The long week of Creative Arts Emmys is finally over. After five nights of virtual ceremonies, the Television Academy has bestowed a heap of trophies to “Watchmen,” “Saturday Night Live,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “The Mandalorian,” “Succession” and “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” And there were a number of notable individual winners as well.

Maya Rudolph won her second Emmy in one week after taking the Guest Actress in a Comedy Series category for her portrayal of Kamala Harris on “Saturday Night Live.” “The Mandalorian” earned its sixth Emmy win so far after Ludwig Göransson took Music Composition (Original Dramatic Score) and following his Oscar and Grammy wins for “Black Panther” is now just a Tony Award away from EGOT.

Continue reading ‘Last Dance,’ Eddie Murphy & ‘Bad Education’ Top Creative Arts Emmys Final Night at The Playlist.

The first half of 2020 has been one of the most tumultuous periods in the century-plus history of the motion picture industry, as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the entire activity of theatrical movie-going for the first time since… well, since the last pandemic, back in 1918. As rules have been (literally, in some cases) rewritten, high-profile releases have been delayed, rescheduled, and delayed again, in an increasingly desperate and depressing game of Kick the Can. 

Continue reading The Best Films Of 2020… So Far at The Playlist.

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, catalog titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This weekly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching. 

One of the year’s best films hits disc and VOD this week, along with a TIFF ’19 sensation, a stellar new documentary, and an assortment of catalog Blu-rays with something for (almost) every taste.

Continue reading The 8 Best Movies To Buy Or Stream This Week: ‘The Assistant,’ ‘Bad Education’ & More at The Playlist.

While everyone wants to believe that the public school system is a pristine place where nothing bad happens and school faculty is the epitome of kindness and virtue, that’s not always the case. But don’t worry, there’s no soapbox speech coming. Just understand that the events that take place in the film “Bad Education” are based in reality and the school system in the US isn’t always the bastion of morals and ethics that you hope it would be when you send your children to learn.

Continue reading ‘Bad Education’ Trailer: Hugh Jackman & Allison Janney Are Up To No Good In HBO’s Upcoming Film at The Playlist.

This is a category ripe for an upset. With four of the five nominees from Netflix, we’re instead picking the sole HBO contender, “Bad Education.” It has a passionate fan base in the industry and the Netflix titles may just split too much of the vote. Of course, that split could also mean that a surprise such as “American Son,” “Dolly Parton Heartstrings” or “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt the Movie” could surprise.

Continue reading Emmys 2020: Outstanding Television Movie Predictions at The Playlist.

In the pantheon of great annual film events, the Tribeca Film Festival holds a special place in the heart of many cinephiles. The New York event is one of the premier US festivals and a great place for folks to see, not only some of the best films around but also some new voices. And in 2020, that’s no different.

Today, Tribeca announced the festivals full lineup of feature films coming to the event that kicks off on April 15.

Continue reading 2020 Tribeca Lineup: Judd Apatow, Josephine Decker & More Bringing Films To This Year’s Fest at The Playlist.

Cory Finley’s newest film “Bad Education” has just dropped a new teaser. The movie tells the story of a school-larceny scandal that hit Long Island in the early 2000s. Hugh Jackman leads the film, along with Allison Janney and Ray Romano.

READ MORE: The 25 Best Movies Of 2020 We’ve Already Seen

This is Finley’s follow up film to his directorial debut, “Thoroughbreds.

Continue reading ‘Bad Education’ Trailer: Director Cory Finley Tries To Beat The Sophomore Slump With Hugh Jackman at The Playlist.

Each year, countless films premiere at festivals across the world. Filmmakers are celebrated for their artistic vision. Projects are praised for their ability to push the boundaries of what we expect from national cinemas. Then, just as quickly as these films burst on the scene, many disappear from the public eye. Some fall through the cracks of distribution. Others are snapped up by discriminating studios but languish in the vault as executives work to puzzle out the perfect date and platform for their release.

Continue reading The 25 Best Movies Of 2020 We’ve Already Seen at The Playlist.

In Cory Finley’s new film “Bad Education,” Hugh Jackman stars as the impossibly put-together school superintendent Dr. Frank Tassone. With hair so perfectly jet-black it has to be dyed, an impeccable physique maintained by a diet of activated-charcoal smoothies, and face-skin kept taut via nightly dabbings of undereye ointment, he presents the image of success at all times. He can back it up in the workplace, too — he’s practically the mayor of Long Island’s Roslyn High School, having built them up into the #4 public school district in the state.

Continue reading ‘Bad Education’: Hugh Jackman Excels As A Superintendent At The Center Of A High School Conspiracy [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.

With the Venice Film Festival lineup announcement later this week, you knew that Toronto wasn’t going to be that far behind. However, even though TIFF doesn’t begin until after the Italian festival, this year, the folks in Toronto beat Venice to the punch. And with the first wave of titles announced for TIFF, it appears that the event is going to be just as star-studded as you might expect.

READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2019

Today, the Toronto International Film Festival announced that “Jojo Rabbit,” written and directed by Taika Waititi, would have its world premiere.

Continue reading TIFF 2019 Line-up: New Films By Rian Johnson, Steven Soderbergh, Safdie Brothers, Noah Baumbach & ‘The Joker’ Lands A North American Premiere at The Playlist.

Hugh Jackman is expected to have a busy awards season coming up. Having put his superheroics behind, the actor has a new film, Jason Reitman’s “The Front Runner,” hitting theaters later this fall and Jackman is, again, looking at some potential nominations coming his way. However, before he can fully embrace the awards season craziness, Jackman has a new film coming up that just started production and it looks like it could be another interesting post-Wolverine role for the actor.

Continue reading Hugh Jackman & Allison Janney Join ‘Thoroughbreds’ Director Cory Finley On An ‘Election’-esque High School Comedy at The Playlist.

Some young actors go for the brass ring immediately after getting a hit. Others just care about the material and doing good work. It may not always please their agent, but it creates a staying-true-to-your-sensibilities career path that’s filled with a palpable authenticity. Outside of “Dredd,” talented 29-year-old Olivia Thirlby has hardly ever starred in big-budget studio films. She burst onto the screen with magnetic charisma in David Gordon Green’s “Snow Angels,” and before that, she had a small but memorable role in Paul Greengrass’ “United 93.” She also turned heads with an unforgettable role in Jason Reitman’s “Juno,” as the perfect object of affection in Sundance hit “The Wackness,” as one half of a crumbling relationship in “Red Knot,” and with quiet presence and sexual power in Ry Russo-Young’s deeply underrated “Nobody Walks.” Not all of these films are particularly big hits, but they are gems that will flower with time.

Continue reading The Movies That Changed My Life: ‘Between Us’ Star Olivia Thirlby at The Playlist.