Trapped in some bizarre movie genre hinterland, wholly resistant to veering too far in any direction, this aimless film isn’t dark enough to be scary, funny enough to be a comedy, or smart enough to say anything about the many topics it seems to want to tackle. Ambition and ideas aren’t in short supply in the film, written by Lee and star Ilana Glazer, who previously worked together on Glazer’s winning comedy series “Broad City....

The official synopsis for “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” from Warner Bros. reads: “Professor Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) knows the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) is moving to seize control of the wizarding world. Unable to stop him alone, he entrusts Magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) to lead an intrepid team of wizards, witches, and one brave Muggle baker on a dangerous mission, where they encounter old and new beasts and clash with Grindelwald’s growing legion of followers....

The 1982 classic film celebrated its 40th anniversary on August 13. And while the movie, helmed by Amy Heckerling and penned by Cameron Crowe, launched the careers of Jennifer Jason Leigh, Forest Whitaker, Sean Penn, and Nicolas Cage, among its star-studded ensemble cast, actor Judge Reinhold alleged Universal was wary to even release it in the first place. “We were really heartsick because somebody high up said, ‘This is pornography, and there’s no way that Universal’s going to release this movie,’” Reinhold told The Hollywood Reporter....

The video was organized with the help of online course developer Yellowbrick, which operated a second unit that captured every stage of the production. The result includes extensive 360-degree stills and videos that provide a unique glimpse at the various aspects involved in producing a Covid-safe project in a single location. That material is part of the final module included in “Film and TV Industry Essentials,” a program that was created by Yellowbrick in collaboration with NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, IndieWire, and Rolling Stone....

It represented 57 percent of the closest weekend in 2019, bringing the four-week comparative rolling average to 75 percent. “Dune” (Warner Bros.) had a weaker than anticipated second weekend, with a 62 percent drop grossing $15.5 million. Halloween was expected to hurt but Denis Villeneuve’s film lacked the competition of a major opening. Next weekend it will face the challenge of “Eternals.” Not only will they compete for attention in overlapping audiences, it will also grab nearly all premium presentation screens that accounted for more than 25 percent of the “Dune” total....

Unsurprisingly, the unveiling of these NFT cards was widely mocked — especially given the widespread speculation that Trump would be throwing his hat into the ring as a candidate for Speaker of the House. That might have qualified as “major,” but not this. What Trump’s actual announcement did was provide prime material for late-night television. All four major (ongoing) hosts — Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, and Jimmy Fallon — poked fun at the news on their Thursday shows....

“Paul sent me the book [by Paulette Jiles] and the original script by Luke Davies and outlines, and I went to London the summer before filming [in Santa Fe in 2019],” Goldenberg said. “For 10 days, we went through the script and I gave suggestions. It was a great collaborative process that allowed me to really get into his head.” Set five years after the Civil War in northern Texas, “News of the World” explores a time when the country was bitterly divided and Texas was under army occupation....