This is surely one of the peaks of entirely female-led cinema that we’ve seen in recent years, if ever. It’s mind-boggling how it is still such a novelty to watch women direct women, so much so that the film captures moments of incredible simplicity and yet they feel so fresh because these feelings have rarely, if ever, been dealt with such honesty before. A far cry from Sciamma’s handheld work in “Girlhood,” her last film, this painterly film is set in Brittany circa 1770....

In a Hollywood that has all but shunned artistic freedom for directors this past decade, it must be hard for Mendes to find the right project to satisfy his creative juices. Alas, that’s why his upcoming WWI film “1917” should be a cause for celebration. The film stars Mark Strong, Colin Firth, and Benedict Cumberbatch and will have the luxury of being shot by DP extraordinaire Roger Deakins. However, even more striking, is the fact that [via IndieWire] as confirmed at CinemaCon yesterday, Mendes is attempting to film “1917” as one long take, ala Alejandro Iñárritu’s “Birdman....

EARLIER: “Amsterdam” just made $500,000 in previews on Thursday night. That’s just $50k more than what “Bros” grossed last week and that one ended up with a $4.8 million total during its three-day weekend. You can forget the $11-12 million opening Gold Derby projected yesterday. This is turning disastrous for David O. Russell and 20th century. The reviews completely buried this film. Some are now predicting an opening anywhere between $6-8 million....

What happened? Nobody is really sure, but this controversy grew in conservative social media circles to the point where the film ended up racking 250,000+ followers by Saturday, when the glitch was fixed, if it was a glitch at all. On Friday, trailer views for the film were at around 250,000 views. That stat ballooned to 1.7 million views by Saturday morning. According to Twitter, the suspension wasn’t directly in response to the film’s official twitter account, but due to another account linked to it....

I wrote back in November of 2018’s Disney’s Shot-For-Shot Live-Action Reboots Bank on Viewer Nostalgia: “These are safe, and cozy projects for the mouse house because they are banking on what is most popular at the multiplex these days: Nostalgia. There is absolutely no conceivable way that these live-action remakes can artistically surpass the original animated classics. Why? Because Disney wouldn’t take the risk of messing with the original formula — audiences want what they already know, that’s the sad truth....

Universal has decided to push Scott Derickson’s “Black Phone” from its initial February 4th release date to a June 24th theatrical launch. You can bet this won’t be the last rescheduling of the Spring movie schedule. “Black Phone” had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 25th where it garnered rave reviews. I was lucky enough to catch it not too long after its premiere, via link, and it is an excellent genre affair from Derrickson and actor Ethan Hawke....

One of the endings, which was said to be the least popular one, had Phoebe-Waller Bridge replacing Harrison Ford at the end of the movie. Presumably, this would set up the franchise for further sequels with Ford not returning. Another unpopular conclusion had Ford’s Indiana Jones dying. The last thing Disney needs is another Indiana Jones movie bombing with audiences, especially after the major shrug that greeted “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”....

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I wasn’t too keen on the idea of a sequel being made. This could change my mind. The legitimacy of what I’m about to post might reside with this “insider” claiming that Lady Gaga does NOT play Harley Quinn. Obviously, SPOILERS beware: It’s obvious Phillips wants to push buttons, he did just that with 2019’s “Joker.” How to one-up that movie? Well, the above is definitely one way to do that....

Now the film seems to be really ramping up as things are lined up for a November 5th production kick off, according to Production List. Will this be a snowy-set sequel? Director Todd Phillips is clearly going for something much more ambitious than originally perceived with the sequel. They’re throwing the blueprint out of the door and making something singular, unique, that’s what Phillips/Phoenix/Gaga seem be aiming for here. The best thing Phillips can do is make a completely different movie than the first one....

irector Rachel Lears‘ utterly prescient “Knock Down The House” thus strikes gold at the most opportune moment possible; not even the most powerful crystal ball could have foreseen what Ocasio-Cortez would transform into back when she started her campaign in May 2017. Lears’ portrait of the young aspiring advocate and three other women running for Congress is a formidably entertaining doc that can’t help but inspire. Intimate with incredible from-day-one access, this terrific documentary reveals not only the humble beginnings of a brassy grass-roots campaign and surging movement in American politics, but a hunger for the kind of authenticity that Ocasio-Cortez and her progressive friends radiate....

The fringes of France are about to blow up in Les Misérables, the feature-length directorial debut from 39-year-old Ladj Ly. The film expands on Ly’s documentary and César-nominated 2017 short of the same name, which also starred this feature’s three leads. “Les Misérables” is playing in competition at Cannes, which is an unusual pick, since first-time efforts tend to not be chosen to compete for the Palme D’or. Ly uses a cop-thriller structure to tell his story; in fact, his film bears more than a few similarities to Antoine Fuqua’s movies, albeit a slightly better version of that testosterone-fueled film....

PTA’s 10th movie, “Licorice Pizza,” is set to be screened this weekend. World of Reel has positioned spies in the West Coast to report back. The DGA, WGA and very select press will get to see it on Saturday. The New York premiere is on Tuesday. Based on what we’ve seen so far, the film indicates sweet-natured vibes reminiscent of “Almost Famous” and “Lady Bird.” But to say that “Licorice Pizza” will be like those movies is foolish; PTA goes by his own freewheeling creative spirit — he might have influences here and there but he creates purely based on his own unique vision....

The reactions that have come out for “Lightyear” are not that positive, at least from critics we can trust. For example, Disney can at least always count on resident quote whore Erik Davis to tweet out something positive: However, for the most part, the overall consensus from critics isn’t good. I don’t think Pixar really cares, “Lightyear” will still make boatloads of cash when it is released next week: Fact of the matter is that Pixar hasn’t released a masterpiece in over a decade, to the point where my expectations these days are for something akin to the good-not-great quality of “Coco” and “Soul,” two of the better films they have released these past 10 years....

Disney’s live-action “Mulan” remake has been moved from July 14th to August 21st. Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” is set to be released on August 12th. This is Disney basically saying, “your move, Nolan.” I can sense this is going be a staring contest between both movies until one takes the hit and delays by a few months or a year. This is indeed a very strange time to be alive, movies seem to not be the primary concern for most people right now, this can only end with most of the best and most important movies of the year either being relegated to digital or being delayed until next year (or whenever a vaccine surfaces)....

His Netflix fare has been absolutely unwatchable, at best. Sandler seems to have lost an edge that would almost be instantly recognizable in his more successful films. Oh well, will I still watch this? Probably. It is, after all, completely sacrilegious as a critic to say you like Adam Sandler, but what do I care. Isn’t the whole point of the profession to be honest and truthful? Sandler was good at what he did and he made me chuckle more than a few times....

Greengrass reunites with Tom Hanks to bring us this Western drama following a Texan (Hanks) plying his trade by delivering news to townspeople across the west, who gets caught up in the rescue attempt of a kidnapped girl. Buzz has been very strong for Greengrass’ film, with resident IndieWire insider Anne Thompson hinting it could be a major player come next April’s Oscars — we’re not surprised, the last time Hanks and Greengrass teamed up for a film was in 2013 for their excellent “Captain Phillips....

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Neeson and writer Luc Besson launched an action subgenre all its own. The formula was simple: the aging male superstar playing a world-weary former intel operative with a particular set of skills whose retirement is upended when a child/spouse/dog is threatened/abducted/killed, at which point he systematically hunts down and kills each and every one of the slimy Eastern European gangsters. Got that? Because Ilya Naishuller’s “Nobody” follows that same blueprint to a tee with Bob Odenkirk (whose talents deserve better) playing Hutch, the protagonist....

Carmichael stars as Val, a depressed slacker who quits his job right after getting promoted and, just minutes later, tries to commit suicide in a men’s bathroom stall — he fails miserably (the belt was attached too low). A few hours after that, he busts best friend Kevin (Christopher Abbott) from a psychiatric hospital. The bleach- haired, quick-tempered Kevin, also recently tried kill himself. Et voila! A suicide pact is formed, they decide that before the day is done they will point guns at each other’s heads and on the count of three … With 24 hours left on earth, Carmichael’s dark comedy has its two depressed thespians facing their pasts; Val wants to make things right with his long-term girlfriend (Tiffany Haddish), and estranged father (a miscast J....