Manohla Dargis Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Ellise Shafer “Blonde” author Joyce Carol Oates, who penned the biographical fiction novel that the Netflix film is based on, has weighed in on the discourse surrounding Andrew Dominik’s controversial portrait of Marilyn Monroe. On Friday, Oates answered some burning questions from fans via Twitter, including about backlash the film has received that it exploits Monroe’s trauma. Dubbed a fictionalized retelling of the movie star’s life and untimely death, “Blonde” loosely recreates several tragedies during the life of Monroe (Ana de Armas), including the abuse she endured from her mother and the sexual assaults she experienced in Hollywood. In addition to fan outrage on social media, the movie has also been panned by several film critics, including The New York Times’ Manohla Dargis, who wrote in her review: “Given all the indignities and horrors that Marilyn Monroe endured during her 36 years, it is a relief that she didn’t have to suffer through the vulgarities of ‘Blonde,’ the latest necrophiliac entertainment to exploit her.”

Zack Sharf Andrew Dominik’s “Blonde,” starring Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe, skyrocketed to the top of Netflix’s movie chart after its first day available to stream, but the NC-17 drama is leaving many subscribers outraged. The film may have been the talk of the Venice Film Festival with its 14-minute standing ovation, but critics and viewers are calling it “sexist,” “cruel” and “one of the most detestable movies” ever made. “Given all the indignities and horrors that Marilyn Monroe endured during her 36 years, it is a relief that she didn’t have to suffer through the vulgarities of ‘Blonde,’ the latest necrophiliac entertainment to exploit her,” wrote The New York Times film critic Manohla Dargis, who panned the movie in her review.

The Oscar-contending documentary The Velvet Underground, about the influential 1960s avant-garde rock band fronted by Lou Reed, has been praised as a “superb testament to a lost world that helped make our own.”

Denzel Washington has topped The New York Times’ prestigious “25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century (So Far)” list.

The 21st Century witnessed some of the best performances from World Cinema. While there were a few veteran actors who continued to hold moviegoers' attention in the past two decades, there were several others who held the spotlight and had the world bowing down to them.