We’re deep into the week before Christmas and still cutting a swath through our Best/Worst/It’s Complicated Year-End coverage, most of which we hope you’ve all read and enjoyed, or at least been engaged by (it’s okay, you can disagree). This year, a few documentaries made it onto our collective 25 Best Films of the Year list; in 2016, it seems that many of the achievements in non-fiction cinema have rendered moot the notion of keeping narrative and documentary separate for evaluation.

Continue reading The 22 Best Documentaries Of 2016 at The Playlist.

Prediction based on nominations [Feb. 5]

TOP FIVE
1. “City of Stars,” “La La Land”
2. “How Far I’ll Go,” “Moana”
3. “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” “Trolls”
4. “Audition (The Fools Who Dream”), “La La Land”
5. “The Empty Chair” — “Jim: The James Foley Story”

PREVIOUS CONTENDERS (for historical context)
“A Letter to the Free,” “13th”
“Angel By The Wings,” “The Eagle Huntress”
“Drive It Like You Stole It,” “Sing Street”
“Faith,” “Sing”
“I’m Still Here,” “Miss Sharon Jones!”
“I See A Victory,” “Hidden Figures”
“Running’” “Hidden Figures”
“You’re Welcome,” “Moana”
“We Know The Way,” “Moana”
“Back to Life,” “Queen of “Katwe”
“Flicker,” “Audrie & Daisey”
“Go Now,” “Sing Street”
“The Great Beyond,” “Sausage Party”
“Never Give Up,” “Lion”
“Try Everything,” “Zootopia”
“The Rules Don’t Apply,” “Rules Don’t Apply”
“Waving Goodbye,” “The Neon Demon”

Gregory Ellwood’s Current Oscar Predictions:
Best Picture
Director
Best Actress
Best Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Original Screenplay
Adapted Screenplay
Editing
Cinematography 
Production Design
Animated Feature Film
Foreign Language Film
Documentary Feature
Original Score
Original Song
Costume Design
Makeup and Hairstyling
Visual Effects
Sound Mixing
Sound Editing

Continue reading 2017 Best Original Song Oscars Predictions at The Playlist.

“It’s definitely open. If there’s a story to tell, and we think people want to hear it, then who knows?” Matt Damon recently told Entertainment Weekly about the possibility of playing Jason Bourne again. And based on the opening-weekend numbers for his fourth time out playing the formerly amnesiac spy, audiences have been eager for more.

Universal‘s “Jason Bourne” opened strong, taking in $60 million.

Continue reading ‘Jason Bourne’ Is Back On Top, ‘Bad Moms’ Opens Strong [Box Office] at The Playlist.

There’s a quickly edited introduction to the force of nature that is Sharon Jones that opens Barbara Kopple’s documentary “Miss Sharon Jones!” It’s a quick run-through of the struggles that Jones faced as an aspiring singer — she sang in a wedding band and worked as a Riker’s Island corrections officer after being told by a music executive that she was “too black, too short, too fat” to make it in the music industry.

Continue reading Barbara Kopple’s Inspiring & Heartfelt ‘Miss Sharon Jones!’ Leaves You Wanting More [Review] at The Playlist.

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing Sharon Jones And The Dap-Kings perform, then you already have witnessed the joyful ferocity of her performance. She’s a soul singer like no other at the moment, a true powerhouse that can get thousands up off of their feet and dancing. And even more, she’s packed houses around the world without a single traditional radio hit. Her story is a remarkable one and its being brought to big screen in the appropriately named “Miss Sharon Jones!

Continue reading Trailer For Documentary ‘Miss Sharon Jones!’ Celebrates A Soul Sensation at The Playlist.