The Playlist

Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Scott Porter & More Round Out Cast For 'The Hand Job'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 10, 2011 6:21 AM
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0 Comments

While we're still giggling at the words "hand job" populating movie sites over the last few days, the cast for the upcoming comedy that is yes, based around that very act, is turning out to be quite impressive. We chatted with Bill Hader recently, actor and husband of comedienne Maggie Carey who is writing and directing the project, and he dropped that Alia Shawkat (”Arrested Development”), Mae Whitman (“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”), Johnny Simmons (ditto), Donald Glover (”Community”), Connie Britton (”Friday Night Lights”), Andy Samberg and himself were all lined up for the film joining Aubrey Plaza who is taking on the lead role. And now a few more names have cropped up as well.

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Space Invaders: 14 Aliens Attack Movies

By The Playlist Staff
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March 10, 2011 5:39 AM
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12 Comments

While the genre never really goes away, once a decade or so the alien invasion picture suddenly hits the zeitgeist. It happened in the 1950s with the slew of B-movies, it happened in the 1990s as "The X-Files" captured the public's imagination, and for whatever reason (birthers? immigration concerns? a shortage of fake teeth for vampire movies?) it's happening again now.

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Gary Oldman Hints 'The Dark Knight Rises' Will Feature Old School Villain

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 10, 2011 5:19 AM
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12 Comments

Gary Oldman has been doing the press rounds for "Red Riding Hood" and naturally, he's been grilled about "The Dark Knight Rises," but the veteran actor has been playing it cool and not spilling too many details on Christopher Nolan's highly anticipated and secretive sequel. What we do know is that Tom Hardy will be playing Bane and Anne Hathaway will be taking on Catwoman, though current rumors suggest she will be an ally instead of a foe. And now Oldman has hinted that another villain in the movie will be ripped from the classic pages of the comics.

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Review: 'Jane Eyre' A Hauntingly Effective Gothic Drama

By Drew Taylor
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March 10, 2011 5:13 AM
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5 Comments

When tasked with reimagining Charlotte Brontë's immortal "Jane Eyre," which seems to be adapted somewhere, by someone, every couple of years, some key decisions must be made. The impulse that seems to have seized director Cary Fukunaga was to emphasize the gothic horror elements of the story, while making the narrative more structurally complex, allowing for more of Jane's back story to slip into the movie (it's the stuff most commonly left out of the multitude of adaptations).

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New Cut Of Sergio Leone's 'Once Upon A Time In America' On The Way With 40 More Minutes

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 10, 2011 4:53 AM
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14 Comments

Did you just buy the recently released BluRay of Sergio Leone's "Once Upon A Time In America"? It might already be dated. Leone's sprawling gangster tale, which has long been subject to various cuts and edits, is now going to get a fresh coat of paint in a new director's cut that is now being prepared.

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Exclusive: Jon Heder & Nick Peterson Talk 'Drained' An Animated Short They're Funding On Kickstarter

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 10, 2011 4:32 AM
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1 Comment

Here's a bit of trivia we bet you didn't know: Jon Heder ("Napolean Dynamite," "Blades Of Glory") recently earned his BFA in Animation. Yep, it's true he recently completed the last credits he needed, and now he's putting that degree to good use, putting his producing powers into play and teaming with writer and director Nick Petersen on an ambitious short film that will mix live-action and animation. Adding to the unique nature of the project, the duo are looking to finance the project through the crowd-sourcing site Kickstarter.

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Review: 'Red Riding Hood' A Brooding Tweenage Fairy Tale

By Drew Taylor
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March 10, 2011 4:13 AM
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7 Comments

Catherine Hardwicke, for better or worse, has largely defined what we have experienced, cinematically, for the past couple of years. Her influence might get lost in the shuffle, since every subsequent film has been helmed by a different director, but with the look and feel of the first "Twilight"' movie, she set the stage for a whole bunch of copycats and wannabes, which makes it all the more startling that she's returning to remarkably similar (hallowed) ground, with a revisionist take on "Red Riding Hood."

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Sony Pictures Classics Kicks It With 'Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels Of A Tribe Called Quest'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 10, 2011 3:50 AM
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0 Comments

Woody Allen, Pedro Almodovar, Wong Kar-Wai, Mike Leigh, Charlie Kaufman and....A Tribe Called Quest? Yep, it might seem like a strange fit but Sony Pictures Classics, usually home to decidedly arthouse fare, has picked up actor Michael Rapaport's directorial debut, "Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels Of A Tribe Called Quest."

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'The Dallas Buyer's Club' Back On The Market With Matthew McConaughey

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 10, 2011 3:17 AM
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2 Comments

Credit where credit is due; it appears that Matthew McConaughey is done starring in mediocre paycheck fare. After spending years taking off his shirt and smirking through films like "Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past," "Fool's Gold," "Surfer Dude" and "Failure To Launch" (while failing to launch a franchise in "Sahara" and doing forgettable dramas like "Two For The Money"), the actor is striking out in some new directions. His upcoming flick, "The Lincoln Lawyer" seems to be getting better than expected advance buzz and he's lent his name to a couple of bold upcoming comedies, William Friedkin's "Killer Joe" and Richard Linklater's "Bernie." And now, the actor is circling a strong drama that has been stuck in development hell for years.

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Review: 'Mars Needs Moms' A Dead-Eyed Bore

By Drew Taylor
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March 10, 2011 3:15 AM
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5 Comments

Robert Zemeckis has spent the past few years, since 2004's uncanny valley-crossing "The Polar Express," trying to convince the movie-going public of the validity of his brand of motion capture animation. For the most part, audiences have resisted, but he still keeps plugging away. And even a new deal with Disney to distribute his animated wonders wasn't enough to guarantee its success; it was quietly shuttered this year.

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