Twister sequel a fun homage that fails to spin a new yarn

Fans of the 1996 tornado movie Twister will be chuffed to see DOROTHY IV show up in the opening sequence of this storm-chasing sequel.

That slightly rusty data-collecting contraption is back because “it’s old and field-tested,” as one character points out, and the same could be said for the much-loved original movie.

The first Twister movie hit the B-movie sweet spot between scary and goofy (“We got cows”). This sequel, which comes more than a quarter-century later, is packed with callbacks to the ‘96 version, including a sartorial shout-out to Helen Hunt’s iconic white-tank-and-khakis look.

Overall, though, this newer, bigger project feels more ambitious but less effective. Scripted by Mark L. Smith and Joseph Kosinksi and directed by Lee Isaac Chung, Twisters delivers solid action set-pieces, stand-out special effects, and two remarkably good-looking and charismatic leads.

What to stream this weekend: Childish Gambino, ‘Love Lies Bleeding,’ ‘Cobra Kai’ and ‘Skywalkers’

Natalie Portman starring in her first TV series in “Lady in the Lake” for Apple TV+ and Roland Emmerich’s gladiator series “Those About to Die” are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you.

Also among the streaming offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: Kerry Washington’s comedy “UnPrisoned” returns for a second season, Daisy Ridley stars as the trailblazing deep sea swimmer Trudy Ederle in ”Young Woman and the Sea” and Donald Glover releases his last album under his Childish Gambino moniker.

NEW MOVIES TO STREAM

— If you loved the adrenaline rush of watching Alex Honnold scale El Capitan in “Free Solo,” Netflix has a treat for you. This time the heights are manmade but no less harrowing. In “Skywalkers: A Love Story,” filmmaker Jeff Zimbalist takes viewers into the dangerous world of rooftoppers – the daredevils who scale the world’s tallest buildings. The subjects in “Skywalkers,” streaming on Netflix starting Friday, are Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus who are not only talented rooftoppers but also in a relationship (hence the “love story” in the title) with own ups and downs. Part heist movie, part dazzling spectacle thanks to incredible Go-Pro footage, part relationship drama, it is a no-brainer of a click.

Canada Post to honour acclaimed director Norman Jewison with commemorative stamp

Canada Post is set to honour the legacy of Toronto-born filmmaker Norman Jewison with a commemorative stamp.

Jewison, best known for directing Academy Award-winning films "In the Heat of The Night," "Moonstruck" and "Fiddler on the Roof," is considered one of Hollywood’s most prolific filmmakers.

Throughout his career, Jewison has worked on more than 40 television and film productions.

He was nominated for the Academy Award for best director three times and received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award for his body of work in 1999.

‘Longlegs’ star Maika Monroe’s secret to success in Hollywood is a healthy relationship to it

LOS ANGELES (AP) — One of the few moments of levity in “Longlegs” — the Neon horror film in theaters now about a Satanist serial killer — happens when Maika Monroe’s character, Lee Harker, meets her co-worker’s young daughter. It’s obvious the analytical FBI agent doesn’t spend a lot of time around kids. Her stoic, awkward personality is comically heightened by this interaction with the child, who asks Harker to do things she obviously has no interest in, like seeing the girl’s bedroom or coming to her birthday party. Critics have praised the 31-year-old’s “Longlegs” performance — which says something […]

The Grateful Dead and Francis Ford Coppola are among the newest Kennedy Center Honors recipients

WASHINGTON (AP) — An iconoclastic filmmaking legend and one of the world’s most enduring musical acts headline this year’s crop of Kennedy Center Honors recipients. Director Francis Ford Coppola and the Grateful Dead will be honored for lifetime achievement in the arts, along with jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, blues legend Bonnie Raitt and the legendary Harlem theater The Apollo, which has launched generations of Black artists. This 47th Kennedy Center class will be honored with an evening of tributes, testimonials and performances on Dec. 8 at Washington’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The ceremony will be broadcast […]

Movie Review: A new generation drives into the storm in rousing ‘Twisters’

We have a complex relationship with disaster movies. Just look at the discussion about a “ Twisters ” poster, which became a perfect encapsulation of our love-hate tendencies. In the promo for the film, in theaters Thursday, actors Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell and Anthony Ramos are standing in front a massive, menacing cyclone. It not only contains various objects swirling in mid-air, from houses to trucks, but also appears to be on fire. Some people wondered why the stars weren’t looking at said tornado. Others said if you’re asking questions like why the tornado is on fire, this movie isn’t […]

Movie armorer seeks dismissal of her conviction or new trial in fatal shooting by Alec Baldwin

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A movie armorer has asked a judge to dismiss her involuntary manslaughter conviction or convene a new trial in the shooting death of a cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin, alleging suppression of evidence and misconduct by the prosecution. In a court filing Tuesday, defense counsel for armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed argued her case should be reconsidered because prosecutors failed to share evidence that might have been exculpatory. Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer last week brought Baldwin’s trial to a sudden and stunning end based on misconduct of police and prosecutors over the withholding of evidence from the […]

Movie Review: Finding love and followers atop urban heights in ‘Skywalkers: A Love Story’

The force is not strong in “Skywalkers: A Love Story,” a shallow “Man on Wire” for social media influencers about a pair of Russian daredevils who stealthily scale urban heights to attain the precious treasure of a much-liked Instagram post.

Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’ wrapped at this Georgia hotel. Soon, it’ll be open for business

PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. (AP) — Two years ago, Francis Ford Coppola stopped at Georgia Film Academy on the hunt for apprentices for his upcoming film, ” Megalopolis.” Jordan Holifield, then a 23-year-old student, did a double-take when he saw one of the application questions — did he know how to disassemble IKEA furniture? Months later, Holifield, one of four selected apprentices, pulled up to Coppola’s hotel — which was originally a Days Inn motel. But gone was the IKEA furniture from the old motel. The suite Francis Ford Coppola stayed in at The All-Movie Hotel during the production of "Megalopolis," […]

Ben Stiller dramedy ‘The Nutcracker’ to open Toronto International Film Festival

David Gordon Green’s new dramedy starring Ben Stiller will kick off the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. TIFF organizers say “Nutcrackers” will be the opening-night film on Sept. 5. The film follows Stiller as a career-driven man who unexpectedly finds himself responsible for his mischievous orphaned nephews. David Gordon Green's new dramedy starring Ben Stiller will kick off the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. Stiller arrives at the 28th annual Critics Choice Awards at The Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023, in Los Angeles. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Jordan Strauss/Invision Meanwhile, Rebel Wilson’s directorial debut, “The Deb,” will close […]

A journey through the films of Powell and Pressburger, courtesy of Scorsese and Schoonmaker

NEW YORK (AP) — Martin Scorsese has spent a sizeable portion of his life talking about movies he loves. He’s made documentaries about Italian cinema (“My Voyage to Italy”), Hollywood studio films (“A Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Movies”) and individual filmmakers like Elia Kazan and Val Lewton. But when Scorsese talks about the movies of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, it means something different. It’s getting very close to something fundamental for him. In the new documentary “Made in England: The Films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger,” Scorsese recalls watching “The Red Shoes” as a child. […]

Acclaimed video artist Bill Viola dies at 73, created landmark `Tristan und Isolde’ production

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Bill Viola, a video artist who combined with director Peter Sellars on a groundbreaking production of Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” originally seen in Los Angeles, Paris and New York, has died at age 73. Viola died Friday at his home in Long Beach of Alzheimer’s disease, his website announced. What was called “The Tristan Project” opened in concert form at Los Angeles’ Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2004, premiered on stage at the Paris Opéra the following year and was presented in concert at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall in 2007. FILE - Video artist […]

‘Despicable Me 4’ reigns at box office, while ‘Longlegs’ gets impressive start

Gru and the minions celebrated a second week in first place at the North American box office this weekend, while a small horror movie called “Longlegs” upset the starry $100 million “Fly Me to the Moon.” The supremacy of “ Despicable Me 4 ” was hardly a surprise, as the Universal and Illumination franchise added $44.7 million and pushed the film over $200 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. But the big upset came further down the charts with “ Longlegs ” more than doubling the debut of the Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum romantic comedy “ Fly Me to […]

Star-powered Apollo 11 rom-com loses propulsion

As the head of NASA public relations in this astro-themed rom-com, Scarlett Johansson is looking just swell in clamdiggers and pencil skirts. As the Apollo 11 launch director, Channing Tatum is working the formfitting Orlon knitwear.

Not only do these two make a ridiculously good-looking couple, they also offer crack comic timing and loads of unforced charm and screen presence, making this 1960s-set rom-com something of an old-school star vehicle.

Kelly Jones is all about selling the space program to the American public, even if that means getting a little “creative” with the truth. Cole Davis is a clean-cut straightshooter who wants to keep the focus on the science and the mission.

That’s rocket fuel for romance, and the badinage between these two workplace adversaries is sharp and fast-talking, recalling those vintage screwball comedies where grown-up professional men and women spar and spark.

For Nicolas Cage, making a serial killer horror movie was a healing experience

LOS ANGELES (AP) — When Nicolas Cage first read the script for “Longlegs” and considered playing the titular serial killer, he knew exactly where he’d draw his inspiration from: his mother. “Not that she was Satanic,” Cage clarified in a recent interview, but said witnessing her struggle with mental illness throughout his life was something he needed to process. “In my approach to try and get more personal with my film performances, I’ve been trying to find a constructive place to put my memories of my mother.” Cage said the connection to his mom was so strong — particularly how […]