Patrick Stewart says he's retiring from X-Men movies: 'I'm done'

Earlier this week I posted that Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart cried side by side when the final credits rolled at the Berin Film Festival LOGAN premiere. The film itself feels like the end of the X-Men films as we know it and Patrick Stewart has further confirmed my suspicions:

"There will never be a better, a more perfect, a more sensitive, emotional, and beautiful way of saying au revoir to Charles Xavier than this movie. So, I told [Hugh] that same evening, ‘I’m done too. It’s all over.'”

[EW]

In my Logan review I wrote this about Stewart's incredible performance:

"Although we expected Jackman to deliver a monumental performance, Patrick Stewart is every bit as good as Xavier, bringing touching depth, but also small moments of immaculately needed humor amidst the overall grim tone. He deserves an Oscar nomination and might just get it since he is such a well-respected and legendary actor that has NEVER been nominated."

Scorsese's THE IRISHMAN about to get delayed due to lawsuits

[Variety]

It looks like Martin Scorsese's "The Irishman" might be getting major setbacks due to its recent Netflix deal. A lawsuit is potentially being weighed by distributor STX. They put in more than $50 Million of their money to produce the film and were kept out of the loop on the Netflix deal.

“It’s like you selling me an apartment and then saying someone else is going to move in,” said Stefano Massenzi of Italy’s Lucky Red, which purchased “The Irishman” for Italy.

Yikes. This is bad news for those of us that wanted to see this film start its shoot in the coming months of spring. Might not happen, unless Netflix finds a clean way out of this. 

More quotes:

"Martin Scorsese’s upcoming mob movie “The Irishman” looks to be running into trouble as distributor STX is weighing legal action over Mexican producer Gaston Pavlovich’s pending deal with Netflix. STX bought all non-U.S. distribution rights to the Robert De Niro-starring movie last year in a $50-million deal that was the talk of the Cannes Film Festival."

 "But STX’s role in distributing the film was cast into doubt after Pavlovich and his Fabrica de Cine outfit tried to switch instead to a worldwide deal with Netflix. But the reports of an imminent deal between Pavlovich and Netflix have alarmed – and angered – some of those distributors, who feel they have been kept out of the loop and are waiting for answers."

“We have a legally binding and fully executed contract re all exclusive rights in Benelux for ‘The Irishman,’” Van den Broeck wrote in an email. “The chain of title as of today allows to my knowledge no opening for Netflix to even negotiate international rights with these deals in place.”

Hayao Miyazaki comes our of retirement for new movie

“Right now in Tokyo, he’s putting all his effort into making it.” 

Miyazaki has been working on "Boro the Caterpillar." It was intended as a short, but Miyazaki wasn't too satisfied with it. It was this past August that he suggested the short become a feature-length film. He says the film could be done by 2019, right before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

[Kotaku]

OFFICIAL: Matt Reeves Producing and Directing THE BATMAN

Breaking News ...

[Variety]

"Matt Reeves has closed a deal to direct “The Batman.” Reeves comes in after Ben Affleck stepped aside to focus on the role of the Caped Crusader. News broke last week that negotiations broke down, but that there was a possibility that they could resume. WB offered Reeves the job to replace Affleck as director two weeks ago after Affleck exited the film to focus on the role of the Caped Crusader. Sources had always said it was a priority for the studio to get a director on the project to move the pre-production forward and there was always optimism a deal would get done."

Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart cried side by side when final credits rolled at LOGAN premiere

Jackman and Stewart appeared on this week’s episode of The Graham Norton Show. Stewart opened up about the Logan premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival last week where he and Jackman ended up crying.

“'Last week we were at a screening in Berlin sitting next to each other. When it got to the very emotional ending…I noticed Hugh wipe away a tear, then I did the same.’"

“'During the credits he held my hand and I was done, I was weeping and sobbing. While the credits were rolling I realised that if it was the end, there was no more perfect and beautiful way to say, ‘Au revoir, goodbye, adios.’"

The episode airs this Friday February 24th on UK television.

[The Graham Norton Show]

The Discovery is not a, err, discovery at all ...

I was actually very tempted walk out of this film at this year's Sundance Film Festival. It was THAT bad, a mediocre sci-fi movie that believes it is smarter than it actually is. The worst possible kind of cinema, ego-cinema! Think of it as a riff on Nolan's sci-fi smarts, but with every single technical and creative aspect not going as planned.

The official synopsis reads like this:

"One year after the existence of the afterlife is scientifically verified, millions around the world have ended their own lives in order to “get there”. A man and woman fall in love while coming to terms with their own tragic pasts and the true nature of the afterlife."

Coming to Netflix March 31.

Martin Scorsese says watching a movie at home on your Television set "Is not the best way" to go about it

“The problem now is that it is everything around the frame that is distracting,” he said. “Now you can see a film on an iPad. You might be able to push it closer to your [face] in your bedroom, just lock the door and look at it if you can but I do find just glimpsing stuff here or there, even watching a film at home on a big-screen TV, there is still stuff around the room. There’s a phone that rings. People go by. It is not the best way.”

[Screen Daily]

5-minute Prologue to Ridley Scott's much anticipated "Alien: Covenant" released

"I will colonize all over this table right now"

~Kenny fucking Powers

If you had told me there was a sci-fi movie coming out with Danny McBride and James Franco, I probably would have imagined something very different than this.

To get you ready for "Alien Covenant," 20th Century Fox has released “Last Supper,” a five-minute long prologue and the first footage we have gotten from Ridley Scott's much anticipated sequel.

For people getting worried that this scene is going to give away too much of the movie: it is, after all, called a prologue for a reason. This was directed by Luke Scott, not Ridley Scott. I'd say it's pretty likely this was just a fun marketing film meant to show the characters at their happiest, before they wake from Cryo sleep and get killed off in succession wherever they land.

Neill Blomkamp‘s “Alien” is basically toast so really the last hope to get an Alien film as masterful as the first two is on Ridley Scott. I loved Prometheus, but, let's be real folks, that wasn't entirely an "Alien" movie in the mot straightforward sense, which is why it has its detractors.

I wrote back in the day:

"Prometheus, Ridley Scott's prequel to his "Alien," is the kind of movie I love. Filled with ambitious ideas about creation it can be seen as a great bookend to last year's "Tree Of Life". It is a deep, satisfying, visually rewarding experience. It asks questions that most filmmakers don't dare to ask and is acted and directed in high fashion. I just wish Scott would forget the idea of making a sequel to a movie that asks us questions and dares to not answer them by letting us ponder its outcome."

"Alien: Covenant" stars Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Demián Bichir, Carmen Ejogo. It is deemed to be a continuation of "Prometheus," but it also looks like a more by-the-books kind of film, which is what most people wanted, but didn't get with "Prometheus." In simpler terms, this could be the more conventional and and monetarily succesful way to go to boost back the franchise.

Here’s the official synopsis:

"Ridley Scott returns to the universe he created, with ALIEN: COVENANT, a new chapter in his groundbreaking ALIEN franchise.  The crew of the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world.  When they uncover a threat beyond their imagination, they must attempt a harrowing escape."

“Alien: Covenant” opens on May 19th. 

It's been a long time comin'

Back in 2010 I wrote:

"Debra Granik’s second feature film, “Winter’s Bone”, is the kind of movie that gets progressively better as you delve deeper and deeper into it. It is filled with humane, authentic characterizations of a society that is rooted in evil and people who have lost all hope in life and succumbed to morally wrong choices. There are memorable scenes that linger (the gutting of a squirrel, the taking of a girl, a final ambiguous mumbling sentence) a sense of dread that might turn the most primitive of moviegoers off. It is through and through a product of American Independent cinema and we should never forget its important existence. Then newcomer Jennifer Lawrence, delved deeply into her role and created something memorable and real. It was an absolutely spellbinding lead performance that brought subtlety to her role as a teenage girl desperately looking for her – quite possibly dead – father in the wild Ozarks of Missouri."

Its been 7 years since Granik's film made its festival debut. Since then, we've gotten a skimp documentary from her and nothing else. She really picked the wrong time to become a filmmaker with opportunities growing slim to none for maverick filmmakers in the industry. 

The Hollywood Reporter has Granik returning behind the camera for her sophomore effort
entitled "My Abandonment" and we couldn't be happier to hear the news. "Winter's Bone" proved her to be a unique talent with an important, female voice in a spectrum largely dominated by men. 

"Hell or High Water actor Ben Foster will star in My Abandonment, to be helmed by Winter's Bonedirector Debra Granik. Granik and Anne Rosellini wrote the script based on Peter Rock’s novel of the same name. The film tells the story of 13-year-old Caroline (McKenzie) and her father, Will (Foster), who are found living in Forest Park, a temperate rainforest abutting Portland, Ore. When authorities pluck them from their hidden world, where they lived peacefully and practically, Caroline and Will must embark on an increasingly erratic journey in search of a place to call their own."

[THR]

SXSW adds a few more interesting movies to its already stellar lineup

With every passing year I get more and more the urge of attendng Austin's South by Southwest festival. This year's lineup has, once again, outdone itself with Terrence Malick's "Song to Song," James Franco's "The Disaster Artist," Edgar Wright's "Baby Driver" and Michael Winterbottom's "On The Road" all making their debut at the fest. Today two more titles were announced: Deadpool 2 director David Leitch's "Atomic Blonde" starring Charlize Theron and Daniel Espinosa' "Life." The latter looks rather atrocious, but you get my point. SXSW has become a big deal and is now officially on the radar for "World of Reel."

You can find the full lineup HERE

"Now in its 24th year, the 2017 Film Festival will host nine days of screenings from March 10-18, 2017."

LA LA LAND will win Best Picture, almost everything else is up in the air [Final Oscar Predictions]

I saw "La La Land" in September, it was the frontrunner then it still is the frontrunner today, especially with "Silence" now having screened and not being everyone's cup of tea, we clearly have a favorite and there really isn't really a clearcut opposition willing to contend.

I wrote back in September:

"Winning the People’s Choice Award at TIFF, and coming out this Friday, Damien Chazelle’s film was a no-brainer. Everyone felt sure it was going to win even before the festival started. Starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, Chazelle’s film has moments of pure joy that make you feel punch-drunk in love at the movies again. The morning press screening burst into extended applause after the film’s final shot and that sealed the deal for the film’s eventual fate as a major Best Picture contender. Stone, a beauty of an actress, also turned heads for her performance as Mia, a struggling actress hoping to find her big break. Mia falls for Sebastian, a playful and charismatic Ryan Gosling, as they embark on a colorful and touching adventure filled with some of the best original songs ever conceived for the big screen. It’s quite possibly the best movie musical since Bob Fosse’s “All That Jazz."

I'm pretty good at this Oscar guessing-game. The last two years I've only gotten a single prediction wrong out of the following 13 categories.

Best Picture

1) "La La Land"

2) "Fences"
3) "Manchester By The Sea"

4) "Moonlight"

5) "Lion"

6) "Hacksaw Ridge" 

7) "Hidden Figures"
8) "Arrival"

9) "Hell or High Water"

Bottom line: No competition. It's La La Land's time.  This is the easiest Best Picture race to predict since The Return of the King in 2003.

Best Actor

1) Denzel Washington, "Fences"

2) Casey Affleck, "Manchester By the Sea"

3) Andrew Garfield, "Hacksaw Ridge"

4) Ryan Gosling "La La Land"

5) Viggo Mortensen, "Captain Fantastic"

Bottom Line: This is Denzel v. Casey. Simple as that. A tight race, which I will give the edge to Denzel because of two factors a) #oscarssowhite b) It's the more showy performance.

Best Actress

1) Emma Stone, "La La Land"

2) Isabelle Huppert, "Elle" 

3) Meryl Streep "Florence Foster Jenkins"

4) Ruth Negga, "Loving"

5) Natalie Portman, "Jackie"

Bottom line: A late push from Isabelle Huppert, who gives one of the greatest female performances of all-time, will make Emma Stone sweat to the finish. Just like the actor category it's a toss-up, but look for Stone to come out victorious.

Best Supporting Actor 

1) Mahershala Ali, "Moonlight" 

2) Michael Shannon, "Nocturnal Animals" 

3) Jeff Bridges, "Hell or High Water"

4) Lucas Hedges, "Manchester By the Sea"

5) Dev Patel, "Lion"

Bottom line: People keep saying Ali is a sure-thing. His role is not showy and he's in only the first third of the film. Does that matter probably not. but one can believe that Michael Shannon's "Nocturnal Animals" performance, which is well loved within the industry and is the film's highlight, could pull off an upset, but if you're a betting man it's kind of hard to go against the frontrunner.

Best Supporting Actress

1) Viola Davis, "Fences" 
2) Michelle Williams, "Manchester By the Sea"

3) Naomie Harris, "Moonlight"

4) Nicole Kidman, "Lion"

5) Octavia Spencer, "Hidden Figures"

Bottom line: Viola Davis will win a much earned and well-deserved Oscar. She's also the black actress with the most Oscar nominations in history. Time to represent and honor.

Best Director

1) Damien Chazelle, "La La Land"

2) Kenneth Lonergan, "Manchester By the Sea'

3) Denzel Washington, "Fences"

4) Mel Gibson "Hacksaw Ridge"

5) Barry Jenkins, "Moonlight"

Bottom line: Jenkins is a hot commodity at the moment, but Chazelle is the Hollywood it-boy and the talk of the town. Bank on the 31 year-old to become the youngest director to ever win the prize. 

Best Adapted Screenplay

"Arrival"

"Lion"

"Moonlight"
"Hidde Figures"
"Fences"

Bottom line: Moonlight is going to be hard to beat here.

Best Original Screenplay

"La La Land"
"Hell or High Water"
"The Lobster"
"Manchester By The Sea"
"20th Century Women"

Bottom line: the people predicting La La Land to win are not far-off, but how can a musical win the screenplay award? Preposterous is the right word. It's already a victory that it even got nominated. Kenneth Lonergan's masterful "Manchester by the Sea" was the best film of 2016, it deserves to win something and will win this category.

Best Foreign Language Film

"The Salesman"

"Toni Erdmann"

"Land of Mine"
"A Man Called Ove"
"Tanna"

Bottom line: Asghar Farhadi being refused to enter the U.S. after Drumpf's travel ban was the best thing to possibly happen to that film's campaign. "The Salesman" will win, a standing ovation will happen and a political speech will occur. Bet the house on it. 

Best Animated Film

"Zootopia"

"Kubo and the Two Strings"

"The Red Turtle"

"Moana"

"The Red Turtle"

"My Life as a Zucchini"

Bottom line: Zootopia will age very well over time. Its parallels to Trump's immigration and travel policies are stunning. It was the best animated feature last year and will win the Oscar come Sunday.

Best Documentary Feature

"OJ: Made in America"

"The 13th"
"I Am Not Your Negro"

"Fire At Sea"

"Life Animated"

Bottom line: A toss-up between the three African American themed docs. If OJ: Made in America, a 7.5 hour feature, was seen by enough voters then it will win. It's a landmark statement on everything that is currently happening in the country as paralleled by the "trial of the century". A masterwork.

Best Editing

"La La Land"

"Hacksaw Ridge" 
"Hell or High Water"
"Arrival"
"Moonlight"

Bottom line: You can't deny just how brilliantly constructed La La Land is. It will and should win just because of the final montage alone. 

Best Cinematography

"La La Land"
"Moonlight"
"Silence"
"Arrival"
"Lion"

Bottom line: Bank another win for La La. Of its 14 nominations it stands to win almost, sorry Ryan Gosling aficionados, all of the categories. "Ben-Hur," "Titanic" and "The Return of the King" stand tied for the record with 11 wins each. 

GET OUT skewers liberal America's race agenda in inventively funny, twisted and scary ways

We really are blessed to have three "good to great" movies in these usually trash-filled cinematic Winter/Spring months. January, February and March are not supposed to give us the good stuff, but thus far we've had "John Wick 2," "Logan," and, now, Jordan Peele's "Get Out" come out of Hollywood. 

The latter is a genuinely scary, funny and political film that I missed at this year's Sundance Film Festival. There was a secret midnight screening, which I did not attend. I finally caught up with it last evening and it played like gangbusters. I love mindfucks and "Get Out" is surely a mindfuck of the highest order.

It tells the story of aspiring African-American photographer Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya in a mesmerizing role) nervous to meet the parents of his white girlfriend Rose (Allison Williams). She hasn't told them that he's black, but tells Chris not to worry because Dad isn't racist and "would have gladly voted for Obama for a third term" if he had the chance. Dad is Dean Armitage (Bradley Whitford), a neurosurgeon, mom, Missy (Catherine Keener), is hypnotherapist that wants to put Chris under her spell to root out his addiction to cigarettes.

The Armitage's feel like a warm and embracing family, but secrets lurk deep beneath their facade. Explaining what happens next is unnecessary, for doing so would be like revealing that Janet Leigh gets killed not even midway through "Psycho." Knowing as little as possible about "Get Out" will get you deeper and deeper into its trance of secrets.

Peele, one-half of the comedic duo Key and Peele, is having the time of his life messing with our heads, bringing the tension with a mix of horror and comedy. He finds the way liberal America is facing the race issue hypocritical and condescending. Amen. "Get Out" is not just a horror comedy, but it is filled with political fireworks that make it a lot more nuanced and thought-provoking. 

The film is refreshingly incisive for its stab at the white liberal elite. Something you don't see much in the media or at the movies these days. Peele is smart enough to skewer all of white America and demand they wake up to the elephant in the room. Hypocrisy seems to be the name of the game. [B+]

Netflix To Produce Martin Scorsese's Irish Mob Saga THE IRISHMAN starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino,

You know what this means, right? It's a sad state of affairs when a mafia movie directed by Martin Fucking Scorsese has trouble getting funded for theatrical release. There's a paradigm shift going on in Hollywood as far as how films are funded and which get green-lit. The bulk of films that draw in huge crowds today are the big-budget, SFX-heavy tentpoles (Marvel, DC, Pixar, Disney, Reboots, Sequels, Remakes). I don't think any major studio has the luxury to invest in smaller, character-driven flicks and see the same returns they were seeing 20 years ago. Sucks, but that's just the way it is.

What this Netflix deal does also mean is that Scorsese will probably be able to get whichever final cut he wants for the movie. Something that hasn't really happened for him the last, what, 20-odd some years. They have taken a personal project by an esteemed auteur, with a $100 Million budget no less, with no questions asked. God bless them.

Anne Thompson over at indieWire has the scoop:

"In a sign of the ongoing power shift in Hollywood, Martin Scorsese’s $100-million gangster movie “The Irishman,” his ninth starring Robert De Niro, has been scooped up by Netflix, which is in the process of closing a deal to release the movie to its 93 million subscribers in 190 countries."

"The movie was going to be backed by Paramount Pictures, but with its 12-year chairman Brad Grey heading out the door, Scorsese’s team put together another package. As someone close to the deal put it, “Scorsese’s movie is a risky deal, and Paramount is not in the position to take risks. This way, he can make the project he wants.”

[IndieWire]

Cast and crew of the new HAN SOLO movie share an on-set picture

You know this is going to be good with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie, 21 Jump Street) at the helm and Lawrence Kasdan (screenwriter of The Empire Strikes Back) writing the screenplay. It has to be. Not rocket science. Also, look at that cast. All top notch, likable actors. The film is as of yet untitled, IMDB as it listed as "Untitled Star Wars Anthology Movie" and the plot as "unknown." Production has begun this week and the expectations are sky-high.

The film will be released May 25th, 2018.

[Source]

A Clockwork Orange theatrical poster.

I always think the middle to late 20th century was so vanilla and PG in regards to mainstream art, but take a look at this poster. I can't Imagine it NOT getting skewed and labeled as extremely offensive by the PC police if it got released nowadays.

NEW "Belle" Clip - Disney's Beauty and the Beast

This looks like a shot-for-shot live-action remake of the 1991 animated classic. I would know, the dialogue has been imprinted into my brain from the countless times I saw this film. I remember vividly re-watching the old VHS I had of it. The ending would always cut off for some reason. Oh VHS, how retro. The marketing behind this film is banking on nostalgia, but also for a whole new generation to take a look at what is, truth be told, a beautiful story. 

This looks quite competently made and the music, the music, the music! That score always worked, one of the true hallmarks of Disney animation. I'd also go as far as to say that the 1991 "Beauty and the Beast" is the greatest of the Disney comeback run of films between 1989-1994 ("The Little Mermaid," 'Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin," "The Lion King") not a small feat. I'd also put it as a contender for greatest of all-time, right up there with "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," "Bambi," "Dumbo" and "Pinnochio." 

The film opens March 17th, 2017. 

James Cameron Praises Zack Snyder's "New Cinematic Language"

The video evidence can be found HERE

“Directors that continue to inspire me…Ridley Scott. I mean, I’ll go to any Ridley Scott movie, even the ones that bomb, to me, are great, because the fabric of the filmmaking, you know, just the way he sees, and the way he places the camera…Zack Snyder and Robert Rodriguez, guys that were just creating their own cinematic language… A friend of mine, who was a visual effects guy just directed Deadpool, and I went to see Deadpool. And the opening credits sequence, I was like, ‘Damn, nobody ever thought of that. Do a fake credit sequence!’ How brilliant is it?” 

"Okay, lets be honest here. Cameron is a visual director. Of course he's going to admire Snyder. Cameron broke box office records 2-3 times, not through story but through path-breaking VFX. Not to take away from him, (It's probably way harder than it looks.) but when he praises a director or a film, I think he's talking about the visual experience, not the story. And Snyder's visuals are amazing - anyone who denies that is nailed to a cross. But this praise is not surprising at all. Whether or not you like Snyder's stories, his visuals, if not realistic, always look gorgeous. It is a great validation of his visuals, but that's something we already know."

Batman v Superman felt ... fake. Which doesn't mean Snyder doesn't have a unique visual style. I mean he's original enough that most people could automatically tell it's a Zack Snyder film from the opening frame. I just haven't really liked any of his films. Not my style and feels almost cartoonish.

Richard Schickel 1933-2017

I loved reading Schickel just for sheer the fact that he was part of a dying breed of maverick film critics from '60s that had an abundance of knowledge about the craft and could run circles on just about any online "critic". I figured I could learn quite a bit from this top-tier intellect. We will likely never see his kind again. He was part of the movement that led to Pauline Kael, Andrew Sarris, Rex Reed, Joe Morgenstern, Stanley Kauffman and many more that ended up covering the breathless period of American cinema between 1967-1979. 

The death of Schickel is just another nail in the coffin for American film criticism. I remember, even more recently, I used to have a handful of critics I would look forward to reading every week (Ebert, Schwarzbaum, Kenny, Schickel, Ansen) but that list has diminished to next to nothing. If anything what Schickel shaed with all the critics mentioned in this post is the way he could articulate a movie you had already seen in ways that would make it seem new and fresh. I highly recommend his doc series The Men Who Made The Movies, essential for any cinephile. Ditto any of his books, but especially "Converations with Scorsese." I can't help but be saddened by this passing as, just like with Ebert's death, it signifies the end of something.

If you're a fan of VR, Cyberpunk and Social statements check out Kathryn Bigelow's STRANGE DAYS (1995)

I just re-watched Kathryn Bigelow's prophetic "Strange Days" a couple of weeks ago and the film is an indictment on where we might be headed as a cultural society in the years to come. The fact that the film came out more than 20 years ago is astounding. Also, the racial divisions the film touches upon are still relevant to this day and are actually at the core of "Strange Days." Bigelow, writers Jay Cocks and, shock, James Cameron, use the proposed future technology as a vehicle to explore these topics.  It's a great film, if somewhat overlong, that tackled the fears of VR before VR became the norm, and has a great cast that includes Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Juliette Lewis. Bigelow's vision led to her eventually making the twin peaks of "The Hurt Locker" and "Zero Dark Thirty," but "Strange Days, and in fact "also "Near Dark," and "Point Break," were a testament to her abilities to shoot tightly knit and tense action sequences better than the big boys ever could. This film will only get better as the years go by. Prophetic is the right word.

Correlation between Best Picture winners and nominations in other Oscar categories

[Source]