The Playlist

Cannes 2013: Surprises & Notable Absence ...

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

Interviews

Watch: Hilarious Trailer For 'Movie: The Movie' Featuring Charlize Theron, Tom Hanks, Matt Damon & Much, Much More

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
February 27, 2012 11:22 AM
|
8 Comments

News

Memo to the Academy: Next year, you might want to get the writing staff of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" to write jokes for the show, because this nine-minute bit is funnier than anything that happened at the Oscars last night.

By Gabe Toro
|
February 26, 2012 12:42 PM
|
0 Comments

Box Office

It’s been a red meat kinda year at the box office. The number one slot at the box office has been taken over by an R-rated action movie five times thus far, the latest example being hoo-rah Navy SEALs film “Act of Valor”. With constant studio waffling over ratings, mid-budgeted fare like “Contraband” and “Safe House” have still handily trumped PG-13 four-quadrant "alleged" blockbusters like “This Means War” and “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” all year long despite the supposed ratings handicap. And those films all had noted stars, familiar leading men and women, while “Act of Valor” is populated entirely by real armed forces.

By Gabe Toro
|
May 1, 2011 5:21 AM
|
27 Comments

Hooray for Hollywood, or something. The 2011 box office finally snapped out of its doldrums with more reheated crap, “Fast Five” opening to a spectacular-for-Universal $83 million. The car blockbuster’s weekend surpasses “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” as the biggest opening weekend in Universal history, and with spectacular overseas results, the film is poised to do upwards of $400-$500 million globally, topping the $353 worldwide take of “Fast And Furious,” the last film in the series.

By Gabe Toro
|
April 24, 2011 4:56 AM
|
3 Comments

Hollywood doesn’t really recognize the seasons as clearly as you. Which is why even though you’re in school, summer begins in May, and even though you still have a full month of spring, that period usually closes in Hollywood around this time every year. In 2011, “summer” is beginning even earlier with next week’s release of “Fast Five,” sure to be the year’s biggest opener, which means that “Rio” effectively gets its licks in before the hot season begins, scoring a second straight weekend at #1 with a $26 million take.

By Gabe Toro
|
April 20, 2011 2:10 AM
|
42 Comments

"Spike can go straight to hell! You can print that. I am sick of him talking about me, I am sick of him saying, ‘This is a coon; this is a buffoon.' I am sick of him talking about black people going to see movies. This is what he said: ‘You vote by what you see,' as if black people don't know what they want to see."

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
April 4, 2011 11:06 AM
|
9 Comments

Yeah, we know. Tyler Perry doesn't usually fall under our radar of coverage, but as one of the most successful actor/writer/producer/director threats in Hollywood, he can't be ignored. Say what you will about the quality of his films, but he's speaking directly to a segment of the moviegoing public that Hollywood routinely ignores and he's making mad bank doing it. It's not exactly shocking that Lionsgate has re-upped their first-look deal with Perry for another two years; he delivers big box office on relatively small budgets and his Madea series is a bonafide franchise.

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
March 17, 2011 6:21 AM
|
1 Comment

You may have forgotten, but Tyler Perry is making strides outside of films that he writes and directs and just a couple of months ago, he stepped in the lead role in "I, Alex Cross" taking over for Idris Elba (and thus, killing our interest in the movie). Anyway, casting is gearing up and two names have joined the film.

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
February 1, 2011 3:17 AM
|
2 Comments

Tyler Perry Is Also The Real Black SwanDr. Alex Cross, the character created by James Patterson in his best-selling books, is no stranger to the big screen. In 1997 and 2001, Morgan Freeman played the role of the crime busting psychologist in "Kiss The Girls" and "Along Came A Spider" and now the franchise (of sorts) is getting a reboot and moving in some interesting directions.