We’re getting down to the time of year when it seems everyone is sharing their lists of the Best Movies of 2019. Not all lists are created equal, however, and audiences will always give a little extra credence – and a few bonus points – to the films that resonated with our favorite storytellers. So it is with Hideo Kojima, the award-winning creator of the “Metal Gear Solid” franchise and the sometimes-frustrating, always-beautiful 2019 video game release, “Death Stranding.”

READ MORE: In ‘Parasite,’ Bong Joon-Ho Delivers a Demented Class-Conscious Satire

Friday evening, Kojima took to Twitter to share his picks for the best movies of the year.

Continue reading ‘Metal Gear Solid’ Creator Hideo Kojima Names His Favorite Films of 2019 at The Playlist.

It was only a matter of time, but in November, Amazon Studios is finally joining the various other studios as part of the coveted Criterion Collection. That month, Paweł Pawlikowski’s Oscar-nominated love story, “Cold War,” will find its way into the collection, with a brand-new release, packed with special features and a luscious new 4K transfer. Needless to say, if Amazon Studios was going to eventually join Criterion anyway, might as well be for a film that is as incredible as “Cold War.”

READ MORE: The Best Cinematography of 2018

As mentioned, the new “Cold War” release in November includes the new 4K transfer, that was overseen by Pawlikowski and his cinematographer Łukasz Zal.

Continue reading Oscar-Nominated ‘Cold War’ Brings Amazon Studios To The Criterion Collection In November at The Playlist.

The American Society of Cinematographers announced the winners of the 2019 ASC Awards and there was a semi-surprise in the top category, Theatrical Release.  Lukasz Zal took the honor for “Cold War” over potential Oscar frontrunner, “Roma’s” Alfonso Cuaron.  Zal previously was nominated for the Spotlight Award in 2015 for “Ida” but this was his first Theatrical Release nomination and win.  Cuaron is a first-time cinematographer better known for his directorial acumen and that may have caused some friction when the organization submitted their final ballots.

Continue reading ‘Cold War’ Surprises Over ‘Roma’ At ASC Cinematography Awards at The Playlist.

Well, that was certainly a WTF kind of morning for Oscar nominations, with a lot of snubs and definitely some surprises. The biggest omissions surely being the overall lack of “First Man” and “If Beale Street Could Talk,” both missing out on Best Picture and other key awards. Alas, here’s the full list of what we feel are the biggest surprises and snubs of this morning’s nominations.

READ MORE: Oscars 2019: ‘Roma’ & ‘The Favourite’ Lead With 10 Nominations, ‘A Star Is Born’ & ‘Vice’ Closely Behind [Full List]

SNUBS

“First Man”- Overall
The writing was on the wall.

Continue reading Snubs & Surprises Of The 2019 Oscar Nominations at The Playlist.

After countless screenings, Q&A’s, red carpets, screeners, hand holding, for your consideration ads, talk show appearances and cocktail parties, between 160 and 190 contenders are going to be rewarded with Oscar nominations bright and oh, so unnecessarily early on Tuesday morning.  And almost just as many who didn’t hear their name called will try to get back to sleep knowing they no longer have to starve themselves for the February telecast.  Granted, this season hasn’t had the distraction of a historic presidential election or an industry-changing #MeToo movement, but have been controversies late in the game.

Continue reading Final 2018 Oscar Nominations Predictions: ‘Roma,’ ‘Burning,’ ‘A Star Is Born’ at The Playlist.

On this episode of Adjust Your Tracking, Joe and I discuss tough sells at the cinema and kick off the new year by cleaning up a few more titles from 2018. We wanted to make time for both “Cold War” and “Destroyer” as they make their way into more theaters in the coming weeks. Things kick off as we focus on “Cold War,” an uncompromisingly beautiful romance about two people who just can’t make things work, despite their obvious passion for each other.

Continue reading ‘Cold War’ & ‘Destroyer’ Are Tough Sells But That’s Exactly Why You Should See Them [AYT Podcast] at The Playlist.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts announced the nominees for the 2019 EE BAFTA Awards early Wednesday morning and their clear cut favorite was Yorgos Lanthimos’ “The Favourite.”  The Fox Searchlight and Film 4 production earned 12 nods including Best Film, Director (Lanthimos), Lead Actress (Olivia Colman), Original Screenplay and two Supporting Actress nods (Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz), among others.  “Roma” landed seven nods including Best Film, Best Director (Alfonso Cuaron), Original Screenplay (Cuaron) and Editing (Cuaron), among others.

Continue reading ‘The Favourite’ Leads All 2019 BAFTA Awards Nominees With 12 at The Playlist.

The American Society of Cinematographers announced their 2018 nominees and “Roma,” “A Star is Born,” “Cold War,” “First Man” and “The Favourite” were the big winners on the film side.  For television, “The Handmaid’s Tale” earned two nods alongside work from “Homeland,” “The Crown” and “The Man in High Castle.”

READ MORE: “Roma” and “Cold War” top Oscar’s Foreign Language Film Shortlist

A major bellwether for an Oscar nomination (the ASC and Oscar almost always line up), this has to be disconcerting for James Laxton‘s gorgeous work in “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Rachel Morrison’s achievements in “Black Panther” or Bruno Delbonnel’s lighting in “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.”

It should be noted that “Roma’s” Alfonso Cuarón is now just the second director to earn an ASC nod for shooting his or her own film.

Continue reading ‘Cold War,’ Roma,”A Star Is Born,’ ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Earn ASC Cinematography Nods at The Playlist.

Amazon Studios doesn’t have the big lineup of awards season contenders that the studio probably hoped/assumed it would. “Suspiria” was a polarizing film that ended up fizzling out before any buzz could build. “Beautiful Boy” features some great performances, but isn’t the Oscar contender that many assumed it would be. “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot” just never made a blip.

Continue reading New ‘Cold War’ Trailer: Amazon Studios Knows It Has An Oscar Contender On Its Hands at The Playlist.

The Playlist has never met a year we couldn’t exhaust with the endless examination, analysis, and decoding; it’s not that we love lists, it’s just in many banner years of cinema, there’s so much to pour over. 2018 was a stellar year for film and there were amazing movies to shout out, performances, new directors, breakout actors and actresses, documentaries, all kinds of new exciting talents and we genuinely can’t stop talking about them, honestly.

Continue reading The 25 Best Films Of 2018 You Didn’t See at The Playlist.

This has been a tumultuous, but rewarding, year for films. Despite all the hoopla that we are living in dire times for moviemaking, the last 12 months have proved the naysayers wrong yet again. In fact, every year it’s the same story. Film critics will lament a doom and gloom overview of the year at the movies, how Hollywood doesn’t produce original stories anymore, how the multiplexes are filled with reboots, sequels, and prequels galore.

Continue reading Jordan Ruimy’s Top Ten Films Of 2018 at The Playlist.

It may not have been a stellar year, but it was more than satisfactory. Wait, did that disappoint you? Was that not bombastic enough? Well, fair warning, you may not want to read the rest of this rundown then.  Not every year is a “great” year for movies as some critics would like you to believe.  But 2018 was more than fine, and that’s a start.

Granted, there were some stunning performances that will be hard to forget over the past 12 months.

Continue reading Gregory Ellwood’s Top 10 Films Of 2018: ‘Cold War,’ ‘Climax,’ ‘The Favourite’ at The Playlist.

2018 has been yet another excellent year for international cinema. With films like “Roma,” “Shoplifters,” and “Burning” getting universal acclaim, this year feels like one of the first in a while where the best films originate outside of English-speaking countries. And in that acclaimed group of foreign-language films, many would consider Pawel Pawlikowski’s “Cold War” at the top of the list.

Continue reading ‘Cold War’ Exclusive: Star Joanna Kulig Will Melt Your Heat In Clip From The Oscar Contender at The Playlist.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the shortlist for the 2019 Foreign Language Film Oscar today and, as expected, Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma” and Paweł Pawlikowski’s “Cold War” easily made the list. The Netflix and Amazon Studios releases join seven other films that will be screened next month and pared down to the five nominees announced along with all the Oscar nods on Tuesday, Jan. 22.

READ MORE: Yalitza Aparcio Overcame Her Fear Of Water To Triumph In ‘Roma’ [Interview]

Six of the nine films were determined by voters in Los Angeles and overseas who were required to watch at least eleven of this year’s submissions.

Continue reading ‘Roma’ & ‘Cold War’ Lead Foreign Language Film Oscar Shortlist at The Playlist.

Pawel Pawlikowski’s celebrated drama “Cold War” may have been snubbed by the Hollywood Foreign Press, but the Polish filmmaker’s European peers crowned it European Film of the Year and honored it with three other awards. Not bad for a film many also thought should have won the Palme d’Or last May.

READ MORE: “Cold War” is admirable and beautiful [Review]

An Amazon Studios release in the United States, “Cold War” also saw Pawlikowski taking the European Director and European Screenwriter categories.

Continue reading ‘Cold War’ Dominates 2018 European Film Awards Taking Four Prizes at The Playlist.

2018 saw the passing of a cinematography legend in Robby Müller, a regular collaborator of Wim Wenders and Jim Jarmusch, who with his work on “Paris, Texas,” “Down By Law,” “Dead Man” and Lars von Trier’s “Breaking the Waves” was responsible, perhaps more than anyone, for defining and expanding the aesthetics of the 1980s and 1990s arthouse. It is a sad note in a year that has been otherwise a banner year for the craft he perfected and elevated, and so as our small tribute, we dedicate our list of the Best Cinematography of 2018 to him.

Continue reading The Best Cinematography of 2018 at The Playlist.

Oh, boy. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association somehow managed to spread the love as much as possible with their 2019 Golden Globe nominations and still make almost every studio and network in town want to scream. Well, unless you’re Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros. or Annapurna Pictures. If you’re Disney it’s pretty much a great morning especially when you take into account the success of future acquisition Fox Searchlight this rainy LA morning, too.

Continue reading Snubs & Surprises Of The 2019 Golden Globes Nominations at The Playlist.

Trailer watching online has become something of a celebrity gossip sport. Will the ‘Avengers 4’ trailer arrive on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday? Oops, it’s changed, sorry, it’s not arriving til Monday. First the trailer usurped the movie itself, and now the date of the trailer has usurped the trailer itself, which is of course just a commercial trying to convince you to see a movie which in some case is a piece of art and other times is a commercial for a larger film, bigger universe or next installment of what the studio really wants you to see.

Continue reading The 20 Best Movie Trailers Of 2018 at The Playlist.

Due to the alternate, dystopian timeline we’re all currently dragging ourselves through, 2018 both felt hilariously long but also like it was speeding past us, particularly during these last few months. This is driven further home when you remember “Black Panther” was released this year before the 2018 Academy Awards. With the end of the year upon us, there’s an embarrassment of riches at the multiplex as studios compete to get that holiday vacation uptick with seemingly more than usual blockbuster titles making their debut.

Continue reading 17 Films To Watch In December at The Playlist.

The New York Film Critics Circle announced their 2019 year-end awards today and crowned Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma” Best Picture.  The Netflix and Participant Pictures release also took Best Director (Cuarón) and Best Cinematography.  Out of all the organization’s winners, “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” was the biggest surprise as the Sony Pictures Animation title won Best Animated Film.

A24’s “First Reformed” won both Best Actor (Ethan Hawke) and Best Screenplay (Paul Schrader) for “First Reformed” duplicating their wins at the Gotham Awards on Monday night.  

Continue reading ‘Roma’ Wins Best Picture From The New York Film Critics Circle at The Playlist.

After Supporting Actress this might be one of the toughest categories to pick. Alfonso Cuaron should win this for her work on “Roma,” but he missed out at the ASC where “Cold War’s” Lukasz Zal was the surprise winner. Cuaron isn’t really a director of photography so in context that upset wasn’t that much of a shock. For the Academy the question remains whether enough members will think the same thing.

Continue reading 2019 Best Cinematography Predictions & Contenders at The Playlist.

There are still two major films left to see for 2018, but you can be guaranteed that Pawel Pawlikowski’s “Cold War” is going to be very close to the top of my year-end top 10 list. Inspired by his own parents’ volatile love affair, the Polish filmmaker has crafted an epic love story that begins at the dawn of that nation’s communist era and features a star-making turn by Joanna Kulig.

The 36-year-old actress and singer has appeared on screen before with small roles in Pawlikowski’s Oscar-winning “Ida” and, of all things, “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters,” but her performance as Zula is, for lack of a better description, a revelation.

Continue reading ‘Cold War’s’ Joanna Kulig Should Be A Best Actress Oscar Contender at The Playlist.

Recently, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences president John Bailey and Carol Littleton, a member of the Board of Governors, appeared at the EnergaCamerimage Film Festival in Bydgoszcz, Poland. While the discussion varied greatly, you better believe that the members of the Academy were asked about the recently shelved idea for a “Popular Film” category. And despite what seems to be unanimous outrage from film fans and Hollywood-types alike, Bailey says that the idea is still on the table.

Continue reading Academy President Says 2019 Oscars Could Lead To A Resurrection Of Infamous “Popular Film” Category at The Playlist.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) announced the nations who have submitted entries for the Foreign Language Film Oscar this morning. This year there are 87 entrants for 2018 which is down from last year’s record 92, but still higher than the 85 contenders in 2016. African nations Malawi and Niger are participating for the first time.

There were few surprises on the list as most of the major competitors had already been announced by their respective countries.

Continue reading 87 Countries Officially Vying For Foreign Language Film Oscar at The Playlist.

If you can make it through the entire new trailer for Pawel Pawlikowski’s “Cold War,” and not get excited about this film, then you very well could be dead inside. The trailer features a beautiful song that plays over incredible black & white imagery, which shows that Pawlikowski was completely deserving of his Best Director prize from this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Basically, if you say you love film, then this film should be on your must-see list, period.

Continue reading ‘Cold War’ Trailer: Here’s The Latest Look At Pawel Pawlikowski’s Beautiful Cannes Award-Winning Film at The Playlist.