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Maybe grace isn’t the point. A characteristically thoughtful exploration of fascism told mostly via analysis of the seminal contemporary propaganda film “A Noi!” (“To Us”) made for newsreels nationwide, Cousins entertainingly brings history, cinema, and the manipulative power of the movies together in just the way we’ve come to expect from him. If you’re at all intrigued by a movie called “The March on Rome,” you won’t be disappointed. But don’t be fooled, either; trust no one, illusions are everywhere....

An enthralling mini-epic that unfolds like a combat-free cross between “Journey” and “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,” Giant Squid and Annapurna Interactive’s “The Pathless” strives to make good on the promise of its title. From the moment players assume control of the Hunter, they’re left almost entirely to their own devices. Instructions are few and far between, and there’s no map overlay or mission objectives to help guide you to the next plateau (hit triangle and certain objects will glow yellow or red, but that’s about all the assistance you get)....

Netflix launched reruns of “Manifest” Seasons 1 and 2 on June 10, 2021; four days later, NBC canceled its “Lost”-like missing-airplane series. On June 24, 2021, Netflix launched its weekly Global Top 10 TV and Film lists. Guess which series claimed two of the Top 5 slots? Season 1 ranked third on the streamer’s inaugural weekly ranking; “Manifest” Season 2 was fifth. The first season would go on to appear on Netflix’s Top 10 English-language TV series list 18 more times — the only other show to pull that off is a little ditty called “Stranger Things 4....

With 137 accredited critics and journalists voting, Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland” topped the categories of Best Movie and Best Director. Kemp Powers’ adaptation of his own play, “One Night in Miami,” scored the most votes for Best Screenplay, while Vanessa Kirby dominated the Best Performance category for her performance as a young mother struggling with the traumatic outcome of her pregnancy in “Pieces of a Woman.” The Wuhan coronavirus portrait “76 Days” won Best Documentary....

Working from a Black List-touted script by Samy Burch with a story by Burch and Alex Mechanik, “May December” centers on a married couple whose lives begin to buckle under pressure when an actress arrives to do research for a movie about their past — including the couple’s notorious May-December tabloid romance that once gripped the nation. The cast also includes Charles Melton (“Riverdale”), with Killer Films as usual producing the latest Haynes joint....

While the sequel “Top Gun: Maverick” deals largely in legacies — ill-fated Goose’s son Rooster (Miles Teller) joins the ranks under Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, played by returning icon Tom Cruise — Powell plays antagonist Hangman, the modern counterpart to Val Kilmer’s Iceman alter-ego (although Kilmer is also back for the long-awaited follow-up). Set 30 years after the original 1986 film directed by the late Tony Scott, “Top Gun” Maverick” is helmed by Joseph Kosinski and has already taken over the summer as the blockbuster to beat....

But Mortensen has continued to defend the film, and has insisted that it will “stand the test of time” in a new interview with The Film Stage (via The Playlist). “The dumbass in that story was the white guy,” Mortensen said. “There was a steep learning curve for the character I played. But they both learned from each other. And the fact is, it was based on real events. So the people that really tried to do damage to the movie’s reputation during its run, as you say, and people still to this day are like, oh, is this the ‘Green Book’ of this year?...