2022 marked another banner year for documentary cinema. They have inspired us, informed us, and taken us on unforgettable journeys. Documentarians have given us second looks at entertainers we thought we knew. They’ve examined systematic inequalities and looked inward at themselves. They’ve told personal stories that cover vast expanses of the human condition. 

READ MORE: The 25 Best Films Of 2022

This year we at The Playlist have expanded the list to twenty documentaries, from ecological pleas to a reconsideration of the film canon to portraits of artists of singular talent and vision.

Continue reading The Best Documentaries Of 2022 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, and catalog titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This twice-monthly column sifts through all those choices to pluck out the movies that are most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching.

This week’s disc and streaming guide includes a handful of big fall releases, as well as another truckload of classics hitting 4K, a couple of red-hot new streamers, and one of the best box sets of the year.

Continue reading The Best Movies To Buy Or Stream This Week: ‘Ticket to Paradise,’ ‘The Woman King,’ ‘Amsterdam,’ & More at The Playlist.

One of the biggest stars in the world, you know Robert Downey Jr. In every conceivable metric on Box Office Mojo, The Numbers, Wikipedia, ranking the highest-ranking lifetime actor grosses at the box office, or bankability, Downey Jr. is always at or near the top. But perhaps some modern-day audiences have forgotten that Downey Jr. is arthouse movie royalty and his father, Robert Downey Sr., was a renegade counterculture filmmaker throughout the 1960s and 1970s, making lo-fi, DYI, independent cinema before most people considered it an alternative option to the mainstream.

Continue reading ‘Sr.’ Trailer: Robert Downey Jr. Celebrates His Irreverent Filmmaking Father Robert Downey Sr. at The Playlist.

As we are seeing this film festival season return to what we all knew and loved pre-pandemic, we are so excited to have one of the longest-running U.S.-based film festivals return for its 60th year (yes, 60!!). The non-competitive New York Film Festival has a lot of great films, as always, this year which includes multiple films by Hong Sangsoo,  a 50th Anniversary screening of  “Solaris” complete with a live musical accompaniment, “Master Gardener” by Paul Schrader, and “Decision to Leave” by Park Chan-wook.  

READ MORE: Fall 2022 Preview: 60+ Must-See Films To Watch

The 60th annual New York Film Festival starts this week, running from September 30 to October 16.

Continue reading 2022 New York Film Festival Preview: 14 Must-See Movies at The Playlist.

Although Robert Downey Jr. is currently one of the most famous actors on the planet, he reminds the audience early in the new documentary “Sr.”— about his late father Robert Downey Sr.— that for many years, he was simply just known as “Bob Downey’s kid.” Which is ostensibly the impetus of “Sr.,” directed by celebrated documentarian Chris Smith (“American Movie”), yet, essentially hosted and presented by RDJ, to put his father in proper cinematic and historical context.

Continue reading ‘Sr.’ Review: Robert Downey Jr. Playfully & Lovingly Celebrates His Trailblazing & Irreverent Filmmaking Father [Telluride] at The Playlist.

Labor Day weekend is considered the final goodbye to summer. Depending on your interests and location across the US, you may find yourself at events such as the Electric Zoo music festival in New York, at the Minnesota State Fair, or at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado– Telluride marking that the fall film festival season is in full swing.

READ MORE: Telluride 2022: Festival Line-Up Includes ‘Empire Of Light,’ ‘Women Talking’ & More

The intimate festival is unique in comparison to other festivals of its nature because the full film line-up isn’t announced until after the festival has begun.

Continue reading Telluride 2022 Preview: 12 Must-See Films To Watch at The Playlist.

Continue reading ‘Ballast ‘Scores Four Gotham Award Nominations, ‘Wrestler’ & ‘Synecdoche, NY’ Nab Best Feature Nominations at The Playlist.