It's a whole new world...or, at least, so says the Avatar Twitter account. Four new images of concept art were tweeted out for the upcoming (and still untitled) Avatar sequel, the first of four new franchise movies currently slated and under simultaneous production. The tweet promises that "In the #Avatar sequels, you won’t just return [...]
**1/2 out of **** Rated R (for war violence, some disturbing images, and language) Released: December 25, 2019 limited; expands January 10, 2020 Runtime: 118 minutes Directed by: Sam Mendes Starring: George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Mark Strong, Colin Firth Director Sam Mendes’ so-called “one shot” war movie makes the case -- albeit unintentionally -- for editing. A [...]
Of all the industry guilds, the Writers is the biggest wild card. Snubs aren't only normal; they're ingrained into the legalese of the org's eligibility rules. That's why you won't see Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood among this year's nominees. Another possible Oscar contender not eligible here: Lulu Wang's The Farewell. Due to arcane [...]
Some awards season narratives were locked while others remained wide open. In other words, the eclectic mix of winners was par for the course at the 77th Golden Globe Awards, handed out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The disparity was notable in the two top prizes: Best Picture Drama and Best Picture Musical or [...]
A consensus among critics seems to be coalescing behind two films while a third continues to trend upward, and all three movies were the most cited by the National Society of Film Critics. Parasite, the year's best reviewed film and winner of several critics group awards in December, was named Best Film of 2019 by [...]
**** out of **** Rated R (for pervasive strong language, strong violence, some sexual content, and brief drug use) Released: December 25, 2019 Runtime: 135 minutes Directed by: Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie Starring: Adam Sandler, Julia Fox, LaKeith Stanfield, Kevin Garnett, Eric Bogosian, Idina Menzel, Judd Hirsch, Keith Williams Richards Never in my life have I had [...]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEMwSdne6UE&t=0s The first teaser set the foundation, and now the first official trailer expands on it. In the highly anticipated sequel A Quiet Place Part II, Emily Blunt returns as the mother of young teens played by Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe, who all now have a new baby in tow. From flashing back to [...]
With 2019 about to close, a decade will end along with it. Fellow film critic Charles E Elmore and I reflect on the films of 2019 and the 2010s in this retrospective for Tulsa People. Excerpts: "Elmore: The serialization of cinema has become quite the daunting task! Even so, it’s quite a fascinating time in [...]
Major spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker follow The first, hottest, and possibly most predictable take to come out of the initial reactions to Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker was that director J. J. Abrams had retconned (a.k.a. reversed) the divisive subversions of Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi. For some particularly vicious critics, it [...]
***1/2 out of **** Rated PG-13 (for sci-fi violence and action) Released: December 20, 2019 Runtime: 141 minutes Directed by: J. J. Abrams Starring: Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Carrie Fisher, Ian McDirmand, Anthony Daniels, Keri Russell, Billy Dee Williams, Joonas Suotamo, Richard E. Grant, Naomi Ackie, Kelly Marie Tran, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, [...]