There’s nothing like a bit of controversy to kick off this year’s Cannes Film Festival. And this year, it comes from the mouth of Viggo Mortensen, star of David Cronenberg‘s “Crimes Of The Future,” which has its world premiere in competition next week for the Palme d’Or.  

Mortensen had some choice words about last year’s Palme d’Or winner, Julia Ducournau‘s “Titane,” stating that it paled in comparison to Cronenberg’s own sex-and-automobiles shocker, “Crash.” “Crash,” adapted from J.G.

Continue reading Viggo Mortensen Slams 2021 Palme d’Or Winner ‘Titane,’ Says Cronenberg’s ‘Crash’ Is “Head And Shoulders” Above It 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.

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.

Paul Thomas Anderson is a film fan. I mean, that much is probably obvious given his chosen career path, of course. However, more than that, he also seems like a true movie buff—a guy that is willing to watch whatever movie is put in front of him and never look down on something because of its genre or the actors involved. He’s just ready to give any film a shot. This is why he’s willing to name-drop Marvel superhero movies next to Palme d’Or winners and prestige biopics when listing his recent film recommendations.

Continue reading Paul Thomas Anderson Says His Family Is “Marvel-Obsessed” & Praises ‘Venom 2’ And ‘Shang-Chi’ at The Playlist.

Well, there are always going to be snubs when it comes to the International Film Oscar race and the first two casualties were Julia Docournau’s “Titane” and Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s “Memoria” as neither film made the shortlist cut. The latter was expected, but the former? Many thought it would at least make the shortlist. Asghar Farhadi’s “A Hero,” Ryusuke Hamaguchi‘s “Drive My Car,” Paolo Sorrentino‘s “The Hand of God,”
Jonas Poher Rasmussen‘s “Flee,” Joachim Trier’s “The Worst Person in the World,” all made the list of 15 contenders, but not all of them will be among the final five nominees.

Continue reading International Film Oscars 2022 Predictions & Contenders at The Playlist.

To suggest that France had an abundance of quality candidates for its International Film Oscar submission this year is beyond an understatement. The top three candidates included Céline Sciamma‘s Berlin premiere “Petite Maman,” which has a stellar 93 on Metacritic, Audrey Diwan’s Venice Film Festival Golden Lion winner “Happening,” and this year’s Palme d’Or winner at Cannes, Julia Ducournau’s “Titane.” The selection? In something of a surprise, “Titane.”

READ MORE: ‘Titane’: The New Flesh Is Thriving, Living Rent-Free in Julia Ducournau’s F*cked Up Metallica Brain [Cannes Review]

France’s selection committee included Julie Delphy, Oscar-winning screenwriter Florian Zeller (“The Father”), Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Fremaux and producer Alain Goldeman (“La Vie en Rose”), among others.

Continue reading France Picks ‘Titane’ As International Film Oscar Race Comes Into Focus at The Playlist.

Vincent Lindon is the heart of “Titane.” Since French director Julia Ducournau’s provocative new film premiered at Cannes Film Festival, making her the second woman to win the coveted Palme d’Or, similar to her first film “Raw,” it’s developed a near-mythical reputation as one of the wildest films ever. However, this wild movie is also a tender story, one concerning the love and loneliness felt by a mourning father. That father, Vincent, is portrayed by Lindon. 

READ MORE: ‘Titane’: The New Flesh Is Thriving, Living Rent-Free in Julia Ducournau’s F*cked Up Metallica Brain [Cannes Review]

In “Titane,” Alexia (Agathe Rousselle) is a well-known, terse showgirl dancing in an automotive showroom.

Continue reading ‘Titane’: Vincent Lindon On Finding Heart In Absurdism, Hating Dancing & Comparing The Wild Film To ‘The Shape Of Water’ [NYFF] at The Playlist.

“When I write, I always write about the image first,” explains French director Julia Ducournau. It’s her indelible, singular use of imagery that made her previous film, “Raw,” about a vegetarian who becomes a cannibal, a movie that led to an audience member fainting during a 2016 screening at the Toronto International Film Festival. Her same magic with the image, when words may come up short, is apparent in her follow-up, the intoxicating love story: “Titane.” 

READ MORE: ‘Titane’: The New Flesh Is Thriving, Living Rent-Free in Julia Ducournau’s F*cked Up Metallica Brain [Cannes Review]

“Titane” is one of those movies where even if someone explained the plot to you, you still wouldn’t be spoiled because seeing is truly believing.

Continue reading ‘Titane’: Julia Ducournau Talks Her Provocative New Film, ‘The Macarena’ & More [NYFF Interview] 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.

When Julia Ducournau‘s last film, 2016’s “Raw,” premiered in the International Critics’ Week section of that year’s Cannes Film Festival, it generated massive amounts of buzz. That translated to a bump up to the main competition for her new film, “Titane,” and in the end, taking home the big best picture prize, aka the Palme d’Or.

READ MORE: ‘Titane’ Teaser Trailer: Julia Ducournau Returns With A Creepy Cannes-Bound Thriller 

As grotesque as “Raw” and its irrepressible appetites were, by all accounts, “Titane” is very weirder, more aggressive, bizarre, horrific, and transgressive, but most reviews (like ours) and synopses are vague to hold back the film’s many surprises.

Continue reading ‘Titane’ Red-Band Trailer: Julia Ducournau’s Palme d’Or Winner Is A Return To Unsettling Horror 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.

After 18 months of isolation and uncertainty and a 2020 cancellation due to COVID-19, Austin, Texas’s Fantastic Fest film festival is set to return this September. This year’s edition is being dubbed the “Post-Apocalyptic” Fantastic Fest, and according to the organizers, the newly returning festival is here to “remind us of the joy of cinema, community, and weird and wonderful movies.”

READ MORE: Titane’: The New Flesh Is Thriving, Living Rent-Free in Julia Ducournau’s F*cked Up Metallica Brain [Cannes Review]

The first wave of films is headlined by the truly extraordinary 2021 Palme D’Or winner “Titane” from “Parasite” distributor NEON.

Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2021: ‘Titane,’ ‘Lamb’ & New 4K Restoration Of ‘Possession’ Announced In Initial Line-Up at The Playlist.

The Toronto International Film Festival announced today films included in the TIFF Docs presented by A&E IndieFilms, Wavelengths and Midnight Madness programs and exciting, recently confirmed additions to the Special Presentation and Contemporary World Cinema programs.  Main highlights include titles from Cannes including the North American premiere of the Palme d’Or winner “Titane” from filmmaker Julia Ducournau, Bruno Dumont’s “France” starring Lea Seydoux, and Ari Folman’s celebrated animated film “Where is Anne Frank?

Continue reading TIFF 2021 Adds Palme d’Or Winner ‘Titane,’ ‘Where Is Anne Frank?’ & More at The Playlist.

What do you do if you’ve just won the top Palme d’Or prize and major critical acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival? If you’re the studio Neon, you give the film in question, the body horror “Titane,” a plum fall Oscar-worthy release date in the U.S., and you also hew it towards Halloween, given its darker and f*cked up tendencies. Neon has just announced that “Titane,” directed by acclaimed French filmmaker Julia Ducournau (“Raw“), has been given an October 1 release date in the U.S.

Continue reading Cannes’ Palme d’Or Winner ‘Titane’ Sets October U.S. Release Date 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.

The 74th Cannes Film Festival came to an end on Saturday night. It was a sweaty fest full of tourists more interested in the beach than the world premieres and lots of spitting in testing vials for non-Europeans, but it proved that a major festival could return at full capacity during the age of COVID. And, a jury comprised of notable industry players Spike Lee, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Tahar Rahim, among others, selected Julia Ducournau’s “Titane” to win the prestigious Palme d’ Or.

Continue reading Spike Lee Reveals ‘Titane’ As 2021 Cannes Palme d’Or Winner A Bit Early [Full Winners List] at The Playlist.

We can all stop wishing it a long life: the new flesh is thriving, living rent-free in Julia Ducournau‘s fucked-up titanium brain, oozing from every frame of her bizarrely beautiful, emphatically queer sophomore film, and thence seeping in through your orifices, the better to colonize your most lurid, confusing nightmares, as well as that certain class of sex dream that you’d be best off never confessing to having. “Titane,” Ducournau’s follow-up to her sensational debut “Raw,” is roughly seven horror movies plus one bizarrely tender parent-child romance soldered into one machine and painted all over with flames: it’s so replete with startling ideas, suggestive ellipses, transgressive reversals and preposterous propositions that it ought to be a godforsaken mess.

Continue reading ‘Titane’: The New Flesh Is Thriving, Living Rent-Free in Julia Ducournau’s F*cked Up Metallica Brain [Cannes Review] at The Playlist.

It’s that time of year again, though a little delayed. Following the cancellation of the 2020 Cannes Film Festival last year, thanks to the global pandemic, Cannes is triumphantly back this year with a whopper of a line-up, And it’s one that’s perhaps overflowing with things that were due to appear at the festival last year (Wes Anderson‘s “The French Dispatch,” Paul Verhoeven’s “Benedetta”) and instead were held for an entire year by the filmmakers and producers.

Continue reading Cannes Film Festival 2021 Preview: 25 Films To Watch at The Playlist.

After not having a Cannes Film Festival in 2020, obviously due to the pandemic, it appears the French event is making up for lost time with an absolutely stacked lineup of features in 2021. And thankfully, for film fans that aren’t able to make the trip to France right now, the festival has released a bunch of first-look photos for some of our most anticipated features of the festival.

READ MORE: Cannes Film Festival: Gaspar Noe, Bill Murray, Ari Folman, And More Added To Lineup

For those unaware, as mentioned, the 2021 Cannes Film Festival is chock full of incredible filmmakers and intriguing features that should get film fans excited.

Continue reading Cannes First Looks: ‘Red Rocket,’ The Souvenir II,’ ‘After Yang,’ ‘Titane’ & More at The Playlist.

What’s one of the most anticipated film of 2021? French filmmaker Julia Ducournau‘s “Titane,” the follow-up to her critically-acclaimed horror film “Raw.” Starring Agathe Rousselle and Vincent Lindon, the movie is a thriller about a long-lost child who returns suddenly, but what seems to be the end of a long nightmare soon turns into something else.

READ MORE: 52 Films Directed By Women To Watch In 2021

The film is also set to debut at the Cannes Film Festival.

Continue reading ‘Titane’ Teaser Trailer: Julia Ducournau Returns With A Creepy New Cannes-Bound Thriller at The Playlist.

Every year is a good year to stan female directors, but 2021 has cooked us up a real feast. Acting veterans like Rebecca Hall, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Robin Wright, and Halle Berry are finally claiming their director’s chairs on feature films, while arthouse icon Jane Campion is returning to hers after 12 years. Foreign language directors like Lucile Hadžihalilović and Ildikó Enyedi are making their English-language debuts, and French juggernaut Mélanie Laurent is working on two releases back to back.

Continue reading 52 Films Directed By Women To Watch In 2021 at The Playlist.