Even with the global pandemic changing so many aspects of our life this year, some things never change, key among them being top 10 lists. One of our favorite publications to watch this time of year is Cahiers du Cinéma, as their list of Best Films is always worth paying attention to in order to see what European critics look for in a film. Because this is a French publication, some of the titles in the list were released last year in the U.S.

Continue reading Cahiers Du Cinema’s Best Films Of 2020 Includes ‘Uncuts Gems,’ 2 Hong Sang-Soo Films, Frederick Wiseman & More at The Playlist.

With today’s never-ending sea of content production, we all inevitably miss out on seeing at least a few films on our radar. Catching up the movies somehow passed us by is often how many cinema lovers spend the early months of the new calendar year. Unless you’ve been a-hankering for all the groundbreaking achievements that studios love to drop in January (buy your opening night tickets for “Dr. Dolittle” yet?), most trips to the multiplex will find your average film buff checking out the awards players and festival darlings which friends have been buzzing about for months that passed them by.

Continue reading The 25 Best Films Of 2019 You Didn’t See at The Playlist.

We’re about ready to pack up from our snowy trip to the 2019 Sundance Film Festival which means we’re already beginning to feel the post-festival blues, especially as we’re thrust back into an infuriatingly dull Oscars season conversation (mention “Green Book” or “Bohemian Rhapsody” again and this writer may burst into hives). What’s worse is that after the excitement of the festival that produced a number of stellar films, we’re forced to face the wasteland that is early-2019 theatrical releases.

Continue reading 11 Movies To See In February at The Playlist.

A new trailer for the 2018 film “Hotel By The River” just dropped after it starred in last year’s awards season. Selected for Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival before going on to win the best actor at the Locarno Film Festival, “Hotel By The River” is an engaging film on life, love, death, and family.

READ MORE: ‘Hotel by the River:’ Hong Sang-soo Returns With A Darker Rendering of Familiar Themes [NYFF Review]

Directed by Hong Sang-soo, the piece is shot in stark black and white and hailed for its expert craftsmanship, something Sang-soo has never failed to deliver.

Continue reading ‘Hotel By The River’ Trailer: Hong Sang-Soo Tackles Family, Mortality & Love at The Playlist.

With two films in this year’s New York Film Festival and five in just the last two years, Hong Sang-soo is at risk of being known as much for his prolific pace as for his movies themselves. Some critics feel his pace betrays a lack of thought and rigor, while others think it suggests an artist at the height of his powers. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle, but Sang-soo’s abundant output of films that all feature similar themes and motifs allow his films to be considered very differently from most American filmmakers.

Continue reading ‘Hotel by the River:’ Hong Sang-soo Returns With A Darker Rendering Of Familiar Themes [NYFF Review] at The Playlist.

The 56th Annual New York Film Festival is upon us once again, gifting the cinematic landscape with thrilling and compelling films carefully curated from all over the world.  Last year’s favorites included “Call Me By Your Name” and “Lady Bird,” the latter of which went onto become A24’s highest grossing film and earn not one but five Academy Award nominations.  This year is no different, the festival will unleash future classics like “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” directed by the Coen Brothers, the sweeping Mexican epic “ROMA,” the latest effort by Academy Award winner Alfonso Cuaron.

Continue reading New York Film Festival: 15 Must-See Films To Watch at The Playlist.

The Film Society of Lincoln Center announced the main selections for the 2018 New York Film Festival, and it won’t disappoint the city’s cinephile community.  It also confirms that barring a last minute addition or secret screening there are no world premieres at this year’s NYFF.  Then again, the fest is programming a significant number of Foreign Language Film contenders even if the homegrown selections are slight.

Yorgos Lanthimos’ “The Favourite,” Alfonso Cuarón‘s “Roma“ and Julian Schabel‘s “At Eternity’s Gate“ were previously announced as the opening, centerpiece and closing night films for this year’s fest.

Continue reading ‘If Beale Street,’ ‘Cold War’ & ‘Ballad Of Buster Scruggs’ Among Main NYFF 2018 Selections at The Playlist.