Amy Nicholson

Review: Speed to the theater for 'Sisu: Road to Revenge,' Finland's madcap take on 'Fury Road' Hollywood just hired Finnish director Jalmari Helander to reboot "Rambo" and this grisly, hilarious, full-throttle chase movie easily proves why.

Hi, meet your new favorite movie.

The action spectacular of the year stars a 66-year-old man in a speeding truck. “Sisu: Road to Revenge” declares its intention in the title — it’s a scrappy, indie translation of “Mad Max: Fury Road.”

www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

We gotta spread the word

Westwood’s Village Theater to be run by American Cinematheque upon 2027 reopening The American Cinematheque will run the historic Village Theater as filmmaker Jason Reitman and more than 30 directors raise funds for a $25-million restoration.

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Review: The first one was a candy-colored slog, but 'Wicked: For Good' is pleasantly sour There's no rest for the whirling visuals, but Jon M. Chu's follow-up to "Wicked" works when it stops to admire the powerhouse duo of Cynthia Erivo and the hilarious Ariana Grande.

Enjoyed WICKED: FOR GOOD much more than the last one.

The first installment was all tedious set-up. The second has a body count.

Also, Ariana is by far the MVP.

www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

RIP Penny, an Essential Part of Americana Sure, the cent is ineffectual, outdated, and often in the way. But it deserves our appreciation—and our grief.

I wrote about the penny, a terrible coin that sucks, and one I'm going to miss for some reason

Review: Edgar Wright's 'The Running Man' limps into theaters too relevant to be any fun Stephen King’s 1982 techno-dystopian novel no longer feels sci-fi, making this remake trip over its own feet. (It's still better than the Schwarzenegger version.)

No bleaker satire than making it through THE RUNNING MAN, past end credits of a raised fist with “Together Against the Network,” to see the words: A Skydance Corporation.

Or maybe there is, if someone makes a documentary about what Edgar Wright may have had to cut.

www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

Review: Enjoy the sharp twists in the techno-thumping, Cannes-winning road thriller 'Sirāt' The pleasures and agonies of Oliver Laxe’s spellbinding Cannes winner 'Sirāt' kick off at a sandy Moroccan rave where a dad and his son search for a lost girl.

The second time I saw the road thriller “Sirāt,” I couldn’t wait to hear the audience moan.

www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

DIASPORA Calendar: November 10-16, 2025 - DIASPORA DIASPORA Calendar: November 10-16, 2025

Howdy folks! Make sure you make frequent visits to the DIASPORA event calendar for the latest happenings in art and culture in the Los Angeles area!

thediasporatimes.com/2025/11/10/d...

Aspiring film critics! LAFCA and @rottentomatoes.com are again offering TWO $3,000 SCHOLARSHIPS to students attending L.A.-area community colleges: one to a woman and one to a person from an underrepresented group(s). Apply by Dec. 7 and spread the word! bit.ly/LAFCAScholarship2025

Schumer is pressured to step aside as Senate Democratic leader after shutdown vote National progressive organizations urged Chuck Schumer to step down, and have encouraged New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run for his Senate seat in 2029.

Schumer is pressured to step aside as Senate Democratic leader after shutdown vote

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Review: 'Sentimental Value' flirts with Hollywood satire, but settles for arthouse sniffles Director Joachim Trier and Renate Reinsve of "The Worst Person in the World" reteam for another bittersweet awards contender that co-stars Stellan Skarsgård and Elle Fanning.

I like -- but don't love -- SENTIMENTAL VALUE

But Elle Fanning is great as a Hollywood star struggling to make her own Nordic family drama, calibrating her sobs to have a hint of hamminess, a marvelous detail that makes this whole type of movie look a little forced.

www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

As an aside, the MOMMIE DEAREST scenes in last year's doc FAYE are pretty heartbreaking to watch, whether you love the film or not. But Faye herself felt it was disastrous to her reputation.

Review: Jennifer Lawrence gives everything to the wild, brutal 'Die My Love' but gets left dangling This messy Molotov cocktail by indie auteur Lynne Ramsay pairs Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson as flailing new parents who fight, bite and destroy.

DIE MY LOVE

As good and committed as Jennifer Lawrence is, there were times I wanted to rescue her from her own movie, to protect her from the fate of Faye Dunaway when “Mommie Dearest” turned another blond Oscar winner into a joke.

www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

True! I swear you could write an essay on every shot in the movie! Just a masterclass of production design.

You raise a great point: If the preservationists want to leave the clock alone, where is Marty's quarter going?

I've been flipping out about it all week!

Right? Nope! An earlier draft has her say the lightning strike was the Almighty's will!

I was so shocked that I checked out different versions of the script -- this draft was even more blatant that 1985 Hill Valley hates actual science

Review: It's the right time to go 'Back to the Future,' blockbustering's most brilliant social satire Robert Zemeckis' marvelous sci-fi comedy reveals new bits of genius with every rewatch. As social criticism, it's right up there with 'It's a Wonderful Life' and 'Blade Runner.'

BACK TO THE FUTURE is the modern era’s zippiest comedy about the collapse of the American dream.

It took me a dozen watches to realize the preservationist bugging Marty to save the clock tower wants to keep it **broken** for the sake of “history and heritage.”

www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

Support Los Angeles Times journalists fighting for a fair contract The newsroom staff of the Los Angeles Times, represented by Media Guild of the West (NewsGuild-CWA 39213), has been bargaining a new union contract for more than 18 months. In that time, the company h...

Many of you have been watching our contract fight at the L.A. Times and asking how to help. Now's the time.

Tell our managers that you'll honor the picket line if negotiations drag to a point where we're forced to call a strike. You can sign here:

actionnetwork.org/petitions/st...

Fascinated that we all saw the same ending three different ways!

A House of Dynamite Features Cinema’s Most Stressful Zoom Call. Kathryn Bigelow’s bureaucratic thriller A House of Dynamite performs a tense live wire act, but this explosive material may not have much bang.

on an all-singing, all-dancing, all-movies Culture Gabfest, @thehighsign.bsky.social @theamynicholson.bsky.social and me take on Hedda, A House of Dynamite, and The Perfect Neighbor, spoil all three endings, and disagree about one of them.

Review: Made to inspire young artists to break the rules, the fizzy 'Nouvelle Vague' shows how it's done Richard Linklater zips back to re-create the shoot of Jean-Luc Godard's scrappy low-budget "Breathless," producing a primer on how to go your own way.

NOUVELLE VAGUE is the origin story of Jean-Luc Godard, and, in a way, of Richard Linklater himself.

Even more importantly, it’s a manual for what he hopes will be a fresh wave of talent storming the shore any minute. (I’m counting on it.)

www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

Vincent Price distributing hot dogs at Dodger stadium

Vincent Price handing out Dodger dogs at Dodger Stadium 1965
#Dodgers #TCMParty

A stat we don't talk about enough: Newspapers have lost 77% of their jobs over the last 20 year, more than any of the 532 other industries tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Hell yeah! Congrats gang!

AUSTIN REAVES 🏀❤️🏀

Where are my freaks at? The ones down with ultra-gross out comedy?

Cause this is a great one. In LA for a few more days, traveling around after that.