An April ’16 Tom Hanks career assessment, courtesy of Hollywood-Elsewhere’s Jeffrey Wells, claims that Hanks’ peak started with 1992’s “A League of Their Own” and ended with 1999’s “Toy Story,” I would disagree with that timeline. The whole article was inspired by a Hanks quote from a Tribeca Film Festival discussion with John Oliver where he claimed “I peaked in the ’90s.”
Read moreFirst Poster for James Mangold’s ‘Ford v. Ferrari’
20th Century Fox are no doubt working extra hard for director James Mangold’s new film “Ford v. Ferrari” to make a dent in the Oscar race. This beautiful new poster has a ‘70s Hollywood cinema vibe to it. The studio will be debuting the first trailer for the movie on Sunday Night during Game 2 of the NBA Finals.”
Read more‘Rocketman' is Released Nationwide; Reactions?
“Rocketman” is at 73 on Metacritic and has a 90% score on Rotten Tomatoes — that is more than respectable. Dexter Fletcher’s Elton John biopic is not close to being a landmark cinematic highlight but it does do the job and it does it well. Fletcher and the writers’ decision to make this more into a musical than, say, “Bohemian Rhapsody” is commendable and the artistry is truly more pronounced in Fletcher’s film than the aforementioned. I also happen to think that those MC and RT scores are higher that I thought they would be. It’s been an average year for mainstream filmmaker, so it seems like critics’ standards have been slightly lowered for “Rocketman,” which given the fact that it isn’t a sequel, reboot, superhero movie or animated movie, feels, to many, like some kind of “oasis in a sea of muck.”
Read more‘Rocketman' Censored in Russia Due to Gay Content; Elton John Condemns
Dexter Fletcher‘s “Rocketman,” which opened last night, has had a few ‘Gay themed’ scenes cut in Russia. This has automatically elicited a rebuttal on the part the movie’s director Dexter Fletcher and Elton John himself, condemning Russia’s “cruelly unaccepting” stance on LGBTQ rights.
Read moreRobert Pattinson Is Officially ‘The Batman’
Many rumors these past few weeks have had Robert Pattinson reportedly signing on to play Batman in Matt Reeves’ upcoming “The Batman.”
Read more‘Onward’ Trailer: Another Pixar Winner?
The folks at Pixar swear that they are done with sequels. Well, at least, after “Toy Story 4” is released next month. After that we can look forward to original content, starting with Dan Scanlon’s “Onward.” Yes, it’s a movie about Elves but Ill give the toon company the benefit of the doubt, they have, after all, given us these past 15 years classics such as “WALL-E,” “Finding Nemo,” “Up!” “Ratatouille,” “The Incredibles,” and “Toy Story 3.”
Read moreXavier Dolan Wants to Take a Break From Directing and Concentrate on Acting
If you are Xavier Dolan and your last three movies have failed critically, and yes I am including the just-premiered “Matthias & Maxime,” then what should be your next move?
Read more‘Rambo' At 72: Stallone Debuts New Trailer ...
When Sylvester Stallone decided to bring back Rambo for one last go-around in 2008, he wasn’t joking around. This time, John Rambo was given the task of saving a group of missionaries held captive in a remote area by a militant Burmese regime. Once missionaries were killed and revenge entered the equation, there were many horrific images to behold: Rambo, literally, liquefying dozens of bad guys with a mounted Gatling gun and literally disembowels another, just in case you missed anatomy class that night.
Read moreMoby vs Portman
The headline is so absurd that it warrants some double-checking to make sure it isn’t misleading or click-bait. Alas, it’s all true, Moby axed his book tour because Natalie Portman denies his "creepy" assertion that they had a brief romantic history back in 1999.
Scorsese's ‘The Irishman' Delayed Due to De-aging VFX Issues
There has been a hold-up in post-production for Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman.” It does seem to be a case of unrealistic expectations in regards to the CGI being used for the de-aging process, something an old-school filmmaker like Scorsese probably didn’t expect would happen. He is used to finding great shots through composition and experimentation, not drawing them into existence. The de-aging process being used by the film seems to require more than just filmmaking talent but a hefty amount of VFX talent as well.
Read more‘Goldfinch’ Trailer: ‘Brooklyn’ Director Teams With DP Roger Deakins, Nicole Kidman And Ansel Elgort
Donna Tartt’s novel “The Goldfinch” won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It is no doubt a story that needed to eventually be told on-screen and, no surprise, we are getting a screen adaptation already set for release this coming fall.
Read moreAccording to the British Board of Film Classification, Jennifer Lawrence’s ‘Red Sparrow’ Was the Most-Complained-About Film of 2018
The Francis Lawrence-directed “Red Sparrow” was given a hard R in the States. It starred Jennifer Lawrence as a Russian spy and, by, all accounts, the sexuality and violence in the film was something that we rarely see these days in a big studio movie. J-Law even delivered the first nude scene of her career. The film itself was a well-made spy thriller, albeit one with some overlength issues, but, again, it was the kind of adult drama that is rarely greenlit these days in Hollywood.
Read moreAva DuVernay Says She's Not Being Offered Genre Movies Because She's a Woman
For the most part, I like Ava Duvernay’s work from “Selma” to”Middle of Nowhere,” but the outspoken political mindset the writer-director has displayed, especially on Twitter, these last few years hasn’t always helped her out. Take for example her latest point of contention, that she doesn’t get offered the same opportunities as her white male counterparts.
Read moreA Date With Joanna Hogg's ‘The Souvenir'
I only saw about 30 minutes of Joanna Hogg‘s The Souvenir at the Sundance Film Festival — I wasn’t taken by the narrative — but it felt like a rather unfair way to assess the film. Regardless, a rendez-vous awaits for tonight as I will finally catch the best reviewed film of the year so far — 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, 93% on Metacritic.
Read moreSource: Dardennes' ‘Young Ahmed' Almost Won the Palme D'or
Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne are the most influential European filmmakers of the last 20 years. Their social-realist handheld camera style has become a sort of cliché for the Euro arthouse world, but why complain that the developers of a certain style of filmmaking cannot continue making such films? If their last effort, 2016’s "The Unknown Girl," felt a little off, "Young Ahmed" is no doubt a unique film in their cinematic oeuvre because it tackles a controversial character that feels relevant to 21st century realities.
Read more‘Rocket Man' Review: Taron Egerton Is Impressive In Dexter Fletcher's Elton John Biopic — Cannes
Taron Egerton pours heart and soul playing Elton John in Dexter Fletcher's hyperactive, familiar but consistently entertaining biopic of the legendary musician.
Read moreBox-Office: ‘Aladdin' Makes $100M in Just 4 Days; ‘Booksmart' Disappoints.
Yesterday, I mentioned that “Booksmart” director Olivia Wilde urged audiences to go see her film, noting that the film is “getting creamed by the big dogs out there.” Wilde’s plea didn’t have much effect, at least in terms of the film’s Sunday earnings.
Read moreTIFF/Venice/Telluride Spitballing
A random, non-prioritized list of 45 potential titles for the 2019 Venice/Telluride and/or Toronto festivals
10 Hottest tickets
1. The Irishman (Martin Scorsese); 2. Knives Out (Rian Johnson); 3. The Laundromat (Steven Soderbergh); 4. Jojo Rabbit (Taika Waititi); 5. Uncut Gems (The Safdie brothers); 6. Ad Astra (James Gray); 7. First Cow (Kelly Reichardt); 7. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (Marielle Heller); 8. Joker (Todd Phillips) 9. Wendy (Benh Zeitlin) ; 10. Lucy in the Sky (Noah Hawley)
11. Nomadland (Chloe Zhao) 12. Waiting for the Barbarians (Cirro Guerra); 13. Untitled Noah Baumbach (Noah Baumbach); 14. Dry Run (Todd Haynes); 15. Ford vs Ferrari (James Mangold); 16. The King (David Michod); 17. Fair and Balanced (Jay Roach); 18. Little Women (Greta Gerwig); 19. The Last Thing He Wanted (Dee Rees); 20. Fonzo (Josh Trank)
21. An Officier and A Spy (Roman Polanski); 22. Gemini Man (Ang Lee); 23. The Personal History of David Copperfield (Armando Iannucci) 24. Antlers (Scott Cooper); 25. The Glorias: A Life on the Road (Julie Taymor); 26. The Nest (Sean Durkin); 27. Waves (Trey Edward Schultz); 28. The Woman in the Window (Joe Wright); 29. Downhill (Nat Faxon/Jim Rash); 30. The Hunt (Craig Zobel);
31. Against All Enemies (Benedict Andrews); 32. Motherless Brooklyn (Edward Norton); 33. The True History of the Kelly Gang (Justin Kurzel); 34. The Good Nurse (Tobias Lindholm); 35. The Devil All the Time (Antonio Campos); 36. The Goldfinch (John Crowley); 37. The Rhythm Section (Reed Morano); 38. A Rainy Day in New York (Woody Allen) 39. The Truth (Hirokazu kore-eda); 40. Ema (Pablo Larrain);
41..Bergman Island (Mia Hanson-Love); 42. About Endlessness (Roy Andersson); 43. One Second (Zhang Yimou, China); 44. MalmKrog (Christian Puiu); 45. Undine (Christian Petzold) 46. Shirley (Josephine Decker) 47. Untitled Miranda July (Miranda July) 48. Harriet (Kasi Lemmons) 49. Proxima (Alice Wincour) 50. Radioactive (Marjane Satrapi)
Thoughts on Kantemir Balagov's ‘Beanpole' — Cannes
28-year-old Writer-Director Kantemir Balagov, whose debut feature, “Closeness,” shocked and astonished many at Cannes just two years ago, is back with another challenging and bleak statement set in his native Russia.
Read more‘The Wild Goose Lake' Review: Yinan Diao's Gangster Film is All Style No Substance — Cannes
Visual poetry is again on display in Yinan Diao’s “The Wild Goose Lake,” his latest action-noir, following the visually-dazzling 2014 Berlinale-winning, “Black Coal, Thin Ice.”
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