Yeah, whatever, fuck off. What a lack of integrity. What a coward. Paul Schrader didn’t take too kindly to Spike rescinding his pro-Allen stance, as the “First Reformed” writer-director was saddened to find out that Lee wasn’t strong enough to “stand up to the PC lynch Mob.” On Facebook, Schrader wrote, “This is dispiriting. If anyone could stand up to the PC lynch mob at this moment it would be Spike....
If you haven’t heard of Angels Studios production, I haven’t either, but this show, on-paper, seemed out of my realm of interests. That is until none other than Paul Schrader raved about it on Facebook. Do I have to catch up with “The Chosen” now? Has anybody seen it here? These box-office numbers for “The Chosen” do not even include a fundraiser screening for 3,000 people in Atlanta on November 15, which took away from ticket sales this past weekend....
“It’s about crashing and blowing up, stuff” Verhoeven said about today’s studio films. “Sometimes these movies are fun, but the narrative tells you nothing about us now. I don’t see any other thought in Marvel or Bond movies.” “There was always sex in Bond!” Verhoeven added. “They did not show a breast, or whatever. But they had some sex.” So, how many A-list directors is that now who have bashed superhero movies; I’m adding Verhoeven to the ever-expanding list that includes Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Denis Villeneuve, Bong Joon-ho, Lucrecia Martel, David Cronenberg, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, David Fincher, James Mangold, Luc Besson, William Friedkin, Ken Loach, John Woo … Contribute Hire me...
Speaking to a French outlet, Almodovar revealed he was not impressed by Audrey Diwan’s Golden Lion winning drama “Happening.”: I’ll have to disagree with Almodovar on this one. I found “Happening” to be thoroughly engaging and very perceptive. The “abortion drama” is very much now an arthouse genre in itself, but only a handful of films have truly stuck out; “4 Months, 3 Weeks and Two Days,” “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” and “Vera Drake” are the essentials....
The story, a real thumper, is excruciatingly familiar to sit through. Ian, voiced by “Spider-Man” Tom Holland, is the 16-year-old protagonist of the film, a friendless loner whose Mom (Julia Louis-Dreyfuss) is growing more worried, especially since he’s had to grow up without a dad for most of his childhood. At least he has older brother Barley (Chris Pratt) by his side, even if he can a bit distracted to even care, especially since he uses his free time from a College gap year to get hooked on role-playing games like “Quests of Yore....
Now that we’ve settled that, I do believe that the filmography Isaac has created this past decade cannot be touched by any other actor, safe, maybe, Joaquin Phoenix. You don’t believe me? How else would you describe a career that in the past 6 years has given us “Inside Llewyn Davis,” “A Most Violent Year,” “Ex-Machina,” and two “Star Wars” movies? Isaac spoke to IndieWire yesterday at NYFF, as his latest film, the Vincent Van Gogh biopic “At Eternity’s Gate” was having its North American premiere....
This actually reminds me to rewatch “Tenet,” I was originally very mixed on it back in the Summer of 2020. Tarantino had previously praised Nolan’s “Dunkirk” as his second-favourite film of the 2010s, admitting that it took him three viewings to realize it was a masterpiece. “It wasn’t until that third time where I was gauging it for [my best of the decade list], that I could finally see past the spectacle into the people, into the people of the story....
After embarking on additional shooting, and rumors appearing that it might get delayed to 2023, Apple is now pretty confident that Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” will be released later this year, most likely in December. I was assured by a person working on the film that it is indeed a 2022 release. Delaying it to next year would just complicate things for this film, which wrapped its original production in October of 2021....
Here’s some good news. After “Tangerine,” “The Florida Project” and Red Rocket,” Baker is setting his sights again on the fringes of American society in the upcoming Vegas-shot “Anora” (which is a working title). According to Production Weekly, shooting is set to begin in the Spring of 2023. No further plot details were included. It is with a sense of freedom, freshness and energy that, in Baker’s mise-en-scenes, from the camera to the non-professional actors, his films map contemporary America in such illuminating fashion....
Connery’s timeless on-screen demeanor will always be that of commanding masculinity — nothing wrong with that, but an acting persona that has faded away the last decade on the silver screen. Obviously, after a lengthy foray in smaller theatre and television productions, it’s his depiction of James Bond that is the primary legacy he leaves us with, starring in 007 all-timers “Goldfinger,” “Dr. No” and “From Russia With Love”....
However, Barbera says that it wasn’t for a lack of trying. He really wanted Coppola’s film to be part of this year’s Lido. Speaking to IndieWire’s Eric Kohn for a late afternoon chat, the Venice boss didn’t hide the fact that Coppola’s film was top priority: “It was in discussion until a few days ago. Finally, the distributors decided not to take the risk, to postpone the release date. [According to A24, the film has not officially been dated yet....
Steven Soderbergh’s 2011 thriller “Contagion” resurfaced to the zeitgeist this past year, stronger than ever. As the Covid-19 virus started spreading from mainland China to other countries around the world, the nearly decade-old movie managed to go viral and gain relevance in ways we never wanted it to. According to Warner Bros., the film started off 2020 listed as No. 270 among its catalog titles, but by February it was their most-watched title....
IndieWire’s Kate Erbland praised “Captain Marvel” for offering a “different and weirder spin on the origin story narrative,” even if the film as a whole “doesn’t break the MCU mold.” Collider’s Perri Nemiroff raved, “The future of the MCU gets even brighter adding Captain Marvel to the mix,” and she said many will fall for Brie Larson’s “sass, strength, and energy in the role.” Mashable deputy entertainment editor Angie Han, wrote, “Well, Thanos is fucked....
Martin Scorsese had also praised “Nightmare Alley” in January and wondered why it was being overlooked by critics. Overall, Del Toro’s film has been embraced by the industry as it nabbed a Best Picture nomination. Del Toro eventually released a black and white version of the film. “Nightmare Alley” is 80% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and has a 70 on Metacritic. It’s a solid neo-noir that encompasses many of Del Toro’s influences into a single entity....
The truth of the matter is that, no matter how much Tiffany Haddish might defend you, Smith snapped and was in the wrong here. Smith was initially seen laughing at Rock’s joke, his wife wasn’t in the least bit amused, maybe she nudged him to do something about it. Their open marriage had been all over the headlines the past year, it must have been a rough year for the Smiths, and Will decided to do something about Jada’s ire towards Rock....
The upcoming film focuses on JFK’s evolution into a War hero and the turbulent relationship he had with his father. Gray is rewriting a script originally written by Samuel Franco and Evan Kilgore. Production on the film will begin next year. A 2024 release date is probable. As mentioned, Gray’s “Armageddon Time” is now in theaters. I found it to be a melancholic and touching personal statement when I saw it at Cannes....
A trailer was released a few weeks ago. The cinematography looked stunning, but the narrative footage itself, filled with cheeseball “big line” moments, felt a little too familiar and generic … If I watched that trailer and somehow missed the Haynes mention and then tried to guess who directed it, his name would have not been anywhere on my guessing list. Regardless, it could all be a misleading trailer, hiding a better more sustainable movie....
*** An interesting idea gone haywire, “Mainstream” is director Gia Coppola’s social media satire, but instead of giving us an original perspective on the state of viral culture in 2020, we’re left with blanks. Nothing new is said in this remarkably trite examination of internet fame, but it does introduce us to Andrew Garfield’s “No One Special,” yes that’s his name, one of the most selfish, unlikable, and downright repulsive on-screen characters in quite some time....
In a statement, festival head Alberto Barbera called Martel “Latin America’s most important female director and one of the top female directors worldwide.” Barbera added in an official statement, “In her films, the originality of her stylistic research and her meticulous mise-en-scène are at the service of a worldview free of compromises, dedicated to exploring the mysteries of female sexuality and the dynamics of groups and classes.” Martel responded by saying: “It’s an honor, a responsibility and a pleasure to be a part of this celebration of cinema, of humanity’s immense desire to understand itself,” said Martel in her own statement....
23 films from … 7 countries?!! That’s Venice for you. Almost everyone we predicted got in; the only unexpected titles are Vahid Jalilvand’s “Beyond the Wall,” Roschdy Zem’s “Our Ties” and Laura Poitras’ “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed.” Notable absences: the two American #MeToo films: Sarah Polley’s “Women Talking” and Maria Schrader’s “She Said.” I guess Venice didn’t convince Polley to World Premiere her film there, so now the sweepstakes are between Toronto and Telluride....
