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. 

Two potentially major productions caught in the wheels of the lockdown hit disc and (reasonable) VOD this week, alongside a Sundance doc on Apple TV+,  a lovely new musical bio-doc, and the usual bushel of marvelous catalog titles from Criterion, Warner Archive, and Kino-Lorber.

Continue reading The 13 Best Movies To Buy Or Stream This Week: ‘The King of Staten Island,’ ‘The Burnt Orange Heresy’ & More at The Playlist.

“The King of Staten Island” and the contemporary King of Comedy come together on this episode of The Discourse, the show where we discuss film and television news, reviews, and any other pertinent pop culture items that we feel the need to weigh in on.

READ MORE: ‘The King Of Staten Island’: A Charming Cast Energizes A Formulaic Story In Judd Apatow’s Latest [Review]

This week, I’m joined by Nick Allen (RogerEbert.com, Vulture, MEL Magazine, The AV Club) to look back on the directorial career of Judd Apatow.

Continue reading Funny With Heart & Dad Vibes: Judd Apatow’s Essentials [Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

There seems to be multiple strategies at play with regards to when a film is being released by a major studio due to COVID-19. First, you can just delay the film until theaters are reopened and life is somewhat back to “normal.” Second, you can sell the film off to a streaming service, placing the release strategy on them and move forward with new projets. Or third, you can skip theaters entirely and just release the film as it is, on Premium VOD (PVOD) at a higher price.

Continue reading Judd Apatow Didn’t Want To Delay ‘King Of Staten Island’ Because It’s “Destined To Be Seen Right Now” at The Playlist.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: a lovable loser in a state of perpetual arrested development. A group of friends that love and support, but are probably holding him/her back. A good girl/guy, offering up a real relationship. A new, better life, if they’d only grow up a little. 

READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2020

This is the story of “The King of Staten Island,” the new film by Judd Apatow.

Continue reading ‘The King Of Staten Island’: A Charming Cast Energizes A Formulaic Story In Judd Apatow’s Latest [Review] at The Playlist.

June isn’t off to a particularly great start, following the already awful events of the rest of the year so far, but if there’s anything to look forward to it’s some terrific films scheduled for release this month.

From the latest films by Spike Lee and Josephine Decker to festival favorites that built buzz in the last year, there’s plenty to engage in. Things are far from “back to normal” as it pertains to theater-going (and likely won’t be getting there anytime soon,) but if we’re looking to seek out comfort in art, it’s comforting to know that the quality of the films being released isn’t diminishing – far from it.

Continue reading 8 Films To See In June: ‘Staten Island,’ ‘Artemis Fowl’ & More at The Playlist.

Writer/director/producer Judd Apatow (“Knocked Up“) has a long history of mentoring and helping out comedians in need, often vaulting them to the next level in the process. He forever changed Steve Carrell’s career with the “40-Year-Old Virgin,” elevated nearly every member of the “Freaks & Geeks” team with their own movies (Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Jason Segel) and gave huge career boosts to popular comedians by directing or producing their breakout films (Kristen Wiig with “Bridesmaids,” Amy Schumer‘s “Trainwreck,” and Kumail Nanjiani‘s “The Big Sick“).

Continue reading ‘King Of Staten Island’ Trailer: Pete Davidson Tackles Grief & Weed For Judd Apatow at The Playlist.

The central dilemma for the movie industry right now and one that has greater ramifications they’d love to avoid if possible: wait until the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided and release films in theaters, or stop hemorrhaging money and release films on VOD. Unless studios get super desperate, you’re just not going to see blockbusters on VOD, it would just be a gamechanger that rocks the industry. But in a sign that some studios are just going to be forced to released mainstream wide releases that could have theoretically made at least $100 million domestically, Universal has decided to release Judd Apatow’s upcoming Pete Davidson comedy, “The King Of Staten Island” on June 12.

Continue reading ‘King Of Staten Island’: Judd Apatow’s Pete Davidson Comedy Now Arriving On Demand June 12 [Watch Announcement] at The Playlist.

In the pantheon of great annual film events, the Tribeca Film Festival holds a special place in the heart of many cinephiles. The New York event is one of the premier US festivals and a great place for folks to see, not only some of the best films around but also some new voices. And in 2020, that’s no different.

Today, Tribeca announced the festivals full lineup of feature films coming to the event that kicks off on April 15.

Continue reading 2020 Tribeca Lineup: Judd Apatow, Josephine Decker & More Bringing Films To This Year’s Fest at The Playlist.

Forget next week’s Sundance, it’s time to talk about the upcoming 2020 SXSW Film Festival.

With the Austin-based festival beginning in March, apparently now’s the time for the event to announce its lineup of films and TV series that will have everyone talking this spring. And as with recent years, it would appear that comedy films are going to be the film du jour at the fest, with the Opening Night selection setting the tone — Judd Apatow’s “The King of Staten Island,” starring Pete Davidson.

Continue reading SXSW 2020 Announces Lineup Including Judd Apatow’s ‘The King Of Staten Island’ As Opening Night Film at The Playlist.