Do you even remember having an imaginary friend? Do you ever wonder where those imaginary friends you had as a kid went? If you do, there is no doubt you’ll experience a sense of nostalgia with Yoshiyuki Momose’s “The Imaginary,” an animated tale debuting on Netflix around the world following its release in Japan at the end of 2023.

READ MORE: “Inside Out 2” Review: Anxiety takes over in fantastic Pixar sequel

Faithfully adapted from A.F.

Continue reading ‘The Imaginary’ Review: An Imaginary Boy Struggles To Be Seen & Save His Friends at The Playlist.

The prospect of deep-sea mining may seem like a solution to our ever-growing fuel crisis. Polymetallic nodules that sit on the ocean floor are made up of the very type of metals that so-called ‘green’ companies need to build batteries. Nickel, cobalt, lithium, and graphite have major supply chain issues, as extractive mines are overwhelmed while companies and countries race to control the supply before others. On the surface, it makes sense when companies such as The Metals Company (TMC), and its CEO Gerard Barron, go on Bloomberg to pontificate about the eco-friendly process of extracting these deep-sea nodules.

Continue reading ‘Deep Rising’ Review: Jason Momoa Produced Doc Incisively Explores the Ramifications of Deep-Sea Mining [Sundance] at The Playlist.

While introducing “Radical,” director Christopher Zalla (“Sangre de Mi Sangre”/”Blood of My Blood”) said it was a labor of love. In addition to that, he said it’s a “movie about what happens when kids are empowered.” And while the film definitely explores this in a well-crafted display of filmmaking, it also leaves a bit of a dark shadow in the minds of those allergic to the notion that your mind is all you need to succeed.

Continue reading ‘Radical’ Review: Eugenio Derbez Stars In Heartfelt But Flawed Teaching Drama [Sundance] at The Playlist.

Not only are Gia’s children in foster care, awaiting their mother’s journey through the system to end before they can be fully reunited, Gia (Tia Nomore) is also pregnant. Nearing her due date, the 24-year-old works to fulfill the cumbersome court-mandated requirements for reunification with her kids while she scrounges for hours at her portrait studio job. While the system pushes her on one side, the place where Gia lives isn’t much better: There, her sister sells drugs from their Bay Area home; outside their apartment, men catcall her; and every day, a landlord bangs on her door demanding rent.

Continue reading ‘Earth Mama’ Review: Savanah Leaf’s Social Drama Nurtures Bleakness [Sundance] at The Playlist.

When Netflix released “Sex Education” almost a year ago there was little fanfare beforehand.  Sure, critics had gone gaga over Laurie Nunn‘s showrunning debut, but from the outset, it was a bit hard to differentiate from all the other teen programs populating the streaming service. The concept was cute though.  A British teenage boy, Otis (Asa Butterfield), becomes the de facto sex education counselor for his classmates at a rural England secondary school (high school in North America).

Continue reading ‘Sex Education’: The Kids Are Growing Up & Hooking Up In Season 2 [Review] at The Playlist.

One of the most common staples in the horror genre is the haunted house. Those austere, alarming Amityville of books, film and television, where unsuspecting families must deal with supernatural surprises and malevolent maladies that bleed through the walls, jump out at the most inopportune times and reveal deep, dark secrets about the haunt’s surroundings, the characters in the labyrinth and, really, about ourselves in the audience.

READ MORE: The 10 Best Final Girls In Horror Movies

Family-based horror also seems to be the spook du jour for 2018 —Ari Aster‘s A24 chiller “Hereditary” already terrorized audiences this summer with little mouth clicks, little ants and miniature houses.

Continue reading ‘Haunting Of Hill House’: Horror Hits Home With Netflix’s Moving, Eerie Series [Review] at The Playlist.

“Man Not Accepting Any More Television Recommendations At This Time,” went a particularly good Onion headline this week, and most of us can probably identify. An estimated 455 scripted shows aired on U.S. TV in 2016, and it’s likely to be even more than that in 2017, more than anyone could watch even if they devoted every waking hour (and beyond) to the idiot box.

READ MORE: The 30 Best TV Shows Of 2016

We’ve already highlighted a good 250 hours or so in our 2017 TV Preview, but we only focused on new shows (or, in a couple of cases, a sequel, in “Top Of The Lake: China Girl,” or the decades-later follow-up to a beloved classic in “Twin Peaks”), whereas the year to come will see plenty more established hits returning, some of which took a year out last year (or even beyond that).

Continue reading The 20 Best TV Shows Returning In 2017 at The Playlist.

Review: Jason Bateman's Endearing & Satisfying 'The Family Fang' With Nicole Kidman

Continue reading Review: Jason Bateman’s Endearing & Satisfying ‘The Family Fang’ With Nicole Kidman at The Playlist.

Review: Tender But Uneven Drag Queen Tale 'Viva'

Continue reading Review: Tender But Uneven Drag Queen Tale ‘Viva’ at The Playlist.

Review: ‘The Wait’ Starring Juliette Binoche And Lou de Laâge

Continue reading Review: ‘The Wait’ Starring Juliette Binoche And Lou de Laâge at The Playlist.

Tribeca Review: Jenny Gage's Raw And Heartwarming Documentary 'All This Panic'

Continue reading Tribeca Review: Jenny Gage’s Raw And Heartwarming Documentary ‘All This Panic’ at The Playlist.

Review: Keegan-Michael Key And Jordan Peele's Big Screen Cat Comedy 'Keanu'

Continue reading Review: Keegan-Michael Key And Jordan Peele’s Big Screen Cat Comedy ‘Keanu’ at The Playlist.

Tribeca Review: 'Mr. Church' Starring Eddie Murphy, Britt Robertson And Natascha McElhone

Continue reading Tribeca Review: ‘Mr. Church’ Starring Eddie Murphy, Britt Robertson And Natascha McElhone at The Playlist.

Tribeca Review: Neo-Noir 'Detour' Starring Tye Sheridan, Bel Powley And Emory Cohen

Continue reading Tribeca Review: Neo-Noir ‘Detour’ Starring Tye Sheridan, Bel Powley And Emory Cohen at The Playlist.

Tribeca Review: Michael Shannon Shines In Basketball Drama 'Wolves'

Continue reading Tribeca Review: Michael Shannon Shines In Basketball Drama ‘Wolves’ at The Playlist.

Tribeca Review: 'A Kind Of Murder' Starring Patrick Wilson, Jessica Biel, Eddie Marsan And Vincent Kartheiser

Continue reading Tribeca Review: ‘A Kind Of Murder’ Starring Patrick Wilson, Jessica Biel, Eddie Marsan And Vincent Kartheiser at The Playlist.

Tribeca Review: Infectious And Joyful Dance Documentary 'Contemporary Color' Featuring David Byrne, St. Vincent, And More

Continue reading Tribeca Review: Infectious And Joyful Dance Documentary ‘Contemporary Color’ Featuring David Byrne, St. Vincent, And More at The Playlist.

Tribeca Review: 'The Ticket' Starring Dan Stevens, Malin Akerman And Oliver Platt

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Review: Understated And Authentic 'Sworn Virgin' Starring Alba Rohrwacher

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Tribeca Review: 'The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea' Starring Jason Sudeikis, Maisie Williams, Jessica Biel, And More

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Review: Boisterous 'Men & Chicken' Starring Mads Mikkelsen Is Rambunctiously Good

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Tribeca Review: 'Between Us' Starring Olivia Thirlby, Ben Feldman, Analeigh Tipton & Adam Goldberg

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Review: Matteo Garrone's Entertaining But Fleeting 'Tale Of Tales' With Salma Hayek, John C. Reilly, Vincent Cassel, More

Continue reading Review: Matteo Garrone’s Entertaining But Fleeting ‘Tale Of Tales’ With Salma Hayek, John C. Reilly, Vincent Cassel, More at The Playlist.

Review: 'Elvis & Nixon' Starring Michael Shannon And Kevin Spacey

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Tribeca Review: TNT's 'Animal Kingdom' Starring Ellen Barkin, Scott Speedman And Shawn Hatosy

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