The Playlist

The obsessives' guide to contemporary cinema via film discussion, news, reviews, features, nostalgia, movie music, soundtracks, DVDs and more.

Interviews

Watch: 4-Minute Alternate Ending For 'Silver Linings Playbook' Gets The Entire Gang Back Together

By Kevin Jagernauth
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April 25, 2013 4:23 PM
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13 Comments

News

While we anxiously await the oddball awesomeness David O. Russell is cooking up with "American Hustle," let's take a victory lap with "Silver Linings Playbook." The screwball rom-com nabbed 8 Oscar nominations resulting in a Best Actress win for Jennifer Lawrence, who shined among a uniformly excellent ensemble in the tale of one man's journey to find a happy medium between his mental illness and the troubles in his life. It's charming, winning stuff, and one extra moment that didn't make it to theaters is now available for you to enjoy at home.

By Oliver Lyttelton
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November 28, 2012 2:26 PM
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33 Comments

Features

This week sees the release of Andrew Dominik's "Killing Them Softly," a gripping little crime movie than threatens to be one of The Playlist's highlights of 2012. And among its many pleasures is the chance to see some character actor favorites like James Gandolfini, Ray Liotta, and newer up-and-comers like Scoot McNairy and Ben Mendelsohn given substantial roles to chew on. Best of all is a major role for the incomparably great Richard Jenkins.

By Rodrigo Perez
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October 28, 2012 6:42 PM
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6 Comments

Television

The midway point of “Boardwalk Empire” suddenly came explosively alive, especially in the fifth episode, “You’d Be Surprised.” An unsuccessful assassination was attempted on the hostile and unpredictably bad-for-business gangster Gyp Rosetti (Bobby Cannavale) by Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi) and Arnold Rothestein’s (Michael Stuhlbarg) men, and Washington is finally trying to take accountability for the failings of the Volstead Act (national prohibition). These after effects are still rippling outward, but the curiously involving “Sunday Best” takes a sharp detour from these plot points, which will rule the rest of the season, in favor of a quieter, character-driven episode that lets all of its players interact. And while we’ve complained in the past about a lack of momentum, this chamber piece is “Boardwalk Empire" at its best -- be patient, as good things are coming to those that wait.

By Kevin Jagernauth
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October 24, 2012 3:57 PM
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0 Comments

News

A few bits and bobs of casting, so let's just dive right in....first up, the always excellent Shea Whigam ("Take Shelter," "Silver Linings Playbook") has taken a role in his "Boardwalk Empire" executive producer Martin Scorsese's new film "The Wolf Of Wall Street." Based on the memoir of the same name, and adapted by Terence Winter, the film will tell the true story of Jordan Belfort, a wheeling and dealing New York stockbroker who sees his career and personal life fall into shambles thanks to sex, drugs and alcohol.

By Kevin Jagernauth
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August 28, 2012 3:41 PM
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6 Comments

News

Here's how we imagine Shea Whigham managed to snag a role that may or may not end up being in the final cut of Terrence Malick's "Knight Of Cups" when it gets released in....oh, let's say 2015. Dude probably woke up, and ambled his badass self down to a local coffee joint to grab his morning cup when he saw some cameras rolling and a few trucks and personnel standing by. Curious, he grabbed his coffee and muffin to go (he was hungry) to see if he knew anybody on the production and just to check out what was going on. Then, emerging from an ethereal mist, Malick materialized, whispered in his ear and ten minutes later, Whigham found himself trading lines with Christian Bale.

By Kevin Jagernauth
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November 14, 2011 2:23 PM
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2 Comments

News

Get it!? It's like catch-22 but like, with a gun! It's a pun! Yep, "Catch .44" is the name of this (pretty much) straight-to-DVD effort starring Bruce Willis and for those of you who are bowing at the altar of Megan Ellison, let it be known that this is an Annapurna Production. Nobody is perfect.