It’s no secret that “Thor: Ragnarok” was one of the very best MCU movies, but, make no mistake about it, Its success lied in Taika Waititi’s writing and direction. Filled with his meta-branded sense of humor and the inventive and wily visual language which he had brought to his former films, ‘Ragnarok’ confirmed Waititi as a filmmaker with a unique voice. This landed him the job of writing-directing “Jojo Rabbit,” which is already getting awards buzz despite not even being screened yet, and hopping on-board the live-action remake of “Akira.”
Read moreTarantino Confirms He Could Very Well End His Career Directing A ‘Star Trek' Movie
After Quentin Tarantino reiterated the fact that he wanted to end his career at 10 movies I, justifiably, prayed and begged that he didn’t end it with his R-rated Star Trek movie, a passion project which seems to have stemmed a few years ago.
Read moreVariety: ‘Ad Astra,' ‘Joker,' ‘Untitled Noah Baumbach,' ‘The Aeronauts' and ‘The Pope' Venice-Bound
Take it with a grain of salt, but Screendaily’s Venice lineup preview mentions titles which, we were told, are not supposed to be going to the Lido such as Assayas, Polanski, Winocour, Lou Ye. But they seem fairly confident that Scorsese’s The Irishman, Dee Rees’ The Last Thing He Wanted, Kelly Reichardt’s First Cow, Greta Gerwig’s Little Women and The Safdies’ Uncut Gems are all not going to be ready for the fest.
Read moreLashana Lynch to be 007 in ‘Bond 25’
I really wanted to get to the bottom of Lashana Lynch bring rumoured as the new 007 in Cary Fukunaga’s upcoming “Bond 25,” but I wanted to take my time, to read up on it before spewing wildly inaccurate theories.
Read moreGreta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach to Write ‘Barbie' Screenplay?
My uninterest in the Barbie movie has completely vanished. It all changed for me this afternoon after Variety reported that Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach had signed on to co-write the upcoming doll movie’s screenplay— with Gerwig potentially directing as well.
Although we know Baumbach as a director, he has written screenplays for both Wes Anderson (“The Life Aquatic,” “The Fantastic Mr. Fox”) and, of course, himself (“Frances Ha,” “The Squid and the Whale,” “Greenberg”). Gerwig, coming off her triumphant directorial debut “Lady Bird,” has been getting solid Oscar buzz for her upcoming fall release “Little Women.”
Yeah, I’m on-board this movie.
Venice Spitballing: Part Deux
THR’s Venice spitballing, more or less, mentions the same titles that I had put together in last week’s preview (“Venice Film Festival: Many Questions Remain About Upcoming Lineup Announcement”). However, there is no mention of “Lucy in the Sky”, Noah Baumbach, Todd Haynes’ “Dry Run” and David Michod’s “The King” — those are more likely TIFF-bound. Regardless, the Venice Film Festival will announce its lineup next week, but there has been much speculation about all the possible titles that will premiere this coming August at the Lido. Based on online speculation, intel and sources, THR has these to say about movies which are still “possibilities”:
Read more‘Kingsmen' Prequel? No, Thank You.
With the exception of James Bond, the most popular spy series must be “Kingsman” Director Matthew Vaughn has decided to name the latest installment in this series “The King’s Man” — this latest film will be set in the 1900s, and concentrate on how the ‘Kingsmen’ came to be.
Read moreDamien Chazelle's Next Movie Will Be 1920's Hollywood-Set ‘Babylon'
Writer-Director Damien Chazelle’s impressive filmography has made him a household name in the industry. “Whiplash,” and “La La Land” were both expertly created statements and “First Man,” although I was not a fan, had Christopher Nolan’s backing and solid reviews to its name.
Read moreScarlett Johansson on Ciswashing Controversy: “I Should Be Able To Play Anyone”
After Scarlett Johansson's exit from “Rub & Tug,” due to the whole 'ciswashing' backlash against her casting, the film was scrapped and will, now, likely never get made. According to The Wrap, Johansson's exit “doesn’t look good for the movie,” meaning the project might just die altogether without ScarJo's involvement.
Read moreBox-Office: ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ and ‘Toy Story 4’ Dominate
“Spider-Man: Far From Home” earned $45 million domestically this weekend, it has now accumulated over $274.5 million Stateside and $847 million worldwide. The billion dollar mark is all but inevitable for this Sony/Disney venture. Whereas, Pixar’s “Toy Story 4” continued to prove itself worthy adding in an extra $20.6 million to its $346.3 million domestic total.
Read moreSDCC: The Obvious and Not So Obvious Things to Expect at Comic-Con
With San Diego Comic-Con only days away, lets take a look at some of the major news that could break over the jam-packed four days, from massive studio panels, to hidden gems.
Read more‘Spider-Man 4’: Sam Raimi Thinks About His Unfilmed Fourth Spidey ‘All the Time’
If you remember, Sam Raimi had some unfilmed ideas for his fourth “Spider-Man” movie, but that project never happened because, well, “Spider-Man 3” turned everybody off (although I will proudly admit I didn’t mind that movie at all).
Read moreBenh Zeitlin's ‘Wendy' Ready For Fall Festivals?
It’s been seven years since Benh Zeitlin’s “Beasts Of The Southern Wild” was hailed at Cannes, Sundance and the Oscars. And yet, the filmmaker has kept a fairly low profile since then, working on a mysterious movie called “Wendy.” Production on “Wendy” began in March 2017 but now, more than two years later, we are still waiting for its release.
Read moreGerwig’s ‘Little Women’ Skipping Festivals Altogether?
Is Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women” avoiding the fall film festival circuit altogether? That’s news to me. This latest rumour comes to us courtesy of all-around-wonderful-people Eric Kohn and Anne Thompson who spoke, at length, about the current state of cinema in their latest IndieWire podcast.
Read moreOscar Buzz for ‘Queen and Slim' and ‘Just Mercy'?
Not only is Jeff Sneider a decent guy but he’s always been in-the-know when it comes to test-screenings and advanced Oscar buzz.
Read moreSecond Season of ‘Big Little Lies' Filled With Off-Set Drama; Director Fired, Reshoots, HBO Butting In.
I have not seen the second season of “Big Little Lies,” but, suffice to say, a lot of people have been turned off by it, noting that it doesn’t remotely come close to the dramatic theatrics of the first season. Meryl Streep was added to the cast for this new round of episodes, she plays, supposedly, a very unlikable character. Jean-Marc Vallee directed the first season and decided to step back and just produce season #2. The excellent Andrea Arnold was hired to direct.
Read more‘Stuber' Review: Buddy-Cop Movie Wastes the Talents of Kumail Nanjiani and Dave Bautista
‘Raid’ star Iko Uwais shows up in “Stuber” but instead of taking advantage of his athletic talents, the movie has Uwais go through such mundane and lazily set-up action sequences. The entire movie, at times, works purely on the ingenious casting decision of having Kumail Nanjiani and Dave Bautista buddy-cop their way through a pedantic plot.
Read more‘The Art of Self-Defense' Review: Toxic Masculinity Is Rarely Portrayed This Accurately
I wrote this about “The Art of Self-Defense” back in April at IFFBoston:
Read moreQuentin Tarantino's Program at the Bev During ‘Once Upon A Time in Hollywood' Month
More than 12 years ago, Quentin Tarantino saved the New Beverly Cinema by buying it just in time to save it from the wrecking ball. It’s been 12 years since that purchase happened and QT hasn’t looked back.
Read moreVenice Film Festival: Many Questions Remain About Upcoming Lineup Announcement
The Venice Film Festival will announce its lineup a few weeks from now, but there has been much speculation about all the possible titles that will premiere this coming August at the Lido. Based on online speculation, intel and sources, I have 11 titles which have been confirmed by a few in-the-know as cinches to premiere there:
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Marvel's X-Men reboot keeps stacking bodies. Asa Germann — familiar to anyone who watched “Gen V” or sat through “Scream 7 “— is reportedly closing a deal to play Warren Worthington III, better known as Angel.