‘Eephus’ Review: A Wry and Lovely Baseball Movie That Pitches Slowballs of Quiet Wisdom

Brent Lang Executive Editor “Ezra,” the story of a stand-up comic embarking on a road trip with his autistic son, is the kind of movie that Hollywood doesn’t make much anymore. It’s not based on a toy or a comic book; instead it’s a warm-hearted, deeply human story without much in the way of special effects. But the movie, which opened last weekend in the height of summer popcorn season, is exactly what Closer Media, the new film and television company that backed the production, was founded to champion.

It is a sad state of affairs in Hollywood when you can have such talented actors as Diane Keaton, Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard, but the best you can do is stick them in boomer-baiting forgettable comedic contrivances like Summer Camp, the latest in a long line of movies for Keaton, who also is a producer on it, in which she is cast with female peers of similar age to mix slapschtick with attempted pathos and senior romance. It is the kind of formula you can sell with a simple pitch: Take three beloved septuagenarian Oscar winning and nominated stars and send them back to the summer camp where they bonded as kids. Hilarity and hijinks ensue, along with giving each a later-in-life regret or dead husband to add a bit of drama to the proceedings. Bingo! The mid-week matinees will be sellouts!

At one time, it would have been unthinkable that such a magnificent and important part of Manchester's history would one day be abandoned lie crumbling for over 40 years.

Beauty buffs looking for firmer, tighter and younger-looking skin have been snapping up a celebrity-approved skin drink from Amazon. Those who have tried the anti-ageing serum insist their skin looks 'brighter' and 'plumper' which, in turn, creates a more youthful complexion.

While other members of the Royal Family are well-known for favouring High Street brands, The Duchess of Sussex has never been one to shy away from slightly more expensive wardrobe items. Just like her former character, Rachel Zane, on hit legal series Suits, Meghan quickly became known for her stylish and chic outfits when she stepped out on official royal duties.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Imperator Furiosa has battled ruthless kidnappers, raider attacks and maniacal warlords as she traverses a lawless Wasteland. And yet her fiercest adversary, at least today, seems to be a lazy cat who loves lasagna. The Warner Bros.

When the weather decides to play ball, nothing beats a day out at the park.

Away from the scandal and desire of Bridgerton, co-stars Bessie Carter and Sam Phillips have sparked up a romance and have reportedly moved in together. Bessie, 30, who plays Prudence Featherington, and newcomer Sam, 39, who portrays Lord Debling, are said to have started dating after meeting on the set for series three of the hit Netflix show.

“Don’t you trust me?” It’s a routine question from the man they call Boss, a ruthless character operating at the lower levels of the immigrant trade in Taiwan, adopted home of director Chiang Wei Liang. Nobody trusts Boss (Daniel Hong Yu-Hong), least of all his Thai sidekick Oom (Wanlop Rungkumjad). Perhaps because he is decent and reliable, Oom has been charged with keeping the other workers in their miserable hostel in order. It falls to him to explain why Boss’ own boss, the vile Brother Te, has failed to pay anybody their wages.

Paolo Sorrentino has done a wide range of films but until his most personal, The Hand Of God two years ago (a prize winner in Venice) he had not returned to Naples, the land of his youth except for the very first feature he made, 2001’s One Man Up. Since then though he has been to Cannes with his films 6 times, and his impressive list of movies have included The Consequences Of Love, Il Divo, Loro, and his Oscar winning The Great Beauty. There have been more mixed reactions for his starry English language films as well like Youth and This Must Be The Place, but Italy seems to drive his creative mojo and may be closest to his heart is the current phase of his filmmaking career when he has found new inspiration by going back to his youth, first in The Hand Of God which closely reflected his own coming of age in Naples, and now his latest, Parthenope which reflects the youth he wished he had experienced. Instead he moved away to a whole new career in film (that was indicated at the end of Hand Of God). It had its World Premiere at the Cannes Film Festival Tuesday night.

As the countdown begins for Celebs Go Dating to return, this year's celebrity line up has reportedly been announced - and it looks better than ever. The hit reality romance series is set to hit screens soon and viewers can expect to see some fresh faces battling it out at the infamous Celebrity Dating Agency to find "the one". As well as the show's iconic dating agents Anna Williamson, Paul Brunson and Dr Tara, fans can look forward to one of the best line-ups yet.

After an incredibly difficult first five months of the year, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis will surely be looking forward to leaving the classroom behind as they prepare to break up from school this week. While very little is known about how the family will spend their time together, a visit to their beloved Norfolk home Anmer Hall will surely be on the cards.Thought to be the Prince and Princess of Wales' favourite property, Anmer Hall was a wedding gift to the couple from the late Queen and is located on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, just a stone's throw from Sandringham House.

Alissa Simon Film Critic American helmer Carson Lund uses the baseball diamond as a deeply cinematic space in his feature debut, “Eephus.” The esoteric title is the name of one of the game’s rarest pitches. “Eephus” marks the second film from the L.A. collective Omnes Films to screen in the Directors’ Fortnight along with “Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point,” which Lund shot.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic Shocking and resonant, disarmingly grotesque and weirdly fun, “The Substance” is a feminist body-horror film that should be shown in movie theaters all over the land. By that, I don’t mean that it’s some elegant exercise in egghead darkness like the films of David Cronenberg, or a patchy postmodern punk curio like “Titane.” Coralie Fargeat, the writer-director of “The Substance,” has a voice that’s italicized, in-your-face, garishly accessible and thrillingly extreme.

Paul Schrader had a special job on the set of his latest film, “Oh, Canada”: drawing on the jockstrap that Jacob Elordi wears in one of the Vietnam War drama’s pivotal scenes. There’s a choice at the heart of “Oh, Canada,” when the fictional filmmaker Leonard Fife (played as a young man by Elordi, and older man as Richard Gere) dodges the Vietnam draft and escapes to Canada. The script leaves breadcrumbs as to what exactly happens until very late in the film, but finally Elordi is seen reporting for an Army physical.

Hard to believe it has been 44 years since Paul Schrader and star Richard Gere last worked together on 1980’s seminal American Gigolo, a film that became not just a keystone in Gere’s celebrated career but also one for one Schrader’s as one of his earliest directorial credits. Of course he has written some of the great screenplays, particularly in his collaborations with Martin Scorsese on Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ and Taxi Driver. But it is what interests him now a half century later as a writer-director that continues to fascinate.

Locked and Probably Loaded podcast with Kelly Blackheart. “Ty and I became inseparable at the very beginning, just immediately,” Qualls shared. “And over the last 10 years our relationship evolved to what it is today, and now we’re getting married.”Qualls played the werewolf Garth on the long-running CW drama, which ran from 2005 to 2020 and also starred Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki and Misha Collins.

He might be best-known for his music career, but Harry Styles‘ acting career has well and truly taken off!

Jordan Moreau Tony McFarr, who was Chris Pratt‘s stunt double in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” and two of the “Jurassic World” movies, died on Monday. He was 47.

If you've been looking for a new bedding set to spruce up your bedroom ahead of summer, you might want to turn your attention to Dunelm. Shoppers have been snapping a 'lovely and summery' duvet set that is said to freshen up any bedroom and wouldn't look out place at a luxury B&B on the coast.