I blame Isaac Newton and his stupid third law. Just because 2018 has had more than its fair share of stunningly great movies, somehow physics dictates that it has to have had an equal but opposite counterbalance. And indeed so it has, more or less, come to pass. For every “Black Panther” there’s been a “Venom.” For every “Paddington 2” there’s been a “Peter Rabbit.” And for every newly minted future classic, such as “You Were Never Really Here” or “Burning” there has been a [REDACTED] or a [REDACTED] (our top 2 picks, you’re just gonna have to click) — movies so profoundly awful, from conception to execution that they will surely occupy plinths in the all-time Hall of Infamy.

Continue reading The Worst Films of 2018 at The Playlist.

The pop culture sensation of 2011 is now the erotic film franchise nobody wants to get into bed with. Let “Fifty Shades Freed” be a cautionary tale for Hollywood executives who try to capture a cultural moment that has little substance or lasting power.

The final chapter in the sexytimes series debuted with a weak $38 million, but it was enough to capture the top spot at the box office this weekend.

Continue reading ‘Fifty Shades Freed’ Climaxes With Limp Franchise Finale [Box Office] at The Playlist.

At 87 years of age, and with nearly 50 years of filmmaking experience, Clint Eastwood is a seasoned pro, a resilient icon, and one of the last remaining titans of his era. It’s remarkable that at nearly 90 years old, he’s not only still making studio movies, but critical and commercial hits (it was only four years ago that “American Sniper” became one of the most successful pictures of his career).

Continue reading Clint Eastwood’s ‘The 15:17 To Paris’ Misses The Station [Review] at The Playlist.

At face value, February is looking pretty grim. With films such as the finale to a much derided trilogy “50 Shades Freed” (what even is that title) and the embarrassment that looks to be “Peter Rabbit” both coming out in the same week, it might be easy to call the entire month a wash. And, to be frank, I’d nearly agree if there weren’t the bright spots that will redeem the month from itself — and it’s certainly better than January.

Continue reading 12 Films To See In February at The Playlist.

Clint Eastwood’s thirty eighth feature, “The 15:17 To Paris” is set to enter cinemas in the United States on February 9th, . Based entirely on the disputatiously titled “The 15:17 to Paris: The True Story of a Terrorist, a Train, and Three American Heroes” written by Jeffrey E. Stern, Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler and Alek Skarlatos, the flick is set to be based on the August 2015 Thalys train attack.

Continue reading ‘The 15:17 To Paris’ Trailer: Clint Eastwood Lauds Real Life Heroes at The Playlist.

The race to make the Oscars is nearing the final stretch and its unclear if some movies will make the cut. We know that Paul Thomas Anderson will be in the mix thanks to the glorious trailer for “Phantom Thread,” while Ridley Scott is giving it a whirl with “All The Money In The World.” However, one movie that was aiming for the awards season may not make it.

Continue reading Clint Eastwood’s ‘The 15:17 To Paris’ Books February 2018 Release Date at The Playlist.

The last thing I probably want to do is admit how long I’ve been filing this particular column and while I’ve missed a few years here and there this is actually the third outlet I’ve done it for. Making predictions for the Oscars in August can be very dumb in some respects, but sometimes truths are revealed months ahead of time. Predicting “Grand Budapest Hotel” and “Mad Max: Fury Road” were going to be Best Picture nominees in August were spot on (cough, most other pundits didn’t).

Continue reading Oscars In August: ‘Dunkirk,’ Pasek & Paul, Denzel Washington And Eight Other Early Predictions at The Playlist.

Director Clint Eastwood has helmed fourteen movies since hitting the age of 70. Has any director come close to that feat at this late stage in their career? Yes, Woody Allen‘s nearly been there thirteen films post-70, but Eastwood is still making hyper relevant films at the near twilight of his career and sometime breaking the box office in the process with something like “American Sniper.” Case in point his last two films: ‘Sniper‘ and “Sully,” both of which had the classicism of old-school Hollywood filmmaking, and yet, felt vitally alive and current.

Continue reading Clint Eastwood’s ‘The 15:17 To Paris’ May Join The Oscar Race In December at The Playlist.

Clint Eastwood has taken an interest lately in profiling real-life heroes. A few years back we got the blockbuster hit “American Sniper,” last year was the somewhat underrated “Sully,” and, for a moment, the director was looking at helming “Impossible Odds,” which would tell the true story of Jessica Buchanan, who was kidnapped by Somali land pirates in 2011 and held for 93 days before being rescued in a daring Seal Team Six mission.

Continue reading Clint Eastwood Using Real-Life Heroes For Leads In Terrorist Drama ‘The 15:17 To Paris’ at The Playlist.