The 68th San Sebastián Film Festival concluded with the jury rewarding Georgian writer/director Dea Kulumbegashvili’s blistering debut feature “Beginning,” which took home four prizes including Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Actress, and the Golden Shell for Best Film.
Read moreUpcoming Critics Poll -- Best Movie of the 1980s
It’s early in the year, which means two things 1) the industry is mostly dormant until Sundance hits during the last week of January and 2) another World of Reel critics poll is around the corner. This time, we’re hitting, quite possibly, the worst decade ever for movies: the ‘80s.
Read moreCannes 2021 Rumored to Be Delayed Until September/October
I’m just a mere messenger, but I’m here to tell you to tamper down on those expectations for 2021, like, to the lowest levels possible. I’m not kidding. Fine, a vaccine has arrived, but the distribution will span most of the year, add to the fact that there’s now a more contagious variant of COVID-19 circulating all around the world and, yeah, welcome to the cinematic apocalypse that is 2021. And I’m not even going to talk about what happened yesterday in D.C – I don’t do politics here (for the most part).
Read more‘The Marksman' is Another Dull Film Manufactured For Liam Neeson’s Global Audience [Review]
Three years ago, Liam Neeson claimed he was quitting the action genre. Now, that many years later, and with three additional action movies added to his filmography (“The Commuter,” “Cold Pursuit” and “Honest Thief”), Neeson is back at it, yet again, exposing his “particular set of skills” for the pandemic-released “The Marskman.”
Read more“Notturno”: Watching Paint Dry
It felt like watching paint dry as I screened director Gianfranco Rosi‘s “Notturno” during this past September’s digital edition of the Toronto International Film Festival. Featuring multiple points of view, Rosi’s film deals with the Middle East and the people that live there during the war.
Read moreSteve McQueen: ‘Ozark' is a ‘Breaking Bad' rip-off; Says Cinema is Superior to Television.
It is thrilling to see all these great directors make the switch from movies to TV. Legendary filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, David Fincher, Woody Allen, Steven Soderbergh, Spike Lee, Todd Haynes, Joel Coen and Ridley Scott are all giving us their own serialized statements on the small-screen, hell, even this past year Steve McQueen made the jump to streaming with his powerful “Small Axe” anthology.
Read more‘Ozark' Was the Most Watched Streaming Series of 2020; Followed By ‘Lucifer,' ‘The Crown' and ‘Tiger King'
Five Best Tips for Digital Writing
Let's admit it: writing can be super complicated. One minute, you're writing an article for your website. The next minute, a total stranger on the internet is telling you that you're doing it all the wrong way. Annoying, isn't it? However, there's a huge chance that the obnoxious stranger is telling you the truth.
Read more‘Locked Down': A Pandemic-Shot Movie That Barely Deserves to Exist [Review]
Is it so shocking that, even though the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t evaporated, Hollywood has managed to give us a pandemic movie? "Locked Down," now available on HBO Max, is the first of its kind — cast, shot, edited and released — under severe safety restrictions — in just a few months.
Read more“Black Widow" Might Skip Theaters and Go Straight to Disney+
Disney is coming off a year in which some of its biggest blockbusters entirely skipped theaters and went straight to their ever-growing Disney Plus streaming service — those titles include “Soul,” “Artemis Fowl.” “Hamilton,” “Mulan,” and this coming March’s “Raya and the Dragon.” This has begged many to ask the obvious question; Is this just the beginning of a streaming onslaught for the Mouse House? ‘
Read more‘Crip Camp’ Wins Best Feature at IDA Documentary Awards
The International Documentary Association has announced the winners of the 36th annual IDA Documentary Awards, and the Barack Obama-produced “Crip Camp” has been awarded the Best Documentary Prize.
Read moreMartin Scorsese's 'Killers of the Flower Moon' Scheduled to Have an Epic 7-Month Shoot
An update from Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise reveals a casting call for Martin Scorsese’s upcoming “Killers of the Flower Moon,” via a Google form, which confirms a seven-month shoot from February to September 2021 is being planned.
Read more‘One Night in Miami’: Relevant Depiction of Black American Legends Fails to Transcend Its Stage Origins [Review]
Actress-turned-director Regina King has adapted Kemp Powers’ play “One Night in Miami” for the screen with mixed results. The big sell here is the “what if” scenario the film tries to lure us with.
Read more2004's The Punisher' is The Marvel Canon's Underrated Gem
The 1989 adaptation of Marvel's "The Punisher" was a cheesy, action-packed, B-movie starring the usually ultra-blonde Dolph Lundgren in dyed pitch black hair. It wasn't good. It didn't nail the spirit of the comic book and was badly cast. The 2004 version, on the other hand, slyly directed by Jonathan Henseligh, is an under-appreciated gem from the Marvel cannon. It's a film that is neither cliched nor plays it safe, an intense ride from beginning to end. The fact that this film came out before the start of MCU, 2008's "Iron Man" probably the starting point, made it take risks and go into directions that would have otherwise never been possible post-2008.
Read moreNoah Baumbach Adapting Novel ‘White Noise' with Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig
“White Noise” is now the title for the upcoming Netflix film directed by Noah Baumbach. We already knew that Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig were attached to play the two lead roles in the film, which is an adaptation of a Don DeLillo novel. Filming is set to begin in June.
Read more‘Bliss' Trailer Sets Up Mind-Bending Sci-Fi
The trailer for the new sci-fi film, “Bliss,” is causing divisive reaction on social media. It’s concept is meant to be a total mindfuck, with the plot seemingly playing as something of a hybrid mix between “Inception” and “The Matrix.” The question being asked is simple; Why wake up and experience the real world when the simulation is way better than your actual life? This is something we may be realistically asking ourselves in the future (maybe 100 years from now?).
Read moreJoel Coen's ‘The Tragedy of MacBeth' Was Shot in Black and White
Joel Coen is prepping his upcoming Macbeth adaptation (sans Ethan) starring Denzel Washington, and Frances McDormand. The official title of the A24-produced title film is “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” and, although shooting was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, production seems to have been completed in the last few weeks.
Read moreNetflix Set to Dominate 2021; At Least One New Movie Released Per Week
As the COVID-19 pandemic surges all across the country, Netflix is destined to become a nirvana for cinephiles this coming year. Want proof? The streaming giant just announced its 2021 lineup, accompanied by a spiffy new trailer, and the goal is a rather ambitious one this year for them: make sure to deliver new movies every week, from January to December.
Read more“MLK/FBI": Incomplete, But Somewhat Gripping Take of an Infamous Deep State Hit-job [Review]
The secret life of Martin Luther King Jr is explored in Sam Pollard’s doc, “MLK/FBI.” Seen through the lens of an FBI adamant at destroying King’s credibility back in 1963, we learn of the various ways Hoover’s hoodlums managed to infiltrate King’s inner circle and spy on his personal life, sneakily recording hundreds of hours of personal encounters with his mistresses in hotel rooms.
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It’s been seven years since Alma Har’el’s feature debut, “Honey Boy,” which was written by and starred Shia LaBeouf — she is now set to direct her next film, with a very talented cast.