The Cannes Film Festival announced its lineup yesterday morning and one of the more perplexing films playing out of competition will no doubt be “Aline: The Voice Of Love,” a biopic about Céline Dion. Just to make things even more authentic, the film was shot and produced in Dion’s native Quebec and her star-studded rise from child star to world icon is at the center of the story.
Read moreFirst Trailer For Céline Sciamma's ‘Petite Maman'
Céline Sciamma has become an overnight sensation in the American indie scene, but in France, her body of work has been well-known for close to a decade
Read more‘The Suicide Squad’: James Gunn Using ‘Guardians’ Formula to Reboot DC Films Franchise [Trailer]
Four years after David Ayer’s misguided film, here is James Gunn’s take on “The Suicide Squad.” The just-released trailer hints at this being highly influenced by the shenanigans in Gunn’s own “Guardians of the Galaxy” films for Marvel Studios. Now, Warner Bros. is hoping that Gunn’s subversive touch will make “The Suicide Squad” a hit.
Read more‘Luca': Lower Those Expectations For Pixar's 24th Feature [Trailer]
Judging by the just-dropped teaser trailer for “Luca,” the directorial feature debut of Enrico Casarosa will probably reside in the lower-tier Pixar class of films. You know, the more conventional stuff, devoid of the inventive and risky storytelling of such classics as “WALL-E,” “Inside Out” and “Up!”. Which not to say that every Pixar film that belong in the lower-tier category is bad — there are good traits to be found in “Monsters University,” Cars,” “Brave” and others.
Read more‘Cruella': This is Going to Disney Plus, Right? [Trailer]
Disney’s highly-anticipated live-action film, “Cruella,” looks to be a much grittier and darker version than expected.
Read more‘Falling': Viggo Mortensen’s Directorial Debut Deals with Homophobia and Family [Capsule]
”Falling” is Viggo Mortensen’s directorial debut, an austere, sometimes rewarding film, which features the absolute worst movie father since James Coburn raised hell in Paul Schrader’s “Affliction.”
Read more‘Coming 2 America’ Trailer is Released
“Coming 2 America” is skipping theaters and headed to Amazon. This truly is the end of theatrical, or at least the way and shape it used to be before the pandemic hit.
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 more‘The Little Things’: Denzel, Malek and Leto Star in Grisly Crime-Thriller [Trailer]
The Warner Bros. hybrid theatrical/streaming release model for its entire 2021 film slate will be tested out again in late January. If you remember, the Warner deal was to open their new releases in theaters on the same day they become available to stream on the streaming service HBO Max for 31 days.
Read more‘Small Axe': Steve McQueen's Anthology is a Total Triumph [Capsule]
One of the highlights of this year’s New York Film Festival has been watching Steve McQueen’s new film anthology, “Small Axe.” NYFF chose three of the five films featured in the upcoming BBC series, “Lovers Rock” “Mangrove” and “Red, White, and Blue.” The first two were chosen for competition for Cannes 2020 before the festival had to be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The latter had its world premiere at NYFF and was just screened for press.
Read more‘The Prom': Netflix Musical Strictly For Ryan Murphy Fans? [Trailer]
I’m not a fan of Ryan Murphy’s art, but I do have to give him credit for being so prolific and gathering up this huge fanbase over the past few years. His deal with Netflix has resulted in a gluttonous amount of shows (and movies) already, “Ratched,” “Hollywood,” “Boys In The Band” and “The Politician”. Despite the negative reviews, he keeps chugging along, again, mostly due to his passionate following.
Read more‘One Night in Miami’: Relevant and Fictionalized Depiction of Black American Legends is a Dud [Trailer]
Don’t believe the hype, actress-turned-director Regina King isn’t, all of a sudden, some seasoned director who delivered a “great” movie during the fall festival season. No, her “One Night in Miami” actually deserves to be called the most overpraised movie of 2020.
Read more‘Let Them All Talk': Steven Soderbergh's Latest Film Was Shot With a Budget of 25 Cents [Trailer]
Steven Soderbergh is a legend of independent filmmaking His latest, the HBO Max comedy “Let Them All Talk,” was shot in just two weeks and was largely improvised by its cast. The film stars Meryl Streep, Dianne Wiest, and Candice Bergen, who play longtime friends reuniting on an ocean liner in what is being dubbed as a dialogue-heavy film.
Read more‘Happiest Season’: Kristen Stewart & Mackenzie in a Christmas Lesbian Rom-Com [Trailer]
I’ll watch anything with Aubrey Plaza and Kirsten Stewart. The fact that both actresses star in Cleo Duvall’s “Happiest Season,” alongside the always-wonderful Mackenzie Davis, is reason enough to celebrate. Yes, this is a romantic comedy, but Duvall, who did wonders with 2016’s “The Intervention,” and co-writer Mary Holland, aim to spice up the rom-com recipe.
Read more‘Halloween Kills’: Jamie Lee Curtis Calls Horror Sequel A “Masterpiece" [Trailer]
David Gordon Green’s “Halloween Kills” had its October release delayed until 2021. I had high hopes for this sequel to 2019’s “Halloween,” as I had heard, based on test screenings, that it was “phenomenal” and significantly better than last year’s Green-directed film.David Gordon Green’s “Halloween Kills” had its October release delayed until 2021. I had high hopes for this sequel to 2019’s “Halloween,” as I had heard, based on test screenings, that it was “phenomenal” and significantly better than last year’s Green-directed film.
Read more‘Born to Be’: Provocative and Grueling Documentary Tackling Transgender Surgery [Trailer]
Kino Lorber will be releasing “Born to Be,” an absolutely fascinating doc I saw at last year’s New York Film Festival. This is poignant stuff, following the work of Dr. Ting, the head surgeon at Mt. Sinai’s Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery, Director Tania Cypriano uses an extremely sensitive touch to her film, this is not the easiest watch, depicting the grueling process of sex-change operations.
Read more‘Songbird’: Michael Bay-Produced Drama Depicts a World Fighting the COVID-23 Virus [Trailer]
Yes, director-producer, and explosions-aficionado, Michael Bay is, supposedly, a conservative in a mostly left-wing industry. That, in itself, will most likely result in “Songbird” being criticized for its politics.
Read more‘The White Tiger': Netflix Movie Tackles Class Divide in India [Trailer]
Netflix’s “The White Tiger” is director Ramin Bahrani’s adaptation of Aravind Adiga’s award-winning novel. Is this another Oscar contender that will need to be added to the streaming giant’s neverending list of fall titles? Maybe, maybe not. The subject matter is pertinently relevant, tackling the poor and disenfranchised of India.
Read more‘The Midnight Sky': George Clooney is Lost in Space in Netflix Drama [Trailer]
Based on Lily Brooks-Dalton’s novel “Good Morning, Midnight”, George Clooney teams up with Netflix for the sci-fi drama “The Midnight Sky,” in which he also stars.
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.
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To say it blew the roof off the place would be an understatement. I don't think I've ever seen a Toronto audience — any festival audience — embrace a movie the way they did last night.