Tom Holland Responds to Kirsten Dunst’s Spider-Man Reboot Criticisms

When asked for her opinion on the Spider-Man reboot, Kirsten Dunst was pretty unequivocal about which side she's on: ‘We made the best ones, so who cares? I’m like, “You make it all you want.” They’re just milking that cow for money. It’s so obvious. You know what I mean?’

I say, fair game. She's sharing the thoughts of many people that were frustrated at the fact that there was yet another Spidey reboot happening, especially with the last two films being such duds. Nevertheless, "Spider-Man: Homecoming" has been a sort of comeback for the web slinger as it has surpassed the box-office of the last two installments and gotten much more positive reviews.

It took a few weeks for Tom Holland, the latest Spider-Man, to reply to Dunst's criticisms. When asked about Dunst by Movie’n’co UK Holland had this to say:

“You know, she’s entitled to her own opinion and I’m not one to judge at all. I definitely am not doing this movie for the money. I mean, it’s a job that I think anyone would do regardless of what you were getting paid, you know? All I know is I had the greatest time on this movie and I absolutely loved it and, you know, if she doesn’t want to go and see it, I don’t really care. I don’t dislike her in any way for what she said and she’s entitled to her own opinion, so it’s all cool.”

4K restoration trailer for Akira Kurosawa's "Ran" - one of the greatest historical epics of all time. A masterpiece in terms visuals, storytelling and the sheer scale of the production.

Akira Kurosawa's "Ran" used more than 1400 extras, 200 horses, 1400 suits of armor, designed by Kurosawa himself. The costumes were made by hand and it took 2 years to complete all of them. Want more? A castle was built to be burnt, with no miniatures were used in the scene. Kurosawa spent 10 years writing the story and painting storyboards for every shot of the film. He called his previous film "Kagemusha" a mere "dress rehearsal" for this film (which wasn't the only film of his he didn't think too highly of, he is quoted as saying his much acclaimed Stray dog contained, "all that technique and not one real thought in it.")

Kurosawa's eyesight had deteriorated considerably by the time shooting of "Ran" began, so much so that had to use the help of assistants to frame shots using his painting as a guide. It just baffles me that there are supposed cinephiles or, hell, even film critics that have not seen "Ran." It is a sin to think that someone is reviewing movies for audiences and hasn't seen this film. They should be automatically disqualified from reviewing anything in the future. Kurosawa and Ran are cinema at its purest most epic form.

Jaume Collet-Serra Leaves ‘Suicide Squad 2’ To Direct Dwayne Johnson In ‘Jungle Cruise’

The Shallows Jaume Collet-Serra had emerged as the frontrunner to direct Suicide Squad 2, and it seemed like he was already chosen as the choice for the next installment of the 2016 Warner Bros DC film. Here comes the news that the director has left the project to instead direct Dwayne Johnson's latest blockbuster "Jungle Cruise."

Warner Bros. had looked at a number of filmmakers, especially Mel Gibson, but sources had said that Collet-Sera was who the studio wanted. Are they going to be going back to Gibson? Who knows, but here's another dent to the ongoing saga of "Suicide Squad 2."

I don't think this is a terrible loss, Collet-Sera is not the second coming as far as filmmaker go, and this gives the studio a chance to hopefully nab a more talented director to helm the project. The problem has and has always been the fact that it will be rated PG-13, a rating which "Suicide Squad" purists insist doesn't do the original comic book justice.

Deadline:

"Jaume Collet-Serra has been set by Disney to direct Dwayne Johnson in Jungle Cruise. This means that Collet-Serra will withdraw from Suicide Squad 2, the Warner Bros sequel for which he was top choice. After directing a bunch of hit movies that included last summer’s sleeper The Shallows, Collet-Serra has been poised to take that step to star filmmaker, and numerous studios chased his next slot. He decided that the opportunity to originate a new Indiana Jones-like action-adventure franchise in lockstep with one of the most globally bankable film stars — like Gore Verbinski did with Johnny Depp in The Pirates of the Caribbean — was a better opportunity than continuing a storyline originated by another director. Production will begin late next spring."

Christopher Nolan and crew on the set of Dunkirk

The cast of Star Wars during a radio interview, 1977.

"Carrie Fisher with Ford and Mark Hamill in Denver Post lunchroom at 15th and California streets on June 14, 1977, during a visit to Denver.  ‘I remember thinking, this guy’s going to be a star’ – Fisher when about Harrison Ford. The photo is striking for so many reasons, but perhaps most of all for the stars’ casual and relaxed demeanor."

"Carrie Fisher sits between Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford, knees folded up against a table, holding a lit cigarette near an ashtray. Behind them, a wall lined with vending machines. Hamill — wearing a T-shirt from a movie he was in called “Fire Sale,” released around the same time as Star Wars — leans in, talking to an interviewer off-camera. Ford eyes the same person, with a look of wariness, dressed in a sport coat and collared shirt, holding a cup, perhaps filled with Welchade Fruit Punch, a can of which rests near him."

[Dampzin]

'Casino Royale' is greatest James Bond movie according to poll of more than 20,000 votes

"Casino Royale" has been voted as the greatest James Bond movie of all-time. At least according to a [Reddit] poll which included more than 20,472 votes. You won't hear me complaining about the results, ditto the fact that "Skyfall" was the voted in second place. 

The lack of Timothy Dalton here kind of bums me. "GoldenEye" at number three is a little preposterous, but it would make sense considering the age range of the poll. The 1995 starring Pierce Brosnan movie has its upsides, but it cannot be compared to "Goldfinger" and "From Russia With Love," which ended up in 4th and 5th place.

For a film that happened to be the 22nd installment in a movie franchise that, supposedly, had run its course, "Casino Royale" was an incredible reinvention. Daniel Craig's initial outing as 007 was unlike any Bond movie we had ever seen before. It looked back on the first 50 years of Bond, showed him in a refreshing new light and set him up nicely for his next 50 years of cinematic endeavors. Just like "Skyfall," the other great Craig movie, the film could have used a little trim, but the action scenes were unequivocally one of the very best of the franchise. Director Martin Campbell brought back the cinematic in 007.

What's your favorite James Bond movie? Post your choice in the comments section below!

Source: Matt Reeves’ Batman Trilogy Will Lead to Batman Beyond

Fantastic news coming from the DC side of things. According to a source from Warner Bros. Ben Affleck has signed on for three films with Matt Reeves as Batman, all part of a "The Batman" trilogy which would lead towards a .... Batman Beyond film - which would kick-start the next phase of the DCEU.

I Had no doubts at all that Reeves would prove his worth with the DCEU, but this is incredible news concerning "Batman Beyond." Reeves mentioned last week that he will be inspired by Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" trilogy when making these films.

Here's the exact quote from the source:

“Yeah, he [Affleck] is staying on as the Batman. There were contract issues, but everything’s sorted now. He’ll do Reeves’ trilogy bawhich sets up Batman Beyond, which will be the next phase of the DC film universe." 

[Fortress of Solitude]

"The Emoji Movie" now has a 3% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes.

💩👌😢🖕😜3⃣/💯

Yes, we all know Hollywood is running scant of ideas. I have been warning people for months now that they're making an Emoji movie. People didn't believe me. Well, here you go. Further proof that a movie can get made about just about anything. They've barely marketed this thing. Sure as hell didn't show it to critics. I mean, what's the target demographic for this? People that like emojis? This might go down as one of the worst ideas for a movie in a very long time. Anthony Leondis directs and this guy is known for the direct to DVD "Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch." Yikes, kill me now. Hey, maybe Almodovar and Scorsese were right about the sad state of affairs in American cinema ...

Everything that's wrong about film criticism today in a single review

In other words, only black filmmakers should have made this movie. That's what Ms. Bastien is saying.

You can love or hate Bigelow's "Detroit," but you have to acknowledge that the above blurb is everything that is wrong with film criticism today. There's a slowly emerging twitter contingent that's forming against Bigelow's stunning film, let's hope it doesn't distract from the fact that this is actually a good movie. You'd think they'd, at the very least, be happy that a woman is directing the movie.

"Homecoming" Passes Both Amazing Spider-Man Movies at U.S. Box Office, but is it the Best Spider-Man movie?

The news today is that "Homecoming" has overtaken the box-office total of both "Amazing Spider-Man" movies. We all saw it coming, but it's still well short of surpassing any of the 3 Sam Raimi movies. 

So, with six films under its belt, which is the best Spidey film we've gotten thus far? For me, it's not even close, "Spider-Man 2" may still be the most perfect superhero movie of the Marvel universe, Raimi was the guy that came closest to pouring Stan Lee's brains onto the screen. My favorite thing about Raimi's Spider-Man movies? They're the only Superhero movies I can think of that really indulged in the sheer unadorned fun, the goofiness of the comic books. They had a campiness about them which felt genuine and to which Jon Watts, more or less, tried to attain with "Homecoming." The problem is that this being the third cinematic attempt at Spidey, it has been overdone and it doesn't help Raimi produced the very peak of it in 2004.

It goes like this:

1) Spider-Man 2

2) Spider-Man

3) Spider-Man 3

4) Spider-Man: Homecoming

5) The Amazing Spider-Man

6) The Amazing Spider-Man 2

You guys agree? Let us know in the comments below.

[Source]

Angelina Jolie did casting for 'First They Killed My Father' by playing "disturbing" psychological games with deprived children, including orphans

The story below is from Vanity Fair's latest Angelina Jolie cover story, this being her ninth time on the cover. The interview is mostly musings about Jolie's current lifestyle, her post-Brad Pitt endeavors, the six children that she now raises alone, but the biggest gimme I gathered from reading this standard, by-the-books feature on the 42-year-old actress was the manipulative way she did casting for her latest feature, "First They Killed My Father," which follows the same narrative path of her other directorial features: innocent young-ins being tortured and manipulated by higher authority. It seems like the notion of people suffering on screen gets Jolie high off her rockers, but who would have possibly imagined it would bleed through into the casting process as well.

"To cast the children in the film, Jolie looked at orphanages, circuses, and slum schools, specifically seeking children who had experienced hardship. In order to find their lead, to play young Loung Ung, the casting directors set up a game, rather disturbing in its realism: they put money on the table and asked the child to think of something she needed the money for, and then to snatch it away. The director would pretend to catch the child, and the child would have to come up with a lie. “Srey Moch [the girl ultimately chosen for the part] was the only child that stared at the money for a very, very long time,” Jolie says. “When she was forced to give it back, she became overwhelmed with emotion. All these different things came flooding back.” Jolie then tears up. “When she was asked later what the money was for, she said her grandfather had died, and they didn’t have enough money for a nice funeral.” [Source]

She better have paid for that funeral. Jesus Christ.

IMAX Is Moving Away From 3D: 'Audiences Don't Want 3D Anymore'

It was everywhere. It seemed as if every film coming out since 2009 was available with 3D glasses. That, of course, had a lot to do with money. Ever since James Cameron's groundbreaking "Avatar," the studios wanted to take advantage of the 3D medium by releasing every mediocre effort with an extra pair of $3 glasses included with your ticket. When conceived, most of these movies were not meant for 3D viewing, compared to James Cameron's film which was born and bred as a 3D experience. I kept saying on this site "Don't waste your money watching 99% of movies in 3D, it is not essential & the film does not benefit in any way shape or form from it."

I would add that I can count on a single hand the number of movies that have come out since "Avatar" that actually benefited from the 3D treatment: Cameron's "Avatar," Ang Lee's "Life Of Pi," Martin Scorsese's "Hugo," Robert Zemeckis' "The Walk" and Alfonso Cuaron's "Gravity." That's it, that's all. 3D is otherwise a major studio scam that hasn't materialized as planned in terms of artistry, that's why, supposedly, Cameron is trying to find another way to attract people for his "Avatar" sequels. In October he teased that the films might be in 3D without even having to wear the glasses. 

IMAX is now leaving the 3D game. The giant-screen exhibitor says "domestic moviegoers prefer 2D versions, compared to 3D."

Here's the Hollywood Reporter quote that's been causing a ruckus today, from IMAX Entertainment CEO Greg Foster: “The demand for 2D films is starting to exceed 3D in North America,” Foster said, adding that audiences have a “clear preference” for 2D over 3D, at least in North America."

The bottom line is this: IMAX is in TROUBLE. Looking at their financials this past quarter, their revenue from the U.S. dipped slightly but in China it absolutely bottomed out. This mirrors the trend in global theatrical sales in general, but, unlike Disney or Universal or the other major companies, Imax gets all of its revenue from movie ticket sales and theatrical licensing, so dips in the market really hurt them. They've been planning on entering the in-home space for a while now. Better hurry.

[THR]

George Clooney's 'Suburbicon' has a trailer

This is definitely not the tone that I was thinking the movie would take. It looks like a Coen conspiracy farce. Not a bad thing mind you, but I do see why Telluride decided not to choose it as part of its selection. George Clooney directs and, of course, the Coens take screenplay credit. At some point, they were supposed to direct with Clooney starring in the Damon role.

“Suburbicon” opens on October 27th.

Director Jeff Nichols Says ‘Midnight Special’ Was His ‘Least Well-Executed’ Film

I really wanted to love "Midnight Special," but I just had to settle with liking its second half. Jeff Nichols is a director that I admire tremendously ("Shotgun Stories," "Take Shelter," "Mud" and "Loving") and "Midnight Special" had shades of the brilliant touches he brought to the his other four features, especially in its second half which was wildly imaginative. It was mix of Sci-Fi, road trip, mystery and many other genres, but it tripped on ts own ambitions as there were just too many scenes that felt out of place and unnecessary.

Nichols regular Michael Shannon showed up, so did Joel Edgarton and Kristen Dunst. It wanted to be Spielberg-ian, and the film is indeed very reminiscent of Close Encounters Of The Third Kind and E.T, but those movies never had such abrupt stylistic and tonal change. Spielberg knew what he wanted to have on the big screen, Nichols, on the other hand,  seemed to struggle to find a cohesiveness to his narrative. 

It's a film that took its time to fully explain its scenario so maybe a second viewing in set for me in the near future, however it won't come any time soon if I go by what Nichols recently said about it. During a GQ director's roundtable he said "Midnight Special" was his "least well-executed" film:

"You have to kind of protect the health of who you are in order to do this work. All the press and money and all these things are kind of like a drug: You need more and more and more. It can open you up to a lesser side of yourself really quickly. Mud was a failure at Cannes. Nobody wanted to buy it. So the summer I wrote Midnight Special I was writing with a chip on my shoulder. And that turned out to be my least successful film and also probably my least well-executed. It’s because I allowed myself to be affected by the response. We’d be morons if we weren’t affected by it. But you somehow have to protect this thing that you are, or it can really hurt you. It can hurt the work."

What do you think of Midnight Special? Let us know in the comments below.

Mashable: Joss Whedon To Take Control Of DC Films’ Creative Team, Zack Snyder Downgraded to Smaller Role

Mashable is reporting that Zack Snyder's future with the DCEU will be much smaller and that Joss Whedon is about to take over the creative process. This will come as a shock for DCEU fans who have been defending Snyder's style for years even with the critical drubbing he's been attacked with reviews.

"Zack Snyder, primary engineer of the DC Comics movie universe since Man of Steel, whose creative vision has been polarizing, to say the least, will take a significantly smaller role with the franchise going forward, as will his wife, producer Deborah Snyder, Mashable has learned."

"The Snyders left Justice League as director and producer in May, saying they needed time to grieve for their 20-year-old daughter, who had died by suicide two months before. Multiple sources with knowledge of Warner Bros.' plans say that as the DC Extended Universe moves forward, the Snyders will no longer have anything like the level of creative influence that got the franchise to this point."

It sounds like DC likes well liked by critics, "Wonder Woman" is a film that has changed their way of thinking. I hope Joss has the freedom to manage a well-made DCEU, his knowledge is there. It's such a plus for DCEU to have a talent like Joss. 

Why Summer 2017 Might Go Down As The Best Summer Ever For Movies

It just feels like every summer people always look back at the movies of summer 1982 or 1984. Those have been known as the peaks of what a summer movie season should be.In fact, this year AFI is running a 1982 retrospective and a whole segment focuses on, of course, that incredible summer full of cinematic treats.

What's astounding to me about this last summer's movie lineup is just how good it is despite people's misconceptions that we are living in some kind of cinematic doomsday. It seems like every weekend this summer we've had a great movie. It's not every year you experience a season quite like this:

Dunkirk, Detroit, Baby Driver, War for the Planet of the Apes, The Big Sick, Wonder Woman, The Beguiled, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, A Ghost Story, Okja, Logan Lucky, It Comes At Night

I think we can justly say that this latest summer movie season ranks as one of the greatest ever? At the very least it can compete with the best of them, no? Here are other contenders:

2009

The Hangover, Star Trek, Up, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, District 9, 500 Days of Summer, Moon, Drag Me to Hell, Public Enemies, In the Loop

1999

The Sixth Sense, The Matrix, South Park: Bigger Longer Uncut, American Pie, The Blair Witch Project, Eyes Wide Shut, Notting Hill, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Run Lola Run, The Iron Giant, Summer of Sam

1982

E.T, Blade Runner, Poltergeist, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, John Carpenter's The Thing, An Officer and a Gentleman, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Porkys, Diner, Conan the Barbarian, Tron

2004

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Anchorman, The Notebook, Spider-Man 2

Napoleon Dynamite, The Bourne Supremacy, Collateral, Dodgeball, Fahrenheit 9/11, Maria Full of Grace, Before Sunset, Garden State

1980
The Empire Strikes Back, The Shining, Airplane!, The Blues Brothers, Caddyshack, Dressed to Kill, Fame, Friday the 13th, Used Cars, The Big Red One, The Blue Lagoon

1988

Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Die Hard, Coming to America, A Fish Called Wanda, Big, Midnight Run, Bull Durham, Married to the Mob, The Last Temptation of Christ, Willow

1984

Ghostbusters, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Karate Kid, Gremlins, The Neverending Story, Once Upon a Time in America, Purple Rain, Red Dawn, Revenge of the Nerds, Top Secret, The Natural

1989
Batman, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, When Harry Met Sally, Dead Poets' Society, Do the Right Thing, The Abyss, Ghostbusters II, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Lethal Weapon 2, Parenthood, Uncle Buck, Road House

2008

Iron Man, The Dark Knight, WALL-E, Tropic Thunder, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Incredible Hulk, Step Brothers, Pineapple Express, Kung Fu Panda

2005

Batman Begins, Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, The 40 Year Old Virgin, War of the Worlds, Wedding Crashers, Broken Flowers, Red Eye, Cinderella Man, Hustle & Flow, Grizzly Man

1998

Saving Private Ryan, The Truman Show, Mulan, There's Something About Mary, Out of Sight, Bulworth, The Mask of Zorro, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Buffalo 66, Blade, Mulan, The Negotiator

What do you think is the best summer movie season ever? Post your choice in the comments below!

First Image from Spielberg's Drama 'The Papers' - Starring Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Alison Brie, Carrie Coon, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jesse Plemons, Bradley Whitford, David Cross, Bob Odendirk, and Sarah Paulson

Telluride lineup becomes clearer with TIFF announcement

So we now, more or less, know a dozen titles that are going to Telluride:

Darkest Hour, Joe Wright

Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, Paul McGuigan

Downsizing, Alexander Payne

A Fantastic Woman, Sebastián Lelio

First They Killed My Father, Angelina Jolie

The Rider, Chloé Zhao

The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro

Long Time Running, Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier

Battle of the Sexes, Valerie Faris, Jonathan Dayton
Hostiles, Scott Cooper
Lady Bird Greta Gerwig
Thelma, Joachim Trier

NOT going:

BPM (Beats Per Minute), Robin Campillo

mother!, Darren Aronofsky

The Square, Ruben Östlund

Suburbicon, George Clooney

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Martin McDonagh

Victoria and Abdul, Stephen Frears

Breathe, Andy Serkis

Kings Deniz Gamze Ergüven

The Mountain Between Us, Hany Abu-Assad

Stronger, David Gordon Green

The Current War, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon

Of note. Today's TIFF announcement did not have:

Stephen Chbosky's "Wonder"
Denis Villeneuve's "Blade Runner 2049" 
Todd Haynes' "Wonderstruck" 
Agnes Varda's "Visages/Villages," 
Andrey Zvyagintsev' "Loveless" 
Sean Baker's "The Florida Project" 
Lynne Ramsay's "You Were Never Really Here" 
Aki Kaurismaki's "The Other Side of Hope" 
Ken Burns' "Vietnam" 
Andrew Haigh's "Lean on Pete" 
Reginald Hudlin's "Marshall" 
Tomas Alfredson's "The Snowman" 
Aaron Sorkin's "Molly's Game" 
Armando Iannucci's "The Death of Stalin."

Alex Garland's "Anihilation"
Xavier Dolan's "The Life and Death of John F Donovan"
Garth Davis' "Mary Magdalene"
Dan Gilroy's "Roman Israel, esq"
David Robert Mitchell's "Under the Silver Lake"
Lucrecia Martel's "Zama"
Yorgios Lanthimos' "The Killing of A Sacred Deer"
Abdellatif Kechiche's "Mektoub is Mektoub"

The TIFF lineup announced today, with more to be announced in the coming weeks:

GALAS 2017

Breathe | Andy Serkis, United Kingdom
World Premiere

The Catcher Was A Spy | Ben Lewin, USA
World Premiere

Closing Night Film
C’est la vie! | Olivier Nakache, Eric Toledano, France
World Premiere

Darkest Hour | Joe Wright, United Kingdom
Canadian Premiere

Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool | Paul McGuigan, United Kingdom
Canadian Premiere

Kings | Deniz Gamze Ergüven, France/Belgium
World Premiere

Long Time Running | Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier, Canada
World Premiere

Mary Shelley | Haifaa Al Mansour, Ireland/United Kingdom/Luxembourg/USA
World Premiere

The Mountain Between Us | Hany Abu-Assad, USA
World Premiere

Mudbound | Dee Rees, USA
International Premiere

Stronger | David Gordon Green, USA
World Premiere

Untitled Bryan Cranston/Kevin Hart Film | Neil Burger, USA
World Premiere

The Wife | Björn Runge, United Kingdom/Sweden
World Premiere

Woman Walks Ahead | Susanna White, USA
World Premiere

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS 2017

Battle of the Sexes | Valerie Faris, Jonathan Dayton, USA
International Premiere

BPM (Beats Per Minute) | Robin Campillo, France
North American Premiere

The Brawler | Anurag Kashyap, India
World Premiere

The Breadwinner | Nora Twomey, Canada/Ireland/Luxembourg
World Premiere

Call Me By Your Name | Luca Guadagnino, Italy/France
Canadian Premiere

Catch the Wind | Gaël Morel, France
International Premiere

The Children Act | Richard Eyre, United Kingdom
World Premiere

The Current War | Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, USA
World Premiere

Disobedience | Sebastián Lelio, United Kingdom
World Premiere

Downsizing | Alexander Payne, USA
Canadian Premiere

A Fantastic Woman | Sebastián Lelio, Chile
Canadian Premiere

First They Killed My Father | Angelina Jolie, Cambodia
Canadian Premiere

The Guardians | Xavier Beauvois, France
World Premiere

Hostiles | Scott Cooper, USA
International Premiere

The Hungry | Bornila Chatterjee, India
World Premiere

I, Tonya | Craig Gillespie, USA
World Premiere

Special Presentations Opening Film
Lady Bird | Greta Gerwig, USA
International Premiere

mother! | Darren Aronofsky, USA
North American Premiere

Novitiate | Maggie Betts, USA
International Premiere

Omerta | Hansal Mehta, India
World Premiere

Plonger | Mélanie Laurent, France
World Premiere

The Price of Success | Teddy Lussi-Modeste, France
International Premiere

Professor Marston & the Wonder Women | Angela Robinson, USA
World Premiere

The Rider | Chloé Zhao, USA
Canadian Premiere

A Season in France | Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, France
World Premiere

The Shape of Water | Guillermo del Toro, USA
Canadian Premiere

Special Presentations Closing Film
Sheikh Jackson | Amr Salama, Egypt
World Premiere

The Square | Ruben Östlund, Sweden
North American Premiere

Submergence | Wim Wenders, France/Germany/Spain
World Premiere

Suburbicon | George Clooney, USA
North American Premiere

Thelma | Joachim Trier, Norway/Sweden/France/Denmark
International Premiere

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | Martin McDonagh, USA
North American Premiere

Victoria and Abdul | Stephen Frears, United Kingdom
North American Premiere

Joe Russo: 'Avengers: Infinity War' Inspired By '90s Heist Films

I loved how the Russo's brought a heavy 1970s political thriller vibe to "The Winter Soldier." They're clearly fans of "cinema" more than just "movies." You can tell these are actual legit filmmakers working here despite all the contractual obligations that come with signing with the MCU and, of course, the lack of creative freedom, but they've managed to find a way around it with their films to bring in their own voice, just like James Gunn has done with the "Guardians" movies.

So, What would Russo be talking about here? I mean, the "Heist" genre has been around since the very beginning of cinema. I didn't really know there was an actual movement in the '90s. I'm sure he's specifically thinking of Michael Mann's "Heat" which has all but become one of the most riffed upon films on the last quarter century, just ask Christopher Nolan and "The Dark Knight." Others would probably be "Point Break," "Dead Presidents," and, even though we don't really see the heist "Reservoir Dogs." Am I missing any?

Here's the exact quote:

"My brother and I like to use movies (because we're film geeks) as influences for us. Sometimes, with so many people working on these films, it's just great to show them footage or talk about a film that everyone knows so you understand the tone, or the theme, or the structure that you're playing with. Structurally, with this first film, Avengers 3, we've been using the smash-n-grab '90s heist films, so there's a real urgency to the film. I feel like it adds a level of excitement and relentlessness to the pace of the movie. And it's a lot of divergent narratives coming together into a climax."

[Source]

The 10 Greatest War Movies Ever Made. Where Does 'Dunkirk' Rank?

Now that "Dunkirk" has all but cemented its place, with critics at least, as one of the greatest war movies ever made you're starting to see a lot of "Greatest War Movies of All-Time" lists showing up online. It's too early to know the impact that "Dunkirk" will have and the lasting impression it will make on the next generation of moviegoers, but there's no doubt in my mind that we will likely see it on such a list in the near future. It's just too early for me to put it anywhere near these classics.

I'd say these are, more or less, the essentials of the genre:

Saving Private Ryan (Steven Spielberg)
Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick)
Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola)
Platoon (Oliver Stone)
The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow)
The Battle of Algiers (Gillo Pontecorvo)
La Grande Illusion (Jean Renoir)
The Great Escape (John Sturges)
The Thin Red Line (Terrence Malick)
Downfall (Olivier Hirschbiegel)
Patton (Franklin J. Schaffner)
The Deer Hunter (Michael Cimino)
Paths of Glory (Stanley Kubrick)

Am I missing anything? Post your own list in the comments section and let us know if "Dunkirk" is worthy of the essential "War Movie" cannon.