How quickly times change. When I was a kid, you might have to wait months – even years – for your favorite theatrical releases of the year to land on home video. For some international and independent titles, you might cling to battered VHS copies for decades until a prestigious distributor like the Criterion Collection saves those titles from obscurity. These days, however, films can go from theaters to the streaming market simultaneously and be added to the Collection just a few months later.

Continue reading Netflix’s ‘The Irishman,’ ‘Marriage Story,’ ‘American Factory,’ And ‘Atlantics’ Are Joining The Criterion Collection at The Playlist.

Every year, I have a ton of Top 10s that fly across my desk. Many of our writers love to share their opinions on the greatest films of the past year. And yes, we publish quite a few, even if many of them share the same basic choices. We even share some lists from other publications that we feel are well-thought-out and interesting. But coming in right in the nick of time, former leader of the free world, Barack Obama, has turned in his list of the best TV and Movies of 2019 and shockingly, his might be the most well-rounded of them all.

Continue reading Barack Obama’s Best Films & TV Of 2019 Includes Some Sleeper Picks Like ‘Ash Is Purest White,’ ‘Diane,’ ‘Transit’ & More at The Playlist.

While most film publications stick to a fairly typical list of Best of the Year, Film Comment does things a bit differently. Instead of just listing the very best films that 2019 produced, the outlet goes a step further and also does a list of films that arrived at film festivals and haven’t yet been released this year. Because, as we are all well aware, just because a film arrives at a film festival, that definitely doesn’t mean audiences are guaranteed to see it any time soon (if at all).

Continue reading Film Comment’s Best Of 2019 Includes Underseen Gems Like ‘Transit,’ ‘Atlantics,’ & ‘An Elephant Sitting Still’ at The Playlist.

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association took their own path with their year end awards honoring Bong Joon Ho’s spectacular “Parasite” as Best Film. The NEON and CJ Entertainment release also took Best Director and Best Supporting Actor, Song Kang Ho. Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” which won the NBR and NYFCC honors, was runner up for Picture, Director and Supporting Actor.

READ MORE: New York Film Critics Circle pick “The Irishman” As Best Film Of 2019

Antonio Banderas won Best Actor for “Pain and Glory” and, in a slight surprise, Mary Kay Place took Best Actress for her performance in “Diane.”  Jennifer Lopez won Best Supporting Actress for “Hustlers.”

“I Lost My Body” took both Animated Film and Music Score.

Continue reading ‘Parasite’ Wins Best Picture & Best Director From Los Angeles Film Critics Association at The Playlist.

Choices were certainly made as the New York Film Critics Circle determined their year-end awards bestowing Best Film to Netflix’s “The Irishman.” The Martin Scorsese drama took the same honor from the National Board of Review just one day earlier.  In a slight surprise, Best Director went to brothers Benny and Josh Safdie for A24’s “Uncut Gems.”  

Antonio Banderas and Lupita Nyong’o landed much needed Oscar assists taking Best Actor for Sony Picture Classics’ “Pain & Glory” and Best Actress for  Universal Pictures’ “Us,” respectively.

Continue reading ‘The Irishman’ Wins Best Picture & Best Supporting Actor From NYFCC at The Playlist.

The socio-political and supernatural blend in Mati Diop’s Cannes-winning “Atlantics,” a bewitching film from the French-Senegalese writer-director whom, after a successful jaunt in acting and directing short films, returns to her native Senegal for her feature-length debut. It’s also the first film directed by a black woman to compete in Cannes’ main competition, where it was awarded the Grand Prix prize.

“Atlantics” has Diop painting with her brushstroke a vibrant portrait of Ada, a young Dakar girl in search of her lover, Souleiman, who went to sea overnight and never came back.

Continue reading Mati Diop Discusses Immigration, And Michael Mann’s Influence Over ‘Atlantics’ [Interview] at The Playlist.

What is there to say about “Atlantics” that hasn’t been said before? The new film from Mati Diop has received nothing but rave reviews since it’s world premiere at Cannes and has gone on to wow audiences at various other festival screenings this year. And it was so well-received that the drama was snatched up by Netflix and given a prime fall streaming/theatrical release.

For those that aren’t aware of the film, “Atlantics” tells the story of a young woman that finds herself in the middle of a very unique love triangle.

Continue reading ‘Atlantics’ Trailer: Mati Diop’s Cannes Award-Winning Drama Finally Arrives On Netflix In November at The Playlist.

If you’re anything like us, you’ve worked every waking weekend straight since Labor Day thanks to the Venice Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival, Fantastic Fest and the Emmys. So it’s without any murderous feelings that we absolutely cannot wait for the upcoming New York Film Festival which, unlike most film festivals, runs over the course of three weekends, not one, this year, running from September 27-October 13.

Continue reading 2019 New York Film Festival Preview: The 12 Most Anticipated Films at The Playlist.

Unlike other film studios, Netflix isn’t necessarily concerned with the exact release date for its films. Whereas most traditional studios have to think about the long-term playability of a film and how its box office might affect its awards season aspirations, Netflix doesn’t have to worry about that sort of thing, as the service only puts its high-profile films in theaters for a matter of days before its streaming debut. That being said, Netflix does have quite the busy schedule this fall, as a number of its films are debuting in theaters ahead of their respective streaming launches.

Continue reading Netflix Unveils Fall Release Dates Of Awards Contenders Including ‘The Laundromat,’ ‘Marriage Story,’ ‘Dolemite’ & More at The Playlist.

Film festivals are going through a bit of an evolution in recent years. Thanks to groups like Time’s Up and the incredible strides that female filmmakers have made, festivals are finding themselves in a position where they must become more inclusive or get called out by folks who want change (Venice, that would be you). One of the fall festivals that seemingly wants to lead the way, honoring diversity and inclusivity in filmmaking is the Toronto International Film Festival.

Continue reading Breakout Filmmaker Mati Diop To Be Given First-Ever Mary Pickford Award For Emerging Female Talent At TIFF at The Playlist.

While director Mati Diop sets up “Atlantics” to be a modern-day Senegalese “Romeo and Juliet” — characters could almost directly be matched to their Shakespearean counterparts — it turns out to be something even more haunting than star-crossed love. With the specter of encroaching modernity looming in the background and a magical realist plot twist involving reincarnation, Diop slowly teases out a harrowing migration tale of the women left in the wake of departure, venturing into the surreal to depict the consequences of grief and lost love.

Continue reading Mati Diop’s ‘Atlantics’ Is A Haunting Migration Narrative Of Female Adolescence [Cannes Review] at The Playlist.