There’s something much scarier in horror films than icons like Dracula or Michael Myers. Plus, you don’t have to look far and wide to find them. They’re kissing you goodbye every day and sitting across from you at dinner every night. Loved ones. From “Rosemary’s Baby” to “The Invisible Man,” the disturbing depths they sink to never cease to repel an audience and hold them in rapture.

Continue reading ‘The Night’ Trailer: That Wake-Up Call Might Never Come In Kourosh Ahari’s Latest Film at The Playlist.

There is no greater chronicler of the minute but manifold disappointments and disillusionments of which irreparable rifts in relationships are made than Iranian director Asghar Farhadi. His last four films — “Fireworks Wednesday,” “About Elly,” “A Separation” and “The Past” —  have all examined compromised coupledom in some way. And all have proven Farhadi’s astonishing capacity to trace the ramifications of the incredibly ordinary — an unanswered door, a well-meaning white lie, a forgotten phone — as they unspool with tick-tock clockwork logic toward extraordinary climaxes, that feel both inevitable and unexpected.

Continue reading Asghar Farhadi’s ‘The Salesman’ Is Compelling, But Falls Just Short Of Greatness [Review] at The Playlist.

It’s one thing to keep track of the Oscar contenders from Hollywood, until you’re reminded that there’s still plenty more to mine from the Best Foreign Film entries coming in from around the globe. Since its debut at the Cannes Film Festival this spring, things have been mostly quiet around “A Separation” and “The Past” director Asghar Farhadi‘s “The Salesman,” but as Iran’s choice for the competition this year, we’re about to hear a lot more.

Continue reading Domestic Discord Simmers In New Trailer For Asghar Farhadi’s ‘The Salesman’ at The Playlist.

Twelve days of cinephile heaven are over as the Cannes Film Festival wraps up for another year. This evening in the south of France, the George Miller-led jury have made their selection of the winners. And as per usual, there were some major curveballs.

Ashgar Farhadi‘s well-received but not particularly wildly acclaimed “The Salesman” landed two awards for Best Actor and Best Screenplay.

Continue reading Cannes: Ken Loach’s ‘I, Daniel Blake’ Wins Palme d’Or; Xavier Dolan Takes Grand Prix, Andrea Arnold Nabs Jury Prize at The Playlist.