While the filmmakers behind Showtime’s two-part “The Comey Rule” have clearly overestimated the public’s desire for— uhhh, gestures in the general direction of anything and everything in entertainment vaguely resembling the Trump Shitshow, any ancillary offshoots (see the Fox News portrait “The Loudest Voice”) and generally, politics in the corrosive age of toxic politics— writer/director Bill Ray’s “The Comey Rule” does open up with a good, if simplistic, bit and intriguing question.

Continue reading ‘The Comey Rule’: Billy Ray’s Showtime Miniseries Is An Intriguing FBI Procedural Until It’s Not [Review] at The Playlist.

Pick a Donald Trump scandal? Pick your poison cause there’s so damn many of them. But the one that arguably kicked-off everything, that led to the Mueller trial and the case for impeaching the President—which of course happened, even if the partisan Republicans didn’t vote to find him guilty—is the firing of Ex-FBI Director James Comey. It’s been one of the many, many firings during the chaotic and unstable four-year, hopefully, one-term Trump presidency and repeat offense: anytime someone ruled in a decision that wasn’t in favor to Trump or not as “loyal” as the presidential crime mafia boss would like, he fired them.

Continue reading ‘The Comey Rule’: First Teaser For Billy Ray & Showtime’s Series With Brendan Gleeson As Trump & Jeff Daniels As Ex-FBI Director James Comey at The Playlist.

Fans have waited nearly fifteen years for a followup to “The Incredibles,” and there’s perhaps no better time than this current, superhero soaked climate for the sequel. However, it looks like the biggest heroic act of the day in this film is the regular grind of parenting.

Featuring the voices of Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Huck Milner, Samuel L. Jackson, Brad Bird, Bob Odenkirk, Catherine Keener, Jonathan Banks, Sophia Bush, and Isabella Rossellini, the new film sees the superhero family adjusting to life when Helen goes out to rebrand the Supers, while Bob holds down the fort at home.

Continue reading ‘The Incredibles 2’ Trailer: Parents Are The Real Superheroes at The Playlist.

The Bingeworthy™ Breakdown is an occasional look at new TV shows. Over 500 scripted seasons of TV are expected to air in 2018, and to help you sort the wheat from the chaff, we’re going to give you the lowdown to help you work out whether it’s worth tuning in every week for them or waiting to binge later. Today we look at HBO’s “Here And Now.”

Allow me to lead by an example you should refuse to follow: every single thing about “Here and Now” is obnoxiously self-important, narratively grating and rote with faux intellectualism through which every character is charged with the need to be the smartest person in the room.

Continue reading Bingeworthy™ Breakdown: Self-Important ‘Here and Now’ Is Already Exhausting at The Playlist.

More Holly Hunter is always a good thing, and the actress — who is turning heads with her warm role in “The Big Sick” — is one of the puzzle pieces of HBO‘s new series “Here And Now.”

Creator Alan Ball (“Six Feet Under,” “True Blood“) returns to the network to weave a multi-ethnic, multi-generational story of modern life in America.

Continue reading ‘Here And Now’ Trailer: HBO’s New Series Is All About Family at The Playlist.

You don’t need great performances for a great movie, we suppose — Nikolaus Geyrhalter’s mesmerizing 2016 documentary/art piece “Homo Sapiens,” for instance, doesn’t feature a single human being on screen and is still excellent. But on the whole, the two things go hand in hand: it’s impossible to imagine “Lawrence Of Arabia” without Peter O’Toole, “Star Wars” without Harrison Ford, “Cabaret” without Liza Minnelli, or “Tokyo Story” without Chishu Ryu and Chieko Higashiyama, to name but a few.

Continue reading The Best Performances Of 2017 at The Playlist.

Alan Ball is responsible for two of the biggest shows to ever hit HBO: “Six Feet Under” and “True Blood.” The producer and writer has a canny knack for creating familial, intimate stories with a twist and it looks like he’ll be doing that with the upcoming “Here And Now.”

Starring the always great Holly Hunter and Tim Robbins, the series follows an ordinary multi-racial family — including a philosophy professor, his lawyer wife, their three adopted children from Somalia, Vietnam and Colombia, and their sole biological child — who are hiding deep secrets beneath a sunny exterior.

Continue reading ‘Here And Now’ Trailer: Holly Hunter & Alan Ball Team For New HBO Series at The Playlist.

There’s quite a push and pull when it comes to the hesitant hopefulness regarding the sequel to the largely adored “The Incredibles.”

Both one of the best animated films and best superhero films of the 21st century, with a voice cast of immense talents who made these characters pop off the screen (Holly Hunter and Samuel L. Jackson being obvious standouts), the affection for the Pixar film has only grown with the passage of time.

Continue reading ‘The Incredibles 2’ Trailer: Pixar’s Superhero Family Returns at The Playlist.

Jane Campion has helped to pave the way for women in her field since the early 1980s. As much as it would be nice to overlook Campion’s gender, the industry appeared both unable and unwilling to do so in the past. Since its inception in 1929, only 4 women have been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director, Jane being the second. Campion appeared at the Film Society of Lincoln Center last week to chronicle her astonishing career, discuss her love of David Lynch and what it really means to be a filmmaker.

Continue reading Jane Campion Talks Her Career and ‘Top Of The Lake: China Girl’ at The Playlist.

Coming out of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, there weren’t many movies getting as much buzz as “The Big Sick.” After a bidding war ended with Amazon Studios spending $12 million on the film, everyone has been waiting for their chance to watch the movie. Well, the wait is almost over!

In the first trailer for “The Big Sick,” viewers are introduced to Kumail Nanjiani’s character as he navigates life dealing with his Muslim family and his desire to marry an American woman instead of an arranged marriage.

Continue reading Watch The First Trailer For Sundance Hit ‘The Big Sick’ Starring Kumail Nanjiani & Zoe Kazan at The Playlist.

Roaring into theaters this Friday is “The Fate Of The Furious” (read our review!), the eighth (eighth!) in the enduring, and somehow ever-growing, “The Fast And The Furious” franchise. The series has consistently added new blood into the mix as a way of keeping things fresh, with Dwayne Johnson, Kurt Russell and Jason Statham among the big-ticket additions to the series, but the upcoming movie comes with something of a credibility boost, with not one but two Oscar-winning actresses getting in on the fun, in the shape of Charlize Theron and Helen Mirren.

Continue reading 20 Great Actors & The Roles They Probably Just Did For The Money at The Playlist.

Review: Zack Snyder’s 'Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice’ Starring Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Jesse Eisenberg, Amy Adams & More

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18 Great Comedy Lead Performances By Women

Continue reading 18 Great Comedy Lead Performances By Women at The Playlist.

Interview: Al Pacino & David Gordon Green Talk ‘Manglehorn,’ Musical Numbers, & Blockbuster Video

Continue reading Interview: Al Pacino & David Gordon Green Talk ‘Manglehorn,’ Musical Numbers, & Blockbuster Video at The Playlist.

Watch: First Clip From David Gordon Green's 'Manglehorn' Starring Al Pacino

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Rumor: Holly Hunter Plays Dr. Leslie Thompkins ‘Batman Vs. Superman’

Continue reading Rumor: Holly Hunter Plays Dr. Leslie Thompkins ‘Batman Vs. Superman’ at The Playlist.

'Batman Vs. Superman' Adds Holly Hunter, Callan Mulvey & More

Continue reading ‘Batman Vs. Superman’ Adds Holly Hunter, Callan Mulvey & More at The Playlist.

Watch: Teaser Trailer For 'Bonnie & Clyde' Remake Starring Emile Hirsch & Holliday Grainger

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Director Harmony Korine, Holly Hunter & Chris Messina Join Al Pacino in David Gordon Green's ‘Manglehorn’

Continue reading Director Harmony Korine, Holly Hunter & Chris Messina Join Al Pacino in David Gordon Green’s ‘Manglehorn’ at The Playlist.

Review: Diablo Cody’s Directorial Debut ‘Paradise’ Is A Cloying After School Special

Continue reading Review: Diablo Cody’s Directorial Debut ‘Paradise’ Is A Cloying After School Special at The Playlist.

Diablo Cody's Directorial Debut 'Paradise' To Premiere On DirecTV Next Week

Continue reading Diablo Cody’s Directorial Debut ‘Paradise’ To Premiere On DirecTV Next Week at The Playlist.

Berlin Review: Jane Campion's 'Top Of The Lake' A Satisfying & Cinematic Crime "Novel" In The Shape Of A TV Show

Continue reading Berlin Review: Jane Campion’s ‘Top Of The Lake’ A Satisfying & Cinematic Crime “Novel” In The Shape Of A TV Show at The Playlist.

New Images Of Elisabeth Moss, Holly Hunter & More In Jane Campion's Miniseries 'Top Of The Lake'

Continue reading New Images Of Elisabeth Moss, Holly Hunter & More In Jane Campion’s Miniseries ‘Top Of The Lake’ at The Playlist.

Continue reading Holly Hunter Latest Actor To Join, Probably Get Cut Out Of, Terrence Malick’s Next Film at The Playlist.

Holly Hunter Joins Diablo Cody's Directorial Debut Which Isn't Called 'Lamb Of God' Anymore

Continue reading Holly Hunter Joins Diablo Cody’s Directorial Debut Which Isn’t Called ‘Lamb Of God’ Anymore at The Playlist.