‘She just unravels so beautifully’: how Nicole Kidman conquered the world – then kept on going

The mercurial actor, who has won best actress award at Venice film festival for Babygirl, continues to be feted for her genre-jumping roles. Happily, her artistic journey is far from over

The Last Showgirl review – Pamela Anderson’s big comeback is a big disappointment

An empty-headed attempt to give the star her version of The Wrestler is a regrettable misfire

We Live in Time review – Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh charm in heartfelt weepie

There are two excellent performances at the centre of a time-hopping romance that tackles well-trodden ground with maturity

Venice film festival 2024 roundup – Nicole Kidman gets carnal and Lady Gaga goes crazy

In a festival rich in impressive female leads, Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton bonding for Almodóvar, while a strong documentary lineup ranges from Trump to Yoko Ono

Hard Truths review – a Mike Leigh classic of day-to-day disillusionment and courage

Marianne Jean-Baptiste is exceptional as a woman in the terrifying endgame of depression in this deeply sober and compassionate drama, not without flashes of fun

The Penguin Lessons review – Steve Coogan and feathered friend dip into 70s Argentina

Tom Michell’s feelgood memoir could have been a winning buddy movie – it just needed a little less bird and a bit more politics

The Cut review – Orlando Bloom goes through hell in sordid boxing thriller

The actor gives a physically committed performance as a retired boxer cutting weight with dangerous speed in a silly and overcooked drama

Out of the ruins: film inspired by slum clearance in Nigeria opens in Toronto

Made by the city’s Agbajowo Collective, The Legend of the Vagabond Queen of Lagos is a cry of protest at evictions

April review – Dea Kulumbegashvili comes into her own with haunting abortion drama

Shocking violence is tempered by strange, silent sequences in a sophomore feature about an obstetrician under investigation, in which buried trauma has echoes of The Piano Teacher

From Hard Truths to Nightbitch: 10 films to look out for at Toronto film festival 2024

Much-anticipated titles from Mike Leigh and Ron Howard lead lineup with stars such as Amy Adams and Hugh Grant

The Brutalist review – epic Adrien Brody postwar architectural drama stuns and electrifies

In a superb performance, Brody plays a Hungarian architect and Holocaust survivor who comes to the US and begins a distinguished career under the patronage of a wealthy man

‘I probably shouldn’t do this again’: Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga talk about ‘difficult’ Joker diets

The stars of Joker: Folie à Deux worked under medical supervision to lose weight for physically demanding sequel, which premieres at the Venice film festival this week

Paul and Paulette Take a Bath review – misjudged romance takes wince-inducing wrong turn

Jethro Massey’s New Wave-style feature debut about a couple who meet in Paris is quirky and well-acted but strikes some peculiar false notes with Nazi gags

Film industry ‘nowhere near’ gender parity, says London festival head

Kristy Matheson bemoans ‘alarmingly’ low number of mid-career female directors as festival lineup unveiled

Maldoror review – true-crime serial killer procedural induces stomach-turning horror

Inspired by a notorious real-life case, Fabrice Du Welz’s film starts strong but gets lost in the murky waters of conspiracy