The Playlist

Homophobe Much? What’s With All The Effeminate, Fey (And Often Blonde) Villains In Hollywood?

By The Playlist Staff
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November 8, 2012 12:01 PM
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48 Comments

Features

Effeminate, campy, queenish villains in Hollywood aren't exactly a new thing. Examples go as far back as say, Claude Rains' bad guy in "The Adventures of Robin Hood” (1938), Peter Lorre as the delicate Mr. Cairo in “The Maltese Falcon,” (his business cards are gardenia-scented for crying out loud), Conrad Veidt as the SS villain in “Casablanca,” and Charles Laughton in “Mutiny on the Bounty” (1935), and can be these types can be found in plenty of eras (Vernon Wells as the leathery, Pillsbury Doughboy-esque villain in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s "Commando" is sort of known as the plump Freddie Mercury of action movie villains).

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Watch: Second Teaser For 'Iron Man 3' Reveals First Peek At Guy Pearce Plus New Pic Of Ben Kingsley As Mandarin

By Kevin Jagernauth
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October 22, 2012 3:30 PM
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4 Comments

News

Just when you thought trailers for trailers couldn't get any dumber, Marvel has decided to create two for what better be a helluva spot for "Iron Man 3" tomorrow because we're sick of posting about this movie already.

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Kristen Wiig, Hailee Steinfeld, Guy Pearce & Nick Nolte Have 'Hateship, Friendship'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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October 17, 2012 10:27 PM
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2 Comments

News

Well, congrats to the folks behind "Hateship, Friendship" for managing to keep the details on the downlow, to the point where with the film starting to shoot next week in New Orleans, we're only getting details now. And with a promising cast and solid source material to work from, this is one to keep an eye on.

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5 Things You Might Not Know About 'L.A. Confidential'

By Oliver Lyttelton
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September 19, 2012 12:07 PM
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8 Comments

Features

It's safe to say that "L.A. Confidential" wasn't greeted with especially high expectations in the run up to its release. James Ellroy's 1990 book, the third of his "L.A. Quartet" (preceded by "The Black Dahlia" and "The Big Nowhere," and completed by "White Jazz") was a favorite among crime fans, but hardly a best seller. Screenwriter Brian Helgeland was known only for "Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master" and a rewrite of actioner "Assassins." Director Curtis Hanson was well-liked, but mostly known for mid-level programmers like "Bad Influence," "The Hand That Rocks The Cradle" and "The River Wild." And the cast was led by two virtual unknowns from the Southern Hemisphere, with the most recognizable names in the cast being Kim Basinger, whose career was a little on the outs, comedy actor Danny DeVito and recently Oscar-nominated character actor Kevin Spacey.

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Guy Pearce Says His 'Iron Man 3' Role Is "Cameo Stuff"

By Kevin Jagernauth
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August 30, 2012 4:26 PM
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2 Comments

News

Guy Pearce is a man of many faces. This year alone he went from being a space jock hero in "Lockout," to a sneering effeminate baddie in "Lawless" in two wholly different performances. That the actor is talented and versatile, you already know, and his choices tend to be both interesting and eclectic. But he still managed to raise eyebrows this spring when he signed on for a role in "Iron Man 3." Pearce doing a Marvel movie? It seemed like a odd fit for the actor who favors roles that require some research and depth, but as he says, it gave him the opportunity to dip his toes into a franchise that seemed like it could be something looser than he's used to.

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Bootleg One Final Trunk Of New Images From Lawless, Starring Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf & Jessica Chastain

By Edward Davis
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August 24, 2012 6:11 PM
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5 Comments

News

If you're one of the many who are greatly anticipating John Hillcoat's prohibition-era bootlegging drama "Lawless," perhaps viewing it as the last great possible film of the summer, well, your patient wait is down to four days now. At this point you likely already know that the cast is superb and features a bevy of veterans and up-and-comers, like Tom Hardy, Shia Labeouf, Jessica Chastain, Guy Pearce, Gary Oldman, Mia Wasikowska, Jason Clarke and Dane DeHaan.

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A Visual Guide To The Guns Of John Hillcoat's 'Lawless'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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July 6, 2012 12:02 PM
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1 Comment

News

Well, this is a curious bit of marketing from The Weinstein Company for John Hillcoat's "Lawless." Although, considering the wonky campaign for "The Road," this is becoming par for the course for Hillcoat's films.

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Ridley Scott's 'Prometheus': The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

By Oliver Lyttelton
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June 11, 2012 10:00 AM
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84 Comments

Features

Well, "Prometheus" is in theaters. And if nothing else, it's been causing more furious debate -- in multiplex lobbies, in bars, online -- than most movies in recent memory. And The Playlist head office has been a warzone, with some loving the film, some loathing it, and some (like our review) falling somewhere in the middle. Name-calling and threats of physical violence have ensued.

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Androids, Sex & Sequels: 15 Things Learned About Ridley Scott's 'Prometheus'

By Oliver Lyttelton
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June 8, 2012 10:57 AM
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2 Comments

Features

Over thirty years after the 'space jockey' first appeared in "Alien," and after a couple of months of speculation and rumor, Ridley Scott's "Prometheus," his return to sci-fi for the first time since "Blade Runner", and his continuation/prequel/spin-off/whatever to his 1979 space horror classic, finally hits theaters today. It's one of the most eagerly anticipated films of the year, and is already inspiring fierce debate (The Playlist team are split down the middle on the project, with wildly divided reactions from those who've seen it).

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Review: Ridley Scott's 'Prometheus' Is A Gorgeous, Fascinating Muddle Of Ideas That Can't Stick The Landing

By Oliver Lyttelton
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May 30, 2012 7:11 PM
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61 Comments

Reviews

Ambition is a rare thing in movies these days, especially when it comes to summer blockbuster fare. There might be ambitions to blow up bigger things, or include more bad guys, or feature more stars, but in terms of real ambition -- telling big stories, about big subjects, on a huge canvas -- only a handful of filmmakers are really playing ball. Far more so than its predecessor "Alien," which is, after all, pretty much a haunted house designed to scare the living hell out of you, Ridley Scott's "Prometheus" has big ambitions. It wants to ask the big questions -- where do we come from? Why are we here? -- while also serving as a 3D, CGI-filled thrill ride.

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