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The gothic psychological thriller captures the dark tale of declining movie star Veronica Ghent (Alice Krige), who enters a healing retreat in rural Scotland with her young nurse Desi (Kota Eberhardt) to recover from a difficult surgery. As Veronica’s body rests, she focuses on her own emotional healing after being haunted by past traumas on movie sets endured as a young girl by the hands of a much older filmmaker, played by Malcolm McDowell....

Sono is known for provocative indie films like 2008’s “Love Exposure,” which screened at the 2009 Berlin Film Festival and won two awards. The almost four-hour film follows the erotic adventures of a peeping tom photographer. An unnamed actress told entertainment magazine Shukan Josei PRIME that Sono told her that women have had sex with him for years to gain parts in his films, and that he is to thank for their success in the industry....

McKinnon hilariously broke down once her character offered Jost a live, on-camera health exam, in reference to the Fox News medical evaluation Trump received last weekend on air. McKinnon’s performance prompted Jost to break character, asking, “Kate, are you alright?” “Obviously I’m not,” the actress responded. McKinnon then addressed the audience, breaking the fourth wall. “I’m sorry, It’s such a crazy time that I started doing this to cope. I have a lot of wigs and mustaches at my disposal and that’s a nice way to escape it’s refreshing to play a character…who know this,” she said....

For the iconic New York City, production designer Steve Pilcher and the art department created a tactile world that’s “solid, physical and reflective with lots of color…with a history of wear and tear. Buildings and railings and pavement are weathered or bleached,” he said. “Nothing’s really perfect in this world. It’s very organic and interesting. There is texture and tons of variety, color variation, weather conditions, wet surfaces, and dry surfaces — all that beauty that we take for granted becomes evident, particularly once you’ve been in The Great Before where everything is based on almost perfect symmetry....

There are some horror films that rattle you to the core, that make you scream and cover your eyes, your heart beating out of your chest until you feel faint and slightly nauseous. And there are some that sink deep into your bones and stay there, unsettling your psyche and coloring nearly every subsequent event you experience with an overpowering sense of dread. “Speak No Evil,” the latest film from Danish director Christian Tafdrup, is both of these, a masterly work of sadistic and painstakingly drawn-out social horror that sits with you long afterward, like the dull ache from a deeply lodged splinter....

Almost all the credit goes to “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which had a 41 percent drop — significantly less than anticipated. It took in an additional $33 million ($6 million above pre-weekend estimate of $27 million) for a $669 million domestic total ($1.53 billion worldwide). For theaters, the MCU smash remains the difference between holding on and complete collapse. January is usually a perfectly fine month for theaters thanks to the carryover of multiple strong December films, expansion of awards contenders, and its own share of strong new releases....

While Lee acknowledges there are “a lot of loopholes” with the Academy’s new inclusion rules, he adds “their heart is in the right place. I will say that.” What Lee really wants to do is “sit down with somebody from the Academy” so that he can address the real battlefield at hand, which for the director is “the rarefied air of the gatekeepers.” “These are the people, individuals who decide what we’re making and what we’re not making, who’s going to write it, who’s going to direct it, who’s going to produce it, who’s a star in this,” Lee said....