What a weird time for movies. It feels like we’re in the limbo period with theaters slowly reopening (in a move that still at this point seems too soon), and big-budget films such as March’s “Godzilla vs. Kong” and this month’s “Mortal Kombat” are released as many of us continue to watch these made for the big screen films at home. Pre-COVID, April had begun to be a light starting date for blockbuster season with more and more high profile films being released just as spring was truly hitting us, and just as was the case last year, this April shows a different line up than what we may be used to.

Continue reading 11 Films to See in April: ‘Mortal Kombat,’ ‘Concrete Cowboy’ & More at The Playlist.

At first glance, the term “urban cowboy” may come across as a contradiction in terms. Those familiar with North Philadelphia, however, know that inner-city horseback riding is a real thing. Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club is one of the city’s most prized subcultures. It’s also proof that horsemanship transcends both the town/country dichotomy and racially-based assumptions of masculine identity. Ricky Staub uses Fletcher Street’s stables as the foundation for his directorial debut “Concrete Cowboy.”

READ MORE: ‘Concrete Cowboy’ Is A Lyrical Genre-Bending Western, But It Doesn’t Always Coalesce [TIFF Review]

The film follows Cole, a troubled Detroit teenager sent to Philadelphia to live with his estranged father for the summer and stumbles upon the cowboy lifestyle.

Continue reading ‘Concrete Cowboy’ Trailer: Idris Elba Helps His Wayward Son As An Urban Cowboy In Family Drama at The Playlist.

No genre romanticizes America’s manifest destiny mythos more than the western. For decades, the construct featured white men conquering the frontier from Native Americans and law enforcement. In fact, no image in the American lexicon espouses freedom more than the cowboy, and from the 1860s through the 1880s, Black people accounted for 25% of cowboys. But Black folks — other than having films like “Buffalo Soldiers,” “Buck And The Preacher,” and “Bull” — have mostly been erased from the cinematic and American history of the west.

Continue reading ‘Concrete Cowboy’ Is A Lyrical Genre-Bending Urban Western, But Doesn’t Always Coalesce [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.

Not to overstate the obvious, but yes, it’s been a weird, horrible year as the pandemic not only upended our lives but the entire film and television industry. This year, that meant, so far, no SXSW, no Cannes, and no Telluride since the geniuses in the White House and their poor response meant the United States was hit the hardest (two of those three festivals being American, obviously).

Continue reading Toronto International Film Festival 2020 Preview: 15 Films To Watch at The Playlist.

Unlike many of its fall film festival brethren, this year’s Telluride Film Festival was forced to cancel instead of hosting an in-person and/or digital event. Unfortunately, unlike Venice, TIFF, and others, Telluride finds itself in the unlucky position of happening in the United States, where COVID-19 is still a major issue and continues to spike all across the country. But like this year’s Cannes and some of the other canceled fests, Telluride went ahead and revealed which films would have been showcased at the 2020 event.

Continue reading Telluride 2020 Selections: Canceled Festival Would Have Featured Films From Gia Coppola, Chloé Zhao & Francis Lee at The Playlist.

Just recently, it was revealed that all signs are pointing to the Venice Film Festival being able to hold a physical event, complete with a red carpet, beginning on September 2. This would lead you to believe that the Toronto International Film Festival, which begins a week later, would be able to do the same. Well, maybe. You see, TIFF isn’t sure a physical event will be possible, due to COVID-19 restrictions, but the festival did announce plans for if there is a physical event, including several of the films that will be screened.

Continue reading TIFF 2020: New Films From Idris Elba, Mark Wahlberg, Kate Winslet & More Among First Wave Selections at The Playlist.