Peacock’s new family mystery thriller “Apples Never Fall” premieres this week on the streaming service, and it’s yet another adaptation of popular writer Liane Moriarty’s melodramatic works; her famous books are known as the source material for “Big Little Lies,” “Nine Perfect Strangers” and more. The series follows a seemingly happy family on a tumultuous journey to uncover the truth about the disappearance of its matriarch.

Continue reading Sam Neill Thinks ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ Was A Goodbye & Says He’s Open To More ‘Thor ‘Cameos at The Playlist.

Of all the director hires that Marvel Studios has made over the last 15 years, there are few that are more surprising than Taika Waititi to direct a “Thor” film. However, not only did the decision to bring in a young Waititi to direct “Thor: Ragnarok” pay off in a big way (the film was a huge success, both financially and with fans), but it led to a continued relationship where the filmmaker returned for another round of ‘Thor’ goodness (though ‘Love & Thunder’ wasn’t received nearly as well as the previous film).

Continue reading Taika Waititi Says He Took The ‘Thor’ Job Because He Was “Poor” & Only Read 1 Comic To Prepare at The Playlist.

Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe don’t always think of “Captain America: Civil War” as a true “Captain America” film. Instead, with its absolutely stacked cast of MCU stars, it feels almost like ‘Avengers 2.5.’ That’s not something that was lost on Chris Hemsworth, the star of the “Thor” franchise, when he found out about the project. And because of it, since he wasn’t included in the ‘Civil War’ story, the actor wondered if Marvel was trying to get rid of Thor altogether.

Continue reading Chris Hemsworth Thought Thor Was Being “Written Out” Of The MCU When He Found Out About ‘Captain America: Civil War’ at The Playlist.

British actress Thandiwe Newton has been making a career tackling genre projects with roles like Maeve in HBO‘s “Westworld,” the female lead in John Woo‘s “Mission: Impossible 2,” “The Chronicles of Riddick,” Guy Ritchie‘s gangster comedy “RockNRolla,” “Interview with the Vampire,” and now reunites with “Westworld’s” Lisa Joy for the new feature, “Reminiscence.”

READ MORE: ‘Solo’: Thandiwe Newton Says Val Wasn’t Supposed To Die In The ‘Star Wars’ Spinoff & Calls The Death “A Big, Big Mistake”

Speaking with LAD Bible to promote the new sci-fi film, Thandiwe Newton revealed she had turned down a superhero project because they wanted her to play someone’s mother that just dies and expresses boredom towards most of these moneymaking franchises.

Continue reading Thandiwe Newton Turned Down A Mom Role In A Superhero Film & Says The Genre Mostly “Bores” Her at The Playlist.

20th Century Studios has been trying to get a new “Flash Gordon” movie in development years before the merger with Disney with directors such as Matthew Vaughn (“X-Men: First Class“) and Julius Avery (“Overlord“) attached at various points to bring a fresh incarnation of the pulp sci-fi hero after multiple incarnations over the years including the beloved/campy film from 1980 that featured a score and theme song from the British rock band, Queen.

Continue reading Taika Waititi’s ‘Flash Gordon’ Movie Shifts From Animation To Live-Action at The Playlist.

One of the funniest bits in the hilarious “Thor: Ragnarok” is the part where Asgardian actors act out the series of events that happened in the previous film. Not only is it funny because that idea is actually funny but also because it gave us the first appearance of Matt Damon in the MCU. Well, we already know that Damon is coming back for “Thor: Love & Thunder” and it appears his Asgardian acting troupe is growing its ranks with Melissa McCarthy and her husband Ben Falcone.

Continue reading Melissa McCarthy Joins ‘Thor: Love & Thunder’ As Fake Hela at The Playlist.

Seth Rogen is in the business of making comedy films and TV series. Plain and simple. It’s just that the definition of a comedy has been evolving over the past decade, making his job a bit more difficult. No longer is it good enough to just have some sort of R-rated raunchfest and hope it makes $100 million at the box office. With the likes of Marvel Studios altering the viewing habits of the masses, Rogen admitted to GamesRadar that he has to do something different to stand out.

Continue reading Seth Rogen Says His Biggest Competition Are Marvel Studios’ “$200 Million Comedies” at The Playlist.

With the delay of “Black Widow,” the entirety of the Phase 4 lineup of the Marvel Cinematic Universe shifted. And that means we are now almost two full years away from the release of Taika Waititi’s “Thor: Love & Thunder.” But that isn’t stopping the filmmaker from talking about the project and teasing fans with what might be included.

READ MORE: Marvel Studios Shifts Phase 4 Release Dates: ‘Black Widow,’ ‘Eternals,’ ‘Captain Marvel 2’ & More

Speaking to Tessa Thompson, as well as Mark Ruffalo, during his ‘Ragnarok’ quarantine “watch party,” Waititi dropped some hints about what we might expect to see in the upcoming ‘Thor’ sequel.

Continue reading Taika Waititi Talks ‘Thor 4’ & Says Film Makes ‘Ragnarok’ Feel “Very Safe” at The Playlist.

The 2010s saw the return of a number of forgotten trends: tiny sunglasses, hating “Star Wars,” and – most importantly – the word “horny.” The once juvenile, decidedly-male word has shifted into something greater: more gender-woke, more surreal. “Horny” still refers, of course, to sex, desirous hunger, thirstiness, and this image (and this one too). But it has also evolved to feature many more implications and describes any number of feelings – excitement, transgression, titillation, and intrigue.

Continue reading The Horniest Movies Of The Decade [2010s] at The Playlist.

Filmmaker Adam McKay has come a long way from directing films like “Anchorman” and “Step Brothers.” That isn’t to say those films are bad (they’re not), but it does show that McKay has been more interested in stepping away from straight comedies and working in something a bit more dramatic with his last two films, the Oscar-nominated “The Big Short” and “Vice.” And for his next film, it appears that he’s definitely still working on something a bit more unique, but perhaps with more of a comedic vibe.

Continue reading Adam McKay’s Next Film Is A Dark Satire About An Impending Meteor Strike Called ‘Don’t Look Up’ at The Playlist.

Our cinematic landscape is a much richer, more rewarding place with Taika Waititi in it. To date, the enviably gifted, self-effacing, and wildly stylish New Zealand-born director has helmed bizarro cult favorites, crossover indie hits, arguably the most divisive movie of this year’s Toronto Film Festival, and a comic-book behemoth for Marvel Studios. What’s even more impressive than Waititi’s eclectic filmography is that he’s somehow managed to leave his own unmistakable creative stamp on each one of these projects, be it a romantic comedy about two Kiwi geeks or a blockbuster about a buff, blonde, hammer-wielding Norse God.

Continue reading The Films Of Taika Waititi: An Essentials Retrospective at The Playlist.

It’s been well-documented that Quentin Tarantino is a fanboy. Not just a film fan, but also a fan of all sorts of different things, including “Star Trek” and comic books. And just like the fanboys and fangirls, Tarantino is excited to watch “Avengers: Endgame.” Except for one problem, he has to catch up. So, according to the filmmaker, he’s been doing a bit of an MCU marathon and has an early choice for his favorite of the bunch.

Continue reading Quentin Tarantino Explains Why ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ Is His Favorite MCU Film As He Completes His Pre-‘Endgame’ Marvel Marathon at The Playlist.

It’s difficult to imagine that any of the actors involved with the Marvel Cinematic Universe could be anything but elated to work on their own solo film. However, when you’re the character with arguably two of the worst films in the 21 movie line-up, the prospect of returning to the franchise could be a bit exhausting. And that’s exactly what happened to Chris Hemsworth, when he was asked to come back and do a third ‘Thor’ film.

Continue reading Chris Hemsworth Says He Was “Exhausted” & “Underwhelmed” By Pre-‘Ragnarok’ Thor Appearances at The Playlist.

This time of year, we’ll make sure to take a look at as many of the Best of 2018 lists as we can. Of course, we want to cultivate the lists we feature, focusing on those opinions that we generally respect (but don’t always agree with). However, we can’t help but take a gander at the recent Best of 2018 list from Google, tracking what films and TV series were the most popular (i.e.

Continue reading Google Play’s Bestsellers Of 2018 Include Superheroes, More Superheroes & Stale TV Series at The Playlist.

One of the biggest hurdles in front of the latest Fox “X-Men” film, “Dark Phoenix,” is the fact that the storyline featured in the film is the same that was adapted back in “X-Men: The Last Stand.” And if you’re a fan of the comic books or the films, then you probably know that ‘The Last Stand’ is far from a quality piece of cinema.

Continue reading Simon Kinberg Apologizes For ‘X-Men 3’ & Explains How ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ Influenced ‘Dark Phoenix’ at The Playlist.

Chris Hemsworth is one of the more unlikely heroes to emerge from the early days of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now, as one of the “Big 3,” Hemsworth was the odd man out when compared to big stars like Chris Evans and Robert Downey, Jr, who anchored the early MCU films. But through his three “Thor” films, and multiple “Avengers” appearances, the actor has cemented himself as a superstar.

Continue reading Chris Hemsworth Is Shockingly Honest When Assessing The First Two ‘Thor’ Films at The Playlist.

The nominations for the 20th Costume Designer Guild Awards were revealed today and thanks to three thematic categories for both Movies and TV there were few omissions to complain about.  Expected Oscar nominees “Phantom Thread,” “The Shape of Water” and “The Greatest Showman” all made the cut in the very competitive Period Film field with Jacqueline Durran‘s work in “Darkest Hour” and Ann Roth‘s costumes for “The Post” being the only true snubs (although Durran did earn a Sci-Fi/Fantasy nod for “Beauty and the Beast”).

Continue reading ‘Phantom Thread,’ ‘Black Mirror,’ ‘Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ Costumes Make 2018 CDG Awards Cut at The Playlist.

2017 was something of a mixed bag for Hollywood at the box office. After last year’s record domestic receipts, $11.37 billion, it was likely that there would be a decrease in revenues and tickets sold overall.  But by the end of the year, returns should come close to 2015’s $11.12 billion take. Sure, the tickets sold won’t crack 1.3 billion and we’ll admit that’s slightly concerning.  However, many people forget that that was the norm in the ‘80s and early ‘90s – and it has already happened twice in this decade.

Continue reading Best & Worst Of The 2017 Box Office at The Playlist.

Santa Claus may have come and gone, but in the film world, everyone is still making their list and checking it twice. There’s just a few days left on the calendar for 2017, and everyone is sharing their rundown of the best the year had to offer at the movies.

Over at IMDB and Rotten Tomates, they’ve crunched the numbers to determine the “best” films of the year. IMDB obviously leans very blockbuster, and seems more subject to films that underwhelmed at the box office and received mixed to thoroughly awful reviews, but were pushed by fanboys (here’s looking at you “Alien: Covenant” and “Justice League“).

Continue reading IMDB & Rotten Tomatoes Top Films Of 2017 at The Playlist.

As much as we evidently love you, our glorious readers (why else would we toil so hard over such a breathtaking array of year-end features, for one thing), there is perhaps a group of people we love even more. And that is our contributors, who throughout the year give The Playlist its inimitable, sometimes cacophonous but always lively voice, and who help us to deliver the goods to you every day in the manner of a vigilant cat laying the eviscerated mouse of the day’s hot movie topics at your feet.

Continue reading The Most Underrated & Overrated Films Of 2017 at The Playlist.

Cinema is, quite literally, action, and while some of the snootier critics might look down on the action movie, there are few purer cinematic pleasures than looking at a great set-piece sequence, from “The General” to “Mad Max: Fury Road.” Technology might have made jaw-dropping spectacle easier than ever to pull off, but a summer where CGI behemoths were outshone by more modest, old-fashioned movies reminded us that thrills come from craft more than they come from blowing up a bajillion robots (though, when done right, the latter can be fun too).

Continue reading The Best Action Sequences Of 2017 at The Playlist.

The Force is with Rian Johnson, Lucasfilm and “Star Wars.” As you probably expected if you’ve even remotely followed a “Star Wars” related box office story, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” crushed at the box office this weekend with monster numbers (and it’s Johnson’s birthday today to boo). Exceeding expectations and early predictions, the Rian Johnson-written and directed “Star Wars” film soared to a whopping $220 million domestically, the second highest opening weekend ever domestically behind “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” which debuted to $247 million in 2015.

Continue reading ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Has The 2nd Biggest Box Office Opening Of All Time at The Playlist.

Even before filmmakers were even able to record and sync sound, movies and music have been tied together. Back then, music was played on a piano or an organ. Now, some of the world’s greatest composers write scores that can stand as works of art separate to the films they accompany, while often doing so much to make those works memorable. Or filmmakers curate killer compilations of songs familiar and new that can lead to some of movies’ most memorable moments (and an overlooked song being revived).

Continue reading The Best Scores & Soundtracks Of 2017 at The Playlist.

“Thor: Ragnarok” marked a reinvention for the standalone series that rotates around the Norse warrior. Taika Waititi took the stodgy serious tone of “Thor” and “Thor: The Dark World,” and tossed it out the window. In its place, the filmmaker added his skewed brand of humor, brought bursts of color in to replace the blue dark visuals of the preceding movies, and there was one more key ingredient: Mark Mothersbaugh.

Continue reading Mark Mothersbaugh Credits Every Frame A Painting Video For Influencing ‘Thor: Ragnaork’ Score at The Playlist.

As Disney prepares to become a giant media behemoth with their acquisition of Fox, you might want to ask yourself if you really want one studio dominating the landscape. The mouse house has owned the box office for three straight weeks now, and will probably hold the crown for a few more to come.

“Coco” stayed on top at the multiplex, with the Pixar movie pulling in $18 million.

Continue reading Everyone Is Still Going To See ‘Coco’ [Box Office] at The Playlist.