As the COVID-19 pandemic surges all across the country, Netflix is destined to become a nirvana for cinephiles this coming year. Want proof? The streaming giant just announced its 2021 lineup, accompanied by a spiffy new trailer, and the goal is a rather ambitious one this year for them: make sure to deliver new movies every week, from January to December.
Read moreGeorge Clooney’s ‘Midnight Sky’ Orbits Into an Unwatchable Space Opera [Review]
Based on Lily Brooks-Dalton’s novel “Good Morning, Midnight”, George Clooney teams up with Netflix for the sci-fi drama “The Midnight Sky” (Netflix, 12.25.20) in which he also stars. In it, Clooney plays scientist Augustine, who races to stop a group of astronauts, led by Felicity Jones’ Sully, from returning to a post-apocalyptic planet Earth.
Read more‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’: Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman Herald Stagey Jazz Drama [Review]
Director George C. Wolfe sets his sights during a single day’s recording session in Chicago, as a young trumpet player (Chadwick Boseman) sneakily attempts to modernize the blues music of his boss, singer extraordinaire Ma Rainey (Viola Davis), much to her dismissal. And yet, should he be trusted? Is he in it for his own gain of fame? Those are the questions being asked in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”
Read moreGeorge Clooney’s ‘Midnight Sky’ Orbits Into an Unwatchable Space Opera [Review]
Based on Lily Brooks-Dalton’s novel “Good Morning, Midnight”, George Clooney teams up with Netflix for the sci-fi drama “The Midnight Sky” (Netflix, 12.25.20) in which he also stars. In it, Clooney plays scientist Augustine, who races to stop a group of astronauts, led by Felicity Jones’ Sully, from returning to a post-apocalyptic planet Earth.
Read more‘Ma Rainey's Black Bottom': Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman Herald Stagey Jazz Drama [Review]
Earlier in the week, we had first reactions to Netflix’s upcoming awards season contender “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” based on August Wilson’s play, and, suffice to say, the film features Oscar-worthy performances from Viola Davis and, most intriguingly, the late Chadwick Boseman.
Read more‘The White Tiger': Netflix Movie Tackles Class Divide in India [Trailer]
Netflix’s “The White Tiger” is director Ramin Bahrani’s adaptation of Aravind Adiga’s award-winning novel. Is this another Oscar contender that will need to be added to the streaming giant’s neverending list of fall titles? Maybe, maybe not. The subject matter is pertinently relevant, tackling the poor and disenfranchised of India.
Read more‘Hubie Halloween': Another Disposable and Unfunny Movie From Adam Sandler [Review]
After “Uncut Gems,” some people expected Adam Sandler to continue on his path of making arthouse movies that play more to his strong suits as an actor. Yeah, good luck with that. The Sandman’s lucrative multimillion-dollar Netflix deal is still ongoing, dumb comedies must continue to be made. The endless career lows that stemmed from his Netflix contract include the likes of “The Ridiculous Six,” “Murder Mystery,” “The Week Of,” “Sandy Wexler,” and “The Do-Over.”
Read more‘The Midnight Sky': George Clooney is Lost in Space in Netflix Drama [Trailer]
Based on Lily Brooks-Dalton’s novel “Good Morning, Midnight”, George Clooney teams up with Netflix for the sci-fi drama “The Midnight Sky,” in which he also stars.
Read moreNetflix Picks Up Underwhelming Idris Elba-Starring Drama ‘Concrete Cowboy'
You want my honest-to-God’s opinion on Netflix buying TIFF 2020 selection “Concrete Cowboy”? The Idris Elba-starring movie sure as hell isn’t an Oscar contender. If anything, the streaming giant saw this as an opportunity to add another title to their library. Nothing more, nothing less. Don’t get me wrong, ‘Cowboy’ will be liked by audiences, it has a 76% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and a decent 66 on Metacritic.
Read moreNetflix Set to Buy Aaron Sorkin's ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7'
Studios are quite clearly panicking at the moment, which means streaming platforms such as Netflix are trying to take advantage of that panic by buying up 2020 releases. After all is said and done, we might have to call next year’s Oscars, the Netflix awards.
Read moreStudy: Average American Streaming 8 Hours Of Content Per Day During Pandemic
The act of binge-watching was already a popular way for Americans to watch streaming content on platforms such as Netflix and Amazon, but a new survey of 2,000 U.S. residents, commissioned by Tubi, has now found that the binge “epidemic” has severely increased in our COVID-19 lockdown world. [via Study Finds]
Read moreNetflix and Apple Interested in Buying Martin Scorsese’s ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ From Paramount, Budget Nearing $225 Million
Martin Scorsese's ‘The Irishman' Skipping Fall Festivals
“The Irishman” producer Irwin Winkler is now saying that Martin Scorsese’s highly anticipated mob drama, starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci and Anna Paquin, will be released on Netflix this Thanksgiving.
Read moreMichael Douglas Believes He Lost 2013 Cannes Actor Prize Due to Steven Spielberg's TV Bias
Michael Douglas’ “Traffic” co-star Benicio Del Toro interviewed him as part of an “Actor on Actor” series [via Variety]. The real gimme of this chitchat is the fact that Douglas truly believes that he missed out on the Cannes 2013 Best Actor prize due to Steven Spielberg’s bias against television. Spielberg was the Jury president that year and Douglas’s film was the HBO-produced Liberace biopic “Behind the Candelabra.”
Read more‘I Am Mother' Uses Post-Apocalyptic Tropes and A.I. Cliches to Tell its Familiar Story [Review]
I did not review “I am Mother” when I saw its premiere at this past January’s Sundance Film Festival. Mostly because it doesn’t bring anything new to the genre. We already know that if you’re making a sci-fi about artificial intelligence then you most likely will have to deal with the, ahem, downside in accepting robots as “one of us.”
Read more‘Rolling Thunder Revue’ Trailer: Martin Scorsese’s New Bob Dylan Doc Focuses on 1975 Tour
Now that the trailer for Martin Scorsese’s upcoming music documentary “Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese” has finally been released, I can safely say this is my most anticipated doc of the year. The trailer opens with his protest song “Hurricane” and ends with “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” as we come across a 1975 America well over the done-to-death, post-Manson flower-power and social justice era of just a few years back. At the same time, Dylan decided to hit the road with his Rolling Thunder Revue Tour and, if you’re a Dylan aficionado, it represents the very best of live Bob Dylan. Forget about the theatrics for a second (the makeup and mask-wearing, magicians, boxers) and focus on the indelible music and the way Dylan, fresh off retirement and an endless mysterious spirit, explored the roots of the country in a barnstorming tour like no other. The likes of Joan Baez, Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, Sam Shepard, and Allen Ginsberg took the bus with Dylan and The Band to add extra oomph to the surroundings.
Read moreCannes 2019: Jarmusch Confirmed as Opener. Larrain's ‘Ema' Bought by Netflix. Tarantino Might Not Make it in Time.
We’re getting down to the final hours when it comes to the Cannes Film Festival. Speculating these past few months has been fun, but, when all is said and done, the official lineup announcement is set to happen on April 18th. However, a few breaking items for your convenience on this Wednesday afternoon.
Read moreNetflix Plans to Skip Cannes Film Festival; Martin Scorsese's ‘The Irishman' Won't Be Ready Until Fall.
I have been insisting, for months now, that Netflix and Cannes can solve their issues and come to an agreement with Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” being part of the possible solution. Well, now that we are hearing that Scorsese’s film won’t even be ready on time for May fest, Variety is confirming that the streaming giant will be skipping the festival entirely for the second year in a row.
Read moreCannes 2019 Update
It’s not secret that Cannes and Netflix are trying to reach a deal in order for the streaming service to enter its films in the prestigious main competition of the festival. The latest proposal included a clause that would say if a Netflix film were to win an award at Cannes, then the streaming service would have to release that film in French theaters. Problematic, since Netflix is still uninterested in doing that.
Read moreIt Looks Like the Venice Film Festival Will Also Ban Netflix Movies in Their 2019 Lineup
Eric Kohn has an interesting report in IndieWire about the Netflix-Cannes issue. However, before we get into that topic, he lays out the cards for us, in terms of this year’s upcoming festival, and, as mentioned of WoR, not only is Scorsese’s “The Irishman” a potential competition title, but there’s also a new untitled Noah Baumbach starring Adam Driver and Scarlet Johansson, Steven Soderbergh’s “The Laundromat,” and Joshua and Benny Safdies’ A24-produced “Uncut Gems,”
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