It’s been a mad, whirlwind 2023, and we can’t believe it’s almost over. Despite the tensions in our industry, the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, those linger aftereffects, and the way that box office seemed to wobble all year long with highs and lows—#Barbenheimer being a big high, seemingly sure bets like ‘Mission Impossible’ and “The Marvels’ and all DC superhero films flopping or underperforming—it’s kind of been chaotic year for the film and TV industry.

Continue reading The 21 Best Films Of 2023 at The Playlist.

With only one month left in 2023, it’s time for major publications and critics (and, of course, John Waters) to make their annual top 10 lists of the year’s best movies. And as usual, legendary French film mag Cahier du Cinema leads the charge with its ten best films of 2023. But since Cahier du cinema is a continental publication with an iconoclastic bent, don’t expect popular American films from this year like “Barbie” or “Oppenheimer” to make their list.  

Continue reading ‘Trenque Lauquen,’ ‘Close Your Eyes,’ & ‘Anatomy Of A Fall’ Top Cahier Du Cinema’s Best Films Of 2023 List at The Playlist.

Like trailers, movie posters are marketing materials to put butts in seats for movies and one could argue—with the fragmenting nature of streaming and the downtrends of movie theatergoing—that movie posters aren’t as important as they once were to pop culture and movie-going culture. That said, we still love ‘em, especially the artful, more visually dynamic ones that aren’t afraid to do more than put a bunch of floating heads on a poster to sell the cast of a movie. 

2023 Fall Film Preview: 60+ Most Anticipated Movies To Watch

Posters vary in quality, and obviously, many of the mainstream film ones are pretty basic, sometimes overtly colorful to the point of being garish, and don’t even get us get us started on characters posters (especially the ones for, like, the 10th character actor on the call sheet that while we love and all, might not really warrant a full poster to themselves).

Continue reading The 20 Best Film Posters Of 2023 at The Playlist.

OK, we’re already past the halfway mark of 2023, so it’s time for a Best-Of-Year, So Far list, cool? As usual, our mid-year list contains films released right up until, well, yesterday, basically. Our “rules,” insofar as we stick to them, is that films on this should have had a U.S. theatrical release and not just show up at a film festival, but as you might remember from the past, we bend those rules a little here and there.

Continue reading The Best Films Of 2023… So Far at The Playlist.

The new A24 film “Showing Up” comes from writer/director Kelly Reichardt (“First Cow“) and the filmmaker reunites with Oscar-winning actress Michelle Williams (“The Fabelmans“). The pair previously worked together on “Wendy & Lucy,” “Meek’s Cutoff,” and “Certain Woman” and all those collaborations are arguably both their best works.

Continue reading Watch An Exclusive Clip From Kelly Reichardt’s A24 Drama ‘Showing Up’ Starring Michelle Williams, Hong Chau & Judd Hirsch at The Playlist.

We’re officially at the point of the year (already) where each week delivers gluttonous offerings of new releases. In the upcoming month alone, we have a full docket of theatrical releases worth seeking out, both mainstream releases as well as ones that will be favoring the NYC and LA markets for the time being. It’s another demonstration of how the bar has continually shifted earlier and earlier to accommodate studio release schedules, with big tentpole features playing in earlier months than the older standard of summer releases. 

READ MORE: 16 April TV Shows To Watch: ‘Barry,’ ‘Dead Ringers,’ ‘Beef,’ ‘Tiny Beautiful Things’ & More

There’s less by way of streaming, with theatrical releases offering the biggest titles, from the last directorial effort from Ben Affleck, another attempt to adapt video games to the big screen, Nicolas Cage as Dracula, and the feature film debut from the creator of “We Are Lady Parts.” It’s a busy season with plenty worth traveling to the theater for. 

“Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields”
Split into two parts, “Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields” explores the actor, model, and icon Brooke Shields as she discovers her power and gains agency after a tumultuous adolescence where she was sexualized as a young girl.

Continue reading 16 Must-See Movies In April: ‘Beau is Afraid,’ ‘Showing Up,’ ‘Air,’ ‘Polite Society’ & More at The Playlist.

In theory, Michelle Williams really did not need to do this. It’s just two days after she attended the 95th Academy Awards and, on her fifth nomination, sadly came up short. The last thing anyone in her position would want to do is then spend a day participating in Zoom interviews for a film that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival 10 months prior. Perhaps it’s a testament to her friendship with frequent collaborator Kelly Reichardt that she’s happily back on the promo trail.

Continue reading Michelle Williams & Kelly Reichardt Revisit The Artistic Process Of ‘Showing Up’ [Interview] at The Playlist.

Yes, we’re still here with Best-of 2022 recaps and 2023 anticipated features; we know. We’re gluttons for punishment and maybe a little bit psycho. But yes, we obviously like to look ahead and look back, and our annual The Best Films Of [Insert Year Here] We’ve Already Seen feature is the perfect opportunity to do both.

READ MORE: The 25 Best Films Of 2022

The gist? Well, we’ve already made our list of the 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2023, which could have been much longer and will be expanded, by the very least, in our Sundance preview.

Continue reading The 25 Best Films Of 2023 We’ve Already Seen at The Playlist.

In what was perhaps the greatest robbery of the decade, Kelly Reichardt’s “First Cow” received a grand total of zero nominations at the 93rd Academy Awards. Boasting an impressive score of 89 on Metacritic, the film topped many critics’ end-of-year lists, even winning the NYFCC’s Best Film award, and developed a small—predominantly indie—following after its VOD distribution in July 2020. Alas, it was not to be. But the Academy will have a chance to atone next year, as her new film, “Showing Up,” is looking at a spring 2023 release via A24.

Continue reading ‘Showing Up’ Trailer: Michelle Williams Preps For An Art Show In Kelly Reichardt’s New A24 Drama at The Playlist.

Breathe in. Ahhhh. You feel that? Experts worldwide are reporting that today is, factually speaking, the perfect day to watch a female-directed film. Actually – this just in – every day of 2022 has officially been declared the perfect day to watch a female-directed film.

READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2022

That’s a lot of days, so, as per yearly tradition, below are 52 upcoming titles to get you started.

Continue reading 52 Films Directed By Women To Watch In 2022 at The Playlist.

Putting together the 100 Most Anticipated Films list is a beast in any year. Still, in the new accelerated age of streaming with HBO Max, Apple TV+, Amazon, Netflix, and all the new players popping up every single day, it seems, the task becomes more and more daunting and nearly impossible (we could have easily gone to 200 this year).

So we’re post-COVID, but oops, not-yet post-COVID, but somehow movies have survived, even if the theatrical market becomes a more challenging and riskier gambit.

Continue reading The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2022 at The Playlist.

A24 and director Kelly Reichardt‘s (“Wendy & Lucy“) upcoming film “Showing Up” takes place within the art scene with Kelly reuniting with four-time Oscar nominee Michelle Williams (“Manchester By The Sea“), who plays an artist about to have a career-changing art exhibition while attempting to her chaotic life that should inspire some fantastic artwork. 

READ MORE: Michelle Williams & Kelly Reichardt Reunite For A24 Film ‘Showing Up’

There has been a huge casting update from Deadline, as the studio has added a whole bunch of additions to “Showing Up.” The group of talented actors joining Williams includes Hong Chau (“Inherent Vice,” “Downsizing,” “Watchmen“), Judd Hirsch (“Uncut Gems“), André Benjamin (“High Life“), John Magaro (“Overlord“), Maryann Plunkett, Heather Lawless, Amanda Plummer, Larry Fessenden, and James Le Gros. 

Continue reading ‘Showing Up’: Hong Chau, Andre Benjamin, Judd Hirsch, John Magaro & More Join Michelle Williams In Kelly Reichardt’s New Feature at The Playlist.

2020 probably wasn’t an awesome year for most people, considering everything going on in the world. But for filmmaker Kelly Reichardt, it was pretty great. Having released her feature “First Cow,” the writer-director earned some of the best reviews of her already-great career and is seemingly in line for some Oscar love soon. And she’s not slowing down anytime soon by reuniting with one of her favorite collaborators, Michelle Williams, for a brand-new movie going into production this year.

Continue reading Michelle Williams & Kelly Reichardt Reunite For A24 Film ‘Showing Up’ at The Playlist.