To say 2020 has been a rough year would be a gross understatement. Sometimes, it helps to pinch one’s self, as a kind of gentle reminder that what we’re living through is not normal, and that it won’t always be this way. Many of us have been put through the wringer this year (again, an understatement), and we can only hope to emerge on the other side with more reluctant hope for what comes next, less time for Donald Trump and his criminal ilk, and dreams of a vaccine reaching the American public sooner rather than later.

Continue reading Nicholas Laskin’s Best Films Of 2020 at The Playlist.

I’ve been holed up in Brooklyn since early March, save a few treks across state lines via rental car, and on each of those trips I’ve been sure to visit a drive-in. That’s how I caught “Jaws” on the Fourth of July, and “Boys State” and “The Rental.” But half of the movies on this, my top 10 favorite movies of 2020 list, are ones that I saw in honest-to-god theaters way back in the spring. 

Continue reading Lena Wilson’s Best Films Of 2020 at The Playlist.

It was admittedly hard to express a lot of interest in new films when my brain was just that gif of Dorinda from “Real Housewives of New York” spitting, “I’ll tell you how I’m doing! Not well, bitch!” playing on a loop. Film felt frivolous, with the collapse of many industries, the rise in homelessness, the lack of leadership, the absence of infrastructure to support and protect people, and continued racial injustice waking people up to systems and paradigms of inequity.

Continue reading Kyle Turner’s Best Films Of 2020 at The Playlist.

If it’s a Sunday in December it means it’s time for the Los Angeles Film Critics Association to hand out their year-end honors. The big winner was Steve McQueen’s film anthology commissioned for the BBC and Amazon Prime Video, “Small Axe.” It took Best Film, Best Cinematography and McQueen was runner up for Best Director.

READ MORE: “First Cow” chosen as Best Film of 2020 by NYFCC

Chloe Zhao won Best Director for “Nomadland” which also was runner up for Cinematography.

Continue reading LA Film Critics Select Steve McQueen’s ‘Small Axe’ As Best Film at The Playlist.

It’s the time of Top 10s. Every December, critics, publications, celebrities, and basically anyone with social media reveal their favorite films and TV series of the year. Some people tend to go more mainstream with their picks, while others love to showcase how deep their love of cinema goes. But every year, it seems that one of the most reasonable people who share their Best of 2020 list is none other than Former POTUS, Barack Obama.

Continue reading Barack Obama’s Best Films Of 2020 List Includes ‘Mank,’ ‘Soul,’ ‘Selah & The Spades’ & More at The Playlist.

Greetings, fellow exhausteds, and welcome to The Best Films of 2020, a year that, despite being less than 365 days old, has aged so rapidly that Gary Oldman is circling the biopic. Some, uh, unusual stuff happened this year – I don’t know if you noticed – and it made compiling this collective list even more interesting than usual. A record-breaking 34 regular Playlist contributors submitted top tens (you can find the complete list of those to blame/praise for this ranking at the end of the feature).

Continue reading The 25 Best Films Of 2020 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.

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.

With 2019 coming to a close, we have a better idea of which films will be sticking around come awards time. And on the Foreign Language Film front, “Beanpole” is definitely one of those films that not only is getting acclaim but could find itself with some incredible nominations.

READ MORE: ‘Beanpole’: Kantemir Balagov’s WWII Drama Is Bleak, But A Deserving UCR Best Director Winner [Cannes Review]

The Russian film is the official selection by that country for the Oscars and completely deserves it.

Continue reading ‘Beanpole’ Trailer: Russia’s Oscar Hopeful Is A Beautiful Post-WWII Story About Two Women at The Playlist.

The nominations for the 2019 European Film Awards were announced on Saturday morning at the Seville Film Festival and in no surprise, Pedro Almodovar’s “Pain and Glory” took four nods including European Film, European Director (Almodovar), European Actor (Antonio Banderas) and European Screenwriter (Almodovar). Two other films surprised with four nominations including the top prize; Roman Polanski’s “An Officer and A Spy” and Marco Bellocchio’s “The Traitor.”  And, thanks to a unique qualification calendar, Yorgos Lanthimos’ “The Favourite” earned three nods including European Film.

Continue reading ‘Pain & Glory,’ ‘Les Miserables,’ & ‘The Traitor’ Get 2019 European Film Awards Boost at The Playlist.

The best trailers aren’t the ones that fully spell out every intricacy of the film, leaving no stone unturned and no surprises for the viewer. Instead, the trailers that stand out are the ones that tease the mood and tone of a film, while also just giving enough footage and context to keep the potential viewer wanting more. That’s exactly what is done in the first trailer for the award-winning Cannes film, “Beanpole.”

Odds are, you’re going to watch the new trailer for “Beanpole” and still have no clue what the film is about.

Continue reading ‘Beanpole’ Trailer: The Award-Winning Cannes Drama Follows Two Women In A Post-WWII Leningrad at The Playlist.

In case you missed the memo, the category formerly known as Foreign Language Film is now more aptly referred to as International Film. Granted, over 50% of the film still needs to be in a language other than English, but it’s a much more politically correct title. Additionally, AMPAS has expanded the shortlist from nine to 10 titles. Whether that helps any specific contender remains to be seen as the International Film committee still only has three “saves” to the list.

Continue reading 2020 International Film Oscars Contenders & Predictions at The Playlist.

28-year-old writer-director Kantemir Balagov shocked and astonished many at Cannes just two years ago with his startlingly assured debut feature, “Closeness,” which won a FIPRESCI prize in the Un Certain Regard section. He returns in UCR selection again, with another challenging and bleak statement set in his native Russia, and has earned the section’s Best Director prize for his efforts.

READ MORE: 2019 Cannes Film Festival: The 21 Most Anticipated Movies

In “Beanpole,” Balagov focuses his vision on a post-WWII world where two female friends, fresh off the battlefield where they fought as soldiers, try to cope with the severe PTSD inflicted on them by the war.

Continue reading ‘Beanpole’: Kantemir Balagov’s WWII Drama Is Bleak, But A Deserving UCR Best Director Winner [Cannes Review] at The Playlist.

The Cannes Film Festival is coming to an end tomorrow, as the closing ceremonies are expected to begin on Saturday. However, before the festival ends and the Palme d’Or is awarded, the event decided to honor those special selections that were chosen by the jury in the Un Certain Regard section of Cannes.

READ MORE: Bruno Dumont’s Absurd ‘Jeanne’ (‘Joan of Arc’) Is A War Of Attrition [Cannes Review]

Leading the way is Karim Ainouz’s latest film, “The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao.” The drama about two sisters in 1950’s Rio de Janeiro on separate paths, longing to be reunited took home the section’s top prize.

Continue reading ‘The Climb,’ ‘Joan Of Arc,’ ‘The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao’ & More Chosen As Cannes Un Certain Regard Award Winners at The Playlist.