Tag: reviews

Categories
Politics

Biden DOJ evaluations paperwork for launch

Biden DOJ reviews documents for release

The Justice Department on Monday promised to re-examine the files relating to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks for possible disclosure after years of pressure from victims’ families to divulge information about the alleged role of Saudi government officials.

The Justice Department did not provide any information about what documents or information could be released after the review was completed.

The decision comes just days after nearly 1,800 9/11 survivors, first responders and family members of the victims told President Joe Biden to skip commemorations this year unless he released FBI documents identifying the alleged role Saudi government officials are detailed in the deadly attacks.

FDNY firefighters carry another firefighter, Al Fuentes, who was injured in the World Trade Center collapse on September 11, 2001.

Matt Moyer | Corbis News | Getty Images

It also comes a month before the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon and Pennsylvania.

Biden welcomed the Justice Department’s decision.

“As I promised during my campaign, my administration is committed to ensuring the greatest possible degree of legal transparency and adhering to the strict guidelines of the Obama-Biden administration on the use of state secrecy,” Biden said in a statement. “With that in mind, I welcome today’s Justice Department filing.”

The Justice Department’s decision follows a federal lawsuit in the southern district of New York by families of 9/11 victims against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Justice Department found in a judicial file on Monday that the FBI recently closed an investigation into individuals who may have provided significant assistance to the September 11, 2001 kidnappers.

The FBI will review its previous decisions to withhold information and identify additional information that is appropriate for disclosure according to the filing.

“The FBI will continue to disclose such information as soon as possible,” Justice Department officials said on the file.

Organizations representing the families of 9/11 victims, including Peaceful Tomorrows and the 9/11 Families’ Association, did not immediately respond to comment.

Biden campaigned for a promise to give survivors of September 11, 2001 and family members more transparency about unpublished documents held by the government about the attacks.

Survivors, first responders and families of the victims argued on Friday that Biden did not live up to his words. They also previously alleged that up to 25,000 pages of 9/11-related documents were withheld from them.

“We cannot greet the president in good faith and with reverence for the lost, sick and injured in our sacred grounds until he fulfills his obligation,” they wrote in a statement on Friday.

Brett Eagleson, whose father was killed in the attack on the World Trade Center, told CNN on Friday that the group specifically wanted documents revealing information about the alleged role of the Saudi Arabian government.

“The government continues to stab us in the back behind a cloak of secrecy,” said Eagleson.

The 9/11 Commission’s investigation, which closed in 2004, found that charities funded by the Saudi government supported the terrorist attacks but provided no evidence of direct government funding.

The group of survivors and family members claim that recent FBI documents, such as a 2016 investigation into Saudi Arabia, reveal whether people linked to al-Qaeda, the group that carried out the terrorist attacks, were in Associate, have received support or funding from Saudi Arabia government.

Fifteen of the 19 attackers in the 9/11 attacks were Saudi nationals, and mastermind Osama bin Laden was born in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government denies allegations that it was involved.

Several presidential administrations withheld documents related to the attacks, citing security concerns. Most recently, in 2019, the Trump administration invoked the privilege of state secrecy to justify keeping documents secret.

Categories
Business

‘Cruella’ critiques: What critics are saying

'Cruella' reviews: What critics are saying

Emma Stone stars as Cruella de Vil in Disney’s “Cruella.”

Disney

The critics are as split on “Cruella” as the main character’s iconic black-and-white hair.

For some, the campy, fashion-fueled manic fever dream of a film is a delight. For others, it’s a tangled, loud mess that doesn’t quite justify the cost of a movie ticket or the $30 Disney+ Premiere Access fee.

“Cruella” follows the life of Estella, a curious, rambunctious and creative young girl who doesn’t quite fit into the world. Her mother warns her not to let the “Cruella” side of her personality get the better of her, but it lurks and arrives in full-force a decade later.

After a tragedy leaves Estella orphaned and alone on the streets of London, the young girl teams up with two other street urchins, Jasper and Horace, to survive in the world by pickpocketing and small-time thieving.

A decade later, the trio is still working together, but Estella’s dream of becoming a fashion designer hasn’t waned. She is played by a fiercely committed Emma Stone, who embodies the “One Hundred and One Dalmatians” villain, mimicking her iconic chuckle and crazed driving with glee.

Through a twist of fate, Estella lands a job working for a legendary designer known as the Baroness, who is played with horrible delight by Emma Thompson. The two characters clash, leading Estella to embrace her Cruella side and transition into a ruthless competitor to the Baroness.

As of Thursday afternoon, “Cruella” holds a 72% Fresh rating on review site Rotten Tomatoes from 156 reviews.

Here’s what critics thought of “Cruella” ahead of its debut in theaters and on Disney+ Premiere Access on Friday:

Moira Macdonald, The Seattle Times

“Imagine ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ on steroids, set in ’70s London, with Anne Hathaway’s character vengeful rather than sweet. Sounds kind of great, right?” Moira Macdonald wrote in her review of “Cruella” for The Seattle Times.

Macdonald praised the film for its wild imagination and the chemistry between Stone and Thompson, who spend the majority of the film at odds with each other.

She called Stone’s “dark-syrup” British accent “slightly feral and wickedly smart,” a foil to the Baroness’ drawl and withering retorts.

“‘Cruella’ is an absolute kick, and if you’ve been looking for a reason to go back to movie theaters, here it is,” Macdonald wrote.

Read the full review from Seattle Times.

Emma Stone stars in Disney’s “Cruella.”

Disney

A.O. Scott, The New York Times

“‘Cruella’ is a tame revenge story among a slate of recent tales of retribution that include ‘Joker,’ and “Promising Young Woman.”

“Cruella’s transgressive energies are kept within the bounds of social acceptability and the PG-13 rating,” A.O. Scott wrote in his review of the film for The New York Times. “Her motive is revenge, and her methods include fraud, theft and deceit, but the closest she comes to evil is occasional selfish insensitivity to her friends. She isn’t a monster. She’s an artist, and her theatrically outrageous misbehavior is a sign of her uncompromising creativity.”

Scott noted that the film is “easy enough to watch but hard to care much about.”

Read the full review from The New York Times.

Katie Rife, AV Club

Set in the ’70s, “Cruella” leans heavily into the punk world, drawing inspiration from the period for its fashion and music. For some, the musical cues, which includes “Sympathy for the Devil,” were a little too on the nose, but others found the playlist of era-accurate songs to be a fitting tribute to the time period.

“There are 37 pop tunes sprinkled throughout ‘Cruella,’ culminating with the most obvious song you can think of for a character whose last name is de Vil and for whom we feel sympathy,” said Katie Rife in her review of the film for AV Club.

“The soundtrack includes the likes of The Zombies, Nancy Sinatra, David Bowie, The Clash, ELO, Rose Royce, Blondie, Doris Day, Suzi Quatro, Nina Simone, and Deep Purple, all tastefully chosen but not especially revelatory,” she wrote. “Many of these songs have been used in other films, for one, and few are deep enough cuts to prompt much excitement from adult music lovers.”

Read the full review from AV Club.

Emma Stone stars as Cruella de Vil in Disney’s “Cruella.”

Disney

Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times

“We’re not even halfway through the Disney villain origins story ‘Cruella’ when this much is clear: If this movie DOESN’T win Academy Awards for best makeup and hairstyling and best costume design, I can’t wait to see what tops it,” wrote Richard Roeper in his review of the film for the Chicago Sun-Times.

Roeper is one of many movie reviewers that discussed the film’s exquisite costuming in his evaluation of Disney’s latest live-action remake. He called the film a “visual feast.”

“Reynolds Woodcock from ‘The Phantom Thread’ would pass out from the sheer overwhelming number of scenes involving fashion design, discussion of fashion design, more fashion design — and pop-up fashion events taking place during traditional fashion events,” he wrote. “This is a VERY fashionable film.”

Read the full review from the Chicago Sun Times.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal owns Rotten Tomatoes.

Categories
Business

Extra EU international locations halt AstraZeneca shot as EMA opinions uncomfortable side effects

More EU countries halt AstraZeneca shot as EMA reviews side effects

An Army health worker prepares a dose of Covishield, AstraZeneca / Oxford’s Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine from the Indian Serum Institute at an Army hospital in Colombo on January 29, 2021.

Sign S. Kodikara | AFP | Getty Images

LONDON – Two other countries decided on Tuesday to suspend use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Europe amid blood clot concerns as regulators conducted a new side effects review.

Sweden and Latvia announced Tuesday morning that they are suspending the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine developed with Oxford University. Portugal, Luxembourg and Slovenia decided to stop using the shot on Monday evening. Earlier in the day, Germany, France, Italy and Spain also joined the group of nations that stopped using the vaccine.

So far, 13 countries in the European Union have made this decision, while a few others have stopped using individual lots of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Austria first decided last week after the death of a 49-year-old woman who received this vaccine to stop using a certain batch of AstraZeneca shots.

“The benefits still outweigh the risks.”

The European health authority has insisted that “the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing Covid-19, with the associated risk of hospitalization and death, outweigh the risks of side effects”.

In a statement on Monday, the European Medicines Agency said it would “look further into the information” and called an extraordinary meeting on Thursday on the subject. The institution then reiterated its position during a press conference on Tuesday.

“There is currently no evidence that vaccination caused these conditions,” said Emer Cooke, director of the European Medicines Agency. “The benefits still outweigh the risks, but this is a serious problem and requires serious and detailed scientific assessment. We are currently involved in that.”

She added, “We are concerned that this could affect vaccine confidence … but our job is to make sure the products we approve are safe.”

Of course, we need speed, not just for the economy, but above all for the health of our citizens, but at the same time we need security.

Paolo Gentiloni

EU commissioner for the economy

The World Health Organization has urged nations to continue their vaccination campaigns with the AstraZeneca vaccine and Oxford University.

A number of EU countries have spoken out in favor of the shot. In Belgium, Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke said on Monday that interrupting use was “irresponsible”. While the authorities in the Czech Republic have also announced that they will continue to administer the vaccine.

Outside the EU, Canada, Australia and the UK have also joined forces to support AstraZeneca.

According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, more than 6 million doses of the AstraZeneca shot have been administered in the EU to date.

AstraZeneca announced on Sunday that of the 17 million people vaccinated in the EU and the UK, 15 had deep vein thrombosis events and 22 cases of pulmonary embolism. This is based on data received as of March 8th.

“This is much less than expected to occur naturally in a general population of this size and it is similar to other approved Covid-19 vaccines,” the company said in a statement.

Concerns about the vaccine could jeopardize the EU’s goal of vaccinating 70% of the adult population by the end of the summer. The AstraZeneca vaccine has proven popular in Europe so far because it is cheaper than its competitors and easier to store. This could then possibly delay the economic recovery in the region.

“Of course we need speed, not only for the economy, but above all for the health of our citizens, but at the same time we need security,” said Paolo Gentiloni of the European Commission at a press conference on Monday.

He added that the precautionary measures were “justified” and that the EMA review should “keep our EU citizens safe”.

Categories
Business

‘Surprise Lady 1984’ evaluations: What critics are saying

'Wonder Woman 1984' reviews: What critics are saying

Gal Gadot plays Wonder Woman in “Wonder Woman 1984”.

Warner Bros.

“Wonder Woman 1984 is not great and it is not terrible,” writes Stephanie Zacharek of Time Magazine.

This seems to be the general consensus of the critics, as the follow-up film will be released in international theaters this weekend.

The much-anticipated follow-up to “Wonder Woman” from 2017 was due to be released in June, but the ongoing global pandemic has postponed the film until Christmas Day in the US. The outbreak also resulted in Warner Bros. parent company AT&T will be showing the film in theaters and on streaming service HBO Max that same day.

“Wonder Woman 1984” takes place seven decades after the events of the first film. Diana Prince, the Wonder Woman of the same name, played by Gal Gadot, lives in Washington, DC and works at the Smithsonian. In her spare time, Diana dons her Amazonian armor and plays the role of a superhero to save the people of the city.

Diana’s life is interrupted when the would-be oil magnate Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) receives a magical stone called the Dream Stone. The artifact grants wishes, but there is a cost.

For Diana, the stone brings back Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), her love interest from the first movie, who died and sacrificed his life to save others. Unfortunately, in order to keep Steve in her life, Diana will eventually lose her powers.

Diana’s friend and colleague Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig), a wallflower who envies Diana for her self-confidence and beauty, receives these characteristics and, as seen in the trailer, transforms into the vicious cheetah. Lord absorbs the magic of the stone and gives himself the ability to grant other people’s wishes, something he uses to gain power and prestige.

When Barbara and Lord team up, Diana must fight the two villains to save the world.

“Woman Woman 1984” currently holds an 88% “Fresh” rating from Rotten Tomatoes out of 92 reviews. If more reviews are received, this review may change.

Critics praised Gadot for this role. Once again, Gadot portrays Diana with effortless grace and cool confidence as he adds depth to an immortal woman who drifted and drifted in a mortal world.

However, reviewers called the plot “chaotic” and “confused” and were disappointed with the CGI creature form “Cheetah” that appears in the film’s third act.

Here’s a rundown of what critics said about Wonder Woman 1984 before her Christmas debut:

Peter Debruge, diversity

“Almost two hours of its 151-minute running time, ‘Wonder Woman 1984′ does what we expect from Hollywood tent poles: it takes our worries away and erases them with sheer escape,” said Peter Debruge, author of Variety in his review of the Films. “For those old enough to remember the 80s, it’s like going home for Christmas and discovering a box of children’s toys in your parents’ attic.”

Where the film falls short are its special effects, he said.

“A lot of the effects are hokey,” wrote Debruge. “Some are downright embarrassing (like Wonder Woman interrupting a well-choreographed desert chase to dangerously save two children).”

Debruge was one of many critics to mention the disappointing computer-generated rendering of Cheetah in its final form. The creature design is a “lame cat-level misjudgment,” he said.

Read the full review from Variety.

Gal Gadot plays Wonder Woman in “Wonder Woman 1984”.

Warner Bros.

Angelica Jade Bastien, vulture

For Angelica Jade Bastien, a vulture writer, Diana Prince’s attraction is her femininity and maternal instinct. Her strength shows not only in fight scenes, but also in subtle emotional moments.

Bastien believed that Diana’s character was “poorly developed in this utter jumble of conspiracy”.

She said the dream stone was “trite” and found faults in Diana’s longing for the late lover Steve decades after his death.

“Sure, Gadot and Pine have charming chemistry again, but his character’s return from the dead – in which he basically takes over the body of a poor man – raises more questions about the loopholes in logic,” she wrote in hers Review. “And then there’s their total lack of sex, a particularly damned reminder of how this genre ignores one of the most beautiful aspects of being human.”

Bastien wondered why this longing for Steve had become central to Diana’s identity almost 70 years later.

“Why? She no longer misses her Amazon sisters, whom she can never see again?” She asked. “It’s been about 70 years and she still hasn’t moved away from Steve? It’s deeply sad and predictable when a superhero becomes so attached to a single man that she’s ready to lose her powers for him.”

Bastien called the romance “claustrophobic” with an ending “ripped out of a Hallmark movie”.

Read the full review from Vulture.

Stephanie Zacharek, time

For Zacharek, Gadot shines when she is Diana Prince, a woman with human weaknesses and complexities.

“But being just one woman is not enough for anyone,” she wrote. “Diana-as-Wonder Woman not only saves the world, but is also often tasked with saving little girls from danger. She brings them to safety with a wink, and they beam her appreciatively, so grateful that she finally has one Superheroes have their own. “

“Why do we always need to be reminded of the purpose of Wonder Woman? Why can’t it just be?” Asked Zacharek.

She noted that when Wonder Woman arrived in 2017, there was a promise that Hollywood would see a new generation of superhero films made by women, starring women who may be less formulaic than such that revolve around men.

“Wonder Woman 1984 is perfect as a treat to distract the world from its problems for a few hours,” she wrote. “But it’s also okay to wish for less noise and more amazement, especially in a world filled with the former and in dire need of the latter.”

Read the full report from Time.

Gal Gadot plays Wonder Woman in Warner Bros. “Wonder Woman 1984”.

Warner Bros.

Esther Zuckerman, thrillist

“Wonder Woman 1984” is “a fun but chaotic sequel to the 2017 reintroduction of the Amazon superhero,” wrote Esther Zuckerman in her review of the film for Thrillist. “There’s a lot to love in” WW84 “: bold performances by a delightful cast, fantastic costumes, [Patty] Jenkins’ rapid direction. But it serves a plot that loses sight of what makes the character so great in the first place. “

Zuckerman noted that filmmakers had a hard time replicating the success of the first film. After all, so much of it focused on Diana’s naivete and her wonder of discovering a whole new world.

Decades later, Diana is exhausted and isolated, her mind numbed, wrote Zuckerman.

“What makes up for that in Act One is Barbara Minerva,” she said. “Wiig is hilarious yet grounded, both as the ignored nerd she starts out as and the butterfly suddenly able to walk in heels and take off a mini dress.”

Read the full review from Thrillist.

Disclosure: Comcast, the parent company of CNBC, owns Rotten Tomatoes.