It’s safe to say ‘Rambo: Last Blood’ has hardly gone down in history as Sylvester Stallone’s greatest hour. Well, critically speaking anyway. Stallone’s return as veteran Green Beret John Rambo (the first time he’s donned the famous headband since 2008) has received the worst reviews of any of the now five films in the franchise. The new, almost ‘Home Alone’ esque thriller currently sits at a dismally low 29 on Metacritic and 31% on Rotten Tomatoes, scores that have prompted Stallone’s younger brother Frank to question the very idea of a film critic, stating ‘What qualifies them to critique anyone’s work’ whilst also labelling those who he believes have gone in too harshly on ‘Last Blood’ as ‘pompous windbags’.
Read more‘Mektoub, My Love: Intermezzo': New Cut Without Lead Actress May Be in the Works
The likelihood of cinephiles actually getting a chance to see Abdelatif Kechiche’s controversial Cannes entry, “Mektoub, My Love: Intermezzo,” is getting slimmer by the day. There were various accusations that Kechiche was subjected to post-screening at last month’s Cannes. Specifically, an anonymous source telling the pages of French publication Midi Libre that the director purposely inebriated his actress Ophélie Bau in order for her to perform a non-simulated sex scene. There was also, supposedly, a very awkward photocall between actress and director during the premiere of the film at the Palais des Festivals. Kechiche was even seen exiting the theater when the screening started, probably not wanting to sit next to his cast. '
Read moreOscar Poker: TIFF & Telluride 2019
Oscar Poker with Hollywood-Elsewhere’s Jeffrey Wells went on for 90 minutes this week, so he decided cut the discussion in half — part 1 and part 2, each about 45 minutes.
“We talked about everything — William Friedkin (Sorcerer and To Live and Die in L.A.), the Safdies and Uncut Gems, The Irishman (“Goodfellas by way of Silence”), Jojo Rabbit, Stanley Kramer and Judgment at Nuremberg, Renee Zellweger and Judy Garland, wokester critics vs. movies about white male milieus (The Irishman, 1917) and a general reluctance to settle into whiteness…wokesters prefer POCs and multicultural environs as a rule.”
Brad Pitt Geeks Out About ‘Phantom Thread' in Interview
Of course, he’s a fan.
Read moreNew York Film Festival's Kent Jones Steps Down as Head Director
New York Film Festival head director Kent Jones will be stepping down after this year’s edition to pursue a directing career, which he successfully kick-started this year with the critically-acclaimed “Diane.” The gist of the decision stems from Jones basically saying that his position as a director of movies has changed his perspective and potentially created conflicts of interest in the selection process of the lineup.
Read moreThe Most Exciting Foreign language Oscar Race This Decade?
You’d be forgiven for thinking last year may be as good as it could get for foreign-language films at the Oscars. Alfonso Cuaron’s love letter to Mexico ‘Roma’ not only landed the title of best foreign-language film, but it also brought the director his second-best director statue, along with a win for Cinematography. And Cuaron’s intimate story wasn’t the only foreign language contender to spill out into other major categories, with ‘Cold War’ (Poland’s entry) Helmer Pawel Pawlekowski joining Cuaron on the best director list. And although ‘Roma’ failed to become the first film not in the English language to take home Best Picture, despite entering Oscar night as the favorite, it did mark an incredibly impressive year for international offerings.
Read more‘Ad Astra' Had Reshoots Without James Gray's Approval
Principal photography on James Gray’s “Ad Astra” began in mid-August 2017 in Santa Clarita, California and finished, more or less, in early October of 2017. Whatever happened after that, which has resulted in the film finally being released two years later in theaters, in still up for debate, but, according to an anonymous source I spoke to, reshoots were most definitely done despite Gray’s vehement disapprovals.
Read more‘Where’s My Roy Cohn?': Doc Tackles One of the 20th Century’s Most Feared and Despised Men [Review]
Matt Tyrnauer’s “Where’s My Roy Cohn” is an absorbing doc on one of the most brooding figures of 20th century America.
Read more‘1917' Secretly Screens to Enthusiastic Reactions
In a Hollywood that has all but shunned artistic freedom for directors this past decade, it must have been hard for Sam Mendes to find the right project to satisfy his creative juices. Alas, that’s why his upcoming WWI film “1917” should be a cause for celebration. The film stars Mark Strong, Colin Firth, and Benedict Cumberbatch and will have the luxury of being shot by DP extraordinaire Roger Deakins.
Read moreNo, No, No and No
‘Diego Maradona’: Cannes Doc Focuses on Controversial Athlete [Capsule]
The hotly-anticipated documentary “Diego Maradona” will be arriving on HBO this fall. Director Asif Kapadia’s chronicle of the life and times of the controversial soccer/football athlete was seen by yours truly at the Cannes Film Festival this past May, although it was sadly not reviewed.
Read more10 Best Picture Contenders That Have Still Not Been Screened
Every year it happens. There are a handful of films that refuse to do the fall festival circuit and would rather just wait for AFI or, better yet, just be released without any festival exposure.
Read moreWill There be Another Installment in the Robert Langdon Franchise?
The Robert Langdon film series is one of the most successful cinematic franchises of all time, raking in almost $1.5 billion worldwide over three movies. It all began with The Da Vinci Code in 2006, a picture which saw Tom Hanks tearing across Europe trying to solve a mystery with hidden clues from the iconic Italian painter’s work. This was followed up by Angels & Demons in 2009, and Inferno in 2016. Now, fans of the series are wondering if any more Dan Brown books will be adapted for the big screen.
Read moreRyan Reynolds and Will Ferrell to Star in the Latest ‘A Christmas Carol’ Adaptation
Jim Carrey. Patrick Stewart. Michael Caine. Bill Murray. Well you can now add the names of Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell to the list of Hollywood stars to sign their name to an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”
Read more‘Knives Out' Trailer: Rian Johnson's Expertly Crafted Whodunit
Rian Johnson will always be known as the guy who directed “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” and, in the process, divided fans more so than any other director of the franchise before him. Regardless, Johnson is not in the business of redeeming himself as he has plainly stated that he is proud of what he accomplished in “The Last Jedi.”
Read more‘Dark Water' Trailer: Todd Haynes Directed This?
Participant Media and Focus are in charge of director Todd Haynes’ latest film, “Dark Waters” starring Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway and Tim Robbins, will be released on November 22nd.
Read moreThe Ten Best Films of TIFF 2019
Despite the fall movie season looking like a rather weak one, the Toronto International Film Festival really tried their mightiest to make the best of a sordid creative problem, when it comes to artistic integrity within the big studios not just this year but this decade as well. Hell, TIFF was so adamant at packing their lineup of 300 films with quality cinema that I managed to find 10 very good movies (not including Cannes and Sundance entries) to make my own best of TIFF list:
Read more‘Corporate Animals’: Demi Moore’s Unfunny Performance Hinders This Wild Cannibal Office Horror-Comedy [Review]
Many attempt to mix the outwardly-delicious peanut butter and chocolate tone of comedy and horror, and there are many good ones—“Shaun of the Dead” “Cabin In The Woods,” “Get Out,” the “Evil Dead” films, etc.— but it’s actually a deceptively tricky genre hybrid to get right. For all the classics, much like horror, there’s a lot of cheap, garish junk that gets churned out each year that hurts the overall quality score.
Read more‘Ad Astra’ is Director James Gray's Challenging Space Opera [Review]
James Gray’s films have a classicist approach that one can easily categorize them as conventional, but don’t be fooled by what you’re seeing, as it is incredibly hard to pull off what Gray did in “Lost City of Z” and, especially, “Two Lovers” (his two best movies). The near mythical themes of those films have given him an auteur-ial stamp, a distinguishable trait for a director that seems to be obsessed with old-school Hollywood storytelling and the romanticism that comes with it.
Read moreHBO Buys Critically-Acclaimed TIFF Hit ‘Bad Education'
Cory Finley’s “Bad Education” starring Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney, one of the best films I saw at TIFF this year, has been struggling to find a buyer ever since its premiere last week. Most were blaming a volatile and unpredictable movie market dominated by franchises, especially after all those Sundance Box-Office duds happened this past summer. However, Finley’s film was finally bought today by HBO for an astounding $16.5million [via Deadline]. This officially makes it ineligible for Oscar contention since it will be premiering on television. A real shame if you ask me since Jackman gives the best performance of his career.
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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.