One of the best, most well-defining quotes about a person and about aging, life, and humanity comes from filmmaker Paul Schrader. At the 2022 Venice Film Festival, presenting his then-new film, “Master Gardener,” Schrader began reflecting on his life, his mortality, and his evolved creative raison d’etre.

READ MORE: ‘Oh, Canada’ Review: Richard Gere & Jacob Elordi Are Brilliant In Paul Schrader’s Moving Contemplation Of Legacy [Cannes]

“I used to be an artist who never wanted to leave this world without saying f*ck you,” he said.

Continue reading ‘Oh, Canada’ Trailer: Paul Schrader’s Latest Drama Stars Richard Gere, Jacob Elordi, Uma Thurman & More at The Playlist.

Confusion and how information is communicated, relayed, and delayed in a thriller can be a fantastic artistic weapon in the filmmaker’s toolkit. With his mathematic precision, filmmakers like Christopher Nolan can understand the Swiss watch nature of perfectly timed breadcrumbs of info that can preserve the mystery and keep an audience enraptured and on the edge of their seats. But the ace-in-the-sleeve of perplexing bewilderment is also a double-edged sword that must be wielded carefully.

Continue reading ‘Desert Road’ Review: Kristine Froseth Can’t Escape A Muddled Single Setting Survival Thriller [SXSW] at The Playlist.

You could potentially argue that there weren’t that many breakout movies from the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival last year, at least not acquisition titles without distribution. But if you were going to mention one, at the very least, it would undoubtedly have to be “How To Blow Up A Pipeline,” an eco-terrorism thriller from director Daniel Goldhaber (“CAM,” “Some Kind of Heaven”).

Continue reading ‘How To Blow Up A Pipeline’ Trailer: Kristine Froseth, Lukas Gage, Sasha Lane & More Star In Neon’s Acclaimed Eco Terrorist Thriller at The Playlist.

Simply put, Lena Dunham’s “Sharp Stick” is a film about sex. But sex for a very naive, innocent, fearless, infertile, 26-year-old virgin woman is more than just sex, and the implications of the many encounters and decisions made by Sarah Jo (the luminous Kristine Froseth) on her journey of self-discovery can be dizzying in their sheer number and magnitude. Dunham, however, seemingly unperturbed by the vertiginous stakes of her creation, follows her heroine with inspiring patience and compassion, in a refreshingly loose and lo-fi film where each element gels so well with the others that it is hard to imagine the film didn’t simply emerge fully formed.

Continue reading ‘Sharp Stick’: Lena Dunham Talks Sex, Diane Keaton & Her Provocative New Coming Of Age Fairytale at The Playlist.

Actor/writer/director Lena Dunham’s career goes something like this: dazzle everyone with her DIY, lo-fi indie debut “Tiny Furniture,” impress Judd Apatow with that film and get HBO to greenlight “Girls.” That honest coming-of-age series becomes the talk of television for at least five of its six seasons; then, she becomes something of a pariah on social media in the early days of Twitter for TMI over-sharing.

Continue reading ‘Sharp Stick’ Trailer: Lena Dunham Provocatively Prods In A Coming Of Sexual Age Drama Arriving July 29 at The Playlist.

Playing in the Premieres section of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, “Sharp Stick,” produced during lockdown, was conceived by Lena Dunham and the film’s director of photography, Ashley Connor, starting from the base elements that were already available to them — namely a set of actors and locations. But while many quarantine-made films have appeared to embrace a “will this do?” aesthetic, implicitly relying on the audience’s sympathy and compassionate understanding to fill gaps and forgive compromises in production value, Dunham has instead created a work of art that comfortably fits within and plays with the limitations imposed by the pandemic.

Continue reading ‘Sharp Stick’ Review: Lena Dunham’s Provocative Tale of Sexual Awakening Tackles Thorny Material with Compassion [Sundance] at The Playlist.

Providing ample opportunities to showcase the beauties and horrors of the human body, ballet and dance is frequently examined in cinema because of its elaborate artistic and metaphoric potential. Such is the case with Sarah Adina Smith’s “Birds of Paradise,” a sensuous drama filled to the brim with visually distinctive, and grandiose displays of technique and physical rigor. The film follows American ballet students Kate (Diana Silvers) and Marine (Kristine Froseth), both of whom are competing for the top prize in an elite student ballet competition which captures the winner a contract with the prestigious Paris Opera Ballet Company.

Continue reading ‘Birds Of Paradise’ Diane Silvers & Kristine Froseth Bring Icy Brutality To A Milder ‘Black Swan’ Routine [Review] at The Playlist.

What is it about ballet that inspires filmmakers and fans alike? From “The Red Shoes” to “Suspiria” to “Black Swan,” the history of cinema is full of titles dedicated to the art form. Amazon Studio’s “Birds Of Paradise” builds on that legacy with a narrative highlighting the desire for love, fame, success, and friendship. A.K. Small’s popular novel “Burning Bright Stars” serves as the basis for the project.

Continue reading ‘Birds Of Paradise’ Trailer: Diana Silvers & Kristine Froseth Star In The World of Cutthroat Ballerinas at The Playlist.

Remember a few weeks ago, when we reported that Lena Dunham was returning to the director’s chair of a feature film for the first time in 11 years for the upcoming project, “Catherine, Called Birdy?” Yeah, apparently, that’s not the truth. Yes, the film is still happening, but it’s not Dunham’s first film since “Tiny Furniture.” You see, she went ahead and filmed a secret feature over the past several months, titled “Sharp Stick.”

According to Variety, Dunham has finished production on her new film, “Sharp Stick,” and is bringing the film to the European Film Market to find distribution.

Continue reading ‘Sharp Stick’: Lena Dunham Secretly Directed Her First Film In A Decade at The Playlist.

While the names Lee Atwater and Karl Rove may send shivers down the spines of progressives around the world, those two men are at the center of a new film from director James Schamus titled “College Republicans.” And this isn’t going to be your typical political drama.

According to Deadline, Schamus has signed on to direct “College Republicans,” which will star Logan Lerman and Asa Butterfield as versions of real-life conservative figures Lee Atwater and Karl Rove.

Continue reading Logan Lerman & Asa Butterfield To Star As Lee Atwater & Karl Rove In ‘College Republicans’ at The Playlist.

“She’s a countdown girl,” says a troubled teen named Red, “the closer she gets, the farther she gets from a 10.” It’s a crude judgment, though not an unexpected one from a group of boys watching women walk by on the pier. It’s also how “Low Tide” works. “Goonies” meets “The Lost Boys” is an attractive selling point, with a setting to fulfill its charming premise.

Continue reading ‘Low Tide’: Kevin McMullin’s Crime Thriller Is Like ‘Goonies’ Without The Fun [Review] at The Playlist.

Author John Green is someone you may not know by name (unless you happen to be under the age of 20), but you probably know his work pretty well. You see, Green has carved this niche for himself in the publishing world as the go-to guy for quality, YA romance. And in Hollywood, he’s known as the guy who gave the world “The Fault in Our Stars.” So, basically, much like Nicolas Sparks had a run a decade ago as the author of romance novels that get instantly turned into film/TV adaptations, Green is that guy for the Millenials.

Continue reading ‘Looking For Alaska’ Trailer: New Hulu YA Romance Series Is From Author Behind ‘The Fault In Our Stars’ at The Playlist.