Stephen King might have more individual works adapted for the screen than any other writer in history, besting Shakespeare, Dickens, and Christie. With “The Life Of Chuck,” horror impresario Mike Flanagan brings yet another King tale to the big screen, his third straight after “Doctor Sleep” and “Gerald’s Game.” Despite containing the expected horror and sci-fi elements, “The Life Of Chuck” is a bit of a departure for both King and Flanagan as it is a straight drama for much of its runtime—veering closer in tone to “The Shawshank Redemption” and “The Green Mile” than, say, “The Shining.

Continue reading ‘The Life Of Chuck’ Review: Tom Hiddleston, Spectacular Dancing & Performances Power Elevated Stephen King Adaptation [TIFF] at The Playlist.

Sometimes a broken hip is the best thing that could happen to you. Or at least that’s the situation seen in the upcoming comedy film, “Late Bloomers.”

READ MORE: Summer Movie Preview: 50 Must-See Films To Watch

As seen in the trailer, “Late Bloomers” tells the story of a young woman who finds herself suddenly single and with a broken hip. While recovering in the hospital, she meets an older lady and they form a bittersweet friendship.

Continue reading ‘Late Bloomers’ Trailer: Karen Gillan Breaks Her Hip & Makes A Friend In Lisa Steen’s Comedy at The Playlist.

Has Russell Crowe entered into a Nic Cage phase of his career, making whatever script his agent sends him? Recent work like “Unhinged,” “The Pope’s Exorcist,” and “Poker Face” (which Crowe also writes and directs) certainly makes it look that way. “Sleeping Dogs” looks like it continues that trend, with Crowe playing a downbeat ex-cop in a mid-budget cop thriller.

Continue reading ‘Sleeping Dogs’ Trailer: Russell Crowe Stars In Cop Thriller In Theaters On March 22 at The Playlist.

Hot off the premiere of “The Fall Of The House Of Usher” on Netflix, Mike Flanagan is already working hard on his next project. And it’s another Stephen King adaptation, shooting in Alabama under an interim agreement. Flanagan fans already knew “Life Of Chuck,” based on short stories in King’s 2020 book “If It Bleeds,” has Tom Hiddleston and Mark Hamill leading the cast, but Deadline reports three more names join the project: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, and Jacob Tremblay.

Continue reading ‘The Life Of Chuck’: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan & Jacob Tremblay Join Mike Flanagan’s Latest Stephen King Adaptation at The Playlist.

Lisa Steen's odd-couple comedy/drama is slight but sweet, with yet another winning turn by "Guardians of the Galaxy" co-star Gillan.

Continue reading ‘Late Bloomers’ Review: Karen Gillan Is Hilarious And Heartbreaking In A Predictable But Enjoyable Dramedy [SXSW] at The Playlist.

For many Marvel fans, the worst news to come out if this year’s Comic-Con was James Gunn‘s confirmation that “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” would bring a close to the director’s trilogy of sci-fi hijinks. And while the first trailer for the film might have been a Comic-Con exclusive, here’s everything we saw – and what you can expect when the teaser finally drops online (we assume sometime in the next few weeks).

Continue reading ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3’ Trailer Description: Get Ready To Learn Rocket’s Tragic History [Comic-Con] at The Playlist.

What happens when life isn’t the end? When a scientist proves the existence of the afterlife, two misfits race to discover how to get there as soon as possible to leave their dark pasts behind. But at what cost?

READ MORE: Tribeca 2022 Festival Preview: 24 Films & TV Series To Watch

That’s the premise of director Mali Elfman’s latest film, “Next Exit,” a psychological horror that pushes the boundaries between life and death.

Continue reading ‘Next Exit’ Trailer: Mali Elfman’s Latest Asks What Happens When Death Isn’t The End at The Playlist.

“For once in my life, I wanted to make a movie without having all the responsibilities.” So moans Jeff, the director on the film-within-a-film in Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s “Beware of a Holy Whore.” The West German drama sequesters a movie crew in a coastal Spanish hotel, where the combination of cabin fever and psychological discord between a group of insecure, neurotic people breeds the rarefied level of hysteria only found in show business.

Continue reading ‘The Bubble’ Review: Judd Apatow’s Pandemic Filmmaking Blockbuster Comedy Is An Epic Disaster at The Playlist.

There’s a long and varied history of actors playing multiple roles in the same film: from Jesse Eisenberg’s dueling office workers in the Kafka-esque “The Double,” to Jake Gyllenhaal’s washed-out doppelgängers in “Enemy,” to Jeremy Irons’ twin gynecologists in “Dead Ringers.” (Michael Keaton even tried his hand at playing four characters—one man, three clones—in Harold Ramis’ 1996 comedy “Multiplicity.

Continue reading ‘Dual’ Trailer: Aaron Paul Teaches Karen Gillan How To Fight Her Doppelgänger To The Death at The Playlist.

Sometimes you commit to a decision because it’s the one in your head, the one on the page, and it’s the north star you are aiming for. In filmmaker Riley Stearns‘ latest Sundance picture, the darkly comedic, intentionally strange, and off-kilter doppelgänger film, “Dual,” the intention is to be askew, left of center, and bizarrely funny. Another way to put it is Stearns is trying to make his version of a profoundly idiosyncratic Yorgos Lanthimos movie (“The Lobster” being the apparent parallel), where odd duck people behave eccentrically, performances walk a razor-thin tightrope tone of the unusual and peculiar, dry, deadpan laughs are the order of the day.

Continue reading ‘Dual’ Review: Riley Stearns’ Dark, Deadpan Doppelgänger Comedy Is A Misjudged Odd Duck [Sundance] at The Playlist.

2021 is winding down as best-of lists are being released alongside Academy Awards predictions. Out with the old in with the new, as next month will see a bunch of new movies debut at the Sundance Film Festival. The film festival takes place between January 20-30. Today, the festival announced their lineup alongside dropping first-look images (see below) and synopsizes for projects such as “AM I OK?,” “Sharp Stick,” “God’s Country,” and the sci-fi pic “Dual.”

READ MORE: 22 Most Anticipated Sundance 2022 Films: ‘Cha Cha Real Smooth,’ ‘Fire of Love,’ ‘FRESH’ & More

Stephanie Allynne and comedian/actress Tig Notaro are co-directing “AM I OK?

Continue reading Sundance 2022 First Looks: Dakota Johnson In ‘AM I OK?,’ Lena Dunham’s ‘Sharp Stick,’ Karen Gillan In ‘Dual’ at The Playlist.

Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on-demand, vintage, and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalog titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This biweekly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching.

After a bit of a break, we’re back with a big batch of new disc and streaming titles, including the latest from Pixar, a pair of stylish shoot-‘em-ups, two crime classics in 4K, a handful of blistering Westerns, and much, much more.

Continue reading The Best Movies To Buy Or Stream This Week: ‘Luca,’ ‘True Romance,’ ‘Snatch’ & More at The Playlist.

Navot Papushado’s new movie, “Gunpowder Milkshake,” makes two promises and keeps them both: Spent chemical explosives and sweet dairy drinks. One comes in higher quantities than the other, much, much higher, but Papushado takes an approach to action that’s equally as sugary as the title’s latter half. No false advertising, just lots of bullets and arterial spray. You can have a milkshake, as a treat. 

READ MORE: Cannes Film Festival 2021 Preview: 25 Films To Watch

“Gunpowder Milkshake” follows Sam, played as a teen by Freya Allan and as a woman by Karen Gillan.

Continue reading ‘Gunpowder Milkshake’: You Can Have A ‘John Wick’-Style Milkshake As A Treat, But It’s Not Much Of A Coherent Movie [Review] at The Playlist.

In 2013, Navot Papushado got the boost of a lifetime when Quentin Tarantino plugged the Israeli director’s “Big Bad Wolves” into the year’s best film. Not bad press at all coming from Mr. Revenge Cinema himself.  Papushado hasn’t been up to much since, but Tarantino’s endorsement will get viewers’ attention as his next film hits Netflix this summer.

READ MORE: Netflix Unveils Massive Summer Slate Teaser Trailer: New Films With Felicity Jones, Jason Mamoa, Shailene Woodley, Kevin Hart, Liam Neeson & More

“Gunpowder Milkshake” definitely has a Tarantino vibe to its premise.

Continue reading ‘Gunpowder Milkshake’ Trailer: Estranged Mother & Daughter Assassins Reunite This Summer at The Playlist.

Netflix and Judd Apatow are teaming up for a comedy titled “The Bubble,” as mentioned in Deadline’s new report. They also add the film’s impressive cast that includes Pedro Pascal, Karen Gillan, “Borat 2” actress Maria Bakalova, Keegan-Michael Key, Iris Apatow, Fred Armisen, David Duchovny, Leslie Mann, and Peter Serafinowicz. 

Continue reading ‘The Bubble’: Judd Apatow’s Pandemic Comedy To Star Pedro Pascal, Karen Gillan, Keegan-Michael Key, Maria Bakalova & Others at The Playlist.

One of the best parts of the “John Wick” franchise is the world-building that goes on in the three films. That film series isn’t just about Keanu Reeves kicking ass and murder folks, there’s also an entire world of underground assassins that slowly reveals itself. It would appear the same can be said about the upcoming action film, “Gunpowder Milkshake.”

READ MORE: Awkwafina & Karen Gillan To Co-Star In Action-Comedy ‘Shelly’ For Director Jude Weng

As seen in the first-look pictures from the upcoming action film, it’s clear that there are plenty of badass killers in the film, but the synopsis reveals that there’s more to it than just Karen Gillan shooting bad guys in the face.

Continue reading ‘Gunpowder Milkshake’ First Look: Karen Gillan, Lena Heady & More Star As Elite Assassins In The New Action Film at The Playlist.

The careers of actresses Awkwafina and Karen Gillan seem to be taking off at the same exact time, but both in very different ways. Regardless of how they achieved superstar status, it appears that both actresses are set to star opposite each other in the upcoming action-comedy film, “Shelly.”

According to Deadline, Awkwafina and Gillan will co-star in, “Shelly,” which is written by Michael Doneger and Liz Storm and directed by Jude Weng.

Continue reading Awkwafina & Karen Gillan To Co-Star In Action-Comedy ‘Shelly’ For Director Jude Weng at The Playlist.

Karen Gillan in on the verge of her big breakout. Sure, she’s been featured in some of the biggest films of the last several years, with roles in two “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, two “Jumanji” films, and two “Avengers” films. But all of those appearances have been in supporting roles, without the necessary spotlight for Gillan to showcase everything she’s capable of.

Continue reading ‘Dual’: Karen Gillan, Aaron Paul, Jesse Eisenberg & More Join Riley Stearns’ New Sci-Fi Film at The Playlist.

When “Jumanji” was released in 1995, audiences played along with its outlandish premise—a boy getting sucked into a board game—and for its spellbinding special effects. Those effects don’t look so special in 2019. But the story of kids getting lost in another world holds up, which is why it got an extra life in 2017. With a board game being swapped for a video game, little kids being swapped for a roll call of “Breakfast Club” misfits, the charming premise got a modern update in “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.” It also made a lot of money ($962 million worldwide), so now there’s a sequel to the reboot.

Continue reading ‘Jumanji: The Next Level’: The Uninspired Sequel Settles For More Of The Same [Review] at The Playlist.

Though he used to do dramas quite often, it’s almost difficult to imagine that Harrison Ford would play anything other than an action role these days (though there are lots of little exceptions along the way, yes), whether it be blasting at stormtroopers and chucking out one-liners as Han Solo in “Star Wars” or discovering precious artifacts as “Indiana Jones.” But here we will see Ford’s softer side in “The Call Of The Wild.” Sort of.

Continue reading ‘The Call Of The Wild’ Trailer: Jack London’s Adventure Gets The Big-Screen Treatment With Harrison Ford & A Mo-Capped Dog at The Playlist.

With “Hellboy,” “Men in Black,” “Charlie’s Angels” and a handful of Disney classics, 2019 seems to be the year of the reboot. We’re clocking in one more with “Jumanji: The Next Level” before the year’s end. With the tragic death of Robin Williams in 2014, creating a soft reboot of one of his movies a mere three years later seemed like a huge risk.

Continue reading ‘Jumanji’ Sequel Trailer: Dwyane Johnson, Kevin Hart & The Gang Take It To The ‘Next Level’ at The Playlist.

Will Smith and Tom Holland are an unlikely pair, and the opposites attract, or repel, qualities of their personality, are exploited for laughs in the upcoming animated comedy “Spies In Disguise” from 20th Century Fox. The improbable duo— one, a smooth operator, the world’s flyest spy, the other awkward and uncool—are forced to team up for the ultimate espionage mission and of course, hijinks and hilarity are supposed to ensue.

Continue reading ‘Spies In Disguise’ Trailer: An Animated Will Smith & Tom Holland Go On The Ultimate Undercover Mission at The Playlist.

“Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle” was a surprise hit in 2017 and it took the movie world off guard for dozens of reasons. First, no one really knew there was that much affection for the “Jumanji” franchise—the movie based on the original 1995 film starring Robin Williams— though the truth may be, it wasn’t so much the brand itself, but an entertaining movie that really pleased family audiences looking for something to watch during the Christmas season of that year.

Continue reading ‘Jumanji’ Sequel Trailer: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart & Co. Try And Take Things To The ‘Next Level’ at The Playlist.

I’m not sure I understand the strategy of releasing a trailer, late on a Friday night when no one’s around for a comedy that probably doesn’t have the awareness factor of say a big Judd Apatow movies, but maybe 20th Century Fox knows what they’re doing with “Stuber.” Directed by Michael Dowse, known for a diverse group of comedies like “Take Me Home Tonight” and “Goon,” and Canadian indies (where he’s from) like “FUBAR” and “What If?

Continue reading ‘Stuber’ NSFW Trailer: Kumail Nanjiani & Dave Bautista Take A Violent & F-Bomb Laden Uber Trip at The Playlist.

Actor David Dastmalchian is one of those guys that you’ve seen in a million films but probably never could remember his name. He’s appeared in “The Dark Knight,” “Prisoners,” and the two ‘Ant-Man’ films for Marvel Studios. Needless to say, he’s an accomplished actor. What film fans probably don’t realize is that he’s also a screenwriter, and his latest film “All Creatures Here Below” is about to hit theaters next month.

Continue reading ‘All Creatures Here Below’ Trailer: David Dastmalchian & Karen Gillan Star In The Intense Crime Thriller at The Playlist.