Clarke Peters Archives - The Playlist

‘Eric’ Review: Benedict Cumberbatch’s ‘Sesame Street’-Meets-Kidnapping Series Can’t Find The Right Tones To Support Strong Performances

Brian Tallerico — Tue, 28 May 2024 16:09:09 +0000

There’s something so frustrating about watching a show that should work but can’t quite figure out how to put its puzzle pieces together. Sometimes, the pieces just don’t fit. That’s the experience for the bulk of the six episodes of Netflix’s “Eric,” a drama that tries to do so many different things that it ends up doing too little of any of them. Its most fatal flaw might be that its conceit never feels thematically engaging, distracting from what works best about the show, a series of excellent performances that work on a scene-by-scene basis but never come together to form an effective show overall.

Continue reading ‘Eric’ Review: Benedict Cumberbatch’s ‘Sesame Street’-Meets-Kidnapping Series Can’t Find The Right Tones To Support Strong Performances at The Playlist.

‘Eric’ Trailer: New Netflix Limited Series Starring Benedict Cumberbatch Asks Where The Real Monsters Lie

Ned Booth — Thu, 02 May 2024 15:56:41 +0000

From the looks of “Eric,” Abi Morgan has cooked up a stirring psychological thriller for Netflix. And for her latest limited series, the writer of Steve McQueen‘s 2011 film “Shame” returns to the Big Apple, but this is a much different NYC than that film.

Set in the 1980s New York strewn with corruption, racism, elevated crime rates, and the AIDS epidemic, “Eric” follows Benedict Cumberbatch‘s troubled puppeteer Vincent as he takes matters into his own hands to try and find his missing son, Edgar.

Continue reading ‘Eric’ Trailer: New Netflix Limited Series Starring Benedict Cumberbatch Asks Where The Real Monsters Lie at The Playlist.

‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ Review: The Whitney Houston Biopic Is Worth Making A Song And Dance About

Simon Thompson — Wed, 21 Dec 2022 14:36:56 +0000

Taking the stage in theaters at the tail end of 2022, the Whitney Houston biopic “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” is a crowd-pleasing homage to the life, legacy, and work of an icon who sold over 200 million records worldwide.

One of the year’s last films is also one of the best as a shared theatrical experience.

READ MORE: The 70 Most Anticipated TV Shows & Mini-Series Of 2023

Developed with the full support of her family, while not leaning hard into the darker moments of her life and the singer’s tragic end, it certainly does not shy away from those moments that you might expect Hollywood to soften or ignore.

Continue reading ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ Review: The Whitney Houston Biopic Is Worth Making A Song And Dance About at The Playlist.

‘Da 5 Bloods’ Trailer: Spike Lee Goes To Vietnam For New Heist Movie On Netflix

The Playlist Staff — Mon, 18 May 2020 13:00:48 +0000

The Vietnam War arguably irrevocably broke the United States, ushered in the crooked era of Nixon and his Republican cronies, and ended the 1950s illusion of America as the good guy of the world. Innocence was lost and the rose was off the bloom. Worse, is the devastating toll such as this was compounded among soldiers, but especially Black ones. U.S. Armed Forces had officially been desegregated for at least 10 years, but Black servicemen were drafted more frequently—at least for some time—when compared to their white peers and often encountered racism from their fellow enlisted men and officers.

Continue reading ‘Da 5 Bloods’ Trailer: Spike Lee Goes To Vietnam For New Heist Movie On Netflix at The Playlist.

Hugh Laurie Walks On Dangerous Ground In New Trailer For Hulu Series ‘Chance’

Kevin Jagernauth — Mon, 03 Oct 2016 14:33:14 +0000

While Hugh Laurie has played doctor before on “House,” in the upcoming Hulu series “Chance,” his practice puts him in different kinds of trouble. Looking like a high gloss, steamy potboiler, the show arrives on the streaming service this month and the new trailer promises a drama that will ratchet up the thrills.

READ MORE: The 30 Most Anticipated Fall TV Shows

Co-starring Gretchen Mol, Ethan Suplee, Paul Adelstein, LisaGay Hamilton, Stefania LaVie Owen, and Clarke Peters, with “Room” director Lenny Abrahamson helming multiple episodes, the show follows Dr.

Continue reading Hugh Laurie Walks On Dangerous Ground In New Trailer For Hulu Series ‘Chance’ at The Playlist.

Casting: Vince Vaughn To Star In Michael Dowse’s ‘The Politician,’ Melanie Laurent Joins Brad Pitt’s ‘By The Sea’ & More

The Playlist Staff — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 21:45:51 +0000

Casting: Vince Vaughn To Star In Michael Dowse's 'The Politician,' Melanie Laurent Joins Brad Pitt's 'By The Sea' & More

Continue reading Casting: Vince Vaughn To Star In Michael Dowse’s ‘The Politician,’ Melanie Laurent Joins Brad Pitt’s ‘By The Sea’ & More at The Playlist.

Sundance: Clarke Peters & Nate Parker And Writer James McBride, Talk Race & Religion In Spike Lee’s ‘Red Hook Summer’

The Playlist Staff — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:11:29 +0000

Sundance: Clarke Peters & Nate Parker And Writer James McBride, Talk Race & Religion In Spike Lee's 'Red Hook Summer'

Continue reading Sundance: Clarke Peters & Nate Parker And Writer James McBride, Talk Race & Religion In Spike Lee’s ‘Red Hook Summer’ at The Playlist.

Paul Verhoeven To Adapt ‘The Last Express’?; ‘Treme’ Gets Renewed After One Episode & More

Mark Z. — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 12:16:00 +0000

There’s not many directors you could rightfully call “eclectic,” but Paul Verhoeven fits right in. With his collection of ultra-violent genre pics like “Robocop” and “Starship Troopers,” the defining sexual thriller of the 90s “Basic Instinct,” and most recently the World War II spy thriller “Black Book,” not to mention the infamous “Showgirls,” its not surprising to see the Dutch director delving into video games for his next work. Verhoeven dropped a few hints in an interview with MTV’s Josh Horowitz, but refused to name the game outright.

Continue reading Paul Verhoeven To Adapt ‘The Last Express’?; ‘Treme’ Gets Renewed After One Episode & More at The Playlist.

Pierre Morel Talks ‘Dune’; Chris Rock Remakes Another French Film

Oliver Lyttelton — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:14:00 +0000

— When it was announced that Pierre Morel, director of the relentlessly stupid megahit “Taken,” and the upcoming “From Paris With Love,” would be taking the helm of Paramount’s long-gestating “Dune” movie, replacing Peter Berg, many feared that the political intrigues of the original novel would be replaced by parkour and explosions. But Morel talked to MTV, and confirmed that he’s a huge fan of the novels, and will be trying to keep it as faithful as possible.

Continue reading Pierre Morel Talks ‘Dune’; Chris Rock Remakes Another French Film at The Playlist.

Director Matt Aselton Talks The Ambiguous And Clipped Tones Of ‘Gigantic’

Seth Valentine — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:05:00 +0000

Matt Aselton’s auspicious little indie comedy “Gigantic” has received surprisingly little attention and mixed to poor reviews, but it boasts an impressive cast that includes Paul Dano, Zooey Deschanel, John Goodman, Ed Asner, Jane Alexander, Clarke Peters and Zach Galifianakis. The quirks are evidently getting on many people’s nerves, but we think it’s a refreshing picture with strong performances and quite an elegant visual style. We caught up with Aselton and Dano in New York last week and discussed the film and how it’s being received.

Continue reading Director Matt Aselton Talks The Ambiguous And Clipped Tones Of ‘Gigantic’ at The Playlist.

Why Is ‘Gigantic’ Being Ignored?

Rodrigo Perez — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 21:49:00 +0000

Is the upcoming Paul Dano and Zooey Deschanel film, “Gigantic” the “Go-Getter” of 2009? I.e. a winning, auspicious and deserving little indie that’s unfortunately being ignored and practically dumped into theaters (one screen in New York at the little Village East) next weekend on April 3 (limited release too).

It probably does not help that First Independent/Epoch Films are small and probably don’t have the juice or muscle to promote with large-awareness fervor (and the fact that it’s only on one New York screen basically proves this), but we’ve lot a read a lot of critics online and on Twitter that have dismissed the film.

Continue reading Why Is ‘Gigantic’ Being Ignored? at The Playlist.

Zooey Deschanel And Paul Dano Star In The ‘Gigantic’ Trailer

Adam Sweeney — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 18:41:00 +0000

How many more times can we tell you about this indie dramedy, “Gigantic”? We saw it at the Toronto International Film Fest and loved it. Partly and probably because we didn’t know too much about it and went in with zero expectations – that’s not an apologist move, but lord knows, you big-up something in advance once and people inevitably call it overhyped months later.

We’ll try and be brief because we feel like we’re written about the film hella number times.

Continue reading Zooey Deschanel And Paul Dano Star In The ‘Gigantic’ Trailer at The Playlist.

‘Gigantic’ Gets Poster, Release Date Of April 3

Rodrigo Perez — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 20:38:00 +0000

Now “Gigantic” looks, walks and talks, superficially, like the twee-emo indie films we’ve been complaining about lately, but the winning film balances any feyness it may have with a tenderness and keen screenplay that refuses to dumb down or give easy explanations to its audience. The film now has a release date which is April 3 in limited release (as promised) and it was one of the more enjoyable films we saw at the Toronto Film Festival last September.

Continue reading ‘Gigantic’ Gets Poster, Release Date Of April 3 at The Playlist.

‘Gigantic’ Heading To Theaters In Spring 2009

Rodrigo Perez — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 23:39:00 +0000

Good news. One of our favorite films from the Toronto International Film Festival, “Gigantic” has been picked up L.A.-based distributors, First Independent Pictures and the film is set for release in Spring, 2009 according to Variety.

“Gigantic” was directed and co-written by first-time feature filmmaker Matt Aselton (Adam Nagata was his writing partner) and executive produced by lead star Paul Dano who said during the TIFF Q&A that he fell in love with the script and wanted to help out and star in the film.

Continue reading ‘Gigantic’ Heading To Theaters In Spring 2009 at The Playlist.

The Music Of ‘Gigantic’ Featuring Paul Dano And Zooey Deschanel

Rodrigo Perez — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:17:00 +0000

You’ll remember we were kinda over the moon with the terrific indie comedy, “Gigantic” starring Paul Dano, Zooey Deschanel and an terribly funny John Goodman during the Toronto Film Festival.

Directed by original new voice Matt Aselton, the film is both a love story and a family tale about connection and letting go of our collective neuroses. We kinda loved it, it was effortlessly charming and an incredible supporting cast of Zack Galifinakis, Ed Asner, Jane Alexander, Ian Roberts and Clarke Peters from “The Wire,” made it that more winning.

Continue reading The Music Of ‘Gigantic’ Featuring Paul Dano And Zooey Deschanel at The Playlist.