Elon Musk biopic to be directed by Black Swan film-maker Darren Aronofsky
The Oscar-nominated film-maker will adapt the recent biography by Walter Isaacson after independent studio A24 won a ‘heated’ bidding war for rights
March 2023
Brendan Fraser wins best actor Oscar for The Whale
Actor wins prize for performance as a reclusive, morbidly obese teacher in the drama directed by Darren Aronofsky
January 2023
Why we need to see fat actors as objects of romantic desire in mainstream films
We’re meant to find Brendan Fraser in a fat suit tragic, not funny. Is that really progress?
Phoebe-Jane Boyd
December 2022
‘All that hyperventilating makes you dizzy’: Brendan Fraser and Darren Aronofsky on The Whale
The actor and director are joined by screenwriter Samuel D Hunter to discuss career comebacks, the hazards of Hollywood and the importance of human connection
September 2022
Venice film festival 2022 week two roundup – discomfort and joy
A mood of theatricality prevailed at this year’s edition – a bleak but furiously cinematic Marilyn Monroe biopic and a forbiddingly austere French courtroom drama being the most distinctive offerings
The Whale review – Darren Aronofsky’s latest is a contrived disappointment
It’s hard to feel much sympathy for Brendan Fraser’s morbidly obese English teacher in this much anticipated but underwhelming return to movies
Brendan Fraser: role taught me severely obese people are ‘incredibly strong’
Actor says lead role of Charlie in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale is ‘most heroic man I have ever played’
July 2022
Cate Blanchett and Harry Styles to head to Venice for 2022 edition of film festival
Competition slots for jailed Iranian director Jafar Panahi, Martin McDonagh and Darren Aronofsky, while actors on show range from past winner Blanchett to Bill Nighy and Harry Styles
December 2021
TV review
Welcome to Earth review – Will Smith has Important Things to say, but he’s no Attenborough
In this Hollywood blockbuster of a nature show, Will Smith crosses horrifying gorges and teeters on the edge of volcanoes to deliver banal messages about conquering fear, and the beauty of the world
October 2020
Requiem for a Dream at 20: Aronofsky's nightmare still haunts
The auteur’s bold and brutal 2000 adaptation of Hubert Selby Jr’s cultish novel about addiction remains an indelible and shocking act of provocation
May 2020
Justice for directors! The $20m 'Snyder cut' should only be the start
Zack Snyder’s director’s cut of Justice League is going to see the light of day in 2021. Here are other films that should get the same treatment
September 2019
Best culture of the 21st century
The 100 best films of the 21st century
Gangsters, superheroes, schoolkids, lovers, slaves, peasants, techies, Tenenbaums and freefalling astronauts – they’re all here in our countdown of cinema’s best movies since 2000
March 2019
Steve Rose on film
‘Difficult second album syndrome’: why auteurs struggle to follow their debut
Just like the follow-up to Donnie Darko, David Robert Mitchell’s Under the Silver Lake fails to live up to its acclaimed predecessor
August 2018
Spheres / 1943: Berlin Blitz review – VR becomes reality in Venice
A cosmic trip produced by Darren Aronofsky and an immersive Lancaster bombing raid were highlights of the film festival’s virtual reality strand
January 2018
Razzies 2018 – Transformers: The Last Knight leads worst films nominations
The Mummy and Fifty Shades Darker are also key contenders for the Golden Raspberry awards, as nominations for Hollywood’s annual list of bad movies are announced
December 2017
Cannibalism, bad dates and ice skating: the best movie moments of 2017
Film blog
The Braddies 2017: Peter Bradshaw nominates his films of the year
November 2017
Tarred and feathered: the blackest visions of Swan Lake
Tchaikovsky’s ballet of betrayal has inspired Darren Aronofsky’s psycho-horror film, Matthew Bourne’s feral males and a shocking tale of Irish clerical abuse. Beneath the sparkle, why does the dark heart of Swan Lake still trouble us?
September 2017
Week in geek
Heroes to zeroes: the Batman and Superman movies that never were
Thanks to the current trend for ‘what if’ comic-book flicks, abandoned concepts from Tim Burton and Darren Aronofsky now look far less bizarre
