The Algorithm Age

Michael Madsen , a stoic actor who worked frequently with director Quentin Tarantino and appeared in various acclaimed films from the 1980s onward, has died, according to his publicist Liz Rodriguez. He was 67. Rodriguez told CNN that Madsen had a cardiac arrest and was found unresponsive in his Malibu, USA home Thursday morning. "Michael Madsen was one of Hollywood's most iconic actors, who will be missed by many," said a joint statement from his managers Susan Ferris and Ron Smith of Bohemia Entertainment and Rodriguez. READ MORE: Photo that fuelled Beckham family feud rumours Sgt. Christopher Jauregui, watch commander for Los Angeles Sheriff Department Lost Hills Station confirmed to CNN Thursday that deputies responded to Madsen's home in Malibu this morning and found him "unresponsive." He was pronounced dead at 8:25am local time and no foul play is suspected, Jauregui added. Illustrious body of work Madsen was a pr...

It’s been a bad week for cruise ships . First there was the young girl who fell overboard in the Bahamas, swiftly pursued by her heroic dad. Then Cannes followed Venice, Nice, Barcelona and Amsterdam in becoming the latest city to ban or restrict giant cruise ships . Finally, Netflix’s new documentary Trainwreck: Poop Cruise told of how in 2013 a fire caused a ship to be cast adrift without power in the Gulf of Mexico. With the toilets no longer flushing, the 4,200 people aboard spent four days defecating into plastic bags. But if that’s the nightmare version of cruising , then Channel 4’s new series Supercruising: Life at Sea is all about selling the dream. This extended advert for a Dutch-American company follows two of their ships: one that is sailing 3,000 passengers from Dover to North Africa, and another that is ferrying a similar number around the Caribbean. The series is very much in the vein of all those other Channel 4 programmes about five-sta...

The Wolves Always Come At Night ★★★ While Berlin-based Australian filmmaker Gabrielle Brady is currently developing her first fully fictional feature, The Wolves Always Come At Night marks her second foray into what she calls “docu-feature”, a hybrid storytelling form that merges observational documentary with elements of fiction, driven by the subjects of the film. Her first was Island of the Hungry Ghosts , which was set on Christmas Island and used the visually arresting annual migration of land crabs as a metaphor for the journeys of asylum seekers across the world. A counsellor called Poh Lin Lee served as a kind of focal point in that movie, helping give individual human shape to stories of mass movement. Lee is involved in the new film too, credited as “narrative therapy consultant”. Also returning is Aaron Cupples, whose work on the ethereal land- and windscape-inspired score is just as impressive as it was on the ...

Director John Maclean is back in cinemas this summer with his second film, a decade after his award-winning and critically acclaimed debut, Slow West. The revisionist Western starring Michael Fassbender and Kodi Smit-McPhee saw him named by Bafta as ‘a Brit to Watch’ and claim a jury prize at Sundance. It was dubbed one of the films of the year and still has a 92% score from critics on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes . And now Maclean’s finally returned with his second film – ‘notoriously difficult’ in Britain, he says – a Scottish samurai Western, naturally. Starring Jack Lowden, Tim Roth , Japanese model and songwriter Kōki and Shogun’s Takehiro Hira, Tornado sees a Japanese puppeteer’s daughter get caught up with criminals when their show crosses paths with a crime gang in 18th-century rural Scotland. A refreshingly unusual combination of things, Maclean reveals that Tornado ‘led on’ from Slow West as an idea, examining the concept of nationality aga...

Actor Michael Madsen , best known for his roles in Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 , has died aged 67. Born in Chicago , Illinois, in 1957, Madsen’s mother, Elaine, was a filmmaker and author, while his father, Calvin, was a World War II Navy veteran and a firefighter with the Chicago Fire Department. After appearing on screens for the first time in the 1980s, Madsen went on to earn over 300 credits to his name throughout his career. It has been confirmed by his manager, Ron Smith, that the actor died Thursday morning after suffering a cardiac arrest and being found unresponsive in his Malibu home. ‘In the last two years, Michael Madsen has been doing some incredible work with independent film including upcoming feature films Resurrection Road, Concessions and Cookbook for Southern Housewives, and was really looking forward to this next chapter in his life. Michael was also preparing to release a new book called Tears For My Father: Outlaw Thoughts and Poems c...

Star Wars star Kenneth Colley has died at the age of 87, his agent of 10 years has confirmed to . The English actor, most famous for his role as Admiral Piett in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, died from pneumonia after contracting Covid , on Monday June 30 in Ashford, Kent. In a statement to , his agent Julian Owen said he was admitted to hospital after a fall with an injured arm, however he ‘quickly’ contracted Covid which developed into pneumonia. ‘He passed away peacefully with friends at his bedside,’ Julian said. With over 150 TV and film acting credits to his name, aside from his Star Wars role, Colley portrayed Jesus in Monty Python’s Life of Brian and Ken Uttley in 13 episodes of 90s show Moving Story. Colley, whose career spanned over 60 years in film, television and theatre, also portrayed eccentric characters in Ken Russell films, and the Duke of Vienna in Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure for the BBC. Colley was born on 7 Dece...

Warning: Spoilers for Ironheart, you have been warned… Looking for something to watch now you’ve binged The Bear and seen off Squid Game ? Well, you’re in luck! Six episodes of an incredible new action show are available to watch now on Disney Plus. The show is called Ironheart and it’s the latest chapter in the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now, if you’re a fan of the MCU , you’ll no doubt know what Ironheart is about, but if you’re not up to date on what’s happening on Earth-616, allow me to explain. Set after the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever , Ironheart follows genius gadgeteer Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) as she teams up with the mysterious Parker Robbins (Anthony Ramos) in the hope of scraping together enough cash to build a new suit of Iron Man-style armour. However, Parker isn’t what he seems, and before long, Riri finds herself torn between the mystical and the mechanical. When the series first dropped, ther...

2000 Russell Crowe is bringing back his Gladiator physique! Years before his recent transformation, the actor and film director stunned at the 2000 premiere of Proof of Life in Los Angeles, Calif. Crowe looked suave with his well-groomed beard that enhanced his dapper appearance in his suit. 2002 In 2002, Crowe proudly held his Golden Globe award high as he rocked his tousled hair and black tuxedo backstage at the awards ceremony. 2007 Crowe looked sharp when he attended the Los Angeles premiere of 3:10 to Yuma in August 2007. Months later, he swapped his buffed body for a fuller physique after he gained 63 pounds for his role in the film Body of Lies . "I'll have that cheeseburger for breakfast, thank you!" Crowe said at the time. "The drinking thing has sort of taken a different place in my life since I had kids. There are a whole lot of things I don't do anymore because it affects ...

‘We do not choose to be created, nor do we choose how we are made.’ In the first season of The Sandman on Netflix , these words are uttered by Lord Morpheus (Tom Sturridge), otherwise known as Dream. In the context of the show, Dream is referring to everyone’s lack of agency in their inception. It’s essentially a slightly pretentious way of saying ‘you can’t help where you come from’. Going into season 2, Morpheus’s words feel especially apt due to the large shadow cast over the show by its co-creator, Neil Gaiman . The 64-year-old fantasy author, who wrote the comics The Sandman is based on, stands accused of sexual misconduct by eight women . Get personalised updates on all things Netflix Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with ’s TV Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we’ll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you. Gaiman has denied the allegations...

Look, I get it. Reading subtitles is hard. Your eyes have to move down to the bottom of the screen, then back up to the action. You have to read while simultaneously trying to watch. And don't even get me started on the mental gymnastics required to appreciate a story that wasn't specifically crafted for Western sensibilities. Positively exhausting, if you ask me. But here's the thing: Squid Game was literally the biggest show on the planet. Not just in Korea. Not just in Asia. Everywhere . Including places where people speak English AND somehow managed to survive the absolutely excruciating ordeal of reading words whilst watching television. It's mind-blowing, really. So, naturally, Hollywood's response to this unprecedented global success was: an English remake. Watch the trailer for Squid Game season 3. Article continues after video. Video via YouTube/Netflix According to multiple reports, David F...