‘Maria’ Is Not Angelina Jolie’s Big Comeback

The latest in pop-culture news, recaps, and reviews, plus close reads, profiles, interviews, and more from Vulture.com. [Brand Logo]( venice 2024 [This Is Not Angelina Jolie’s Big Comeback]( Her starring role in Maria is her most ambitious in ages, and yet it feels like a snooze. Photo: Vision Distribution It’s been three years since Angelina Jolie appeared in a movie, though she’s been making a retreat from stardom for a lot longer than that, pulling back pieces of herself from the public sphere as well as from the persona she projects onscreen. Gone are the days of the blood-vial-wearing wild child or the bombshell whose [chemistry with co-star Brad Pitt]( in Mr. & Mrs. Smith made their coupling up feel inevitable. As a celebrity, she has stripped sex from her image entirely, emphasizing instead her identity as a filmmaker, a human-rights activist, and a mother of six. As an actor, she has voiced a tiger in the [Kung Fu Panda]( franchise as often as she’s actually appeared onscreen over the past decade, and in the live-action films she has taken on, her roles have increasingly been defined by her character’s aloof beauty and elegant suffering. I can’t begrudge Jolie her desire to armor up and put more layers between herself and a public that’s been ingesting the intimate details of her life since she was scarcely old enough to legally drink. But I also can’t deny that I’ve found this Madonna-martyr phase of her career less than compelling. At her best, Jolie is thrilling, a talent capable of bursting into the frame and making you believe she’s about to devour the world whole. In her more recent roles, even when running headlong through a raging forest fire, she feels only half there. [read more]( Get a [free print copy of the Charli XCX Fall Preview issue]( and a New York tote with any annual plan. Offer ends soon. The Latest TV Recaps • The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras: [Agree to Disagree]( • The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: [Sauron Unmasked (Then Masked Again)]( • The Real Housewives of Dubai: [Links Up]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Stories We Think You’ll Like [Garth Greenwell’s Grand Romance The author explores the tender side of long-term partnership amid a health crisis in his best novel yet.]( By Sarah Thankam Mathews [27 Books We Can’t Wait to Read This Fall New reads that capture the three seasons of autumn: back to school, spooky, and election.]( By Vulture Editors [A Definitely Maybe Complete History of the Oasis Feud “I can play him like a slightly disused arcade game.”]( [Everything We Know About YSL’s RICO Case Judge Paige Reese Whitaker has been moving forward with the trial.]( By Zoe Guy [Lainey Wilson Doesn’t Want to Be a Pop Star As her peers cross over to other genres, she’s staying unapologetically country.]( By Justin Curto [Kehlani’s Custody Battle and ‘Cult’ Allegations, Explained From the back-and-forth allegations in a custody battle to the singer’s denial of gang stalking a former friend.]( By Jennifer Zhan [The Smiths, Like the Queen, Are Dead Morrissey says Johnny Marr, unlike him, declined a “lucrative offer” for a worldwide reunion tour.]( By Devon Ivie [Peaky Blinders Doubles Up on Famous Irishmen Barry Keoghan’s joining the gang.]( By Jennifer Zhan [15 Video Games We Can’t Wait to Play This Fall Enjoy the feast before what could be a looming famine.]( By Lewis Gordon [Video Games Are Surfing the Algorithm New titles like The Crush House and Content Warning gamify our ever-dwindling attention spans.]( By Diego Nicolás Argüello [The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season-Premiere Recap: Sauron Unmasked You just can’t keep Sauron down.]( By Keith Phipps [Kaytranada Owns His Influence Once modern dance music’s best-kept secret, the Canadian DJ-producer is ready to go bigger.]( By Connor Garel [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Vulture Games [Today’s Crossword]( 1-Down, Three Letters: Rory Gilmore’s was 4.2 Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Steve Granitz/FilmMagic, Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic, Karwai Tang/WireImage [Today’s Cinematrix]( Can you name a Noah Baumbach movie starring Adam Driver? Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu via Getty Images, JB Lacroix/FilmMagic, Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images A newsletter about the perpetual Hollywood awards race, for subscribers only. [Sign up]( to get it every week. [Get the Newsletter]( [logo]( [facebook logo]( [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [unsubscribe]( | [privacy notice]( | [update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up now]( to get this newsletter in your inbox. [View this email in your browser.]( You received this email because you have a subscription to New York. Reach the right online audience with us For advertising information on email newsletters, please contact AdOps@nymag.com Vox Media, LLC 1701 Rhode Island Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036 Copyright © 2024, All rights reserved