Steve Carell

Wes Anderson's new film puts Westerns, theatre, 1950s Americana and an alien into a blender for another of his atypical and star-packed concoctions that he says is about "reckoning with forces beyond your control".

As always, "Asteroid City," which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 23, features a roster of actors that reads like a Hollywood phonebook.  

In the 2015 movie "The Big Short," a disenchanted Wall Street banker portrayed by Steve Carell discovers that the until then roaring US housing market rests on flimsy foundations, years of precarious loan-giving, creating a bubble. Our banker, utterly disappointed by the inner rot of the "system," duly proceeds to bet against it and, in doing so, wins a fortune.

"War for the Planet of the Apes" won this weekend's battle of the box office in North America, riding on strong reviews and ever more natural-looking apes to take $56.3 million.

"Spider-Man: Homecoming," Sony's newest addition to the growing library of summertime superhero yarns, spun up an impressive opening in North American theaters this weekend, with ticket sales for the three-day weekend estimated at $117 million.

Jon Stewart wrapped up his long-running "The Daily Show" on Aug. 6 with effusive tributes to his show's staff, many on hand to see him off while political and media luminaries who served as some of the satirist's favorite targets, from Bill O'Reilly to Hillary Clinton, appeared on tape.

Dark comedy "Birdman" and stylish crime caper "The Grand Budapest Hotel" topped the Oscars nominations list Jan. 15 with nine each, firing the starting gun on the home stretch of Hollywood's awards race.
      

Dark comedy "Birdman" topped nominations for the Golden Globes nods announced Thursday, securing another boost for its awards season hopes leading up to the all-important Oscars in February.