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“First Cow” is very much a Kelly Reichardt movie. That will be the deciding factor as to whether or not you want to give this movie a shot. Reichardt, Bless her maverick heart, is one of the great American filmmakers of the last ten years, what with a track record that speaks for itself (“Wendy and Lucy,” “Meek’s Cutoff,” “Certain Woman”) and a contemplative, minimalist and distinctive style that is meant to isolate mainstream audiences....

The Russian filmmaker, who currently can’t leave his home country for the next three years, due to bogus charges, has managed to get his last three films (“The Student,” “Leto” and “Petrov’s Flu”) to Cannes, with two of them making official competition. Suffice to say, the French love him, that’s why France-based distributor Charades is in charge of “Tchaikovsky’s Wife.” The film, set in the 19th century, sheds light on the tumultuous relationship between Pyotr Tchaikovsky, the most famous Russian composer of all time, and his wife Antonina Miliukova in his new film....

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“I can report on the way down-low that Mr. Malick is deep in editing of that film–which probably will have another, as-yet-unreported title–and there is no end in sight. To the point that some around him feel it may wind up an unfinished symphony. Definitely not Cannes this year, definitely not anywhere this year.” Contribute Hire me Advertise Donate Team Contact Privacy Policy

Supposedly, the budget on ‘Killers’ had inflated to a worrisome $225M and started to get Paramount a little too nervous about its commercial prospects by shelling out money for such a risky endeavor. The troubled post-production on the film resulted in Scorsese reaching out to countless studios including Netflix, Universal, and MGM. Ultimately, AppleTV+ won out the rights. Scorsese’s last movie (“The Irishman”) was a Netflix original with an equally expensive $173 million budget....

The film, written by Eric Roth, an Oscar winner for “Forrest Gump,” is based on a non-fiction book by David Grann. Grann’s murder mystery is set in 1920s Oklahoma and tells the story of Osage Indians who suddenly started to get murdered, as did those trying to investigate. A corrupt FBI would eventually be tasked to investigate. The latest issue of Sight and Sound has an in-depth interview with Scorsese and the topic of “Killers of the Flower Moon” does come up....

Black Widow Finally exists Months of speculation and rumours were finally confirmed with the arrival of Scarlett Johansson onto the Hall H stage. Joined by now confirmed cast members, Florence Pugh (playing Widow’s long-time friend and sometimes adversary Yelena Babkoff), Rachel Weisz (starring as Melina Vostokoff), O.T. Fagbennie, who may well be playing Black Widow’s equivalent to Peter Parker’s ‘man in the chair’ Ned, and David Harbour as Alexi (which a quick google search tells you may well be the Soviet answer to Captain America)....

Illustrations in Media The same broad scope of themes seen in video games is just as visible in the movies. Jurassic Park, Predator, Apocalypto, and even classics like King Kong as explored at Medium all place their stories within jungles. Each takes a very different tack, but each has established itself as a perfect example of what the environment can add to filmmaking. Why Jungles? There are a few main aspects that make jungles such a great fit for media, the first of which is their flexibility....

Sept. 28th — “Blonde” (In theaters Sept. 16th)Oct. 19th —“The Good Nurse”Oct. 19th — “Wendell & Wild”Nov. 23rd — “The Swimmers”Dec. 9th — “Pinocchio”Dec. 16th — “Bardo”Dec. 23rd — “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” Dec. 30th — “White Noise” (In theaters Nov. 16th)TBD December — “The Wonder”January 6th — “The Pale Blue Eye” As expected, David Fincher’s “The Killer” is nowhere to be found. There’s also no “Shirley,” “You People,” “The Mother,” and “Rustin” — all presumably 2023....

I grew up listening to Elton John relentlessly. I didn’t get to the classic albums. He’s had 19 top ten hits on the Billboard singles chart, and if you reach forward to top 40, the count is 57. That makes him the third most successful artist in the history of American music, behind only Elvis Presley and The Beatles. The greatest Elton John songs, as far as I’m concerned, are “Your Song,” “Tiny Dancer,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” “Daniel,” Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word," “Crocodile Rock,” “Bennie and the Jets,” “Levon” “Mona Lisa and the Mad Hatters,” and “Some Saved My Life Tonight....

The New York Film Critics Circle had their annual awards ceremony last night. Lady Gaga was there to accept her Best Actress award and then went on to deliver a 13-minute acceptance speech where she spoke, at length, about Italian art, her ancestors, Italian cuisine, Gucci and other Italian-related content. “I’m Italian” Gaga said on-stage. Yes, we know. I just watched the full speech. God almighty. She even honoured convicted murderer Patricia Reggianni....

Why are critics complaining that this could spark violence by way of “incels”? Because they can’t handle the truth. What is the truth? That “Joker” is a film mirroring our own society, and it dares us to look at ourselves in the mirror. The parallels to today’s world are there — societal alienation has never felt more current than it does today. Joker, AKA Arthur Fleck’s situation could attest to 21st-century anxieties; his descent into madness is immaculately horrifying because it feels all too relevant and anchored up by present-day realities and tensions....

I talked it out this morning with Jeffrey Wells and we are in agreement on potentially no surprises this year, unless “Parasite” and Bong Joon-ho, somehow, shock the world and win Picture and/or Director. Maybe Greta Gerwig will lose Adapted Screenplay? That’s a possibility. “1917” will win Best Picture, Best Actor will go to Joaquin Phoenix (“Joker”), Best Actress is Renee Zelwegger’s to lose for “Judy,” Supporting Actor Brad Pitt is a cinch to nab his first Oscar for “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood,” and, finally, Laura Dern will be crowned Best Supporting Actress for “Marriage Story....

A reader by the name of Michael … “How dystopian is that? At this point, I think it should go without saying that most film journalists (not you; you’re great) are malicious actors who want to prod and coerce major institutions into adopting their weirdo agenda. Of course, ideology trumps everything, so even if moving to gender-neutral categories ends up making the Oscars even more unpopular, they’ll almost certainly end up doing it....

“Turning Red” is the first full-length Pixar directed by an Asian-American, a cause worth celebrating. Domee Shi directed the rather excellent Pixar short “Bao” just a few years ago. However, if you read some of the rave reviews for “Turning Red” then you’d think it’s more about its socio-cultural important than any sort of artistic triumph. This is another Pixar film, much like “Onward” and “Luca,” that just coasts along without much ambition, save for entertaining as large a crowd as possible....

What particularly interests me is Tarantino’s criticism of François Truffaut’s films: “[Chabrol’s] thrillers are drastically better than the abysmal Truffaut-Hitchcock movies, which I think are just awful. I’m not a Truffaut fan that much anyway. There are some exceptions, the main one being ‘The Story of Adele H.’ But for the most part, I feel about Truffaut like I feel about Ed Wood. I think he’s a very passionate, bumbling amateur....

“The Fablemans” has to be New York-bound, right? It does make perfect sense. The release date was recently moved from November 27th to November 11th — a closing night slot on October 16th, a mere three weeks before release, would fit perfectly. Spielberg had also used the fest as a launching pad for “Lincoln,” and “Bridge of Spies.” From what I’ve been hearing, “The Fablemans” is almost ready, and Spielberg rushing up a print of it for New York wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibilities....

The film, a low-grade romcom with not an ounce of brilliance in its bones, has been hailed as a major landmark for its inclusive casting, it’s the first all-Asian cast since 1993’s “The Joy Luck Club” —today’s surprising nomination for John M. Chu’s film does position it well for a Best Picture Oscar. Blasphemous. And so, the five SAG nominees — “A Star Is Born,” “Black Panther,” “BlacKkKlansman,” “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Crazy Rich Asians” — are an indicator that Oscar will very likely push for commercial popularity over artistic merit this year....