I am not sure what is going on with 20th Century Fox/Disney’s upcoming James Gray-directed “Ad Astra” —an arthouse sci-fi movie, which is supposed to open on May 24th. Many of the film journalists that create buzz around a film will probably be at Cannes between 5.10 thru, at the very least, 5.12, so when can Gray’s film actually screen locally for that press corp? A week before its release? Not a legitimate plan to create buzz.
Read moreThe Participants
Simon Abrams (RogerEbert)
Certified Copy
It's Such a Beautiful Day
Last of the Unjust
Night Across the Street
Under the Skin
Cannes Classics Offers A Few Curiosities
Cannes Classics selections are not on top of my must-see list whenever I attend the Cannes Film Festival — I’ll attend a screening here and there, such as I did last year with Christopher Nolan presenting his own restored 70mm version of “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Almost everything that is shown in this Cannes sidebar is restored in 4K, that is a major sell for many people, I’m not necessarily one of them. So which of this year’s titles might I report back on?
Read moreWill Disney's Upcoming Live-Action ‘Aladdin' Disappoint At the Box-Office?
Is it just me or is the ridicule being thrown at Disney’s upcoming live-action “Aladdin” worrying Disney? In terms of box-office prospects, at the very least. If anything, it seems, to me at least, that people have already looked past “Aladdin” and are now looking to “The Lion King” as the next Disney ticket they will buy.
Read moreYou Should Not Be Celebrating the $1.2 Billion “Avengers: Endgame” Made This Weekend
The mega-billion dollar conglomerate that is Disney has just taken a major step in taking over the world of movies further this past weekend, that is if they even haven’t already. “Avengers: Endgame” made $350 million domestically and $1.2 billon worldwide this past weekend.
Read moreSigourney Weaver Surprises the Cast of the Gone-Viral High School ‘Alien' Play
In case you didn’t hear, there’s this stage adaptation of the original “Alien” movie that has gone viral. Performed by a New Jersey high school drama program, the play was so well-made that it blew up on YouTube and Twitter. You should check out the filmed YouTube video of the show (below) it really is something, complete with locally sourced props and an impressively convincing xenomorph.
Read moreTop 10 Worst Movies Based On Real Life Events
I found this little nugget that I wrote back in the day, when I used to work for WatchMojo and had a little more say in how the lists were chosen. This is all me. I approve of every choice and every word.
Read moreEverything you need to know about The Jungle Book 2
Rudyard Kipling, the author of the seminal poem on masculinity ‘If’ was also responsible for one of the most loved stories of modern times – The Jungle Book. In 1893 Kipling released his first Jungle Book story which introduced the world to Mowgli & co.
Read more‘Monos Is A Latin-American ‘Lord of the Flies' [IFFBoston Review]
“Monos” came out of nowhere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, debuting in the, usually ignored, World Cinema competition. And yet, this surreal dive into the mountains of a war-torn Columbia is the work of a new talent filled with potential, even when he sometimes swings and misses with his mad ambitions. “Monos” has a coalition of eight child soldiers having to take care of an American hostage and a sacred cow, all atop a mountainous peak. However, as with all stories of a small group of people stationed in a claustrophobic setting, power struggles do occur. The setting is stunning, stretching literally above the clouds, making this a film that benefits from such a dreamy set of locations. There also is no main character, all eight soldiers share the same amount of screen time. It’s all beautifully rendered by director Alejandro Lendes who uses the landscapes at his disposal, with (mostly) non-professional actors, to give us a sort of Jodorowsky-esque take on “Lord of the Flies.” It does, somewhat, add-up. Lendes’ mad ambitions, and his strategy to mix the real and the surreal into the poverty-stricken and corrupt nature of his native country, turn out to be fairly potent mixes, but this is clearly the work of a talent that hasn’t hit his stride yet.
Mark Hamill Tweets Fake Picture About Disney's “Missed Opportunity" at Reuniting Han, Lando, Leia and Luke
Mark Hamill is an automatic go-to for World of Reel. Whenever the guy opens his mouth we tend to cover the outrageously honest things he says. Hamill just tweeted away a “what if” scenario on Twitter with the hashtag #MissedOpportunies. A reunion, of-sorts, between Han, Lando, Leia and Luke. Oh, what could have been.
Read more‘Murder Mystery' Trailer: I just Can't Defend Adam Sandler Anymore
There was a time when I really did try to defend Adam Sandler, back in the late ‘90s and early 00’s. I was trying to get people to truly appreciate and understand the sheer Jerry Lewis-like brilliance of the neurotic Jewish schlub in "The Waterboy," "Billy Madison," "Happy Gilmore," "The Wedding Singer," "Punch-Drunk Love" "50 First Dates," and, even, "Big Daddy." Those days seem to be gone. With the exception of 2012’s "That's My Boy," which seemed to harken back to his comedic glory days of the '90s — yes I am defending that movie ... I mean, please do watch it, it's a hoot. Alas, Sandler has been stuck in the kind of cinematic hell that makes me almost regret defending him some 20 odd years ago.
Read more‘Young Ahmed’ Trailer: After Influencing 21st Century Euro-Cinema, Are the Dardennes Yesterday's News?
The Dardenne brothers, Jean-Pierre and Luc, for better or worse, have been the most influential European filmmakers of the 21st century. No doubt about it. Not even close. They have won two Palme d’Ors (“Rosetta ” and “L’Enfant”) using their now heavily imitated brand of intensely realistic, hand-held camera filmmaking. This basically influenced a bunch of film movements in Europe alone, especially the Romanian New-Wave which expanded on the style with uber long-takes. Signs of there being a pushback to the Dardennes happened in 2016 with their drama “The Unknown Girl” which premiered, as with all of their movies, at Cannes but was met with a collective shrug by critics and audiences. Had the Dardennes’ style finally hit a wall with cinephiles? After all, and as mentioned before, it’s been imitated so many times that the powerful effect it once had on us is now all but a cliche of Euro-style filmmaking.
Read moreMartin Scorsese Doc on Bob Dylan to be Released by Netflix in June
Martin Scorsese will be directing another Bob Dylan documentary and he's going the Netflix route, again, for its release.
Read more‘The Hateful Eight' Re-Edited By Quentin Tarantino Into a 4-Episode Netflix Miniseries
A restructured and re-edited “The Hateful Eight” is now available to stream on Netflix. It’s being called an “extended version.” Tarantino has re-edited his 2015 film into a 4-episode miniseries with some added scenes. To be fair, Tarantino himself broke the film down into these chapters with the theatrical version – Whatever the case, it is now specifically split up into four 50 minute episodes with some deleted scenes added into the mix.
“The Hateful Eight” is one of Tarantino’s most underrated films, but it was deemed a box-office "failure" and was met with mixed reviews back in 2015. I loved it. It harkened back to some of the talkier fare he delivered back in the '90s with an added tinge of John Carpenter and Sergio Leone added in for good measure.
Is There Panic in 007 World? ‘Bond 25' Details Announced
‘Avengers: Endgame’ Leaks Online
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and Joe/Anthony Russo are pleading with fans not to ruin “Avengers: Endgame,” [via Associated Press] especially after a few scenes had leaked online:
Read moreCritics Poll — Best Movies of the Decade
The much-anticipated Best Movies of the Decade critics poll will be posted next Tuesday. Sorry for the delay, but a bunch of important critics decided to send me their lists at-the-very-last-minute. In other words, theamount of critics participating has risen considerably since last week, which is why I’ve been delaying the results being posted. The final total seems to be 201 lists.
Best Movies of 2019 So Far [UPDATED]
Posted earlier this month:
OK, fine, I’ll budge. Many readers of this site love lists, understandably so, and there have been a few emails I’ve gotten about what the best movies of 2019 have been so far. I won’t list the stuff I saw at Sundance, I’ll just list the movies that have already been released, the cutoff date is April 30th just to give me a little room to manoeuvre.
Read moreGuillermo del Toro to Team With Leonardo DiCaprio on ‘Nightmare Valley'; DiCaprio Rejected PTA For This Project.
Leonardo DiCaprio continues to only work with the highest-tiered of directors. He’s made a career out of only and exclusively choosing the best of the best in Hollywood film directors; Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, Clint Eastwood, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.
Read moreDisney Axing Fox Projects Left and Right, Mostly Adult Dramas ...
A THR report is saying that Disney are cleaning house and have been axing Fox projects left and right ever since they acquired its assets back on March 20th (for a reported $71.3 billion).
The biggest victims seem to be adult dramas such as the Tom Hanks starrer “News of the World,” an adaptation of Angie Thomas' best-seller “On the Come Up,” and Ted Melfi's mental-hospital-set, Woody Harrelson-starring dramedy “Fruit Loops.”
Of course, this being Disney, they had absolutely no problem in keeping the Matthew Vaughn-directed Kingsman prequel “The Great Game.”
"We are now just only beginning to see how all this consolidation will change how movies get greenlit and made," says a producer involved with a Fox-developed movie. "They are looking at everything."