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PSNI appoints legal counsel to report on police conduct after McCullough surveillance review | Computer Weekly
The PSNI has commissioned a senior lawyer to review whether there was any misconduct by police officers following an independent review that found police unlawfully monitored journalists’ phone data, but found no ‘widespread and systemic’ surveillance.
Jon Boutcher, chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, told the Northern Ireland Policing Board that he had appointed an “eminent” legal counsel, John Beggs KC, to review a 200 page report on PSNI surveillance and report back to confirm there was no misconduct or wrong-doing by police officers.
Beggs, a specialist in police misconduct cases, represented the police commanders at the 2016 Hillsborough inquests, and is the co-author of Police Misconduct, Complaints, and Public Regulation
Separately, the police force has referred itself to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), to investigate whether a “defensive operation” by the PSNI to gather journalist’s phone numbers to and compare them to internal phone records to identify PSNI staff who may have passed information to journalists was lawful.
Boutcher was speaking following the publication of a 200 page review by Angus McCullough KC, which found that the PSNI had made 21 phone data applications to identify journalist’s confidential sources, collated a secret register of over 1000 journalists phone numbers, and identified four cases where the PSNI had used “directed surveillance” for investigations involving journalists and one involving a lawyer.
Sinn Féin representative Gerry Kelly, pressed the chief constable on whether he stood by his public statement that there were no issues of misconduct, criminality or unlawfulness revealed by the McCullough report.
Kellly said there were “unlawful retentions” of two journalists data, despite clear court orders that the data should be destroyed, that there were 21 cases of the unlawful use of covert powers to identify journalists sources, and a “washing through” operation to identify PSNI employees who had phone contact with journalists that was likely in breach of human rights laws.
“I just think for you to come in and to say that there’s no issue here, I just find hard,” he told Boutcher.
Code of practice had no public interest test
Boutcher said that the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, found that the PSNI had acted unlawfully in 2013 by obtaining the phone data of journalist Barry McCaffrey, but had found that PSNI officers had acted in good faith.
This was because the 2007 codes of practices followed by the police “were not fit for purpose” and were changed in 2015, to introduce a public interest test, said Boutcher.
“Proper consideration wasn’t given in the application process around things that weren’t required by the code, but should have been,” he said.
Boutcher said that he had asked the Information Commissioner to assess the legality of the “washing through” operation.
The PSNI’s professional standards department, had stopped the practice in March 2023, and Boutcher had issued a formal notice to discontinue the practice in May 2024, the policing board heard.
Boutcher said that police should be able to investigate whether staff breached the PSNI’s code of ethics by releasing information to journalists, but investigations should be based on a “specific and precise concern”.
“In all the time that I’ve been a senior investigating officer and dealt with some really complex organised crime operations, I don’t think I’ve ever required comms data for a solicitor or a journalist,” he said. “So I don’t understand why the washing through was done, and it’s not going to happen anymore. It stopped,” he added.
He told the policing board that the lists of journalists used in the “washing through” operation were inaccessible and would be destroyed when they were no longer needed by cases currently being investigated by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal.
Police did not act with malice
Boutcher said that McCullough had found no malice or that anyone was deliberately trying to inappropriately use the system, he said.
“There were mistakes, there are process issues. There was a lack of legal advice. Special status issues weren’t properly thought through,” he said.
Human rights groups, Amnesty International and the Committee on Administration of Justice last week called for an independent inquiry into spying on journalist by MI5, following disclosures that MI5 unlawfully monitored the phone data of BBC journalist Vincent Courney.
Boutcher said that he could not answer for colleagues in the intelligence services, but that there were frameworks in place, such as the Investigatory Powers Tribunal to provide accountability.
The policing board heard that the relationship between the PSNI and the Security Service, MI5, was governed by an Annex in the St Andrews Agreement, the peace deal which led to the restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2006.
Under the agreement PSNI officers are co-located with Security Service personal to ensure that “intelligence is shared and properly directed within the PSNI” . The PSNI runs the “great majority” of national security agents in Northern Ireland, under the direction of MI5.
The Investigatory Powers Tribunal is investigating ten complaints brought against the PSNI by journalists, lawyers and NGOs over alleged unlawful surveillance.
They include cases brought by the BBC and former BBC journalist Vincent Kearney and former BBC Spotlight reporter, Chris Moore, who exposed MI5’s involvement in the Kincora boys home.
Boutcher has written to seven people in the wake of the McCullough report, which found that the PSNI had unlawfully accessed their phone data. Another journalist impacted is no longer alive.
UTV journalist Sharon O’Neill is taking legal action after police covertly attempted to identify a confidential source in 2011. Hugh Jordan, journalist at the Sunday World, has also been informed that his phone data was accessed.
Boutcher has also apologised to human rights lawyers, Peter Corrigan and Darragh Mackin of Phoenix Law after they were subject to unlawful surveillance.
McCullough is due to produce a second report, expected next year, reviewing the progress of the PSNI at implementing 16 recommendations, and complaints against the PSNI currently being considered by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal.
When multiple people work together, things sometimes turn out better than doing the same task alone. Then, there are other times, when cooperation actually seems to hinder progress, making things much more inefficient.
To understand why this “cooperative advantage” manifests in some cases but not in others, a research group led by Assistant Professor Asuka Takai of the Graduate School of Engineering at Osaka Metropolitan University conducted a task where participants used a robotic arm to transport a rod while keeping it horizontal.
The study was published in The International Journal of Robotics Research.
The participants were told that the task would stop if the rod’s tilt exceeded a certain threshold. They compared performance between groups of two people working together and people performing the task alone.
To examine the effect of teamwork, the group created two conditions. In the “symmetric” condition, the axis of the rod was centered, meaning the task could be equally split between the two arms. In the other “asymmetric” condition, the rotation axis was off-center because the arms were different lengths. This meant that the participant assigned the shorter arm typically had to lead the one assigned the longer arm.
Under the asymmetric condition, the paired participants learned to adjust their movements with each trial to minimize the tilt of the rod. A natural division of roles emerged, with one partner taking the lead and the other providing support, leading to superior performance by the pairs compared to the individuals.
On the other hand, under the symmetric conditions, no division of roles was observed between partners. Under these conditions, pairs that did not exhibit clear role differences required more transportation time and trials than individuals.
Overall, pairs outperformed individuals when the two participants naturally assumed different roles, whereas individuals performed better than pairs when no such role differentiation occurred.
“The study confirmed that when a ‘leader–follower’ relationship naturally emerges under physically asymmetric conditions, cooperative performance improves,” Professor Takai explained. “Our findings suggest that role specialization, rather than paired interaction per se, was a key factor underlying superior performance.”
The group hopes that future research will explore how asymmetric dynamics, which foster leader–follower dynamics, could similarly enhance performance in rehabilitation and human–robot settings.
“This discovery is expected to be applied to collaborative design between humans and robots,” Professor Takai said. “A robot needs to know when to take on a task itself or hand it over to a human, which may require understanding subtle differences in how each can contribute to the task.”
More information:
Asuka Takai et al, Role specialization enables superior task performance by human dyads than individuals, The International Journal of Robotics Research (2025). DOI: 10.1177/02783649251363274
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The importance of a leader–follower relationship for performing tasks (2025, October 2)
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The staggering investments in artificial intelligence keep coming: Last week, AI chip giant Nvidia announced it would invest $100 billion to help OpenAI, the frontrunner in generative AI, build data centers.
How are these enormous sums possible when the returns on investments, at least for now, pale in comparison?
Huge investments
AI-related spending is soaring worldwide, expected to reach approximately $1.5 trillion by 2025, according to US research firm Gartner, and over $2 trillion in 2026—nearly 2% of global GDP.
Even though tangible returns fall short of the investments going in, the AI revolution appears unstoppable.
“There’s no doubt among investors that AI is the major breakthrough technology”—on par with harnessing electricity, said Denis Barrier, head of investment fund Cathay Innovation.
Silicon Valley’s mindset “is more about seizing the opportunity” than worrying about any risks, he said.
Geopolitical tensions are helping drive the frenzy, primarily to build massive data centers housing tens of thousands of expensive chips that require phenomenal electrical power and large-scale, energy-hungry cooling.
From 2013 to 2024, private AI investment reached $470 billion in the United States—nearly a quarter in the last year alone—followed by superpower rival China’s $119 billion, according to a Stanford University report.
Just a handful of giants are on the receiving end, with OpenAI first in line.
In March 2025, ChatGPT’s parent company raised approximately $40 billion, bringing its estimated valuation to around $300 billion, according to analysts.
‘Circular funding’
OpenAI is now the world’s most valuable company, surpassing SpaceX, worth $500 billion in a deal for employees to sell a limited number of shares.
The company led by CEO Sam Altman sits at the center of an AI investment bonanza: It oversees the Stargate project, which has secured $400 billion of the $500 billion planned by 2029 for Texas data centers spanning an area the size of Manhattan.
The White House-backed consortium includes Softbank, Oracle, Microsoft and Nvidia.
Nvidia, which completed over 50 venture capital deals in 2024 according to PitchBook data, is often chided for practicing “circular funding”—investing in startups that use the funds to buy its chips.
Some analysts criticize this as bubble-fueling behavior.
The OpenAI deal “will likely fuel those concerns,” said Stacy Rasgon, a Bernstein Research analyst.
In the first six months of 2025, OpenAI pulled in around $4.3 billion in revenue, specialist outlet The Information reported this week.
Therefore, unlike Meta or Google with substantial cash reserves, OpenAI and competitors like Anthropic or Mistral must be creative in their search for funds to bridge the gap.
For AI believers, an explosion in revenue is only a matter of time for a company whose ChatGPT assistant serves 700 million people—reaching nearly 9% of humanity less than three years after launch.
‘Up in smoke’
Nothing is certain, however.
Feeding AI’s computing appetite will cost up to $500 billion annually in global data center investments through 2030, requiring $2 trillion in annual revenues to make the expenses viable, according to consulting firm Bain & Company.
Even under optimistic assumptions, Bain estimates the AI industry faces an $800 billion deficit.
OpenAI itself plans to spend over $100 billion by 2029—meaning turning a profit is still a ways off.
On the energy front, AI’s global computing footprint could reach 200 gigawatts by 2030—the annual equivalent of Brazil’s electric consumption—half of that in the United States.
Despite the daunting figures, many analysts remain optimistic.
“Even with concerns about a possible ‘AI bubble’… we estimate the sector is in its 1996” moment during the internet boom, “absolutely not its 1999” before that bubble burst, said Dan Ives, a Wedbush Securities analyst.
Long-term, “many dollars will go up in smoke, and there will be many losers, like during the internet bubble, but the internet remained,” said the Silicon Valley investor.
© 2025 AFP
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Boom or bubble: How long can the AI investment craze last? (2025, October 2)
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As the birthplace of prestige TV shows like The Sopranos and The Wire, HBO—and, by extension, HBO Max—is best known for its impressive lineup of original series. The network has also been upping the ante with feature-length content that is the stuff of Oscar dreams.
Below is a list of some of our favorite films streaming on HBO Max—from Oscar-winning epics to dystopian sci-fi classics. If you decide you’re in more of a TV mood, head over to our picks for the best shows on HBO Max. If you’re looking for even more recommendations, check out our lists of the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Amazon Prime, and the best movies on Disney+.
Prime Minister
Very little about Jacinda Ardern’s tenure as prime minister of New Zealand could be described as quotidian. She became the country’s opposition party leader just weeks before election day. After she won she discovered she was pregnant and gave birth while still in office, one of very few heads of state in history to do so. During her tenure she navigated the Covid-19 lockdowns and the Christchurch mosque shooting. This documentary, directed by Michelle Walshe and Lindsay Utz, chronicles her meteoric rise, resignation, and life after her time in office.
Bring Her Back
A24’s partnership with HBO continues to ensure that a never-ending stream of fascinating new(ish) indies from around the globe find their way into the Max library. The latest is a totally deranged Australian horror film starring two-time Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins in what might be her most unhinged performance yet. Following the death of their father, teen step-siblings Andy (Billy Barratt) and Piper (Sora Wong) are sent to live in a foster home with Laura (Hawkins), an odd but seemingly well-meaning older woman who is also currently tending to a young mute boy named Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips). But Andy comes to learn that Laura is harboring some serious trauma of her own—and that he and his fellow foster kids are part of a wild plan to restore normalcy to Laura’s life. The movie takes viewers to dark, unexpected, and often gruesome places as it dissects the power that trauma can have over our lives.
Hereditary
Ari Aster made a splash—and one unfortunately memorable splat—with his 2018 directorial debut, which took psychological horror to new heights. Annie Graham (Toni Collette) is an artist living a seemingly contented life with her psychiatrist husband (Gabriel Byrne) and their two teenaged kids, Peter (Alex Wolff) and Charlie (Milly Shapiro). But any sense of normalcy disappears almost immediately following the death of Annie’s mom, with whom she had an often strained relationship. Is Annie crazy? Is her husband a terrible shrink? Is Peter a terrible person? Why does Charlie make that clicking noise? What’s that in the back seat of the car? These are all valid questions that are answered by Aster, whose deft directorial style has made him an instant Hollywood icon. Aster’s follow-up films, 2019’s equally disturbing Midsommar and 2023’s surrealist Beau Is Afraid, are also both available to stream.
The Witch
Anya Taylor-Joy was a 19-year-old Hollywood newcomer when she delivered her breakthrough performance as Thomasin, the young daughter of a family that is banished from its Puritan community in 1630s New England and forced to live in solitude in the wilderness. Soon they begin experiencing a series of eerie encounters that they believe to be supernatural in origin—and they very well may be right. The film, which burns slowly but brilliantly toward a conclusion that rewards viewers’ patience, marked the feature directorial debut of writer/director Robert Eggers, who has gone on to wide acclaim for similarly moody flicks like The Lighthouse (2019), The Northman (2022), and Nosferatu (2024).
Shame
Two years before nabbing the first of two (and counting) Oscar nominations for his work on Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave, Michael Fassbender and McQueen collaborated on the criminally underseen Shame. To be fair: the film’s NC-17 rating certainly didn’t help its chances at becoming a box office behemoth, but the controversial rating was necessary in order for McQueen to deliver such a raw and honest portrayal of addiction. Brandon Sullivan (Fassbender) is a handsome and powerful executive living the good life in New York City, all while attempting to hide a debilitating sex addiction that has quickly taken over every part of his life. But when Brandon’s sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan) shows up at his apartment unexpectedly, she forces him to confront the ties—and trauma—that bind them.
Friendship
Paul Rudd and Tim Robinson both do what they do best—be impossibly likable and incredibly unhinged, respectively—in this dark comedy bromance. Craig Waterman (I Think You Should Leave’s Robinson) is an awkward marketing executive who is surprised when his new neighbor Austin Carmichael, a local TV meteorologist, invites him over for a beer one night. The two strike up an unexpected friendship that has the typically homebound Craig seeing the world in a whole new way—one filled with guys’ nights and male bonding. But when Austin decides to call off their brewing brotherhood, Craig cannot handle the rejection. And will go to wild lengths to mend their relationship.
Se7en
What’s in the box? If you don’t know, you’re about to find out. If you do know, it’s still worth rewatching. Gwyneth Paltrow was simply known as Brad Pitt’s girlfriend when this clever thriller was released in 1995, and Kevin Spacey was a hot commodity fresh off his Oscar win for The Usual Suspects. How times have changed! But this David Fincher classic, about a serial killer whose North Star is the seven deadly sins, remains a gritty masterpiece that has lost none of its potency in the 30 years since its release. Warning: It’s scheduled to leave the service on October 31, so get to (re)watching.
Final Destination Bloodlines
Twenty-five years after Final Destination arrived in theaters, and more than a decade after the last installment, the newest entry in the so-bad-it’s-good horror franchise just delivered what is undoubtedly its best chapter. While the story follows the same plot that fans have come to know and love—a group of people manage to cheat death, so Death comes back to finish the job—this one gives some history to that familiar rubric. While that gives this entry a more emotional level, it’s also quite clever in the new ways it chooses to off those whose fate was predetermined. And while it’s gory as hell, there’s something subtly comedic about the whole affair.
Sinners
Hot on the heels of some of the best, and most successful Marvel movies ever (that would be the Black Panther films), writer-director Ryan Coogler found a whole new way to blow cinephiles’ minds with this gorgeous vampire tale. Set in 1930s Mississippi, the film stars Michael B. Jordan in a dual role as twin brothers Smoke and Stack, two World War I veterans who return home from Chicago with mob money with a plan to run a juke joint. Opening night of their new establishment, however, goes terribly wrong when a group of blood-sucking white musicians shows up at their door. Lush and full of beautifully shot action scenes, Sinners is already headed to the top of most Best of 2025 lists. In addition to the original theatrical release, HBO Max is streaming the film in Black American Sign Language (BASL).
Get Out
In 2017, Jordan Peele went from one half of Key & Peele to an Oscar-winning screenwriter (not to mention the first Black writer to win the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the first Black filmmaker to be nominated as a producer, writer, and director in one year). Eight years later, the impact of Peele’s Get Out is still just as impressive. Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) has been invited by his girlfriend, Rose (Allison Williams), to spend the weekend at her parents’ home in upstate New York. While Chris worries that her seemingly upper-class parents won’t be accepting of an interracial relationship, Rose assures him it won’t be a problem—and she’s right, but for all the wrong reasons. With Get Out, Peele cracked the code on making a film that was a horror movie, psychological drama, and telling commentary on race all at once.
Parasite
Even if you don’t care about awards, the fact that Parasite is the first—and still only—non-English-language movie to win a Best Picture Oscar should tell you something about the universality of its themes. The Kims, a family struggling to make ends meet, set their scheming sights on the Parks, a well-to-do family with plenty of problems of their own, but also plenty of money to muffle their dysfunction. At least for a time. Just when you think you know how class warfare is playing out in this black comedy, it changes course to reach an unexpected conclusion. As always, director Bong Joon-ho knows just how to lead his audience down one path, only to open a trapdoor into another.
Mountainhead
Succession creator Jesse Armstrong just might be today’s foremost chronicler of the world’s 1 percent. He stays in that lane with Mountainhead, his feature directorial debut, which follows an unexpectedly eventful weekend gathering of four of the tech world’s most powerful men at the new mountain retreat of Hugo “Souper” Van Yalk (Jason Schwartzman), the only non-billionaire of the bunch. While it’s meant to be a friendly get-together between old pals, everyone has an ulterior motive for blocking the weekend on their calendar. But all plans go out the window when the social media platform owned by Ven Parish (Cory Michael Smith), the world’s richest man, sends the world into upheaval as the result of a fast-tracked AI feature that’s spreading disinformation at an alarming rate. Which everyone but Ven sees as an opportunity to increase both their power and net worth.
Babygirl
Romy Mathis (Nicole Kidman) is a high-powered CEO with a husband (Antonio Banderas) who does not excite her and two teenage daughters she adores. But her life is turned upside down when one morning, while walking to her office, she is nearly attacked by a dog. A handsome young stranger (Harris Dickinson) steps in and manages to avert the attack, which leaves Romy shaken—and curious. Later, that same young man is introduced to her as Samuel, one of her newest interns, who seems to keep finding ways to push the boundaries of appropriate workplace behavior. Eventually, Romy gives in to Samuel’s advances, and his taste for BDSM-ish kink. Despite Romy’s concerns about the unfair power dynamic, Samuel insists that he’s the one who holds the power in their relationship, as she is the one with everything to lose. He might be right about that.
The Brutalist
Adrien Brody earned his second Best Actor Oscar for this historical epic from director Brady Corbet about László Tóth (Brody), a Bauhaus-trained architect who emigrates to America after surviving the Buchenwald concentration camp. Tóth settles in the Philadelphia area and must rebuild his life by working menial jobs for little pay. But Tóth’s talents don’t go hidden for long. A wealthy industrialist, Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce), learns about Tóth’s past and commissions him to design a huge project. He also helps to speed up the immigration of Tóth’s wife, Erzsébet (Felicity Jones), whom he has not seen since his incarceration. But Tóth soon learns that the American Dream comes at a price. While, at its heart, The Brutalist is a frank depiction of the immigrant experience, it’s also a heartbreaking statement on the pain that comes with processing trauma. The film won three of its 10 Oscar nominations, and is completely deserving of each.
House
Prepare to have your mind blown by this trippy 1977 horror-comedy from Japan. Gorgeous (Kimiko Ikegami) is the daughter of a famed film composer who returns from a trip to Italy with a surprise: a new wife. In an effort to avoid the awkwardness of the situation, she asks her aunt if she can stay at her creepy old mansion for the summer, then brings along six of her closest friends. It doesn’t take long for weird things to start happening. Disembodied head attacks, homicidal pianos, and possessed cat portraits? This thrillingly bonkers cult classic has it all!
Gimme Shelter
Legendary documentarians Albert and David Maysles reinvented the rockumentary with this riveting first-hand recounting of the final days of the Rolling Stones’ 1969 US tour, which led to their infamous Altamont Free Concert. The concert, which attracted an estimated 300,000 people to California’s Altamont Speedway on December 6, 1969, was a disaster from the get-go—especially given the band’s decision to bring in the Hells Angels as the show’s security (one member famously said they were reportedly paid in beer). The Stones weren’t the only artists, but by the time they took the stage the crowd was out of control. At one point, one of the Angels stabbed a man, Meredith Hunter, right in front of the stage—a moment that the filmmakers later realized they had captured on film. Seeing the band’s reaction to watching the footage themselves makes for a truly compelling perspective on rock stardom.
Sing Sing
Colman Domingo proves yet again why he is one of today’s most acclaimed actors with this Oscar-nominated performance. Divine G (Domingo) is an inmate at New York’s infamous Sing Sing prison, serving time for a crime he did not commit. During his imprisonment, he finds purpose and joy in the prison’s theater group, part of its (very real) Rehabilitation Through the Arts program. By tapping into his inner thespian, Divine G is able to connect with his emotions, and he becomes determined to prove his innocence. But his undeniable acting talent, which inspires some of his fellow inmates, ends up posing a problem when it comes time for a parole hearing. Ultimately, Divine comes to respect the transformative power of the arts in helping him and some of his fellow inmates to overcome their past traumas. Making the film even more powerful is the fact that many of the actors are formerly incarcerated men who took part in the program.
Heretic
Hugh Grant earned some much-deserved awards consideration for playing so far against type in this religion-themed psychological thriller. Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East) are two young Mormon missionaries who are desperate to find someone—anyone—who will let them speak about their religion in an attempt to convert new members to the church. When Mr. Reed (Grant), a seemingly kind older man, invites them into his home in order to deliver their spiel to him and his wife, it quickly becomes apparent, at least to Sister Barnes, that something is amiss. And that Reed doesn’t so much want to hear about religion as he does talk about it—and force his own beliefs on the young women in increasingly bizarre, and deadly, ways.
We Live in Time
Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh ignite the screen with their chemistry in this romantic tearjerker that follows the couple over the course of a decade, from their meet-not-so-cute (she hits him with her car) to their journey into parenthood and, eventually, facing the ultimate curveball that threatens their happily-ever-after. Garfield and Pugh are two of the most acclaimed actors of their generation, and We Live in Time proves why.
Juror #2
Up until now, most of what you’ve heard about Juror #2 is how it’s one of Clint Eastwood’s most accomplished directorial efforts—and yet somehow it got shafted when it came to its theatrical release. Now’s your chance to see what all the fuss is about. Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult) is a journalist and recovering alcoholic who is making every effort to maintain his sobriety. That becomes a bit of a challenge when he’s put on the jury of a high-profile murder trial … only to realize that he may have inadvertently played a part in what happened. Hoult is fantastic in this edge-of-your-seat legal (and ethical) drama.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
It has been nearly 40 years since Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice stormed the late ’80s box office. In the decades since, we’ve often heard rumblings that a sequel was in the works. Or might be in the works. Or most definitely was in the works. Or might not be in the cards at all. Well, in 2024 it finally happened, and it was as if Michael Keaton had never stepped away from the role at all (eternal life has a way of doing that to you). This time, however, Lydia (Winona Ryder) is still doing her best to forget her rendezvous with the bio-exorcism pro. But when she returns to her childhood home, it’s her own badass daughter (Jenna Ortega) who finds a way to bring him back into all their lives.
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
In addition to the all-new Superman movie, audiences have James Gunn and his DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran (partly) to thank for bringing this long-overdue documentary about the ultimate superhero actor to worldwide audiences. Directors Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui deliver a heartfelt, moving tribute to Reeve—as an actor, yes, but even more so as a person who never gave up. Alexandra Reeve Givens, Matthew Reeve, and Will Reeve—Reeve’s children—share their own stories about their dad, giving the project yet another layer of intimacy. No, you’re crying.
Watchmen: Chapter I
Brandon Vietti (Batman: Under the Red Hood) directs this innovative animated adaption of Alan Moore’s Hugo Award-winning graphic novel about an investigation into the murder of Edward Blake—better known as a superhero named the Comedian. When the police come up empty in terms of suspects, the costumed vigilante Rorschach (Titus Welliver) decides to take the case into his own hands, and eventually comes to believe that someone is attempting to knock off superheroes. So he enlists the help of a group of them in order to put a stop to the killing spree.
MaXXXine
MaXXXine is the third film in writer-director Ti West’s X trilogy, which began with X and Pearl. It’s set immediately after the events of Pearl: Mia Goth’s Maxine Minx is desperate to escape her upbringing as a preacher’s daughter and make the move from porn to more mainstream movies. She gets her chance when she lands the lead in a horror movie, The Puritan II. Then her friends start getting murdered. Ultimately, Maxine is forced to confront the sins of her past and find a way to achieve the fame she so desperately dreams of.
Civil War
In the not-too-distant future, the United States has transformed into an all-out battlefield between an authoritarian government, headed by a third-term president (Nick Offerman), and a stream of secessionist movements that threaten to destroy the country as we know it. But a group of journalists (led by Kirsten Dunst) is determined to document the downfall of America at any cost, so they set about heading to the White House in order to interview the embattled president. Which is much easier said than done. Oscar nominee Alex Garland (Ex-Machina) writes and directs this dystopian drama that often hits uncomfortably close to home.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Furiosa may have been dubbed last summer’s first box office “bomb,” but don’t let those dollar-focused headlines deter you from this one. Anya Taylor-Joy, who is undoubtedly one of the most versatile actors working today, shines in the role of Imperator Furiosa, a badass emancipator who dares to challenge gender conventions in a dangerous, postapocalyptic world where (no surprise at all) men make the rules. Taylor-Joy does an admirable job embracing the role that Charlize Theron memorably originated in Mad Max: Fury Road.
Love Lies Bleeding
English writer-director Rose Glass follows up her BAFTA-nominated Saint Maud with this twisty, hyper-violent love story. It’s 1989 in a rural New Mexico town where gym manager Lou (Kristen Stewart) is doing her best to stay under the radar and keep an eye on her sister Beth (Jena Malone), who is in an abusive relationship with her husband JJ (Dave Franco). But Lou’s life is turned upside down when Jackie (Katy O’Brian), a gorgeous young bodybuilder, begins coming to Lou’s gym to train for an upcoming competition in Las Vegas. The two fall in love—and then Lou’s hidden family secrets come tumbling out of the closet and threaten her life, and the lives of those she cares about.
Faye
“I’m Faye Dunaway. That’s who I am.” That’s the way the Oscar winner introduces herself in the trailer for Laurent Bouzereau’s feature-length documentary. But what the film reveals is that there’s a lot more to Faye Dunaway than the glamorous image associated with the legendary star of Network. Dunaway opens up in a way that has rarely been seen before, discussing her childhood and family, her struggles with bipolar disorder, and how the characters she has played continue to impact her. It’s a fascinating portrait of a true Hollywood icon.
Quad Gods
Jess Jacklin’s feature documentary follows the fascinating journey of Blake, Prentice, and Richard—three individuals with quadriplegia who meet in a neuro-rehabilitation lab at Mount Sinai Hospital and launch a plan to create the world’s first all-quadriplegic esports team. It’s a noble pursuit, but one fraught with challenges as they break down the doors of ableism. At its heart, Quad Gods is a story of friendship, perseverance, and survival.
Am I OK?
Lucy (Dakota Johnson) is a thirtysomething living in Los Angeles, constantly failing at relationships and wondering why she doesn’t have everything figured out yet. After drunkenly sharing the story of the time she kissed a female friend as a teen, she begins to realize that the problem in her love life might not be the men she’s choosing, but that she’s choosing men at all. Former Saturday Night Live writer Lauren Pomerantz penned the script for the film based on her own experience of coming out in her thirties. Tig Notaro and her wife Stephanie Allynne do an admirable job as codirectors, treating Lucy’s journey of self-discovery with the respect it deserves—and plenty of humor.
MoviePass, MovieCrash
For better or worse, millions of film fans will remember 2012 as the year of MoviePass. For $25 per month, you could basically live in a movie theater—which was great for audiences, not so great for movie theaters (which were already struggling), and eventually disastrous for the company itself. For anyone who still has their MoviePass, this revealing documentary tells the real story of all that went wrong behind the scenes, and shares the story of the unsung heroes who really did just want to create a product that movie lovers could embrace. By the way: If you do indeed still have your original MoviePass, this doc has made it a worthwhile piece of memorabilia—with some selling for north of $1,000.
Dune and Dune: Part Two
Since breaking through with the Oscar-nominated Incendies (2010), Denis Villeneuve has continued to prove that he’s one of the most talented filmmakers working today. As if making a Blade Runner sequel that didn’t suck wasn’t enough, Villeneuve then went on to crack the cinematic code on Frank Herbert’s Dune series—something that true visionaries like David Lynch and Alejandro Jodorowsky had attempted before him, albeit largely unsuccessfully. Both the 2021 original film and its sequel are streaming on HBO Max—as is Lynch’s 1984 adaptation (which has become a bit of a cult classic over the years). The film follows the fate of the planet Arrakis—and its supply of melange, a unique spice and the most valuable substance in the universe—which rests in the hands of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), the untested son of a powerful duke. Looking for more Dune action? The prequel series Dune: Prophecy, starring Emily Watson, Olivia Williams, and Mark Strong is streaming in full.
The Zone of Interest
In 1943, Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel) was the commandant of Auschwitz who spent his days playing god with the lives of the concentration camp’s innocent prisoners. But what happened when Höss went home? That’s the reality Jonathan Glazer’s Oscar-winning film examines, and the answer is: Not much. Höss lives right next door to the camp, in the so-called Zone of Interest, with his wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) and their five children. Within those four walls, they strive to build a dream life for their family—while the sound of gunshots, incoming trains, and furnaces being lit are just a part of daily life. Yes, it’s every bit as brutal—and necessary—as it sounds.
Barbie
Greta Gerwig is a master of breathing new life into old properties (see: Little Women). With Barbie, she has ignited a revolution. Barbie (Margot Robbie) is living her best life in Barbieland—until one day, when her perfectly plastic world, and heels, suddenly begin to collapse. To get her fabulous life back, Barbie must travel to the real world—well, Los Angeles—to determine who or what is causing her existential crisis. The film grossed nearly $1.5 billion worldwide, meaning you’ve already seen it. But even if you did, it’s absolutely worth a second watch—if only to lament its many Oscar snubs.
Reality
In 2017, an intelligence report about Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election was leaked anonymously. One year later, former NSA translator Reality Winner (yes, that’s her real name) was sentenced to more than five years in prison for the crime—the longest sentence ever received by a government whistleblower. HBO’s reigning muse, Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria, The White Lotus), shines in this gripping true story, which plays out mostly in real time as the FBI knocks on the 25-year-old’s door and spends more than an hour questioning her.
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
Finding success in one’s lifetime might seem like the dream of every artist, but Nan Goldin has bigger ambitions. Though she’s a photographer by trade, she’s an activist by calling and has long used her camera to capture painfully intimate moments of America in crisis, including extensive work focused on the HIV/AIDS and opioid epidemics. But All the Beauty and the Bloodshed reveals the artist in conflict: Should she allow her work to be showcased in one of the prominent museums or galleries that have received endowments from the Sackler family—the Big Pharma family that many blame for America’s opioid crisis? It’s a moving portrait of an artist willing to risk it all for her beliefs.
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