News

This article was developed with the support of Journalismfund Europe.

On a cold morning in late February, farmer Gareth Wyn Jones was standing with a few dozen other protesters outside the annual conference for the Conservative Party in Wales. Inside the venue, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was giving a speech to the Welsh branch of the Conservatives. Wyn Jones and other farmers were here to voice anger at policies by the Labour Party and to demand Sunak’s support. With their tractors parked in a row behind them, many...

Kitties all over the world, join paws. Start a meow train, meow train … because it’s #InternationalCat Day.

We’re not even halfway through this joyous holiday created to recognize the dominion felines hold over the entire Earth, and the Internet is already freaking out.

Since the World Wide Web was essentially created to encourage the viral spread of cat cuteness, it isn’t surprising that #InternationalCatDay is trending on Twitter. And this trend comes bearing gifts (and gifs)!

To celebrate this important calendar moment, cat lovers from across the globe are going to Twitter to share their favorite feline photos,...

Patrick Ness' A Monster Calls is brought to the screen in superb style from J A Bayona. Here's our review...

Grief is something that we all have to deal with at some point in our lives. Like a number of recent films that use fantasy conventions to process themes of mortality and emotional upheaval, A Monster Calls makes its thunderous impact feel real. The earth shakes, heavy breathing is heard, pencils roll off on their own and the rage and sadness of a little boy is made monstrous.

J.A. Bayona's third feature is adapted from the acclaimed novel by Patrick Ness, Jim Kay and the late Siobhan Dowd, and tells the story of Conor O'Malley (Lewis MacDougall), a 12-year-old boy coming to terms with his mother's long-term illness. Lizzie (Felicity Jones) has always understood him and been there for him, while his absent father (Toby Kebbell) and distant grandmother (Sigourney Weaver) have not.

When you mix genres and filmmaking styles, you always run the risk of things not gelling together properly. This week, director J.A. Bayona avoided that with his top notch new movie A Monster Calls. Out previously for its Oscar qualifying run on Christmas weekend before a general release in a few days, the film seeks to be an unusual Academy Award player. It has an uphill battle, but there’s always the possibility of a surprise. This is the sort of thing that probably will be almost shut out, precursor wise, but you need to keep in the back of your head for nomination morning. The more voters who see and are affected by it, the better a chance it has to shock on the big day. The film is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Patrick Ness (based on an idea by Siobhan Dowd). It...

J.A. Bayona nailed the manipulative power of filmmaking with his brilliant debut, the elegant and creepy 2007 horror film “The Orphanage.” He shifted modes, with far less satisfying results, in 2012’s “The Impossible,” a mawkish portrait of white survivors in the Indonesian tsunami.

For his third feature—and the last before he upgrades to the blockbuster arena to tackle the sequel to “Jurassic World”—Bayona finds a satisfying balance between his first two efforts, juggling the elements of a gothic fairy tale with the more straightforward beats of a sentimental cancer drama. “A Monster Calls,” Bayona’s impressive adaptation of Patrick Ness’ novel, finds a 12-year-old British child coping with his mother’s imminent death by envisioning a fantastical creature that guides him through his grief. It’s a touching scenario, and one so well-acted and laced with superb special effects that even its more obvious beats cut deep.

Ness, who...