It’s fair to say that whatever you think of Jennifer Lopez’s acting career, there is no doubt that none of her past films have captured the imagination of critics and audiences the way her latest project has. “Hustlers,” in which Lopez plays Ramona, the top dancer for New York strip club Moves, has hit the sweet spot both critically and commercially, giving Lopez not only the best reviews of her career, but also the biggest opening weekend for a live-action film she has starred in ($66M), thus excluding her turn in 2012’s “Ice Age: Continental Drift” (a great shame). As the magnetic Ramona, she takes Constance Wu’s Destiny under her wing and begins to show her the ins and outs of what life as a high-end stripper can be.
Read more‘The Laundromat' is Delightfully Amusing, But Minor Soderbergh [Review]
The infamous Panama Papers are tackled by wizard director Steven Soderbergh in “The Laundromat,” a sprawling, multi-layered account of what exactly was exposed. Frequent Soderbergh collaborator Scott Z. Burns adapts Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative journalist Jake Bernstein's Secrecy World with the help of stalwart acting from Meryl Streep, Gary Oldman, Jeffrey Wright, and Antonio Banderas.
Read moreJudy’ is Conventional, But Renée Zellweger Triumphs in Oscar-Worthy Performance [Review]
The year was 1967 and, in a bid to regain control of her crumbling career, a 37-year-old Judy Garland accepted a residency at a London theater.
Read moreKelly Reichardt’s ‘First Cow’ Is A Slight Affair [NYFF]
A former cook (a brilliant turn from John Magaro) travels to the Western Oregon frontier to join fur trappers; lonely, isolated and without much connection with the men around him, he ends up connecting with a Chinese immigrant (Orion Lee) being chased by Russians for murder.
Read moreWhat Happened to Ang Lee? ‘Gemini Man' Ripped to Shreds By Critics
I am currently scheduled to catch Ang Lee’s “Gemini Man” on October 8th, just two days before the film is released in theaters. A bad sign. Usually, the more confident a studio is with their movie, the more likely it’ll screen a week or more in advance. It doesn’t help that the embargo has been lifted for the very few that actually caught its L.A. screening earlier this week and the reviews, suffice to say, are atrocious.
Read moreMartin Scorsese's ‘The Irishman' Has a Newly-Released Final Trailer; De-Aging Pushback?
Ok, so I’m not gonna watch this final trailer for Martin Scorsese’s highly anticipated mob movie “The Irishman.” Why? Well, because I am watching the damn thing tomorrow morning. No need to know more than I already know. Look for my review of “The Irishman” tomorrow at 8 pm EST which is when the embargo breaks.
Read moreRobert De Niro's CGI Transformation From Young to Old in ‘The Irishman’
Martin Scorsese’s upcoming gangster epic “The Irishman” will be screened this coming Friday at New York City’s Alice Tully Hall. Of course, you’ve probably already heard about the groundbreaking use of de-aging visual effects that are being used to make actors like Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci appear younger. We did catch a small glimpse at De Niro’s de-aged face during the final shot of the trailer, but nothing too conclusive has actually been revealed, until now.
Read moreSteve Jobs Hated ‘Iron Man 2' So Much That He Actually Called Disney CEO to Complain
The late Steve Jobs did not like “Iron Man 2.” Like, at all. So much so that, right after seeing the film with his son, he ended up calling Disney CEO Bob Iger to personally complain about the tepid and misbegotten 2010 Marvel sequel.
Read moreNYFF: ‘The Irishman’ Incoming
I’m about to board a plane to NYC. I’ll be attending the 57th annual New York Film Festival, more specifically the 9 am world premiere screening of Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman”(which screens on Friday). As it stands, the film clocks in at 3 hours and 29 minutes, making it the lengthiest big-studio movie of the entire decade. In between all that will be interviews, a 10 am Thursday screening of Kelly Reichardt’s “First Cow” and, cross your fingers, the Netflix/NYFF/Irishman reception (many thanks to Albert Tello over at Netflix for all the help).
‘The Death Of Dick Long’: ‘Swiss Army Man’ Director's Hilarious Hillbilly Version of ‘Fargo'
I saw “The Death of Dick Long,” opening on Friday, this past January at the Sundance Film Festival [Review]. iI’s a pitch-black comedy akin to a white trash version of “Fargo,” “The Death of Dick Long.” The sophomore directorial effort of Daniel Scheinert—the self-described redneck half of directing duo DANIELS, who created the terrifically inventive “Swiss Army Man” (filmmaking partner Daniel Kwan sits this one out), is another idiosyncratic winner.
Read more‘Little Women' Screening Reaction
If you read this site then you would know that Greta Gerwig’s much-anticipated “Little Women” test-screened earlier in the summer, most of the reactions I had received were positive, those with a few qualms about the film were mostly irked by the slower, more character-developing first hour. At some point, Gerwig ended up going back to the editing room in late August, which then culminated in rumours implying “Little Women” would skip fall festivals. As these rumours were circulating a new edit of the film was test-screened, with some accounts pointing out to a tighter and more focused first half.
Read moreMalaysia bans ‘Hustlers’ Over Sexual Content
Lorene Scafaria’s “Hustlers” has had a magnificent box-office run so far, after two weekends on screens, the acclaimed, New York Magazine article inspired drama has taken $62M in the US and $72M worldwide, however, its impressive tally won’t be getting added to In Malaysia after the country deemed the film too explicit for audiences.
Read more‘The Irishman’ Producer Calls the Movie ‘Slower’ Than ‘Casino' and Says it’s About ‘Toxic Masculinity’
Having read the book it is based on (“I Hear You Paint Houses”) and the Steve Zaillian’s screenplay, I can assure you that Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” will be a film very different from his mob classics “Goodfellas” and “Casino.” Yes, despite Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Al Pacino all being part of this much-anticipated movie, expect “The Irishman” to be more of a meditative 3+ hour experience, a culmination of every theme Scorsese has tackled over the years.
Read more‘Breaking Bad's ‘El Camino' Trailer: Jesse Pinkman's Road Trip From Hell
“El Camino” picks up just hours after the events of the “Breaking Bad” finale. Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) is on-the-run from the Albuquerque police department — they don’t know his identity but are inching closer to a match. That’s about all we know. No plot-filled synopsis has been offered by Netflix, who is distributing the movie, but bet on Walter White (Bryan Cranston) showing up via flashbacks Cranston teased earlier this year to Entertainment Online that Walter “Could be [in] a flashback, or a flash-forward. I’m still dead, Walter White, I don’t know what [could happen.]”
Read moreDisney CEO Admits George Lucas Didn't Like ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens'
In 2012, George Lucas sold Lucasfilm - and with it, the Star Wars franchise - to Disney for $4 billion. This led the Mouse House to launch a trilogy in 2015 with the JJ Abrams-directed “The Force Awakens”.
Read moreAnsel Elgort Bashes Critics for Negative Reviews of ‘The Goldfinch' Because it ‘Moved' His Mom
‘Hustlers’ is a Stylized, Well-Intentioned But Silly Female Version of ‘Goodfellas' [Review]
“Hurt people hurt people….the whole world is a strip club…sleep is where and when it happens.”
Lorene Scafaria‘s “Hustlers” rides and dies by the morally dubious motto above.
Read moreRay Liotta Does Not Believe the Woody Allen Sexual-Misconduct Allegations
Actor Ray Liotta, who gives his best performance in years as a hotshot L.A. divorce attorney in Noah Baumbach’s upcoming “Marriage Story,” recently admitted that he didn’t believe any of the sexual misconduct allegations against Woody Allen.
Read more‘Downton Abbey' Dominates With $30M Opening; ‘Ad Astra' Disappoints With $19.2M
This weekend marked a moment in history for studio Focus Features, as ‘Downton Abbey’ opened to a $31M haul, representing the largest opening weekend in the studio’s history.
Read moreFrance sides with ‘Les Misérables’ Over 'Portrait of A Lady on Fire' for International Oscar consideration
Following on from our previous piece on this year’s incredibly exciting Foreign language Oscar race (now called Best International feature Film) and more namely the race between some countries films to bag their nations nomination, today France revealed which of their three big hitters would be being put forward for consideration for January’s Oscar nominations.
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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.