Based on Coward’s still-popular 1941 stage play, this “Blithe Spirit” has been the victim of an awkward update from screenwriters Piers Ashworth and Nick Moorcroft, who appear to have mostly stripped the screwball charms of the original for odd parts. Again, some of those choices — like to lean more heavily on questions of inspiration in the form of writer’s block and a winking dose of Old Hollywood dazzle — aren’t bad ideas at all, but thrusting them inside a narrative that tosses out the classic charms of Coward’s work all but ensures their failure....

The death of Betty Gore at the hand of friend Candy Montgomery (Jessica Biel) is a well-documented saga that has since stretched far beyond the limits of Collin County, Texas, where both women lived with their husbands and their families. “Candy” isn’t without some of the true-crime TV touches that have preceded it in this subgenre. But notably absent here in this series (which Hulu is releasing daily across a weeklong rollout) is the usual self-seriousness that can drag down other efforts....

There are big studio efforts on offer (“Top Gun: Maverick,” “Elvis”), along with singular indies from a range of rising stars (“Rodeo,” “War Pony,” “God’s Creatures”) and new features from some of our favorite auteurs (“Armageddon Time,” “Crimes of the Future,” “Showing Up,” “Three Thousand Years of Longing”). Digging through the Cannes lineup is always a treat, but this year’s selection feels particularly rich and rewarding. You can’t go wrong with this one, but that didn’t stop us from trawling this year’s picks to unearth the 18 titles we’re most excited about seeing, the creme de la creme of a festival that strives to only program the best....

“He had been really active in trying to get me to do it,” Miller said. “He was a fan of my work, which was thrilling, because it was reciprocated from me to him, tenfold. So he approached me to do it, he offered me this film, and it was at a time when I really didn’t want to work anymore. I’d been working non-stop and I was exhausted, but then I wanted to work with him....

The “Lightyear” actor addressed the ban of the film due to a same-sex kiss, with the “Toy Story” prequel barred from premiering in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait. The queer love story features scientist Hawthorne (voiced by Uzo Aduba) and her wife. A kiss between the two characters was cut from the film and later reinstated amid criticism against Disney for initially giving political donations to the backer of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill....

Why did the Coen Brothers split for “Macbeth”? It’s all amicable,” as the directing duo’s longtime composer Carter Burwell said on a recent episode of the “Score” podcast (via Los Angeles Magazine), referencing that Ethan did not get involved with “The Tragedy of Macbeth” for the simple reason that he did not want to make a movie. That’s not to say Ethan Coen is retired forever. Ethan told the Los Angeles Times in September 2019 that he was “giving movies a rest” to work on other projects like stage plays....

Sources told the publication that Morgen has been working on the Bowie film — which has yet to announce a title — for the past four years. A source also said the film is “neither documentary nor biography, but an immersive cinematic experience built, in part, upon thousands of hours of never before seen material.” That’s not unlike Morgen’s 2015 “Montage of Heck,” which blended more traditional documentary elements with expressionistic collages and artwork to explore the life and times of Nirvana frontman Cobain....