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.

We’re beginning to sound like a broken record, but here we are — another week, another massive win for Warner Bros.’ “Aquaman” at the box office and while the narrative remains the same — the domination of the undersea Atlantean king,  at least the horror/thriller “Escape Room” gives us something new to discuss.

READ MORE: ‘Aquaman’: James Wan Unleashes An Overblown But Entertaining Visual Spectacle From The Depths Of A Goofy Imagination [Review]

But, the story is really all about the fish man.

Continue reading ‘Aquaman’ Becomes King Of The DCEU & Hits Nearly $950 Million Worldwide [Box Office] at The Playlist.

The weekend after the Christmas holiday is an odd one for the box office. Outside of a couple of new films debuting on the actual Christmas holiday, the top 10 is largely the same as last weekend, with many of the films only dropping marginally or gaining a little bit versus seven days ago. So, needless to say, “Aquaman” is still the big story, outside of a few special December 25th films.

Continue reading ‘Aquaman’ Hits $750 Million Worldwide On Its Way To An Inevitable $1 Billion at The Playlist.

Christmas Day saw the long-awaited release of filmmaker Karyn Kusama’s “Destroyer.” After a rocky career, featuring incredible highs (“Girlfight” and “The Invitation”) and devastating lows (“Jennifer’s Body” & “Aeon Flux”), the director is poised to come back and assert herself as one of the best creators in the industry. And she has been able to bounce back thanks to some lessons she learned from previous films.

Continue reading Karyn Kusama Explains What Went Wrong & What She Learned From ‘Aeon Flux’ And ‘Jennifer’s Body’ at The Playlist.

Welcome to the 2018 edition of bad takes! Some traditions are noble and entertaining, and some, like this annual feature where we poll individual writers and ask them about their subjective picks for the most overrated and underrated films of the year, are neither. This feature is the one that we call internally, the Give ‘Em Enough Rope piece and let me tell you that many make ample use of the cord and noose. Sometimes there are wildly wrong hot takes, but other times just a fundamentally misguided understanding of what constitutes an overrated or underrated film, no matter how much possible editorial guidance you can give.

Continue reading The Most Underrated & Overrated Films Of 2018 at The Playlist.

We’ve been waiting for today for months now. No, not because it’s the beginning of a long weekend thanks to the Christmas holiday. That’s great and all, but mainly, it’s because this is one of the most interesting box office weekends of 2018. In an effort to try to take advantage of the holiday stretch, Disney, Warner Bros., Paramount, and other studios are releasing major films all during this weekend, leading to one of the most hotly-contested box offices in recent memory.

Continue reading ‘Aquaman’ Scores A Huge Thursday Night As We Enter The Most Crowded Box Office Weekend Of The Entire Year at The Playlist.

This Christmas, many film fans are going to get a glimpse of Academy Award-winning actress Nicole Kidman playing Queen Atlanna in the superhero epic “Aquaman.” Sadly, for most of the world, this is how they will remember Kidman in 2018, as the CGI-faced queen that eats goldfish and gave birth to Jason Momoa. Instead, they should watch her in the upcoming film “Destroyer,” which hits theaters around the same time as the terrible superhero film.

Continue reading ‘Destroyer’ Final Trailer: Forget ‘Aquaman,’ This Is The Nicole Kidman Film To Watch This Christmas 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.

Karyn Kusama is a director that everyone here at The Playlist absolutely adores. From her incredible debut with “Girl Fight” back in 2000 to her grossly underrated “The Invitation,” we just love everything she puts her unique twist on. Yes, even “Jennifer’s Body,’ which is a great cult classic. And with her latest film, “Destroyer,” it appears she’s ready to once and for all put her name on the list of some of the greatest filmmakers working today.

Continue reading ‘Destroyer’: Listen To An Electrifying Exclusive Track From The Score To Karyn Kusama’s Upcoming Thriller at The Playlist.

Nicole Kidman has been on a roll lately with her choice of projects. The Oscar winner (“The Hours“) was nominated for a fourth time in 2017 for her work in “Lion.” Most recently, she won a Golden Globe and a Primetime Emmy award for her role as Celeste Wright on the hit HBO show “Big Little Lies.” Perhaps more impressive is the fact that she appears to be at the most productive stage in her acting career; with a total of eight projects coming out over the next two years, including the upcoming “Destroyer,” which debuted earlier this fall at the Telluride Film Festival and then screened immediately after at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), one has to wonder how the Australian thespian manages it all on top of raising a family.

Continue reading ‘Destroyer’ Trailer: Nicole Kidman’s Detective Faces Demons & A Traumatic Past at The Playlist.

As expected, the final wave of films announced for the 2018 Fantastic Fest features a few surprises, including some highly-anticipated films finally making their way to the US.

The big news, however, is that Fantastic Fest announced its closing night film, which happens to be the upcoming Drew Goddard-directed “Bad Times at the El Royale,” which has an all-star cast that includes Chris Hemsworth, Jeff Bridges, Jon Hamm, and Dakota Johnson.

Continue reading ‘Don Quixote,’ ‘Under The Silver Lake’ & ‘Bad Times At The El Royale’ Headline The Final Wave Of Fantastic Fest at The Playlist.

The 2019 Toronto International Film Festival begins tomorrow, but the impact of last weekend’s Telluride Film Festival is still being felt for those playing the awards season game.  As noted numerous times over the years, there are many more voting Academy members that attend Telluride than Venice, Toronto or NYFF and it’s one of the few festivals in the world where someone screening their own movie can see other films (emphasis on more than one) while they are in town.  

Continue reading ‘Roma,’ ‘First Man,’ ‘Favourite’ & Nicole Kidman Find An Oscar Spark At Telluride at The Playlist.

TELLURIDE – There have been few films in recent memory that flip a switch like Karyn Kusama’s “Destroyer” does. Honestly, there are moments during the first half of this dramatic thriller where the clunky direction threatens to unravel the film; where scenes are not as sharp as they should be; where you wonder if Kusama could have filmed the proceedings in a more visually compelling manner. And then, out of nowhere, “Destroyer” just completely upends itself in a manner which is, in all seriousness, sort of amazing.

Continue reading Nicole Kidman Is Spectacular In Karyn Kusama’s ‘Destroyer’ [Telluride Review] at The Playlist.

There is only one film festival that has screened nine of the last 10 Best Picture winners. It’s not TIFF. It’s not Venice. No, it’s that tiny little institution in the Colorado mountains, the Telluride Film Festival.

READ MORE: ‘Front Runner,’ ‘The Favourite’ & ‘First Man’ Among Official 2018 Telluride Selections

Founded in 1974, Telluride is a unique mix of cinephiles, wealthy patrons (usually over 50) and a smattering of college students.

Continue reading 9 Must-See Premieres At Telluride 2018: ‘Destroyer,’ ‘Boy Erased,’ ‘Can You Ever Forgive Me,’ at The Playlist.

With Venice, Toronto, and Telluride becoming this fall’s go-to places to premiere a film, we had no idea that the BFI London Film Festival had an ace up its sleeve. Today, the LFF announced its lineup of films appearing in the Official Competition, and while there are some incredible films from throughout this year, the big surprise was a new entry from acclaimed filmmaker Ben Wheatley.

That’s right, Ben Wheatley, best known for his films “High-Rise” and 2016’s “Free Fire,” is back with a film that we didn’t even know was finished, titled “Happy New Year, Colin Burstead.” The film seems to be a bit of a departure for Wheatley, as its described as a family dramedy focused on the titular Colin and his dysfunctional family around New Years.

Continue reading Ben Wheatley’s Surprise New Film Headlines BFI London Film Festival’s Official Competition Slate at The Playlist.

September is right around the corner which means a two-fold attack of movies. 1) the wealth of riches that arrives in the more-adult-themed awards season and 2) the overlapping films that appear first during the fall film festival circuit. So, our fall preview essentially doubles for both, a few films here and there missing due to lack of release dates yet. But yes, the Venice Film Festival starts this week, the Telluride Film Festival this weekend and following that a brief reprieve before the Toronto International Film Festival and then the genre-focused Fantastic Fest in Austin and artsy and prestigious New York Film Festival in late September and early October.

Continue reading 56 Must-See Films: The 2018 Fall Movie Preview at The Playlist.

One of the most highly-anticipated films coming to this year’s Toronto International Film Festival is the latest from director Karyn Kusama, titled “Destroyer.” The film comes on the heels of Kusama’s last film, the incredible thriller “The Invitation.” However, this time, all eyes are on the filmmaker as she has a major star leading the way, but not how you might recognize her.

Continue reading ‘Destroyer’ Director Karyn Kusama Talks Nicole Kidman’s Indredible Physical Transformation For Her Role at The Playlist.

As if there wasn’t enough to be excited about at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, it looks like the 2018 Platform lineup looks to be pretty spectacular. With films from Karyn Kusama, Alex Ross Perry, Tim Sutton, and Carol Morley, to name only a few, TIFF’s 2018 program that focuses on distinct voices and assured directorial efforts that address difficult subject matters unflinchingly looks to be an incredibly strong selection of projects.

Continue reading Alex Ross Perry’s ‘Her Smell’ & Karyn Kusama’s ‘Destroyer’ Headline TIFF’s 2018 Platform Selection at The Playlist.

It appears we’re getting that “Daddy’s Home 2” reunion that everyone’s been clamoring for!

Well, maybe that’s a bit of hyperbole, but still, Mel Gibson and Mark Wahlberg are teaming up for a new World War II drama titled “Destroyer,” according to The Wrap. But that’s not all! It also appears like these two BFF’s are looking to team up even sooner on Wahlberg’s upcoming big-screen adaptation of “The Six Billion Dollar Man.”

Yes, we’re aware that’s a lot of Mel Gibson and Mark Wahlberg news to digest.

Continue reading New Best Friends Mel Gibson And Mark Wahlberg To Team Up In Two Upcoming Films at The Playlist.

We’re just getting started with our look at the best in film and TV of 2017, but before we really got sucked into the retrospective, we wanted to take a minute to look forward to what’s to come in the next twelve months or so. Lord knows we need things to keep us going in the shitshow that has been the second half of the 2010s, and fortunately, cinema has provided.

After a slow start, 2017 turned out to be a pretty great year for movies, and 2018 looks to keep that up in a big way.

Continue reading The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2018 at The Playlist.

Toward the tail end of the summer, we learned that Nicole Kidman — coming off a killer run that included HBO‘s critically acclaimed series “Big Little Lies,” Yorgos Lanthimos‘ equally buzzed “The Killing of A Sacred Deer,” Sofia Coppola‘s underrated “The Beguiled,” and season 2 of Jane Campion’s “Top of the Lake” — was continuing her hot streak with Karyn Kusama‘s “Destroyer.” There wasn’t much info at the time, but new plot details have arrived, and it sounds like great.

Continue reading Karyn Kusama’s ‘Destroyer’ Starring Nicole Kidman Sounds ‘True Detective’-Ish at The Playlist.

This has been a hallmark year for Nicole Kidman. Not only did she make a splash on TV with HBO‘s critically acclaimed series “Big Little Lies,” but she also took Cannes by storm with three films playing on their slate this year: Yorgos Lanthimos‘ “The Killing of A Sacred Deer,” Sofia Coppola‘s “The Beguiled,” and John Cameron Mitchell‘s “How to Talk to Girls at Parties.” Not to mention that Jane Campion also debuted seven episodes of her TV series “Top of the Lake” at Cannes, in which, you guessed it, Kidman stars.

Continue reading Nicole Kidman To Star In Karyn Kusama’s ‘Destroyer’ at The Playlist.