The infamous murder of The Notorious B.I.G, shortly after the also-unsolved-killing of Tupac Shakur, is given the whodunnit treatment in “City of Lies.” Here’s a movie that bungles up the intrigue and labyrinthine mysteries of the Biggie Smalls murder conspiracy.
Read moreOscar Noms: ‘Mank’ Leads With 10 Nominations; ‘Trial of the Chicago 7’ Nabs 6
David Fincher’s “Mank” led the nominations for the 93rd Academy Awards. The Netflix drama about the making of “Citizen Kane” scored 10 nominations, while Netflix’s other Oscar juggernaut, “Trial of the Chicago 7,” nabbed six noms.
Read moreWhen Alex Jones Interviewed David Lynch About 9/11 Conspiracies ...
Yes, it actually happened.
Read moreThanks to China, Freedom of Expression is at Risk in Hollywood
China is a threat to the U.S. and the world if you don’t truly believe that, after everything that has happened in 2020, then you might as well stop reading this right now.
Read more‘Boss Level’: Joe Carnahan’s Strengths and Weaknesses Show Up in This Time-Loop Actioneer [Review]
Joe Carnahan’s 2002 debut feature “Narc,” which starred Ray Liotta and Jason Patric, is still his best movie, followed closely by the Liam Neeson wolf adventure “The Grey.” I wouldn’t put anything else he’s done in a category with those, but there are minor merits to be had in other Carnahan-directed movies such as “Smokin’ Aces,” “The A-Team” and, particularly, “Stretch.”
Read more‘The Courier’: Cold-War Spy Drama Benefits Greatly From Benedict Cumberbatch’s Stellar Presence [Capsule]
Formerly titled “Ironbark” when it premiered at Sundance more than a year ago, the cold-war spy drama, “The Courier” is finally being released next Friday on VOD and in theatres.
Read moreAmerican Society of Cinematographers Nominees Proves Just How Bad of a Movie Year It Was
This has got to be the worst batch of American Society of Cinematographers nominees ever. It’s as if the medium took a step back, regressing, this past year, at least based on the following five ASC nominees
Read moreThe 10 Best Movies of the 2021 Berlin Film Festival
This year’s 71st Berlin International Film Festival was 100% digital. It was also only the second edition assembled by artistic director Carlo Chatrian and executive director Mariette Rissenbeek. No, the Berlinale isn’t Cannes or Venice, but it very much is its own thing and all the better for it. Berlin provided a mosaic of intriguing titles this year in what was a shortened 5-day event. Here are the 10 highlights.
Read moreOscars 2021: The 14 Best Picture Frontrunners
As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, all but delaying a slew of this year’s would-be Oscar contenders, the Academy Awards are still scheduled to happen in 2 months’ time, meaning that certain movies need to be discussed. Is it so surprising that nearly all of the following 13 Best Picture contenders are available on either Netflix, HBO Max, Disney Plus or Amazon Prime? Of course not. This will be the strangest Oscars yet and, for that, consider us absolutely intrigued at the prospect of seeing them pull this ceremony off.
Read more‘Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry’ Offers Up an Insightfully Personal Docu-Journal [Capsule]
What started off as the portrait of a teenage sensation on SoundCloud, turned, for director RJ Cutler and all involved, into a monstrous opportunity for a time-capsule-worthy documentary.
Read moreDirectors Guild Nominates Zhao, Fennell, Sorkin, Fincher and Chung
Here's an undisputed fact: The studio and independent system is white-male dominated, all of this hoopla that a bunch of black and female filmmakers deserve their fair share of awards is quite simply overreaching and a form of virtue signalling. The odds are heavily stacked for white male directors making the best films of the year. That’s just a fact.
Read more‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm’ is Officially a Best Picture Oscar Contender
The Producers Guild of America just shook up the Oscar race for Best Picture as they have revealed their 2021 nominees in both film and television. This sets up, quite nicely, this coming April’s Oscars.
Read more‘The Human Voice’: Pedro Almodóvar & Tilda Swinton Team Up For Ostentatious Short Film [Review]
Sony Pictures Classics recently bought “The Human Voice,” a flashy and uninvolving short film directed by the usually great Pedro Almodóvar and starring Tilda Swinton.
Read moreU.S. Box-Office Continues Struggles as ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ Opens With $8.6 Million
Despite New York City movie theaters having reopened for the first time in nearly a year this weekend, the box-office struggled to sell tickets. Is this another sure sign that moviegoing normalcy isn’t coming any time soon? You bet.
Read more‘Coming 2 America’: Misguided Reunion Runs Heavy on Nostalgia [Opinion]
“Coming 2 America” skipped theatres and went straight to Amazon Prime this past Friday. The film was acquired by the streamer last fall in a deal that, when everything was said and done, reportedly cost $125 million and also included the transfer of marketing tie-in deals with McDonald’s and whiskey brand, Crown Royal.
Read moreRidley Scott’s ‘The Last Duel’ Will Have its First Test Screening Next Week
A screencap of a test screening invitation for Ridley Scott’s upcoming period epic “The Last Duel” was posted on Twitter. The screening is set to take place on Wednesday, in Seattle. Scott’s film made our list of The 35 Most Anticipated Movies of 2021 last December. Here’s what I wrote about it:
Read more‘Quo Vadis, Aida?’: Brutal and Harrowing Depiction of Bosnian Genocide [Capsule]
Bosnia, July 11th 1995. Director Jasmina Zbanic’s story of U.N. translator Aida (Jasna Djuricicin) in the small town of Srebrenica during the Serbia-Bosnia conflict.
Read more‘Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn’: Searing Indictment of Cancel Culture and Romania’s Bigoted Past (and Present) Wins the Golden Bear [Berlin]
“Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn,” the latest film from Romanian director Radu Jude, has won the coveted Golden Bear at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival. The win comes six years after Jude received the Silver Bear for the historical drama Aferim! No slouch in terms of controversy over the years, Jude’s film, shot and set during the COVID-19 pandemic, follows what happens after secondary-school teacher Emi has a sex video uploaded online, and the backlash that ensues at work because of it.
Read moreAlejandro González Iñárritu is Already Shooting His Next Movie in Mexico City
Alejandro González Iñárritu won back-to-back Best Director Oscars for 2014’s “Birdman” and 2015’s “The Revenant.” Ever since then, he’s been laying low, shooting the VR film '“Carne y Arena,” but no new feature-length projects seemed to be on the horizon. Well, that was then and this is now.
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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.