No Time to Die, the 25th James Bond movie, almost feels like 25 movies in one. So much happens in its complex story—filled with so many sprawling, varied set pieces—that by the time you get to the end, the events of the beginning feel like they happened 18 months ago. Which, if you remember, they were supposed to. Don’t forget, the only reason audiences had to wait six years between James Bond movies was the covid-19 pandemic. Now, though, that extended wait almost works in the movie’s favor. Its 163-minute run time and labyrinthian plot just give us more of what we’ve been waiting for. We’ve waited a long time for No Time and, thankfully, it delivers.

While most previous James Bond movies are more standalone than not, No Time to Die is very much a sequel to the previous films, relying on events from not just the previous one, Spectre, but Casino Royale and the others too. It’s not necessary to remember or rewatch those films, but it’ll help immensely since several characters and storylines return throughout. Things pick up with James Bond (Daniel Craig), now retired, living the good life with his girlfriend Dr. Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux). Swann’s past, left mysterious in the previous film, quickly comes back though and James is forced to make difficult decisions that bring him back into service.

Bond doesn’t know it but many of those choices are due to the actions of a scarred terrorist named Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek). From the first scene of the film, it’s very clear Safin is the big bad here. Then, almost instantly, the movie goes away from him. Bond is back again fighting agents of Spectre and solving mysteries involving the previous incarcerated villain, Blofeld (Christoph Waltz). Safin, on the other hand, appears in only one more scene before the final act. Bond spends more time fighting with the agent who took over the 007 title, played by Lashana Lynch, than he does brawling with the film’s villain.

That we, the audience, know Safin is behind it all and it takes Bond and everyone around him so long to catch up can, at times, make the narrative feel bloated. One example is a great, run-and-gun action scene in Cuba involving a CIA agent named Paloma (Ana de Armas). She and Bond team up to get some information and kill a whole bunch of bad guys in spectacular fashion, which makes the audience instantly fall in love with her character. Then she says “goodbye” and that it. She’s gone. The mission she and Bond complete is essential to the plot so the scene is not exactly a waste, but it still feels somewhat extra. Important sprinkled with unimportant. And that pattern repeats itself throughout the whole movie: in scene after scene, the character development and plot will advance ever so slightly, while the scenes themselves escalate exponentially like a dozen mini-movies. The slow-developing, slightly repetitive nature can be a bit exhausting. And yet, this is a James Bond movie. James Bond is at his best when he’s being over the top and excessive. More guns, more cars, more motorcycles, more gadgets, more martinis? Yes, please. Those things are the driving force of the entire franchise. And No Time to Die has all of it in spades, even if it’s at times a bit much.

This is all due to the work of director Cary Joji Fukunaga (True Detective), working from a script he co-wrote with Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) and Neal Purvis and Robert Wade (Skyfall). From scene one it’s evident that Fukunaga is delighted to be playing in this sandbox. He revels in all the little James Bond-isms, while framing and lighting them all to feel unique. Almost every single scene is in a new location, with new clothes, environments, and obstacles, all of which add to that dense feeling. There’s a scene in the snow, a scene underwater, a scene in the woods, a scene in a city—it’s always something new. Genres blend a bit too. There are elements of horror, a ton of comedy, and some real drama as well. Is all of it 100% necessary? Not really. But it’s very much paying homage to, while also bolstering, the franchise.

Another thing No Time to Die does very well is humanize James Bond. Don’t worry. He’s still an unstoppable badass, walking up staircases while mowing down bad guys with a machine gun in a single take. But Fukunaga uses the story and characters from the other films to make you care about him as a person, not just cheer for him as a hero. That Bond has a history with Blofeld and Madeleine, as well as M (Ralph Fiennes), Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), Q (Ben Whishaw), and others makes him feel like a real human. These are friends, enemies, they have histories, all of which adds a ton of stakes to the movie as the plot finally gets back to what, exactly, Safin is up to.

The performances drive much of that emotion as well. Craig uniquely blends swagger with humanity here, portraying Bond as three-dimensional as we’ve ever seen him. Lynch’s charisma and screen presence instantly make her a worthy friend and foe to Bond and scenes they share sparkle with chemistry. Seydoux, as well, really gives No Time to Die heart, balancing vulnerability with strength in a very realistic way.

Add up those performances, the passion of the filmmaking, the scale of the story, and the links back to the previous films and No Time to Die has a lot to cover, but does it well. You feel its length, but it’s a good thing because it’s one of those stories you enjoy discovering with characters you want to spend time with. The next James Bond film will not be with Daniel Craig but he can go out saying he gave audiences probably the biggest, and definitely the most emotional, Bond movie ever.

No Time To Die will be released in theaters only on October 8.

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The ongoing Movie Artists Association Elections 2021 is taking place at Jubilee Hills Public School in the city, on Sunday. The polling commenced at 8 am and is likely to end by 2 pm and counting of votes will begin from 4pm. Results are likely to be declared by 8 pm.

The main contenders Manchu Vishnu and Prakash Raj have announced their manifestos, and after a lot of drama and trading of allegations against each other, have now got together and urged the MAA artists to exercise their voting rights. There are around 900 members in the MAA body where 863 members are going to exercise their franchise.

MAA elections that have turned into a prestigious affair are no longer linked to just the film fraternity.  A political overtone of sorts has also set in with people associated with political parties also getting involved in the elections. Advocate-turned actor CVL Narasimha Rao who quit the race is openly associated with the Saffron party.

In the latest speculation, there is news that that the Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary volunteer organization RSS, is also keenly observing the MAA Elections outcome. If sources are to be believed the main reason why they are awaiting the outcome is that they don’t want Prakash Raj, a contender for MAA presidency post to win the MAA elections. It is known that Prakash Raj openly criticizes the BJP-led Government through his social media platforms. His infamous ‘ just asking’ hashtag where he targets  Narendra Modi and his anti- Hindu comments have earned the ire of the Hindu nationalist outfit.

RSS which apparently also has connections with several persons in the Telugu film industry is trying to leverage these contacts and allegedly try and influence the MAA voters by explaining Prakash Raj’s political leanings.  It is known that senior actor Kota Srinivasa Rao and CVL Narasimha Rao came out openly against Prakash Raj only and refrained from commenting on others. Both of them are associated with the BJP, where Kota Srinivasa Rao was once elected as MLA from Vijayawada-East in 1999-2004, as a BJP candidate.

Also Read: MAA Elections 2021, The Story So Far

Though fans of Bob’s Burgers have a new season to look forward to, many have been wondering what’s going on with the Bob’s Burgers movie that was announced back in 2019—before it, like many productions, was waylaid by the ongoing covid-19 pandemic. At this year’s San Diego Comic-Con @ Home, series creator Loren Bouchard sat down with the show’s creative team to discuss season 12 and share some promising updates on the Belcher family’s cinematic debut.

Throughout the Bob’s Burgers panel, Bouchard and the rest of the team all emphasized how working remotely during covid-19 presented a number of challenges for them—things that fans of the show won’t be able to pick up on when the new season premieres later this year. But Bouchard admitted that he’s very much looking forward to being able to work with the team in person again so that they can tap into their collective creative energy.

“We’re going to have a chance to be back together, which is the thing I most think about when I think about the kind of the biggest cost of covid to Bob’s,” Bouchard said before addressing the panel, which included executive producer Nora Smith and cast members H. Jon Benjamin, John Roberts, Kristen Schaal, Eugene Mirman, Dan Mintz, and Larry Murphy. “Ultimately it’s the interaction of the actors. You guys recorded as an ensemble from the beginning, and I still firmly believe that it is a kind of a magic ingredient that gives a life and energy to the to the track and kind of brings out your ‘A’ game.”

Though season 12 does not yet have a premiere date, Bouchard shared a number of this season’s episode titles, including “Crystal Mess,” “The Pumpkining,” “Driving Big Dummy,” “Seventween Again,” “Beach Please,” “Stuck in the Kitchen With You,” “Gene’s Christmas Break,” “Loft in Bedslation,” “FOMO You Didn’t,” “Touch of Evaluations,” “Video Killed the Geneo Star,” “Ferry on My Wayward Bob and Linda,” “Spider House Rules,” “Clear and Present Ginger,” and “Asprout a Boy.”

Unfortunately, Bouchard also announced that the Bob’s Burgers movie still does not have a release date, and there isn’t yet any footage from it to be shared. But he insisted that the movie is still definitely in production and coming to theaters at some point in the future.

“My every waking moment is spent on the movie, and it’s coming,” Bouchard said. “They have to put it out. We’re going to be in theaters. That’s my pledge.” Though Bouchard didn’t have any particular plot points about the movie to share, he described it as a “musical comedy mystery adventure coming of age story” that’s the “best possible thing [we] could make.”

In the more immediate future, Bob’s Burgers fans can also look forward to the music from seasons 7-9 being released as an album on August 20 wherever music is sold—and it shouldn’t be too long after that until the Belchers are back on Fox with a new batch of episodes.

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Vijayapura: JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy on Tuesday said he has nothing to learn from RSS ‘Shakha’ as he alleged that people who were trained there have indulged in watching “blue film” at the legislative Assembly, when the session was on.Also Read – Social Distancing, What’s That? HD Kumaraswamy’s Son Ties The Knot in VVIP Wedding Amid COVID-19 Lockdown | Photos And Videos Here

The former Chief Minister was responding to state BJP President Nalin Kumar Kateel’s recent invitation to him to come to RSS Shakha and learn about the activities of the Sangh. Also Read – ‘You Reap What You Sow,’ HD Kumaraswamy’s Sarcastic Jibe at Fadnavis After he Resigns

“…I don’t want their (RSS) companionship. Haven’t we seen what was taught in RSS Shakha? How to behave in the Vidhana Soudha….watching blue film while the assembly session is on. Isn’t such a thing taught to them (BJP) at RSS Shakha? Do I have to go there (to RSS shakha) to learn this?” Kumaraswamy asked.

Speaking to reporters here on the sidelines of the bypoll campaign, he said, “I don’t want their Shakha. Whatever I have learnt from the Shakha here, the Shakha of the poor is enough. I have nothing to learn from theirs (RSS Shakha).”

Kumaraswamy was referring to an incident in 2012, when the then three ministers were caught on camera allegedly watching porn clipping on mobile phones in the state assembly during its proceedings, causing an embarrassment to the then BJP government.

The three ministers had resigned following the incident.

Recently, referring to a book, Kumaraswamy had said that the RSS, as part of its ”hidden agenda”, has created a team of bureaucrats in this country, who are now placed at various institutions.

He had also said the BJP governments at both the Centre and in Karnataka were functioning on the directions of the RSS, and PM Narendra Modi was its “puppet”.

Following this, Kateel had invited him to come to RSS Shakha and learn about the Sangh’s activities.

“Mamma Mia!”) to arid (“Jersey Boys”) to downright abysmal (“Les Misérables”). 

But partly because of pandemic-delayed releases, we’ll have nearly 10 new entries to the genre by the end of 2021, including Steven Spielberg’s reimagined “West Side Story” (in theaters Dec. 10) and “Cyrano” starring “Game of Thrones” actor Peter Dinklage (which begins to hit select theaters on Dec. 17). 

Review:Lin-Manuel Miranda’s creativity astounds again with Netflix musical ‘tick, tick…BOOM!’

With the arrival of the Andrew Garfield-led “tick, tick… BOOM!” on Netflix this weekend, here’s how this year’s movie musicals stack up (so far): 

8. ‘Cinderella’

Now streaming on Amazon Prime

A film so manufactured that it may as well have come straight off an Amazon assembly line, this bargain bin “Cinderella” works hard to update the classic fairy tale, but loses all its magic in the process. Ella (Camila Cabello) is now a spunky, career-minded businesswoman who would rather make dresses in her spacious basement apartment than try to woo a prince (Nicholas Galitzine). As admirable as that is, writer/director Kay Cannon totally defangs Ella’s wicked stepmother (Idina Menzel) and stepsisters (Maddie Baillio and Charlotte Spencer), who, unlike the trailer suggests, push her to marry for money so she can have a better life. (They even do their own laundry while belting Madonna, no less!) With no stakes to speak of, the movie’s only saving grace is the charismatic Billy Porter, who flies in to sing Earth, Wind Fire as Ella’s brassy and benevolent Fabulous Godmother.  

7. ‘Come From Away’

Now streaming on Apple TV+

Following the success of last year’s “Hamilton” on Disney+, the producers of “Come From Away” filmed a live performance of the Broadway hit for an audience of 9/11 survivors and front-line workers this spring. The Tony Award-winning musical tells the incredible true story of a small Canadian town that welcomed 7,000 stranded travelers in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. With a small cast of a dozen actors flitting around and playing multiple characters, it can be hard to connect to any one storyline, and the twee score of vaguely Celtic ballads is only occasionally rousing. But you can’t fault a show that’s so intent on preaching empathy and kindness, and “Come From Away” certainly has its heart in the right place, if not much else. 

6. ‘Dear Evan Hansen’

In theaters now 

No thanks to his hair and makeup team, Platt is bizarrely styled to look like a tax auditor who wandered into a high school English class. The musical’s cringey morals are also only magnified in tight close-ups, with songs like “For Forever” and “Words Fail” that come across as way more sociopathic than sweet. And yet, there are still aspects to admire of director Stephen Chbosky’s slick adaptation, which comes alive whenever its sensational cast of supporting women are onscreen. Amy Adams, Kaitlyn Dever and Amandla Stenberg all sing and suffer gorgeously. But it’s MVP Julianne Moore, as Evan’s patient and overworked mom, who delivers the film’s most tear-jerking moment in the aching “So Big/So Small.” 

5. ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ 

Now streaming on Amazon Prime

From a filmmaking standpoint, there’s nothing remarkable about “Jamie,” which is adapted from a West End musical and based on a 2011 TV documentary about a British teen-turned-drag queen (played by Max Harwood). The quick-cut editing is whiplash-inducing, and the neon-drenched musical numbers gave us PTSD after last year’s similarly flashy “The Prom.” But an insanely catchy score goes a long way, and we haven’t stopped humming the peppy title track or “Don’t Even Know It” for weeks now. And even in its most cloying scenes, there’s something very moving about the movie’s warm embrace of queer joy. Jamie is perennially supported by his mom (Sarah Lancashire), best friend (Lauren Patel) and drag mentor (Richard E. Grant), who reminds him that he stands on the shoulders of his gay elders, a generation of whom were lost to HIV/AIDS. 

4. ‘Diana: The Musical’ 

Now streaming on Netflix

This “Diana” is, by all accounts, awful. The new Broadway musical, which was taped for Netflix during the pandemic, is a throwback to the kitschy British pop-rock musicals that invaded New York in the 1980s, but with none of the Andrew Lloyd Webber earworms that elevated those shows. “Diana” reduces Princess Di (Jeanna de Waal) and Camilla Parker Bowles (Erin Davie) to catty rivals clawing over Prince Charles (Roe Hartrampf), while scenes of her charity work border on mockery. (“I may be unwell but I’m handsome as hell,” a young man dying of AIDS sings at one point.) 

Hollywood’s obsession will never end, but it’s getting ridiculous

3. ‘In the Heights’

Available to buy or rent

Few modern directors know their way around a movie musical better than Jon M. Chu, who’s been tapped to helm the “Wicked” adaptation starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in light of his phenomenal work on “In the Heights.” Set in New York’s Washington Heights neighborhood, the film playfully pays homage to musicals of old with a Busby Berkeley-style hip-hop number in a public swimming pool, and characters channeling Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in a gravity-defying dance on the side of a building. Other inventive touches – a record scratch on a manhole cover, salon mannequins serving as a de facto Greek chorus – show Chu proudly leaning into the genre’s fantastical possibilities without ever losing sight of the story’s emotional center.

Anthony Ramos delivers a star-making turn as Usnavi, a bodega owner wrestling with leaving his tight-knit Latino community, and the musical’s Tony-winning creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, makes a scene-stealing cameo as a piragua vendor. And we can’t forget Corey Hawkins, playing Usnavi’s effortlessly suave best friend Benny, who should seriously be cast in every movie musical from here on out. 

2. ‘Annette’

Now streaming on Amazon Prime

Nothing we say here could prepare you for the inspired lunacy of “Annette,” which takes itself both completely seriously and not at all. Directed by French auteur Leos Carax (“Holy Motors”), from a concept by offbeat pop/rock duo Sparks (who also wrote the film’s strangely entrancing songs), the movie follows a sadistic shock comedian (Adam Driver) and his angelic opera-singer wife (Marion Cotillard), whose doomed matrimony is upended by the birth of their daughter, Annette (played by an uncanny yet wholly adorable puppet, a fact that is blessedly never acknowledged by any of the characters). 

After 38 years, Ralph Freehaus is ready to roll credits on his career in the movie theater business. “I think it’s time for me to retire and let the internet experts take over for me,” says Freehaus, who owns Cinemagic Theatre in Athens. He tells AL.com he put Cinemagic up for sale about a week ago.

The Cinemagic parcel is about four acres. It includes a single drive-in screen with drive-in capacity for around 80 automobiles, as well as an indoor theater with five screens, 722 seats and roof-mounted solar panels that provide about 25 percent of the theater’s electricity. The asking price is $1. 75 million.

“We haven’t shut the business down,” Freehaus says. “The business is still going and will continue to keep going, and hopefully I can sell to someone that wants to take over showing movies from me.” Before founding Cinemagic with wife Carline Freehaus, who managed the drive-in before retiring a while back, Ralph worked at several different movie theaters in Huntsville and Decatur.

Cinemagic opened in 1997 as a single-screen drive-in. “Jurassic Park” sequel “The Lost World” was the first film shown there. A year later, Freehaus added a second, smaller drive-in screen after the latest “Godzilla” reboot bombed but Cinemagic had committed to running “Godzilla” for several weeks. Freehaus wanted to prevent any future duds from tanking the theater’s entire box-office ever again. The smaller second screen was removed a few years later. An indoor theater was built and then opened in 2006.

Over the years, Freehaus has seen a few movie-worthy moments occur in real-life at his drive-in. People trying to sneak-in other people hidden under blankets in the backseat. People trying to sneak beer in. Naked people in cars. “We find a lot of empty beverage cans on the ground after the movies are over,” Freehaus says.

Recent films shown at the drive-in, located at 1702 S. Jefferson St. S.E., include “Black Widow,” “Jungle Cruise” and “Paw Patrol: The Movie.” Cinemagic welcomes around 100,000 customers each year and employs a staff of five, Freehaus says. “I still enjoy standing in the lobby as the movie gets out, and watching the people with smiles on their faces, and hearing the discussions about the movie they just saw. I entertain people with movies. It doesn’t get much better than that.” His personal all-time favorite films include 1991 music drama “The Commitments” and 1987 fantasy comedy “The Princess Bride.”

In retirement, Freehaus, who is 74-years-old, plans on taking his 1964 Chevrolet Impala to car shows. He and Carlene also want to travel to the last four U.S. states they’ve yet to both visit: Oregon, Washington, Rhode Island and Alaska.

Asked if at-home streaming and the ongoing pandemic, two Death Star-sized challenges the movie industry is facing, influenced his decision to sell Cinemagic, Freehaus says no. “But it’s going to require some more modifications, and so we need a younger person to take over now and adjust with the flow.”

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New Rules

While the entire political class across the country was on Friday occupied with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement to repeal the three farm laws, the RSS was busy with the BJP. In fact, RSS pracharaks loaned to the BJP across the country as sangathan mantris and in other roles have been summoned by top RSS leaders in national capital for a three-day training session. The event began on Friday at a private facility on the outskirts of Delhi. RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale and RSS joint general secretary Arun Kumar are two of the senior RSS leaders learnt to be attending this training session. Although most of the sessions will be addressed by senior pracharaks, it is learnt that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is likely to be the only government representative to address them in one session.

Spreading The Word

With the government celebrating “Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas” week from November 15 to November 22, some of the Indian embassies have taken a cue. The Indian consulate in Kandy in Sri Lanka screened Adivasi Jananayak Birsa Munda, a short film on the life of tribal icon Birsa Munda, made by Doordarshan to commemorate his birth anniversary. The Indian embassy in Mozambique also screened the movie and celebrated the occasion.

Disney is apparently running a bit behind nowadays. The studio just announced that a slew of upcoming releases, mostly Marvel superhero films, have been pushed back a matter of months—but some of these announced movies have simply been taken off the schedule entirely.

Which Disney movies are delayed?

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The Marvels, previously dated on 11/11/22 moves to 2/17/23

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, previously dated on 2/17/23 moves to 7/28/23

Untitled Marvel Movie, previously dated on 7/28/23 is removed from schedule

Untitled Marvel Movie, previously dated on 10/6/23 is removed from schedule

Untitled 20th-Century Movie previously dated on 10/20/23 is removed from schedule

Untitled Marvel Movie, previously dated on 11/10/23 moves to 11/3/2

Okay, let’s take a closer look here. Pushing Dr. Strange 2, Thor 4, Black Panther 2, and The Marvels isn’t a few months back isn’t that weird, especially when you remember that Marvel movies dominate the box office so outrageously that they make millions and millions of dollars whenever they’re released. Plus, if you take a look at those dates, these films are just getting the next Marvel movie slot behind them.

There could be countless reasons for the delay. Maybe Disney is hedging its bets a little in hopes that more people will get vaccinated and the box office will be more robust next spring. Maybe Multiverse of Madness is running a bit behind, and since we’re into the Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 4 these films need to be released in a certain order, hence the delay.

I can’t speculate why Disney removed three Marvel films from the schedule, since only one of those slots was needed to give Quantumania a new home. But even if they’re off the table now, I feel pretty confident Marvel Studios will somehow manage to still give us at least two additional superhero films before the year is over.

However: delaying the fifth Indiana Jones movie for over a year?! Harrison Ford is 79 years old right now! Get your shit together, Disney!

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(CNN)Family, peers and community members of Halyna Hutchins mourned the cinematographer’s untimely death after the 42-year-old was killed on the film set of “Rust” from a firearm mishap.

CNN’s Melissa Alonso, Kaylene Chassie, Sandra Gonzalez, Julia Vargas Jones, Gregory Lemos, Mayumi Maruyama, Leslie Perrot, Andy Rose, Ray Sanchez and Karen Smith contributed to this report.