[Re-posting thoughts from last week]
Read moreHollywood’s Summer of Bombs
An all-too-conservative mindset has left Hollywood in a peculiar position this summer. The unimaginative offerings that have been released have left a very sour note in the mouths of not just critics but movie fans alike. The box-office numbers are down, but so is artistry and originality. Coincidence? Of course not.
Read more‘I Am Heath Ledger' Explores Late Actor's Legacy [Interview]
Ten years on from Heath Ledger's Oscar win for his spine-tingling performance of the Joker in “The Dark Knight,” Adrian Buitenhuis, co-creator of the acclaimed documentary “I Am Heath Ledger,” a film which beautifully explored the man he was, both on and off camera, speaks about the story of a “truly incredible actor” who “thrived off human connection”, and how he wanted to dispel the myths that surrounded the sad passing of the transcendent Australian well on his way to becoming a screen legend.
Read more10 Hotties for Fall 2019
Taking my complete list of anticipated fall films as a blueprint and accepting the rumors that we now know (Reichardt potentially out until 2020), These 10 titles seem to be the hotties for fall 2019. Of course, many of these could turn out to be duds, but, by all accounts, we are banking on these movies to rescue the terrible movie year we’ve had so far:
The Irishman (Martin Scorsese)
Uncut Gems (The Safdies)
Ad Astra (James Gray)
The Laundromat (Steven Soderbergh)
Jojo Rabbit (Taika Waititi)
Ema (Pablo Larrain)
Marriage Story (Noah Baumbach)
Little Women (Greta Gerwig)
Lucy in the Sky (Noah Hawley)
Joker (Todd Phillips)
First Cow (Kelly Reichardt)
‘Cats' Trailer Debuts to Major WTF Reactions
‘Cats' Trailer: From Oscar Contender to Oscar Pretender
Universal UK decided to release the full trailer for “Cats” this afternoon and, errr, it’s not pretty. I’m not sure what to make of the VFX-infused frames, but, alas, lest we forget, there is a reason why it’s taken 38 years to finally bring “Cats” to the big screen. It’s a musical that has, for the longest time, been deemed unfilmable. For some reason, Universal seems to think the technology is now up-to-par to translate this story to the screen. However, judging by the trailer, that doesn’t seem to be the case at all. It all feels very awkward.
Read more‘David Crosby: Remember My Name’ Is A Soulful & Intimate Portrait Of Regret [Review]
Rock documentaries generally skew towards humanizing musical icons and paint portraits of overcoming personal adversity. That’s just the kind of way they lean, complete with a rise and fall and redemption arcs. But the soulful and affecting “David Crosby: Remember My Name” is special nonetheless, managing to break through those tropes as it chronicles a similar architecture of ups and downs, successes and tragedies. Directed by A.J. Eaton, with the help of producer Cameron Crowe, who acts as Crosby’s interlocutor throughout, it’s almost impossible to not be taken by this brutally honest and emotionally vulnerable film about a famous musical icon, who’s also just a man who’s beginning to contemplate his last act in life. It’s moving stuff and regardless of whether you’re a fan or not, chances are this winning doc will hit you hard.
Read more‘It: Chapter Two’ Trailer: Chastain!
Director Andy Muschietti's horror remake of Stephen King's clown movie “It” was a box-office smash in 2017. It even surpassed "The Exorcist" at the top spot to become the highest-grossing horror movie in box-office history, nabbing more than $327M domestically at the box-office.
Read moreBenh Zeitlin's ‘Wendy' Set to Finally Premiere This Fall; 30 Months Since Production Began.
Benh Zeitlin’s “Wendy” has become a rather peculiar cinematic mystery ever since production began on the film way back in March of 2017. Here we are, more than two years later, and it still hasn’t been released. We can speculate all we want about what exactly happened behind-the-scenes. I recently spoke to a person in-the-know about the film, they even went as far as to say that Zeitlin’s movie “has been in so much pain over the last couple of years” that it would be better for it to just simply come out and for everyone to move on.
Read more‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Trailer: Because, Like, Why Not?!
San Diego Comic-Con has unleashed a few noteworthy trailers today. Earlier in the day there was an exclusive look at “It: Chapter Two,” and now Paramount’s upcoming Tom Cruise-starring“Top Gun: Maverick” has unveiled its first footage as well.
Read moreAs Expected...
New ‘Ad Astra’ Trailer Sends Brad Pitt into the Oscar Race
It is no secret that James Gray’s much anticipated “Ad Astra” will be doing the festival rounds in the coming months (Telluride, Toronto and/or Venice). After all, Gray has built himself up as a reputable auteur, having already competed at Cannes four times. Add in a star-studded cast led by Brad Pitt and, of course, festivals will not be able to resist. And so, the question that looms around “Ad Astra” isn’t about its presence in the fall festival scene but, rather, if it’s any good. The film has had several release date changes with Gray claiming that it was due to the complicated effects work the film decided to use. Regardless, “Ad Astra” is going into awards season with a lot of heavy baggage.
Read more‘Good Boys’ Trailer: R-Rated Raunch-Fest With Middle Schoolers
Seth Rogen’s production company already gave us Kay Cannon’s “Blockers” last year. Now comes “Good Boys,” which is also about foul-mouthed kids. Anyway, based on this R-rated trailer, or “Red Band” as they call it, I am sold on watching this.
Read moreKevin Spacey Charges Dropped After Accuser Caught Trying to Alter Past Text Messages
It has not been a very good year for actor Kevin Spacey, who had been charged back in January with one count of felony sexual assault. Spacey was being charged for allegedly sexually assaulting the teenage son of former Boston WCVB-TV news anchor Heather Unruh at a Nantucket bar in July 2016. He plead not guilty.
Read moreDavid Fincher's ‘Mindhunter' Ready For Season 2
David Fincher’s "Mindhunter" had a great first season. It was the kind of show that made you crave for a follow-up season, what with the stakes being higher than ever after that final shot which ended season one. This has turned the upcoming second season as one of 2019’s most anticipated TV releases.
Read moreAri Aster’s 3-Hour Version Of ‘Midsommar’ Will Screen At Scary Movies XII Festival In NYC
We are all curious to see how Ari Aster’s three-hour director’s cut of “Midsommar” will look like. If you’ve been reading this site you would know about my theory that an additional 30 extra minutes of footage may very well improve Aster’s movie , which, it’s no secret, had tonal and narrative inconsistencies which were ignored by many as just being part of the puzzlingly surreal disjointedness of the film. I think a lot of what’s in “Midsommar” is excellent, but it is a completely shapeless movie.
Read moreMartin Scorsese's ‘The Irishman' Marked Down For November 27th Release
The Safdies' ‘Uncut Gems' to Premiere at Telluride?
“Uncut Gems,” the upcoming American crime drama directed by Josh and Benny Safdie from a screenplay by those same Safdies and Ronald Bronstein (who co-wrote other Safdie affairs such as “Good Time,”“Heaven Knows What” and “Daddy Longlegs”) is slated to premiere during the last week of August at the Telluride Film Festival. That’s according to Collider’s resident insider Jeff Sneider.
Read moreOscar Buzz for ‘Just Mercy’ Continues as Michael B. Jordan/Brie Larson Film Nabs Christmas Day Release
With much buzz happening around it, Warner Bros. has decided to move up Destin Daniel Cretton's civil rights drama “Just Mercy” from January to an Oscar-qualifying December/Christmas Day release. It will now be competing in the same month as other Oscar-ready December releases such as Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women” and Jay Roach’s “Fair Game.”
Read more#ReleaseTheSnyderCut Billboards Invade Comic-Con
Zack Snyder fans have crowdfunded and raised enough money to rent out billboards and create advertisements to promote #ReleaseTheSnyderCut. The cut, of course, refers to Snyder’s original version of 2017’s “Justice League”, which was re-altered by replacement director Joss Whedon, after Snyder needed to leave the film due to a family tragedy. The resulting version from Whedon, had Snyder’s cut drastically overhauled to a lighter, more MCU-esque stylistic tone.
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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.