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I never know what to say when people tell me that they think the visual effects in an old movie are “dated.” I guess I could go with the most obvious reply, but I don’t, because it’s beside the point: “Everything looks out-of-date if you wait long enough.” (Marvel movies from the aughts are already looking a bit old-fashioned,…

In the final episode of season one of HBO’s “House of the Dragon,” Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) stared straight into the camera, forehead straining and eyes shining with tears. In the wake of her son Lucerys’ (Elliot Grihault) death, wrath was in her eyes, and fans were left on a cliffhanger that promised spectacle,…

Plenty of comedies start off how Onyx Collective’s “Queenie” begins: a woman, supine in her gynecologist’s office, exposed, getting unexpected news. But “Queenie,” based on the book of the same name and created and executive produced by the author Candice Carty-Williams, is not your typical series. In fact, our titular heroine (a superb Dionne Brown)…

When “Banel & Adama” premiered in competition at Cannes Film Festival in 2023, French-Senegalese writer/director Ramata-Toulaye Sy was in rare company. Her film was the only debut feature among a competition featuring venerated filmmakers like Wes Anderson, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Todd Haynes, Ken Loach, Wim Wenders, etc. And apart from Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania’s incredible…