After twenty-five-plus years in the movie business, Austrian-Swiss director Edward Berger had stateside success two years ago with his Netflix war pic, “All Quiet On The Western Front.” So what’s his follow-up to that massive hit?  An adaptation of a Robert Harris thriller, with plenty of heavy hitters in its main cast.

READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2024

Ralph Fiennes leads the charge in “Conclave,” along with Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini.  But it’s the thriller’s set-up that arguably outdoes its A-list ensemble: the Vatican’s choice of a new Pope after the current one’s sudden death.

Continue reading ‘Conclave’ Trailer: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow & Isabella Rossellini Star In Edward Berger’s Catholic Thriller at The Playlist.

David Lynch‘s “Blue Velvet” continues to cause a stir nearly four decades after its release, with the film having just as many detractors as it does champions. And in a recent interview with IndieWire, actress Isabella Rossellini had a chance to respond to one of the film’s harshest critics: the late Roger Ebert.  

READ MORE: ‘La Chimera’ Trailer: Alice Rohrwacher’s Latest Drama Stars Josh O’Connor, Isabella Rossellini & More

Ebert infamously trounced the film upon release in 1986, particularly how Lynch treated Rossellini in her performance, deeming it exploitative, but Rossellini defended her “choice” to do the role as “an adult.” “I didn’t read the reviews at the time it came out,” the actress said about “Blue Velvet.” “I try not to read reviews.

Continue reading ‘Blue Velvet’: Isabella Rossellini Reflects On Roger Ebert’s Criticism Of Lynch’s Film: “I Chose To Play The Character” at The Playlist.

Imagine a movie akin to a sad David Bowie song about an astronaut drifting alone into the dark abyss of space, contemplating his life, his lost love, his past, and an uncertain, perhaps soon-to-be-shortly doomed future. Sing the wistfully estranged and reflective “Space Odyssey” tune and the lamenting iconic line, “Tell my wife I love her very much, she knows!” That’s Swedish filmmaker Johan Renck’s “Spaceman” in a nutshell, which makes for possibly the weirdest, most existentially lonely movie Adam Sandler has ever starred in.

Continue reading ‘Spaceman’ Review: Adam Sandler Confronts The Galaxy’s Sad Loneliness In Johan Renck’s Existential Cosmonaut Film [Berlinale] at The Playlist.

South Korean auteur Bong Joon-ho once described the works of Italian film director, editor, and screenwriter Alice Rohrwacher as “a mix of magic realism and neorealism, innocent characters butting up against corrupt behemoths.” And that’s a beautiful and apt description of her work and arguably her latest film, “La Chimera.” A period romantic drama, the film centers on A group of archaeologists and the black market of historical artifacts that ties them all together.

Continue reading ‘La Chimera’ Trailer: Alice Rohrwacher’s Latest Drama Stars Josh O’Connor, Isabella Rossellini & More at The Playlist.

Alice Rohrwacher’s “La Chimera” flits between languages (English, Italian, French, German) as fluidly as it does mediums (35mm, Super16mm, and 16mm cinematography) and styles (jerkily sped up Chaplin-esque scenes, clinical CCTV footage, audacious 180-degree camera flips). Rohrwacher uses this mosaic of disparate approaches to hone in on other kinds of incongruous and unpredictable interplay: modern Italy and its ancient past, heartbreak and new love, and the real world and its spiritual mirror realm.

Continue reading ‘La Chimera’ Review: Another Enchanting Modern Myth From Alice Rohrwacher [Cannes] at The Playlist.

You may not yet know filmmaker, writer/director, and actor Julio Torres, but you should, given the fact that A24 and Tilda Swinton co-signed on him seemingly immediately for his feature-length debut. Torres is best known as a writer for “Saturday Night Live” and as the co-creator, writer, and executive producer of the HBO series “Los Espookys.” While the latter HBO comedy was short-lived, those who saw it clearly loved it.

Continue reading ‘Problemista’ Trailer: Tilda Swinton Joins Julio Torres In A Funny, Surreal Twist On The American Dream at The Playlist.

Margaret Atwood said it best: “Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.” This age-old discrepancy in the way the two genders experience the world is written both at the initial frame and very heart of Susanna Fogel’s mercurial “Cat Person,” a fiendishly playful relationship-gone-bad quasi-thriller with a sense of humor about its own unknowability. The two parties (who are barely in a relationship) are a beautiful, inquisitive 20-year-old college student testing the limits of her own sexual powers and a painfully average thirtysomething guy dying to impress her via clueless means.

Continue reading ‘Cat Person’ Review: Emilia Jones And Nicholas Braun Shine In Gripping, Uneven Adaptation Of Viral Sensation [Sundance] at The Playlist.

Not since the original “Toy Story” has a movie found such magic in the mundane as Dean Fleischer Camp’s “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On.” This feature-length adaptation of the popular YouTube short series is more than just storytelling – it’s a new way of experiencing the world around us. The film discovers compassion and caring hidden amidst the clutter of everyday life rather than just chaos. “I don’t do the clock the way you guys do the clock,” humbly observes Marcel, and the film invests the time to train its audience to reset their understanding of time and space to mirror its protagonist’s.

Continue reading ‘Marcel The Shell With Shoes On’ Review: A24’s Latest Finds A Lovely, Sublime Magic In The Mundane at The Playlist.

Eons ago, back in 2010, Jenny Slate and Dean Fleischer-Camp‘s stop-motion short “Marcel The Shell With Shoes On” launched Slate’s showbiz career. The short won awards at AFI FEST 2010, was an official selection at Sundance 2011, and, well, the rest is history. Slate And Fleischer-Camp moved to LA, got married, and Slate’s career took off.

READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2022

Given that the cute three-minute video was the couple’s catapult to success, one would think that a full-length “Marcel” movie would have occurred almost a decade ago.

Continue reading ‘Marcel The Shell With Shoes On’ Trailer: Jenny Slate’s 2010 Viral Sensation Gets The Full Film Treatment On June 24 at The Playlist.

Over only a relatively small number of feature films, Italian filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher has established herself as one of the most interesting working today. And it doesn’t appear that she’s going to be stopping anytime soon, as she is already in the middle of filming her latest feature, “La Chimera.”

According to Variety, Alice Rohrwacher has started production on “La Chimera,” her newest feature, which will star Josh O’Connor, Isabella Rossellini, Carole Duarte, Alba Rohrwacher, and Vincenzo Nemolato.

Continue reading ‘La Chimera’: Josh O’Connor, Isabella Rossellini & More Join Alice Rohrwacher’s New Drama at The Playlist.

It’s the last year for longtime Sundance Film Festival creative director John Cooper so it’s not surprising that some of his more notable alumni were announced as jurors for the 2020 edition of the festival later this month.  Jurors selected include Ethan Hawke, Dee Rees, Isabella Rossellini, Rodrigo Garcia, Greg Araki and “Fleabag’s” Sian Clifford.  25 jurors will award 21 prizes in sex selection juries.

READ MORE:  Sundance 2020 Lineup Revealed: Films by Josephine Decker, Miranda July, Viggo Mortensen and more

Hawke, Rees, Rossellini, Garcia and Wash Westmoreland will head the prestigious U.S.

Continue reading Ethan Hawke, Dee Rees & Isabella Rossellini Set For 2020 Sundance Film Festival Juries 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.

Interview: David O. Russell Talks ‘Joy,’ Defying Expectations With Jennifer Lawrence, Writing A 2-Film Saga & Much More

Continue reading Interview: David O. Russell Talks ‘Joy,’ Defying Expectations With Jennifer Lawrence, Writing A 2-Film Saga & Much More at The Playlist.

Review: David O. Russell’s Bold And Vibrant ‘Joy’ Starring Jennifer Lawrence

Continue reading Review: David O. Russell’s Bold And Vibrant ‘Joy’ Starring Jennifer Lawrence at The Playlist.

Cannes: Icelandic Film ‘Hrútar’ Wins The Top Un Certain Regard Prize, Japan’s Kiyoshi Kurosawa Wins Best Director

Continue reading Cannes: Icelandic Film ‘Hrútar’ Wins The Top Un Certain Regard Prize, Japan’s Kiyoshi Kurosawa Wins Best Director at The Playlist.

Watch: 'The Mysteries Of Love,' A 70-Minute Documentary About The Making Of David Lynch's 'Blue Velvet'

Continue reading Watch: ‘The Mysteries Of Love,’ A 70-Minute Documentary About The Making Of David Lynch’s ‘Blue Velvet’ at The Playlist.

Watch: Discover The Women Of 'Enemy' With New Featurette & Pics

Continue reading Watch: Discover The Women Of ‘Enemy’ With New Featurette & Pics at The Playlist.

TIFF Review: Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Enemy’ Starring Jake Gyllenhaal Is A Haunting Look At Our Dark Desires

Continue reading TIFF Review: Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Enemy’ Starring Jake Gyllenhaal Is A Haunting Look At Our Dark Desires at The Playlist.

Isabella Rossellini, Melanie Laurent & Sarah Gadon Have 'An Enemy' In Common With Jake Gyllenhaal

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Review: Guy Maddin's 'Keyhole' Beautiful And Brassy...But Frustratingly Sealed

Continue reading Review: Guy Maddin’s ‘Keyhole’ Beautiful And Brassy…But Frustratingly Sealed at The Playlist.

This one kind of fell off our radar, but we’re glad another (probably) quirky and enigmatic feature from the Canadian iconoclast is on the way, and as usual, he’s lined up an interesting cast.

Continue reading Guy Maddin’s ‘Keyhole’ Now Filming With Isabella Rossellini, Jason Patric & ‘Kids In The Hall’ Member Kevin McDonald; Synopsis Revealed at The Playlist.

Continue reading Watch: Guy Maddin’s Latest, Prize Winning Short Film ‘Night Mayor’ at The Playlist.

Continue reading Guy Maddin’s ‘Brand Upon The Brain’ & ‘Salo’ Coming (Back) To Criterion at The Playlist.

The connection? Rossellini’s co-director is Jody Shapiro, the producer and amazing cinematographer behind, ‘Winnipeg’ and Rossellini starred in Maddin’s arcane winterscape, “The Saddest Music In The World.”

When these shorts were first announced, we sort of shrugged and never bothered to mention them, but after seeing them, oh lord!

Continue reading Isabella Rossellini’s ‘Green Porno’ Insect Sex Shorts Are To Die For at The Playlist.

Last night’s debut of Guy Maddin’s “Brand Upon The Brain!” was an almost overwhelming cinematic spectacle – in a good way of course. Throughout the movie one had to decide, would I be watching the weirdly wondrous film, the 3 lab-coated foley artists creating live, on-the-spot sound effects, the 11-piece orchestra, grave narrator Crispin Glover or the Eunuch-sounding Male soprano? (who Maddin apparently met in a Winnipeg sauna: “He has absolutely no body hair. He had some sort of medical misfortune in his childhood that kept his voice very [woman-like].”)

There are worse problems to have.

Continue reading Incest, Lesbianism, Crispin Glover, Lighthouse Terrors! It’s Brand Upon The Brain! at The Playlist.