When it was released in 2021, there was a lot of hype surrounding Jeymes Samuel’s “The Harder They Fall.” A lot of the buzz came from the ridiculously stacked cast he brought together for the Western. However, when the film hit, though it had great reviews, “The Harder They Fall” didn’t seem to strike a chord quite like people were expecting. Well, even still, it appears a sequel could be happening. 

Continue reading ‘The Harder They Fall’: Filmmaker Jeymes Samuel Teases A Sequel Is In The Works at The Playlist.

After nearly twenty years of writing music as The Bullitts, Jeymes Samuel finally made his filmmaking dreams come true when his feature debut, “The Harder They Fall,” hit Netflix last year. Samuel’s 2013 short “They Die By Dawn” first brought him attention, but “The Harder They Fall” put him on the map. And as both of those films were Westerns with Black casts, it’s clear Samuel has an enthusiasm for genre, film history, and utilizing them for a Black perspective.

Continue reading ‘Harder They Fall’ Director Jeymes Samuel Will Reunite With Lakeith Stanfield For ‘The Book Of Clarence’ 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.

Do you hear that? Can you feel it underneath your seat? 2021 finally gave us the chance to return to cinemas, that rare gift where a handful of carefully curated trailers whets our appetites for the year ahead—without having to desperately refresh browser windows with a looming sense of dread with no end in sight. 

READ MORE: The Best Film Posters Of 2021

That’s not to say we’re completely out of the woods, but it’s certainly offered a new sense of gratitude for the very best trailers of the year as we’ve been able to appreciate them the way they should be: big, loud, full of hope and optimism for the wondrous selection of movies this year and the next will have to offer us—wherever we watch them. 

“Licorice Pizza”
The first glimpse of Paul Thomas Anderson’s blissful valentine to the San Fernando Valley was teased in a small handful of cinemas around the world, building anticipation and then crashing into focus all at once—as the revered filmmaker has always done with his work.

Continue reading The Best Movie Trailers Of 2021 at The Playlist.

After taking a peek at what’s to come this November, there’s no denying that we’re fully in “the thick of it” when it comes to prestige film releases. Many festival darlings such as “Spencer” and “The Power of the Dog” are making their debut this month, while other slightly under the radar but still celebrated titles will be premiering as well.

Alongside the heavy lifting of some of these awards-friendly titles, there’s also plenty by way of blockbuster releases and easy escapism, from the latest Marvel release “Eternals” to the Netflix/Dwayne Johnson action film “Red Notice.” There will always be gems found in any month (and certainly films to almost always catch up on).

Continue reading 18 Films To See In November: ‘Eternals,’ ‘House Of Gucci,’ ‘Spencer’ & More at The Playlist.

Flecked with the bold sensibilities of hip-hop, struggle, and swagger, in a way, it’s a bit remarkable that no one, until now, has really tried to wed the parallel ideas of street hustle and grind to the hardscrabble, life-is-cheap ways of the Wild Wild West and yet without making a big thing about it. Because in the stylish, rhythmic, epic big-budget Western “The Harder They Fall,” directed by Jeymes Samuel and produced by Jay-Z (whose refined and unflappably trendsetting music sensibilities seem to saturate the film), everybody is trying to get theirs.

Continue reading ‘The Harder They Fall’: Jeymes Samuel Flips The Outlaw Tale Into A Stylish, Dancehall Western Of Revenge & Sins [BFI London Review] at The Playlist.

Quentin Tarantino has claimed in several interviews that Westerns, more than any other genre, reflect the “values and problems” of the era in which they were made. If that’s true, audiences are in for a vivid temperature check with “The Harder They Fall,” an upcoming neo-Western from Netflix. 

READ MORE: BFI London Film Festival 2021 Lineup Includes ‘The Harder They Fall’ World Premiere, ‘Spencer,’ ‘Last Night In Soho’ & More

The film was produced by Jay-Z, longtime Tarantino collaborator Lawrence Bender, and Will Smith’s business partner James Lassiter.

Continue reading ‘The Harder They Fall’ Trailer: Idris Elba, Jonathan Major & Zazie Beetz Shoot It Out In A Netflix Neo-Western at The Playlist.

Even though COVID might prevent a lot of folks from making the trip to the UK for this year’s BFI London Film Festival, the event is shaping up to be yet another fall film festival jam-packed with awesome features.

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

According to BFI, this year’s LFF is going to feature 159 feature films, including 21 World Premieres. The biggest premiere is likely going to be Jeymes Samuel’s highly-anticipated Western, “The Harder They Fall,” which also serves as the Opening Night selection.

Continue reading BFI London Film Festival 2021 Lineup Includes ‘The Harder They Fall’ World Premiere, ‘Spencer,’ ‘Last Night In Soho’ & More 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.

In a huge get for the BFI London Film Festival, a festival that doesn’t land gigantic premieres that often, the 65th BFI London Film Festival has announced this year’s Opening Night Gala will be Netflix’s “The Harder They Fall” directed by Londoner Jeymes Samuel. The film has a massive cast that includes Jonathan Majors, Zazie Beetz, Regina King and Idris Elba.

Continue reading Netflix’s Black Western ‘The Harder They Fall’ Will Open The 2021 BFI London Film Festival at The Playlist.

With the Cannes Film Festival in the rearview, the next big festival to focus on this fall will be the 78th Annual Venice Film Festival. Major films are already tipped to debut there, Denis Villeneuve‘s sci-fi blockbuster “Dune”  Kristen Stewart’s Princess Diana drama “Spencer,” “Halloween Kills,” and new films by Pedro Almodovar and Jane Campion.

Continue reading Netflix To Have A Heavy Presence At The Venice Film Festival; Paolo Sorrentino’s Latest Among Their Lineup at The Playlist.

When you first watch the trailer for “The Harder They Fall,” the immediate thing that will stand out is just how stacked the cast is for Netflix’s new Western. But taking the cast out of consideration, it appears that director Jeymes Samuel has crafted a pretty fun, albeit incredibly violent feature.

READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2021

In the trailer for “The Harder They Fall,” you’re introduced to the basic plot—a group of outlaws rob a train, but they don’t take any money.

Continue reading ‘The Harder They Fall’ Trailer: Idris Elba & Jonathan Majors Lead The All-Star Cast In This Netflix Western at The Playlist.

Everyone’s getting into the 100 Most Anticipated Films action, only with Netflix, they really have the volume and muscle to back it up. In a huge flex this morning, the streaming service/burgeoning movie studio revealed a video that boasts a new movie EVERY WEEK on Netflix for nearly the entire year.

READ MORE: The 25 Best Films Of 2020 You Didn’t See

Their sneak peek included first looks at the action-comedy “Red Notice” starring Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot and Dwayne Johnson, the much-anticipated all-Black Western “The Harder They Fall” (Regina King, Jonathan Majors), Halle Berry‘s boxing drama directorial debut, “Bruised,” a new superhero action-comedy from Melissa McCarthy (“Thunder Force” co-starring Octavia Spencer), “Tron Legacy” director Joseph Kosinski‘s “Escape from Spiderhead” with Chris Hemsworth, Zack Snyder‘s “Army Of The Dead” (revealed yesterday to be arriving in the summer) and perhaps the biggest serve of all, a first look at “Don’t Look Up,” filmmaker Adam McKay’s new political satire disaster film with the insane cast of Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Timothée Chalamet and dozens more.

Continue reading Netflix 2021 Teaser Flex: First Looks At ‘Don’t Look Up’ With DiCaprio & Jennifer Lawrence, ‘The Harder They Fall’ Western With Idris Elba & Dozens More at The Playlist.

I’m not telling you anything you don’t know. Aside from the election result, Trashfire 2020™ was a shitty year. And a weird and disorienting year thanks to COVID-19 and having to shelter-in-place, quarantine, and social distance from one another blah, blah, blah coronavirus f*cked us hard. Movies certainly took it in the teeth this year, and especially the theatrical industrial complex, which feels like it’s on its last legs. But regardless of what happens next for theaters, people are going to continue making and releasing movies.

Continue reading The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2021 at The Playlist.

There are certain actors that you see in a trailer for a film and immediately think, “Okay, no matter what, I gotta see this!” People like Lakeith Stanfield, Regina King, and Zazie Beetz are just a few of those types of names. But Netflix has gone ahead and grabbed those folks and added them to a cast that includes even more incredible actors for a film called “The Harder They Fall.” Has there ever been a must-must-must-must-see film before?

Continue reading Zazie Beetz, Lakeith Stanfield, Regina King & More Join Idris Elba In The Western ‘The Harder They Fall’ at The Playlist.

If you somehow missed the “Cats” trailer from earlier today, then you probably should go check it out to remind yourself that Idris Elba, one of the best living actors, is playing a weird, evil feline in the upcoming film. And after you do that, you’ll be happy to know that Elba is moving onto less…strange musical film choices in the future, such as the upcoming “The Harder They Fall.”

According to Variety, Elba has signed on to star in the upcoming drama “The Harder They Fall” from first-time feature director Jeymes Samuel.

Continue reading Idris Elba To Star In New Netflix Crime Drama ‘The Harder They Fall’ From Producer Jay-Z at The Playlist.