Bob Nelson‘s The Confirmation (Saban, 3.18 limited and on iTunes) hasn’t generated much pre-release heat but it’s an ace-level thing — a quietly rewarding, deftly layered, richly embroidered character drama. Okay, a “family” drama but I’ve always hated that term. I also hate the term “father-son saga” but that’s more or less the shot. But … Read more
Even though Quentin Tarantino‘s Once Upon A Time in Hollywood wasn’t announced as a Cannes Film Festival selection this morning, Hollywood Elsewhere is confident it’ll be included. (A well-positioned little bird has told me not to sweat it.) What I’d like to know is, what the hell happened to Pablo Larrain‘s Ema, which also wasn’t … Read more
But at least the appalling Devin Nunes will no longer head the House Committee investigating Trump-Russia connections.
I’ve posted a pair of admiring riffs about Bob Nelson‘s The Confirmation (Saban, 3.18), and now its box-office fate is in the hands of the Godz. I don’t what else to say except to solicit reactions from anyone so moved or inclined. I attended the premiere last Tuesday night at Neuehouse, an elegant workspace environment … Read more
Yesterday the N.Y. Times online guys posted a fascinating interactive map-graph of Netflix viewing habits in 12 major cities — N.Y., L.A., Miami, Boston, Seattle, Dallas, Minneapolis, Denver, Atlanta, S.F. Bay Area, Chicago, Washington. Everything you might have suspected about the demos for various films are clearly visualized. Dark red represents the most intense interest … Read more
Summit never got back to me last Friday when I asked about the 6.26 release date for The Hurt Locker, but Rentrak, the box-office tracking website used by the majors, has it opening as follows: June 26th (NY/LA); July 10th (limited) and July 24th (expansion).
New York/Vulture‘s Lane Brown has posted a slapdash, mostly tongue-in-cheek riff about rationales to use against the Slumdog Millionaire juggernaut, to wit: (a) It’s too dark, (b) It’s not starry enough, (c) No big performances, (d) Everybody’s sick of underdogs, (e) Not WWII-y enough, (f) Ending too uplifting, (g) It pals around with terrorists, and … Read more
Never say that IndieWire’s David Ehrlich doesn’t go bold when so inspired. From another angle, he’s basically saying that Paul Thomas Anderson‘s One Battle After Another, which I haven’t seen and which may in fact be everything that Ehrlich says it is, is better, grander, deeper and more super-charged than the following 2010-and-later films…. Roman … Read more
N.Y. Times staffers are in the process of posting their roster of the 100 finest films of the 21st Century. For comparison’s sake, HE is hereby re-posting its own grand list of the 163 best films of the century. Yes, that’s right…one-six-three. HE’s list is all broken up into sections. It over-emphasizes certain years and … Read more
Forgive the lateness but five months ago (4.6.23) six Hollywood Reporter critics — Jon Frosch, David Rooney, Sheri Linden, Livia Guyarkye, Leslie Felperin and Jordan Mintzer — posted their choices for the 50 Best Films of the 21st Century. Nobody is an absolute authority and we all have our special passions and allegiances, but boy, … Read more
Three days ago (4.6.23) the Hollywood Reporter ran one of those “taking stock and honing it all down” laundry-list articles that happen every so often. It’s called “Hollywood Reporter Critics Pick the 50 Best Films of the 21st Century.” Co-authored by the highly esteemed Jon Frosch, David Rooney, Sheri Linden, Lovia Gyarkye, Leslie Felperin and … Read more
But of course, Joe Biden‘s condescending, less-than-supportive attitude towards Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings is an episode he won’t want to revive by nominating her to fill Justice Breyer‘s seat on the Supreme Court. Filed by N.Y. Times reporters Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Carl Hulse on 4.25.19: “On Thursday, the first day … Read more