"Star Trek Into Darkness" was met with glowing reviews back in 2013 but over time the film has become a letdown for many Trekkies who saw it as a gimmick rather than an evolving continuation of their beloved franchise. Indeed, 'Into Darkness' was a movie where you could tell the screenwriters had no idea what they actually wanted with the story. The film was a beautifully shot, well acted but abominably written film.
Read moreDoes the average ticket-buyer no longer want to pay for serious-minded adult dramas?
At this time of the year there usually are a few adult dramas succeeding at the box-office. October, November and December are supposed to be the months where serious-minded fare takes over mainstream cinema, where Oscar contenders get made. However, this year, a concerning trend has evolved, that of the film festival bomb. Most of the well-reviewed movies from this year's fall film festival circuit have landed with a thud at the domestic box-office. I'm thinking of "First Man," "Widows," "Green Book," "Boy Erased," "The Front Runner," "Can You Ever Forgive Me?," "Beautiful Boy," "Suspiria," all underperforming and being overshadowed by"Ralph Breaks the Internet," "Creed II," "Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch," "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald," "Instant Family," "Bohemian Rhapsody," and "A Star Is Born," the latter two of which are the sole adult-dramas that have done very well for themselves.
Read moreMarvel and Disney desperately seek Oscar nom for ‘Black Panther'
I haven't re-watched Ryan Coogler's "Black Panther" lately, but it's not even the best Marvelmovie of the year. I'm writing this in complete shock, having just heard the news that Arthouse Convergence is getting involved in pushing 'Panther' for the Oscars? Am I dreaming this? A $700 million Disney movie having to turn to arthouses for support.
Read moreDespite Backlash, ‘Green Book' Wins National Board of Review's Best Picture Award
What Jeffrey Wells likes to call the National Alliance of Politically Correct Scolds and Admonishers (NAPCSA) will be very angry by today's announcement that Peter Farelly's "Green Book" has won won the National Board of Review best picture prize.
Read moreWhy I don't like *most* Superhero movies
I haven't re-watched "Black Panther" lately, but it's not even the best Marvel movie of the year. I'm writing this in complete shock having just heard the news that Arthouse Convergence is getting involved in pushing 'Panther' for Oscars? Am I dreaming this? A $700 million Disney movie having to turn to arthouses for support.
Read moreEarly ‘Aquaman' Reactions Hint That it Could be ‘Best DCEU Movie'
Jason Momoa as “Aquaman” is actually happening. It feels like this film has been in post-production hell for ages. Yes, the film is being released in a few weeks (three to be precise) unless, of course, the WB decides to be masochists that they are and move up the release yet again.
Read more‘Avengers: Infinity War' tops IMDB's 20 best-rated movies of 2018 with a user rating of 8.5
The IMDB's user rating system tends to give a decent indication as to what general mainstream audiences like and don't like in their movies. Again, the key word here is "mainstream" because you will not find a film like "Avengers: Infinity War" topping any critics ten best lists in the next few weeks and months to come. However, the Marvel film, and second-to-last installment for the fourth MCU phase, has, by all accounts, towered over the rest of 2018's movie releases when it comes to IMDB user ratings.
Read moreActress Gina Rodriguez Criticized For Fact-Based Claim That Black Women Get Paid More Than Latina Women
Gina Rodriguez claims that black and Asian women make more money than Latina women. This was said by the "Jane the Virgin" actress at a Net-a-Porter roundtable, which featured her fellow TV stars Ellen Pompeo, Gabrielle Union, and Emma Thompson; during the same event, Pompeo advocated for more racial diversity in the industry.
Read moreDisney's Shot-For-Shot Live-Action Reboots Bank on Viewer Nostalgia
So here's how it usually works these days Hollywood. A formula working well at the box-office? Well, how about we just recycle it again and again and again ... And once that idea stalls then how about we bank on the nostalgia of the original and reboot it into a whole new package. Disney's caught on to this like real pros with their juggernaut franchises, in fact, that's all they seem to be doing — Marvel, Star Wars, animation etc. not a single original thought conceived, they have to stick with what people already know, what people are comfortable with, what doesn't provoke new thoughts. It's all really a big fat brainwash if you ask me.
Read moreDirector Bernardo Bertolucci Dies at 77
The maestro has passed on.
According to THR, Academy Award-winning Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci died at the age of 77 over the weekend.
His filmography is voluminous. Bertolucci was no doubt a provocateur of big, epic statements. I'm rather mixed on his Best Picture winner “The Last Emperor,” a well-photographed but meandering epic that could only be made to win the big prize in the '80s. No, the Bertolucci will forever love and adore is the artist that gave us the Marlon Brando/Maria Schneider controversy-ridden “Last Tango in Paris,” a film that broke barriers for sex on-screen and which depicted a sexually-charged relationship between a widowed man and a young woman. His lifelong partnership with cinematographer extraordinaire Vittorio Storraro is well-known; they made a total of 9 films together, including “The Conformist,” which could very well be deemed as his masterpiece, and the best photographed movie of all-time. Controversy would follow him again in 2003 with the NC-17 rated “The Dreamers” starring Michael Pitt, Eva Green and Louis Garrel-- An incredibly sexy film that has aged like fine wine over the years.
Bertolucci’s final film was made 9 years after "The Dreamers," the 2012 feature, “Me and You.”
‘Green Book' Disappoints at Holiday Box-office
I have consistently been saying that if "Green Book" wants to compete for the Best Picture prize then it has to have a successful box-office run. Right now, we are looking at "okay" numbers, nothing that spells out a runaway success -- its $7.1M weekend, in over 1000 screens, just doesn't cut it. Word of mouth will surely hit, more people will go see what is under my estimation the movie that has the highest quality mainstream appeal this holiday season.
Read moreDirector Nicolas Roeg, whose films include ‘Don't Look Now' and ‘Walkabout' has died aged 90
Director Nicolas Roeg has passed away at the age of 90. He started off as an immaculate DP in the early '60s — responsible for two of the very best photographed big studio films of that era ("Lawrence of Arabia," and "Doctor Zhivago"). However, he truly made a name for himself as the director of some significant groundbreakers the following decade. His terrific artistic streak of films as a director in the early to mid ’70s ("Don't Look Now," "Walkabout" and "The Man Who Feel to Earth") was impressive, especially "Don't Look Now," a film which has had significant impact on horror films.
Read moreTHR Poll: ‘Back to the Future 4’ is the sequel audiences most want to see
The Hollywood Reporter conducted a poll, with the help of Morning Consult, that found the franchise that audiences most want to see return is "Back to the Future."
The poll surveyed 2,201 adults earlier this month, with close to 71% admitting they'd most want to hop on that DeLorean with Doc Brown and Marty McFly. Runners-up in the poll were "Toy Story 4," and "Indian Jones 5."
“There’s a strong consumer demand for movie reboots and sequels, which spells good news for movie studios looking to capitalize on that nostalgic feeling,” Tyler Sinclair, Morning Consult’s vice president told THR. “Our polling finds half of Americans say they are much more likely to watch throwbacks and revivals.”
See the full poll here.
How TV Replaced Movies As the Medium For Adult-Driven Drama
Last year was the year when TV, in terms of sheer quality of artistry, caught up to American filmmaking. I can't see it any other way. 2017 was the year, when comparing my movie ten-best list and my TV ten-best list, I came to the conclusion that the television I was watching was vastly superior. Don't believe me? Well, how else can you not make the case that "Twin Peaks: The Return," "The Leftovers," "Handmaid's Tale," "The Deuce," "Big Little Lies," "Mindhunter," "Better Call Saul," "GLOW," "Better Things," and "Master of None" were top-tier works of art?
Read moreProducer of Wes Anderson's upcoming film says it's not a musical, “...but a film set in France at different times [periods]. It’s a story about writers, with connections to Kansas, USA.”
Wes Anderson’s next film will be his first live-action project in five years, or at least since 2014's “The Grand Budapest Hotel.” This year, Anderson released the stop-motion treat “Isle of Dogs,” which underwhelmed at the box-office, but had critics more or less approving.
Read moreBill Maher Says Backlash Over His Stan Lee Comments ‘Proves My Point'
Bill Maher has addressed the backlash over his recent comments about Stan Lee's death. The Real Time HBO host was scorned by fans of the late Marvel icon after he wrote a blog post calling into question Lee's legacy and even going as far as blaming him for Donald Trump's election. Lee's company, POW! Entertainment, called Maher's comments "disgusting."
Read more‘The Girl in the Spider's Web' is Bombing Badly at the Box-Office
The real absolute disaster of the moment has got to be Fede Alvarez' "The Girl in the Spider's Web." Its budget, according to a few reports that I've read, ranges between the $40-$50M mark. Two weeks since its November 9th release, the film has only made $13M at the domestic box-office.
Read moreOscar Isaac Says ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’ Handles Carrie Fisher’s Death “In A Really Beautiful Way”
In a new interview with the Daily Beast Episode IX actor Oscar Isaac said the final chapter of the Star Wars saga “deals with [Fisher’s death] quite a bit. It’s a strange thing to be on the set and to be speaking of Leia and having Carrie not be around. There’s definitely some pain in that,”adding, “[‘Episode IX’] deals with the amazing character that Carrie created in a really beautiful way.”
Read moreChina’s Oscars: Country Shocked As Winner Calls for Taiwanese Independence on Live TV, Political Storm Erupts
The Golden Horse Awards are China's version of the Oscars, and at last night's telecast, Chinese audiences were greeted to a blisteringly controversial speech by Fu Yue, the director of Best Documentary winner “Our Youth in Taiwan.” In her acceptance speech, Yue called for Taiwan’s independence. “I hope one day our country will be recognized and treated as a truly independent entity,” Fu said. “This is my biggest wish as a Taiwanese."
Read moreProducers Guild Documentary Noms: ‘RBG’, ‘Three Identical Strangers’, ‘Won’t You Be My Neighbor?’ And More
"RBG," "Three Identical Strangers," "Won’t You Be My Neighbor?," "Hal," "Into the Okavango," "The Dawn Wall" and "Free Solo" have been nominated for the Producer Guild’s 2019 Documentary Motion Picture award.
I haven't heard about or seen 'Okavango' and 'Wall' but the rest are well-deserved. My absolute coup de coeur this year has got to be "Three Identical Strangers" a masterwork of non-fiction.
The winner will be announced January 19 at the PGA Awards.