2017 might be done with us, but we’re not exactly done with it. In traditional Playlist form, it’s never quite clear if the world has moved on from the last year during the early days of January, but regardless, we seem to exhaust all possibilities examining, breaking down and parsing the previous year in film.

It might have been a shit show of a year, but movies and quality Peak TV provided us riches and escape.

Continue reading The Best Films Of 2017 You Didn’t See at The Playlist.

We’re firmly into June now, and fast bearing down on the midpoint of 2017, a year that’s shaping up to be the longest goddamn year in history (fun fact: at the start of 2017, Barack Obama was President of the United States!). Fortunately, in between the insanity of the news, it’s been a pretty strong film year on the whole.

Sure, not all of the blockbusters have been great (*side eye to “The Mummy”*), but some have been terrific, and we’ve also seen several great and unexpected movies get their due at the box office.

Continue reading The 25 Best Films Of 2017 So Far at The Playlist.

It’s not two genres you’d necessarily think of being a perfect blend — boxing and romance — but Juho Kuosmanen got it just right with his feature debut, “The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Mäki.” The film picked up an Un Certain Regard award at Cannes last year, and after hitting a slew of festivals, it’s now gearing up to hit cinemas.

READ MORE: Cannes Review: Juho Kuosmanen’s Modest, Minor Key ‘The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Mäki’

Starring Jarkko Lahti, Oona Airola, and Eero Milonoff, the film tells the true story of the Finnish boxer who wins the heart of his country as he gears up for a featherweight championship fight against his U.S.

Continue reading New Trailer For Cannes Winning, Boxing Romance ‘The Happiest Day In The Life of Olli Mäki’ at The Playlist.

The past few weeks have been pretty damn good for “Toni Erdmann.” Maren Ade‘s film topped the list of Best Films Of 2016 from the choosy Cahiers Du Cinéma, and also did the same for the folks over at Sight & Sound. Now it’s adding more hardware to the shelf with a sweep at the European Film Awards last night.

READ MORE: Cannes Review: Maren Ade’s ‘Toni Erdmann’ Details The Greatest, Weirdest, Truest Love Of All

The film won Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay, and Best Film — the first time a movie directed by a woman has ever won that latter honor.

Continue reading ‘Toni Erdmann’ Sweeps European Film Awards at The Playlist.

While the conversation during fall film festival season tends to be dominated by the Oscars, and which pictures are poised for awards glory, one of the most important roles that Venice, Telluride, Toronto and New York have in the next few weeks is serving as a stage for the next great filmmaking voices. And while the movies and names in TIFF’s Discovery Programme may not be on the A-list yet, there’s a good chance they will be very soon.

Continue reading TIFF’s 2016 Discovery Lineup Features Films By The Next Wave Of Great Directors at The Playlist.

As jury president Marthe Keller struggled to pronounce the Finnish title of the 2016 Prix Un Certain Regard winner, an enormous cheer burst out and drowned her out. It appears that the cast and crew of “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki” already knew they had a winner on their hands, even if it was only by process of elimination amongst the film teams in the room.

Continue reading Cannes Review: Juho Kuosmanen’s Modest, Minor Key ‘The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Mäki’ at The Playlist.