The Playlist

'Zero Dark Thirty' Wins Best Picture, Director & Actress From National Board Of Review, Leonardo DiCaprio Takes Supporting Actor

By Oliver Lyttelton
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December 5, 2012 2:34 PM
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8 Comments

Awards

Awards season continues on apace, and if things keep on the way things have been going this week, Kathryn Bigelow may need to enlarge her trophy cabinet. Her follow-up to the awards-laden "The Hurt Locker," Bin Laden-hunt picture "Zero Dark Thirty" hasn't even opened in theaters yet, but it already won the Best Film (along with Director and Cinematography) prize from the New York Film Critics' Circle on Monday, and now the National Board of Review (the somewhat nebulous organization who traditionally kicked off awards season, before the NYFCC moved their dates up last year) have followed suit.

Savannah Fest: John Goodman & John Gatins Talk 'Flight,' The Creative Process With Denzel Washington & Robert Zemeckis & More

By Kevin Jagernauth
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October 31, 2012 5:56 PM
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1 Comment

News

While cities like Toronto, Venice, Telluride, New York and London tend to get the most shine when it comes to the festival season, down in Georgia, the fifteen years young Savannah Film Festival is continuing to build into an enticing spot on the fall calendar. And this year they have rolled out an impressive list of screenings and guests. The Playlist spent the weekend at the still-ongoing festival, which opened with "Silver Linings Playbook" and was followed the next evening by "Flight," with star John Goodman and writer John Gatins in attendance. They were honored with the Outstanding Achievement in Cinema Award and Spotlight Award respectively prior to the highly buzzed screening, and afterward we sat down with each of them to quickly chat about the movie.

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Daniel Craig, John Goodman & Hugh Bonneville Join George Clooney's 'The Monuments Men,' Bill Murray & Cate Blanchett Confirmed

By Oliver Lyttelton
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October 29, 2012 11:24 AM
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5 Comments

News

After a busy few years (six movies in three years, from "Up in the Air" to "The Descendants"), George Clooney's been taking things a little easier in 2012. That's not to say that he hasn't been busy: the actor wrapped Alfonso Cuaron's "Gravity," and is a producer on Ben Affleck's "Argo," a role which is all but certain to see him pick up an Oscar nomination in a record-breaking sixth different category (having previously got nods in Actor, Supporting Actor, Director, Adapted Screenplay and Original Screenplay). But with the former being delayed from its original berth in November to an unknown date next year, 2012 marks the first calendar year since Clooney's ascension to stardom in the early 90s that the actor hasn't appeared in a film in theaters.

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15 New Images of Denzel Washington, John Goodman, Kelly Reilly & Don Cheadle In 'Flight'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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October 23, 2012 5:36 PM
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0 Comments

News

With five Oscar nominations and two wins, it's safe to say that Denzel Washington is well resepcted by his peers. And with the first batch of reviews for "Flight" mostly giving the picture a thumbs up, Washington could find himself back at the Dolby Theater in just a few months.

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NYFF: Robert Zemeckis And Cast Discuss The Making Of 'Flight'

By Gabe Toro
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October 14, 2012 3:25 PM
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0 Comments

Festivals

In "Flight," Robert Zemeckis makes a return to the world of live-action filmmaking with the story of Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington), a pilot who performs a heroic task in engaging in risky aerial manuevers to save a crashing plane. But the morality is not that simple, as Whitaker saves one hundred lives while inebriated. However, misconception has dogged the project since its inception, and screenwriter John Gatins was on hand during the New York Film Festival screening to clarify that the story is not based on the 2009 crash where a plane was preserved by controversial pilot Chealsey "Sully" Sullenberger.

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NYFF Review: Promising Alcoholism Drama ‘Flight’ Often Hits Rock Bottom

By Rodrigo Perez
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October 14, 2012 2:35 PM
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4 Comments

News

After 12 years immersed (lost?) in the world of motion-capture, Robert Zemeckis re-emerges into live-action filmmaking for “Flight,” an engaging and initially very promising drama about alcoholism, redemption and forgiveness that grows uneven and long winded as it progresses, clocking in just under 2 hours and 20 minutes. Featuring a thrilling and terrifying opening, plus potent and moving elements of a conventional but admirable morality drama, “Flight" is often undone by its very unsubtle choices and its problematic and strained last act.

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Review: Ben Affleck's '70s-Flavored 'Argo' Is A Terrifically Suspenseful & Entertaining Thriller

By Rodrigo Perez
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October 11, 2012 5:07 PM
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5 Comments

Reviews

Ben Affleck's third feature-length film, the terrifically suspenseful dramatic thriller "Argo," is the second picture to use Warner Bros.' 1970s logo in 2012. And like "Magic Mike," the Soderbergh film that employed the same logo earlier this year, it's an augur of what's to come, announcing a tone, mood and millieu that is imported straight from that era. Sporting a love for movies on his sleeve, Affleck's film gives nods to the smart, entertaining and engaging thrillers from the '70s -- "All the President's Men," "Three Days of the Condor," et al. -- and playfully with B-movie science-fiction pictures of the era without ever trying to lean too hard into any specific homage.

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Telluride Review: Ben Affleck's '70s-Flavored 'Argo' Is A Terrifically Suspenseful & Entertaining Thriller

By Rodrigo Perez
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August 31, 2012 8:16 PM
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20 Comments

Reviews

Ben Affleck's third feature-length film, the terrifically suspenseful dramatic thriller "Argo," is the second picture to use Warner Bros.' 1970s logo in 2012. And like "Magic Mike," the Soderbergh film that employed the same logo earlier this year, it's an augur of what's to come, announcing a tone, mood and millieu that is imported straight from that era. Sporting a love for movies on his sleeve, Affleck's film gives nods to the smart, entertaining and engaging thrillers from the '70s -- "All The President's Men," "Three Days of the Condor," et al. -- and playfully with B-movie science-fiction pictures of the era without ever trying to lean too hard into any specific homage.

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John Goodman Nabs Villain Role In 'The Hangover Part 3'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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August 16, 2012 2:42 PM
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1 Comment

News

Okay, so saying "The Hangoover Part 3" has a villain is a bit of stretch -- the series has thus far featured guys who give the Wolf Pack trouble, but aren't necessarily their enemy -- but regardless it does allow for the opportunity to let some good actors have some fun. In "The Hangover Part 2," Paul Giamatti got to the chew the scenery, and now another name we really like will get do to the same.

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Review: Brilliant Animated Movie 'ParaNorman' Is One Of The Summer's Biggest (And Best) Surprises

By Drew Taylor
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August 4, 2012 10:44 AM
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15 Comments

Reviews

This summer has been full of big, glitzy animated movies from most of the major studios that have made tons of money but left audiences cold. None of them were particularly imaginative, entertaining or emotionally involving, instead choosing to coast on a steady stream of solid (if not exactly dazzling) images and a host of comfortingly familiar celebrity voices. And yet, at the tail end of the summer, along comes a movie proudly told in an old school animation style, from a tiny animation house and distributed by a studio known mostly for distributing arty fare like "Brokeback Mountain," that blows away all the slick studio confections both in terms of sheer visual wonder and (more surprisingly) emotional heft. Laika's stop-motion wonder "ParaNorman" isn't just the best animated movie of the summer, it's one of the best movies of the year. Period.

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