Andy Kryza

Don't listen to what Radiohead said: pop will never, ever die. It's 2023, and banging new pop songs are getting released every week. Kylie's 2023 anthem ‘Padam Padam’ has even made it to our top spot on this list, with its euphoric electropop vibes, and Dua Lipa's ‘Barbie’ tune ‘Dance the Night’ is up there with the greats.  But of course, the 21st century is a long one, and you've got to make space for the classics too. There are fabulous pop songs from every era, and they all deserve a spot on our ultimate list. Here you'll find everyone from Outkast to MIA, and from Kelis to Harry Styles. The only criteria? It has to be feel good, and it has to make you want to get up and dance. All of these tunes do just that, and then some. Read on for the best pop songs ever made.    Contributors: India Lawrence, Andrzej Lukowski, James Manning, Ella Doyle, Nick Levine, Amy Smith, Alyssa Ammirato, Jess Phillips, Matthew Singer.  RECOMMENDED:🎉 The best party songs ever made🎸 The best classic rock songs🎤 The best karaoke songs🎶 The best ’80s songs🎵 The best ’90s songs

Comedy gets no respect, no respect at all. Sure, everyone loves to laugh, and just about every film buff has a comedy movie they hold close to their heart. But for some reason, when it comes to awards and canonisation, comedies still get short shrift in the history of cinema. That’s probably because, more than any other genre, comedy is dependent on context. What’s funny in 1924 might land with a thud in 2024. And that’s to say nothing of varying tastes in humour.  That makes coming up with the best comedy films of all time especially tricky. We had to ask ourselves: what makes a truly great comedy? There’s many criteria, but one of the most important is the question of: ‘Is this film still funny now, and will it still be funny five years, ten years… a century from now?’ With the help of comedians like Diane Morgan and Russell Howard, actors such as John Boyega and Jodie Whittaker and a small army of Time Out writers, we believe we’ve found the 100 finest, most durable and most broadly appreciable laughers in history. No matter your sense of humour - silly or sophisticated, light or dark, surreal or broad - you’ll find it represented here.  Recommended: 🔥 The 100 best movies of all-time🤣 The best comedies of 2024 (so far)🥰 The greatest romantic comedies of all time

Let’s clear this up right away: no, ‘family comedy’ is not code for ‘kids movie’. At least, it doesn’t have to be. Sure, some movies described as ‘fun for the whole family’ are really just fun for the youngest ones in the household. But as these 35 films attest, it is possible for a movie to make every generation laugh in unison.  Each of the following hits just the right notes to send everyone on the couch into hysterics without making parents sweat over explaining the meaning of a few choice words, situations and possibly body parts to the littlest members of the audience. Next time the whole brood is corralled in front of the television, throw on one of these classics, and a good time is guaranteed. After all, the family that laughs together, stays together.  Written by Hannah Doolin, Danielle Valente, Alim Kheraj, Oliver Strand, Andy Kryza & Matthew Singer Recommended: 👪 The 50 best family movies to stream on movie night👶 The best family movies on Netflix for all-ages🤣 The 100 best comedy movies✍ The 100 best animated movies of all-time

One of the great joys of having kids is family movie night – a time when the whole brood can unite around the couch and laugh, thrill and maybe even cry a bit together. But if you’re not careful, it can also be a night full of stress. After all, finding a movie to satisfy every generation gathered on that sofa isn’t easy. Choose the wrong flick, and it can lead to insults, eyerolls and tears that have nothing to do with the emotional power of cinema.  Never fear, though: we’re here to help. Of the 50 movies listed here, you’ll truly find something for everyone, whether it’s an animated classic, something from the Golden Age of Hollywood, live action adventures from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, inspirational true-life tales, comedies with jokes that work for every age group and movies that underscore the importance of family. Throw on one of these flicks, and feel safe in the knowledge that everyone in your house will make a memory they’ll keep forever – or at least all stay on the couch until the credits roll. RECOMMENDED: ✍ The 100 best animated films of all-time👪 The 50 best kids movies to watch as a family💻 The best family movies on Netflix for all-ages🤣 The best family comedy movies🧒 The best kids’ movies from the ’90s

Like all art, movies can elicit a wide range of complex emotions. Sometimes, though, all you want is a simple pick-me-up – heck, maybe even most of the time. Good thing Netflix is alight with shots of cinematic sunshine. Don’t get it twisted, though: the phrase ‘feelgood movie’ isn’t a euphemism for mindlessly cheerful. As you’ll find on the list below, selections range from romcoms to musicals, family films to whimsical fantasies. Whatever is ailing you, these 25 selections are sure to cure it.Recommended: 🤣 The 100 best comedy movies💃 The 40 best musical movies👪 The best family movies on Netflix for all ages

Horror is huge these days, both at the box office and in critics circles. That’s a relatively new occurrence, though. For a long time, horror was greatly misunderstood. In the 1970s and ’80s, it was a vehicle for quick cash-ins to stock the emerging home video market, creating a deluge of cheap schlock that managed to taint even the genre’s acknowledged classics.  In the last few years, however, horror has become prestige, thanks to the likes of unexpected blockbusters like A Quiet Place and Get Out, as well as the work of new masters such as Ari Aster and Robert Eggers. In the first half of 2024, some of the year’s buzziest films – I Saw the TV Glow, Late Night with the Devil, In a Violent Nature – are stretching the genre in bold new directions. So if you’re just now coming around to horror’s visceral pleasures, consider this list your guide to everything you’ve missed, or perhaps dismissed.  Written by Tom Huddleston, Cath Clarke, Dave Calhoun, Nigel Floyd, Phil de Semlyen, David Ehrlich, Joshua Rothkopf, Nigel Floyd, Andy Kryza, Alim Kheraj and Matthew Singer Recommended: 🔪 The best new horror movies of 2024 (so far)🔥 The 100 best movies of all time👹 Cinema’s creepiest anthology horror movies🩸 The 15 scariest horror movies based on true stories

A great thriller is something you experience as much as watch. When done right, a thriller provokes a physical response more than almost any other film genre. You feel it in your palms as they grow increasingly clammy and your teeth as you grind away the enamel. Your heart starts pumping and your leg begins shaking uncontrollably. That may not sound like fun, but they don’t call them ‘thrillers’ for nothing. Not every thriller takes the same path in initiating those reactions, though. In the pantheon of the best thrillers ever made, you’ll find murder, political intrigue, espionage, conspiracy, manipulation, gaslighting and, of course, lots and lots of crime. You’ll also find examples of science fiction, horror, heists, action, even comedy, along with sex-crazed ‘erotic thrillers’ and the ever-nebulous ‘psychological thriller’ subdivision. But no matter how they go about it, the best thrillers will always grab your attention, make you sweat and leave you breathless. Here are the 100 greatest thriller movies ever, ranked by our TimeOut editors. Written by Abbey Bender, Joshua Rothkopf, Yu An Su, Phil de Semlyen, Tom Huddleston, Andy Kryza, Tomris Laffly & Matthew Singer RECOMMENDED: 🕯️ The 35 steamiest erotic thrillers ever made😬 The 22 best thriller movies on Netflix🧨 The 60 most nerve-racking heist movies ever🔪 The greatest pyschological thrillers ever made 

Falling in love is easy, but choosing the greatest films about love is a challenge. That’s mostly because there are so very many of them. And why shouldn’t there be? It is perhaps the most elemental emotion a human being can experience, and it can be expressed in so many different ways: from making you giddy with laughter to sending you spiraling into a deep depression. It can make you hot under the collar and tight in the pants. It can make you sing and dance or shoot to kill. It’s really no wonder, then, that filmmakers turn to it for inspiration more than just about any other feeling. To help narrow this list down to the movies that drill deepest into the complexities of the human heart, we chatted to more than 100 filmmakers, actors and writers, including those from Time Out. Believe us when we say these are folks familiar with the language of amor. Who knows more about making hearts swell than Nicholas Sparks, author of The Notebook? Or Notting Hill director Richard Curtis? We even asked the ultimate romantic, Miss Piggy. Whether you prefer comedies or dramas, horror or sci-fi, we’re sure you’ll find the following list of the 100 greatest romantic movies ever speaks to your own heart as well. Written by Cath Clarke, Dave Calhoun, Tom Huddleston, Catherine Bray, Trevor Johnston, Andy P Kryza, Guy Lodge, Phil de Semlyen, Alim Kheraj & Matthew Singer Recommended: 😍 The 70 best romcoms of all-time😳 The 101 best sex scenes of all time🔥 The 100 best movies of all-time

What is it about zombie movies that has made it horror’s most durable subgenre? Ever since Night of the Living Dead invented the modern version of the genre in 1968, the undead have risen continuously over the decades, mutating as they go – see the seemingly unkillable Walking Dead franchise, or HBO’s The Last of Us (sorry, pedants, but it’s a zombie show) for the latest example of the mythos sparking a pop culture phenomenon. Perhaps it’s because the mythology has been flexible enough to serve as allegories for real-world issues from racism to consumerism. Or maybe it’s just it feeds into deep human fears about death, disease and losing control of your own body. Or maybe it’s just all the gore. Whatever the reason, the undead refuse to die. But not all zombie movies have brains – or soul. Plenty of hacks have exploited the template to overwhelm video store shelves and streaming platforms with mindless schlock. A rarefied few, however, have found ways to twist the well-worn, post-apocalyptic formula into something wholly unique. On this list of the best zombie movies of all-time, you’ll find classics to cult faves, zom-coms to nauseating splatterfests, and even a few that predate George A Romero. Grab some popcorn and board up the windows – these are the best zombie movies ever made. Recommended: 😱 The 100 best horror movies of all-time👹 The best monster movies of all-time🔪 The 31 best serial killer movies of all-time🤘 The 40 best cult movies of all-time

Romcoms are cinema’s greatest guilty pleasure. Everyone talks about them in snickering tones, or pretends to only enjoy them ironically. But the truth is that everyone has at least one they can’t get enough of – that comfort film they turn on when no one else is around, like that ratty old sweater you refuse to throw away but would never wear in public.  Really, though: what is there to feel guilty about? Although dismissed as ‘chick flicks’, romantic comedies are more relatable than just about any other category of film. Who hasn’t been in love, in one form or another? And honestly, what’s funnier than the things humans do while under love’s spell? But the best romcoms don’t have to be merely silly, even if many of them are. Some plumb the complexities of the human heart. Some are dark and cynical, others are light and airy, or borderline fantastical. As someone once said, love is a many-splendored thing. So let us count the ways, with this list of the greatest romcoms of all time. Written by Dave Calhoun, Cath Clarke, Tom Huddleston, Kate Lloyd, Andy Kryza, Phil de Semlyen, Alim Kheraj & Matthew Singer Recommended: 😍 The 100 best romantic films of all-time🤣 The 100 best comedy movies😳 The 101 best sex scenes of all time🔥 The 100 best movies of all-time

  Thirty days of summer is a pretty paltry window of time to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, and Pride is so much more than a month of parades and celebrations – it’s life. And while we’d never baulk at an excuse to celebrate everything that Pride stands for, we also believe that any time is the perfect time to crank up these gay songs and fly that rainbow flag.  That’s why we’ve assembled a 50-song playlist perfectly calibrated for Pride Month and beyond, featuring some of history’s greatest queer artists and LGBTQ+ allies who pay more than lip service. You’ll find party anthems, pop songs, disco infernos and punk-rock proclamations, so there’s no need to wait for the parade. This is your all-seasons, all-time-great Pride playlist. Grab the aux cable and blast it loud and proud. Listen to these songs on Amazon Music RECOMMENDED:🎤The best karaoke songs🍻The best drinking songs🎉The best party songs🎶The best ’80s songs💖The best pop songs

Over the last decade or so, comic book movies have ruled the box office. At times, they’ve seemed like the only movies out there. That’s proven to be a double-edged sword: while the dominance of both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe has made a lot of money for Hollywood mega-studios, the oversaturation finally appears to have exhausted audiences, given several recent flops like Madame Web, The Flash and The Blue Beetle.  But when done right, the genre ranks among the most spectacular forms of escapist entertainment that exists. Some deal with complex, real-world issues and emotions, and never actually engage with superhero mythology at all. Others use superheroes to explore the problems that plague modern society, or deconstruct the idea of heroism itself. Here are 50 of the best examples, as selected by Time Out writers – with an assist from a guy who has made a few great comic adaptations himself, director Edgar Wright. Written by Tom Huddleston, Adam Lee Davies, Paul Fairclough, David Jenkins, Andy P. Kryza, Phil de Semlyen, Alim Kheraj & Matthew Singer  Recommended: 🦸 All the Marvel movies ranked from worst to best🦄 The 50 best fantasy movies of all-time💣 The best action movies of all-time✍ The 100 best animated movies of all-time

Were you scared witless when the T-Rex made his first appearance in Jurassic Park? Candyman director Nia DaCosta was right there with you. Did Michael Rooker’s definitive portrait of a killer stick with you at the end of Henry? It also haunted Luca Guadagnino and that man turned a body into a bramble of crushed bones in Suspiria. The cinema is a place of vulnerability, and great horror films burrow under everyone’s skin, including the coolest filmmakers in the world.  From horror maestros to arthouse auteurs, we asked the honorees of our coolest filmmakers list what cinematic moment scared them most. And they delivered: Cinematic minds such as The Witch’s Robert Eggers and The Babadook mastermind Jennifer Kent told us what gave them nightmares while they were doing the same to us, while Rian Johnson, Edgar Wright, Lynne Ramsay, Sean Baker and others told us what chilled them to the bone. You’ll find serial killers and classic slashers. But you’ll also find more than one Disney film, too. Don’t worry, you're in a safe space here.   Read on: The 50 coolest filmmakers in the world right now Photograph: StudioCanalIrréversible Irréversible – picked by Robert Eggers (The Witch) ‘Gaspar Noé’s Irreversible, Gerald Kargl’s Angst, Michael Haneke’s Piano Teacher and Bruno Dumont’s Twentynine Palms all left me pretty shaken after my first viewing.’’  Photograph: DisneySnow White and the Seven Dwarfs The Evil Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – picked by Tomm Moore (The Secr

It's been nearly two years since the last Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, Spider-Man: Far From Home, hit theaters. But as fans anxiously await the July 9 debut of the long-delayed Black Widow, Disney+ has kept the superhero train going with its comic-focused series. And next week, fans will get a big infusion of MCU hijinks with the debut of Loki. The six-episode series sees Tom Hiddleston reclaim the ornate headpiece of fan-favorite anti-hero Loki, a role he's inhabited for more than 10 years. The show looks bonkers, featuring alien worlds, time travel and an abundance of charmingly sinister banter from Hiddleston. But what exactly is this show about, and how will it affect the future — and the past — of Marvel's master plan? Here's what we know going in.  First things first, when does Loki debut? Loki debuts Wednesday, June 9 on Disney+. It runs six episodes, with one episode dropping each week through July 14. Ok, so what exactly is this show about? The show will follow Hiddleston’s Asgardian God of Mischief and frequent bad guy Loki as he falls in with the Time Variance Authority (TVA), a clandestine interstellar bureaucracy tasked with ensuring that the very fabric of space and time isn’t torn apart by heroes and villains’ tendency to jump back and forth in time.  From the looks of the trailers, it appears that Loki’s time-hopping shenanigans (more on those in a moment) has led him to cause a rift across multiple timelines and dimensions. Working with Owen

After a two-year break, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has roared back to life, dominating Disney+ with an onslaught of hit shows, storming multiplexes with Black Widow and Shang-Chi, and hijacking the internet discourse with fan theories about the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home. Yet amid all the hype of Marvel’s Phase 4, the biggest questions hover around the hotly anticipated Black Panther 2. The Marvel blockbuster factory has completely changed the cinematic landscape since Iron Man debuted in 2008, but none became a bona fide cultural phenomenon quite like director Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther.  The afrofuturist tale of noble warrior king T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and the technologically advanced hermit nation of Wakanda wasn’t just a $1.3-billion hit, it was a zeitgeist-seizing moment for blockbuster cinema, leading to a Best Picture Oscar nomination and three Academy Awards. Its focus on strong Black characters – including Marvel’s best villain in the form of Michael B. Jordan – made it the kind of tectonic paradigm-shifter that only comes every decade or so in blockbuster cinema.  A follow-up was inevitable, but things became infinitely more complicated with the unexpected death of series star Chadwick Boseman, who succumbed to colon cancer in August 2020. Marvel kept quiet about the future of the franchise as fans mourned.  Here’s everything we know about Black Panther 2 so far. Image: Marvel Studios When is Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s release date?  Black P

For the past two years, fans of prestige TV have been forced to spend their Sundays without the familiar comforts of torture, dismemberment, incest, dragons and deception. But soon, their hunger will be sated: In 2022, nearly three years after Game of Thrones aired its extremely divisive finale, the franchise will come roaring back with House of the Dragon.  HBO’s latest George RR Martin adaptation has fans salivating for more of what they loved about high fantasy’s most gloriously smutty big-budget hit. But will the first of six GoT spinoff series fulfill the prophecy of rekindling fans' goodwill after Game of Thrones whiffed its big finish? Here’s everything we know so far.  When will House of the Dragon be released?  The show’s release date has yet to be confirmed, though HBO has officially announced House of the Dragon is coming in 2022. The production, which is still underway, was previously shut down due to Covid, and the pandemic’s continued presence could be a reason for the network’s hesitancy in announcing an official date.  That puts House of the Dragon in a race to air with Amazon’s swords-and-serpents tentpole, Lord of the Rings, which is set to debut in September 2022. Both come pre-loaded with huge fan bases, and both share common elements such as dragons, golden wigs, broadswords and glowering. It’s a safe bet that House of the Dragon, however, will trounce LOTR when it comes to nudity: The Tolkien adaptation drew controversy when it announced it would include

We’re still a long way out from Paddington 3, but that fluffy paragon of kindness and decency from darkest Peru is never far from our thoughts. Paddington eternal because he is in the hearts of all who let him in. Similarly, he is in the feeds of all who tweet. He’s here to bring you daily joy if you just hit ‘follow.’ Some days, he’s romping in a meadow or scampering through a swamp. Others, he’s taking a stroll through the big city. Still others, he’s lurking behind a cloud of steam, staring blankly as an unsuspecting person in a hotel shower. I Photoshop Paddington into another movie until I forget: Day 224 pic.twitter.com/M9cKEXTg97 — Jaythechou (@jaythechou) October 19, 2021 No, this is not the official Paddinton Twitter, which delightfully traffics in daily affirmations and niceties without the leering voyeurism and threat of violence. We’re talking about the Twitter account @jaythechou, run by a graphic artist who has sworn to Photoshop Paddington into a different movie every day ‘until I forget.’  So far, the artist has amassed more than 230 different expert-level Photoshops, drawing 108,000 followers to images of the peacoat-sporting bear dropped into the action of Shang-Chi and Black Widow, placed him alongside Shrek and Donkey and even had him ride shotgun (and likely take some PCP) with Denzel in Training Day.  The account very directly recalls the Creepy Paddington memes of 2014, which inserted the bear into multiple horror films. We now know what tho

Marvel’s so-called Phase 4 has been pretty straightforward so far, which we fully understand is a ridiculous thing to say considering the most recent film in the 26-and-counting series is a millennia-spanning saga of demigods directed by Nomadland Oscar-winner Chloé Zhao.  Yet the post-Endgame era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been relatively grounded: both Black Widow and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings kept the franchise’s shenanigans earthbound, while Eternals’s more cosmic inclinations were relatively blasé.  That’s about to change. December’s Spider Man: No Way Home is poised to rip the fabric of space, time and corporate synergy asunder by bringing back long-dead villains from previous generations of Spideydom. Thor: Love and Thunder will no-doubt continue goofball auteur Taika Waititi’s quest to transform the God of Thunder into a live-action Heavy Metal riff. And sandwiched between the two is what could be the most mind-bending, colourful and downright surreal offering yet: The long-awaited Doctor Strange sequel, In the Multiverse of Madness.  The film marks Benedict Cumberbatch’s first top-line Marvel outing since the hero’s 2016 origin story. And it could just prise open the MCU’s blast doors for a universe-shattering series of events that could ripple throughout the MCU. Here’s everything we know so far about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Photograph: Marvel Studios When will Doctor Strange 2 be released? In the Multiverse of Madnes

It’s been four years since the big screen was graced by Batman (no, the Snyder Cut doesn’t count). That’s an eternity for fans of the world’s most famous vigilante, who have been spoiled with 11 very different films since Tim Burton’s 1989 blockbuster ushered in modern superhero cinema. Now, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel: Warner Bros is set to release the latest Caped Crusader adventure in early 2022.   ‘Light’ is a bit misleading. Anyone still bemoaning the dark-and-gritty reinvention of superhero cinema following Christopher Nolan’s game-changing Dark Knight trilogy take heed: The upcoming reboot, titled The Batman, looks to make Nolan’s Gotham City look like Sesame Street. Newly minted Bruce Wayne Robert Pattinson will navigate a noir-tinged, rain-soaked city where gangs of deranged clowns stalk the shadows, gangsters run amok and serial killers taunt the police with trails of carnage. This is a place where light seems too scared to shine. Adam West this isn’t. Here's everything we know about the hugely anticipated The Batman.    When does The Batman come out? After years in development, a long shoot in the UK and multiple Covid-related delays – including a diagnosis for Pattinson himself – The Batman is set to be released on March 4, 2022. Read our review of the film here. What is the runtime of The Batman? Eagle-eyed fans spotted the IMAX Melbourne website listing its runtime as 176 minutes. If that’s accurate, and there is no reason for an IMAX to lie to us,

It’s been 18 long years since Peter Jackson wrapped his beloved Lord of the Rings trilogy (and seven relief-filled years since he put his other trilogy to sleep). Now, after a prolonged period of Hobbitlessness, fans will finally return to Middle-earth courtesy of Amazon, whose own Dark Lord has emerged with a benevolent gift for us mortals in the form of a LOTR series based on JRR Tolkien's extended mythology. It comes with the slightly clunky name The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and it is going to be huge. Even with a teaser trailer out, the show remains shrouded in mystery, with media reports generally focused on the Smaug-sized price tag ($250 million for the rights, $465+ million for production). But with filming wrapped and a release date cresting the horizon of 2022, some details have emerged. Here’s what we know so far. What is the release date? The series will debut on Amazon Prime on September 2, 2022, and will span eight weekly episodes.  Has a trailer been released? Alongside the name reveal in January 2022, a teaser trailer was launched over Superbowl weekend (another event in which the winners get rings). It showcases some swooping Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings-esque shots over the Middle-earth landscapes, as well as the more CGI-heavy effects shots of his Hobbit movies. Front and centre is Morfydd Clark as the young Galadriel. What is the series about? For those who don’t know their Silmarillions from their Sarumans, Amazon’s series will tak

Questioning whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie (it is) has become the holiday version of ‘is a hot dog a sandwich?’ (it’s not).The debate has transitioned from Christmas dinner banter to the go-to blather of pub-bores everywhere. When something’s a ‘hot topic’ for three decades, it goes colder than yesterday’s hot chocolate. The debate is over. Time to discuss the yuletide merits of The Last Boy Scout.  However, last year Die Hard director John McTiernan finally weighed in on the topic, and in doing so threw a fresh log on the fire by saying that Die Hard’s tone was informed by Frank Capra’s beloved holiday fable It’s a Wonderful Life.  ‘Specifically, the Pottersville sequence,’ McTiernan told the American Film Institute. ‘Which is what happens when the evil banker gets to do what he wants in the community without George getting in the way to stop it. And it’s the clearest demonstration and criticism of runaway, unregulated cowboy capitalism that’s ever been done in an American movie.’ McTiernan’s comments struck a particular nerve in this writer because I’ve been saying this for years: Not only is Die Hard a Christmas movie, but it’s actually a stealth retelling of It’s a Wonderful Life. Just as Scrooged retold A Christmas Carol through the lens of ‘80s corporate television, Die Hard is basically Capra’s story filtered through an ‘80s action-movie fantasia. Here is irrefutable proof.  Photograph: 20th Century Studios John McClane is basically George Bailey with bloody f

Discovering that your favourite ‘serious’ filmmaker enjoys a good chuckle – even a lowbrow one – can be a shock: It’s like catching your wine-loving cousin shotgunning a Budweiser. Not only is finding out that Christopher Nolan is a huge MacGruber fan and Terrence Malick quotes Zoolander for fun, it makes us realise that maybe our guilty-pleasure comedy flicks aren’t so guilty after all.  With that in mind, we prodded our picks for the coolest filmmakers on the planet for their favourite comedic moments across cinema history. Among them were comedically inclined auteurs like Ruben Östlund, Cathy Yan and Edgar Wright, sure, but also more serious-minded artists like Barry Jenkins, Julia Ducournau, Denis Villeneuve, Paul Thomas Anderson and Lynne Ramsay. They shot back with a decades- and genre-spanning array of laugh-out-loud moments. We also discovered that Michael ‘Amour’ Haneke really, really loves hearing Steve Martin do a silly accent. Comedy, truly, is the great uniter. Read on: The 50 coolest filmmakers in the world right now The voice coaching scene in The Pink Panther (2006) – picked by Ruben Östlund ‘I had dinner with Michael Haneke in Vienna once and it all ended up with me showing him this scene on my mobile phone. It didn’t really pay off and everything became quite embarrassing. I guess it says something about how much I like this scene.’  ‘Taxi!’ in Tootsie - picked by Céline Sciamma

It may not feel like it, but it will be only a little over two years between the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home and its immediate predecessor, Far From Home. Sure, a lot has gone down in the intervening time, but maybe a bit of a pause was what the webslinger needed. However beloved a character is, zeal levels are going to be tough to maintain when they’ve been on the big screen ten times in the space of 20 years (excluding the six super-sparky versions in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse).  Yet now, nearly a month from the release of No Way Home, Spidey discourse is dominating the internet once again. And with a second trailer fueling fan theories about what’s to come in the next, excitement has reached a fever pitch. Here’s everything we know – or at least we think we know – about Spider-Man: No Way Home When is Spider-Man: No Way Home in cinemas? Frothy, fun and crammed to the gills with big-screen spectacle, Spider-Man movies tend to be the very definition of a summer blockbuster. This one, perhaps fittingly in a messed-up year, gets a rare spin in time for Christmas: it’s out on December 17 in the US and UK. Is there a Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer? Two, in fact. The second hit the internet on November 16 after a seemingly endless period of anticipation, with some sites speculating that the delay was the result of Sony and Marvel – who are the co-conservators to cinematic Spidey (more on that in a moment) – sparring over what could and couldn’t be shown in the previ

Like a down-on-his luck schlub being yanked toward a ledge, Netflix has taken the inevitable plunge: Squid Game – the global smash that became Netflix’s biggest hit of all time – is getting a second season, according to creator Hwang Dong-hyuk.  ‘There's been so much pressure, so much demand and so much love for a second season… I almost feel like you leave us no choice!’ Hwang told the Associated Press. ‘There will indeed be a second season. It's in my head right now. I'm in the planning process currently. But I do think it's too early to say when and how it's going to happen.’  At this point, very little is known about the future of Squid Game. Hwang himself seems surprised by the success of his dystopian passion project. But season 1 left a tonne of plot threads dangling like so many Tug-of-War players suspended over a chasm. Here are the biggest questions we have in advance of Squid Game season 2, plus some theories about where the show could go next. MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR SQUID GAME FOLLOW… you’ve been warned.  Photograph: Noh Juhan, courtesy of NetflixGganbus for life What will happen to Squid Game protagonist Gi-Hun? At the beginning of Squid Game, 456 hardscrabble characters are whisked off to a mysterious island and pitted against one another in a series of deadly playground games, beginning with a rousing round/massacre of Red Light, Green Light. By the end of the games, only one player still stood: Indebted gambler, deadbeat dad and kindhearted soul Seong Gi-Hun (