Comedian Bill Burr has arguably made an entire career out of being an out-of-touch crank, but don’t mistake him for Joe Rogan, Burr’s savvier (and much more tolerant) than that. And Burr has had three comedy specials on Netflix so far, so in a logical extension of that deal; he’s co-written his directorial debut, “Old Dads,” which pitches his regular routine of old dude who doesn’t love change and is confused about today’s culture in a new comedy.

Continue reading ‘Old Dads’ Trailer: Bill Burr’s Directorial Debut Co-Stars Bobby Cannavale & Bokeem Woodbine As Culturally-Dated, Cranky Fathers at The Playlist.

Deciding to join the military is a massive decision for anyone who makes it, but it is complicated when you don’t see any other options for your future as a young, gay, Black man whose mother has cast him aside. That decision is how Elegance Bratton ended up with a camera in his hand.

His semi-autobiographical narrative feature debut from the documentary filmmaker “The Inspection” premiered at Toronto International Film Festival this past fall.

Continue reading ‘The Inspection’ Exclusive Featurette: Elegance Bratton’s Own Experiences Shaped His Emotional New Film at The Playlist.

The sincere desires that inspired “The Inspection” — the semi-autobiographical narrative feature debut from documentary filmmaker Elegance Bratton — aren’t enough to save his film from being unexceptional. A self-affirming narrative about a young, houseless, gay Black man enlisting in the Marines to make his severe mother proud had the potential to offer audiences a queer insight into the cultural shortcomings of the armed forces. Considering the controversial implementation of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the continued homophobia present in that hyper-masculine environment, it’s a look behind the curtain worth making.

Continue reading ‘The Inspection’ Review: Jeremy Pope Is Heartbreaking In An Otherwise Unremarkable Queer Military Drama [TIFF] at The Playlist.

Films based on video games are a notoriously dicey prospect, and that’s being polite. From “Hitman” to “Uncharted” to “Assassin’s Creed,” the overwhelming majority of them have failed to replicate on a screen what worked when fans had controllers in their hands. Perhaps it’s a sign of an understanding that video game movies are a critical minefield that one of the biggest franchises of all time is going to the small screen instead.

Continue reading ‘Halo’ Review: Paramount+’s Sci-Fi Series Shows Early Promise In Beating The Video Game Curse [SXSW] 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. 

This week, we’ve got two late-2019 releases that didn’t get their due in the year-end mudslide, plus a sharp bio-documentary, one of the previous decade’s best action flicks, and an undervalued late-period entry from one cinema’s true masters.

Continue reading The 5 Best Movies To Buy Or Stream This Week: ‘Dark Waters,’ ‘Queen & Slim’ & More at The Playlist.

Tamir Rice. Trayvon Martin. Eric Garner. Not merely names, they’re heart-wrenching symbols of the seeming unimportance of Black lives in America. Their fates: a standing fear for Black men and women, summon greater dread than any film could. Nevertheless, what if a movie did open on such truthful ground? In Lena Waithe’s screenplay for “Queen & Slim,” a Black couple on their first date drive back to their respective homes.

Continue reading ‘Queen & Slim’ Is A Shot Heard Round The World [AFI Review] at The Playlist.

**Spoilers ahead**

With Amy Pascal revealing this week that Sony and Marvel’s collaboration on “Spider-Man: Homecoming” could be extending much further than anyone thought, the revelation of some big cameos certainly suggests a relationship between the two companies that’s very open.

ComicBookMovie have rifled through the press kit for ‘Homecoming,’ and in the credits block, two very key cameos have been revealed. First, Gwyneth Paltrow returns to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the first time since “Iron Man 3,” playing Pepper Potts.

Continue reading 2 Major ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Cameos Revealed at The Playlist.

Sony is so confident they’ll have a hit with “Spider-Man: Homecoming” (thanks to a helping hand from Marvel), they’re wasting no time in setting up spinoff films. Venom and Silver Sable and Black Cat will have their own movies, and while the studio was burned before in putting the cart before the horse with “The Amazing Spider-Man,” they’ll likely do everything to avoid a second faceplant.

Continue reading New Trailer For ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Sees Peter Parker Going From High School To Hero at The Playlist.

It’s Emmy season, and we’re just a week away from the Television Academy announcing their 2016 nominees, and as has been the case in the last few years, they have a wealth of stuff to choose from, with “Game Of Thrones,” “House Of Cards,” “Orange Is The New Black,” “Downton Abbey,” “Veep,” “Transparent,” “Silicon Valley,” and “Fargo” all expected to bring in mighty hauls of nominations.

Continue reading 25 Performances That Deserve Emmy Nominations This Year at The Playlist.

With production now underway, the casting of “Spider-Man: Homecoming” has been filling in its final gaps. Given that this is the third “Spider-Man” iteration in a decade, and that it’s only two years since the unfathomably terrible “Amazing Spider-Man 2,” we shouldn’t be as excited for Jon Watts’ film as we are.

READ MORE: The 25 Best Superhero Movies Of All Time

But aside from Tom Holland having been so good in his first appearance in “Civil War,” we’re looking forward to the film because of the excellent, often unexpected cast it’s been putting together.

Continue reading ‘Fargo’ Standout Bokeem Woodbine To Play Villain In ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ at The Playlist.

Continue reading Watch: Funky, Funny, Full Trailer For ‘Fargo’ Season 2 at The Playlist.