“The Mauritanian” Director Kevin Macdonald on Telling Mohamedou Slahi’s Story
The Mauritanian director Kevin Macdonald has plumbed the depths of state-sanctioned terror before, notably in his riveting 2006 film The Last King of Scotland, featuring a ferocious performance by Forest Whitaker playing Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. His work in The Mauritanian might seem, on first blush, to be another trip to the dark side. Yet Macdonald’s film, led by stellar performances from Jodie Foster, Benedict Cumberbatch, and, most crucially, Tahar Rahim,...
Your 2021 Oscar Nominations are Here
The 93rd Academy Awards will air live, on ABC, this April 25, and your nominees are officially in. This year marked the first time the Academy waived the requirement that a film had to have a limited theatrical release in order to qualify, a nod to our shared reality in which the pandemic laid waste to the film release schedule, thousands of theaters were closed, and many big titles were delayed.
Without further ado, let’s get to the nominees...
The First Reactions to “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” Are Here
Earlier we shared what’s likely the final trailer for Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and now we can provide the early reactions to the film from critics and journalists. With only a few days remaining until Snyder’s second crack at Justice League bows on HBO Max, there are people out there who can actually tell us whether all this hype and hoopla has paid off. We know Snyder’s film is a four-hour extravaganza (luckily,...
“The Batman” Wraps Filming as Director Matt Reeves Shares Image From Set
And that’s a wrap, folks. Writer/director Matt Reeves The Batman has finally wrapped, which means that its March 4, 2022 release date feels entirely realistic now.
The last Batman-related news we got was in early January when it was revealed that Robert Pattinson, Ben Affleck, and Michael Keaton would all be playing the Caped Crusader in 2022. DC Films president Walter Hamada confirmed that the three actors will portray Gotham’s greatest in films set in parallel worlds...
New Trailer for “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” Reveals Darkseid’s Evil Plan
We are a mere three days away from the long-awaited release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League. To that end, HBO Max has released the second trailer, with Snyder’s return to his epic superhero ensemble premiering this Thursday, March 18, on HBO Max.
The new trailer brings Darkseid (Ray Porter) into the center of the action, with his mission to maul a divided planet finally revealed. The basic gist of Darkseid’s plan seems very solid,...
Ryan Coogler Shares Heartbreak of Writing “Black Panther 2” Without Chadwick Boseman
Writer/director Ryan Coogler spoke to Jemele Hill on a recent episode of her podcast Jemele Hill is Unbothered and shared the heartbreak, and the difficulty, of writing the script for Black Panther 2 without Chadwick Boseman. Boseman’s passing on August 28, 2020, at 43 years old, shocked his millions of fans worldwide, as it did the filmmaking community where he so respected and adored. Boseman had been quietly undergoing treatment for colon cancer while maintaining his busy work schedule,...
Tracking Falcon Throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Last week we looked at the career of Anthony Mackie, the Falcon himself, who has been building to this moment for two decades now. The moment we’re referring to is starring in Marvel’s upcoming Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which features Mackie’s high-flying Avenger Sam Wilson/The Falcon and Sebastian Stan’s tortured (and lethally effective) Winter Soldier as they deal with a world without Iron Man and Captain America. Now, Marvel has released a new video that tracks Falcon throughout the MCU,...
Future Critics: Elisa Monagas on the “Frozen” Franchise, Hermione Granger & More
In our first installment of our Future Critics series, sixth-grader and East Coaster Benji Cherukuri schooled us on the work of composers Nicholas Britell and Hans Zimmer. In our newest installment, eighth-grader and West Coaster Elisa Monagas gives us the goods on two epic film series, Frozen and Harry Potter, as well as sharing what she plans on being when she grows up (reader, we were both surprised and delighted)...
The Official “Tina” Trailer Reveals HBO’s Look at an American Icon
There are few living Americans as iconic as Tina Turner. The legendary musician seemed like an unstoppable force during her early career, a dynamo capable of anything, everything. Her partnership, both romantically and musically, with Ike Turner seemed idyllic. For 16-years they’d co-created some of the most compelling music being produced, including hits like “A Fool in Love” and “Proud Mary.” Everything seemed perfect.
As the details of her personal life and the abusive, toxic, and controlling behavior of Ike became public,...
“Cherry” Composer Henry Jackman Lets Loose on the Russo Brother’s New Film
Composer Henry Jackman began composing his first symphony at the age of six. He has since risen to become one of film’s top composers, by leveraging both his classical training and his experience as a record industry producer. His diverse credits include working with Hans Zimmer on The Dark Knight, as well as many scores of his own, including Wreck-It Ralph, Kong: Skull Island, and Captain Phillips. He has been a longtime collaborator with producer/directors Joe and Anthony Russo,...
Tahar Rahim on Playing With Brutal Truths in “The Mauritanian”
The Mauritanian boasts performances from Jodie Foster, a legend who has earned the right to be picky about her roles, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Shailene Woodley. All are predictably excellent—Foster as the dogged defense attorney Nancy Hollander, Cumberbatch as the military prosecutor Stuart Couch, and Woodley as Hollander’s tenacious assistant Teri Duncan. Yet director Kevin Macdonald’s film hinges on the performance of its’ titular Mauritanian, the French-Algerian actor Tahar Rahim, who plays Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a victim of America’s aggressive,...
Actress Taylour Paige Gets Into the “Boogie” Spirit in Eddie Huang’s Directorial Debut
Boogie, Eddie Huang’s directorial debut, proves to be a different kind of coming-of-age story. Best known for penning the autobiography that inspired the hit TV series Fresh Off the Boat, Huang draws upon two subjects near to his heart – his Chinese heritage and his love of basketball — to weave an offbeat tale of a Chinese basketball phenom nicknamed Boogie (Taylor Takahashi) who aspires to become an NBA superstar.
It was the unique nature of the script,...
“Cherry” DP Newton Thomas Sigel on the Russo Brothers First Post-Avengers Film
Joe and Anthony Russo’s latest project is a far cry from Avengers. The hopes and dreams of the titular hero of Cherry (premiering on Apple TV+ on March 12), played by Tom Holland, are earth-bound, centered around getting high, getting money, or getting clean. In the film’s first chapter (there are six in total, each introduced by a blood-red title page), Cherry is at his worst—strung out, mid-robbery, breaking the fourth wall to let us know his life is a mess...
Showrunner Suzan-Lori Parks Goes Deep on an American Icon in “Genius: Aretha”
She won a Tony for her spectacular singing in The Color Purple, then earned an Oscar nomination in her role as the titular underground railroad heroine in Harriet. Now Cynthia Erivo‘s harnessing her vocal and dramatic gifts to deliver a sensational portrayal of Aretha Franklin in Genius: Aretha (March 21 on NatGeo). Created by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright-turned-showrunner Suzan-Lori Parks, the eight-episode biopic dramatizes Franklin’s journey from gospel singing child prodigy to her decades-long reign as pop music’s undisputed Queen of Soul...
The Flash is Front & Center in New “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” Teaser
Last week we learned what those six chapters are titled that mark the narrative arc of Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Now, Snyder has served up a teaser focused on Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen, better known to the world as the Flash.
When Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne recruits Barry Allen to join the Justice League, the youngster is initially reluctant. There’s the possibility (or more accurately, the probability) of death that he’s not so keen about. There’s also the fact he’s been sort of a screwup for a while...
International Women’s Day Profile: Director Tan Chui Mui
Pioneering Malaysian New Wave director Tan Chui Mui was on the final recce of her latest film, Barbarian Invasion, in a remote fishing village when the national lockdown news broke in mid-March last year following the World Health Organization’s declaration of the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. Her shoot was about to start in early April, which would be after the end of the supposedly two-week lockdown. But Tan was fully aware of the severity of the situation in China...
“WandaVision” Finale Caps Marvel’s Remarkable First Disney+ Series
Well folks, if you’ve been watching Marvel’s WandaVision on Disney+ and you’re anything like us, you’ve slowly come to realize this really is a remarkable series. Showrunner Jac Schaeffer and director Matt Shakman created something wholly original, plopping Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) down into an evolving world of sitcoms that has gotten progressively darker, sadder, and more intense. The show has generated serious discussions about grief, thanks to (spoiler alert) the reveal that the entire world of Westview,...
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Top of Mind at the Berlin Film Festival
There are no live audiences aside from the judges at this year’s 71st Berlinale and obviously no parties or red carpets to speak of, but in one way or another, the show goes on. The Motion Picture Association and the entertainment law firm Greenberg Traurig hewed to joint tradition and held their industry panel discussion, bringing their speakers and audience together over video conference instead of Greenberg Traurig’s premises perched above the Berlin cityscape. This year’s discussion, “Diversity,...
“A Quiet Place Part II” Release Bumped Up to Memorial Day
Chalk this up as some good news to start your Friday. Paramount has announced that they’ll be releasing John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place Part II earlier than we’d thought. They’ve pushed up the release date to Memorial Day, making Krasinski’s hotly-anticipated sequel our official summer kickoff film. What’s not to love about this?
Krasinski took to Twitter to share the news. The new release date means that the writer/director’s follow-up will have now been delayed well over a year from its original March 20 release date...
Here Are The Six Chapter Titles For “Zack Snyder’s Justice League”
We’re almost at the long-awaited premiere date for Zack Snyder’s Justice League on HBO Max. The official Twitter page for Snyder’s upcoming film has revealed its six chapter titles, giving us at least a broad outline of how the four-hour film will be broken up narratively.
You’ll note that three of those chapters appear to be actual quotes from the film. For example, the very first chapter sounds like something Jason Momoa’s Aquaman says to Ben Affleck’s Batman when he’s asked to join the fledgling super-group...
