We often wax effusive about movies, their meaning, their craft, their intention, how they are sculpted and shaped, but sometimes we forget about the director’s mantra: that casting is everything and we arguably sometimes take for granted how some movies that seem so perfect, may not work at all without the actors and performers at their center.

READ MORE: The 21 Best Films Of 2023

2023 was a great year for movies, see our Best Films Of 2023 list, but let’s be real, so many of these movies were make or break based on their performances.

Continue reading The 23 Best Film & Television Performances Of 2023 at The Playlist.

While James Gunn’s “Superman: Legacy” is ramping up casting and adding a lot of superheroes to the mix, the writer/director reassured fans on Threads yesterday that “The primary story most definitely revolves around Superman and Lois.”

READ MORE: ‘Superman: Legacy’: Nathan Fillion To Play A Green Lantern; Isabela Merced & Edi Gathegi Nab Superhero Roles Too

Still, after yesterday, with the announcement of Nathan Fillion (“Guardians of The Galaxy Vol.

Continue reading ‘Superman: Legacy’: ‘Barry’ Star Anthony Carrigan Lands DC Hero Role Of Metamorpho at The Playlist.

Based on the number of television shows going into production, “Peak TV” is technically on the wane. Judging by the three programs HBO is currently releasing on Sunday nights – “Succession,” “Barry” and “Somebody Somewhere – there has not been a discernible drop in quality. Not yet, anyway. That was even more apparent after tonight’s episode of “Barry” season four, “it takes a psycho,” where director Bill Hader and writer Taofik Kolade pull off a shocking bait and switch that is arguably one of the most heartbreaking moments of the entire series.

Continue reading ‘Barry’: Anthony Carrigan On NoHo Hank’s Shocking Choice [Interview] at The Playlist.

While “Succession” crowds headlines with the unexpected twists of its final season, Barry Berkman is right around the corner, waiting to do the same to HBO subscribers. The cable king is losing two of its all-time biggest critical darlings this year as the final season of “Barry” premieres on April 16th with two episodes before its final run of six. Like “Succession,” this is a show that’s relishes taking thematic and tonal risks, and it similarly pushes its characters to a breaking point in this final season, leaving few doors open for a return.

Continue reading ‘Barry’ Season 4 Review: The Final Season of HBO’s Hit Comedy Pushes Characters To A Violent Conclusion at The Playlist.

HBO’s been pulling a lot of shockers lately. Or at least, the showrunners of series’ on HBO have. First, out of nowhere, HBO’s hit drama series, “Succession” announces very last minute that season four is its last—surprise!— and another shocker just a few weeks later was that Bill Hader’s comedic assassin thriller, “Barry” was calling it quits. Hader had long said that season four was written during the pandemic and then would be tweaked, but it was long ahead of schedule, and he suggested it would at least hit a fifth season.

Continue reading ‘Barry’ Season 4 Trailer: HBO’s Lovable Killer Tries To Convince Himself He’s A Good Person In The Final Season at The Playlist.

“Westworld” may have come to an abrupt end, but Evan Rachel Wood is staying busy. The three-time Emmy nominee is set to star in Alex Winter’s “The Adults,” a project looking for financing at the European Film Market later this month. The project will also star Josh Gad and Anthony Carrigan.

READ MORE: HBO cancels “Westworld” after four seasons

Described as a “murder mystery” in a press release from international sales agent Rocket Science, the film will follow two siblings (Wood, Gad) who find a dead body in their parents’ basement.

Continue reading Evan Rachel Wood, Josh Gad & Anthony Carrigan To Star In Alex Winter’s ‘The Adults’ at The Playlist.

In today’s episode of Bingeworthy, our revitalized TV and streaming podcast, co-hosts Mike DeAngelo and Rodrigo Perez dive into HBO Max’s beloved series, “Barry” from Bill Hader and Alec Berg. The show follows a hitman named Barry (Bill Hader) who stumbles into an acting class on the job and finds a real passion for theater. As the lines between his life as a hired killer and as an actor begin to blur, Barry must do all he can to keep his new life afloat without anyone finding out about his dark past and other, more deadly pursuits (read our Season 3 review here). 

After our hosts discuss the show, actor Anthony Carrigan stops by to talk about bringing everyone’s favorite Chechen mobster, Noho Hank, to life.

Continue reading ‘Barry’: Anthony Carrigan Talks Becoming Noho Hank & ‘Barry Season 3 [Bingeworthy Podcast] at The Playlist.

Created by Alec Berg and Bill Hader, HBO’s Emmy Award-winning “Barry” continues to be such a deceptively smart show about the human condition, while also being one of television’s funniest half hours. And the good news is that it picks up after a three-year hiatus as if no time has passed at all. It’s still one of the sharpest comedies on TV.

“Everybody deserves a second chance.”

“That’s not how it works.”

The main theme of the brilliant third season can be summarized in that exchange: second chances, and how people are led to believe that it’s up to them when they get to take them.

Continue reading ‘Barry’ Season 3 Review: Bill Hader’s Brilliant Hitman Series Remains The Sharpest Comedy On TV at The Playlist.

Best known for his stand-up and countless comedic roles, Kevin Hart, has rarely treaded into the territory of dramatic films. The closest he’s gotten is 2011’s “Let Go” and 2017’s “The Upside,” an American remake of the French film, “The Intouchables.” 

READ MORE: Netflix Unveils Massive Summer Slate Teaser Trailer: New Films With Felicity Jones, Jason Mamoa, Shailene Woodley, Kevin Hart, Liam Neeson & More 

It looks like Hart’s next foray into more serious acting is less treading than a full-fledged plunge.

Continue reading ‘Fatherhood’ Trailer: Kevin Hart Stars In Adaptation of Matthew Logelin’s Beloved Memoir July 18 at The Playlist.

There’s not that many films in the hitman’s-existential-crisis-comedy subgenre— “Grosse Point Blank,” “Analyze This,” “Matador,” “In Bruges,” even “Pulp Fiction” has some shades of it— but the very specific crisis of confidence and the moral toll of murder in a comedic setting feels limited and well documented by now. It doesn’t seem like there should be that much ammunition left in the cartridge by now, really, but HBO’s terrific dark comedy “Barry,” created by Alec Berg and star Bill Hader, not only proves otherwise, but demonstrates with murderously capable skill and precision that the crisis of faith in the career of the expert assassin is actually a stockpiled arsenal full of all kinds of deadly weapons.

Continue reading ‘Barry’: Trauma, Lies & Inherent Darkness Make For A Terrific Season 2 [Review] at The Playlist.

I’ll admit, I was definitely not convinced of or by HBO’s “Barry” at all at first. Another comedy about a hitman his moral conundrum or his emotional point of view ala “Gross Pointe Blank,” “Analyze This” and more recently “Mr. Right”? Hadn’t we seen enough of that very specific slice of the hitman genre? And even at first, the initial episode didn’t sway, but when “Barry” hit its groove in the second episode, holy shit did that show ever resonate and take off with a terrific mix of dark comedy, emotional angst, suspense, and thrills.

Continue reading ‘Barry’ Season 2 Trailer: Bill Hader’s Hitman, Wannabe Actor Returns at The Playlist.

It may not be the hottest of takes, but “Barry” is just as good as you’ve heard.

The new HBO series stars Bill Hader as Barry Berkman, an assassin stationed in the Midwest. When Barry becomes depressed, his boss, Fuches (Stephen Root), sends him to Los Angeles to decompress (and execute a hit for the Chechen mob). Once in LA, Barry follows his unwitting target to an acting class taught by Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler), where he comes to the realization that his passion in life might not be killing after all.

Continue reading HBO’s ‘Barry’ Series Premiere Is A Great Start For Writer/Director/Star Bill Hader [Review] at The Playlist.