Netflix's “Making a Murderer” should be considered one of the most influential shows of the decade. It opened the door for a slew of murder-mystery dramas, which have all but invaded the TV stratosphere and podcasts such as Serial. If you remember, the non-fiction docu-series chronicled the conviction of two men for a crime that they may, or may not, have committed. By the end of the series, most of America had their own opinion on who did it. It was a magnificently rendered work of art.
Read moreThe hype surrounding "A Star is Born" will be detrimental to its Oscar chances
"A Star is Born" should not be perceived, just yet, as the Best Picture front-runner. HE's Jeffrey Wells is correct in perceiving that Kris Tapley oversold the situation when he said the Bradley Cooper-directed film had "the muscle to win all five major Academy Awards (picture, director, actor, actress, and screenplay). Tapley went on to say in his write-up that "it’s that kind of accomplishment.” Good God. An "accomplishment?" A remake of a remake of a remake which includes fairly similar narrative drumbeats the other three versions had. I will admit it, Cooper's film is the most technically accomplished version. However, still, "A Star is Born" is not an accomplishment by any stretch of the imagination. Give me a break.
Read more'Fahrenheit 11/9' bombing at the box-office
"Fahrenheit 11/9" is bombing badly at the American box-office and it's not because it's a bad movie. I was pleasantly surprised by its passionate, anti-establishment discourse when I saw it earlier this month. However, opening to a little over $3 million in 1,719 theaters is bad, really bad. Moore's 2004George W. Bush indictment, and Palme d'Or Winning, “Fahrenheit 9/11” was a product of its time, and it worked wonders at the box-office (check that $19M opening weekend) because Bush, contrary to Trump, was not as consistently covered on television. This just goes to show the grasp and hold Trump has on the American discourse, he wants consistent wall-to-wall coverage so he can manipulate the media as the puppets that they are and, guess what, he is doing just that.
Read moreImmediate backlash following announcement of Mel Gibson as "The Wild Bunch" director
Another Mel Gibson backlash has started. This week it was confirmed that Gibson was hired by the WB to remake the 1968 Sam Peckinpah-directed classic, "The Wild Bunch." I mentioned how Peckinpah, a well-known working alcoholic who pushes boundaries with his violent movies, and Gibson seemed to be a match made in heaven or is that hell? Regardless, a pushback has occurred, and it all started with a Sarah Silverman tweet reminding of Gibson's persistent history of antisemitism:
Read moreHuh!? Sony has officially re-titled "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" sequel as "The Girl in the Spider’s Web: A New Dragon Tattoo Story"
When it comes to dumb decisions, this might just take the cake for worst movie title of the year.
According to an anonymous source, "Focus groups [have] shown that people [at test screenings] didn't realize ["The Girl With the Spider's Web"] was connected to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." Sony seems to think that Claire Foy‘s punk haircut and dragon tattoo were not enough to communicate to fans that the upcoming "The Girl in the Spider’s Web" is connected to the same popular book series that "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" stemmed from. So they've decided to change their upcoming "The Girl in the Spider’s Web" to "The Girl in the Spider’s Web: A New Dragon Tattoo Story." Again, this is not an Onion story.
Read moreBill Cosby's Booking Photo Released
Bill Cosby was today sentenced to spend three to 10 years in a Pennsylvania State penitentiary. Cosby was found guilty on three counts of sexual assault: "Penetration with lack of consent, penetration while unconscious, and penetration after administering an intoxicant."
There were 60 victims, but due to statute of limitations, only Andrea Constand's case counts, just squeaking past the 15 year limit. During sentencing, Judge Steven O’Neill officially named Cosby as “sexually violent predator.”Despite the severe statement, O'Neil indicated that the sentence will most likely be between "22 to 36 months."
Read moreGeorge Lucas asked Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, and Robert Zemeckis to direct the SW Prequels, but they refused, all of them saying; "George, you should do it!"
The Star Wars prequels ("Phantom Menace," "Attack of the Clones," and "Revenge of the Sith") don't exactly have the greatest reputation with movie fans, there is, of course, a subculture that absolutely adores them, including none other than James Cameron, but their reputation for being the weakest SW films is well known.
Ron Howard was a guest on the HappySadConfused podcast a few years back and confided with the show's host that George Lucas asked him and a few other marquee filmmakers to direct the “Star Wars” prequels.
Mid90s | Official Trailer | A24
I wrote this at TIFF on Jonah Hill's well-fashioned debut as a writer-director "Mid90s":
"Far more solid highlights included Mid90s which has writer-director Jonah Hill reliving his youth in a skateboard coming of age drama. It focuses on the plight of 13-year-old Stevie (Sunny Suljic), tormented by his older brother (a surprisingly threatening performance by Lucas Hedges), who decides to take a crack at hanging with the cool kids at a skateboarding store. Hill’s directorial debut shows a relaxed agility for the craft. The screenplay, written by Hill, feels thoroughly authentic, with dialogue that’s delivered with offhand naturalism. Kudos to the actors, each of whom inhabit their roles with the kind of credibility essential to making this kind of movie work."
Read moreDavid Lynch on movie tweet reactions: “Unless you’re a poet, words will fail you.”
Guilty as charged. Sometimes, just to keep up with the critical zeitgeist, I will tweet out my thoughts about a film the moment I leave the movie theater. I don't like doing it, great films usually need time to be processed, but at film festivals it's almost a requirement that comes with job, especially if you're at the world premiere. I'll admit, I've been tempted to stop this practice, especially since, from time to time, my opinion has evolved and slightly changed on films I had originally tweeted about.
Read moreBuster Keaton lives on in Peter Bogdanovich's 'The Great Buster: A Celebration'
Simple, yet brilliantly delivered, that is Buster Keaton's genius explained in just a few words. If you want to see absolute cinematic insanity, watch "The General." That film, like most of Keaton's, is full of death-defying stunts. That's part of the reason why it's considered one of the greats of all-time, the other reason is the way Keaton would frame his shots, present his mise-en-scene and use the space around him to create cinematic magic.
Yes, "The General" is an astounding technical achievement, even more so now, 91 years after its release. "The Navigator" is also an immaculate Keaton classic, and lest we forget "Sherlock Jr" as well, his valentine to the early days of movies. They've all aged magnificently well. In fact, one of the reasons why Keaton surpasses Charlie Chaplin in my books is that, despite being almost a century old, his movies haven't aged, slightly, better. I still love Chaplin, how can you not? But Keaton had that extra oomph, that edge that seems to fit better with today's modern-day filmmaking. For example, most of his stunts surpass what Tom Cruise did, astonishingly well, in the last few "Mission: Impossible" films.
From David Thomson‘s 1.29.06 Independent essay, titled “Buster Was Stoked By Genius, But He Hit The Buffers Hard.” [Thanks HE]
“Buster Keaton was tragic, shattered, a survivor in name only and a genius — he was company for Bresson, Ophuls. And it was in the 1920s that Keaton hit his great purple passage: The Three Ages; Our Hospitality; Sherlock Jr; The Navigator; Seven Chances; Battling Butler; The General; College; Steamboat Bill Jr; The Cameraman. In those years, Chaplin made The Gold Rush and The Circus, two fabulous hits. All I am trying to make clear is that Keaton worked at a more rapid pace, and he made one thing — masterpieces. These are the films that any newcomer needs to see. And in that process he or she should realize that the experience is not only comic — it has to do with space, light, movement, duration, time. It is great theatre, but it is music and form, too. These are among the most beautiful films ever made in the silent era.”
Peter Bogdanovich’s "The Great Buster: A Celebration" is a documentary about Keaton, which world premiered at Telluride and then screened at Venice the week after. It opens in theaters October 5 at New York’s Quad Cinema and October 19 in Los Angeles at the Nuart, hopefully ti expands beyond that soon afterwards.
Despite Rape Accusation, Director Bryan Singer Reportedly Hired to Helm 'Red Sonja'
Bryan Singer. A storm was slowly but surely brewing over the writer-director’s rumored past. It felt like it was just around the corner and ready to explode into the zeitgeist. In fact, many were just waiting for the bomb to come down after word came out of his erratic behavior on the set of the Freddy Mercury biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody."
His time did finally come when earlier this year , a series of tweets appeared from a man named Justin Smith, who alleged that Singer sexually assaulted him in the early aughts. The tweets have since been deleted, according to The Daily Wire.
Read moreMel Gibson Writing and Directing ‘Wild Bunch’ Remake
Deadline has the exclusive that "Mel Gibson has been set by Warner Bros to direct "The Wild Bunch," a new version of the 1969 Sam Peckinpah-directed classic Western. Gibson is writing the script with Bryan Bagby. Gibson will be executive producer."
"Bloody Mel" is at it again. We all know that he never skimps out on the on-screen violence with his films as director ("Braveheart," "Passion of the Christ," "Apocalypto" and "Hacksaw Ridge"), having created some of the most violent imagery to date in modern cinema. He seems to revel in staging be-headings and grisly deaths. A madman indeed.
Read moreFan petitions Grow for Jon Hamm to be Cast as Next Batman, Kevin Smith Says it Would be "Brilliant Idea"
In a recent episode of Kevin Smith's Fatman Beyond podcast, the well-known writer-director, and uber-superhero enthusiast, stated that Jon Hamm needs to be cast as the next Batman in director Matt Reeves' upcoming DC reboot.
"I roll deep on Jon Hamm as Batman," Smith said. "I think that's a brilliant idea, I've been saying it for f*cking years, I've been saying it even when they cast Ben I was like 'look, he's great and yeah, he'll do a great job' but f*ck Jon Hamm was right there and stuff."
Read moreDirector Dan Fogelman Backtracks on His Blaming White Male Critics for Poor 'Life Itself' Reviews
Los Angeles Times interview with "Life Itself" director Dan Fogelman has the filmmaker backtracking on his previous comments, made a few days ago, blaming his film's terrible reviews on “white male critics who don’t like anything that has emotion.” As I had pointed out at the time, of the 19 female film critics that reviewed "Life Itself," 17 were rotten, just two were positive.
Anyway, now Fogelman is just blaming critics in general: “I think I just have a wildly different creative palette than the cynical film critic” Fogelman told the LAT. “And that’s OK. I like different things than they like sometimes but not — not in a bad way. My hope is that it will be warmly received in that way and kind of be able to split the difference of both worlds the way that [‘This Is Us’] has.”
‘Outlaw King’ Director David Mackenzie Went to the Editing Room and Snipped His Netflix Epic By 20 Minutes After Toronto Premiere
Deadline is reporting that David Mackenzie went straight back to the editing room after his latest film, the epic "Outlaw King" was met with mixed reviews at its TIFF premiere a few weeks ago.
The filmmaker has cut 20 minutes from the movie, which will have another festival bow on October 17th at the BFI London Film Festival.
Read more'Green Book' will most likely be your Best Picture front-runner
Awards Watch writer Erik Anderson, who I finally had the pleasure of meeting at TIFF this year, knows his stuff and his list of the ten films most likely to be rewarded with a Best Picture nomination, is, more or less, what we'll likely be greeted with come nominations day January 24th. Although, I would replace the impenetrable "If Beale Street Could Talk" with "Eighth Grade." Also, if "Vice," the Dick Cheney movie, fails critically and/or commercially, I can see "The Hate U Give," which is going to get a huge push with reviews and box-office intake, sneak into the Best Picture race.
Read more'The Rider' Director Chloe Zhao to Direct Marvel Studios' 'The Eternals'
Variety is reporting that director Chloe Zhao has been hired to helm the big screen adaptation of Jack Kirby’s “The Eternals” for Marvel. Count me as a tad disappointed by this decision, Zhao directed one of the year's very best films “The Rider,” merging a groundbreaking blend of fiction and non-fiction into her story of a horse rider torn by injury, but signing on to a Marvel movie as a follow-up is not something I anticipated this talented artist to follow-up that triumph with.
The Playlist has this update on the project:
Keira Knightley Explains Why ‘Colette’ Is An 100-Year-Old Feminist Story That Is Just As Relevant Today [Interview]
Focusing on Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, the Parisian author responsible for her husband’s literary success, Wash Westmoreland‘s “Colette” features a towering performance from Keira Knightley, who plays the legendary writer with such warmth and fiery feminism, with a story that easily draws parallels with today’s world.
Colette’s marriage to the well-off Willy (a slyly playful and equally up to the task Dominic West), is a challenge to both her feminist ideals and definition of what love truly means. He is an author of somewhat limited talent that takes his wife’s ideas to write about the fictional Claudine, a character filled with sexual freedom and uproarious adventures that spark a fury in the French literary world. Of course, after the initial success, Willy wants more books to be written, and endeavors to build not just an empire around this promiscuous and daring female character, but to solidify the literary reputation he’s been craving for years.
Read moreFirst look at Joaquin Phoenix in make-up from "Joker"
Joaquin Phoenix is the best living actor today. I dare you to give me a more excitingly original acting voice out there. The fact that he's been cast for the ‘Batman’ spin-off film, ‘Joker,’ directed by Todd Phillips, is enough to make it into a major movie event next year.
This decade Phoenix has given usincredible work in films such as "Two Lovers," "Her," "You Were Never Really Here," "The Master," and "The Immigrant."
This decade Phoenix has given usincredible work in films such as "Two Lovers," "Her," "You Were Never Really Here," "The Master," and "The Immigrant."
We finally got a look today at Phoenix, with makeup, as the Joker, and, suffice to say, he may not look like your token Joker, but, purists be damned, he is creepy as hell.
Robert Redford may not be retiring from acting, after all.
Robert Redford spoke to Variety at the premiere of his upcoming film “The Old Man & the Gun,” a film we all thought would be his final film. Redford even said he was retiring back in August.
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Of all the horror filmmakers who've begged for a shot at Jason over the past 17 years, they went with a 75-year-old who hasn't made a feature since "Day of the Dead" in 2008.