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European studio Studiocanal is backing the film, which has been a passion project for Taylor-Johnson, who was a close friend of Winehouse’s. No official word yet on who they chose to play Winehouse, but rumor has it that it’s a relatively unknown newcomer. “Back to Black” has been written by Matt Greenhalgh, who previously collaborated with Taylor-Johnson on “Nowhere Boy” and also wrote “Control,” the critically acclaimed biopic about the late Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis....

Based on Branagh’s own childhood in Ireland, “Belfast” delivers a hazy tackling of the social and political issues going on in northern Ireland back in 1969, including the civil war between Protestants/Catholics and the strenuous marriage of his parents. Branagh delivers it all in “Roma”-esque black and white, but with none of the artful resonance or subtleties of Alfonso Cuaron’s classic. Child actor Jude Hill, playing Buddy, a young Branagh, brings an insufferable amount of wide-eyed twee....

“Black Adam,” the latest DCEU release, stars Dwayne Johnson as a man gifted by “the almighty powers of the gods”. I blew off this morning’s press screening because, quite frankly, I just couldn’t fathom spending 124 minutes of my time on this movie. The trailer made it look terrible. It seems I made the right decision. The embargo has lifted and, unsurprisingly, “Black Adam” is getting butchered by film critics....

The film stars Alicia Vikander and Chon himself as a married couple in small-town Louisiana whose lives get thrown into chaos when Chon’s character, Antonio, is snatched up by ICE due to his previously unknown issues with immigration. Having been brought up into the US at the age of 3 and adopted by Americans, his fight against possible deportation is no doubt relevant to today’s zeitgeist, but topical resonance does not make a great movie....

There are barely any politics in this lovers-on-the-lam punk-rock-comedy, and yet, Rehmeier’s film is too irresistible to dismiss, mostly because one rarely sees such an infectious match of rebellious energy and romance at the movies. Despite the rather slow-ish start, where our two lovers, Simon and Patty, have to maneuver into place for their inevitable meeting, “Dinner in America” roars into punk-rock heaven once these two lovebirds touch heads. Set in the midwest, Simon (Kyle Gallner), wanted by the police for arson, finds himself on the run, and the chance encounter with eccentric Patty (Emily Skeggs) provides him a place to hide....

With that being said, Lainey has a very damning article about the whole “Don’t Worry Darling” drama, which claims to have spoken to three crew members of the film. The biggest takeaway for me is that this confirms the wildest rumor I had heard about the DWD production in the summer: Wilde disappeared from the set and Pugh took over directing reigns. A “loud” disagreement between Pugh and Wilde occurred the on set very late into production....

This is just one in a string of personal stories from major filmmakers these past few years, to the point where it’s become its own Oscar sub-genre; “Belfast,” “Bardo,” “The Fabelmans,” and now Mendes’ ode to movie theaters. “Empire of Light” is getting Love/Hate reactions from the Telluride crowd. Oscar pundits are loving it, while film critics aren’t liking it all. This year’s “Belfast”? It is giving off similar vibes....

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Last month, reports emerged that Zvyagintsev had been transferred to Germany for treatment after contracting COVID-19. The filmmaker was in very serious condition, having suffered damage to 92 percent of his lungs. He was put in a medically-induced coma and on extracorporeal life support (ECLS). Andrey Zvyagintsev is a two-time Oscar nominee known for masterful Russian cinema (“The Return,” “Elena,” “Leviathan,” and “Loveless,”) among others. He won the Venice Film Festival’s main prize in 2003 and the Cannes Film Festival’s Jury Prize in 2017....

The risk of making a single-location drama, or otherwise known as a “chamber piece,” is risky in that it could suck the cinematic out of a film. The staginess that occurs when you attempt such a film can be seen as downright theatrical, a screenplay actually fit for the stage rather than the screen. Take, for example, actor-turned-director Fran Kranz’s “Mass,” which has four people sitting in a church anteroom and discussing a tragedy that connects them....

“The Greatest Beer Run Ever” is based on the book of the same name by Joanna Molloyand John “Chickie” Donohue. The plot, set in 1967, revolves around a man leaving New York for Vietnam to bring beer to his childhood buddies in the Army while they are fighting the war. The trailer makes it look entertaining, Bill Murray pops up as well. You can just tell that Farrelly’s film will be well-received by the TIFF audience....

Lily Wachowski’s “The Matrix Resurrections” has been getting very good buzz from test screenings. This is the fourth film in the franchise. Keanu Reeves and Carie-Anne Moss are back for the sequel. Not Laurence Fishburne aka Neo — the rumours rage that he was a real douchebag on the set of the first three films. The film hasn’t been screened yet for critics, but plenty of fanboys have seen it....

Cooper’s latest, titled “Pale Blue Eye,” will finally not be going to Telluride, so we can add it to our “What’s Left?” list of films that have yet to garner a festival slot (below). “Eileen” (William Oldroyd)“Passages” (Ira Sachs)”Borderlands” (Eli Roth)”Marlowe” (Neil Jordan)“Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret” (Kelly Fremon)”Landscape with Invisible Hand” (Corey Finley)“You People” (Kenya Barris)“Infinity Pool” (Brandon Cronenberg)“The Marsh King’s Daughter” (Neil Burger)”Argyle” (Matthew Vaughn)“The Mother” (Niki Caro)“Pale Blue Eye” (Scott Cooper)“Flamin Hot” (Eva Longoria)“Sharper” (Benjamin Caron)“Tuesday” (Daina O....

My expectations are still fairly high for Coen’s film, despite absolutely nobody in the Venice Film Festival committee liking it, neither did Venezia boss Alberto Barbera. They rejected it months before the festival began. That’s a fact. Polanski’s “MacBeth,” still the essential film adaptation, ran at a cozy and necessary 140 minutes. Coen’s version, which stars Frances McDormand and Denzel Washington, is 105 minutes. Contribute Hire me Advertise Donate Team Contact Privacy Policy

You get the answer from the film’s very first shot, a close-up of a wrecking ball. Spielberg and screenwriter Tony Kushner want to reimagine the love story based on the 1957 Broadway play loosely based on Romeo and Juliet. There’s always been a minority of detractors who were irked by Natalie Wood, born to Russian immigrants, playing Puerto Rican Maria. In Spielberg’s version, she’s played by Rachel Zegler, who gives a star-making turn....

Dennis Lim, the festival’s artistic director, called Baumbach’s adaptation “an unequivocal triumph: a wildly entertaining and morbidly funny meditation on the way we live now that is also the director’s most ambitious and expansive film." Baumbach’s film is opening both Venice and New York. Quite the honors. The fact that it won’t go to Telluride (who saw it) and Toronto confirms, to me at least, its supposed inaccessibility. It sounds great, but a little too ambitious for Oscar — that’s a good thing....

If that wasn’t enough to whet your appetite, then how about a casting note from The Girlfriend Experience, adding more intrigue to the puzzle: “The lead of the new David Lynch film requires tasteful nudity. Actress with dark hair in their mid to late 20s.” Back in February, there was a supposed insider on Reddit who had posted details about Lynch’s upcoming project, which was said to shoot in late spring, before the pandemic hit, under the working title of “Wisteria....

Accuser Rose McGowan‘s credibility was already not very good before she accused Payne of being sexually inappropriate with her more than 30 years ago, so it would makes sense that Payne managed to escape that wrath. I’m saying all this because Deadline is reporting that Payne is set to reunite with his “Sideways” co-star Paul Giamatti for “The Holdovers.” Giamatti will play a “curmudgeonly walleyed disliked history teacher” who has to deal with the only student of his, a holdover, who remains in town for Christmas, as all the other students have left to see their families for the holidays....

Last September, news broke that Jenkins was set to direct this Disney-backed movie. It shocked many in the industry, but it shouldn’t be that surprising. Jenkins’ movies such as “Moonlight” and “If Beale Street Could Talk,” were not hard-earners at the box-office. The writer-director probably needed the cash. Jeff Nathanson, the writer behind the misbegotten 2019 “Lion King,” is back to script the sequel. The 2019 film, directed by Jon Favreau, was horrendously bland, there was none of the excitement and sense of adventure of the original 1994 animated classic....

For a few years now, Quentin Tarantino has been insisting that he plans to quit making movies after his 10th feature. This whole notion of retiring after 10 movies comes from Tarantino’s theory that a director’s quality of work only gets worse as it goes along. Tarantino wants his filmography to be perfect or, as he puts it, “without a misfire.” The problem is that it’s a flawed theory. Forget the fact that some filmmakers have released their best films in their 60s....