I will say this: Words do matter, but Mahershala Ali's statement today about the "n-word" and how its use “by those who aren’t black," not being "up for debate” is rather interesting and, ironically, opens up debate. For years now the word has been used by the people it was historically used to humiliate — many believe as a way to reclaim it. But does that make logical sense? Maybe the past should be the past and the word should be condemned by all, not being used as a way to let it die a slow death.
Read moreJason Reitman's already underrated ‘The Front Runner' hits theaters today
You can read my thoughts on Jason Reitman's "The Front Runner" here, but, suffice to say, I am surprised by the general lack of enthusiasm for this forcefully entertaining and relevant picture, which is being released today. The reviews have been mild, a 64% fresh rating on RottenTomatoes and a 60 on Metacritic, huh?! Did we watch the same movie?
Read moreTerry Gilliam Calls Out a Film Culture Filled With ‘Laziness' and ‘Cut And Paste' Reviews
Viggo Mortensen Apologizes After Using The N-Word During ‘Green Book’ Q&A
During a Q&A following a screening of his latest film "Green Book" on Wednesday (via THR), a film about racism in the 1960's, Viggo Mortensen answered a question by using the N-word. The actor was trying to describe how progress is being made in today’s climate. The gist of what he said was about how racism came in waves, saying “I’m gonna go off on a tangent here, but it’s important, and I don’t like saying the word, but, for instance, people don’t say n—— anymore.”
Read moreOh God.
Andy Serkis is directing this. Netflix planning on a theatrical release. But does anybody care?
Read moreDisney streaming service to launch in 2019; will be called Disney+
In news that had rocked the industry to its core, Disney announced late last year that it would, eventually, be pulling its movies from Netflix and starting a new streaming service solely composed of the Disney content — past, present, and future — which actually is pretty gigantic and could easily fill any streaming service. The goal was, maybe still is, to launch the branded streaming service in 2019, which will be home for all their feature films and TV shows. It’s a huge move, but one that was inevitable.
Read more‘The Witch’ Director Robert Eggers’ New Horror Film ‘The Lighthouse’ Will Be Released Next Year
Rian Johnson: Depiction of Luke Skywalker in 'The Last Jedi' Is “100% Consistent” With Original Trilogy
Rian Johnson just tweeted, “Hot take: Luke is in fact 100% consistent with his character (not the way he’s described in marketing blurbs, but his actual, based-on-his-words-and-actions character) from the [Original Trilogy]. I’ll be at the bar if you need me.”
He's obviously trolling all the haters. No other reason to bring this up a year after the film was released.
Bryan Cranston Confirms, 'Breaking Bad' Movie Follows Jesse Pinkman Immediately After Series Finale
Yesterday we were one of the first sites to report that Vince Gilligan was going to shoot a “Breaking Bad” movie in New Mexico. However, there wasn't much to report beyond that, no polt details were mentioned. However, Bryan Cranston's Walter White died in the series finale and I had mentioned that, if a film were to be made, chances are it could revolve around Aaron Paul's Jesse Pinkman.
Read moreJason Blum Booed Off-Stage at Israeli Film Festival for Insinuating Trump Caused Synagogue Shooting
Jason Blum is not having a good month. After being criticized just last week for saying that the reason why he hasn't hired any female directors in his company is because "there just aren't a lot of female directors, period." Backlash, of course, ensued.
Read moreBen Stiller: ‘Tropic Thunder’ probably couldn’t have been made today
Comedians like to push and push and push until that very fine line of what is deemed acceptable and unacceptable is somewhat squeezed to its very limit. That, to me at least, is what the very best comedy can do. Regardless of the situation that we find ourselves in today when it comes to what can and cannot be said, which is primarily being lead by 'activists' on social media, we need to be grateful that a movie such as Ben Stiller's "Tropic Thunder" exists in this maddening stratosphere.
Read moreBreaking Bad Movie Is Happening, and Possibly Shooting This Month
"Breaking Bad" creator Vince Gilligan has always stated his desire to bring the character of his now classic AMC series to the big screen. That wish might be happening much sooner than we think. In fact, a new report states that a movie based on the TV series might start shooting this coming month.
Read moreNadine Labaki's Uber-Realist ‘Capernaum' Has Some Stunning Passages [Trailer]
Director Nadine Labaki's "Capernaum" earned a 15 minute standing ovation at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. It ended up winning the Jury Prize and was quickly picked up by Sony Pictures Classics for distribution and Oscar consideration.
Read moreHow 'Bohemian Rhapsody' Lied About Queen Breaking Up and Freddie Mercury's HIV diagnosis
Queen biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” delivered great numbers at the week-end box-office with a $50M debut. The rock biopic has thus been reborn. I found the film's strongest moments to be the musical sections, which had the band putting together some of their most well-known songs in the studio and, of course, an 11 minute recreation of their legendary 1985 Live Aid performance.
Read moreRebel Wilson Accused of Blocking Black Critics on Twitter
It's probably not a good time to be Rebel Wilson.
Wilson received backlash after claiming on "Ellen" that her lead role in the upcoming "Isn't It Romantic?" made her the first plus-size woman to lead a romantic comedy. The problem is that is simply not true at all. She was then called out on social media for forgetting about actresses like Queen Latifah, Mo'nique and, hell let's put some nice icing on that cake, Ricki Lake.
Read moreSign the petition to save FilmStruck!
A Change.org petition, Created by Kevin Bahr, is aiming to to save the streaming serviceFilmStruck from being obliterated into the high heavens by WarnerMedia. The petition has thus far accumulated 32,000 signatures. The goal is rather simple; show WarnerMedia that FilmStruck is not only of the upmost importance to film culture but that the 'niche' market they claim the streaming service to have is actually a worldwide following consisting of millions of cinephiles.
Read moreDavidson vs. Crenshaw will soon be forgotten
Texas congressional candidate Dan Crenshaw was badly wounded in the eye during his third tour in Afghanistan as a Navy SEAL, he wears an eye-patch for that reason. Do I agree with “Saturday Night Live” comic Pete Davidson poking fun at the eye-patch in a skit that aired this past weekend? Of course not. We shouldn't make fun of any veteran's battle wounds. Davidson can say or do what he pleases, it's all about free speech as far as I'm concerned, something we badly need in comedy. However, I will say this, that doesn't mean Davidson's joke wasn't done in poor taste.
Read moreCritics and Audiences seem to be disagreeing about 'Bohemian Rhapsody'
Queen biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” has delivered great numbers at the week-end box-office. When all is said and done, it will have delivered a $50M debut. The rock biopic has been reborn! Not to mention audiences are digging the hell out of this movie with an A grade on CinemaScore and astonishing 8.4 rating on IMDB (based on 34k votes). However, the reviews from critics were weak. The movie has a mediocre 59% on Rotten Tomatoes (based on 237 reviews).
Read moreAlfonso Cuarón Was Binge-Watching ‘Twin Peaks: The Return’ As He Was Making ‘Roma’: ‘I Wish More Shows Were Like That’
All the superlatives in the world cannot cover how great Alfonso Cuarón's "Roma" truly is. You've heard it all before, it's the best movie of the year. A stunning achievement. However, I was rather delighted to find this tidbit of Cuarón news. The writer-director recently praised David Lynch's "Twin Peaks: The Return" in an interview with IndieWire.
Read moreStar Wars 9 Seen As A 'Course Correction' By Lucasfilm
Listen, director Rian Johnson could have easily taken over the director's chair for Episode IX, but Disney decided otherwise. They opted for JJ Abrams, who was the brainchild behind this trilogy and probably saw Johnson starting to interfere too much with his original vision of the way things should be going in the story. Johnson's risk-taking was a breath of fresh air, but I never doubted that we'd be going back to business as usual with Abrams hopping on-board Episode IX. It had to go back to normality, especially after the backlash from longtime fans due to what Johnson concocted in"The Last Jedi." It made $300M less than Abrams' "The Force Awakens," which is probably due to hardcores not going to see it a second or third time in theaters, like they normally would with any other Star Wars movie, because, well, they were not happy with what they say the first time around.
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Is “The Exorcist” truly the greatest horror film ever made, or has time crowned a new champion of fear? Maybe it’s “The Shining,” ‘Texas Chainsaw,’ “Psycho,” or something entirely unexpected that still keeps you up at night.