If the saying goes that love conquers all, then Wim Wenders follows that adage to the very depths of the ocean in “Submergence.” The sadly soggy drama will perhaps interest fans of Alicia Vikander and James McAvoy, but unfortunately, there’s not much else to recommend outside of that.

Based on the book by J.M. Ledgard, with a script by Erin Dignam (Sean Penn’s widely panned “The Last Face,” so, you know, temper expectations) the story follows a British secret agent and a bio-mathematician who fall in love, and yes, the movie is as preposterous as that sounds.

Continue reading ‘Submergence’ Trailer: Alicia Vikander & James McAvoy’s Love Knows No Limits at The Playlist.

It has been a while since Wim Wenders (“Wings Of Desire,” “Paris, Texas“) has a truly great narrative film, and unfortunately, the wait continues. The director’s latest, “Submergence,” is another disappointment, a nearly howlingly bad romantic drama that threads together a creaky and overwrought romantic tragedy.

Based on the book by J.M. Ledgard, with a script by Erin Dignam (who is gaining the wrong reputation after having also penned Sean Penn’s critical disaster “The Last Face”), the film stars James McAvoy and Alicia Vikander, and follows a British secret agent and a bio-mathematician who fall madly in love after meeting at a very fancy, exclusive resort.

Continue reading ‘Submergence’ Trailer: Alicia Vikander & James McAvoy Fall In Love at The Playlist.

There are few directors that cinephiles continue to hold out hope that they have another great movie in them like Wim Wenders. Aside from documentaries like “The Salt Of The Earth” and “Pina,” it feels like an entire generation has passed since the German auteur, despite working a prolific clip, has delivered a truly great feature film. While major actors continue to line up and work for the filmmaker, recent efforts like “Every Thing Will Be Fine” and “The Beautiful Days Of Aranjuez” have failed to connect critically, and certainly haven’t commercially.

Continue reading James McAvoy & Alicia Vikander Fall In Love In Wim Wenders’ ‘Submergence’ [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.

The Telluride Film Festival is in the rear-view mirror and the Venice Film Festival will finish up this week and that means they’ll both give way to the Toronto International Film Festival, easily the largest film festival in North America, and in terms of sheer size and volume, probably the largest film festival in the world. TIFF usually houses around 300 films or so, and it’s such a wide and varied event, you can curate it to your tastes: you could stick with glossy mainstream picks with stars, indie up-and-comers, Midnight Madness pictures, foreign films, documentaries, experimental films, and shorts if you wish.

Continue reading 2017 Toronto International Film Festival: 21 Must-See Films at The Playlist.

This morning, the Toronto International Film Festival unwrapped their first wave of titles, and their 2017 lineup is looking very impressive out of the gate.

It’s auteurs and high profile titles left and right, with plenty of dive into. Right at the top of our must-see list is Darren Aronofsky‘s “mother!” starring Jennifer Lawrence, with Scott Cooper‘s “Hostiles” starring Christian Bale, and Sebastian Lelio‘s “Disobedience” high on our list.

Continue reading TIFF 2017 Lines Up ‘mother!,’ ‘Hostiles,’ ‘I, Tonya,’ ‘The Current War,’ ‘Battle Of The Sexes’ & More at The Playlist.

Wim Wenders has been having quite the renaissance in the last year or so 2015 was all about his retrospectives, with MOMA, the IFC Center and many art houses around the country playing pristine 4K restorations from the German auteur’s oeuvre. And this year, Janus and the Criterion Collection are releasing those same underloved, but cinema-classic titles — “Alice In The Cities,” “The American Friend,” “Until The End Of The World”— on Blu-Ray and DVD.

Continue reading First Look: Alicia Vikander & James McAvoy In Wim Wenders’ Drama ‘Submergence’ at The Playlist.

James McAvoy Joins Wim Wenders’ Romantic Thriller ‘Submergence’

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