The PGA is usually the most accurate way to predict the Oscar nominees for Best Picture. Thousands of Hollywood and foreign producers vote for the PGA awards. Those same producers are most likely, or at least the majority of them, Oscar voters as well.
Read moreRob Schneider Defends Louis C.K. by Quoting George Carlin: “Political correctness is just fascism disguised as manners.”
"Comics are the ones who are supposed to say the horrible things we all think but don’t," wrote comedian Rob Schneider on Twitter. He consequentially went on a rant on Friday to defend Louis C.K. and Kevin Hart.
Read moreEllen Degeneres Told Kevin Hart She Called the Academy Asking to Reinstate Him as Oscar Host; They Are Interested.
Kevin Hart could be coming back as host of the 91st Academy Awards. In an upcoming interview on the “Ellen” show, set to air this Friday, Hart told host Ellen DeGeneres that he is “reconsidering” his decision to step down as host after DeGeneres revealed that she called the Academy to ask its leaders to reconsider having Hart host the Oscars.
Read moreIt’s Become Quite Clear That Nobody Wants to Host the Oscars. Do You Blame Them?
What is the Academy waiting for?
Read moreNew image of Taron Egerton as Elton John in the musical fantasy ‘Rocketman’
Not enough chest hair. Too much head hair. Too handsome. To tell you the truth, probably needs a little more, like Tobias Bluth.
Read more‘Arctic’ Trailer: Mads Mikkelsen Survival Film Recalls ‘127 Hours,’ ‘All Is Lost’ and ‘The Grey’
In "Arctic," directed by Joe Penna, Mads Mikkelson plays Overgård, a man whose plane has crashed, leaving him stuck in the wintry landscape of Antarctica, where the extreme conditions could lead to death if help doesn’t come soon enough. Overgård clearly has solid survival skills: he transforms the plane into a warm shelter, and he concocts devices to catch fish from what is left of the plane wreckage. He’s even found a way to radio for help through a handy transmitter. However, when the rescue does finally show up though, nothing goes as planned. A turbulent snowstorm causes another plane crash with the only survivor a young woman who goes in and out of consciousness. From there, Overgård decides to head further north on a harrowing journey to reach a rescue station. Carrying the woman’s body on a sled, Overgård’s heavily-charged trek is a daunting one. Despite the beautiful natural scenery, the wintry mountains are savagely precarious and one misstep can spell doom.
Read moreChinese Arthouse Film “A Long Day’s Journey Into Night” Breaks Records With $38M Opening, Followed by 96% Drop Amid Mass Walkouts & Bad Audience Reception
I was shocked to learn last week of the surprising success of Bi-Gan's “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” at the Chinese box-office. The film, which I reviewed earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival, is as artsy as they come. Even some of the highest-browed critics I've spoken to have admitted how hard it was to follow the film's plot. However, thanks to a misleading promotional campaign which sold it as a romcom, Bi-Gan's film had record-breaking success at the Chinese box office. “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” earned $38 million in ticket sales, that is before Chinese audiences caught on and realized this wasn't the film they signed up for.
Read more“Bohemian Rhapsody” Blu-Ray to Include Full Live Aid Performance
20th Century Fox has announced, through an official press release, that the upcoming "Bohemian Rhapsody" 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD, being released on January 22nd, will feature the complete “Live Aid” Movie Performance featuring the two never-before-seen songs (“Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and “We Will Rock You").
Read moreNetflix Warns Fans Trying the “Birdbox Challenge” Not to Hurt Themselves; Some Are Driving Their Cars Blindfolded.
Director Susan Bier's “Bird Box,” has turned into a monster smash hit for Netflix. Nobody expected that to happen, but the Sandra Bullock thriller has been religiously memed ever since its release last month (not to mention breaking records for Netflix having been viewed 45M times in its first week). It has turned, by all accounts, into a cultural phenomenon. So much so, that Netflix had to go out of their way today and warn people not to celebrate their love of “Bird Box” in extreme ways.
Read moreThe Best Movies of 2018
This has been a tumultuous, but rewarding, year for films. Despite all the hoopla that we are living in dire times for moviemaking, the last 12 months have proved the naysayers wrong yet again. In fact, every year it’s the same story. Film critics will lament a doom and gloom overview of the year at the movies, how Hollywood doesn’t produce original stories anymore, how the multiplexes are filled with reboots, sequels, and prequels galore. Those assessments may not be wrong, but we now live at a time when so many options are at our disposal. Forget about Hollywood; seek stuff on the indie and foreign circuits and you’ll be rewarded with treasure upon treasure of cinematic delights. Much of the quality came from films that had originally premiered at film festivals.
Read morePundits: Rami Malek is Front-Runner to Win Best Actor Golden Globe
It quite honestly looks like the Best Actor Oscar is currently Rami Malek's to lose. For the longest stretch I thought Bradley Cooper's performance in "A Star Is Born" was the one-to-beat, but Malek has been picking up considerable steam the last few weeks and 'Star' has been on the downslide.
Read moreVariety Critic: Obama’s 2018 Film Picks Much Like His Presidency, He Just Got With the Program
When Barack Obama posted his list of the best films of 2018 I wrote this on Facebook: "Consider me impressed by most of his list. I don't know if his backers just used an algorithm to select these films, or if these are genuinely his top picks but, suffice to say, "film twitter" is going gaga today over this list. Job well done."
Read more‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ Actor Bob Einstein Dies at 76
It was disheartening to hear the news that Bob Einstein, the two-time Emmy winning “Curb Your Enthusiasm” actor died at the young age of 76.
His brother, fellow comedian and actor Albert Brooks, tweeted the news on Wednesday: "R.I.P. My dear brother Bob Einstein. A great brother, father and husband. A brilliantly funny man. You will be missed forever."
Read moreThe 25 Most Anticipated American Movies of 2019
After 52 weeks of 2018 releases (look for my top ten list to be posted tomorrow) we must now concentrate on 2019. I narrowed down the list of must-see American films to 25 this year. You won't find "Avengers: Endgame" or "The Lion King" anywhere on this list because, well, every other 2019 article has them on there and isn't it more fun to include two other less-known titles in place of what will surely be the top two money-makers of the year. Also disqualified are foreign language films, because those will be included next week in my annual top 20 anticipated foreign-language film of 2019. Look for upcoming movies from Paul Verehoeven, Bong Joon-Ho, Pedro Almodóvar, Pablo Larrain, and Mia Hansen-Love to be included.
Read moreLouis C.K. Criticized as “Alt-Right” By Media for Comedy Set Which Included Jokes About Trans Youth and Parkland Victims
American comedian Louis C.K. performed a controversial stand-up act earlier this year and the internet has not taken well to it after it leaked earlier today. In the stand-up routine, performed in New York, C.K. jokes about the survivors of the 2018 Parkland Shooting, but also individuals who identify as non-binary.
Read moreGuillermo del Toro’s top movies this year
Kevin Spacey Delivers Pizza to Paparazzi Wearing “Retired Since 2017” Baseball Cap
After pulling off a disappearing act for close to two years, Kevin Spacey re-emerged into the spotlight last Thursday. The 59-year-old actor managed to break his silence by releasing a video titled “Let Me Be Frank,” which laid down his defense in the character of Frank Underwood, the U.S. President he played on “House Of Cards.”
Read moreDespite backlash, can ‘Green Book’ still win Best Picture?
At this point, with backlash after backlash having happened, it's going to be a tough road ahead for "Green Book" and its desire to snag that best picture Oscar. Peter Farelly‘s film did not make my ten best list this year, but I can’t tell you how great it would be if this film actually pulled off the Oscar upset. SJW heads would roll, tempter tantrums would unfurl, it’d be a wonderful sight to see. Owen Gleiberman puts it quite nicely in his latest Variety column, titled “What Each Possible 2018 Best Picture Winner Would Mean,“ he believes that "Green Book" winning best picture would no doubt be "a nice, big, friendly “kiss our collective ass” message to the woke thugs in the film critic community." [Thanks, Jeff]:
Read moreCarrie Fisher’s brother: Leia’s role in Star Wars: Episode IX feels “like it was shot yesterday”
We know that the late Carrie Fisher will posthumously appear, for the final time, as Leia Organa in next year's J.J. Abrams-directed Star Wars: Episode IX.
Her role is said to consist of mostly unused footage from Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Last Jedi and according to Fisher’s brother, Todd Fisher, Lucasfilm has a lot of leftover material to work with:
Read moreOver 45 Million People Watched ‘Bird Box’ In First Week; Best First 7 Days Ever For A Netflix Movie.
A record-breaking 45 million accounts watched Netflix's "Bird Box," the best first week for a Netflix movie in the streaming giant's history.
Netflix tweeted the news by saying "Took off my blindfold this morning to discover that 45,037,125 Netflix accounts have already watched Bird Box — best first 7 days ever for a Netflix film!" The movie stars Sandra Bullock as a mother fighting a supernatural force that kills you if you see it.
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As expected, Snyder's latest is being torn apart by TIFF attendees. No mercy given. The film, which had its world premiere this evening, is being called by some one of the worst movies to ever premiere at the festival.