Jenny Popplewell’s slickly made “American Murder: The Family Next Door” only spends a few minutes analyzing those awful days when people and pundits took to TV and the internet to announce that Shan’ann deserved to be killed, but her true-crime documentary also hinges on the same information so many used against her. An impeccably produced look at a heinous crime, Popplewell’s documentary meticulously weaves together a wealth of information — including body-camera footage from the first cop on the scene, claustrophobic interrogation room setups, and the social-media messages so many armchair sleuths pored over to discredit Shan’ann — that it almost feels too readymade for the film treatment....

The “Life After Beth” creator revealed during “The Drew Barrymore Show” that she wants Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to virtually attend the ceremony from his war-torn country amid Russia’s invasion. “I actually pitched — I wanted to find a way to have Zelensky satellite in or make a tape or something just because there are so many eyes on the Oscars,” Schumer said. The 94th Academy Awards, which takes place Sunday, March 27, will still address certain political topics, though....

It would be very difficult to love movies without appreciating great cinematography. Few things are more thrilling than watching a breathtaking shot on the big screen. Great directors of photography can use images to elicit emotions that the written word could never reach. But how much do you actually know about the craft? “The cinematography was incredible” has to be one of the most common phrases to overhear as you exit a movie theater, but oftentimes the discussion ends there....

Written and directed by Andrew Dominik, the film premieres September 23 on Netflix, with Ana de Armas starring as Norma Jeane Baker, who later uses the stage name of Monroe. “Blonde” is based on Joyce Carol Oates’ 2000 novel of the same name, which reimagined Monroe’s tragically short life, culminating in her death at age 36. While at the 21st Neuchâtel Intl. Fantastic Film Festival in Switzerland, Oates confirmed that she has seen a final cut of the NC-17 rated film....

That positions Matt Reeves’ latest rendition of the Caped Crusader for a U.S./Canada opening over $100 million, with a chance to reach half of the staggering $260 million achieved by “Spider-Man.” This year has been a box-office disaster even with “Spider-Man.” The first two months grossed only $755 million, about 50 percent of the same periods in 2019 and 2020. Beyond “The Batman” — which should provide as much as $300 million this month — March won’t have much to say for itself....

First-time feature filmmaker Emerald Fennell might not have known about Mulligan’s well-honed 20-pages-in internal alarm, but her “Promising Young Woman” fit the bill perfectly. For audiences who saw the film when it premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, the neon-bright black comedy is a surprise from start to finish, and this is a film that opens with its seemingly impenetrable protagonist exacting wild revenge on simpering “nice guys” before alighting into still crazier spaces....

Yi, who played costume designer Safowa Bright-Asare in the film about the making of Tommy Wiseau’s cult favorite “The Room,” said that she tried to “break legal contract” to quit the movie over allegations about Franco. But she said the filmmakers “minimized” her concerns and “said Franco being a predator was so last yr [sic] and that he changed… when I literally heard of him abusing new women that week.” Yi said they “tried to bribe me with a bigger acting role” to keep her involved in the project, which was “the exact opposite of what I wanted....