Mark Harris has a great interview with director David Fincher about his upcoming “Mank.” His intro is as close to an official “review” as we’re going to get until the embargo lifts in late October. I’ll be catching “Mank” next week, suffice to say I am utterly excited to finally screen what I have consistently been touting as the most anticipated movie of 2020. And, it’s not even a close competition. Here’s the Harris into:
Read more‘The Underground Railroad': Barry Jenkins Writes and Directs Slavery-Era Amazon Miniseries [Trailer]
This 60-second teaser trailer for Barry Jenkins’ upcoming series “The Underground Railroad” is set to Jenkins regular Nicholas Britell’s original score. Britell contributed the original music for Jenkins’ “Moonlight” and “If Beale Street Could Talk,” plus he’s also responsible for the excellent, Emmy-winning original score for HBO’s “Succession.”
Read moreBest Actor: Kaluuya, Hopkins, Oldman, Hanks, and Lindo?
Steven Yeun‘s performance in Lee Isaac Chung‘s “Minari” Is solid, but squeezing him as one of the five Best Actor nominees? Nah. It’s a stretch, but a 10.23 Clayton Davis Variety piece about how Yeun “could become the first Asian American Best Actor nominee” is setting down a narrative for the upcoming awards season. However, there’s fundamentally nothing stunning about Yeun’s performance in the film. in which he plays a struggling South Korean man-of-the-house who moves his entire family to the American heartland.
Read more‘News of the World': Tom Hanks Reunites With ‘Captain Phillips' Director For New Western [Trailer]
A trailer for Paul Greengrass‘ “News Of The World” has arrived. Greengrass reunites with Tom Hanks to bring us this Western drama following a Texan (Hanks) plying his trade by delivering news to townspeople across the west, who gets caught up in the rescue attempt of a kidnapped girl. Buzz has been very strong for Greengrass’ film, with resident IndieWire insider Anne Thompson hinting it could be a major player come next April’s Oscars — we’re not surprised, the last time Hanks and Greengrass teamed up for a film was in 2013 for their excellent “Captain Phillips.”
Read more‘Mank': David Fincher's Making-Of ‘Citizen Kane' is a Bonafide Oscar Contender [Trailer]
We now have our first official trailer for David Fincher’s “Mank.” I’m crossing my fingers for a potential press screening in theaters, but chances are I will most likely be watching this on my 55-inch 4k screen at home. 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.
Read more‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm': A Flat Attempt at Satire in the Age of Social Media [Review]
“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” is a sequel to the 2006 comedy classic, “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.” Shot late this year, on a whim, by star Sacha Baron Cohen, the film has our fictional Kazakh character, now a celebrity, trying to hide from the public in various different costumes. Much like the original, there are pranks involving abortion clinics, right-wing rallies. but this time around even Trump consiglieres such Rudy Giuliani and Mike Pence get swept up into the action.
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‘Bad Hair': A Killer Weave Kills the Un-Woke in Satirical Horror Movie [Review]
“Bad Hair” is Justin Simien’s sophomore effort, following the critically-acclaimed “Dear White People.” It also opened the midnight section at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. This blend of the socio-political and horror falls mostly flat in its attempt to both provoke and entertain. Set in 1989 L.A., the movie revolves around Anna (Elle Lorraine), working as an assistant on the music video show, “Culture.” She desperately wants a promotion, but sees her dreams evaporate when her boss leaves the company, replaced by Zora (Vanessa Williams, miscast), who wants to revamp the business by, gulp, adhering to white culture.
Read moreDavid Fincher's ‘Mank' Screening for Press on October 27th
Netflix just sent out screening invites for David Fincher’s “Mank.” The screening date is now set for October 27th, which is a whopping 5 weeks before it gets released — talk about confidence in your product!
Read more‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom': Chadwick Boseman's Final Screen Performance [Trailer]
The late Chadwick Boseman’s film final will be the Netflix adaptation of August Wilson’s play “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” You’d be a fool not to think that, at least on paper, this is will be a serious awards season contender.
Read more‘Run': Twist-Filled Hitchcock Ripoff is a Suspenseful Yarn [Review]
Writing a review for a movie such as “Run,” much like anything by Alfred Hitchcock, is risky, as you walk that fine line between revealing too little or revealing too much of the plot. I’ve decided to find some kind of middle ground, because, be warned, you should go in with as little knowledge of the plot as possible.
Read moreThe 10 Best Movies of the 2020 Fall Film Festivals
It’s been, quite honestly, an exhausting fall festival season. Not exhuasting because I was going from one theater to the next watching multiple films a day and then filing in my hotel room. No, those days now feel like they are from a bygone era. Instead, I attended more than half a dozen digital film festivals. It was such a strange experience and, although I saw a handful of great movies, the saddest part of it all was not being able to experience them on the big screen.
Read more‘David Byrne's American Utopia' is One of the Greatest Rock Docs Ever Made [Review]
I am hooked on Spike Lee’s concert documentary “American Utopia.” The film hasn’t even come out yet and I’ve already seen it three times. And I’m not even a big fan of David Byrne or his former band The Talking Heads. Maybe it’s because we live in such tumultuous times, where our spirits need to be lifted by art, music, visual content etc. It’s been a rough year, to say the least, and “David Byrne’s American Utopia” is being released at the perfect time.
Read moreDisney+ Adds Warnings Over “Racist” and “Offensive” Content in ‘Peter Pan,' ‘Dumbo,' ‘Fantasia,' and ‘Lady and the Tramp'
Disney+ has added trigger warnings over “racist” and “offensive” content to a big chunk of its classic films, including “Peter Pan,” “Dumbo,” “Fantasia,” and “Lady and the Tramp.”
Read more10 Oscar Contenders Actually Being Released This Fall
Just because most of the big movies this year have had their theatrical releases delayed until 2021 doesn’t mean that Oscar season is canceled. No, au contraire, due to this year’s Oscars allowing digitally-released films to compete, we have plenty of films to look forward to in November and December.
Read more‘Shithouse': SXSW Grand Jury Prize Winner is a Warmly Talkative Gen-Z Romance [Review]
The big winner of the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s canceled SXSW was “Shithouse,” from director Cooper Raiff. This is 22-year-old Raiff’s nano-budget debut and it feels like an incredibly personal statement from him. He writes, directs, and stars in the film, with a little added help from his friends. Raiff plays a shy and dorky freshman struggling to adapt to dorm life. It all changes when he meets fellow freshman Maggie (Dylan Gelula) and spends a memorable night with her - this is when the film truly hits its stride, drunk on the power of dialogue and romantic discovery. Things do get awkward the morning after; she starts ignoring him, he tries to get her back. You know the drill.
Read more‘Uncle Frank': Alan Ball's Family Saga Feels Like it Was Made in the '90s [Trailer]
Paul Bettany stars in the upcoming Amazon Prime film, “Uncle Frank.” I saw ‘Frank’ at this past January’s Sundance Film Festival, but was utterly bored by the nostalgic ‘90s approach of the storytelling. There really is nothing new to be said in this story. Thus, I haven’t written a review just yet.
Read more‘Ammonite': Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan Lesbian-Romance Aims for Oscars [Trailer]
This is the first footage I have seen of Francis Lee’s “Ammonite,” despite it being screened for selective critics at TIFF this past September.
Read moreThe Most Popular Films About Law Students in the UK
Students can draw inspiration to pick a field of study and stick it through as the years go by from anything, even movies. Since pop culture tries, by all means, to be realistic and relatable, this makes it easier for students to relate to certain genres of movies.
Read moreLFF Dispatch #1: ‘One Night in Miami,' ‘Kajillionaire,' and ‘Mangrove'
“One Night In Miami” is a hugely impactful multi-layered character study of some of history’s most important figures. Engaging, urgent, important, and with four of the best performances of the year. Regina King’s debut feature, whilst undoubtedly being labeled a serious awards contender, is also one of the year’s most impactful and important films.
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Hansen-Løve has a new film — a period piece set in England. “If Love Should Die” will focus on the 18th-century English philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft. This was announced three years ago, and it is finally happening.