2017 might be done with us, but we’re not exactly done with it. In traditional Playlist form, it’s never quite clear if the world has moved on from the last year during the early days of January, but regardless, we seem to exhaust all possibilities examining, breaking down and parsing the previous year in film.

It might have been a shit show of a year, but movies and quality Peak TV provided us riches and escape.

Continue reading The Best Films Of 2017 You Didn’t See at The Playlist.

It’s been a busy summer, with plenty of big films, and arthouse gems. But one independent picture you might’ve overlooked is “Dean.” Directed, written and starring comedian Demetri Martin, the warm indie dramedy deserves a bit more love, and we have DVDs for some lucky readers, to help them catch up.

Co-starring Kevin Kline, Gillian Jacobs, Mary Steenburgen, Reid Scott, Rory Scovel, Christine Woods, Ginger Gonzaga, Peter Scolari and Briga Heelan, the story follows an illustrator whose unwillingness to deal with the recent death of his mother means escaping his hometown of New York for an interview with an ad agency in Los Angeles.

Continue reading Contest: Win Demetri Martin’s ‘Dean’ On DVD at The Playlist.

We’re firmly into June now, and fast bearing down on the midpoint of 2017, a year that’s shaping up to be the longest goddamn year in history (fun fact: at the start of 2017, Barack Obama was President of the United States!). Fortunately, in between the insanity of the news, it’s been a pretty strong film year on the whole.

Sure, not all of the blockbusters have been great (*side eye to “The Mummy”*), but some have been terrific, and we’ve also seen several great and unexpected movies get their due at the box office.

Continue reading The 25 Best Films Of 2017 So Far at The Playlist.

It was not that long ago that fans were concerned that Warner Bros. weren’t marketing “Wonder Woman” hard enough, but in hindsight, those fears seem silly. Buoyed by near unanimous critical and audience praise, the studio will be celebrating this weekend as they have their first real DC Films homerun.

“Wonder Woman” exceeded all expectations, opening with a terrific $100 million this weekend.

Continue reading ‘Wonder Woman’ Lassos Heroic Opening Weekend [Box Office] at The Playlist.

How many mothers and wives must independent cinema bump off for the purpose of guiding their children and husbands toward existential catharsis? Where will the body count end, and when? Probably never; people die, and when they do, their surviving relatives will invariably tell stories about them to cope with their loss. This is especially true if telling stories is how they pay rent, though filmmakers have a habit of warping the stories they tell around themselves and not their late loved ones, a’la “Other People,” “The Go-Getter,” or “Garden State.”

Joining this number is comedian, writer, and author Demetri Martin’s “Dean,” a movie that, in other hands, told from another perspective, would feel far more routine than it does coming from Martin, as quietly dry a presence on stage as on the page and on screen.

Continue reading Demetri Martin’s ‘Dean’ Is A Rewarding, Tender Dramedy [Review] at The Playlist.

Best known for his unconventional brand of stand-up comedy — awkward one-liners, deadpan musical interludes, and the use of drawing pads on-stage —Demetri Martin is a strange delight on stage. But upon hearing the news that he’s written, directed and starred in his own film might startle fans at first. After all, this is a comedian, known as a key writer for “The Daily Show,” that feeds off his own awkwardness for deadpan laughs.

Continue reading Demetri Martin Talks ‘Dean,’ Working With Ang Lee & More [Interview] at The Playlist.

While it might seem like Demetri Martin is simply following the wave of fellow comedians moving into film, had things gone differently, he would already have one high profile project under his belt. Back when Steven Soderbergh was attached to direct his docu-drama style version of “Moneyball,” Martin was lined up to play the role of real-life statistician Paul De Podesta. That never panned out, but he’s gone on to write, direct and star in his own feature, “Dean.”

Also featuring Kevin Kline, Gillian Jacobs, Mary Steenburgen, Reid Scott, Rory Scovel, Christine Woods, Ginger Gonzaga, Peter Scolari, and Briga Heelan, the story follows a young who is trying to move on and find himself following the death of his mother.

Continue reading Demetri Martin Is Trying To Move On In New Trailer For ‘Dean’ at The Playlist.

2016 Tribeca Film Fest: Demetri Martin’s ‘Dean,’ Drake Doremus’ ‘Equals,’ & Ben Wheatley’s ‘High-Rise’ Highlight Opening Line-Up

Continue reading 2016 Tribeca Film Fest: Demetri Martin’s ‘Dean,’ Drake Doremus’ ‘Equals,’ & Ben Wheatley’s ‘High-Rise’ Highlight Opening Line-Up at The Playlist.