Following a buzz-worthy premiere at this year’s SXSW Festival, Universal Pictures released “The Fall Guy” nationwide on May 3. The film directed by David Leitch and written by Drew Pearce is loosely based on the 1980s TV series about stunt performers. Oscar nominee Ryan Gosling stars as Colt Seavers, a stuntman working on his ex-girlfriend’s (Emily Blunt) directorial debut action film, only to find himself involved in a conspiracy surrounding the film’s lead actor.
Early reviews for the action comedy have been overwhelmingly positive. It holds fresh at 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critics consensus reading, “With action, comedy, romance, and a pair of marvelously matched stars, ‘The Fall Guy’ might be the rare mainstream movie with something to entertain everyone.” Read our full review round-up below.
See Box office preview: Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt’s action rom-com ‘The Fall Guy’ kicks off Summer 2024
Adrian Horton of The Guardian writes,...
Early reviews for the action comedy have been overwhelmingly positive. It holds fresh at 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critics consensus reading, “With action, comedy, romance, and a pair of marvelously matched stars, ‘The Fall Guy’ might be the rare mainstream movie with something to entertain everyone.” Read our full review round-up below.
See Box office preview: Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt’s action rom-com ‘The Fall Guy’ kicks off Summer 2024
Adrian Horton of The Guardian writes,...
- 5/4/2024
- by Vincent Mandile
- Gold Derby
Exclusive: Atx TV Festival has announced the finalists for this year’s Pitch Competition.
Here they are in alphabetical order:
Clue Castle by Nell Kessler, (Diplo)rable by Shatha Yas, Golden by Darren Bluestone, Good Grief by Zavior Phillips, Live From New York by Carolyn Getches and Hilary C. Gish, Mourning Wood by Garrett Williams, Oakdale Country Club by Toni Adeyemi, Rats! by Candelaria Duran and Robert Daniels, Seasick by Libby Glenn and Taylor Kerr, and Swallows by Nathan Pearson.
Find details about each of the Top 10 finalists’ pitches below. Atx TV Festival will be held in Austin, Texas, from May 30 to June 2.
“Working with the Pitch Finalists has become one of my favorite parts of what I do,” Emily Gipson, co-founder and co-president, Atx TV Festival said in a statement. “I love getting to know each of them throughout the year and diving into their projects, as well as...
Here they are in alphabetical order:
Clue Castle by Nell Kessler, (Diplo)rable by Shatha Yas, Golden by Darren Bluestone, Good Grief by Zavior Phillips, Live From New York by Carolyn Getches and Hilary C. Gish, Mourning Wood by Garrett Williams, Oakdale Country Club by Toni Adeyemi, Rats! by Candelaria Duran and Robert Daniels, Seasick by Libby Glenn and Taylor Kerr, and Swallows by Nathan Pearson.
Find details about each of the Top 10 finalists’ pitches below. Atx TV Festival will be held in Austin, Texas, from May 30 to June 2.
“Working with the Pitch Finalists has become one of my favorite parts of what I do,” Emily Gipson, co-founder and co-president, Atx TV Festival said in a statement. “I love getting to know each of them throughout the year and diving into their projects, as well as...
- 4/12/2024
- by Katie Campione
- Deadline Film + TV
Austin, TX – The 2024Sxsw Conference and Festivals wrapped on March 16th, after nine days of magic and Austin wackiness, showcasing film, TV, interactive, conferences, interviews and music. The Film & TV Fest named “Bob Trevino Likes It” as the top Narrative Feature and “Marvin is Sorry” as top TV Pilot.
The Narrative Jury included Chicago critic Robert Daniels. The Jury’s statement about “Bob Trevino Likes It” was “Tracie Laymon’s semi-autobiographical story of a struggling young woman who finds anchor in an unlikely connection feels at once familiar and yet surprising. Laymon’s sure hand transforms what might have been saccharine into something raw thanks to vulnerable lead performances from Barbie Ferreira and an unusually uncool John Leguizamo. Refreshingly real and wrenchingly bittersweet, “Bob Trevino Likes It” stole our hearts and earned this prize.”
The following is the list of top honorees …
Grand Jury Prize - Narrative Feature
Bob Trevino Likes It
Photo credit: SXSW.
The Narrative Jury included Chicago critic Robert Daniels. The Jury’s statement about “Bob Trevino Likes It” was “Tracie Laymon’s semi-autobiographical story of a struggling young woman who finds anchor in an unlikely connection feels at once familiar and yet surprising. Laymon’s sure hand transforms what might have been saccharine into something raw thanks to vulnerable lead performances from Barbie Ferreira and an unusually uncool John Leguizamo. Refreshingly real and wrenchingly bittersweet, “Bob Trevino Likes It” stole our hearts and earned this prize.”
The following is the list of top honorees …
Grand Jury Prize - Narrative Feature
Bob Trevino Likes It
Photo credit: SXSW.
- 3/18/2024
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Reviews are out for “Civil War,” the controversial thriller from Oscar-nominated writer-director Alex Garland. Critics who saw the film’s premiere at South by Southwest are mostly impressed by the politically charged A24 film. It has an 81% “Fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes and a “generally favorable” score of 72 on Metacritic. While the trailer drew some derision for U.K. native Garland’s apparent misunderstanding of American politics for suggesting a separatist alliance between California and Texas, critics say that the film itself is much more “politically astute and plausible” than reactions for the trailer gave it credit for. And they emphasize that the film, which follows four journalists as they travel across America during a rapidly escalating civil war in the near future, is something very different than what it appears to be on the surface.
In a rave review, Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com calls “Civil War” “a...
In a rave review, Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com calls “Civil War” “a...
- 3/15/2024
- by Liam Mathews
- Gold Derby
Having delivered acclaimed gems including La La Land, First Man, and Whiplash, Damien Chazelle was given a huge budget and full creative control for Babylon. While the director didn’t compromise his vision for the film and delivered what he set out to make, the underwhelming returns at the box office have now created concerns for his next feature.
Opposed to its budget of $80 million, Babylon only managed to rack in $15 million domestically, becoming a major flop for Paramount. The acclaimed director is now unsure whether his next project will see the end of the tunnel or not, as fans come forward to express their love for Babylon.
Babylon (2022)
Damien Chazelle Is Unsure if His Next Film Will Get Made
While box-office figures don’t dictate the quality of a film, they certainly play a major role in getting certain passion projects of filmmakers greenlit. And with Babylon being a financial flop,...
Opposed to its budget of $80 million, Babylon only managed to rack in $15 million domestically, becoming a major flop for Paramount. The acclaimed director is now unsure whether his next project will see the end of the tunnel or not, as fans come forward to express their love for Babylon.
Babylon (2022)
Damien Chazelle Is Unsure if His Next Film Will Get Made
While box-office figures don’t dictate the quality of a film, they certainly play a major role in getting certain passion projects of filmmakers greenlit. And with Babylon being a financial flop,...
- 3/2/2024
- by Santanu Roy
- FandomWire
Plot: Based on Donald L. Miller’s book of the same name and scripted by John Orloff, “Masters of the Air” follows the men of the 100th Bomb Group (the “Bloody Hundredth”) as they conduct perilous bombing raids over Nazi Germany and grapple with the frigid conditions, lack of oxygen, and sheer terror of combat conducted at 25,000 feet in the air. Portraying the psychological and emotional price paid by these young men as they helped destroy the horror of Hitler’s Third Reich, is at the heart of “Masters of the Air.” Some were shot down and captured; some were wounded or killed. And some were lucky enough to make it home. Regardless of individual fate, a toll was exacted on them all.
Review: In 2001, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg produced one of the greatest television series ever. Based on the book by Stephen E. Ambrose, Band of Brothers chronicled...
Review: In 2001, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg produced one of the greatest television series ever. Based on the book by Stephen E. Ambrose, Band of Brothers chronicled...
- 1/28/2024
- by Alex Maidy
- JoBlo.com
Updated: Just hours after this article was first posted, MGM+ announced it had acquired Alex Gibney’s “In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon” and will air as a two-part docuseries on March 17 and March 24, 2024 at 9 p.m. Edt/Pdt.
It’s not too late to pick up a thoughtful gift for the people in your life, and that includes film distributors. While much of Hollywood is shutting down in advance of the holidays, plenty of cinema-loving elves are still toiling away in hopes of seeing their (very deserving) films land underneath the metaphorical tree.
And there are plenty of gifts to share, because even as the distribution landscape continues to shift and shape with startling regularity, some of the year’s most interesting and unique cinematic efforts are still looking for a home. In fact, we’ve got 18 of them wrapped and ready to go.
This holiday season,...
It’s not too late to pick up a thoughtful gift for the people in your life, and that includes film distributors. While much of Hollywood is shutting down in advance of the holidays, plenty of cinema-loving elves are still toiling away in hopes of seeing their (very deserving) films land underneath the metaphorical tree.
And there are plenty of gifts to share, because even as the distribution landscape continues to shift and shape with startling regularity, some of the year’s most interesting and unique cinematic efforts are still looking for a home. In fact, we’ve got 18 of them wrapped and ready to go.
This holiday season,...
- 12/6/2023
- by Kate Erbland and David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Timothée Chalamet transformed into Willy Wonka for Paul King’s eponymously-titled prequel for the beloved character, but that doesn’t mean first reactions weren’t full of a few critics calling the film nuts.
Chalamet stars as a young entrepreneur setting out to build a chocolate empire in musical film “Wonka.” The film is set 25 years before the events of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” with the feature being deemed a “companion” film to the 1971 original Roald Dahl adaptation. Actor Simon Farnaby wrote the script alongside director King, reuniting after “Paddington 2.” King previously teased that “Wonka” would harness the magic of the “golden age of MGM musicals” hailing from the 1940s and ’50s to tell the sweet tale.
Oscar-nominated star Chalamet did not have to audition for the musical after his viral high school raps circulated the Internet and led director King to cast the actor as Willy Wonka...
Chalamet stars as a young entrepreneur setting out to build a chocolate empire in musical film “Wonka.” The film is set 25 years before the events of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” with the feature being deemed a “companion” film to the 1971 original Roald Dahl adaptation. Actor Simon Farnaby wrote the script alongside director King, reuniting after “Paddington 2.” King previously teased that “Wonka” would harness the magic of the “golden age of MGM musicals” hailing from the 1940s and ’50s to tell the sweet tale.
Oscar-nominated star Chalamet did not have to audition for the musical after his viral high school raps circulated the Internet and led director King to cast the actor as Willy Wonka...
- 11/28/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” is a sumptuous feast for the eyes according to film critics who just saw the film. The movie, detailing the life of the Emperor Napoleon (played by Joaquin Phoenix) and his relationship as both a ruler and a husband to Empress Josephine (Vanessa Kirby) is “a lot of movie” according to critic and writer William Bibbiani.
The film will premiere in a truncated two hour and 38 minute cut in theaters, while debuting a four-hour cut on Apple TV+.
Many critics cited the biggest flaw was that it felt like the time had been condensed. According to IndieWire’s David Ehrlich, “Napoleon definitely feels like a 4-hour movie that’s been cut to ribbons, but it’s So funny during the first half when it’s all about Ridley Scott just reading Napoleon for filth and laughing at how embarrassing it is to be a man with ambitions.
The film will premiere in a truncated two hour and 38 minute cut in theaters, while debuting a four-hour cut on Apple TV+.
Many critics cited the biggest flaw was that it felt like the time had been condensed. According to IndieWire’s David Ehrlich, “Napoleon definitely feels like a 4-hour movie that’s been cut to ribbons, but it’s So funny during the first half when it’s all about Ridley Scott just reading Napoleon for filth and laughing at how embarrassing it is to be a man with ambitions.
- 11/15/2023
- by Kristen Lopez
- The Wrap
Ridley Scott has proven himself a master of the historical epic, with many fans eagerly awaiting the release of Napoleon starring Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby. The film recently had its world premiere in Paris, and the first reactions to Napoleon have begun to emerge. We’ll update with more Napoleon reactions as they roll out.
Napoleon is a triumph that sees Ridley Scott at his best. The action set pieces are unforgiving and both Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby disappear into their roles. The film is always at its peak when they're on screen together.
Full review coming soon to @DiscussingFilm pic.twitter.com/muukvfT6PQ
— Andrew J. Salazar (@AndrewJ626) November 15, 2023
Ridley Scott prints the legend in #Napoleon/ #NapoleonMovie & it absolutely rips. A compelling love story between a man & his country, military career, wife & ego. Battle sequences are visceral, gory & gorgeously expansive in scale & scope. Phoenix is great, but Kirby transcends.
Napoleon is a triumph that sees Ridley Scott at his best. The action set pieces are unforgiving and both Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby disappear into their roles. The film is always at its peak when they're on screen together.
Full review coming soon to @DiscussingFilm pic.twitter.com/muukvfT6PQ
— Andrew J. Salazar (@AndrewJ626) November 15, 2023
Ridley Scott prints the legend in #Napoleon/ #NapoleonMovie & it absolutely rips. A compelling love story between a man & his country, military career, wife & ego. Battle sequences are visceral, gory & gorgeously expansive in scale & scope. Phoenix is great, but Kirby transcends.
- 11/15/2023
- by Kevin Fraser
- JoBlo.com
Killers of the Flower Moon. Interviewed by the Hollywood Reporter at the film’s Los Angeles premiere, Osage language consultant Christopher Cote shared his thoughts on Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. “As an Osage, I really wanted this to be from the perspective of Mollie and what her family experienced, but I think it would take an Osage to do that,” Cote said from the red carpet, referencing Lily Gladstone’s character in the film. “Martin Scorsese, not being Osage, I think he did a great job representing our people, but this history is being told almost from the perspective of [Mollie’s husband] Ernest Burkhart and they kind of give him this conscience and kind of depict that there’s love. But when somebody conspires to murder your entire family, that’s not love. That’s not love, that’s just beyond abuse.”Cote continued:i think in the end,...
- 11/13/2023
- MUBI
There's no doubt about it: Ncuti Gatwa is having a bit of a moment. 2023 has been a big year for the Rwandan–Scottish actor, with the final season of his breakout hit show "Sex Education" hitting the airwaves right after he appeared alongside A-listers as one of the Kens in "Barbie." Now, he's well on his way to leading-man status, including an upcoming stint as one of the UK's most famous characters. Although his onscreen career is just getting started, he's already starred in a few very recognizable TV shows and movies. Here's everywhere you can catch him so far - and where he'll be appearing next.
Ncuti Gatwa Movies "Horrible Histories: The Movie - Rotten Romans" (2019)
This historical parody from the beloved "Horrible Histories" team narrates the story of the Roman Empire in Britain - albeit with some comedic historical liberties. Gatwa plays Timidius, a minor Roman character.
"The Last Letter from Your Lover...
Ncuti Gatwa Movies "Horrible Histories: The Movie - Rotten Romans" (2019)
This historical parody from the beloved "Horrible Histories" team narrates the story of the Roman Empire in Britain - albeit with some comedic historical liberties. Gatwa plays Timidius, a minor Roman character.
"The Last Letter from Your Lover...
- 11/4/2023
- by Amanda Prahl
- Popsugar.com
Updated: While the fall festival season often plays home to the kind of films we’ve been buzzing about for quite some time (here are 36 of those very titles), the kind of features long set for “awards season potential” before they roll so much as a trailer, the sort of heavy-hitters we’re eager to keep chatting about for months and months (here are 18 in particular that we loved), there are always a wide variety of gems that arrive on the circuit still looking for homes (read: a way to reach the wider movie-going public).
This year’s season is no exception, and while the Hollywood strikes have thrown more than a few wrenches into business-as-usual, the rise of interim agreements and the need for many non-amptp distributors to bulk up their slates mean that sales should still be cooking. While Netflix has already done the bulk of this season’s buying,...
This year’s season is no exception, and while the Hollywood strikes have thrown more than a few wrenches into business-as-usual, the rise of interim agreements and the need for many non-amptp distributors to bulk up their slates mean that sales should still be cooking. While Netflix has already done the bulk of this season’s buying,...
- 10/18/2023
- by Kate Erbland, David Ehrlich, Anne Thompson and Marcus Jones
- Indiewire
The Hollywood Reporter thanks the following 322 members of the global film community — listed alphabetically — for taking the time to cast a ballot to help us determine the 100 greatest film books of all time.
Seth Abramovitch
The Hollywood Reporter journalist/It Happened in Hollywood podcast host
Jo Addy
Soho House group film and entertainment director
Casey Affleck
Oscar-winning actor
Rutanya Alda
Author/actress
Stephanie Allain
Filmmaker
Victoria Alonso
Filmmaker/executive
Tony Angellotti
Publicist
Bonnie Arnold
Filmmaker/executive
Miguel Arteta
Filmmaker
Chris Auer
Filmmaker/film professor
John Badham
Filmmaker/film professor
Amy Baer
Executive
Matt Baer
Filmmaker
Lindsey Bahr
Journalist
Ramin Bahrani
Oscar-nominated filmmaker
Cameron Bailey
Toronto International Film Festival CEO/former film critic
John Bailey
Cinematographer/former Academy president
Bela Bajaria
Executive
Sean Baker
Filmmaker
Alec Baldwin
Oscar-nominated actor/author
Tino Balio
Author/film professor
Jeffrey Barbakow
Executive
Michael Barker
Executive
Mike Barnes
The Hollywood Reporter journalist
Jeanine Basinger
Author/film...
Seth Abramovitch
The Hollywood Reporter journalist/It Happened in Hollywood podcast host
Jo Addy
Soho House group film and entertainment director
Casey Affleck
Oscar-winning actor
Rutanya Alda
Author/actress
Stephanie Allain
Filmmaker
Victoria Alonso
Filmmaker/executive
Tony Angellotti
Publicist
Bonnie Arnold
Filmmaker/executive
Miguel Arteta
Filmmaker
Chris Auer
Filmmaker/film professor
John Badham
Filmmaker/film professor
Amy Baer
Executive
Matt Baer
Filmmaker
Lindsey Bahr
Journalist
Ramin Bahrani
Oscar-nominated filmmaker
Cameron Bailey
Toronto International Film Festival CEO/former film critic
John Bailey
Cinematographer/former Academy president
Bela Bajaria
Executive
Sean Baker
Filmmaker
Alec Baldwin
Oscar-nominated actor/author
Tino Balio
Author/film professor
Jeffrey Barbakow
Executive
Michael Barker
Executive
Mike Barnes
The Hollywood Reporter journalist
Jeanine Basinger
Author/film...
- 10/12/2023
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When it comes to the buzzier titles at any film festivals, traditional narrative cinema often hogs the spotlight. But the Toronto International Film Festival, held in Toronto, Canada in September 2023, has also provided an impressive array of non-fiction films, movies that take a look at the real-life workings of humanity. From sports documentaries and intimate explorations of war, to films about legendary musicians and meditative dives into family history, this year's crop of TIFF documentaries has a little something for everyone.
The best documentaries offer audiences a new perspective on the world around them, shedding light on important issues that might otherwise go unnoticed, or even just paying homage to the careers of beloved stars. Without the dramatic flourishes of narrative films, which embellish even stories based on real life, documentaries are able to prevent a much more authentic vision of the world -- albeit subject to the specific viewpoint of their filmmakers.
The best documentaries offer audiences a new perspective on the world around them, shedding light on important issues that might otherwise go unnoticed, or even just paying homage to the careers of beloved stars. Without the dramatic flourishes of narrative films, which embellish even stories based on real life, documentaries are able to prevent a much more authentic vision of the world -- albeit subject to the specific viewpoint of their filmmakers.
- 9/24/2023
- by Audrey Fox
- Slash Film
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSAggro Dr1ft.NYFF have announced a few new lineups, including their adventurous-looking Spotlight section, with new work by Harmony Korine, Hayao Miyazaki, Nathan Fielder & Benny Safdie, and more. They've also shared the experimental program for Currents, which opens with Eduardo Williams’s The Human Surge 3 and features James Benning, Deborah Stratman, and Pham Thien An. And finally, their Revivals section includes restorations of Jean Renoir’s “almost ghostly last film in Hollywood,” The Woman on the Beach (1947); Niki de Saint Phalle's first solo feature Un rêve plus long que la nuit (1976); and a 4K restoration of Horace Ové’s Pressure (1976), world-premiering in conjunction with the London Film Festival. Following news last week that Leila’s Brothers (2022) filmmakers Saeed Roustayi and Javad Noruzbegi have been sentenced to six months in prison, suspended over five years,...
- 8/23/2023
- MUBI
Whether or not you agree with Quentin Tarantino’s unsparing assertion that “’80s cinema is, along with the ’50s, the worst era in Hollywood history,” there’s a curiously undeniable truth to his follow-up statement: “Matched only by now! Matched only by the current era.” Revisiting the defining movies of the ’80s from our current perspective at the height of Barbenheimer summer, two things become abundantly clear.
The first is that modern Hollywood would probably need a Barbenheimer every month in order to equal the creative output of a studio system that used to be capable of releasing “Blade Runner” and “The Thing” on the same night as if it were just another Friday. The second is that, in a wide variety of different ways both negative and not, the ’80s provide a perfect match for the movies of our current moment — if not the current moment itself.
Perhaps that...
The first is that modern Hollywood would probably need a Barbenheimer every month in order to equal the creative output of a studio system that used to be capable of releasing “Blade Runner” and “The Thing” on the same night as if it were just another Friday. The second is that, in a wide variety of different ways both negative and not, the ’80s provide a perfect match for the movies of our current moment — if not the current moment itself.
Perhaps that...
- 8/14/2023
- by IndieWire Staff
- Indiewire
As the wait continues for those dagnabbit major Hollywood studios (AMPTP) to stop dragging their feet and hash out a fair deal with the striking actors' guild (SAG-AFTRA) and writers' guild (WGA), indie wunderkind entertainment company A24 just keeps on trucking along. Although the studio recently elected to delay "Problemista," the feature directorial debut from "Saturday Night Live" alum and "Los Espookys" co-creator/star Julio Torres that picked up lots of critical acclaim from its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival (read /Film's review), A24's Australian horror flick "Talk to Me" continues to do boffo business at the box office and even has a sequel in the works.
Meanwhile, the studio has yet to slow down its marketing for its upcoming slate of films, including "Dicks: The Musical" and the decidedly different sounding "All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt," another film from a first-time feature director that garnered raves at Sundance earlier this year.
Meanwhile, the studio has yet to slow down its marketing for its upcoming slate of films, including "Dicks: The Musical" and the decidedly different sounding "All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt," another film from a first-time feature director that garnered raves at Sundance earlier this year.
- 8/9/2023
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
“The Idol” — HBO’s new series starring Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye as a Svengali-like guru who takes a pop star (Lily Rose-Depp) under his wing — premieres on June 4 after a full year of making headlines for its reportedly “chaotic” production, “toxic” set and, according to some, “sexual torture porn” content.
Here’s a timeline of all “The Idol” controversies that have beset the series, from the replacing of original director Amy Seimetz to reports from traumatized crew members to reception by critics, who, to date, have given it a dismal 25% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Amy Seimetz is out, Sam Levinson is in as director (April 2022) Amy Seimetz, Sam Levinson (Getty Images)
In April 2022, HBO said that the show, which began filming in November 2021, would be undergoing a massive rehaul with significant reshoots and several new cast members. Then came reports that director Amy Seimetz, who’d co-created the “The Girlfriend Experience,...
Here’s a timeline of all “The Idol” controversies that have beset the series, from the replacing of original director Amy Seimetz to reports from traumatized crew members to reception by critics, who, to date, have given it a dismal 25% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Amy Seimetz is out, Sam Levinson is in as director (April 2022) Amy Seimetz, Sam Levinson (Getty Images)
In April 2022, HBO said that the show, which began filming in November 2021, would be undergoing a massive rehaul with significant reshoots and several new cast members. Then came reports that director Amy Seimetz, who’d co-created the “The Girlfriend Experience,...
- 6/3/2023
- by Sharon Knolle
- The Wrap
With the premiere of “Killers of the Flower Moon” at the Cannes Film Festival this weekend, one of the key questions for audiences was if Martin Scorsese did right by the Osage Nation. While the film examines a critical turning point in the history of the tribe, as our own Robert Daniels noted, there are limits to how much even well-meaning direction can capture onscreen when a filmmaker is not part of the community he is covering.
Continue reading Osage Nation Leaders Speak Positively About ‘Killers Of The Flower Moon’ & Martin Scorsese at The Playlist.
Continue reading Osage Nation Leaders Speak Positively About ‘Killers Of The Flower Moon’ & Martin Scorsese at The Playlist.
- 5/22/2023
- by Matthew Monagle
- The Playlist
For critics attending the 76th Cannes Film Festival this week, Martin Scorsese's adaptation of David Grann's book "Killers of the Flower Moon" was among the hottest tickets in town. The latest film from the acclaimed director has been garnering headlines months ahead of its release, as the 206-minute epic is set to tell the real-life story of a series of murders on Osage Native American land in the 1920s.
Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert de Niro, and the ever-underrated "Certain Women" star Lily Gladstone all share the screen in a story about the greed and violence that erupt among white men when the Osage people strike oil in Oklahoma. Scorsese has revealed that his real-life meetings with Indigenous descendants of those murdered changed the way he wanted to frame the story, and he's also spoken about how the story reckons with genocide in the midst of a love story. In all,...
Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert de Niro, and the ever-underrated "Certain Women" star Lily Gladstone all share the screen in a story about the greed and violence that erupt among white men when the Osage people strike oil in Oklahoma. Scorsese has revealed that his real-life meetings with Indigenous descendants of those murdered changed the way he wanted to frame the story, and he's also spoken about how the story reckons with genocide in the midst of a love story. In all,...
- 5/20/2023
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
With the 2023 Cannes Film Festival less than two weeks away, we’re delighted to exclusively announce the second edition of the “Unifrance Critics Lab,” an initiative designed to strengthen the ties between English-speaking film critics and French artists and the film industry. The program’s successful inaugural edition in 2022 gave the film industry and Cannes access to outstanding, up-and-coming freelance writers, all of whom were nominated by leading film critics.
The program provides a valuable opportunity for both established and up-and-coming US and UK film journalists to discover the new generation of emerging French talent and their exciting works, while better connecting with key French auteurs and industry players to broaden their professional opportunities. The cost of attending Cannes is often one of the highest-cited barriers to entry for many critics without a full-time position, and this often leaves out crucial, diverse voices from the conversation.
“The Cannes Film Festival...
The program provides a valuable opportunity for both established and up-and-coming US and UK film journalists to discover the new generation of emerging French talent and their exciting works, while better connecting with key French auteurs and industry players to broaden their professional opportunities. The cost of attending Cannes is often one of the highest-cited barriers to entry for many critics without a full-time position, and this often leaves out crucial, diverse voices from the conversation.
“The Cannes Film Festival...
- 5/4/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has finally been unveiled for its first audience, with the Hollywood premiere as well as press screenings taking place Thursday evening. The first reactions are pouring in ahead of the film’s May 5 release.
This is the final Marvel Studios film from writer-director James Gunn, who became a top director with the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie and has risen to take the top job as co-head of DC Studios in the intervening years.
The film stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff and Sean Gunn, who star alongside franchise newcomers Will Poulter and Chukwudi Iwuji.
Much of the cast has been together for a decade, and this is the end of the road for many of them. Bautista and Saldaña have both stated they are through with their characters. “I don’t think this is the end for the Guardians.
This is the final Marvel Studios film from writer-director James Gunn, who became a top director with the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie and has risen to take the top job as co-head of DC Studios in the intervening years.
The film stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff and Sean Gunn, who star alongside franchise newcomers Will Poulter and Chukwudi Iwuji.
Much of the cast has been together for a decade, and this is the end of the road for many of them. Bautista and Saldaña have both stated they are through with their characters. “I don’t think this is the end for the Guardians.
- 4/28/2023
- by Aaron Couch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Where to begin with this year’s summer preview?
The “big” titles, including new superhero films, another zippy entry into the “Fast and Furious” franchise, the continuing adventures of Tom Cruise running against “Impossible” odds, or even a kicky new Indiana Jones film? What about the latest picks from some of our favorite filmmakers, Wes Anderson to Greta Gerwig, Christopher Nolan to Nicole Holofcener, Paul Schrader to Niki Caro, Christian Petzold to Rachel Sennott?
Or what about the rising filmmaking stars we’ve already fallen for, like Celine Song, Laurel Parmet, Adele Lim, Charlotte Regan, and Savanah Leaf? Should we bet even bigger, noting that this summer includes at least two films we’ve already crowned some of the best of the year?
Or, better yet, how about we let the films speak for themselves? As another summer movie season beckons, we’ve dug into the calendar to pull out...
The “big” titles, including new superhero films, another zippy entry into the “Fast and Furious” franchise, the continuing adventures of Tom Cruise running against “Impossible” odds, or even a kicky new Indiana Jones film? What about the latest picks from some of our favorite filmmakers, Wes Anderson to Greta Gerwig, Christopher Nolan to Nicole Holofcener, Paul Schrader to Niki Caro, Christian Petzold to Rachel Sennott?
Or what about the rising filmmaking stars we’ve already fallen for, like Celine Song, Laurel Parmet, Adele Lim, Charlotte Regan, and Savanah Leaf? Should we bet even bigger, noting that this summer includes at least two films we’ve already crowned some of the best of the year?
Or, better yet, how about we let the films speak for themselves? As another summer movie season beckons, we’ve dug into the calendar to pull out...
- 4/18/2023
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The late '90s/early 2000s were a rough patch for Harrison Ford. Aside from 2000's "What Lies Beneath," the veteran star just couldn't seem to pick the right projects, with everything from 1999's "Random Hearts" to 2002's "Hollywood Homicide" (in which Ford agreed to star without seeing a finished script) struggling to make a critical or financial impression. But perhaps the lowest point came in 2002 when Ford starred in Kathryn Bigelow's sort of historical retelling of a narrowly averted Soviet submarine disaster, "K-19: The Widowmaker."
Loosely based on the story of the Soviet Union's first nuclear-powered submarine, which malfunctioned in 1961 and caused the death of 28 sailors from radiation poisoning, "K-19" was doomed from the outset. The film, as the Chicago Tribune put it, used a "fraction of the truth," noting that this was the National Geographic Society's first foray into blockbuster filmmaking. The company's then head...
Loosely based on the story of the Soviet Union's first nuclear-powered submarine, which malfunctioned in 1961 and caused the death of 28 sailors from radiation poisoning, "K-19" was doomed from the outset. The film, as the Chicago Tribune put it, used a "fraction of the truth," noting that this was the National Geographic Society's first foray into blockbuster filmmaking. The company's then head...
- 4/1/2023
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
Ever since Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival back in May of 2022, the movie has been gaining momentum. The film’s shining star, Austin Butler, has been showered with recognition reaping a whopping 27 nominations in the Best Actor category, including BAFTA where he won. He has also taken home a slew of breakthrough performer trophies. Here are five reasons why he could win the Oscar.
He’s embodying an icon
Of the top 10 contenders in our Best Actor odds, Butler is the only one who portrays a real-life fellow. And this isn’t just any regular Joe, it’s Elvis Presley… the highest selling solo recording artist of all time. Even if academy voters don’t recognise Butler from his previous body of work, his association with such an icon will make it easy for them to remember and recognise him.
He’s portraying a real-life person
In the past decade,...
He’s embodying an icon
Of the top 10 contenders in our Best Actor odds, Butler is the only one who portrays a real-life fellow. And this isn’t just any regular Joe, it’s Elvis Presley… the highest selling solo recording artist of all time. Even if academy voters don’t recognise Butler from his previous body of work, his association with such an icon will make it easy for them to remember and recognise him.
He’s portraying a real-life person
In the past decade,...
- 2/26/2023
- by Nick Bisa
- Gold Derby
The To Leslie star’s unexpected nomination has led to claims of exclusion of Black performers and a revival of the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag
• Peter Bradshaw on To Leslie: ‘A sad country song of a movie’
The Academy Awards has found itself at the centre of race row after Andrea Riseborough’s unexpected nomination for a best actress Oscar for her performance in To Leslie, seemingly at the expense of Viola Davis for The Woman King and Danielle Deadwyler for Till.
Following the Oscars nominations announcement last Tuesday, Till director Chinonye Chukwu denounced the film industry for “upholding whiteness and perpetuating an unabashed misogyny towards Black women”, and in a lengthy comment piece in the LA Times film critic Robert Daniels wrote: “Although it’s easy to point a finger at Riseborough for taking a slot from Black women, broken systems persist when we focus our ire on individuals … what...
• Peter Bradshaw on To Leslie: ‘A sad country song of a movie’
The Academy Awards has found itself at the centre of race row after Andrea Riseborough’s unexpected nomination for a best actress Oscar for her performance in To Leslie, seemingly at the expense of Viola Davis for The Woman King and Danielle Deadwyler for Till.
Following the Oscars nominations announcement last Tuesday, Till director Chinonye Chukwu denounced the film industry for “upholding whiteness and perpetuating an unabashed misogyny towards Black women”, and in a lengthy comment piece in the LA Times film critic Robert Daniels wrote: “Although it’s easy to point a finger at Riseborough for taking a slot from Black women, broken systems persist when we focus our ire on individuals … what...
- 1/30/2023
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
Damien Chazelle's "Babylon" may not have had the best of luck at the box office, but that doesn't necessarily speak to the quality of the movie. The film is a sweeping and bold epic that revels in the chaotic nature of the period in which it's set while also having themes focused on, as Robert Daniels wrote for /Film, "the fight between identity and assimilation." Just as Chazelle put his fascination and love for old Hollywood into the work, the actors he cast for the ensemble were sure to find interesting ways to get into the mindset of their characters. In the case of Diego Calva, who played the role of Manuel "Manny" Torres in the film, Chazelle found a way to get Calva to basically live out the role he would play in the movie.
In "Babylon," Manny is a Mexican immigrant who works odd jobs in Los...
In "Babylon," Manny is a Mexican immigrant who works odd jobs in Los...
- 1/3/2023
- by Ernesto Valenzuela
- Slash Film
The last-minute scramble to share best-of-the-year lists while voters across guilds and other bodies fill out their own ballots means plenty of films will disappear into the ether. That’s especially true of indie films and especially indie films released earlier in the year. While indies like “TÁR,” “Aftersun,” “Bones and All,” “The Inspection,” “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” and “Women Talking” deservedly sit atop the awards conversation and continue to dominate with nominations among blocs like the Independent Spirit and Gothams voters, there are plenty, plenty more that are well worth your time.
Below, IndieWire has rounded up 15 great indies from throughout 2022 that are worth a first or second look, ranging from homegrown American micro-budget movies to documentaries and foreign films released in arthouse theaters and on streaming platforms. Many of these appeared on IndieWire’s list of the Best Films of 2022 So Far published at the year’s halfway point,...
Below, IndieWire has rounded up 15 great indies from throughout 2022 that are worth a first or second look, ranging from homegrown American micro-budget movies to documentaries and foreign films released in arthouse theaters and on streaming platforms. Many of these appeared on IndieWire’s list of the Best Films of 2022 So Far published at the year’s halfway point,...
- 12/30/2022
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
With 2022 nearly on the books and 2023 nipping at our heels, it’s only fitting we take on the time-honored task of looking ahead at the movies that we can’t wait to see in the year to come.
2023 will bring a hefty number of much-hyped studio films, including sequels like “Magic Mike’s Last Dance,” “Creed III,” “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” “Dune: Part Two,” and “A Haunting in Venice.” Want even more franchises? Boy, have we got those in spades, including new entries into both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Universe, a new “John Wick” feature, a new “Scream” film and a new “Saw” film, and even yet another “Fast and Furious” film.
More edifying: Among even studio films, there are also plenty of original features, too, like “Oppenheimer,” “Cocaine Bear,” “Plane,” “Megan,” “65,” “Next Goal Wins,” “Strays,” “Challengers,” and “True Love.
2023 will bring a hefty number of much-hyped studio films, including sequels like “Magic Mike’s Last Dance,” “Creed III,” “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” “Dune: Part Two,” and “A Haunting in Venice.” Want even more franchises? Boy, have we got those in spades, including new entries into both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Universe, a new “John Wick” feature, a new “Scream” film and a new “Saw” film, and even yet another “Fast and Furious” film.
More edifying: Among even studio films, there are also plenty of original features, too, like “Oppenheimer,” “Cocaine Bear,” “Plane,” “Megan,” “65,” “Next Goal Wins,” “Strays,” “Challengers,” and “True Love.
- 12/28/2022
- by Kate Erbland and David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
The Killer is a South Korean action thriller movie directed by Jae-Hoon Choi. It stars Jang Hyuk yu.
Merciless action.
Premise
A retired hitman whose wife goes on a trip with her friend, and asks him to look after the friend’s teenage daughter. Things go awry when he is forced to use a little violence to protect the girl from juvenile delinquents, but then they are found dead and the girl is kidnapped.
About the Movie
A “recipe” that worked well – very well – a few years back, and that, applying the same premise and an almost identical character, keeps on repeating itself movie after movie. The elements are there, with the good action sequences, the heroic character, but it not new. However, of what you seek if just raw action this might be to your liking.
Reviews
While the tightly choreographed action scenes in “The Killer” take their cue...
Merciless action.
Premise
A retired hitman whose wife goes on a trip with her friend, and asks him to look after the friend’s teenage daughter. Things go awry when he is forced to use a little violence to protect the girl from juvenile delinquents, but then they are found dead and the girl is kidnapped.
About the Movie
A “recipe” that worked well – very well – a few years back, and that, applying the same premise and an almost identical character, keeps on repeating itself movie after movie. The elements are there, with the good action sequences, the heroic character, but it not new. However, of what you seek if just raw action this might be to your liking.
Reviews
While the tightly choreographed action scenes in “The Killer” take their cue...
- 12/10/2022
- by Elisabeth Plank
- Martin Cid Magazine - Movies
2022 was supposed to be the year that movies came roaring back to life, and in some ways it almost was. On the business side of things, multiplexes were starved for content and arthouses suffered outside of New York and Los Angeles — where films like “Tár” and “The Banshees of Inisherin” exploded out of the gate, only to fade as they expanded across the country — while a late-career triumph from the most commercially successful filmmaker in American history offered a poignant reflection on the relationship between art and commerce as it underperformed at the box office.
And yet, “Top Gun: Maverick” proved that the masses could still be tempted by the promise of new (or refurbished) spectacle, while the astonishing success of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” confirmed that younger audiences are eager as ever to champion stuff that speaks their language.
But if it never quite felt as if the...
And yet, “Top Gun: Maverick” proved that the masses could still be tempted by the promise of new (or refurbished) spectacle, while the astonishing success of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” confirmed that younger audiences are eager as ever to champion stuff that speaks their language.
But if it never quite felt as if the...
- 12/1/2022
- by David Ehrlich, Kate Erbland and Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Welcome, one and all, to the latest episode of The Film Stage Show! Today, Brian Roan, Bill Graham, and Robyn Bahr are joined by Robert Daniels to discuss James Gray’s Armageddon Time, now playing in theaters.
Enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor. For a limited time, all new Patreon supporters will receive a free Blu-ray/DVD. After becoming a contributor, e-mail podcast@thefilmstage.com for an up-to-date list of available films.
Subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Overcast, or stream below.
The Film Stage Show is supported by Mubi, a curated streaming service showcasing exceptional films from around the globe. Every day, Mubi premieres a new film. Whether it’s a timeless classic, a cult favorite, or an acclaimed masterpiece — it’s guaranteed to be either a movie you’ve been dying to see or one you...
Enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor. For a limited time, all new Patreon supporters will receive a free Blu-ray/DVD. After becoming a contributor, e-mail podcast@thefilmstage.com for an up-to-date list of available films.
Subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Overcast, or stream below.
The Film Stage Show is supported by Mubi, a curated streaming service showcasing exceptional films from around the globe. Every day, Mubi premieres a new film. Whether it’s a timeless classic, a cult favorite, or an acclaimed masterpiece — it’s guaranteed to be either a movie you’ve been dying to see or one you...
- 11/21/2022
- by Brian Roan
- The Film Stage
Pakistan’s official submission for the Best International Feature Oscar has been banned in its native country. A document signed by the Deputy Director of the government’s Information & Broadcasting ministry ruled that Saim Sadiq’s “Joyland” contains “highly objectionable material which do [sic] not conform with [Pakistan’s] social values and moral standards.”
See 2023 Oscars: Best International Feature Predictions [Updated: October 31]
The Urdu-language domestic drama follows different members of a middle-class family in Lahore as they navigate generational divides and pressures to conform to the same “social values and moral standards” of which the film itself has apparently run afoul. The narrative’s central conflict is set in motion when the family’s youngest son falls in love with a transgender dancer. Based on 15 reviews, the film has a 100 Rotten Tomatoes approval rating.
Praising the filmmaking and morally complex screenplay, Robert Daniels of RogerEbert.com called the movie a “bold and elegant statement,” while...
See 2023 Oscars: Best International Feature Predictions [Updated: October 31]
The Urdu-language domestic drama follows different members of a middle-class family in Lahore as they navigate generational divides and pressures to conform to the same “social values and moral standards” of which the film itself has apparently run afoul. The narrative’s central conflict is set in motion when the family’s youngest son falls in love with a transgender dancer. Based on 15 reviews, the film has a 100 Rotten Tomatoes approval rating.
Praising the filmmaking and morally complex screenplay, Robert Daniels of RogerEbert.com called the movie a “bold and elegant statement,” while...
- 11/15/2022
- by Ronald Meyer
- Gold Derby
Jordan Peele’s Nope is a UFO story where characters aren’t concerned with killing an alien so much as capturing it on camera. In that regard, it’s an extraterrestrial thriller that feels very much in sync with our zeitgeist, one whose chief preoccupation revolves around our struggles to process singular, horrific happenings in an age when they are so swiftly commodified into something sellable, scrollable, and endlessly watchable. Daniel Kaluuya plays Oj Haywood, Keke Palmer his sister Emerald. They’re the descendants of the Black jockey immortalized in Eadweard Muybridge’s The Horse in Motion (1878), a man whose name (unlike the horse’s and its owner’s) has long been erased from history. The Haywood siblings own a ranch in Agua Dulce, where they train horses for film appearances. But business is drying up, and a neighbor—former child star Ricky “Jupe” Park (Steven Yeun)—wants to buy them out.
- 8/16/2022
- MUBI
A24’s “Bodies, Bodies, Bodies” puts the kill in satirical.
Maria Bakalova stars in the film as Bee, the unassuming new girlfriend of Sophie (Amandla Stenberg), who is nervous to meet Sophie’s wealthy pals at a remote mansion. “They’re not as nihilistic as they look on the Internet,” Sophia assures Bee as they enter a lavish pool party.
Things quickly go sideways, though, as the rich millennials hunker down during a hurricane and a party game of Bodies, Bodies, Bodies turns Irl deadly. Who said backstabbing doesn’t mean literally stabbing someone to death with a champagne-popping machete?
Pete Davidson, Rachel Sennott, Lee Pace, Myha’la Herrold, and Chase Sui Wonders round out the cast of victims-slash-possible murderers. Halina Reijn directs, working from a screenplay by Sarah DeLappe based on a story by “Cat Person” author Kristen Roupenian. David Hinojosa and Ali Herting serve as producers.
Director Reijn previously...
Maria Bakalova stars in the film as Bee, the unassuming new girlfriend of Sophie (Amandla Stenberg), who is nervous to meet Sophie’s wealthy pals at a remote mansion. “They’re not as nihilistic as they look on the Internet,” Sophia assures Bee as they enter a lavish pool party.
Things quickly go sideways, though, as the rich millennials hunker down during a hurricane and a party game of Bodies, Bodies, Bodies turns Irl deadly. Who said backstabbing doesn’t mean literally stabbing someone to death with a champagne-popping machete?
Pete Davidson, Rachel Sennott, Lee Pace, Myha’la Herrold, and Chase Sui Wonders round out the cast of victims-slash-possible murderers. Halina Reijn directs, working from a screenplay by Sarah DeLappe based on a story by “Cat Person” author Kristen Roupenian. David Hinojosa and Ali Herting serve as producers.
Director Reijn previously...
- 7/12/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Acclaimed on the festival circuit and enjoying a summer sleeper release as only Neon can mount, the hypnotic portrait “Beba” takes no prisoners and leaves no casualties in its director’s searching portrait of her own NYC-born, Afro-Latina roots.
Filmmaker Rebeca Huntt, in an exclusive conversation hosted here by IndieWire, sat down with “The Wolfpack” and “Betty” filmmaker Crystal Moselle to discuss the groundbreaking debut feature. The film follows Huntt as she undertakes an unflinching exploration of her own identity through the format of a cinematic memoir. Reflecting on her childhood and adolescence in New York City as the daughter of a Dominican father and Venezuelan mother, Huntt investigates the historical, societal, and generational trauma she’s inherited and ponders how those ancient wounds have shaped her, while simultaneously considering the universal truths that connect us all as humans.
Throughout the movie, Huntt searches for a way to forge her...
Filmmaker Rebeca Huntt, in an exclusive conversation hosted here by IndieWire, sat down with “The Wolfpack” and “Betty” filmmaker Crystal Moselle to discuss the groundbreaking debut feature. The film follows Huntt as she undertakes an unflinching exploration of her own identity through the format of a cinematic memoir. Reflecting on her childhood and adolescence in New York City as the daughter of a Dominican father and Venezuelan mother, Huntt investigates the historical, societal, and generational trauma she’s inherited and ponders how those ancient wounds have shaped her, while simultaneously considering the universal truths that connect us all as humans.
Throughout the movie, Huntt searches for a way to forge her...
- 7/9/2022
- by IndieWire Staff
- Indiewire
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