The most high falutin’ best of the year list always belongs to Cahiers du Cinema who, when they aren’t going hardcore arthouse, are making bonkers mainstream selections. True to form, they’ve lived up to their reputation in 2017.

David Lynch‘s “Twin Peaks: The Return” has topped the list, which will once again stoke the Film Twitter fire and debate over, What is cinema? It’s a boring conversation and argument, so I’ll leave that to the turtlenecks and clove cigarette smokers to figure out.

Continue reading Cahiers Du Cinema’s Best Films Of 2017 Includes ‘Twin Peaks,’ ‘Get Out,’ ‘Split,’ More at The Playlist.

This fall, students across the country will be entering their first year of film school, but The Criterion Collection will be putting on some classes of their own with their lineup of September releases.

Leading the pack is Michael Haneke‘s powerful “The Piano Teacher” starring Isabelle Huppert. The director’s second entry on the boutique label won’t be brimming with too many extras, but we should just be thrilled that the film, long unavailable on DVD, is in print, and coming newly restored as well.

Continue reading Criterion’s September Lineup Includes Michael Haneke’s ‘The Piano Teacher,’ Kelly Reichardt’s ‘Certain Women’ & More at The Playlist.

It’s one down and hopefully many more to come for the American Independent Film Awards. The group issued their inaugural awards over the weekend, celebrating the best films of 2016 that worked with budgets of $1 million or less.

Leading the pack with five wins was Trey Edward Shults‘ “Krisha,” as it picked up Best Film, Best Director, Best Lead Performance, Best Score, and Best Original Screenplay.

Continue reading ‘Krisha’ Leads The Winners At The Inaugural American Independent Film Awards at The Playlist.

The year-end love keeps coming for “Toni Erdmann.” Maren Ade‘s breakout film topped best of lists from Cahiers du Cinema and Sight & Sound, and recently swept the European Film Awards, and was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Golden Globes. And now the film has another honor as 2016 winds down.

Film Comment has released their Best Of 2016, and yep, “Toni Erdmann” has come out on top. 

Continue reading ‘Toni Erdmann’ Tops Film Comment’s Best Films Of 2016 at The Playlist.

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association announced their 2016 year-end awards and “Moonlight” won Best Picture with Barry Jenkins taking Best Director. “La La Land,” which won the top prize from the New York Film Critics Circle earlier this week, was runner-up in both categories. “Moonlight” winning LAFCA now creates an effective three-way split from the most notable critics groups, with “Manchester By The Sea” taking the Best Picture prize from the National Board of Review.

Continue reading ‘Moonlight’ Wins Best Film And Best Director From Los Angeles Film Critics Association at The Playlist.

If you’re looking for a year end list that marries the high brow choices of Cahiers Du Cinema with some mainstream fare, then Sight & Sounds top 20 films of 2016 will be a real treat. Their list is arthouse heavy, but isn’t afraid to acknowledge genuinely well-made multiplex fare.

Topping the list is Maren Ade‘s “Toni Erdmann,” a movie that made a huge impact at Cannes, and looks like it’s going to remembered very well in the month ahead as critics and publications make their annual tallies.

Continue reading Sight & Sound’s Top 20 Films Of 2016 Topped By ‘Toni Erdmann,’ Includes ‘La La Land,’ ‘Manchester By The Sea’ & More at The Playlist.

Well, would you look at the date? It’s the first of December, which means we’re going to start looking back on all the great stuff 2016 has brought to us at the movies. And like the considerate film lovers we are, it’s a process we’re kicking off in gentle, colorful style by running down the best in movie posters.

Since we’re not limited to films that have already opened, just to posters that have appeared since January, there are a couple of teasers for films not yet playing included below.

Continue reading The 20 Best Movie Posters Of 2016 at The Playlist.

IFP handed out the 2017 Gotham Awards tonight in Manhattan tonight in a long, but entertaining program hosted by Keegan-Michael Key.

The big winner of the night was Barry Jenkins‘ “Moonlight” which took home every honor it was nominated for including Best Feature and Best Screenplay as well as a previously announced jury prize for Ensemble and an Audience Award voted by IFP members. Isabelle Huppert was something of a surprise Best Actress winner for “Elle,” while Casey Affleck took Best Actor as expected for “Manchester By The Sea.

Continue reading ‘Moonlight’ Triumphant At 2017 Gotham Awards: Winners List & Reaction at The Playlist.

Attention by anyone who is panicked that “La La Land,” “Jackie,” “Hell or High Water” or a movie that hasn’t been released yet didn’t earn a nomination for Best Film (or something else) when the 2016 Gotham Awards nods were announced this morning. Newsflash for you, the Gothams are chosen by panels made up of just five to six critics or industry figures. Most are from the New York area and most are deeply connected to the city’s indie filmmaking scene.

Continue reading Making Sense Of The ‘La La Land’-Less 2016 Gotham Awards Nominations at The Playlist.

I’ve been going as a punter to the BFI London Film Festival, the biggest and most high-profile in the UK, since 2002. I’ve been covering it for The Playlist since 2009. But I’ve never seen it with a line-up as stacked as it was with the festival that came to an end yesterday, with virtually every major movie from every other festival across the year, plus a bunch of gems and discoveries too, appearing on the slate.

Continue reading The 5 Best Films Of The 2016 BFI London Film Festival at The Playlist.

The reviews weren’t great, but that didn’t really matter, because audiences clearly wanted to see Ben Affleck crunch some numbers, but more importantly, get into action. And the actor calculated a number one opening this weekend with “The Accountant.”

Earning $24.7 million, the opening is in line with 2010’s “The Town,” which wound up with $92 million domestic and Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for Jeremy Renner‘s performance.

Continue reading ‘The Accountant’ Adds Up Winning Weekend At The Box Office at The Playlist.

At one point during the development of Kelly Reichardt’s “Certain Women,” the film was called “Livingston,” a title that refers to the small Montana town where most of the movie takes place. The name-change is provocative, suggesting that Reichardt intends to say something very specific about gender. And there are definitely scenes in “Certain Women” to support that. The movie’s divided into three sections — each anchored by a female protagonist, and each based on a short story by Guggenheim fellow Maile Meloy — and in each of the first two, there’s a moment where the main character talks to a man who barely seems to register anything she says.

Continue reading Kelly Reichardt’s ‘Certain Women’ Starring Michelle Williams & Kristen Stewart Is Utterly Enthralling [Review] at The Playlist.

Kelly Reichardt is one of the very best American filmmakers working today, and her latest film, “Certain Women,” is her venture into the American road. One look at her résumé, which includes “River Of Grass,” “Old Joy,” “Wendy And Lucy,” “Meek’s Cutoff,” “Night Moves” and now “Certain Women,” and we see an auteur allergic to formula and never sacrificing her uncompromising vision for mainstream popularity.

Continue reading Kelly Reichardt Talks Creating ‘Certain Women,’ Casting Kristen Stewart & More at The Playlist.

For Kristen Stewart, working with director Kelly Reichardt on “Certain Women” was a masterclass in stillness. Scrubbed free of any of the possible sticky residues of affectation, she was encouraged to mine more with less. The resulting performance of emotional complexity is part of but one chapter in Reichardt’s latest and perhaps most understated film to date, a triptych narrative grown from the lightly intersecting lives of three women.

Continue reading Kristen Stewart Talks ‘Certain Women,’ Collaborating With Kelly Reichardt & Her Distaste For The Entertainment Industry at The Playlist.

Continue reading Watch: Kristen Stewart, Kelly Reichardt, Laura Dern & Lily Gladstone Talk ‘Certain Women’ At NYFF at The Playlist.

Here we are, nearing the end of the fall festival season, and while like 98% of the attention in the world of movies will be paid to all the awards from now until the Oscars, we can all feel better knowing there’s sure to be some great movies to see in theaters coming soon. October is looking strong indeed. For cinemas across the globe, it will be a race to show as many of these big titles as possible, in hopes of serious box office from all that attention.

Continue reading 12 Films To See In October at The Playlist.

The phrase “the death of cinema” gets thrown around every few months, but there’s little to worry about. And while the pundits will continue to ring the death knell over and over again, this week’s upcoming New York Film Festival is irrefutable proof that cinema is alive and healthier than ever.

The 54th annual New York Film Festival kicks off this Friday and as usual, the stellar programming is a top-shelf selection of artful and intelligently-made cinema.

Continue reading 14 Must-See Films At The New York Film Festival at The Playlist.

As far as we’re concerned, Kelly Reichardt should be allowed to make a movie every year. The filmmaker’s been terrific ever since her little-seen 1994 debut “River Of Grass,” but somehow had been allowed to go 12 years without getting another green-light. But since 2006’s “Old Joy,” she’s impressed more and more, with “Wendy And Lucy” and “Meek’s Cutoff” among the best films of the last decade, and thriller “Night Moves” among the most underrated.

Continue reading Watch 3 Clips From Certain Women’ Starring Michelle Williams, Kristen Stewart & More at The Playlist.

While writer/director Kelly Reichardt has landed increasingly big names to star in her films, that hasn’t changed their distinct flavor. Throughout her pictures to date, Reichardt has retained her unique, unhurried approach to drama, which continues with her latest, “Certain Women,” which brings no shortage of great talent to the table.

READ MORE: The 30 Most Anticipated Films Of The 2016 Toronto International Film Festival

Co-produced by Todd Haynes and starring Laura Dern, Kristen Stewart, Michelle Williams, James Le Gros, Jared Harris, Lily Gladstone and Rene Auberjonois, the film is a drama structured as a triptych, with each section based on a short story by Guggenheim fellow Maile Meloy.

Continue reading First Trailer For Kelly Reichardt’s ‘Certain Women’ With Kristen Stewart & Michelle Williams at The Playlist.

Sundance Review: Kelly Reichardt's 'Certain Women' Starring Michelle Williams, Kristen Stewart, And Laura Dern

Continue reading Sundance Review: Kelly Reichardt’s ‘Certain Women’ Starring Michelle Williams, Kristen Stewart, And Laura Dern at The Playlist.

The 30 Most Anticipated Films Of The 2016 Sundance Film Festival

Continue reading The 30 Most Anticipated Films Of The 2016 Sundance Film Festival at The Playlist.

First Look: Kristen Stewart In Olivier Assayas' 'Personal Shopper' & Michelle Williams In Kelly Reichardt's 'Certain Women'

Continue reading First Look: Kristen Stewart In Olivier Assayas’ ‘Personal Shopper’ & Michelle Williams In Kelly Reichardt’s ‘Certain Women’ at The Playlist.