Max Landis, a 34-year-old screenwriter, and son of old-school director John Landis, is now in the grip of being #MeToo’ed to oblivion thanks to some grotesque behavioral patterns towards, at least, nine women. By all accounts, I’d rather not delve further into the illicit and sexually unacceptable behavior of Landis, but, suffice to say, his reputation exceeds him. I am not at all surprised by these allegations being made towards him. It couldn’t have happened to a worst guy.
Christopher Nolan’s new film ‘Tenet’ has a budget of nearly $250 million
Sam Raimi's ‘Spider-Man 4' Is Not Happening.
Rumors that Sam Raimi was coming back to direct his long-lost project “Spider-Man 4” were swirling all around the interweb yesterday. Marvel Comics’ official Twitter account posted a cryptic teaser image of a spider crawling over a webbed number four. Nothing else was mentioned and we just had the image to decipher our own conclusions.
Read more‘Wild Rose' is a Scottish-Infused ‘Star is Born,' Powered By Strong Lead Performance
A film powered by a mesmerizing performance from a young up-and-comer, “Wild Rose” is a Scottish-infused ‘Star is Born’ with a blue-collar tinge added for good measure and grit. Directed by Tom Harper, the film tells the story of Rose-Lynn (Jessie Buckley), a Scottish 20-something lass who happens to love country music; so much so, that she intends to find enough money to go to Nashville and pursue her dream of becoming a star. It doesn’t help that she must also grapple with having just been released from jail (for a minor crime) and is the young mother of two children. Harper tries to build up his clichéd underdog story into something fresh and incisive. The tropes are, sadly, all still there, but with the help of Buckley’s passionate performance, “Wild Rose” succeeds because it never forgets that, sometimes, life can get in the way of your dreams. [B]
Star Wars 9 Had to Be Edited On Set Due to Tight Schedule
J.J. Abrams is indeed back behind the camera for "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker," but details on the final installment of the Skywalker saga have been kept scarce. There was a teaser trailer and an Vanity Fair cover story with never-beore-seen photos. Otherwise, we will likely have to wait a few more weeks, maybe months, before we see a proper full-length trailer being released.
Read moreFilm University Removes ‘Birth of A Nation' Star Lillian Gish's Name From Its Theater
Our social justice warrior and “woke” atmospheres have all but destroyed the reputation of a few classics such as “Gone With The Wind” and D.W. Griffith‘s “The Birth of A Nation.” And so, not surprising at all to hear that there is now an attempt to cleanse fromour collective memory silent star Lillian Gish, the lead actress of “Birth of a Natio:n as well as arguably the greatest actress of her era.
Read more‘The Nightingale' Continues to Shock Audiences
The controversy continues for Jennifer Kent‘s “The Nightingale” which sparked fiery debate at the just-concluded Sydney Film Festival. The polarizing reaction was nothing new for the down-under revenge saga. What seems to be triggering people is the film’s consistent portrayal of violence, both sexual and non, towards women. There must have been around five rape scenes that I counted in this film, no joking around. I personally didn’t care for “The Nightingale” and its needless use of shock brutality, the cartoonish portrayal of relentlessly evil scumbags, the meandering and unnecessarily long narrative. I know many at Venice and Sundance liked it but it was such a slog for me.
Read moreJim Jarmusch Says ‘Twin Peaks: The Return’ Is ‘The Best of American Cinema of the Last Decade’
There’s been much debate over whether or not David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks: The Return” should be considered a film or a television series, with critics being split on the debate. “Twin Peaks: The Return” recently placed #17 on World of Reel’s decade list, which surveyed over 200 film critics. However, you can count Jim Jarmusch as an adamant defender of Lynch’s masterpiece. In a new interview with Vulture the writer-director praised “Twin Peaks: The Return” as the best American cinema he’s seen over the past 10 years.
Read more‘Joker' Officially Rated R
This unique DC adaptation, due in theaters this October, has indeed gotten an R rating from the MPAA. Phillips isn’t known for his superhero chops, in fact, he’s more famous as the guy that did “Old School” and “The Hangover.” Regardless, he pitched a gritty, 70s-set Joker movie in the vein of Taxi Driver and got his wish granted by the WB to make the movie.
Read moreOfficial Image Revealed of Steven Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’ Remake
71-year-old Steven Spielberg has a stacked few years ahead of him. Before he enters the world of DC comic books with "Blackhawk,” not to mention the fifth Indiana Jones movie, with a 75-year-old Harrison Ford to boot, oh, and his long-delayed, but now in pre-production, adaptation of David I. Kertzer's "The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara," he will release the Tony Kushner-penned remake of the classic musical “West Side Story.” Oh, boy. What a risk.
Read moreSome catching up to do ...
After close to 5 weeks of traveling I will be winding down my Boston/Montreal/Cannes/Spain/Greece trip on Sunday. I will have to catch up with what I missed, specifically “Toy Story 4,” and “Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story” There’s a lot of TV to catch up to as well (I’m thinking Ava DuVernay’s “When They See Us", HBO’s ”Chernobyl” and “Big Little Lies”). The constant travelling continues for a final trek next Tuesday at NYC’s Alamo Drafthouse for a special “Midsommar” screening, courtesy of the fine folks over at A24. Then it’s back to Montreal for 3 weeks of the Fantasia Film Festival.
‘X-Men: Dark Phoenix' Director Simon Kinberg Blames Himself For the Movie's Failures
Director Simon Kinberg has had a rough couple of weeks, his “X-Men: Dark Phoenix” has become the talk of Hollywood, but for all the wrong reasons. The film had a box-office debut of only $33 million, on an estimated $200 million production cost (and that’s before marketing), making it, easily, the lowest-grossing opening for any X-Men movie in the franchise’s 19 year history.
Read moreSummer Sequel Slump Continues As ‘MIB: International' and ‘Shaft' Underperform at Box-Office
As if the Hollywood’s Box-Office numbers this summer couldn’t get any worse comes the news that the slumping sequels of the last few months can add two more casualties: Sony’s “MIB: International” and Warner Bros.’ “Shaft.” Both are set to open way below tracker expectations and will consequentially join other Summer box-office bombs such as “Dark Phoenix” “The Secret Life of Pets 2” “Rocketman" and “Godzilla,”
Read more‘Our Time’: Carlos Reygadas Offers A Beautiful, But Deeply Distancing Meta-Experience
‘American Woman’: Sienna Miller Wastes A Career-Best Performance On An Uninteresting Story
I wasn't too keen on Jake Scott's "American Woman," but I did think Sienna Miller was fantastic. Ditto Christina Hendricks, but when is the latter not? She's such a bombshell. We need more Hendricks on-screen. Anyway both Miller and herself have their talents wasted in an endless barrage of cliches and trailer trash stereotypes. [Review]
‘Doctor Sleep’ Director Says Ewan McGregor Sequel To ‘The Shining’ is Closer to Kubrick Than We Think
Yes, this is a sequel to Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" is currently in the works and that McGregor will star as the adult version Danny Torrence. Torrence, if you remember, was the kid that kept uttering REDRUM and that had daddy chasing him all over the maze-like hotel with an ax (check out that on-the-nose Shining-esque poster below).
Read moreScott Z Burn's Excellent Political-Thriller ‘The Report' Receives Oscar-Ready Late September Release Date
It does look like Scott Z. Burns’ “The Report” will be released by Amazon on September 27th, 2019 [Source] The original date was September 20th but it seems like it may have picked up a slot at Telluride and/or Toronto. This is most definitely a little more of an Oscar-friendly release date. I was a fan when I saw it at Sundance, It started off very slow but the second half is strong. It's not worthy of any awards, but it works, for the most part. Driver is excellent. Ditto Benning as Feinstein. The villain of the whole thing is Obama's former CIA director John Brennan, as played by Ted Levine. It helps that it is very of-the-moment, but I can't see anyone going gaga over this one. It's a very distancing piece of work from Burns, he really goes for ice-cold detachment, which will alienate many.
Read moreComedian Hannah Gadsby Calls Louis C.K. an ‘Angry and Bitter Joke'
Hannah Gadsby has decided to slam Louis C.K. in a new Los Angeles Times interview [via Source] C.K. — whose career got derailed last year after it was revealed that he was a chronic public serial masturbator -- has been trying to mount a comeback by performing stand-up at NYC's legendary Comedy Cellar club.
Read moreReport: Roman Polanski and Woody Allen set to Premiere New Movies at Venice Film Festival
According to reliable sources, the heads of the Venice Film Festival are very close to nabbing both Woody Allen’s “A Rainy Day in New York” and Roman Polanski’s “An Officer and a Spy” as part of their upcoming lineup, set to unfold from August 28th to September 9th on the Lido. This could turn out to be a much-talked about event for the movie world, as Allen and Polanski have both been, by all accounts, blacklisted in Hollywood due to decade-old allegations of sexual misconduct resurfacing in the #MeToo era.
Read moreChristopher Nolan Unveils His 30 Favorite Movies; List Includes ‘2001,' ‘Thin Red Line,' ‘First Man,' and ‘Superman'
Christopher Nolan has decided to partner with IndieWire and name his 30 favorite movies of all-time. The list isn’t half-bad at all. I’m especially approving of his Terrence Malick inclusions (“The Thin Red Line” and “The Tree of Life“). However, as it is with all lists, one must wonder why a few films appear on his list. “First Man”? Really? I loved Damien Chazelle’s “Whiplash” and “La La Land,” but “First Man” seemed like a step back for me. Also, 1978’s “Superman” is not and never will be as good as Richard Donner’s director’s cut of “Superman II” and yet the former appears in Nolan’s picks and the latter doesn’t.
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Do you really think Ellison fired Gunn before he saw a rough cut of "Man of Tomorrow"? No chance. Clearly, whatever he saw didn't impress him.