On this episode of Adjust Your Tracking, Joe and I discuss the massive success of “It,” but also find plenty to gripe about the movie. After the film’s record-breaking haul at the box office this past weekend, fans (and most critics) will no doubt be pleased for the inevitable Part 2 promised at the end credits. Even though audiences and most critics seem to be taken with this latest adaptation of Stephen King‘s seminal book (our review was quite positive), we do think the movie has plenty of issues, chief among them the monotonous rhythms of the plot, rushed characterizations and direction/script that’s tonally uneven.

Continue reading Examining The Successes & Failures Of ‘It’ [Adjust Your Tracking Podcast] at The Playlist.

A movie that didn’t really make much of a wave at TIFF last year, “Message From The King” (our review) is now destined to live in the corners of Netflix you probably don’t venture into very often. It’s a shame because Chadwick Boseman is apparently pretty good in the film, but perhaps his status as Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe will help draw some eyes to the picture.

Continue reading ‘Message From The King’ Trailer: Chadwick Boseman Wants Revenge at The Playlist.

Film noir has been around for so long that it’s generated a slew of sub-genres: like “L.A. noir,” where the story and atmosphere are tied specifically to the sun-soaked culture of Southern California; or “obsessed-outsider-on-a-mission noir,” where one driven individual travels to a city to track down a missing friend or family member. “Message from the King” is a fusion of those two, calling back to movies like “The Limey,” “Hardcore,” and “To Live and Die in L.A.” in its story of a mysterious, uncommonly lethal South African man who tours both the seediest fleabag motels and the ritziest Hollywood mansions in order to figure out why he hasn’t heard from his sister lately.

Continue reading Chadwick Boseman Investigates L.A’s Underbelly In Neo-Noir ‘Message from the King’ [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.

So far, 2016 has been one of most disappointing years for movies we can remember, and the fall film-festival season couldn’t come fast enough. And already, Venice opener “La La Land,” has made the cinematic landscape seem much rosier (read Jess’s rave review here if you haven’t already). The premieres will come thick and fast over the next few days, with Telluride getting in the mix on Friday, but we’re still a week away from one of the biggest events of them all, the Toronto International Film Festival.

Continue reading The 30 Most Anticipated Films Of The 2016 Toronto International Film Festival at The Playlist.

Casting: Jamie Foxx & Benicio Del Toro Fall Into Harmony Korine's 'Trap,' Miles Teller Goes To 'New York' And More

Continue reading Casting: Jamie Foxx & Benicio Del Toro Fall Into Harmony Korine’s ‘Trap,’ Miles Teller Goes To ‘New York’ And More at The Playlist.

Continue reading James McTeigue Gets A ‘Message From The King’ at The Playlist.