A stylishly engaging and crisp neo-noir steeped in the hardboiled detective tradition, Apple TV+’s “Sugar,” starring Colin Farrell, is rather terrific—that is, until it’s not. Created by Mark Protosevich (“I Am Legend”) and fabulously directed by Brazilian filmmaker Fernando Meirelles (“City Of God”) and Adam Arkin (“The Offer”), “Sugar” is initially sleek and captivatingly crafted in its depiction of L.A.

Continue reading ‘Sugar’ Review: Colin Farrell’s Detective Noir Is Stylishly Terrific Until Its Terrible WTF? Twist at The Playlist.

Writer-director Camille Griffin’s debut feature film “Silent Night” effectively blends two seemingly disparate genres — holiday films and impending apocalyptic cinema. Both high-pressure situations that get you thinking about what really matters, Griffin’s film navigates difficult family and friend dynamics with mordant humor as they face the end of the world together on Christmas Eve. While the film works best when it’s satirizing ensemble holiday films a la “Love Actually,” it’s not afraid to go bleak as impending doom creeps ever closer.

Continue reading ‘Silent Night’: Keira Knightley & Co. Blend The Holiday Film With The End Of The World Genre [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.

What Walter White did for cooking crystal meth, Connie Kaminski hopes to do for couponing—or at least, that’s the premise behind Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly’s “Queenpins,” starring Kristen Bell. Based (loosely) on a true story, the film follows suburban Arizona housewife Connie (Bell) and her best friend Jojo (Kirby Howell-Baptiste), who meet and bond over their love of extreme couponing.

Continue reading ‘Queenpins’: Kristen Bell’s Comedy Is A Shockingly Well-Paced Crime Film With A Thoughtful, Emotional Core [Review] at The Playlist.

Move on, kings; it’s time for the queens to reign. In “Queenpins” (a fun play on Kingpins, obviously), Kristen Bell plays a struggling housewife who can’t get by. She feels like the system is rigged against working-class folks like herself, and the only way to get ahead is to cut some corners. What soon evolves from this fleetingly empowering but dangerous ethos is a criminal counterfeit coupon ring that she creates with her best friend, played by Kirby Howell-Baptiste, best known for her memorable roles in “Killing Eve,” “The Good Place,” and more.

Continue reading ‘Queenpins’ Trailer: Kristen Bell Stars In A Comedy About A Criminal Counterfeit Coupon Ring at The Playlist.