arrival

In Australian writer-director Adrian Chiarella’s knotty roller coaster of a feature debut “Leviticus,” about a demon tormenting a pair of queer teenage boys, the fear is more insidious than the external threat of a violent bigot or shunning parent.

In an abandoned mill in their blighted industrial town, quiet new kid Naim (Joe Bird) and brash hunk Ryan (Stacy Clausen) allow a friendly, mischievous connection to turn into something more. But when Naim later secretly observes his new crush fiercely locking lips with another classmate, Hunter (Jeremy Blewitt), son of a leader in the tight-knit church that Naim’s single mom (Mia Wasikowska) just joined, hurt gets the better of Naim’s instincts and he secretly informs on the pair.

The church’s punishment, however, delivered in front of the congregants, is an eerie ritual performed by a gaunt, severe visitor (Nicholas Hope). Called a “deliverance healer,” his fire-and-brimstone method — making incarnate the title’s Biblical book, regularly used to justify anti-LGBTQ viewpoints — leave Ryan and Hunter writhing in agony. Afterward, Naim, sensing he might have unwittingly set into motion something awful, notices bizarre behavior in the stricken-looking Ryan. When they try to furtively rekindle their passion, it becomes violently clear they are not alone. Or even, it seems, themselves.

The feeling that nowhere is safe is a durable horror concept, the backbone behind such classics as “Nightmare on Elm Street” and “It Follows.” In “Leviticus,” which is expertly paced by editor Nick Fenton, it comes with a flair for open-space unease and unexpected claustrophobia that puts director Chiarella in a long line of savvy Australian mood-setters like Peter Weir and Fred Schepisi. These filmmakers knew how to fold tactile dread into a worthy narrative, rather than treat genre as if it were a kit with instructions.

But most urgently and bleakly, Chiarella is giving religious-based conversion therapy its devilish due as a warping of the soul designed to sow distrust in one’s own desires. He’s careful, however, not to tell a tale that would speak to homophobes. As distressing as their circumstance is, Naim and Ryan are unmistakably positioned as heroic lovers, not victims-to-be. Chiarella takes time between bouts of danger to show affection and intimacy that, in defiance of teen-slasher formula, isn’t immediately penalized with sadism. But their fraught relationship will decidedly keep you nervous, so score one for multilayered storytelling.

Points, too, for the solid casting, from the leads’ tricky pivoting from openness to caginess, to the criminally underseen Wasikowska, who navigates maternal complexities of worry and compassion that confound easy pigeonholing. If anything, the movie could have used more of her, although it’s better overall that “Leviticus” prioritizes Naim and Ryan as queer protagonists caught in a chilling loop of escape and reunion. We already know what’s out there, ready to do harm. This movie’s nail-biting, sorrowful power comes from what internalized destruction looks like.

The Rams’ trade for Myles Garrett and subsequent intrigue about whether Aaron Donald would unretire to place two future first-ballot Hall of Famers on the same defensive line has served as an unmistakable reminder that some folks don’t change.

Rams castaway Cooper Kupp still boasts an unexpected wry sense of humor.

Donald’s wife, Erica, can still toss a wet blanket on fiery hearsay by posting a few well-chosen words on social media.

Rams architects Les Snead and Sean McVay can still adroitly motivate a player without pressing too hard.

As for Donald himself, it seems he still harbors a desire to play 26 months after he retired at age 32 at the top of his mayhem-creating game.

The acquisition of Garrett was the tipping point that Donald fueled by telling NFL insider Jordan Schultz in a text: “I’m for sure flirting with the idea. Helluva an opportunity with the Super Bowl in SoFi this year. If I can find the fire, it’s a possibility.”

Kupp, a receiver now with the Seattle Seahawks, was Donald’s fellow All-Pro teammate when the Rams won the Super Bowl in 2022. They remain friendly enough for Kupp to reach out to Donald a few days ago with tongue-in-cheek advice to stay retired.

“I already texted him and told him he’s not allowed. So we’re good,” Kupp told sportscaster Rich Eisen while laughing. “I texted Aaron and said, ‘Don’t even think about it.’ I left it at that, so we’re good. I’m not worried about it. I already nipped it in the bud. No one has to worry.”

Erica Donald’s three-word rebuttal on X to speculation about her husband playing football again was also light-hearted. But it carried the weight of coming from the mother of two of Donald’s four children.

“Y’all are hilarious,” Erica posted.

Enough said?

Responses were respectful but hoped she was kidding.

One fan asked, “MRS.Donald can Aaron come out and play pretty please.”

Another took a similar courteous tone: “Erica, queen of them all… please let the mister give it one more go!”

Ardent Donald fans recall his wife’s response when he retired in 2024, and followers were incredulous that he would do so with seemingly plenty of outstanding football ahead of him.

Erica put the kibosh on the notion that he might change his mind in a 16-second video where she sits next to her husband, who appears to be sleeping while a television in the background is tuned to football.

Looking at her phone camera but speaking to her husband, she says, “Aaron, the people are still asking if you are coming back,” at which point she breaks into laughter because he doesn’t budge. She continues, “All right, guys, I hope that answers your question, ’cuz he is not.”

Less certain now are McVay, the Rams coach since 2017, and Snead, the team’s general manager since 2012. The mere thought of the eight-time All-Pro Donald lining up alongside the five-time All-Pro Garrett is too delicious to ignore.

“If Aaron decides he wants to dust them off at the age of 35, I bet you he could still do it at a pretty high clip,” McVay said during the news conference introducing Garrett.

Snead sounded even more hopeful.

“I do think for the first time since he retired, he’s maybe tempted,” he said. “‘Oh, let’s maybe do one last stand.’ I don’t know if he’s been tempted since he has been retired and I think if you know Aaron at his core, he’s one of those humans that if he doesn’t think he can really, really help, he probably doesn’t want to try.

“But for the first time, I’m betting that he’s tempted. I can sense that. That’s cool that Aaron’s excited, like a lot of our fans, Aaron’s excited about [acquiring Garrett] and he’s probably tempted for the first time.”

For his part, Garrett told Rams broadcaster J.B. Long that he plans to speak to Donald soon.

“I don’t know what his plans are, and I’m not gonna pretend to know,” Garrett said. “I know a lot of people are excited and thrilled about the idea of him coming back, but just being able to talk to him, learn from him, and know that I’ll take all the advice I can.”

Donald’s longtime former teammates are speaking the loudest. Former Rams defensive lineman Michael Brockers, perhaps Donald’s closest friend on the team for seven years, said on a podcast that he has “knowledge that others might not have…. My guy is staying ready so he doesn’t have to get ready.”

And even while kidding, Kupp couldn’t help but say out loud what many Rams followers are thinking.

“I love Aaron, he’s such a good football player, great dude,” he said. “I loved taking the field with him in L.A. I don’t know what’s going to happen. That would be crazy. He’s a very, very good football player.”

Kupp laughed again.

“I don’t care how old he is, how long he’s not played, Aaron Donald is Aaron Donald. But it doesn’t matter because I told him he can’t.”

Fonseca has long been touted as the next big thing, first garnering attention when he followed in the footsteps of Sinner and Alcaraz to win the 2024 ATP Next Gen finals – the end-of-season showpiece for players under the age of 21 – before bursting into the spotlight with his victory over Rublev in Melbourne barely a month later.

He clinched his maiden ATP title on the clay courts of Buenos Aires in February 2025 before reaching the third round on his French Open debut, where he lost to Britain’s Jack Draper. And wherever he went, a carnival of Brazilian flags followed.

Twelve months after making his bow in Paris as the world number 65, he returned as the 28th seed but, while there have been flashes of promise in that period – reaching the third round at Wimbledon, a second career title at last October’s Swiss Indoors, and a quarter-final at the Monte-Carlo Masters – there was a sense he hadn’t quite lived up to his precocious talent.

No more. At the sixth time of asking, Fonseca is through to the second week of a major.

He’s gone where no teenager has gone before in beating Djokovic at a Grand Slam, and is only the sixth to do so at any ATP Tour-level event.

He is the first player since Philipp Kohlschreiber, in 2009, to knock Djokovic out before the quarter-finals at the French Open and the first to do so at any Slam since the 2024 US Open.

“Joao Fonseca has definitely announced himself now,” Annabel Croft said on BBC Radio 5 Live. “He can proudly say he has lived up to the hype, because everyone was saying he hadn’t done much since the hype.

“When all the Brazilians and South Americans were running to the courts to watch him play a couple of years ago, now we know why.”

“It took time for him to find his feet, and the crowd was going to play such an important part if he could get them going, and it literally ended in fireworks,” added former French Open semi-finalist Jo Konta on TNT Sports.

“It was exactly the situation Joao needed to bring out that level of tennis.

“He just played one of the biggest matches we’ve seen for some time.”

Firefighters battled a fire Sunday that erupted in the early morning and remained active well into the afternoon at a downtown L.A. office supplies store.

Roughly 120 firefighters were called about 4 a.m. to the two-story building with a mezzanine at 1225 S. Hope St. near West Pico Boulevard. Upon arrival, firefighters encountered heavy smoke and flames. One firefighter suffered minor injuries in the battle and was hospitalized.

Firefighters transitioned from offensive to defensive mode and used a remote-suppression robot to enter the building, LAFD spokesperson Jennifer Middleton said. Arson and emergency air units also were requested.

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1. Firefighters battled a fire Sunday that erupted in the early morning and remained active well into the afternoon at a downtown L.A. office supplies store. (Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times)

The blaze was initially contained by 5:52 a.m., but the building’s contents rekindled, said LAFD Battalion Chief Peter Hsiao.

About 10 a.m., firefighters were “trying to remove paper from the building to stop it from catching on fire,” Hsiao said.

By 10:30 a.m., the building’s roof had collapsed, according to Times photographer Kayla Bartkowski, who was at the scene. Thirty minutes later, the building was again engulfed in flames.

At 1:30 p.m., firefighters were trying to contain the blaze by using a forklift and heavy machinery to pull boxes of office supplies and pallets of paper out of the building, then spraying it all down with water.

Firefighters on the roof also were spraying the fire to prevent it from spreading, she added.

A blaze was reported at about 4 a.m. in downtown L.A. at 1225 South Hope St.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

The address is associated with Bluebird Office Supplies. A voicemail left for a number listed for the business owner was not immediately returned.

No one was inside the building at the time of the blaze, Middleton said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.