Of course, Disney adhered to the CCP in making “Mulan.” Even before today’s news, I had written in my 09.05.20 review of “Mulan” that “the film was built for the Orient demographic, it looks like something the Chinese movie industry would conjure up with the approval and help of the Chinese Communist Party. Safe, politically benign entertainment that has all the restrictive creative hallmarks to get the full approval from President Xi.”

Zhao’s “The Rider” was a surprise hit at Cannes back in 2017, so much so that her next film was bound to be hotly anticipated. Here was a female filmmaker with a keen, poetic eye for humanism. Marvel Studios, unfortunately, hired her to direct their upcoming “The Eternals,” but the real focus should be on “Nomadland,” starring Frances McDormand, which was announced to simultaneously world premiere on September 11 at the Venice and the Toronto International Film Festivals.

Arthur Jones’ “Feels Good Man” seeks to have animator Matt Furie reclaim his creation “Pepe the Frog,” a stoned animated amphibian that has become a symbol of rebellion for many within the “alt-right” movement. Unfortunately for Furie, he will never get back his prized possession. You see, back in 2016, during the US Presidential Election, the image of Pepe the Frog was hijacked by the internet, more specifically, anti-establishment Trump supporters, and was ensuingly mass-shared among Redditors and Chan4 users. Pepe not only went viral, but became part of a mass Trump-supporting movement.

Watching Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” for the second time reveals more layers to the story, more depth to the characters, and quite a few hidden clues missed the first time around. It’s still a maddening puzzle to solve, the stakes aren’t always clear, but, as with all Nolans, it gets better with every viewing.

Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” opened with a $20.2 million debut over Labor Day weekend in the U.S. The movie is already nearing the $150 million mark globally, thanks to an impressive European box-office.

We now have our first official photos for David Fincher’s “Mank.” Expect a trailer in the next week or so. I’m crossing my fingers for a potential press screening, but chances are I will most likely be seeing this on my 55-inch plasma screen. I can’t fathom not watching “Mank” on the big screen, but, alas, that is what will likely happen as Netflix won’t be releasing it theatrically, and not because of the pandemic, but because they would rather we all stay at home and revel in n the beautiful black and white frames via our television — that’s their model and they are sticking with it.

The strange behavior Rose McGowan has exerted ever since the #MeToo movement kickstarted back in the fall of 2017, and, really, way before that, cannot be discounted when taking an honest to God’s look at the allegations she is darting towards director Alexander Payne (“Election,” “Sideways” “About Schmidt”).

Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival, North America’s largest genre film festival, just wrapped up its 25th year. During this edition, the fest’s lineup had to be shortened due to the ongoing pandemic, ditto in-person screenings which were totally scrapped. Transitioning to virtual screenings, with international premieres streamed “under tight digital security and a limited number of tickets sold” this year’s fest was a resounding success — a three-week shindig for movie nerds worldwide broadcast at the comfort of their own homes (take notes TIFF).

Well, as sheer luck would have it, or the lack thereof, the positive case now turns out to be Robert Pattinson, the star of the film. Chances are he’ll survive, but production has now officially been delayed for at least two weeks. The WB are still refusing to say who the person was that got the virus, but Vanity Fair confirms its Pattinson.

Here comes the 23rd entry into the James Bond franchise and the first one in over 4 years (2015’s “Spectre”), this one is titled “No Time to Die.” Although officially planned for an April release in the States, we all know what happened as the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film is now slated to be released this November.

Clayton Davis is the latest addition to the Variety film section and his first column today, titled “How I’ll Be Predicting the Oscars for Variety,” was not a good start for a section of online onlookers. Davis raised more than a few eyebrows, despite the piece being a well-written, positive, and amicable intro to readers, due to his admittance that a) he has never seen “Casablanca” and b) considers his top three films of all-time to be “Dead Poets Society,” “Forrest Gump” and “Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back”.

Legendary Pictures and Denis Villeneuve have a lot of pressure to “get it right” when it comes to their upcoming reboot of Frank Herbert’s “Dune.” The adaptation even got the blessing of Brian Herbert (son of Frank), and as we greatly anticipate that epic’s December release, there will no doubt be lots of comparisons to David Lynch's lackluster 1984 version.

On Sunday I wrote about Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s son, Cooper Hoffman, being cast in the new, ultra-secretive Paul Thomas Anderson movie. Well now we have confirmation that not only is Cooper in the film, but he will play the leading role, a high school student who is also a child actor.