2017 might be done with us, but we’re not exactly done with it. In traditional Playlist form, it’s never quite clear if the world has moved on from the last year during the early days of January, but regardless, we seem to exhaust all possibilities examining, breaking down and parsing the previous year in film.

It might have been a shit show of a year, but movies and quality Peak TV provided us riches and escape.

Continue reading The Best Films Of 2017 You Didn’t See at The Playlist.

Welcome to another edition of Over/Under Movies, the podcast in which we choose one overrated film and one underrated film — similar in tone, genre, style, or however we may see fit — and we discuss them.

READ MORE: The Worst Films Of 2017

On our second part of our year-end wrap-up, we dive into the films that we believe were under-seen, under-appreciated, or were just plain slept on or dismissed by critics and audiences.

Continue reading Exploring The Little-Seen, Underrated Films of 2017 [Podcast] at The Playlist.

Everyone needs a bit of distraction from staying away from “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” spoilers. One way you can do that is by going through our Best Films Of 2017, and once you’ve done that,  you might want to see how it stacks up against the selections from the venerable Film Comment.

The votes from contributors to the terrific movie magazine lean arthouse, but we have (mostly) no fault with their selections.

Continue reading Film Comment’s Best Movies Of 2017 Includes ‘Good Time,’ ‘Get Out,’ ‘Lady Bird’ & More at The Playlist.

It’s the time of year when every cinephile sifts through the sands of their viewing lists, and comes up with their top ten list of the year. Frankly, a lot of lists echo each other, with the same awards season fare switched around. However, John Waters‘ list is always such a treat because, a true and adventurous cinephile, he celebrates films that entertain and take big risks.

Nowhere is that more evident than in this Best Films Of 2017 roundup for Artforum (via First Showing).

Continue reading John Waters’ Top 10 Films Of 2017 Includes ‘Baby Driver,’ ‘Nocturama’ & ‘Lady Macbeth’ at The Playlist.

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.

Made prior to the Paris terror attacks in November 2015, and released after, Bertrand Bonello’s “Nocturama” (our review) arrived during an interesting time in the world, and still maintains a thrum of relevance. Traveling through the festival circuit last year, it was not unnoticed that the film was not at Cannes, where the director had previously presented four of his movies. And his movie, about a group of millennials who commit acts of terror, but without a clear reason, ruffled some feathers.

Continue reading Bertrand Bonello Calls Out The ‘Nocturama’ “Haters” at The Playlist.

If you listened closely enough to the festival circuit last fall, you might’ve heard the buzz for Bertrand Bonello‘s “Nocturama.” Sight & Sound certainly paid attention, naming the picture as one of their Best Of 2016, while we cited it as one of The 20 Best Movies Of 2017 That We’ve Already Seen. Needless to say, it’s one to put on your arthouse must-see list.

READ MORE: Bertrand Bonello Takes A Meticulous Look At Millennial Terrorism With ‘Nocturama’ [BFI London Film Fest Review]

Starring Finnegan Oldfield, Laure Valentinelli, Hamza Meziani, Manal Issa, and Robin Goldbronn, the provocative picture follows a group of teenagers as they unfold a series of terrorist attacks across Paris, and try to evade capture by the authorities.

Continue reading Explosive New Trailer For Bertrand Bonello’s Terrorism Thriller ‘Nocturama’ at The Playlist.

Well, here we are, in the brave (terrifying) new (still terrifying) world of 2017. Whatever else we have to expect in the 363 days to come (and actually, the first 48 hours have been pretty good on the whole), it promises to be a good year for the movies, as you might have seen from our 100 Most Anticipated Movies piece a month or so back. But somehow, that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Continue reading The 20 Best Movies Of 2017 That We’ve Already Seen at The Playlist.

If you’re looking for a year end list that marries the high brow choices of Cahiers Du Cinema with some mainstream fare, then Sight & Sounds top 20 films of 2016 will be a real treat. Their list is arthouse heavy, but isn’t afraid to acknowledge genuinely well-made multiplex fare.

Topping the list is Maren Ade‘s “Toni Erdmann,” a movie that made a huge impact at Cannes, and looks like it’s going to remembered very well in the month ahead as critics and publications make their annual tallies.

Continue reading Sight & Sound’s Top 20 Films Of 2016 Topped By ‘Toni Erdmann,’ Includes ‘La La Land,’ ‘Manchester By The Sea’ & More at The Playlist.

The latest film from Bertrand Bonello, an enfant terrible of the last couple of decades of French cinema, has become mildly notorious in cinephile circles. Despite Bonello’s last few movies bowing at Cannes, both that festival and Venice reportedly rejected “Nocturama,” leaving the film to instead screen at TIFF and San Sebastian, which could be seen as a demotion for a European auteur of his status.

Continue reading Bertrand Bonello Takes A Meticulous Look At Millennial Terrorism With ‘Nocturama’ [BFI London Film Fest Review] at The Playlist.

A few days into October, and we’ve already been spoiled by a fine festival season, from one of the best Venice line-ups ever to a stacked Telluride and TIFF to an NYFF that’s started strong with Ava DuVernay’s tremendous “The 13th.” And across the pond, things are gearing up too: the 60th BFI London Film Festival kicks off on Wednesday.

The festival doesn’t always have the big world premieres that some of the U.S fests do, but the last few years have seen it unfold some of its strongest line-ups ever, and this year might just top them all.

Continue reading 10 Films To Look Out For At The 2016 BFI London Film Festival at The Playlist.