How many secrets can one family have? Filmmaker Emerald Fennell returns with “Saltburn,” a darkly comedic drama centered on a group of wealthy Oxford students who escape to a lush estate for the summer. A follow-up to her critically acclaimed effort “Promising Young Woman,” the upcoming project sees a hapless college student search for a welcoming clique; what he discovers is another student offering a different world and the prospect of an irresistible invitation.

Continue reading ‘Saltburn’ Trailer: Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi & More Star In Emerald Fennell’s Twisted Gothic Tale at The Playlist.

None of us were privy to the casting process for Alice Troughton’s “The Lesson,” but I sincerely hope, with my entire heart, that they opened a bottle of champagne after locking in Richard E. Grant. He plays J.M. Sinclair, a fabulously successful and comfortably wealthy British author, the kind of fellow who lives on a rambling estate and works out of a plush office surrounded by the great works of literature.

Continue reading ‘The Lesson’ Review: Alice Troughton’s Witty, Dark Comedy Provides A Welcome, Hearty Showcase For Richard E. Grant [Tribeca] at The Playlist.

Alice Troughton is a British TV director with credits under her belt like “Doctor Who,” “Atlantis,” “The Flash,” and “A Discovery Of Witches.” But for her feature directorial debut, “The Lesson,” in theaters next month, she spins a noir thriller that takes the adage of “don’t meet your heroes” to its most dangerous conclusion.

Continue reading ‘The Lesson’ Trailer: Literary Noir Thriller With Richard E. Grant & Julie Delpy Premieres At Tribeca, Hits Theaters On July 7 at The Playlist.

Can adult fantasy animation still find its audience? The team behind “The Spine of Night” hopes the answer is a resounding yes. If anything, ‘Night’ feels most at home echoing back to the revered cult classic “Heavy Metal.” The glowing orb that gives “Heavy Metal” its gateways for anthology stories replaced this time by an all too natural element. 

READ MORE: ‘The Spine Of Night’ Is Blood-Soaked Animated Eye Candy [SXSW Review]

‘Night’ includes a talented cast of actors, with Richard E.

Continue reading ‘The Spine Of Night’ Trailer: Ultra-Violent Animated Fantasy Film Arrives Later This Month at The Playlist.

After almost 40 years in film and television, get ready to hear Richard E. Grant sing. The Oscar nominee has done so on the stage, most recently in a stage production of “My Fair Lady” in 2017, but his role as Hugo Battersby in the new movie musical “Everbody’s Talking About Jamie” will be a first for most viewers around the world. Oh, and it’s also the first time he’s played a drag queen.

Continue reading Richard E. Grant ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie,’ Tucking, ‘Drag Race’ (& ‘Loki’ Too) [Interview] at The Playlist.

We’re all in need of a few more feel-good movies at the moment, and Amazon Prime’s “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie” might be just the thing. The movie follows a wannabe drag queen as he attempts to follow his dreams and be true to himself in one of the most difficult places to do that — high school. The “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie” trailer previews a heartwarming story about finding yourself, being true to yourself, and having the confidence to be yourself in public.

Continue reading ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ Trailer: A Young Teen’s Dreams Turn Him Into A Musical Sensation at The Playlist.

The 2017 original wasn't exactly a fresh bouquet of roses to begin with, and unsurprisingly, there's little new ground to cover in its sequel.

Continue reading ‘Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard’: A Slight Improvement But Still Soulless, Unfunny Junk [Review] at The Playlist.

It’s arguable if 2017’s successful “The Hitman’s Bodyguard” film truly deserves its own sequel, even if it made money, but that said, the cast of Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, and Salma Hayek, in an action-comedy sound not so bad, right? Plus, there’s the supporting cast, Antonio Banderas, Morgan Freeman, Frank Grillo, Caroline Goodall, Rebecca Front, Gabriella Wright, Alice McMillan, Kristofer Kamiyasu, Tom Hopper, Blake Ritson, with Richard E.

Continue reading ‘Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard’ Trailer: Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson & Salma Hayek Make A Killer Threesome at The Playlist.

Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on-demand, vintage and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalog titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This weekly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching. 

This week, one of the most divisive movies of the holidays hits disc and VOD today, and that’s not all; we’ve got critically acclaimed choices streaming on both Netflix and Hulu, plus a quartet of catalog classics on disc from Criterion and KL Studio Classics.

Continue reading The 7 Best Movies To Buy Or Stream This Week: ‘The Rise Of Skywalker,’ ‘Portrait of A Lady on Fire’ & More at The Playlist.

If Marvel Studios’ “The Falcon & The Winter Soldier” promises a new Captain America and “WandaVision” promises some serious weirdness, then the calling card for “Loki,” at this point, is the incredible cast. And in true Marvel fashion, the upcoming Disney+ series shows the rich keep getting richer as the already-great group of actors is welcoming Richard E.

Continue reading Richard E. Grant Joins The Stacked Cast Of Marvel’s ‘Loki’ Streaming Series at The Playlist.

What do you get if you combine the bleak social discourse of “Black Mirror,” the wittingly jarring voice of Peter Strickland, and the dreamlike sensibility of Leos Carax–before adding an unwelcome squeeze of out-of-date social commentary? Jason Segel’s “Dispatches From Elsewhere,” apparently: An anthology series which yields a fascinating metatextual spine and great performances, yet comes up short in its murky musings on contemporary trans politics.

Continue reading ‘Dispatches From Elsewhere’: Jason Segel’s Mixes ‘Black Mirror,’ Leos Carax & Iffy Social Commentary [Berlin Review] at The Playlist.

Richard E. Grant might be an Academy Award-nominated actor, but his recent comments about working on “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” proves one thing — he’s also a massive fanboy. We, obviously, mean this with the utmost respect. But let’s be real, Grant has proven that he’s probably the most excited person on the planet for the upcoming “Star Wars” film and just can’t seem to keep his mouth shut about it.

Continue reading Richard E. Grant Teases A Massive, “Really Smart” Twist In ‘Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker’ at The Playlist.

In the days leading up to a film’s release, fans fully expect the actors and filmmakers involved to be raving about the film. That’s part of the deal, and it’s exactly why the studios expect them to go out promoting the project. But in the case of Richard E. Grant’s recent tweet after finally seeing “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” we can’t help but think that there’s immense sincerity in what he says.

Continue reading Richard E. Grant Has Seen ‘Rise Of Skywalker’ & Tearfully Says “Nothing Prepares You” For How Great The Film Is at The Playlist.

With the rise of streaming services delivering unprecedented numbers of original series, studios, networks, and platforms are being more adventurous with what they decide to green light. Just in the last couple of years, we’ve seen series such as “Maniac” and “The OA” pushing the limits of storytelling and genre, for example. It appears that AMC is going a bit closer to the fringe of creativity with its next series, “Dispatches from Elsewhere.”

As seen in the first teaser for the series, “Dispatches from Elsewhere” looks to be a quirky, mystery show that takes a large group of diverse people and puts them in the middle of a meta-game where they act as spies for a shadow organization.

Continue reading ‘Dispatches From Elsewhere’ Teaser: Jason Segel, Sally Field & Richard E. Grant Star In This Mind-Bending Mystery Series at The Playlist.

The “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” marketing has officially begun. Sure, we’re about seven months away from the film’s release, but we already have a trailer (released last month) and now a set visit that reveals even more details about the upcoming ‘Episode IX.’ And according to director J.J. Abrams, ‘Rise’ is very different than the eight previous films in the Skywalker Saga.

Vanity Fair did what it does best, with a deep dive into the new film, complete with beautiful pictures courtesy of famed photographer Annie Leibovitz.

Continue reading ‘Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker’ First Look: Details About The Knights Of Ren, Zori Bliss, Allegiant General Pryde & More at The Playlist.

Today at Star Wars Celebration, Kathleen Kennedy and J.J. Abrams revealed the title of the much-anticipated ninth “Star Wars” film, formerly known as “Star Wars: Episode IX.” Now, officially titled “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” the film is being billed as ” the final installment of the Skywalker saga.”

READ MORE: ‘Star Wars Episode IX’: Luke Skywalker Will Return; Carrie Fisher To Reappear Via Old Footage

And it has been rumored this final chapter will close the books not only on the Skywalker storyline, that has now spanned nine films, and even put an end to the story of these new characters, Rey, Poe, etc.

Continue reading ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’ Teaser: The Final Saga Film Is ‘The Rise Of Skywalker’ at The Playlist.

With there being such a cottage industry of prognostication and precursors around the Oscars, it sometimes feels that the true surprise is a thing of the past when it comes to the actual day itself. Take last year for instance, where almost every major winner was one that was heavily predicted without much in the way of an upset.

This was not one of those years. Most of the major categories remained competitive until late in the day (only Best Actor was truly locked down, and even that felt like Christian Bale could potentially surprise), and plenty of expected and overdue winners went home empty-handed with only their wildly valuable gift bags and an offer to play the villain in the “Black Widow” movie to show for it.

Continue reading The Snubs & Surprises Of The 2019 Oscars at The Playlist.

It’s easy to rag on Oscar’s little brother (or sister). The Film Independent Spirit Awards are held in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica and aired on little-watched IFC. But considering the lack of budget compared to the Oscars or even Golden Globes, what IFC and Film Independent are able to pull off is often more fun, classier and stylish than the big boys.

READ MORE: “If Beale Street Could Talk” wins Best Film and rules the 2019 Spirit Awards

And sure, the show has problems.

Continue reading Best Of The 2019 Spirit Awards: Barry Jenkins, Aubrey Plaza, Glenn Close’s Dog Pippy at The Playlist.

With Oscar nominations finally announced, The Hollywood Reporter continues their great run of award roundtable conversations, having just released their full actors roundtable. The talk includes actors Hugh Jackman (“The Front Runner”), Timothée Chalamet (“Beautiful Boy”), Richard E. Grant (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?“), Viggo Mortensen (“Green Book”), Chadwick Boseman (“Black Panther”), and Mahershala Ali (“Green Book”).

Continue reading Mahershala Ali, Hugh Jackman, Timothée Chalamet & More Talk The “Blue-Collar” Aspects of Acting at The Playlist.

It was a happy morning for many Oscar nominees and the reactions slowly came in as the bleary-eyed realized how their lives had just taken an incredible turn.

READ MORE: Complete list of 2019 Oscar nominees 

This post will be updated with more reactions throughout the day.

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“Everyone who worked on this film truly risked putting themselves out there — in the hope that in doing so people will connect and feel something deep and personal — the way films have made me feel since I was a kid.

Continue reading Oscar Nominations Reactions: Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Barry Jenkins, Amy Adams at The Playlist.

The New York Film Critics Circle announced their 2019 year-end awards today and crowned Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma” Best Picture.  The Netflix and Participant Pictures release also took Best Director (Cuarón) and Best Cinematography.  Out of all the organization’s winners, “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” was the biggest surprise as the Sony Pictures Animation title won Best Animated Film.

A24’s “First Reformed” won both Best Actor (Ethan Hawke) and Best Screenplay (Paul Schrader) for “First Reformed” duplicating their wins at the Gotham Awards on Monday night.  

Continue reading ‘Roma’ Wins Best Picture From The New York Film Critics Circle at The Playlist.

After earning an Oscar nomination for her breakout big-screen role in “Bridesmaids” most cynical members of the media likely presumed Melissa McCarthy would be on the hunt for a dramatic role to find her way back to the Dolby Theater. I mean, once you get that close to Oscar’s glory it’s all about getting back, right? Now, if you were to take that decidedly negative perspective, that’s what you’d assume happened when McCarthy took the role of Lee Israel in Marielle Heller’s wonderful “Can You Ever Forgive Me?.” Of course, that’s absolutely not the case and there are two prominent reasons why.

Continue reading Melissa McCarthy “Couldn’t Let Go” Of Lee Israel’s Story In ‘Can You Ever Forgive Me?’ [Interview] at The Playlist.

When the cast was officially announced for the upcoming “Star Wars: Episode IX,” as expected, the major actors were all returning, including Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill. However, there were a few new additions to the franchise, as well, including veteran British actor Richard E. Grant. And judging by a video posted by the actor on Twitter, no one was happier to be part of J.J.

Continue reading Sorry ‘Star Wars’ Fans, Richard E. Grant Is Not Playing Thrawn In ‘Episode IX’ at The Playlist.

Mahershala Ali has won every major award for “Green Book” and he’s likely the biggest lock of the night. If for some reason there is an upset than either Richard E. Grant or Sam Elliott will be the surprise winner. [Updated Feb. 12]

Predictions
1. Mahershala Ali, “Green Book”
2. Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
3.

Continue reading 2019 Best Supporting Actor Oscars Predictions at The Playlist.

The (mismatched) buddy comedy genre is pretty well worn territory, but it can still be a hoot if pulled off with panache. Certainly, personalities don’t get much bigger than Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson, as they get in each other’s way in “The Hitman’s Bodyguard.”

The action comedy runs with a pretty simple premise, with a protection agent tasked with protecting a notorious hitman who is set to testify at trial.

Continue reading New Trailer For ‘The Hitman’s Bodyguard’ With Ryan Reynolds & Samuel L. Jackson Is Unkillable at The Playlist.