Director Edgar Wright re-teams with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost for The World's End, the final installment in The Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy (Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz being the first two).…
As we collected some of the reactions from the screening of Nicolas Winding Refn's Only God Forgives starring Ryan Gosling, many critics and audience members had mixed feedback on the…
Robert Luketic's upcoming film Paranoia, based on the novel by Joseph Finder, released new stills today including one of Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games) sitting prominently in a swimming pool.…
Elijah Wood is featured in the new trailer for IFC's upcoming film, Maniac, which will be released theatrically and VOD on June 21. Check out the trailer and details about…
It's days like today that I really miss Celebrity Deathmatch on MTV; this casting news would have been the perfect setup for having Marvel and Fox duke it out. Today,…
One of the many acquisitions made this week at the Cannes Film Festival included The Weinstein Company's (TWC) pick-up of Stephen Frears’ latest comedy/drama, Philomena. Judi Dench stars as a mother…
James Maitland Stewart is one of the most iconic legends of classic cinema. Born May 20, 1908, Stewart's versatile, seven-decade-long career in film gave us many classics, and along the way…
Alexander Payne has been someone who has been looked at as one of the most consistent directors in the business. Many of his films have received Oscar recognition and even…
Oh boy. I thought for sure there was no way that Todd Phillips was going to make another stinker sequel to his overrated yet entertaining original flick The Hangover, but…
Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt makes his directorial debut with Relativity Media's Don Jon (he also wrote the script). Gordon-Levitt plays a man with good values who just happens to have a love for…
Director Edgar Wright re-teams with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost for The World’s End, the final installment in The Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy (Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz being the first two). Each of the three films are connected to a Cornetto ice cream flavor, with Shaun being strawberry (red for blood), Fuzz being the blue original Cornetto (blue for cops), and End being mint-chocolate chip (green perhaps for the Earth?). The joke connects back to Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Three Colours film trilogy. After the jump you can check out the new trailer and poster from the upcoming comedy opening in theaters on Friday, August 23.
As we collected some of the reactions from the screening of Nicolas Winding Refn’sOnly God Forgives starring Ryan Gosling, many critics and audience members had mixed feedback on the newest venture from the director of Drive (2011).
Robert Luketic’s upcoming film Paranoia, based on the novel by Joseph Finder, released new stills today including one of Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games) sitting prominently in a swimming pool. You can view the gallery down below along with the synopsis of the film.
Elijah Wood is featured in the new trailer for IFC’s upcoming film, Maniac, which will be released theatrically and VOD on June 21. Check out the trailer and details about the film down below:
It’s days like today that I really miss Celebrity Deathmatch on MTV; this casting news would have been the perfect setup for having Marvel and Fox duke it out. Today, Bryan Singer took to Twitter to announce that Evan Peters (American Horror Story) would be playing Quicksilver in the next film in the X-Men franchise. If the character name sounds familiar it might be because rumors have been swirling about that Quicksilver would make an appearance in the sequel to Marvel’s The Avengers. Read more on Evan Peters cast as Quicksilver in ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’…
One of the many acquisitions made this week at the Cannes Film Festival included The Weinstein Company’s (TWC) pick-up of Stephen Frears’ latest comedy/drama, Philomena. Judi Dench stars as a mother who searches for her son, played by Steve Coogan, years after he was taken from her and she was forced to live in a convent. Have a look at the official release after the jump.
James Maitland Stewart is one of the most iconic legends of classic cinema. Born May 20, 1908, Stewart’s versatile, seven-decade-long career in film gave us many classics, and along the way earned the actor five Academy Award nominations as well as lifetime achievement award recognition from just about every major film organization.
Alexander Payne has been someone who has been looked at as one of the most consistent directors in the business. Many of his films have received Oscar recognition and even his cult classics are looked upon favorably. His last effort The Descendants (2011), that won the Oscar for Adapted Screenplay, I found to be one of the more overrated films of that year. Even as time settles in for the film, it looks to be at the bottom of his filmography, which isn’t a poor showing if that’s your worst efforts.
His newest film Nebraska starring Bruce Dern and Will Forte have received mostly positive ink out of Cannes so far with many feeling that Dern does an impeccable job in the lead role. Last updated Oscar Predictions, I placed Dern in the #1 spot for Lead Actor. With a clever and sentimental campaign, this father of the great Laura Dern may nab his second Oscar nomination. Also, let’s keep an eye on June Squibb.
Check out the quotes and reactions down below:
Jessica Kiang from The Playlist describes Payne’s career up until now with faint praise for his newest film:
There’ve been great masses of critical laurels laid at Alexander Payne’s door over the years, some, in our eyes, more earned than others. When it really hits home, the director’s quiet humanism and wry humor can yield perceptive insights, especially into certain trademark areas of expertise: family dynamics, the vanities and follies of aging men, the reluctance to let go of old dreams. But the downside to this kind of blanket approbation is that, because we know what to look for in an Alexander Payne movie, sometimes we might kid ourselves that we find things that aren’t really there. And so, we come trundling to ‘Nebraska,’ already being buzzed about as a major player here in Cannes, and certainly not a bad film in any way, but one that failed to engage us with anything like the kind of witty perceptiveness we found in, for example, “Sideways,” to reference the other two-man road trip-style film of Payne’s. A journey whose destination is clearly signposted from the very beginning, too often we found ourselves staring out of the windows at a blank and featureless landscape; our trip to “Nebraska” got us where we needed to go in the end, but didn’t take the most interesting or diverting route.
Oh boy. I thought for sure there was no way that Todd Phillips was going to make another stinker sequel to his overrated yet entertaining original flick The Hangover, but lo and behold we have The Hangover Part III. To be fair, it’s a bit better than The Hangover Part II, but it would have been hard to be any worse than that one. Phillips again has made an unfunny “comedy” that coasts by on the goodwill that the initial installment of this franchise created. Audiences had fun with The Wolfpack, so now apparently whatever they do is supposedly hilarious, except nothing they’ve done of late is even remotely amusing. Everyone involved is just going through the motions, and while I expect better form director/co-writer Phillips, maybe it’s time for me not to anymore. He and co-writer Craig Mazin have pretty much stopped giving stars Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, and Ed Helms anything interesting to do, so now that the shock value has worn off, you can really see just how lame a story is being told. There’s one giggle worthy moment in this movie, but it’s after the credits. When your film is supposed to be one of the premiere comedy offerings in the year and it’s nearly laugh free, that’s a problem.
Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt makes his directorial debut with Relativity Media’s Don Jon (he also wrote the script). Gordon-Levitt plays a man with good values who just happens to have a love for porn. He struggles to find happiness with Scarlett Johansson’s character due to unrealistic expectations that stem from his infatuation with X-rated material. Julianne Moore, Tony Danza, Glenne Headly, and Brie Larson also star. Don Jon opens October 18. You can read Joey’s ***½ Sundance review here, and watch the first trailer for the film after the jump.
Ken Scott’sDelivery Man stars Vince Vaughn as an underachiever who discovers that, as a result of a mix-up at the fertility clinic he made sperm donations to, he fathered over 500 children 20 years ago. When the children file a lawsuit to determine their father’s identity, Vaughn’s character must decide whether or not to reveal his identity. Delivery Man opens November 22. Have a look at the first trailer after the jump.
Actor Matt Dillon and cinematographer Ed Lachman will receive citations from The Provincetown International Film Festival for their bodies of work. The 15th annual event will take place June 19 – 23. For a complete list of the films and events that will take place at the fest, click here.
The Weinstein Company looks to have another impressive slate of films hitting the stateside this upcoming awards season. Naturally, AMPAS voters, as well as Oscar prognosticators, will be looking to them for strong acting contenders. For the past several years, the Weinstein Company has produced at least one acting winner every year dating back to 2008. Just this last year, they managed to get “it” girl Jennifer Lawrence an Oscar for David O. Russell’sSilver Linings Playbook (2012) along with Christoph Waltz nabbing his second Oscar for Quentin Tarantino’sDjango Unchained (2012).
This year, names like Michael B. Jordan, Forest Whitaker, Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, and Julia Roberts will be fighting it out for recognition. One film that has many reluctant to place high on predictions lists is Justin Chadwick’sMandela: Long Walk to Freedom starring Idris Elba and Naomie Harris. Unsure of the hesitation given its pure Oscar-bait aura, perhaps its Morgan Freeman’s recent nomination for his portrayal of Nelson Mandela in Clint Eastwood’sInvictus (2009) or maybe its the only other films in director Chadwick’s resume include The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) and The First Grader (2010), two decent but very forgettable pictures. Needless to say, we will still anticipate the upcoming film with a certain amount of reservation and hope that Elba’s portrayal can at the very least, propel him to the super-stardom he clearly deserves.
I feel very confident that it may be time to seriously look to Academy Award nominee Kristin Scott Thomas as a potential candidate for Best Supporting Actress in Nicolas Winding Refn’sOnly God Forgives. The first reactions have come out of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival and many seem to be praising her twisted, matriarch turn. What’s more surprising is the film seems to have a very clear divide by critics that are weighing in on its prospects.
While we were expecting a highly stylized adventure with our brilliant director of Drive (2011), some are finding nothing more to awe at other than Scott Thomas. Ryan Gosling’s praise seems to be merely “we’ve seen him do this before.” Not outstanding words for someone seeking citations by the end of the year.
Peter Debruge of Variety gave this faint praise for Scott Thomas:
Scott Thomas has never had a role quite like this to sink her teeth into before, and the typically even-keeled star relishes the opportunity to play such an arch matriarch (though she’s no match for Jacki Weaver’s cunningly manipulative mama bear in “Animal Kingdom”). But like so much else in “Only God Forgives,” her performance ultimately rings hollow. There’s no indication that her manipulative character genuinely loves anyone, just as it’s impossible to tell what, if anything, excites Julian, who accepts lap dances and amputations with the same unfazed expression.
The awards season for television is in full effect. CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory” and FX’s “American Horror Story: Asylum” scored the most nominations from the third annual Critics Choice Television Awards with six each. In a stunning omission, ABC’s hit-show “Modern Family” missed out on Best Comedy Series in favor of FOX’s “New Girl.” All the normal mentions of the actors were snubbed on ABC’s show. Sarah Hyland, who plays the lovable Haley, scored her first nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy.
The race to the Emmys have officially begun.
Check out the full nominations down below and read the Emmy Predictions as well.
BEST COMEDY SERIES
• The Big Bang Theory – CBS
• Louie – FX
• The Middle – ABC
• New Girl – FOX
• Parks and Recreation – NBC
• Veep – HBO
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
• Don Cheadle (House of Lies) – Showtime
• Louis C.K. (Louie) – FX
• Jake Johnson (New Girl) – FOX
• Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory) – CBS
• Adam Scott (Parks and Recreation) – NBC
• Jeremy Sisto (Suburgatory) – ABC
I’m a sucker for a good cerebral experience at the movies where its writer manages to shine in a vivid and imaginative way. When we speak about some of the great screenwriters of the last few decades, I’m sure there will be many that shout out names like Woody Allen, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Benton, David Mamet, and Billy Wilder. Thoughtful, attentive, and stunningly ingenious in both dialogue and execution, these writers are surely among the best. Nearly seven years after Director Marc Forster’s took a swing for Zach Helm’s underrated and wistful screenplay, Stranger than Fiction (2006), stubbornly I remain convinced that this will be remembered as one of the finest screenplays in modern, American cinema in years to come. A near literary and moving narrative, Helm’s silky and heart-rendering script lands firmly on multiple levels of connection, love, and death.
All good things must come to an end. Season 16 of Dancing with the Stars is officially over and a new winner has been announced. With an exciting season filled with talented celebrities, it must have been difficult for viewers to decide on a winner. With Alexandra Raisman coming in fourth and Jacoby Jones landing in third, that left Zendaya and Kellie Pickler fighting for the top spot.
