Guys, if you had fully recovered from last week’s heartstopping dragon massacre, the season finale of “Game of Thrones” Season 7, “The Dragon and the Wolf,” could possibly assuage our nerves, but also cause a few palpitations.  Written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, directed by Jeremy Podeswa, this episode is an exercise in both restraint, and also in barfing story points directly onto the screen without any foreplay at all.

Continue reading ‘Game Of Thrones’: Winter Is Here And The End Is Near [The Dragon & The Wolf] at The Playlist.

I live. I die. I live again. Maybe? The patented “Game of Thrones” Penultimate Episode does it again, with “Beyond the Wall.” It’s possible ‘Thrones’ has descended into fan service, but as fan, I enjoy being serviced in this way. This episode was so balls to the wall nuts, I’m almost certain I pulled a muscle in my neck freaking out. I screamed, I bellowed, I battered a pillow with my feet.

Continue reading ‘Game of Thrones’: Fire Finally Meets Ice ‘Beyond The Wall’ at The Playlist.

Season 7, Episode 5, “Eastwatch”: Has everyone cooled down after last week’s Lannister BBQ? This Sunday’s fifth episode of ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 7, “Eastwatch,” is decidedly less ablaze than last week (though the burning’s not quite over yet).  Things are about to get fiery again soon, by the looks of Beric Dondarrian’s awesomely en fuego sword in the scenes from next week.

Continue reading It’s ‘The Expendables,’ ‘Game of Thrones’ Edition at The Playlist.

David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are giving us deep cuts and hot, hot dragon action in “Game of Thrones” Season 7, Episode 4, “The Spoils of War.” Journeyman TV director Matt Shakman (“Mad Men,” “Fargo,” “You’re the Worst”) makes his ‘Thrones’ debut with this episode, and he leaves his mark. The first half is lovely and contemplative, often joyous, with Arya Stark returning to her home of Winterfell and reuniting with her siblings.

Continue reading ‘Game of Thrones’ Roasts ‘The Spoils of War’ [Season 7, Episode 4 Recap] at The Playlist.

It’s the third episode of the Season 7 of “Game of Thrones” and there’s been enough chess piece positioning—it’s time to just start making huge, sweeping moves across the board. This episode, written by Benioff and Weiss, directed by Mark Mylod, centers around the Queens of Westeros, their allies, their downfalls, the justice they enact and the wars they fight—big, small, individual and epic. The episode is titled “The Queen’s Justice,” and while it most literally refers to an interaction between Cersei and Ellaria Sand, it could also be the justice that Daenarys Targaryen seeks for her many followers, the justice for her family that Sansa fights for, and the scraps of personal justice that Olenna Tyrell clings to in her darkest moments.

Continue reading ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 7, Episode 2 Enacts a Bloody ‘Queen’s Justice’ [Recap] at The Playlist.

Sometimes it seems that it’s only called “Game of Thrones” since “Family Matters” was already taken. Family problems. We all got ‘em, they’re just a whole lot worse in Westeros. Marauding pirate uncles, undermining sisters, long-lost nephews—it’s all just a stew of madness and warring bloodlines. That’s never more evident than in Season 7, Episode 2, “Stormborn,” written by Bryan Cogman, directed by Mark Mylod.

Continue reading ‘Game of Thrones’: Season 7, Episode 2 Is ‘Stormborn’ [Recap] at The Playlist.

Brett Haley’s “I’ll See You In My Dreams” became a Sundance sensation in 2015, a tender and sensitively realized portrait of romance in the golden years, anchored by performances from Blythe Danner and Martin Starr, and a swoon-worthy supporting turn by the perennially appealing Sam Elliott. So it makes perfect sense that Haley’s follow-up feature, “The Hero,” would star Elliott himself.

Continue reading Brett Haley Delivers Another Winner With ‘The Hero’ Starring Sam Elliott [Sundance Review] at The Playlist.

Every year when I do this, I try to find a theme among the films that stuck with me for the year. Sometimes it’s women directors or the American Dream or the triumph of the human spirit. I find that those themes run through this list as well, from Mike Mills’ “20th Century Women” to Andrea Arnold’s “American Honey” to Jim Jarmusch’s “Paterson.” But as I was writing this, a theme revealed itself to me, a theme of “this movie shouldn’t work but it does,” encompassing, yes “Paterson” as well as “Toni Erdmann,” and “Camerperson.” Each one of these films feels like a small miracle, that it was even made, that it emerged so singularly formed.

Continue reading Katie Walsh’s Top 10 Films Of 2016 at The Playlist.

In his third indie directorial effort, “First Girl I Loved,” which won the “Best of NEXT” audience award at Sundance 2016, writer/director Kerem Sanga tackles the complicated and high-stakes world of teenage sexuality, which is hard enough even if you’re not queer. So it’s infinitely more difficult for self-possessed loner Anne (Dylan Gelula) when she falls hard and fast for softball star Sasha (Brianna Hildebrand).

Continue reading ‘First Girl I Loved’ Is A Sensitive Exploration Of Sexual Identity [Review] at The Playlist.

This is a reprint of our review from the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.

Actor and writer Jason Lew, the screenwriter behind Gus Van Sant‘s “Restless,” makes his feature directorial debut with “The Free World,” a sometimes-curious picture that takes on a big story with an intimate execution. “Curious” only because “The Free World” ends up in a place vastly different from where it starts, genre-hopping and taking unexpected turns.

Continue reading Despite Some Missteps, ‘The Free World’ Starring Elisabeth Moss & Boyd Holbrook Is An Admirable Indie Drama [Review] at The Playlist.

The little gem of an indie dramedy “Miss Stevens” slipped off our radar upon its theatrical release last week, but since it hit VOD on Tuesday, here’s a heads up about the film, and an exclusive clip to boot. Consider this our mini-review.

Julia Hart makes her directing debut with “Miss Stevens,” which she co-wrote with producer Jordan Horowitz. Hart wrote the script for the Civil War drama “The Keeping Room,” which was directed by Daniel Barber, and with “Miss Stevens,” she brings things into the contemporary world.

Continue reading Find Out What’s Going On In This Exclusive Clip From The Delightful Indie Gem ‘Miss Stevens’ at The Playlist.

Kirsten Johnson has been working as a documentary cinematographer and filmmaker for 25 years, and has credits on films as “Darfur Now,” ‘The Invisible War,” “Fahrenheit 9/11,” and “Citizenfour” under her belt, as well as many more. “Cameraperson” is what she calls her memoir, or autobiography, and it’s also a rumination, a treatise, a theory of documentary filmmaking — a manifesto of sorts that asserts the importance of the camera as a person.

Continue reading The Moving ‘Cameraperson’ Is One Of The Best Documentaries Of The Year [Review] at The Playlist.

There’s a quickly edited introduction to the force of nature that is Sharon Jones that opens Barbara Kopple’s documentary “Miss Sharon Jones!” It’s a quick run-through of the struggles that Jones faced as an aspiring singer — she sang in a wedding band and worked as a Riker’s Island corrections officer after being told by a music executive that she was “too black, too short, too fat” to make it in the music industry.

Continue reading Barbara Kopple’s Inspiring & Heartfelt ‘Miss Sharon Jones!’ Leaves You Wanting More [Review] at The Playlist.

The romantic and winsome “Looking” had two near-perfect seasons on HBO before it was cut down in its prime. Apparently, us audiences were more into dragons and sword play than the low-key romantic dramatics of a group of gay friends in San Francisco. Thankfully, HBO has delivered closure on the series in the form of a movie, co-written by series creators and producers Michael Lannan and Andrew Haigh, and directed by Haigh.

Continue reading ‘Looking: The Movie’ Provides A Fitting Tribute And Closure To The HBO Series [Review] at The Playlist.

Nanfu Wang’s “Hooligan Sparrow” is a film that documents just how dangerous it is to be a women’s rights activist in China, observing the life of Ye Haiyan, a.k.a. Sparrow, but it also reveals the danger and difficulty in making a film on this topic. Freedom to make the kind of art you want to make is a liberty that can be taken for granted, and “Hooligan Sparrow” is a vital reminder of the importance of artistic and journalistic freedom, and that telling certain stories can be an inherently perilous proposition — especially when those stories reveal something that the government would rather keep under wraps.

Continue reading Documentary ‘Hooligan Sparrow’ Is A Vital Reminder Of The Importance Of Artistic And Journalistic Freedom [Review] at The Playlist.

Who run the world? GIRLS. David Benioff and D.B. Weiss must have been immersing themselves in the teachings of Queen Bey, because by the end of Season 6 of “Game Of Thrones,” women are ruling basically every land. The show, which has been described as “just tits and dragons” by guest star Ian McShane, just upended its patriarchy and placed women in almost all the seats of power and in crucial point positions.

Continue reading Recap: ‘Game Of Thrones’ Season 6 Finale Welcomes ‘The Winds of Winter’ at The Playlist.

…Aaand now the days are getting shorter as we’ve passed the midpoint of the year, meaning it’s high time we brought you the last but very far from the least feature in our 2016 So Far series. We’ve already regaled you with Best (Narrative) Films, Best TV Shows and our most popular hate-read Worst Films of the Year So Far, so that only leaves Best Documentaries of 2016 to fill you in on. Since the doc landscape is, if anything, changing even faster than that of traditional broadcast TV or theatrically distributed features, we’ve relaxed our rules a little here and allowed titles that we caught online or at festivals that have not yet been widely released to sneak onto this list.

Continue reading The 20 Best Documentaries Of 2016 So Far at The Playlist.

Well Throne-heads, one Mr. Miguel Sapochnik has done it again. The director has taken over the “Neil Marshall Memorial Episode Nine Mantle,” and he’s done it with style, grace, and a whole heck of a lot of fake blood in “Battle of the Bastards.” Having helmed last season’s episode nine, “Hardhome,” when Jon Snow (Kit Harington) battled the Night King and White Walkers, Sapochnik was an obvious choice, and he more than excels at rendering the brutal and bloody pitched battle that episode writers/showrunners David Benioff and D.B.

Continue reading Recap: ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 6, Episode 9 ‘Battle of the Bastards’ Goes Wildin’ Out at The Playlist.

The profoundly strange, shocking, and absurd documentary “Tickled” is one of those once-in-a-lifetime docs where a story lands in the lap of someone who is smart enough to pick up the thread and start to unravel a tightly knit web of deceit. “Tickled” is simply delightful in just how stranger than fiction it manages to be.

It’s hard to explain the story of “Tickled” because it’s just so crazy and convoluted.

Continue reading ‘Tickled’ Is A Profoundly Strange, Absurd & Disturbing Documentary [Review] at The Playlist.

Keep it simple, stupid. That seems to be the ethos guiding the rudder of “Game of Thrones” Season 6, Episode 8, “No One,” directed by Mark Mylod, and written by showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. It’s been a season of unexplainable things: resurrections, magical transformations, time travel. Though there’s nothing that Throners love more than a good heavy-duty theorizing sesh, Benioff and Weiss seem to be resisting those fan theories in “No One.” Spend hours analyzing a shadow in the “next time on” preview?

Continue reading Recap: ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 6 Episode 8 is No Longer ‘No One’ at The Playlist.

Ben Lear makes his directorial debut with “They Call Us Monsters,” a searing but sensitive documentary following the experiences of juvenile offenders through the justice system. His father, Norman, used the form of the sitcom to hold a mirror up to American culture, but Ben takes a more direct approach with his non-fiction work, and the intuitive observation displayed in this film shows immense promise for future documentary filmmaking.

Continue reading Documentary ‘They Call Us Monsters’ Is A Searing & Sensitive Look At Juvenile Offenders [LAFF Review] at The Playlist.

It’s a hungover LA afternoon for Josie (Alia Shawkat), who spent the night moshing off her eyeliner at a punk show, when she receives the call no one ever wants to get. Detectives. A motel. Her phone number. The body’s distinguishing characteristics. With those few words, Josie’s scrappy, dreamy little life crumbles and melts away. Her boyfriend Michael (Rhys Wakefield) has killed himself in a cheap motel in the desert.

Continue reading Alia Shawkat Gives An Outstanding Performance In Amber Tamblyn’s Directorial Debut ‘Paint It Black’ [LAFF Review] at The Playlist.

While the entirety of season 6 of “Game of Thrones” has been about defying death — like literally, just refusing to stay dead — the latter half of the season has been about the return (or resurrection) of our faves, problematic or not. Last week we touched base with Walder Frey and Ed Tully, and “The Broken Man” opened with a surprising pre-credits sequence heralding the return of the only and only Sandor Clegane aka The Hound (Rory McCann).

Continue reading Recap: ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 6, Episode 7 Welcomes Back ‘The Broken Man’ at The Playlist.

Well, Throners, we’re living in a post-Hodor world and we’ll never look at doorstops or elevators without wistfully thinking of our strong and steadfast buddy. The follow up to this major dramatic and emotional blow is less crazy, a bit more strategic, and a re-entry of some characters whom we haven’t seen in awhile. Of note, if you’ve been playing along with the game “Boobs, Deaths, Dinks” — in which we try to predict how many boobs, deaths and scenes of Peter Dinklage will appear — Season 6, Episode 6, “Blood of my Blood” threw up goose eggs across the game board.

Continue reading Recap: ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 6, Episode 6 ‘Cause Baby Now We Got Bad ‘Blood of My Blood’ at The Playlist.

After escaping a 20-year stint in a cult, one hopes to salvage something from the experience — lessons learned, a better understanding of human nature, a new direction in life. If making a film about a cult, one hopes to have access to the cult’s videographer. As a former member and videographer of the group The Buddhafield, Will Allen is in the unique position to make a film, “Holy Hell,” that revives his filmmaking career with the wealth of footage he shot during his years in the group.

Continue reading Review: Riveting And Fascinating Cult Documentary ‘Holy Hell’ at The Playlist.