What I have gathered so far from this series is how each individual movie is an intimate slice of life of a little-represented community, British Black people from the West Indies, living their lives amidst a racially hostile environment. While “Lovers Rock” was this formally bold love story set inside a house party, and “Mangrove” depicted a Black community-fighting in court against racist cops, “Red, White and Blue” is a little murkier in the narrative it exudes on-screen....

Despite my reservations, there is no denying how beautifully shot “Kundun” is. Oscar-winning cinematographer Roger Deakins (via IndieWire), during a podcast with fellow DP Greig Fraser, believes the Scorsese film is the most underseen work of his career. “It’s a bit of a letdown when you’ve spent so much time on something and then it’s either buried or the audience doesn’t relate to it,” Deakins revealed. “I feel that way with ‘Kundun....

The film is driven by Raiff’s socially awkward acting style and by a -lack of- screenplay that feels improvised and naturally delivered by the young actors. The film works best when it zeroes in on the tiniest of details, the blossoming of romance, the sudden realization that something special is happening - think Linklater’s “Before Sunrise” and you’ll get a better picture of Raiff’s influences. It helps that Raiff and Gelula’s chemistry is second-to-none, you truly believe their characters are falling for each other and there is nary an inauthentic or false moment in the delivery of their roles....

The embargo has now lifted and there isn’t a single negative review for “The Banshees of Inisherin.” That’s quite impressive. Most of the reviews signify that it’s a small-scaled achievement. THR, Deadline, Variety, Screen International, IndieWire, The Guardian, Total Film, Uproxx, The Telegraph, Collider and Vanity Fair are all positive. The result is an 89 on Metacritic (based on 12 reviews). ‘Banshees’ reunites McDonagh with his ‘Bruges’ stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson....

Reeves’ “The Batman” is revving up its engines for a scheduled-to-begin early 2020 production date. We already know that Robert Pattinson is set to play the caped crusader, following in the footsteps of Ben Affleck, Christian Bale and Michael Keaton. Reeves, the filmmaker behind the last two “Planet of the Apes” sequels, assumed “The Batman” directing duties from Ben Affleck in January 2017. Reeves will produce “The Batman” with his “Planet of the Apes” collaborator Dylan Clark....

This was one of the more disappointing works of my fall festival season. I had great hopes for this 30-minute film, but, ultimately, the material rang too hollow and familiar for me to fully embrace its in-your-face nature. The film has Swinton playing a woman, depressed by the end of her relationship, and meandering along through a gamut of emotions while isolated in her bourgie apartment, which also happens to be a stage set....

The former looked so plain and familiar. Not to mention, Ben Affleck’s permed goatee and hair. Matt Damon also looked rather silly with his mullet. Meanwhile, the latter looked like pure camp; what with Lady Gaga’s terrible acting, the all-around ludicrous Italian accents, the excessive wealth and a hammy Al Pacino as Aldo Gucci — you can just tell the best case scenario for this film will be its cult classic potential....

The film is being released in four weeks and still no trailer. I’m told there won’t be one released this week either. Take that whichever way you want to, but I have my suspicions why A24 is withholding it. Last week, I called “The Whale” the “most famous movie with one screenshot to its name.” Just one photo of Fraser’s 600-pound character exists and it’s a close-up of his very round face....

In the end, the film’s strengths revolve around Daniel Deadwyler’s performance more than anything else. The screenplay written by Chukwu and Keith Beauchamp is meant as a character study, and that’s the way the film manages to avoid some of the usual biopic cliches — it doesn’t really have as much drama as you might think. Critics have responded well to “Till,” but so have audiences. The film expanded to over 2000 screens this past Friday and garnered an A+ CinemaScore in the process....

At the Lumiere premiere, when the film ended, someone booed very loudly. It turns out it was The Playlist’s Charles Bramesco who then went on Twitter to spoil the movie’s ending: Good job man. Of course it was an American that booed. I can already see the narrative: “black actors exploited by white directors.” What a douche to spoil the movie on Twitter like that. He eventually deleted his tweet and wrote another one....

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Paolo Moretti, who heads Directors’ Fortnight, said today that he had been plotting a continuous screening of the eight-hour work in its main Theatre Croisette venue, with a lunch break in the middle. ”This is one of our big regrets as it would have been quite something to show an eight-hour film. We saw it as a film and we wanted to bill it as such, even if it will screen as a series....

“Toy Story 4” is the no-brainer frontrunner. A 97% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an 84 Metascore. No other animated movie has come close to these numbers this year. Its $1 billion worldwide gross is also very helpful as chances are it will end up being the most viewed film in the animated category. This aligns well with past winners as, ever since its inception in 2002, 9 of the Animated Oscar’s 18 winners have been Pixar films....

At this point, I’m not shocked about anything regarding Cannes and its continuous experimenting of 2021 dates. This year is turning out to be as unpredictable as the last, but if the Sep/Oct rumor were true, such a move would disrupt the status quo. A number of producers and sales agents have already said they prefer the festival not be delayed any later than July, a Cannes Film Festival taking place in September or October would mean a potential battle against Venice and TIFF (both taking place in September)....

Throughout the fest I wanted journalists to be honest with me about why they thought this year’s program was lackluster, at least in terms of the narrative features. Amost all of them mentioned the fact that Sundance’s militant and adamant stance on inclusivity was to blame. Of course, you won’t get these critics admitting that on print, but many personally confessed that to be a problem. Quite honestly, read this THR debate about the fest....

In particular, Netflix backing out is an unfortunate scenario for SXSW, as a total of five fims, including the narrative feature “Uncorked,” along with documentaries “A Secret Love,” “L.A. Originals,” “Mucho Mucho Amor,” and “Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics” will now be skipping the Austin event. Apple, on the other hand, was expected to premiere the highly anticipated rock doc “Beastie Boys Story” from director Spike Jonze, in addition to two TV shows, “Central Park” and “Home....

Variety‘s Elizabeth Wagmeister and Sasha Urban are reporting that Armie Hammer is now working at a hotel resort in the Cayman Islands, in a cubicle and reportedly specializing in selling timeshares. “A source tells Variety that Hammer … [is] totally broke, and is trying to fill the days and earn money to support his family.” “My friends’ parents went on vacation in the Cayman Islands and Armie Hammer was their concierge I’m still not over it,” wrote a witness, before deleting the tweet....

National Review’s Armond White has released his eccentric list of the best-released movies of the last decade. Unlike many of my colleagues, I have absolutely no problem with Armond White’s brand of gonzo film criticism. To disagree with White’s opinions is to miss the point he is trying to make with his writings; that any and all film criticism is and always will be open-to-interpretation. There is no one movie that will be loved by every single person who sees it....

Asghar Farhadi has built a career out of making masterful family dramas. With “About Elly,” “A Separation,” “The Past,” and “The Salesman,” the Iranian-born writer-director has put his name on the shortlist of world-class directors. I can count these rare and incisively talented filmmakers in less than two hands. So it pains me to be the bearer of bad news that the 46-year-old filmmaker’s latest film, the Spanish-language drama “Everybody Knows,” is not a bad movie, in fact it’s half-decent, but that we’ve come to expect much more from him....

The movie is based on the true story of Richard Jewell, a security guard during the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games who discovered a bomb and tried to evacuate the grounds before it would detonate. However, as the police started investigating the drama they started to realize that Jewell could be a suspect and, in fact, responsible for entire the bomb hoax. I had mentioned on 10.08.19 that a west-coast source, who’s seen the film, told me “Richard Jewell” was Eastwood’s “unrelenting condemnation of a corrupt FBI and a news media willing to go along with any narrative they deem click-worthy....