Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on demand, vintage and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalogue titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This biweekly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching.

This week’s disc and streaming debuts include the latest from an Oscar-winning international filmmaker, the latest from a Film Twitter favorite, a pair of great 2020 documentaries, and two classics getting the 4K Criterion treatment.

Continue reading The Best Movies To Buy Or Stream This Week: ‘Last Night in Soho,’ ‘A Hero,’ ‘A Hard Day’s Night,’ & More at The Playlist.

The new year has come, which means awards season speculation and Best-Of lists run rampant before the cycle begins all over again, albeit a little belatedly this year (we needed a break!) Sundance starts next week, the Festival moving online/virtual again this year with the surge in post-holiday Omicron cases. In some ways, the Oscar game often kicks off in Park City, unofficially, critically acclaimed titles like “Coda,” often first making their mark on a potential awards run.

Continue reading The 20 Best Films Of 2022 We’ve Already Seen at The Playlist.

While the end of the year coverage has mostly finished up, there’s still plenty of films that most of the average viewers have yet to see, making January a greater month for catch-up than anything else. This is especially true as critically acclaimed films such as “Parallel Mothers” continue their rollout. Other films such as “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” which already had their limited release run, will be making their debut on streaming services this month while others, such as “A Hero,” leap to Amazon.

Continue reading 11 Films To See In January: ‘Italian Studies,’ ‘The 355’ & More at The Playlist.

We certainly have not resumed full normalcy as we continue to battle this pandemic, but at least we have movies—even more than last year. With certain reservations about how they were premiered, released, and distributed, this year in film brought back more festival favorites like Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch,” more massive franchise golden geese like Cary Joji Fukunaga’s “No Time to Die,” more awards-friendly fare that had been held over, like Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story.

Continue reading The 25 Best Films Of 2021 at The Playlist.

The National Board of Review is traditionally the first “awards group” (we use that term lightly with them) to announce their honorees for the season. This year, the organization somewhat surprised by selecting Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Licorice Pizza” for Best Film and Best Director. And, in a move that will raise some eyebrows, completely snubbed Jane Campion‘s highly lauded “The Power of the Dog.”

READ MORE: ‘Licorice Pizza’ Review: Paul Thomas Anderson Nostalgically Just Vibes In The Summery Cali ’70s Again

It should be noted, however, that NBR has a very spotty record picking Best Picture with only its 2018 winner, “Green Book,” taking Oscar’s top prize in 2019.

Continue reading ‘Licorice Pizza’ Named Best Film Of 2021 By National Board of Review at The Playlist.

Another year, another Asghar Farhadi film premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. “A Hero,” the Iranian director’s latest film, is now the fourth straight movie of Farhadi’s to have its world premiere at the festival. While the film didn’t win the coveted Palme d’Or, it walked away with the next best prize, The Grand Prix, as well as The François Chalais Prize. Not a bad haul to go along with the movie’s near-universal praise from critics.

Continue reading ‘A Hero’ Trailer: Asghar Farhadi’s Latest Cannes Favorite Comes To Theaters January 7 at The Playlist.

Trust us when we say we hope there’s a day when the words pandemic and COVID-19 are never written on the pages of this website again, specifically in any intros to any features. However, the reality is that the collective disruption of 2020 was difficult, and it made 2021’s release schedule something of a log-jammed shitshow. That Delta variant could play havoc with things too, but we’re all starting to learn to live with a world that’s in flux. 

READ MORE: The Best Films Of 2021, So Far

All that said, the delays of 2021 have had their pluses.

Continue reading Fall 2021 Movie Preview: 60+ Must-See Films at The Playlist.

One of the first big announcements for this year’s Toronto International Film Festival was the special IMAX debut of Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune.” But make no mistake, the sci-fi epic is definitely not the only special event at this year’s TIFF. The folks at TIFF just announced the remaining sections of this year’s festival, including three special event films that are going to be exciting for film fans.

Continue reading TIFF 2021 Adds ‘Memoria,’ ‘Spencer,’ ‘A Hero’ & More To Lineup at The Playlist.

In 2019, “Parasite” took the Palme d’Or in a celebration that saw audience members and media jumping from their seats in joy. Many thought it was a career achievement for Bong Joon Ho. But Oscar prospects? Well, sure, maybe it could be the first South Korean film to earn an International Film nomination, but more than that? Many dismissed its chances much too quickly. Some of us, however, saw a universal tale that was a clear Oscar contender.

Continue reading Did The 2022 Oscar Season Kickoff In Cannes With ‘Titane’? Well… at The Playlist.

The 74th Cannes Film Festival came to an end on Saturday night. It was a sweaty fest full of tourists more interested in the beach than the world premieres and lots of spitting in testing vials for non-Europeans, but it proved that a major festival could return at full capacity during the age of COVID. And, a jury comprised of notable industry players Spike Lee, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Tahar Rahim, among others, selected Julia Ducournau’s “Titane” to win the prestigious Palme d’ Or.

Continue reading Spike Lee Reveals ‘Titane’ As 2021 Cannes Palme d’Or Winner A Bit Early [Full Winners List] at The Playlist.

In “A Hero” (“Ghahreman”), Asghar Farhadi blurs the line of innocence and guilt in a fraught drama about the true weight of a good deed. During a two-day reprieve from prison, Rahim Soltani (Amir Jadidi) and his girlfriend Farkhondeh (Sahar Goldust) discover a handbag full of golden coins. Though Rahim briefly debates selling them to help offset the cost of his debts to Braham (Mohsen Tanabandeh), the gold exchange rate is unsatisfactorily low, and he resolves to track down the original owner and return them.

Continue reading ‘A Hero’: Asghar Farhadi’s Moral Quandary Film Questions The Weight of a Good Deed [Cannes Review] at The Playlist.

Iranian director Asghar Farhadi is no stranger to success at the Cannes Film Festival. While the three films of his that have premiered at Cannes haven’t won the coveted Palme d’Or, two have won other prizes at the festival. In 2013, Berenice Bejo won the Best Actress Award for her performance in “The Past.” Three years later, Shahab Hosseini won the Best Actor Award for his role in “The Salesman,” while Farhadi won Best Screenplay.

Continue reading ‘A Hero’ Clip: Asghar Farhadi’s Latest Cannes Drama Centers On A Good Samaritan at The Playlist.

It’s that time of year again, though a little delayed. Following the cancellation of the 2020 Cannes Film Festival last year, thanks to the global pandemic, Cannes is triumphantly back this year with a whopper of a line-up, And it’s one that’s perhaps overflowing with things that were due to appear at the festival last year (Wes Anderson‘s “The French Dispatch,” Paul Verhoeven’s “Benedetta”) and instead were held for an entire year by the filmmakers and producers.

Continue reading Cannes Film Festival 2021 Preview: 25 Films To Watch at The Playlist.

After numerous acclaimed films, including two Oscar-winning features, Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi has reached a point in his career where every new film he works on is instantly discussed as a potential awards contender. So, it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that Amazon has swooped in to nab the distribution rights to his next film, “A Hero.”

READ MORE: Oscar-Winning Director Asghar Farhadi To Begin Production On His New Film This Summer

According to Variety, Amazon has purchased the US distribution rights to “A Hero,” the latest film from Oscar-winning filmmaker Asghar Farhadi.

Continue reading Amazon To Distribute Asghar Farhadi’s New Film ‘A Hero’ at The Playlist.

This time two years ago, filmmaker Asghar Farhadi was on the top of everyone’s mind, as the filmmaker prepared to debut his film “Everybody Knows” at the Cannes Film Festival. Speculation swirled about the two-time Oscar winner perhaps kicking off the festival with an early awards front-runner. Of course, we know that didn’t happen, as “Everybody Knows” received mixed reviews and Cannes ended up handing the Palme d’Or to “Shoplifters.” But that isn’t going to stop Farhadi, as he’s already gearing up for his next film.

Continue reading Oscar-Winning Director Asghar Farhadi To Begin Production On His New Film This Summer at The Playlist.