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Los Angeles (tca/dpa) – Netflix is looking to capitalize on the popularity of its animated movie "KPop Demon Hunters " — and continue its foray into the retail space. Netflix on Tuesday announced a licensing deal with toy makers Mattel Inc. and Hasbro Inc. to make dolls, action figures, plushies, youth electronics and other items based on "KPop Demon Hunters," a movie about a trio of powerful singers and demon hunters who protect the world from dangerous demons. "KPop Demon Hunters" has been a worldwide hit since its release in June, becoming Netflix 's most-watched film with more than 325 million views in its first 91 days on the streaming service. The licensing deals come as Netflix has been aggressivelypartnering with brands to expand the fandom of its shows and movies. Next month, Netflix will open the first of several planned physical locations called Netflix House where it will host experiences based on its programs and sell food and merchandise. " KPop Demon Hunters unleashed a global fan frenzy," said Marian Lee , Netflix 's chief marketing officer, in a statement. " Netflix , Mattel and Hasbro joining forces on this first-of-its-kind collaboration means fans can finally get their hands on the best dolls, games, and merchandise they've been not-so-subtly demanding on every social platform known to humanity." Under the partnership, Hasbro and Mattel will both become global co-master toy licensee to "KPop Demon Hunters." Netflix has had other partnerships with other toy makers, including Squishmallows for shows like sci-fi series "Stranger Things" and Lego sets based on pirates tale "One Piece." The Los Gatos, Calif. , company has also launched in-person experiences such asballs based on the Regency era romance series "Bridgerton." " KPop Demon Hunters is a powerful pop culture phenomenon with global resonance—one that aligns seamlessly with our portfolio of iconic brands and our commitment to innovation," said Tim Kilpin , Hasbro's president of toy, licensing, and entertainment, in a statement. The following information is not intended for publication dpa tca arw

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Following in the slipstream of K-pop superstars, K-beauty has become a massive global business. A further secret behind the South Korean cosmetics boom is the unlikely alliance of big manufacturers and small entrepreneurs creating a stream of products and the "skinfluencers" who help them lock in consumers. Seoul (tca/dpa) – Jo Min-Su was working toward a computer science doctorate at one of South Korea's best universities when he stumbled on his calling: building a better lip gloss. The 30-year-old sat near his booth at Seoul Beauty Week, pulled out a stick of his brand — named Blup — and gave his upper lip a dewy pink glow-up. "Nobody trusts a founder who doesn't use his own product," he said, smacking his lips. Jo is one of the tens of thousands of entrepreneurs looking to strike it rich on the seemingly insatiable global demand for beauty products from South Korea. Following in the slipstream of the superstars of K-pop, K-beauty has become a massive global business. Los Angeles fans of South Korean imports flocked to KCON LA 2025 at the L.A. Convention Center this year. At the music and cultural festival, they saw top K-pop idols andlined up for K-beauty at skin-care booths . The three-day convention — which had more than 350 booths and attracted more than 100,000 people from around L.A. and the country — was sponsored by South Korean health and beauty giant Olive Young, which plans to open its first US outlet in L.A. early next year. The secret of K-beauty's success has been the unlikely alliance of big manufacturers and small entrepreneurs to develop and supply a steady stream of new products to consumers and the "skinfluencers" who help them lock in on the latest lotions. Popular for offering unique and affordable products — like sunscreens that don't leave white smears while doubling as moisturizers — South Korean cosmetics have dominated some social media feeds in recent years. Whether it is Kim Kardashian on Instagram or deals from Walmart or Target, consumers who care about cosmetics are getting constant updates on the ever-changing trends. That online buzz has catapulted South Korea's cosmetics exports to more than $10 billion. Last year, it dethroned France — home of beauty royalty brands such as L'Oréal and L'Occitane — as the biggest exporter of cosmetics to the US. Unlike South Korea's other marquee exports like semiconductors and automobiles, beauty product exports are largely backed by smaller companies. Two-thirds of last year's cosmetics exports came from small and medium-sized firms like Blup, according to the Korea International Trade Assn. What has emerged is the hope that anyone, with the right product and a little bit of luck, can make a fortune in K-beauty. Since 2013, the number of registered cosmetics sellers in the country has increased sevenfold, to over 27,000 last year. The K-beauty trend took off in Los Angeles and across the country during COVID-19 when people were locked at home, online, thinking about self-care and exploring alternatives to well-known brands, said Sarah Chung Park, the founder and chief executive of Landing International, an L.A.-based company that connects K-beauty brands to American retailers. "Because of COVID, TikTok really boomed, and I think that was a way for people to discover K-beauty brands and then those brands went on Amazon and converted that virality to sales," she said. "Pretty much every Korean brand has capitalized on that." Behind most of the budding brands is a handful of manufacturers such as Colmar and Cosmax. The cosmetics manufacturers behind many of the latest brands are largely invisible to ordinary beauty consumers. Unlike other global players like L'Oreal or Estée Lauder, Cosmax has never sold directly under its own name, specializing almost entirely in research and original design manufacturing, or ODM. Cosmax was founded in 1992 and has grown into the largest cosmetics ODM in the world, supplying 4,500 brands from its factories in South Korea, China, the US and Southeast Asia. And at a time when some of the most well-known beauty brands are in decline or stuck in single-digit growth due to consumer fatigue, Cosmax reported a record $1.7 billion in revenue last year — a 22% increase from 2023. The company is a primary reason why South Korean beauty startups have been able to take off so quickly, flooding global markets at a pace that competitors in other countries struggle to match. Cosmax accounted for around 26% of all of South Korea's cosmetics exports last year. It has a unique ability to develop and launch new products rapidly while still making money supplying even the smallest brands, said Lee Kyung-soo, the company's 79-year-old chairman and founder. "From the point a brand comes to us with an idea, we can supply them in as little as three to six months," he said. "In other markets, that can be anywhere between a year to three years. They just can't compete with South Korea when it comes to speed." Few clients are too small for Lee, who has made sure that Cosmax will fill custom orders as small as 3,000 units. The company supplies companies with billions of dollars a year in revenue, and also Blup, a three-person lip gloss startup. Kang Seung-hyun, the senior managing director of Cosmax's research unit, estimates that the company releases around 8,000 new products annually. By the end of any given year, each of the company's 1,100 cosmetic scientists will have worked on the development of 80 to 100 cosmetic products, allowing Cosmax and its domestic peers to, as Kang puts it, "carpet-bomb the global market with novel products." The list of Korean beauty trends that have been adopted as staples around the world is long: BB creams, ampoules, face masks and pimple patches. Having big manufacturers like Cosmax do the heavy lifting allows many with little experience in cosmetics to join the K-beauty free-for-all. Among the beauty newbies: a scandal-ridden politician's daughter, a seafood retailer and a stationery-maker. "Anyone can do it. The barrier to entry isn't high at all," said Lee Sun-young, the founder of fruit-based cosmetics startup Kikiglow. "And the market is all about indie brands right now." As little as $20,000 in starting capital will get beauty entrepreneurs their first batch of product from a reputable cosmetics manufacturer in a matter of months. E-commerce platforms like TikTok Shop allow them to sell to global consumers directly. The only things they need are a concept, a set of thumbs and a knack for social media. Inside the convention hall, Kikiglow's booth was swarmed by influencers wielding camera sticks as they lined up for free samples. Giving product away to as many influencers as possible, hoping it will go viral, is an essential part of this game. "The people will stop coming once the samples run out," she said. To be sure, the fierce competition from the constant churn of new hot products and more affordable options from China and elsewhere makes it harder to stand out, succeed and retain customers. Meanwhile, the different tariffs coming out of the White House are making some cosmetic imports more expensive and less competitive in the U.S. "In the past, consumers would stick with a brand for 10 years or so and become extremely loyal," said B.J. Lee, who runs Cosmax's business in the US and is a son of the founder. "But with K-beauty, the ups and downs are extreme. New brands are coming out all the time, and people are constantly chasing the next exciting thing." Last year, according to US government data, over 8,800 cosmetic brands went out of business. Against such headwinds, Blup's selling point is that it can get the colors of lip glosses just right, using artificial intelligence to analyze consumer preferences and skin tones. The company is on track to record around $100,000 in sales by the end of the year and has plans to expand in Japan, Jo said. "I'm still not satisfied with where we are," he said. "There ar…

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Movember, a movement that takes place in November, is to raise funds and awareness for men's health issues, from cancer to mental health issues. Participants traditionally grow a moustache for the month to spark conversations and raise money. If you’re seeking inspiration, here are the famous people to look to. London (PA Media/dpa) – Once written off as a relic of the 1970s, the moustache is staging a confident return, fuelled by a new generation of style-savvy men reclaiming the upper lip. From Jacob Elordi to Timothée Chalamet, celebrities are starting to sport this contentious facial hair more and more on the red carpet. But getting a moustache right is easier said than done. It requires patience, care and – perhaps most importantly – confidence. As November rolls in, so too does Movember, when upper lips across the nation are conscripted into service for men’s health. So if you’re looking for inspiration, here are eight of the best moustaches throughout history. 1. Albert Einstein Perhaps the most famous moustache in science, Albert Einstein’s facial hair was a chevron-style moustache: full, bushy, covering the upper lip and extending past the corners of the mouth. Born in 1879 in Ulm, Germany, Einstein was a physicist who transformed our concept of space, time and energy with his theories on relativity. Despite his reputation as an absent-minded genius, his moustache remained reliably present in almost all his famous portraits. Some accounts say that by the 1930s he actually trimmed it less, letting it grow more freely than earlier in life, forming the wild and wiry tash we now associate with the scientist. 2. Clark Gable Gable’s moustache is a textbook example of the pencil moustache – thin, neat and sharply defined. The style leaves a narrow line above the lip, often with a clean gap to the nose. American actor Gable (1901–1960), the ultimate leading man of old Hollywood, first grew a moustache in 1930 for a stage role (where a fake one was too unreliable) but afterwards decided to keep evolving it for his film persona. Gable’s moustache felt like the finishing touch to his suave and rakish countenance – carefully groomed, never overpowering the face, but giving a strong line of character. 3. Freddie Mercury The moustache most associated with 1980s rock – and with Freddie Mercury’s legendary stage persona – was a thick, classic, full moustache, often described as part of the ‘pornstache’ family (i.e. bold and statement-making). Born in 1946, real name Farrokh Bulsara, Mercury fronted Queen with flamboyance and flair. His moustache became almost as iconic as his vocals. In the 1980s and early 1990s, it punctuated his stage presence: strong, dark and striking. Because he often paired it with stubble or light beard growth, the moustache dominated – a sign of his enduring confidence and swagger. 4. Lionel Richie Lionel Richie is perhaps less commonly lauded for facial hair, but in the 1980s and early 1990s he sported a full moustache, thick but well-groomed, with neat borders. Born in 1949, Richie rose to fame with the Commodores and then as a solo artist. His moustache offered a smooth contrast to his silky voice – a bit of edge around the sides of his soulful expression. While less theatrical than Mercury’s, it was nevertheless a strong facial signature in his time. 5. Tom Selleck Tom Selleck’s moustache is iconic – large, thick, expressive and often called the definitive ‘Magnum’ moustache. Many regard it as one of the most recognisable in showbiz. Selleck, born in 1945, became a household name via the popular TV drama Magnum, P.I. in the 1980s. His moustache is not delicate or subtle – it’s bold, full and synonymous with Selleck’s look. It sits squarely as part of his face, balancing out his bold facial features. Selleck managed to revive a trend of bushier, masculine moustaches throughout his time on the show. 6. Hulk Hogan Hulk Hogan’s moustache is textbook horseshoe moustache territory: the full moustache plus vertical extensions down the sides of the mouth, giving an upside-down U- or horseshoe shape. Born Terry Bollea in 1953, Hulk Hogan became a wrestling and pop-culture icon in the 1980s and 1990s. His moustache, coupled with a shaved head and his trademark handlebar-style blondness, became inseparable from his persona. The horseshoe style is certainly an aggressive statement – perfect for a performer whose presence is all about physicality and projection. 7. Timothée Chalamet Chalamet’s moustache is a little more subtle than Hogan’s. His sparse upper-lip growth is otherwise known as the shadow moustache: delicate, almost timid but deliberate in style. Born in 1995, actor Timothée Chalamet is often cast in introspective, sensitive roles. His decision to adopt a light moustache in certain appearances (like when channelling Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown) feels like an artistic gesture as opposed to a mandatory masculine accessory. 8. Jacob Elordi The newest addition to the moustachioed hall of fame, Jacob Elordi has helped usher the tash into Gen Z trending territory. The Australian actor – best known for Euphoria and his turn as Elvis Presley in Priscilla (2023) – has been spotted sporting a sleek, minimalist moustache that feels more Riviera than retro throwback. His style nods to the pencil moustaches of Hollywood’s golden age, yet his laid-back styling and slightly scruffy hair gives it a thoroughly modern twist. Elordi’s upper lip has become something of a cultural talking point, proving that a well-timed moustache can still send social media (and barbers) into overdrive. 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Variety and planning is key to making sure you get all the nutrients you need, say specialists ahead of World Vegan Day. For some, it is worth getting dietary advice to ensure you stay healthy and strong. London (PA Media/dpa) – With World Vegan Day – November 1 – on the horizon, you might be thinking about exploring a plant-based diet for yourself. But what real health benefits can it offer, especially later in life? “Most guidelines, like The Eatwell Guide, recommend eating more plant foods like fruits, vegetables and legumes, and there is also quite a lot of observational evidence linking plant-rich diets to longevity, lower risk of heart disease and certain cancers,” says Katie Sanders, Doctify-rated dietitian and nutritionist. “Research also suggests that a greater plant food intake can be associated with lots of things, including improved gut health, heart health and lower blood pressure levels. “Plant-based diets can help support heart health because they tend to be low in saturated fat and rich in fibre, potassium and antioxidants. Eating lots of fibre and plant-rich foods can also help balance blood sugars and improve insulin sensitivity.” She adds that although a plant-based diet can be suitable and beneficial later in life, she doesn’t think it’s necessarily superior to a Mediterranean diet. “I think any sustainable dietary pattern is one that you ultimately can enjoy and maintain, and gives you all the nutrients that you need,” explains Sanders. The key to a nourishing plant-based diet, stresses Sanders, is planning, “It needs to be well-planned to make sure that you’re getting enough protein, calcium and things like vitamin D, iron and vitamin B12, which become even more important as we age,” says Sanders. If you are keen to reap the benefits of a plant-rich diet, here are some tips on how to make this shift in a balanced, healthy way… 1. Start with small changes “You don’t have to exclude animal foods entirely, instead try to aim for a plant-rich diet,” recommends Sanders. “Start small by adding in an extra one or two portions of fruit and veg into your meals every day. It’s what you add, not what you take away, that makes the biggest difference.” 2. Prioritise protein “If you are following a completely plant-based diet, make sure that you are getting enough protein,” advises Sanders. “Protein is important for building and repairing cells, muscles, hair and skin. This becomes even more important as we get older as we tend to start to lose muscle mass and our risk of frailty and falls increases.” The dietitian highlights that you can get enough protein from plant-based foods if you eat a variety of beans, lentils, tofu, tempeh, nuts, seeds, and whole grains. “Aim for three to four portions of high-protein plant-based foods a day,” recommends Sanders. 3. Focus on whole plant foods rather than processed alternatives “I would recommend focusing on whole plant foods – beans and vegetables and whole grains – rather than processed foods,” advises Sanders. “A vegan burger and chips is going to be much higher in saturated fats and salt than a lentil curry, for example. And you won’t be getting the benefits of nutrients like fibre, vitamins, antioxidants and polyphenols that are in the whole plant foods because they are stripped out when something becomes ultra processed.” 4. Make sure you are getting enough calcium “Our bones tend to become more brittle as we get older, so we need to make sure we are getting enough calcium for good bone health,” says Sanders. “Aim for two to three portions of either dairy or non-dairy equivalent a day. Plant-based milks and yoghurts are usually fortified with calcium.” 5. Buy tinned and frozen vegetables “Tinned beans, pulses and frozen veg can be a relatively cheap source of protein,” says Sanders. “They can also be just as nutritious and much more budget-friendly than fresh veg. Roasting a can of chickpeas in the oven with a little bit of olive oil and paprika, for example, can a super cheap, easy snack option.” 6. Keep your plate colourful “Variety is always good,” says Sanders. “Making meals more colourful is a good way of getting extra fruit, veg and plant-based foods into your diet.” 7. Split your plates into thirds “Think about splitting up your plate up into thirds,” suggests Sanders. “One third is for your carbohydrates such as pasta, rice, potatoes etc, and then another third is for protein. If you’re eating a plant-based diet, the protein might be things like tofu, tempeh, beans or pulses. Then the remaining third is for vegetables or salad. Thinking about these three components helps keep some balance.” 8. Seek professional advice “Not everyone needs professional advice to go plant-based, but you are an older adult, have a low body weight, are at risk of frailty or falls and/or have a medical condition like osteoporosis, then it’s probably is worth getting some advice,” advises Sanders. “You just want to make sure that you’re doing it in the right way, and that you’re not limiting any nutrients or becoming malnourished.” The following information is not intended for publication dpa pa arw

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Los Angeles (dpa) – Apple is making a major move into Formula 1, securing exclusive broadcast rights for the United States starting next year. The five-year deal will see Apple TV+ stream all Formula 1 sessions, including free practice, qualifying, sprint races and Grand Prix events. For Apple TV+ subscribers, there will be no additional costs for accessing Formula 1 content, at least initially. Selected races and sessions will also be available for free via the Apple TV+ app, though there is no confirmation of which events. The deal, reportedly worth $150 million annually, amounts to a total of $750 million over five years, nearly doubling the $80 million per year paid by the current rights holder, ESPN. Formula 1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali described the partnership as an "incredibly exciting" opportunity to expand the sport's presence in the US. The announcement comes as Formula 1 continues to grow its footprint in the US, with three Grand Prix races already on the calendar and Cadillac set to join Haas as the second US-based team next year. Apple's involvement in Formula 1 extends beyond broadcasting. The tech giant recently released the blockbuster film "F1 – The Movie", starring Brad Pitt and co-produced by record world champion Lewis Hamilton. The film grossed nearly $630 million globally, further cementing Apple's commitment to the sport. The deal was announced just hours before the US Grand Prix weekend kicked off in Austin, Texas, signaling Apple's intent to make a significant impact on the sport's future in the United States. The following information is not intended for publication dpa jmx yyzz n1 hc coh

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Cologne (dpa) – Autumn might be here, but has it brought its vibrant yellows and oranges into your kitchen? What better way to start than with a pumpkin. The easiest way to cook it is in the oven. And while it's hot, we're also going to roast an entire bulb of garlic. This removes its sharpness and gives it a light caramel flavour, creating the perfect sauce for pasta. The bacon not only adds a strong umami kick to the dish but also a slight crunch — a nice contrast to the soft spaghetti and the almost creamy pumpkin. If you want a bit more texture, the homemade roasted pumpkin seeds add a satisfying crunch. And for those longing for a touch of summer, finely chopped spring onions bring a fresh note to the dish. Ingredients for 4 servings of pasta with garlic, pumpkin and bacon 1 large bulb of garlic 4 tbsp olive oil 1 Hokkaido pumpkin (approx. 1.2 kg) 1/2 tsp smoked paprika powder Salt Pepper 100 g bacon (slices) 400 g spaghetti 2 spring onions (optional) Preparation Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan). Halve the garlic bulb crosswise, drizzle with a little olive oil, and wrap it tightly in baking paper. Place it in a large baking dish and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes until the garlic is soft and lightly browned. Halve the pumpkin, remove the seeds and fibrous flesh. Rinse the seeds thoroughly under warm water until they are no longer slimy, and dry them well (ideally, let them air-dry overnight for extra crispiness). Mix 1 tbsp olive oil with 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, salt, and pepper – make sure the seeds are coated in this marinade. Spread the seeds in the baking dish next to the garlic, ensuring they are spaced apart, and roast for about 12–15 minutes until crispy and golden brown. Cut the pumpkin into small cubes (approx. 2 cm) and place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Lay the bacon slices crosswise on an oven rack. Place the baking dish on the lower rack of the oven if the pumpkin seeds and garlic are not yet done; otherwise, remove them and set aside. Place the pumpkin on the middle rack and the bacon on the rack above it. Bake both for about 8–10 minutes until the bacon is crispy and golden brown and the pumpkin is tender. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti al dente in lightly salted water according to the package instructions. Prep the spring onions by washing and drying them, trimming the roots and dark green parts, and slicing them into thin rings. Scoop the roasted garlic out of its skin into a large pot. Mash it finely with a fork and season with salt and pepper. Add a ladle of pasta water and 1 tbsp olive oil, then stir to combine. Add the drained spaghetti to the garlic mixture and mix well. Break the bacon into small pieces and gently fold it in along with half of the pumpkin cubes. Serve the dish on plates, distributing the remaining pumpkin cubes on or next to the spaghetti. Garnish with spring onions and roasted pumpkin seeds as desired. The following information is not intended for publication dpa/tmn ueh yyzz n1 xlt cwg sw coh

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Los Angeles (tca/dpa) – Filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan is dipping his hands into the world of literature and is revisiting the small screen. On Monday,Variety reported that the Shyamalan will direct "Magic 8 Ball," a live-action series based on the popular Mattel fortune-telling toy. “Been working on this for a couple years … Who’s in?,” Shyamalanwrote in an Instagram post featuring the screenplay for the pilot episode , with a Magic 8 Ball resting on top. Shyamalan will serve as co-creator with Brad Falchuk, co-creator of hit TV shows such as "Glee" and "American Horror Story." Falchuk will also be writing the forthcoming TV series, which marks Shyamalan’s return to television since the conclusion of "Servant," the Apple TV+ series directed by him, that ended in March 2023 after four seasons. No details on the series’ have been announced. On Tuesday, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker from Lower Merion also released "Remain," the book he co-wrote with famed novelist Nicholas Sparks of "The Notebook" and "A Walk to Remember" fame. The book melds Shyamalan‘s knack for supernatural horror and Sparks’ penchant for romance. While "Remain" is Sparks and Shyamalan‘s first collaboration, it isn’t the first time the two have attempted to work with one another. In an interview with Variety last month, Sparks revealed that Shyamalan was tapped to write the script for "The Notebook." But “he was busy writing this movie, 'The Sixth Sense.' I don’t know if you’ve heard of that movie. I wonder how that eventually did?,” Sparks said jokingly. While the 2004 film was eventually adapted by screenwriters Jeremy Leven and Jan Sardi, Sparks and Shyamalan closely followed each other’s careers in the years that followed. And after a series of pitches between the two creatives, they settled on a genre-blending concept for Sparks’ 25th novel. Released by Penguin Random House, the book follows New York architect Tate Donovan, who arrives in Cape Cod to design his best friend’s summer home, while hoping to make a fresh start,per the publisher’s description . While Shyamalan and Sparks conceived the idea together, Sparks wrote the novel, and Shyamalan wrote the screenplay for a horror-romance, which is currently set for a fall 2026 release. The film will Jake Gyllenhaal and Phoebe Dynevor. The following information is not intended for publication tca dpa coh

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Edward Berger’s "Ballad of a Small Player", starring Colin Farrell as a down-on-his-luck gambler in Macau, arrives with high expectations following the director’s Oscar-winning "All Quiet on the Western Front" and critically acclaimed "Conclave". Los Angeles (tca/dpa) – "Ballad of a Small Player" is director Edward Berger's third movie in four years. The first two, "All Quiet on the Western Front" and "Conclave" earned 17 Oscar nominations between them, including best picture nods for both. You'd think that would make "Ballad of a Small Player" something of an event or, at the very least, eagerly anticipated by people who enjoy movies with a straightforward directorial style, keen attention to production and costume design and the kind of booming score that will spike your tinnitus for days after you leave the theater. And those Berger hallmarks are certainly on display in the new one, a drama about a dandy named Lord Doyle, a down-and-out con man and gambling addict on the brink of a breakdown in the kitschy gaming hub of Macau. What's missing, crucially, is a reason for the audience to care about this narcissist, even though Colin Farrell employs every trick in his acting arsenal to win you over. And if Farrell, an actor I'd follow just about anywhere (except perhapsancient Macedonia ), can't make you feel for this guy, you know "Ballad" has problems that are extensive as the good lord's unpaid hotel bill. We first see Doyle, whose title, as you'd probably guess, is self-bequeathed, through a reflection off his stainless steel room service tray. (Mirror images are employed often in the film.) Doyle's opulent Macau hotel suite is in disarray and he isn't in much better shape. But there is work to be done, so he puts on his green velvet suit, his lucky Savile Row gloves and tries to remember where he stashed his one last roll of bills. In a voice-over, Doyle tells us he's a "high roller on a slippery slope." "Here, I barely exist," he continues, calling himself agweilo , a Cantonese term for a foreign ghost cloaked in invisibility. "Here, I can be whoever I want to be." Doyle is clearly delusional. Cloaked in invisibility? This peacock stands out even in Macau, a city that embraces garishness almost as much as it does light pollution. Berger plays the opening section of the film as farce, but then switches the tone, seeming to realize that he doesn't have the facility or interest in heightened comedy. He's more comfortable playing it big and trying to create an operatic drama about a desperate man, consumed by greed and a gnawing hunger that has rotted his soul, looking for one last score. It's a movie we've seen countless times, though not in Macau, and Berger banks on the location to create shiny, stylized images that might distract you from the familiar emptiness of the story. For a moment, it seems Doyle's luck might change when he meets Dao Ming (Fala Chen), a casino employee whose job is to extend lines of credit to addicts like Doyle, enabling them to fall even more deeply into debt. But her heart isn't in her work and for reasons we never buy, she takes pity on Doyle, recognizing in him a "lost soul." "It's never too late to change," she tells him. (Has she seen his hotel room?) "Ballad," written by Rowan Joffé, adapting Lawrence Osborne's vivid 2014 novel, depicts Dao Ming as a fellow ghost, though in her case, the distinction might be quite literal. The movie keeps you guessing on that count, as did the book. There's an additional woman in Doyle's life, Cynthia Blithe (Tilda Swinton ), a guest staying at his hotel who he spies taking his picture for reasons Doyle can only assume aren't good. She's another character with a slippery identity and Swinton, always entertaining, has some fun with her, embracing the movie's over-the-top aesthetic by donning kooky pink eyeglasses and sporting an electroshock hairstyle. With "All Quiet on the Western Front" and "Conclave," Berger showed himself to be a canny crowd-pleaser, capable of jumping genres and drawing out fine work from his leads. Here, he seems as lost in the bright lights as Doyle, piling on disorienting camera angles and an overcooked sound design to create an unfocused fever dream about individual excess that exhausts the humanity from its story. It's an overload of overkill, yet as tedious and empty as the last day of a 72-hour trip to Vegas when the novelty has worn off and you just want to go home and sleep. The following information is not intended for publication tca dpa coh

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Guillermo del Toro’s long-awaited "Frankenstein" has finally come to life, and critics are hailing it as a visually stunning and deeply personal adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic novel. Los Angeles (tca/dpa) – "Frankenstein" has haunted Guillermo del Toro since he was a kid who barely reached the Creature's knees. Back in 2011, the writer-director was already tinkering with a version of the monster that resembled a blend of Iggy Pop and Boris Karloff with jagged sutures, gaunt wrinkles and a crushed nose. Since then, Del Toro has made changes. The 2025 model is played by Jacob Elordi, a 6-foot-5 actor often cast as the ideal human specimen in movies like "Saltburn" and who here howls to life with handsome features and rock star swagger. But your eyes keep staring at his pale, smooth seams. He doesn't look hand-stitched — he looks a little like a modern android. Of course he does. The decades have given Del Toro time to think about what truly scares him. It's not monsters. He loves all disfigured nasties, be they swamp creatures, eyeball-less ogres or bolt-headed Hellboys. It's tech bros, like the ones weaseling into Hollywood, who give their every innovation a sterile sheen. "Frankenstein" is the director's lifelong passion project: He doesn't just want to makea"Frankenstein" butthe"Frankenstein," so he's faithfully set his adaptation in the past. But he's adjusted the wiring so that 1850s Europe reminds us of Silicon Valley. The result is the best movie of his career. This Baron Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac ) is a short-sighted egomaniac who barks over his critics while jabbing the air with his fingers. "I fail to see why modesty is considered a virtue," he says with a snort. And Del Toro has written Victor an enabler: a deep-pocketed investor named Henrich Harlander (Christoph Waltz ) who struts into Victor's science lecture hunting for a whizkid to crack the code to immortality. With his gold-heeled shoes and a confidence that he's too rich to die, Waltz's wealthy arms dealer is a 19th-century take on venture capitalists likeBryan Johnson andPeter Thiel who've been poking into the feasibility of pumping their veins with young blood. "Don't be a reasonable man," Henrich advises Victor. The assumption is — and remains — that tycoons and geniuses deserve to run rampant. Great success demands an indifference to the rules. And if you're wondering whether money or brains has more power, there's a scene in which Henrich uses a chamber pot and smugly orders Victor to "flush that for me." Del Toro is wired into the outrage inMary Shelley's sly 1818 novel, a nightmarish satire about men who care only about yelling "first!" without asking what horrors come next. Centuries ago, she warned of man's ill-considered rush to create artificial intelligence. Today, Dr. Frankenstein's descendants keep promising that AI won't destroy civilization while ignoring Shelley's point, that the inventor is more dangerous than his monster. Victor, a stunted man-child who drinks milk served by a sommelier, is frozen in the I'll-show-him stage of growing up with an abusive father (Charles Dance ) who whipped him when he got a wrong answer on his schoolwork. Victor's name, we're reminded, means "winner," a symbol of the pressure he's under to excel. Isaac plays him with a pitchman's exuberance that sags as the corners of his mouth wrench down in disappointment. He's hacked how to make a disembodied head moan in agony. But having rarely felt affection, Victor doesn't know how to generate that emotion at all. Worse, it hasn't occurred to him to think past the triumph of his product launch, that his Creature can't be readily unplugged. The only kind characters in the movie are a rural blind man (David Bradley ) and the moth-likeMia Goth , double-cast as Victor's mother, Claire, and his brother's fiancee, Elizabeth. A convent girl with a creepy streak, Elizabeth sees beauty in biology, leaning over a corpse's flayed back to appreciate the intricacy of its ventricles. But the more she studies Victor, the less impressed she gets. Because Shelley came up with "Frankenstein" as an 18-year-old newlywed who'd just lost a baby, her message gets boiled down to gender: Women birth life, men mimic it. Really, the feminine strength of the book lies in its foxy, shifting narration that opens with a prologue from an Arctic explorer who's gotten his sailors trapped in the ice, before transitioning to Victor's story and then the Creature's. Like a hostess who secretly loathes her guests, Shelley encourages her characters to flatter themselves and expose their braggadocio. Del Toro has kept that tactic and he's kept the book's structure. But within that framework, he's changed nearly everything else to make Victor more culpable. Unlike the 1931 film, there's no Igor and no excuse of accidentally using the wrong brain. This Victor does his own dirty work and what goes wrong is his fault. Meanwhile, Del Toro amps up the action, starting the film off with a ghastly great sequence in which Elordi's Creature punches a sailor so hard his spine snaps into a backward somersault. "What manner of devil made him?" the Captain (Lars Mikkelsen ) exclaims. Victor guiltily explains why he played God. Being a futurist isn't bad. Henrich, an early adopter of daguerreotype cameras, shoots photographs of women posing with skulls like he's paving the way for Del Toro's whole filmography. But pompous Henrich and Victor don't appreciate that their accomplishments are built on other's sacrifices. When the cinematographerDan Laustsen pans across a battlefield of dead soldiers, it feels like a silent scream. Henrich made his fortune killing these men; now, Victor will salvage their body parts. Del Toro delights in the kinetic gusto of the tale, the grotesquerie of cracking limbs and blood sloshing about Victor's shoes. In the laboratory, dead leaves and buzzing flies whirl through the air as if to keep up with the inventor's wild ambitions andAlexandre Desplat's swirling orchestral score. The production design byTamara Deverell is superb as are the costumes byKate Hawley , who shrouds Goth in dramatic chiffon layers and dresses laced to highlight her vertebrae. (This movie loves bones as much asSir Mix-A-Lot loved backs.) As Victor rudely flings around torsos and limbs, it's clear that he only values life if it's branded with his name. So yes, of course, Elordi's Creature looks good. He's been assembled from the choicest bits of man flesh to show off the talent of his creator, not so different from Steve Jobs caressing samples of brushed aluminum. When Elordi's Creature pleads for a companion, a sliver of sculpted abs peeking out from under five hulking layers of wool and fur, you expect half the audience's hands to shoot up and volunteer. Elordi has adopted one or two of Karloff's mannerisms: the arms outstretched in search of warmth, the lurching walk. You can see that he's a tad lopsided on the left side, presumably because Victor couldn't find matching femurs. Mostly, he's his own monster, neither the calculating serial murderer of the book nor Karloff's reactive, animalistic killer, but a scapegoat who finally starts leveling his foes with bone-breaking efficiency. Towering over Victor by almost a foot, Elordi's Creature dwarfs his creator physically, morally and emotionally. There's anguish in his eyes, and when Del Toro shows us the world through his perspective, humanity itself appears anti-life, a pestilence that destroys without hesitation. There's a pack of digital wolves that just looks silly. Otherwise, you trust how intensely Del Toro has doted upon every detail. I was flummoxed by a row of servants flanking young Victor (Christian Convery ) who appeared to be wearing gauzy bags over their heads. What are those for? My theory is it's a tribute to the veil Karloff sported during lunch breaks, so as not to frighten any pregnant secretaries on the Universal lot. Eschewing mobs of pitchfork-wiel…

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