It was a day when four Hollywood guild honors had their say and the editors cut themselves into the picture with the 2022 ACE Eddie Awards nominations. On the film side, 10 nominees were recognized in two categories. Those films are “Belfast,” “Dune,” “King Richard,” “No Time To Die,” “The Power of the Dog,” “Cruella,” “Don’t Look Up,” “The French Dispatch,” “Licorice Pizza” and “tick, tick…BOOM!”

READ MORE: “Belfast,” “Dune” and “Succession” among 2022 PGA Awards nominees

Surprising omissions in the film categories include “West Side Story,” “Licorice Pizza” and “Nightmare Alley.”

On the television side, “Euphoria,” “Lupin,” “Squid Game” and two editors of “Succession” earned nods in the Drama category while “Hacks,” two nods each for “Ted Lasso” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” made up the Comedy field.

Continue reading ‘No Time To Die,’ ‘French Dispatch’ & ‘Euphoria’ Among 2022 ACE Eddie Awards Nominees at The Playlist.

As usual, the Art Directors Guild spread the love among numerous films, programs, commercials, and music videos with the announcement of the 2022 ADG Awards nominations. “The French Dispatch,” “Cruella,” “Nightmare Alley,” “Licorice Pizza,” “West Side Story” and “Dune” were among the films nominated. “Foundation,” “Loki,” “Squid Game,” “Only Murders in the Building,” “Yellowstone” and “The White Lotus” made the cut among the television categories.

READ MORE: Ethan Tobman: Designing for “Free Guy,” Taylor Swift and “Pam & Tommy” [Interview]

There were no obvious snubs on the TV side, but it was somewhat eyebrow-raising that neither “Belfast” and “The Power of the Dog,” the two Best Picture frontrunners, were not among the nominees.

Continue reading ‘French Dispatch,’ ‘Cruella,’ ‘Foundation’ Among 2022 ADG Awards Nominees 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, catalog titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This biweekly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching.

Our last streaming and buying guide of the year offers up plenty of fun for those of you lucky enough to have some time off— a handful of ace new releases, an eclectic assortment of catalog titles, and a must-have box set for martial arts aficionados.

Continue reading The Best Movies To Buy Or Stream This Week: ‘No Time To Die,’ ‘The French Dispatch,’ ‘Matrix Resurrections’ & More at The Playlist.

When it comes to content, 2021 was a year of massive highs and disappointing lows. As vaccinations began being implemented around the world, in-person festivals returned providing a euphoric celebration of cinema. And a rush into pandemic production by studios and networks in 2020 provided some unexpected standouts this calendar year (“Belfast,” “Squid Game”). Unfortunately, that content push also led to some films and television programs that resonated like a PTSD reaction to the aftermath of the 2007 WGA writer’s strike.

Continue reading Gregory Ellwood’s Top 10 Films and Top 10 Television Programs of 2021 at The Playlist.

“The movies are back, baby!” went the refrain this summer, up to, during, and continuously after the heavenly 10-day stretch around June where everything looked like it might really go back to normal, actual normal and not “new” normal; “new” normal is in no way preferable to “normal” normal, just like “new recipe” Butterfingers are trash compared to the genuine article. Be that as it may, enough folks insisted on the pandemic’s subsiding that the movies did indeed come back, and they brought with them another detail missing and longed-for in the sacred big-screen experience: Soundtracks.

Continue reading The Best Scores & Soundtracks of 2021 at The Playlist.

We celebrate the movies at this time of year, and in the wild rush to praise directors and actors for all that nifty directing and acting they did over the last 365 days, we all tend to forget that cinema is about more than just two sets of people. Just read Twitter. Who’s naming anyone other than auteurs and stars? How many times has Steven Spielberg’s name come up? How many times has Janusz Kamiński’s?

Continue reading The Best Cinematography Of 2021 at The Playlist.

We certainly have not resumed full normalcy as we continue to battle this pandemic, but at least we have movies—even more than last year. With certain reservations about how they were premiered, released, and distributed, this year in film brought back more festival favorites like Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch,” more massive franchise golden geese like Cary Joji Fukunaga’s “No Time to Die,” more awards-friendly fare that had been held over, like Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story.

Continue reading The 25 Best Films Of 2021 at The Playlist.

In our annual aggregation of some of the most respected Best Films of the Year lists, we like to highlight folks that offer unique opinions regarding cinema. We’ve already seen John Waters offer up a pretty offbeat Top 10 this year. And now, The New Yorker offers its Top 35 Best Films of 2021, with a healthy number of picks that will likely surprise people.

READ MORE: The Best Film Posters Of 2021

Sure, The New Yorker lists plenty of high-profile films in the Top 35.

Continue reading The New Yorker’s Best Films Of 2021 Include ‘Zola,’ ‘Passing’ & Quite A Few Docs at The Playlist.

Spotting and scrutinizing movie posters this year has felt brand new – like seeing the world with fresh eyes as we rush back into cinemas and can once again place faith in the pictures we see, knowing we will, finally, slowly, be able to bookmark these promises with a trip to the cinemas once more. That’s not to say we’re totally out of the woods yet – rather that there is simply more hope and excitement rather than just longing and loneliness as there was when we made this list this time last year. 

Right now, we celebrate – the colors, the emotion, the unexpected thrills and bold statements filmmakers are once more making with the first images we see of the movies we will so soon fall in love with.

Continue reading The Best Film Posters Of 2021 at The Playlist.

There is a common refrain being heard around Hollywood these days and it’s not one that will make the Academy happy (and, no, it’s not about an Academy Museum which has only three floors of exhibits). As more and more AMPAS members screen this year’s crop of Best Picture contenders – and, granted, they are barely getting started – many are verbalizing their concern over the Academy’s decision to stick with 10 nominees this year.

Continue reading The Great Hunt For 10 Best Picture Nominees Continues [Contender Countdown] at The Playlist.

Unlike Adapted Screenplay, the Original Screenplay category is not only more competitive but likely more settled with at least three nominees. Paul Thomas Anderson has four, yes, four Screenplay nominations to date (split in Original and Adapted), but has never won. Will “Licorice Pizza” deliver him a fifth nomination? It looks like it. Kenneth Branagh‘s autobiographical “Belfast” is pretty much a lock for a nomination (he earned an Adapted nod for “Hamlet” in 1998) and it’s likely Zach Baylin lands a nod for “King Richard.” As for the rest?

Continue reading Original Screenplay Oscars 2022 Predictions & Contenders at The Playlist.

Wes Anderson isn’t merely a filmmaker in 2021. He’s a brand unto himself: a curator, a collector of objects and memories, a mascot for twee culture, and everything that’s either shallow or transcendent about contemporary auteur filmmaking, depending on whom you ask. 

Over the years, Anderson has proven himself to be a veritable renaissance man: he’s designed bars in Milan, helmed exhibits at museums in Vienna (“Spitzmaus Mummy In A Coffin And Other Treasures”), and somehow, he even found time to contribute to 2018’s “Beastie Boys Book.” His detractors have accused him of style over substance, cultural appropriation, and reducing his characters to live-action dolls moving around ornately constructed dioramic interiors.

Continue reading The Essentials: The Films Of Wes Anderson at The Playlist.

The last few years have found the “industry” buzzing over when Netflix will capture its first Best Picture win. Considering the considerable effort the streamer has put into its film awards publicity and marketing campaigns over the past four years this shouldn’t be a surprise. So far, Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma,” Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” and David Fincher’s “Mank,” among others, have earned the company massive critical acclaim and a bounty of statues.

Continue reading ‘Belfast’ Is Your Unexpected Best Picture Frontrunner…For Now [Contender Countdown] at The Playlist.

Recently, it was revealed that Wes Anderson’s upcoming film, “The French Dispatch,” would not only feature a soundtrack with Alexandre Desplat’s beautiful score, but it would also be accompanied by an entire companion album with French classics covered by singer-songwriter Jarvis Cocker. And one of those songs is “Aline,” which now has a brand-new music video directed by none other than Anderson himself.

READ MORE: ‘The French Dispatch’ Soundtrack & Jarvis Cocker’s Companion ‘Chansons D’Ennui Tip-Top’ Album Arrive In October

As seen in the music video for Cocker’s version of “Aline,” the clip borrows the style of “The French Dispatch” marketing materials and art, creating an animated video that also serves as a clever promotional tool for the film.

Continue reading ‘The French Dispatch’: Watch Wes Anderson’s Beautiful Animated Music Video For Jarvis Cocker’s ‘Aline’ at The Playlist.

One of the few positive things the pandemic has done for movie buffs is left us with an onslaught of leftover 2020 titles held for this year’s fall festival circuit. Case in point: the 59th Annual New York Film Festival. 

READ MORE: NYFF 2021 Exclusive Trailer: Take A Peek At The Acclaimed Films Coming To The Upcoming Event

Most all of the major works by revered world cinema directors—many of which have premiered at other fests already— have some kind of presence at NYFF.

Continue reading New York Film Festival 2021: The 17 Most Anticipated Films at The Playlist.

Folks, we are mere weeks away from “The French Dispatch” finally arriving in theaters. After numerous delays, the long-awaited Wes Anderson film is upon us. And you know what that means? A great soundtrack. But in the case of “The French Dispatch,” not only are we getting a beautiful score, but also a companion album inspired by the film.

READ MORE: Fall 2021 Movie Preview: 60+ Must-See Films

According to ABKCO, the company will be releasing not one, but TWO ‘French Dispatch’ albums in time for the feature to debut in theaters.

Continue reading ‘The French Dispatch’ Soundtrack & Jarvis Cocker’s Companion ‘Chansons D’Ennui Tip-Top’ Album Arrive In October at The Playlist.

TELLURIDE – Every major film festival has a specific aesthetic that lets them stand apart from their peers. Sundance has the snowy Main Street of Park City and buzzworthy building public audiences. Cannes has a legendary red carpet and after parties on la Croissette. Toronto has a Midnight Madness selection few of its counterparts can match. And Telluride? The Colorado staple is known for non of the frills (no red carpets, no post screening soirees), Academy members and a festival where you can spot famous faces walking through town like – gasp – real people.

Continue reading Jeffrey Wright Sees ‘The French Dispatch’ & ‘No Time To Die’ In A Different Light Post Pandemic [Telluride] at The Playlist.

Trust us when we say we hope there’s a day when the words pandemic and COVID-19 are never written on the pages of this website again, specifically in any intros to any features. However, the reality is that the collective disruption of 2020 was difficult, and it made 2021’s release schedule something of a log-jammed shitshow. That Delta variant could play havoc with things too, but we’re all starting to learn to live with a world that’s in flux. 

READ MORE: The Best Films Of 2021, So Far

All that said, the delays of 2021 have had their pluses.

Continue reading Fall 2021 Movie Preview: 60+ Must-See Films at The Playlist.

As seen in the official trailer that was released months ago, Wes Anderson’s latest film, “The French Dispatch,” brings together a collection of stories that were to be published in the fictional American magazine that is based in a fictional French city. Yes, it’s very quirky and very Wes Anderson. And now, Searchlight Pictures has taken it upon themselves to release three separate teasers that highlight each of the stories you’ll see in the film.

Continue reading New Teasers For Wes Anderson’s ‘The French Dispatch’ Highlight Each Of The Unique Stories In The Film at The Playlist.

Every year, the New York Film Festival welcomes “the season’s most anticipated and significant films” to take part in its Spotlight section. And though 2021 has been a really odd year (much like 2020) for the film industry, the Spotlight section for this year is truly stacked with some great picks.

READ MORE: NYFF 2021 Full Slate Includes ‘Benedetta’, ‘The Souvenir Part II,’ ‘Memoria’ & More

According to NYFF, this year’s Spotlight section includes highly-anticipated films such as Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune,” Mamoru Hosoda’s “Belle,” Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch,” Charlotte Gainsbourg’s “Jane By Charlotte,” Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut, “The Lost Daughter,” Marco Bellocchio’s “Marx Can Wait,” Sean Baker’s “Red Rocket,” and more.

Continue reading NYFF 2021 Adds ‘Dune,’ ‘French Dispatch’ & Mike Mills’ ‘C’mon, Cmon’ With Joaquin Phoenix & More at The Playlist.

While many are still waiting to watch director Wes Anderson‘s October release “The French Dispatch,” the filmmaker is already assembling a cast for his next pic, an untitled film reportedly heading into production this week in Spain.

READ MORE: ‘The French Dispatch’: Wes Anderson’s Latest Premieres At Cannes Then Set For October U.S. Release

The Hollywood Reporter has revealed two more additions to the secretive film’s cast.

Continue reading Wes Anderson Adds Rupert Friend & Jason Schwartzman To Latest Film: Begins Shooting This Week In Spain at The Playlist.

Well, that’s a wrap on the 2021 Cannes Film Festival; 56 reviews and counting (there might be one or two more stragglers to come, but we are basically done). It was a pretty great festival and strong year despite the COVID-19 protocol confusion, those changing rules, and Spike Lee spoiling the Palme d’Or prize early (Spike!!).

READ MORE: Cannes Film Festival 2021 Preview: 25 Films To Watch

2021 was a strong year, and perhaps that’s not a surprise since films like Wes Anderson‘s “The French Dispatch,” Paul Verhoven‘s “Benedetta,” and other movies basically waited an entire year waiting for the global pandemic to subside so they could premiere under optimal conditions.

Continue reading Best Of Cannes 2021: 15 Must-See Movies From The Festival at The Playlist.

In 2019, “Parasite” took the Palme d’Or in a celebration that saw audience members and media jumping from their seats in joy. Many thought it was a career achievement for Bong Joon Ho. But Oscar prospects? Well, sure, maybe it could be the first South Korean film to earn an International Film nomination, but more than that? Many dismissed its chances much too quickly. Some of us, however, saw a universal tale that was a clear Oscar contender.

Continue reading Did The 2022 Oscar Season Kickoff In Cannes With ‘Titane’? Well… at The Playlist.

Wes Anderson‘s latest feature film “The French Dispatch” made its Cannes Film Festival debut last week, and the filmmaker is already putting together the next project, as Tilda Swinton had recently confirmed her involvement. 

READ MORE: ‘The French Dispatch’: Wes Anderson Dazzles With A Whimsical New Missive Of Wit & Short Story Delights [Cannes Review]

Now, Variety is reporting another casting addition with long-time collaborator Bill Murray set to join the untitled film, which will likely consist of other Wes Anderson players from previous projects, as the filmmaker is known to do.

Continue reading Bill Murray Reunites With Wes Anderson & Tilda Swinton For New Film Shooting Later This Year at The Playlist.

Well, Wes Anderson‘s “The French Dispatch” has premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, and it appears to be a big hit, some saying it’s one of Anderson’s best pictures and even stronger than his celebrated last live-action film, “The Grand Budapest Hotel.” Our critic Jessica Kiang wrote about the film, “’The French Dispatch”… is a work of such unparalleled Andersonian wit, that at times the sheer level of detail – mobile, static, graphic and typographic – that bedecked the screen was enough to make your correspondent’s jaw slacken.”

READ MORE: The French Dispatch ‘The French Dispatch’: Wes Anderson Dazzles With A Whimsical New Missive Of Wit & Short Story Delights [Cannes Review]

The review also confirms our assertion from earlier in the year before too many details were known, but the trailer basically tipped its hat: “The French Dispatch” is essentially an anthology short film, focusing on “The French Dispatch” New Yorker-style magazine at its center and then diving into those stories in four different mini-movies within, some of them with their own style.

Continue reading ‘The French Dispatch’: Frances McDormand, & Timothée Chalamet Discuss The Typos In The Film’s First Clip [Watch] at The Playlist.