The fall movie season has just started, and so far the box office story belongs to “It.” The Stephen King adaptation has been a smashing success, with the picture passing William Friedkin‘s “The Exorcist” to become the highest grossing horror movie all time. And the next victim Pennywise has claimed is Tom Cruise.

“It” scared off “American Made” and returned to the top of the box office to the tune of $17.3 million.

Continue reading ‘It’ Scares Away Tom Cruise To Once Again Take Multiplex Crown [Box Office] at The Playlist.

The late-breaking career reinvention of Liam Neeson has been one of the more interesting third acts in recent stardom. Just a decade ago, Neeson was a familiar face, sure, but perhaps not a box office draw — “Star Wars” and “Batman Begins” aside, he was probably most identified with being the sober leading man of “Schindler’s List” and its like — a respected dramatic actor with gravitas like few others, who’d worked with top-notch filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, Kathryn Bigelow and Ridley Scott.

Continue reading Liam Neeson Says He’s Retiring His Very Particular Set Of Skills (Punching People In Movies) at The Playlist.

It’s 1972 and the United States is facing challenges both at home and abroad. The Vietnam War is still raging but public opinion has turned strongly against it, while on home soil, groups like The Weather Underground are becoming increasingly violent in their anti-government action. Meanwhile, Richard Nixon is preparing for a looming election, and then, roughly four months before ballots are cast, the Watergate Hotel is broken into with the aim of wiretapping the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee.

Continue reading Liam Neeson’s ‘Mark Felt’ Attempts To Bring Down The White House [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.

Months later and we’re still spurred into excitement when we remember the surprising “Moonlight” win of last year’s Oscars, making it all the more surreal that we’re about to be thrown head first into this year’s awards season with the trio of the Venice Film Festival, Telluride and The Toronto International Film Festival all happening one after another (with some even overlapping).

Continue reading 12 Must-See Movies To Watch In September at The Playlist.

Movie titles are a tricky thing. So far, the film about Mark Felt, the man who anonymously provided critical intel to reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein about the Watergate scandal that helped bring down Richard Nixon has been called “Felt” and “The Silent Man.” But it appears that the folks behind drama are worried about that those titles are too vague, so now they’re running with the overly explicit “Mark Felt — The Man Who Brought Down The White House,” which sounds like lead star Liam Neeson, is going to punch Nixon in the throat before the credits roll.

Continue reading ‘Mark Felt — The Man Who Brought Down The White House’ Trailer: Liam Neeson Takes On The President at The Playlist.