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‘From Scratch’ serves up one of this week’s tastiest new shows | CNN

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‘From Scratch’ serves up one of this week’s tastiest new shows | CNN

A model of this story appeared in Pop Life Chronicles, CNN’s weekly leisure e-newsletter. To get it in your inbox, join free right here.



CNN
 — 

The temperatures are beginning to dip, so, for me, it’s time for some consolation meals.

Curling up with one thing tasty to eat or drink undoubtedly sits higher with me than going out into the chilly.

And what’s hibernation with out some enjoyable and fascinating new leisure to devour?

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‘From Scratch’

I’ve been eagerly awaiting this new Netflix collection ever since my e book membership learn the memoir by Tembi Locke on which it’s based mostly.

It tells the story of Amahle “Amy” Wheeler (performed by Zoe Saldaña), who falls in love with a Sicilian chef whereas on a study-abroad program in Italy — so you recognize it’s a scrumptious story. However the pair face some challenges as a consequence of their totally different cultural backgrounds and a most cancers battle.

Regardless that I understand how all of it ends, I’m trying ahead to “From Scratch,” which is streaming now.

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‘The College for Good and Evil’

(From left) Kerry Washington as Professor Dovey and Charlize Theron as Lady Lesso in a scene from

Might it’s magic?

On this modern-day fairy story, based mostly on the younger grownup novel by Soman Chainani, two finest buddies discover themselves pitted in opposition to one another at an enchanted college the place younger heroes and villains are skilled to guard the steadiness of excellent and evil.

The movie is price it alone for Charlize Theron, enjoying the pinnacle of the College for Evil, and Kerry Washington whose character oversees the College for Good — although I don’t assume I ever imagined both of them in a mission fairly like this. (Different notable college members embody Michelle Yeoh and Laurence Fishburne.)

“The College for Good and Evil” is in choose theaters and streaming on Netflix.

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‘Chrissy’s Court docket’

Chrissy Teigen in a scene from

Mannequin, meals maven, DJ and decide. Is there something Chrissy Teigen can’t do?

You simply must go alongside for the trip with this small claims comedy present, through which Teigen guidelines over real-life disputes. There are many arbitration exhibits on the market, however this one is unquestionably in a courtroom of its personal.

Season 3 of “Chrissy’s Court docket” begins is streaming now on Roku.

Taylor Swift performs during the NSAI Nashville Songwriter Awards at the Ryman Auditorium on September 20 in Nashville, Tennessee.

New music from Taylor Swift is at all times a trigger for celebration — and often a lot of lyrical detective work.

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However this time round, we gained’t must guess as a lot about what Swift’s songs are about; she’s been sharing the tales behind a number of the tracks on her new album, “Midnights,” on social media.

These teasers have even included the “Midnights Manifest,” which provides an inside take a look at per week in Swift’s life and schedule surrounding the report’s launch. We might get used to you spoiling us like this, Tay!

“Midnights” is out now.

Meghan Trainor attends the Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on February 10, 2019.

Meghan Trainor’s life has modified fairly a bit since her breakout hit “All About That Bass” got here out in 2014.

The singer gave start to her first baby with husband Daryl Sabara in 2021. She lately advised Individuals journal she suffered a “traumatic” C-section, and detailed a well being scare she and Sabara subsequently confronted with their new child’s sleep habits.

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Trainor additionally advised EW she’s channeled all of it into her new album, “Takin’ It Again.”

“In earlier albums, there can be a easy love music or an ‘I’m going to be assured immediately’ music,” she mentioned. “These songs are like, ‘Y’all, I’m struggling. That is actual, however we’re all on this collectively. Who’s with me?’ It’s simply extra actual and uncooked.”

“Takin’ It Again” can be out now.

(From left) Hailey Bieber and Selena Gomez attend the second annual Academy Museum of Motion Pictures gala party on October 15.

Can individuals please cease pitting Selena Gomez in opposition to Hailey Bieber?

The pair have been photographed trying like bffs at an Academy Museum of Movement Footage gala celebration in Los Angeles this previous weekend and social media went right into a tizzy.

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Followers of every girl have attacked the opposite on social media over time. That’s as a result of Gomez was infamously in an on-off relationship with Justin Bieber earlier than the singer started courting then-Hailey Baldwin. The latter couple have been married in 2018.

Hailey Bieber most lately tried to place to relaxation hypothesis that she had “stolen” her husband from Gomez throughout a podcast look. Gomez, in the meantime, appeared to name for individuals to go simple on Mrs. Bieber after the interview aired.

Fingers crossed their latest present of unity stops people from feeling like they’ve to decide on sides.

(From left) Selma Blair and her dance partner, Sasha Farber, perform on an episode of

Selma Blair taught the world a precious lesson this week.

The actress, who has a number of sclerosis, withdrew from this season of “Dancing With the Stars” after the competitors proved an excessive amount of for her physique.

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Whereas she did effectively on the long-running actuality competitors, I applaud Blair for exhibiting that it’s okay to step again from one thing that simply isn’t working for you.

By prioritizing her well being — even over collaborating in a present she clearly liked being part of — Blair continues to set a robust instance. Generally it’s simply as courageous to stroll away as it’s to point out up.

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Movie Reviews

Kanguva Movie Review – Gulte

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Kanguva Movie Review – Gulte

2/5


02 Hrs 34 Mins   |   Action Adventure – Fantasy   |   14-11-2024


Cast – Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Anandaraj, Kovai Sarala, Redin Kingsley, Natarajan Subramaniam & others.

Director – ‘Siruthai’ Siva

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Producer – K. E. Gnanavel Raja, V. Vamsi Krishna Reddy & Pramod Uppalapati

Banner – Studio Green & UV Creations

Music – Devi Sri Prasad

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It’s been about two and a half years since Suriya’s film in a lead role was released in theatres. In an attempt to deliver an out-of-the-world experience to the audience, he teamed up with director, ‘Siruthai’ Siva for Kanguva, an action-adventure fantasy film with a period backdrop. It’s been a while since Suriya delivered a hit at the Box Office and he has pinned all his hopes on the film. After raising expectations with the teaser, and trailer, especially the release trailer which was released a few days back, Kanguva, was finally released in theatres today. Did it live up to the expectations? Did the director, Siva, come up with a memorable film for the fans of Suriya and movie lovers? Let’s figure it out with a detailed analysis.

What is it about?

Francis(Suriya), is a bounty hunter based out of Goa along with his Ex-Girlfriend, Angela(Disha Patani) and friend(Yogi Babu) During a bounty hunting job, Francis and his friend meet a kid(Zeta) who is on a run. Both Francis & Zeta find a strange connection between themselves. What is the connection between Francis and Zeta? Why is Zeta on a run? Who is Kanguva & Poruva? What is their connection with Francis and Zeta? Forms the rest of the story.

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Performances:

Suriya as Francis Theodore looked a bit out of the place but he did well in the role of Kanga aka Kanguva. The way he used his eyes to perform in the role of Kanguva is fantastic. Disha Patani as Angela is wasted. All the sequences involving her are irritating.

Bobby Deol as Udhiran got a poorly written role with a very weird look and there’s not much to talk about his role. The child artist who did the roles of Poruva & Zeta did well. There’s a surprise cameo during the climax of the film by a ‘Most Loved Star’ but even the cameo did not work out. The cameo is used in the film just to give a lead to the second part.

Yogi Babu, Kovai Sarala and a few more notable actors are wasted in poorly written roles. Probably for the first time in the recent past, Yogi Babu’s comedy failed to evoke laughs.

Technicalities:

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Vetri Palaniswamy’s cinematography is first-rate. The way he captured the lush green forests and the way he and his team shot the film during the night is fantastic. Cinematography is the only department that gave their hundred percent to the film. Devi Sri Prasad was disappointed big time with poor songs and a soulless & loud background score. Apart from the ‘Mannippu’ song and the background score during a sequence in the second half, his work is below par and works against the film. Nishad Yusuf’s editing is poor as well. His fast cuts especially in the first half were a pain to the eyes. There’s a lot of VFX used in the film but it is strictly average at best. Production values by Studio Green and UV Creations are grand but the producers would have invested a bit more to fine-tune the VFX part.

Director, Siva selected a very good core point but his lack of experience in executing a film of Kanguva’s scale and his tendency to overdo drama worked against the film big time. He and his writers would have come up with better writing. All we get to see in the film is one action sequence after another without a soul and emotional connection. His work overall is below par.

Thumbs Up:

Two blocks each in both halves
Suriya’s performance as Kanguva
Core Plot of The Film

Thumbs Down:

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DSP’s Songs & Background Score
Weird Looks of Actors
Entire Goa Episode In The First Half
Lack of Emotional Connect In The First Half
Over-the-top drama

Analysis:

Since the release of Baahubali, many filmmakers across the country from multiple film industries have come up with ambitious films that are mounted on a huge canvas & interesting storylines to cater to the PAN India audiences but only a very few of those films worked out. Staying away from an overdose of local flavour is the basic rule that a PAN India filmmaker has to follow but unfortunately most of these filmmakers, especially the Tamil filmmakers inability to stay away from overdoing the local flavour is working against these PAN India films more often than not.

Kanguva has a very interesting plot and a setup that may have been very exciting on paper but the director, Siva and his team’s execution is loud, predictable and filled with an overdose of native flavour. Every actor in the film shouts and screams all the time for no reason. Along with the over-the-top execution and acting by almost all the actors, the weird looks designed for each of the actors, especially when the plot was set up in the year 1070, worked against the film.

The film starts on an interesting note with a monologue by an old woman in the year 1070 that questions the true purpose of each of us human beings’ birth, followed by another interesting sequence involving a kid named, Zeta at a lab in 2024. But, what follows after these two sequences in the first half is a mess filled with people screaming all the time and very predictable pre-interval sequences.

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The second half of the film is marginally better compared to the first half with a couple of well-executed blocks but again, apart from those couple of blocks, remaining everything is unexciting. Also, the sequences Suriya, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu and others in the first half in the backdrop of Goa are forgettable. All those sequences are executed very poorly and test the patience of the audience.

It is the director who is to be blamed for wasting the potential of a very interesting plot with below-par execution barring four blocks. Another culprit is Devi Sri Prasad. Both his songs and background score are forgettable, to say the least.

Overall, Kanguva has an interesting plot but the below-par execution made it a disappointing film that may find it difficult to sustain at the Box Office. There’s a lead given during the climax of the film using a surprise cameo by a star hero for the second part but it is highly unlikely that the second part of the film will be made.

Verdict – Too Loud & Over-The-Top

Rating: 2/5

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Quincy Jones' cause of death revealed to be pancreatic cancer, report says

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Quincy Jones' cause of death revealed to be pancreatic cancer, report says

Music legend Quincy Jones died earlier this month reportedly from pancreatic cancer.

The 28-time Grammy Award winner’s cause of death was listed as the aggressive form of cancer, according to a death certificate issued by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and obtained by TMZ. No other factors contributed to his death, the outlet said

The 91-year-old, whose generation-spanning work shaped Michael Jackson’s solo career and included collaborations with Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Diana Ross and the Weeknd, died Nov. 3 at his Bel-Air home. He was surrounded by his children, siblings and close family, his publicist, Arnold Robinson, said at the time. No cause of death was disclosed then.

Robinson did not immediately respond Wednesday to The Times’ request for confirmation.

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The Oscar-nominated composer and renowned music producer was laid to rest Sunday during a private funeral in Los Angeles, his family said. A larger, public memorial is being planned, but no date has been announced.

In a tribute to her father, “Parks and Recreation” alum Rashida Jones, one of his seven children, said that Jones’ legacy is making “everyone he ever met feel loved and seen.”

“I’ll miss his hugs and kisses and unconditional devotion and advice. Daddy, it is an honor to be your daughter. Your love lives forever,” she wrote on Instagram.

Pancreatic cancer, known as the “silent killer,” is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths and accounted for 8% of cancer deaths this year, according to statistics from the National Institutes of Health.

The aggressive cancer has been cited as the cause of death for several other luminaries, including “Ghost” and “Dirty Dancing” star Patrick Swayze, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, astronaut Sally Ride, former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, longtime “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek, talk-show host Jerry Springer and The Times’ restaurant critic Jonathan Gold.

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'Heretic' Review – A Rube Goldberg Machine Dripping With Theological Boredom

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'Heretic' Review – A Rube Goldberg Machine Dripping With Theological Boredom

Hugh Grant as Mr. Reed in the psychological horror film Heretic. Photo credit: Kimberley French. Image property of A24.

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Written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (65, Haunt, writers of A Quiet Place), Heretic is a so-called psychological horror that is disappointing on all fronts. After only seeing the trailer once months ago, I initially thought that Heretic was a film about a serial killer (Hugh Grant) who used his crazy mouse trap-contraption house to lure in religious, door-to-door service people and kill them.

While that is partially the case, Heretic follows two missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher, The Book of Boba Fett) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East, The Wolf of Snow Hollow). The two women go to the house of Mr. Reed (Grant) who has expressed interest in hearing more about their religion.

(L-R) Chloe East as Sister Paxton and Sophie Thatcher as Sister Barnes in the psychological horror film Heretic (2024), A24

As Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton make their way inside, they soon find themselves trapped in Mr. Reed’s bizarrely intricate home featuring electricity on a timer, a front door that supposedly won’t open again until morning, and metal construction that blocks cell phone signals.

Reed, a theology major with vast knowledge of all religions, claims to have found the one true religion. Whether the two women will escape or if Reed knows what he’s talking about all factors into the cerebral aspect of the film.

(L-R) Chloe East as Sister Paxton, Sophie Thatcher as Sister Barnes, and Hugh Grant as Mr. Reed in the psychological horror film Heretic (2024), A24

RELATED: ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ Review – New York Venom

Martin Freeman constantly looked miserable and bored out of his mind when he appeared in films like The Hobbit trilogy and the Sherlock TV series. He suddenly looked like he was having the time of his life when he shifted film genres, plunged into horror, and starred in the 2017 film Ghost Stories.

It seems to be the same case for Hugh Grant. While this isn’t his first horror film, Heretic is his first film in the genre in 36 years (Grant starred in The Lair of the White Worm in 1988). Grant is noticeably lively in his performance in Heretic though and seems downright giddy to be torturing people.

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With cinematography by Chung Chung-hoon (Last Night in Soho, The Handmaiden), Heretic has two visually memorable sequences thanks to how they’re shot. When Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton first arrive, Mr. Reed leaves the room to check on his “wife.” While he’s gone, Barnes turns the candle he blew out and discovers what the scent of the candle is. As she slowly turns the candle, the camera turns with it.

Reed has a miniature duplicate of his house complete with little figures that represent Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton. In a sequence when Sister Paxton is trying to run away from Mr. Reed, we’re following her movements in the miniature but it seamlessly transitions from the model to the real thing when she enters the room and slams the door.

Sophie Thatcher as Sister Barnes in the psychological horror film Heretic (2024), A24

RELATED: ‘Kensuke’s Kingdom’ Review – Striking Animation That Plays It Safe

The method in which Heretic is written is somewhat odd. Not quite horrific enough to be scary with its religion-defying dialogue taking center stage, Heretic is essentially a two-hour sermon attempting to destroy your faith with some splashes of blood and a raggedy woman or two dying in a blueberry pie.  

It feels like if you walked into Heretic devoted to the Mormon religion, you’ll walk out of the theater a different person. Mr. Reed’s arguments regarding all religions stemming from the same concept are portrayed in a way that is believable and convincing.

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Chloe East as Sister Paxton in the psychological horror film Heretic (2024), A24

He somehow rambles about Monopoly and board games, music, and vinyl records to demonstrate similarities between certain board games, how some songs are essentially the same tunes with different lyrics, and that all religions are more similar than dissimilar.

While the dialogue-driven film can be interesting, it’s also rather boring. There’s an unsettling aspect to Mr. Reed’s behavior that capitalizes on the tension in the film. But there are also these long stretches where nothing happens besides the next topic of conversation or a weak payoff where someone’s throat is cut with a box cutter or it builds up to a whisper.

Hugh Grant as Mr. Reed in the psychological horror film Heretic (2024), A24

Heretic is beautifully shot with a stellar performance from Hugh Grant, but its intriguing concept is drowned out by the desire to deconvert the audience and have a lukewarm reveal regarding whatever the one-true religion is. Watching the film is like being trapped in a church of a religion you don’t believe in with an overwhelmingly passionate pastor trying to dissuade you from ever coming back.

‘Memoir Of A Snail’ Review – Hilarity And Empathy Bundled In Stop-Motion Brilliance

Heretic (2024), A24.

PROS

  • Hugh Grant
  • Well thought out dialogue
  • Strong writing

CONS

  • Talks the audience to death
  • Horror aspect feels secondary
  • Gets dull during final act

Mentioned This Article: A24 Heretic Horror Hugh Grant Movie Review psychological

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