As you may have noticed, the posting has been put on pause these last few days. I’ll be back at it on Sunday. Just here wishing you all a delightful Christmas/Holiday season. All the best to you and yours and thank you for being such a loyal readership.
More Cannes 2022 Possibilities …
I’m glad we have a title and update on Cristian Mingiu’s new film. This could be a real player in the European film market, especially with his other notable films (“Loveless” “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days”) having had some of the healthiest box-office runs in Eastern European cinema history.
Read moreSundance Requiring Booster Shots to Attend
UPDATE: Just as this article went live, Sundance announced new measures for in-person attendees; you will need a third booster shot of the vaccine, capacity will be reduced to 50% and no snacks will be eaten or drunk during screenings.
Read moreBerlin Film Festival Set to Premiere New Films by Denis, Ozon and Guiraudie
Last year's Berlin Film Festival ended up being one of the better editions with films such as “Bad Luck Banging”, “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy”, “I'm Your Man”, “Petite Maman”, “Introduction,” “The Girl and the Spider,” and “What Do We See When We Look at the Sky” premiering. They all had decent post-Berlin lives and healthy fall festival runs.
Read moreRobert Eggers Hopes to Shoot His Fourth Film Sometime in 2022
In a recent interview with Collider, director Robert Eggers, who already has “The Northman” coming up in April, says he hopes to film his fourth movie in 2022: “I'm going to be super guarded and secretive, but I hope to be going into production with something next year.”
‘Memoria’ is as Weird, Meditative and Profound as Cinema Gets [Review]
Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul brought his Tilda Swinton led-drama “Memoria” to Cannes in July. This was a meditative film about sound, and silence from the renowned auteur.
Read moreInternational Film Oscar Race is Down to 15 Contenders; ‘Titane’ Snubbed
The International Film Oscar race is all about the Cannes Film Festival. This year, eight of the 15 films that made the shortlist debuted at Cannes; those include “A Hero,” “The Worst Person in the World” and “Drive My Car.”
Read more‘The Matrix Resurrections’ is an Unnecessary Meta Sequel [Review]
Reviews for “The Matrix Resurrections” are out. They are, as predicted, mixed. I’ve sworn off from reviewing any more films until next year since I am currently going through a very mild bout of COVID. It seems as though the virus is ravaging through the entire community here. The good news is I now have all-important natural immunity.
Read more‘The Batman’ Release May Be Delayed to Next Summer
Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” was never really meant to be a March release. The summer was always the optimal time to release this blockbuster and that might just happen after all.
Read moreRobert Eggers’ ‘The Northman’ Trailer Suggests Bloody Period Epic
We have a trailer for Robert Eggers’ “The Northman.” It looks … expensive, a very bloody Viking adaptation of “Hamlet.”
Read moreBong Joon-Ho Working on a New Film With Tilda Swinton
After his Cannes and Oscar-winning “Parasite,” we were all wondering what Bong Joon-ho’s next film was going to be. Well, Tilda Swinton has kind of spilled the beans in a recent Spanish interview by divulging that she is currently working with Bong on his new movie. No other details were mentioned. This would be their third collaboration together after “Snowpiercer” and Okja.” Stay tuned …
‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ Made $253 Million Over the Weekend; Over 20 Million Americans Bought a Ticket
Amidst the “movie theatres are super spreader events” narrative comes the fact that 20 million American went to see “Spider-Man: Far From Home” over the weekend. The superhero flick racked up an astonishing $253 million at the domestic box-office, easily catapulting it to the top of the overall 2021 box-office.
Read more‘Drive My Car’ Wins LAFCA
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) voted on their 2021 awards on Saturday. Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car” won Best Film, completing the high-brow trifecta of New York, Boston and Los Angeles.
Read moreTwo Unvaccinated Oscar-Contending Actresses
A curious paragraph appears, hidden deep inside a recent Variety piece, titled “Omicron is Here and Hollywood is Finally Taking Notice”
Read moreOscars: Final Year-End Predictions; Can ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Sneak Into a Best Picture Nomination?
Oscar nomination voting commences on January 27th and closes on February 1st. Seven days later, the nominees are announced. We have, more or less, a good idea now of who the contenders are.
Read more‘The Novice’: SXSW Winner Tackles Gruelling Psyche of an Athlete [Review]
I wouldn’t be surprised if many elite athletes have the kind of drive, determination and obsession Alex Dall (Isabelle Fuhrman) has in “The Novice”. She’s a college freshman who joins her university's rowing team and obssesses, both physically and mentally, on making it to the top varsity boat, no matter the cost.
Read morePedro Almodóvar Confirms His Next Film Could Be ‘Money Manual' With Cate Blanchett
‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Made $50 Million in Thursday Previews Alone
Sony's ““Spider-Man: No Way Home” netted $50M in previews last night, that makes it the 3rd highest Thursday of all-time. This ranks it right behind 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame” ($60M) and 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($57M).
Read more‘A Journal For Jordan’ Starts With a 27 on Metacritic
Things aren’t looking good for Denzel Washington’s “A Journal For Jordan.” It currently has a 27 on Metacritic and a 33% on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s set for a Christmas Day release and it may very well be on its way to bombing at the box-office.
Read more‘Black Phone’ Release Delayed Until Summer
Universal has decided to push Scott Derickson’s “Black Phone” from its initial February 4th release date to a June 24th theatrical launch.
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