Without spoilers, and whatever anyone thinks of the film, it can’t be denied that this is a career-defining performance for Lopez. So, can this performance really lead Lopez to Oscar glory? In short, yes. From Streisand to Sinatra, and Cher to Jennifer Hudson, the Academy has a long-standing history of not only nominating those from the world of music, but also handing them golden statuettes. Though that being said, the last winner of that ilk was Jennifer Hudson for supporting actress in Bill Condon’s “Dreamgirls” in 2006....

Phoenix took the time during his acceptance speech to talk about the lack of diversity at this year’s awards, calling out the systemic racism within the industry: This is what I don’t get from the whole “systematic racism” argument Phoenix is trying to lay down. If there was any year to make this complaint, and there have been quite a few this last decade, it’s not this year. People are irked that Cynthia Erivo should have gotten a BAFTA Best Actress nod for “Harriet,” but the movie was just not that good and the perfomance, although good, did not deserve to be part of the final five nominees....

Depp stars as King Louis XV in French director Maïwenn’s “La Favorite.” Production is set to take up Depp’s entire summer. The actor doesn’t have anything else lined up after this, but here’s hoping he gets more projects in due time. Could you just imagine the Cannes press conference for ”La Favorite”? Despite not being a critical darling, Maïwenn has been a mainstay of the fest for quite a few years now, her last three films (DNA, Mon Roi and Polisse) have been screened at the fest....

Recently, I spoke to Smith about going back to his roots, the constant tackling of new genres, and how Seth Rogen made him become the stoner, he never thought he would be. It was a conversation that was meant to last just 20 minutes, but it stretched out to a full hour. I had to edit down more than half the interview for print, but will post an mp3 of the entire conversation at a later date....

The nationwide screenings on Wednesday of the unrated director’s cut of the film made $172,131,which is roughly 53 percent of the $327,167 that “Nymphomaniac: Volume II” made back in 2015. Impressive and it goes to show just how powerful a well-known and well-followed filmmaker can be in bringing out a large audience to a movie theater during a mid-week showing. The 3-hour film follows a serial killer named Jack (Matt Dillon) as he starts a killing spree of women and children through the Pacific Northwest....

Hit the RoadEmma MaeVortexA Man of IntegrityThe Northman Thelma Adams (US Weekly) Lost IllusionsHappeningPetite MamanEverything Everywhere All at OnceThe Worst Person in the WorldThe Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent Carlos Aguilar (Roger Ebert) Hit the RoadCha Cha Real SmoothOn the Count of ThreeLingui, the Sacred BondsMad God Ethan Alter (Yahoo Movies) Crimes of the FutureKimi Neptune FrostThe Northman We’re All Going to the World’s Fair Jeffrey M. Anderson (SF Examiner) Apollo 10-1/2: A Space Age Childhood Crimes of the Future Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Everything Everywhere All at OnceWe’re All Going to the World’s Fair David Ansen (Newsweek) BenedictionA ChiaraEverything Everywhere All At OnceGreat FreedomHit the RoadNavalny Michael Atkinson (Village Voice) Vortex Crimes of the Future Brighton 4th Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood The Worst Person in the World Nicolas Bell (IONCINEMA....

Will it premiere at Cannes? There have been rumors about that. Apple, which is distributing the film, also has Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” next summer, maybe that’ll also go to Cannes. Back in July, ‘Killers’ screenwriter Eric Roth had mentioned that the film was screened for Paramount/Apple people. The screening had gone very well, that was followed by some small reshoots for the epilogue of the film in NYC. Then radio silence....

“No. That’s not even a valid point. That’s not valid,” Scorsese said. “I can’t… That goes back to 1970. That’s a question that I’ve had for so many years. Am I supposed to? If the story doesn’t call for it…It’s a waste of everybody’s time. If the story calls for a female character lead, why not?” I can barely stand covering this side of Scorsese’s movies, the lack of a female perspective, because it’s just an ignorant argument....

While speaking with Total Film (via Games Radar) about “Heat 2,” Mann gave his thoughts on modern action films, which he admits totally bore him: “I’m just bored by it. It’s not very interesting. I mean, sometimes the choreography is so outrageous that it’s fascinating, and it is quite good. But generally, no. It’s just stale.” I’ve already mentioned the staleness of the comedy genre since 2010, but not many mention just how terrible the action genre has become....

Three years later and it seems as though Parker is hoping to mount a comeback with his upcoming film “AmericanSkin,” which has been announced today to world premiere at the Venice Film Festival and will also feature an introduction and a post-screening Q&A hosted by none other than Oscar-winning filmmaker Spike Lee. Oh, boy. The #MeToo movement will no doubt be at the forefront of the conversation for many Americans at this year’s Venice Film Festival....

This fall we’ve seen the dire state the arthouse is currently in. Awards season might be fully underway, but it’s been faring terribly at the box office, weekend after weekend. Consider: “Tar” – $4.2 million“Armageddon Time“ – $1.3 million“The Banshees of Inisherin“ – $4.6 million“Triangle of Sadness” – $3.2 million“Till” – $7.4 million“Aftersun” — $328,000 “Decision to Leave” seems to be the exception as it is doing fairly well, at least for a foreign-language release....

In general, US animation has been fairly week the last decade. This year, there are again some fairly tame contenders.Hopefully, upcoming films from Henry Selick and Guillermo del Toro will shake things up. Selick’s “Wendell & Wild” could maybe build up an overdue narrative for the maestro. I also wonder how well “Pinocchio” will do. Guillermo del Toro’s stop motion adaptation looks really promising. He’s co-directing this one with “The Fantastic Mr....

After two years of what looked like a never-ending pandemic, the Motion Picture Academy has decided that only movies that play in theaters will be eligible for Oscars. The complete rules for the 2023 Oscars are here. Last year’s Best Picture winner, “CODA,” was released in theaters only after it got nominated. Contribute Hire me Advertise Donate Team Contact Privacy Policy

As the height of festival season approaches, with Venice, Telluride, and Toronto speedily coming into vision, attentions begin to turn swiftly to yet another Oscar season. And whilst all may change following the three festivals above, who are the possible frontrunners at this stage, for a famous golden statue next February? Let’s take an early look at a few films and actors that have already made noise in four of the major categories....

The 93rd Academy Awards have not been canceled, but a delay is happening. This afternoon the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Board of Governors announced the 2021 Oscars will not be taking place on February 28, 2021. Instead, the ceremony will be telecast on ABC on April 25, 2021, almost two months later. Yikes. The AMPAS has also changed the eligibility period for Academy Awards consideration, which has been extended from its original December 31 deadline to February 28, 2021....

The Greengrass-stamped frenetic camerawork seems to be back with “22 July,” a Netflix-backed true account of far-right terrorist attacks which happened on 7.22.11 in a Norwegian youth camp. To this day, it has been the deadliest terrorist attack in Norway’s history, as 77 teenagers were murdered that tragic day. Greengrass directed and wrote"“22 July” which got yanked from last May’s Cannes Film Festival due to the Netflix dispute. Contribute Hire me...

“We called [the movie] ‘Alana and Gary’ for the longest time, but I thought I’d had my fill of two given names for titles. I’m happy with it now. It feels good. You think of titles like ‘American Graffiti.’ ‘Fast Times.’ ‘Licorice Pizza.’ Good. All right, let’s stick with that company. Those are films that I thought about so much when I was making it.”“‘Dazed and Confused,’” I offer.“‘Dazed and Confused,’” Anderson affirms....

The trouble brewing at 30 Rock, the home of NBC, has these writers threatening to boycot work on this week’s episode because of Chappelle hosting, according to a report by The New York Post. The writers are upset over Chappelle’s past jokes on gay and transgender people. Netflix already had to deal with the Chappelle controversy a few months ago, which itself had Netflix workers quitting in protest. Immediately after Chappelle’s SNL appearance was announced, Celeste Yim, a writer for the show who identifies as trans and non-binary, posted on their Instagram “Transphobia is murder and should be condemned....

Johnson discussed the divisive second chapter of Disney’s Star Wars trilogy on an episode of the podcast “Creative Processing with Joseph Gordon-Levitt.” In the fascinating interview, Johnson mentions how he didn’t understand the backlash from Star Wars purists towards “The Last Jedi” because he was doing what George Lucas had been doing all along with the franchise: Taking risks and subverting expectations. In fact, Johnson says he took the risks in order to pay homage to Lucas’ original trilogy — “it’s all about moving the story forward” he said....

“Bone Tomahawk”, “Brawl In Cell Block 99” and, especially, “Dragged Across Concrete” should speak for themselves. These are singular works from a singular cinematic voice. Zahler’s very much what one might qualify as a methodical filmmaker, depicting the madness of morally tortured men, His dialogue packs a satisfying snap and the action almost always plays out in unbearably excruciating fashion. It’s been more than three years since “Dragged Across Concrete,” but Zahler has started pre-production on his next film, an Elephant Man-style puppet movie....