Battle After Another") and fashion designer Zac Posen, who was hired as Gap ' s creative director last year.

Originally scheduled to start March 9, 2026, the It Ends With Us trial now starts on May 18, per . Judge Lewis J. Liman of the Southern District of New York explained that two criminal trials that "take precedent" over a civil trial. The next hearing is on January 22, and Judge Liman reportedly told the parties at a post-discovery hearing on December 9 to talk about settlements, if needed.

Something has happened to Netflix's Christmas movies this year. Historically, they've unfolded like lucid dreams one might have when waking up from general anesthesia in an Arizona strip mall. They're like Twin Peaks for people who have been locked out of their Facebook for too many incorrect password attempts. Their plots make little to no sense, they're lit like a Soviet prison, their characters speak to one another like they've been bonked on the head by falling pianos.

With the fallout from the war in Syria as a backdrop, director Nour Alkheder longs for her father through memories, imagination and the fragments of a life uprooted by conflict. As Alkheder reflects on what was lost and what remains, she confronts the emotional weight of nostalgia and the love that binds her to her father and her homeland. I Love You More explores what it means to long for someone,

I found a tiny shepherd's hut in the middle of nowhere, right by a forest. My driver was driving me up, and he was like, 'Are you going to be OK here?' I was like, 'Absolutely, this is totally my happy [place]. So I stayed there on my own.'