Week of « Prev | Next »
1-20 of 132 items « Prev | Next »
Derek Cianfrance Talks Cinematic Violence, Face Tattoos, Falling In Love With Eva Mendes & More From ‘Place Beyond The Pines’
12 hours ago
After “Blue Valentine” tackled the issues of marriage and gender relations, it seemed like a natural progression that filmmaker Derek Cianfrance decided to take on parenthood and legacy in his next film. Taking six years to make, "The Place Beyond The Pines” deals with the issue of legacy in America. Set in working class Schenectady, New York, it tells the story of families on both sides of the law and deals with what fathers intentionally and unintentionally leave their sons (inspiring our list of 22 Great Father & Son Movies). A hit at this year’s Tiff (read our review here), the film stars Ryan Gosling as a motorcycle stunt rider who turns to bank robbery to provide for his young son, and Bradley Cooper as a police officer caught in the crosshairs, a role the actor nearly gave up on. The stellar cast also includes Eva Mendes, Dane DeHaan, Ray Liotta, »
- Diana Drumm
Party With Emma Watson In New Pics From Sofia Coppola's 'The Bling Ring'
13 hours ago
This summer, we're going to see a couple of different sides to Emma Watson that Hermione fans may not be used to. As the newest trailer for "This Is The End" revealed, she is not fucking around with the Apatow boys in the apocalypse comedy, and once she's done with that she'll be getting a bit wild for Sofia Coppola in "The Bling Ring." Some brand new images from the movie have arrived, and they show both the good and bad times that the titular group will be going through. The based-on-a-true-story tale follows a group of kids who decide to steal from celebrity homes, and of course, this lands them in hot water. But they also know how to have a good time too as seen below. Yes, it's another movie from Coppola centered on a young woman, but one that looks like it will have some different elements »
- Kevin Jagernauth
Party With Emma Waston In New Pics From Sofia Coppola's 'The Bling Ring'
13 hours ago
This summer, we're going to see a couple of different sides to Emma Waston, that fans of Hermoine may not be used to. As the newest trailer for "This Is The End" revealed, she is not fucking around with the Apatow boys in the apocalypse comedy, and once she's done that she'll be getting a bit wild for Sofia Coppola in "The Bling Ring." Some brand new images from the movie have arrived, and they show the good times and bad that the titular group will be going through. The based-on-a-true-story tale follows a group of kids who decide to steal from celebrity homes, and of course, this lands them in hot water. But they also know how to have a good time too as seen below. Yes, it's another movie from Coppola centered on a young woman, but one that looks like it will have some different elements and »
- Kevin Jagernauth
Watch: First Trailer For 'A Separation' Director Asghar Farhadi's 'The Past' Starring Bérénice Bejo & Tahar Rahim
14 hours ago
The summer movie season may be heading into full swing, but with the Cannes Film Festival about six weeks away, we're going to be getting a bit arthouse on you from time to time, and this weekend brings with it a fresh look at a movie highly expected to reach the Croisette. Asghar Farhadi's previous effort, "A Separation," was nothing short of a sensation, sweeping up the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, with his leads snapping up Silver Bears for themselves before going on to win Best Foreign Film at the Oscars. And his latest, "The Past," looks like another compelling domestic drama. "The Artist" star Bérénice Bejo, "A Prophet" lead Tahar Rahim and Ali Mosaffa, are the trio that lead the film in the story of an Iranian man who leaves his French wife and children to return to his country. But when he has »
- Kevin Jagernauth
Bradley Cooper Rides To Rescue, Replaces Jude Law As Villain In 'Jane Got A Gun'
5 April 2013 5:44 PM, PDT
Talk about snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. Only a few weeks back, things were looking grim for the much-buzzed-about western "Jane Got a Gun." The film, starring and produced by Natalie Portman, had a Black List-ed script and a top-notch cast, but a few weeks after Michael Fassbender left the project, director Lynne Ramsay bailed just as production was meant to get underway, with actor Jude Law, who was to play the villain, following hot on her heels. But Ramsay was replaced within a couple of days by "Warrior" helmer Gavin O'Connor, and production on the film, which co-stars Joel Edgerton and Rodrigo Santoro, got underway only a few days later. And now, they've filled Law's boots, and with one of the most in-demand actors around, as Deadline report that Bradley Cooper has signed up to play the bad guy in the project. Portman has the title role, »
- Oliver Lyttelton
Review: It Might Not Be Journalism, But You Won't Find The Stories On 'Vice' Anywhere Else
5 April 2013 2:18 PM, PDT
Ah, Vice. The once long ago irreverent little zine out of Montreal and has grown into a globe-spanning empire with offices around the world and an online presence that has expanded far beyond their still free glossy monthly magazine. And while they may still be snarked at for their ongoing Dos & Don'ts, stunt-like "reporting" which sometimes is as sophisticated as someone taking drugs and then writing about it (an approach spoofed by Lena Dunham on "Girls") and general tendency to stick to the kind of off-the-cuff, fratboy humor that made their name, if you look closer, they've matured considerably. Like reading Playboy for the articles, skip past the hit bait and land on their video page, and do some digging, and you'll see some real stories tackling the kind of stuff you won't find on any of the major news networks (The Business Of War is a particularly perfect example »
- Kevin Jagernauth
What Are You Seeing This Weekend? 'Evil Dead' Probably Won't Be 'The Company You Keep;' Fall Into A 'Trance' With 'Upstream Color'
5 April 2013 2:04 PM, PDT
Looking for an adrenaline fix this weekend? Perhaps you're thinking about extreme sporting, a long run, or riding roller coasters? All good choices, and we'd like to suggest another. Head over to your local multiplex, where an assortment of shocking, dynamic, unearthly films are sure to get your pulse racing and breathing shallow. From the blood-spattered horror of the "Evil Dead" reboot to the chase sequences in Robert Redford's newest political conspiracy picture to a demonic possession tale and a story about cannibalism, this slate of releases guarantees your heart will be beating as hard and fast as your brain. Oh, and then there's the naked Norwegian chick with a lion's tale (who probably has sinister intentions). And, of course, "Jurassic Park" -- a seminal, heart-thumping action adventure flick -- is getting a 20th anniversary/IMAX 3D re-release. Life finds a way, indeed. So, dear readers, how are you »
- Emma Bernstein
Watch: Trailer For 'Dead Man's Burden' Showcases The Gorgeous Cinematography & Violence Of This Slow Burner Classic Western
5 April 2013 1:43 PM, PDT
Today brings the debut of the trailer for the western "Dead Man's Burden," directed by first-time director Jared Moshé and starring Barlow Jacobs, David Call ("Tiny Furniture," "Nobody Walks") and "Nashville" ingenue Clare Bowen. We caught the film at the Los Angeles Film Festival last year, and found the classic throwback western tale of family drama, violence and intrigue to be "moody, violent, classic, yet modern," and hailed its stunning 35 mm photography of the American Southwest. The trailer showcases all of those aspects and doesn't shy away from emphasizing the many gunshots that ring out during this family tragedy that is "a meditation on morality, survival, and the sometimes tenuous ties that bind families together," as we noted in our review. The gorgeous cinematography is also on display as well as the intense performances by the three leads. It's a slow burner of a western that ripples with tension and »
- Katie Walsh
Sally Hawkins Joins Random Cast Of 'Godzilla'
5 April 2013 1:23 PM, PDT
So, what do you get when you mix Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston, David Strathairn, Ken Watanabe and Juliette Binoche? Nope, not a Euro-flavored film about the intersecting lives of a multi-culti group of beautiful looking people living in, oh I dunno, Paris. Instead it's the cast of "Godzilla." And the ensemble has just gotten even more puzzling. Brit actress Sally Hawkins -- who put the happy-go-lucky in "Happy-Go-Lucky" and "Made In Dagenham," and featured in fare such as "Never Let Me Go," "Jane Eyre," "Submarine" and more -- has come aboard the picture. And that's all we can tell. The Gareth Edwards-directed picture is now shooting, but there are no details (though we bet it involves a monster and stuff getting exploded), so no idea what her role is at this point. But our guess is that the disaster in the movie maybe is globe-spanning in nature, »
- Kevin Jagernauth
Watch: 5 Movies Roger Ebert Championed Including 'Do The Right Thing,' 'Hoop Dreams,' 'Monster' & More
5 April 2013 12:49 PM, PDT
As many of The Playlist team wrote earlier today, the late Roger Ebert was instrumental for many of us discovering a nurturing what has become a lifelong passion of cinema. And much of that has to do with "At The Movies," his influential long running show with Gene Siskel (and in later, less satisfying years, Richard Roeper) that brought the movies into our homes with pointed critiques, debates, arguments and most of all, enthusiasm. While many have been digging up Ebert's zingers and classic takedowns, we wanted to focus on the moments where he got truly excited and got behind a movie. Those are the times that stand out for many of us, that got us off the couch, and down to the video store or local theater to see what Ebert was writing about, or what he was discussing with Siskel. There are countless choices we could have made, »
- Kevin Jagernauth
Jessica Chastain Goes To The 'Crimson Peak' With Guillermo Del Toro
5 April 2013 11:41 AM, PDT
And we thought the casting up of David O. Russell's movie was getting intense. While monsters may take center stage of Guillermo del Toro's upcoming "Pacific Rim," for his next feature effort, "Crimson Peak," the director is impressing us thus far with the roster of talent he's assembling. One day after Benedict Cumberbatch came on board, Variety reports that Jessica Chastain has knocked another auteur off her list and joined the picture as well. Emma Stone and Charlie Hunnam are also part of the cast for the film, about which zero details are being let out of the bag at the moment. "It’s set at the turn of the century and it is a gothic romance with ghosts. When I use the Gr [gothic romance] term I use it not in the Barbara Cartland model but rather in a Bronte fashion. Dark and stormy and wind-swept," del Toro wrote »
- Kevin Jagernauth
Review: Acceptable Euro-Thriller 'Erased' Bolstered By Aaron Eckhart's Lead Performance
5 April 2013 11:24 AM, PDT
Aaron Eckhart has quite a diverse body of work to look back on -- in the last two years alone, the actor has brought to the table both a complex portrait of a grieving father in the lauded "Rabbit Hole" and a more workman-like turn in the less-lauded "Battle: Los Angeles." "Erased," also known as "The Expatriate," has been kicking around since fall of last year -- its delayed release has been blamed on piracy concerns -- the film being especially sought out by pirates who would otherwise gorge on blockbusters. This is a good bit of press for a little film, a compact Belgium-set thriller that tweaks the "Taken" formula ever so slightly and lets it rest on Eckhart's capable shoulders. The actor, gaunt but still retaining his good looks, here plays Ben Logan, an expat with a mysterious past. Making a home in Belgium along with estranged daughter (of course) Amy, »
- Mark Zhuravsky
The Cagey 'Elysium' Reveals A First Look At Alice Braga; More Sneak Peeks Arriving Soon
5 April 2013 11:05 AM, PDT
After the fantastically inventive "District 9," director Neill Blomkamp's "Elysium" should be one of the most anticipated sci-films of 2013. And it is in many quarters, including ours -- see our Most Anticipated Films of 2013 list -- but it's clear that the momentum for the film has cooled, and the "will this movie ever come out" feeling has even registered. Part of it is that "Elysium" was supposed to arrive last month, but late last year Blomkamp's movie was bumped to August, the same frame that made a surprise success out of "District 9." But the film is in the can and just waiting, something that seems to have even frustrated its filmmaker. "It’s kind of weird that it sits on a shelf and doesn’t come out until August 9th but I think a summer release is fantastic for the film," Blomkamp said earlier this year. Sony will have »
- Edward Davis
Watch: Tony Stark Challenges Mandarin In Clip From 'Iron Man 3' Plus New TV Spot
5 April 2013 10:34 AM, PDT
You guys, Tony Stark is mad. It may be "Iron Man 3," but the mega-rich, technology aided superhero still taunts like he's a kid out on the schoolyard, and in the first clip from the movie, he tries to get under the skin of Mandarin rather ineffectively. In the scene, we see a somewhat rattled Tony Stark go off script while on camera with a bunch of reporters and launch into an attack on Mandarin, calling him a coward and then giving him his home address in case the terrorist had trouble finding the gigantic mansion that's on a rock cliff facing the ocean. And then he smashes the reporter's cell phone in kind of a hissy fit and drives away. Heroic? Hmm. Anyway, the new TV spot is a bit more rock 'em sock 'em, with a dude-tacular riffin' score and lots of new footage promising the action everyone wants to see. »
- Kevin Jagernauth
'Snowpiercer' Cast Get Passports In New First Look Images From Bong Joon-ho's Upcoming Sci-Fi Flick
5 April 2013 10:25 AM, PDT
In a few short weeks, the Cannes Film Festival will unveil their slate for 2013, and while speculation continues to swirl about which movies will make the trip to the south of France, one of the highly touted titles is Bong Joon-ho's "Snowpiercer." It's certainly been engaged in a slow-build marketing campaign, with posters and images dripping out here and there, and today comes another bit of interesting material with character posters for everyone involved. Thus, we get new looks at the decidedly gritty cast of Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell, John Hurt and more. The film itself is an adaptation of the French graphic novel "Le Transperceneige," with the story taking place on a train carrying the only survivors of a post-apocalyptic future as revolt brews. And with a team of players that also includes Song Kang-ho, Alison Pill, Octavia Spencer and Ewen Bremner, we're curious as hell to »
- Kevin Jagernauth
Michael Pena Joins David O. Russell's Abscam Movie; Robert De Niro Reportedly Also On Board
5 April 2013 10:05 AM, PDT
Who does David O. Russell think he is? Woody Allen? Okay, we kid, but the number of name-brand stars he's lining up for his still (aggravatingly) untitled Abscam drama is reaching epic proportions. Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner, Amy Adams, Louis C.K., Jennifer Lawrence, Alessandro Nivola, Elisabeth Rohm, Dawn Olivieri and Jack Huston are already on board the currently shooting movie, which is now adding even more cast members. Deadline reports that the always solid Michael Pena -- last seen in "Gangster Squad" and "End Of Watch" -- is taking a role in the film. The based-on-a-true-story tale follows a financial con artist (Bale) and his mistress/partner in crime (Adams) who are forced to work with an out of control federal agent (Cooper) to turn the tables on other con artists, mobsters and politicians. At the epicenter of the entire tale is the passionate and volatile leader of »
- Kevin Jagernauth
Remembering Roger Ebert
5 April 2013 9:40 AM, PDT
On Thursday, the film world lost a true titan. And it wasn’t a director or movie star or producer that warranted the kind of heartfelt and universal response we saw that afternoon -- it was a film critic. There were disarmingly earnest Onion articles and political cartoons and a statement from President Obama. All of this spoke to the singular power, impact and importance of Roger Ebert. Those of us who write about movies professionally were obviously hit pretty hard by yesterday’s news, and at The Playlist, we wanted to each contribute our personal thoughts about what the man meant to us. We encourage you to do the same below. Oliver Lyttelton: I have to confess that I came to Roger Ebert late. In the U.K., "At The Movies" didn't air, so growing up, while I'd heard of him (who hadn't? He was, after all, the most »
- The Playlist Staff
10 Must-See Films To Watch This April
5 April 2013 8:47 AM, PDT
As the weather starts to warm and the flowers bloom, so too does the movie slate become increasingly more promising, with a whole host of springtime movies that will surely thaw the snowy remnants of winter. After a surprisingly robust March that saw the likes of “The Place Beyond the Pines” and “Spring Breakers,” April has even more killer selections to make your spring that much warmer. Whether your tastes run to the more esoteric fare or the bigger budget Hollywood spectacle, if your desires lie in sexy thrillers, weepy biopics or scuzzy low-budget horror movies, April pretty much has you covered. Let us know what you’re looking forward to and if we’re totally off our rocker when it comes to these selections. "Trance" Synopsis: An auction house worker (James McAvoy) gets involved in a scheme to steal a famous painting, but after the job is done, there's »
- Drew Taylor
Review: 'Tomorrow You're Gone' A Stylized Neo-Noir That Goes Nowhere Slowly
5 April 2013 8:00 AM, PDT
It’s exceptionally strange to be reviewing a film so soon after the passing of Roger Ebert. Surely he’s the reason why most of us write reviews, why we’ve ever felt the need to tap our keyboards once the end credits begin to roll. We love and admire the deep thinkers who favor academic readings of film, but we really want to be Ebert, brimming with humor and personality, able to succinctly describe the most complex concepts for audiences of all persuasions. I wonder exactly what Ebert would have made of “Tomorrow You’re Gone,” a low-budget, low-temperature noir with direct-to-dvd production value, but nonetheless hitting movie screens this Friday. It’s both a testament to his lack of condescension and the film’s somewhat intriguing tone that had the film reached Ebert, his approach would be fair, likely measured. He’d probably comment on the well-worn nature of the plot, »
- Gabe Toro
Watch: The Full Pilot Episode Of NBC's 'Hannibal' Starring Mads Mikkelsen
5 April 2013 7:40 AM, PDT
You may have forgotten, but last night was the premiere of the somewhat highly anticipated "Hannibal" on NBC, a network that can't seem to sell a show to save their life. But this one is/was certainly promising. The excellent Mads Mikkelsen leads the show as the titular cannibal, but in his early days as a doctor, before he became much more well known for his peculiar appetites. He's enlisted by the FBI to help Hugh Dancy capture a serial killer, but of course the twist that Hannibal Lecter is a killer himself adding a layer of intrigue to the show. Does it all work? Well, if you missed it last night you can decide right now. NBC has dropped the pilot episode online in case your forgot to set your DVR or didn't realize the show was now on the air. We haven't had the chance to catch up with it either just yet, »
- Kevin Jagernauth
1-20 of 132 items « Prev | Next »
company.