«
»
The Playlist
The obsessives' guide to contemporary cinema via film discussion, news, reviews, features, nostalgia, movie music, soundtracks, DVDs and more.Interviews
-
Greta Gerwig Talks 'Frances Ha' & Working With Noah Baumbach -
Joel Edgerton On 'Wish You Were Here,' 'Jane' Drama & More -
James Gray On 'The Immigrant,' 'The Gray Man,' 'The Lost City Of Z' And More -
Brit Marling Talks 'The East' & Espionage Thrillers -
Nicolas Winding Refn Discusses 'Only God Forgives -
Justin Lin Talks 'Fast Furious 6' & The Influence Of Altman -
Interview: Noah Baumbach Talks 'Frances Ha' -
Ben Wheatley Talks 'Sightseers,' Violence & More -
Mark Romanek On 'One Hour Photo' & Leaving 'Cinderella'
The Playlist
Cannes Review: Admirable Ambition Isn't Enough For James Franco's 'As I Lay Dying'
- By Kevin Jagernauth
- |
- May 20, 2013 11:25 AM
- |
- 5 Comments
To be certain, James Franco has never been lacking in ambition. From the meta quasi-doc "Francophrenia (Or Don't Kill Me, I Know Where the Baby Is)" to the Hart Crane biopic "The Broken Tower" to the kinky "Interior. Leather Bar." to the primate co-starring "The Ape," Franco has leapt into filmmaking, taking on challenges and narrative most other filmmakers wouldn't dare to attempt. And while there is something to admire in the ambition of the 35 year-old actor/writer/director's latest venture, "As I Lay Dying," it never amounts to much more than a curiosity.
Bryan Cranston Breaks Bad In 'Eye of Winter' With Alice Eve & Logan Marshall-Green
- By Charlie Schmidlin
- |
- November 21, 2012 9:45 AM
- |
- 0 Comments
Elevated into critical acclaim with the modest yet affecting short “Windowbreaker,” which in turn led to his 2009 Sundance feature “Children of Invention,” writer/director Tze Chun's career has grown more promising with every new development. The filmmaker's next effort looks to be his most accomplished yet in terms of genre and the caliber of talent involved.
Danny McBride, Logan Marshall-Green & Ahna O'Reilly Join James Franco's 'As I Lay Dying'
- By Simon Dang
- |
- August 21, 2012 9:02 AM
- |
- 0 Comments
For all his prolific work across a number of mediums, James Franco's ability to write and direct is, for the most part, still an unknown quantity. He's done a few shorts, and two documentaries, but his three feature films so far -- the comedy "The Ape," the Sal Mineo biopic "Sal," and Hart Crane tale "The Broken Tower" -- haven't exactly become big hits or critical favorites. However, his latest endeavor might change that.
Ridley Scott's 'Prometheus': The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
- By Oliver Lyttelton
- |
- June 11, 2012 10:00 AM
- |
- 84 Comments
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.
Watch: 4 New Clips From 'Prometheus' Celebrate Untrustworthy Androids & Ominous Possibilities
- By Ryan Gowland
- |
- June 1, 2012 9:24 AM
- |
- 2 Comments
Androids. Anyone that saw Ridley Scott's "Alien" and "Blade Runner" knows that the director is fairly dubious about the apparent artificial intelligence that will be commonplace in the future. With Scott's "Prometheus" currently playing overseas and only a week away from release on this side of the Atlantic, it's clear that the director is still suspicious about man playing God, as evidenced by the beautiful but creepy viral video concerning Michael Fassbender's android character David. Now, Fox has released four new preview clips from "Prometheus," some of which highlight the possible duplicity of Fassbender's David, while the others point to a grim outcome for the characters, no matter whether the threat is human or android. And in case you're wondering: yes, these are pretty spoilery, so don't watch if you want to go into the movie fresh.
Review: Ridley Scott's 'Prometheus' Is A Gorgeous, Fascinating Muddle Of Ideas That Can't Stick The Landing
- By Oliver Lyttelton
- |
- May 30, 2012 7:11 PM
- |
- 61 Comments
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.
Watch: See Even More Of 'Prometheus' In 2 New Featurettes For Ridley Scott's Film
- By Kevin Jagernauth
- |
- May 24, 2012 7:23 PM
- |
- 3 Comments
On Monday, press screenings for Ridley Scott's long-awaited, highly anticipated "Prometheus" will begin, and the word will slowly come out as to whether it's a masterpiece, a misfire, or something in between. But if 20th Century Fox's marketing campaign continues to go the way it has so far, you'll probably have seen the whole movie by Sunday night, thanks to the large amount of clips and featurettes that have been barfed out onto the web. And now there are two more.
Watch: God Does Not Build In Straight Lines In New Clip From 'Prometheus'
- By Kevin Jagernauth
- |
- May 14, 2012 11:51 AM
- |
- 2 Comments
" 'Prometheus' originated from a very simple question that haunted me after the first 'Alien,' and no one answered in subsequent 'Alien' films: who was the Space Jockey—the big guy in the seat? We didn’t know if it was going to be a sequel or a prequel. I think you might not even argue it’s a prequel because it moves so far away from the original," Ridley Scott recently wrote in Newsweek, adding another puzzle piece to the movie. And as the continuing promotional train for "Prometheus" keeps chugging along, we're seeing more and more of what this not-a-prequel-exactly will be offering.
Yes, There Are Even More New Images From 'Prometheus'
- By Kevin Jagernauth
- |
- May 10, 2012 5:12 PM
- |
- 2 Comments
In case you haven't figured it out by this point, the Fox marketing department's tactic for promoting "Prometheus" is essentially a winner-takes-all, carpet bomb campaign that will crush you with pics, clips, teasers and God knows what else, until you don't even want to see the movie anymore. Okay, who are we kidding, you'll still want to see this, but we kind of just wish we could fast-forward the clock already.
'Prometheus' Star Logan Marshall-Green To Play Tennessee Williams In Carson McCullers Biopic 'Lonely Hunter'
- By Ryan Gowland
- |
- May 10, 2012 10:43 AM
- |
- 2 Comments
Actor Logan Marshall-Green is hardly a household name, but after paying his bills working in theater and various TV shows — most recently in TNT's canceled "Dark Blue" — he transitioned to movies. After a supporting role in "Brooklyn's Finest" and being one of the few bright spots in 2010's predictably banal "Devil," it's Marshall-Green's upcoming role in Ridley Scott's "Prometheus" that quickly earned him a spot on our list of 10 actors we're tipping for stardom. The actor's next turn will see him skip on genre fare and rely more on his theatrical acumen, as he is set to portray playwright Tennessee Williams in a new biopic.
Email Updates
What's Poppin'
-
Watch: Ace First Trailer For Martin Scorsese's 'The Wolf Of Wall Street' Starring Leonardo DiCaprio -
Girls Gone Bad: 20 Lethal Girl Gang Movies -
10 Meta Movies That Break The Fourth Wall And Blur Reality & Fiction -
Where Will 'Man Of Steel' Rank? Rating The ‘Superman’ Movies From Worst To Best -
Is This The End? Get To Know Your 2013 Apocalypse Movies -
12 Great & Not-So-Great Debuts From Screenwriters-Turned-Directors -
5 Versions Of ‘Jurassic Park’ You Never Saw -
2013: The Best Films Of The Year...So Far -
20 Great Workplace Comedies -
12 Observations On The New 'Arrested Development' Season
Recent Comments
I personally think this is the best superhero film I have ever seen. It wasn't corny like I
Excellent article.
awesome. best fucking movie
I don't have much to say about the article, other than to address point #5 slightly.
I'm sorry. But i justed wasted time reading an article i thought was going to be constructive
trying to figure the movie out is one of the many joys of watching this. i know im not the smartest
anyone who thinks this blog is true....' can go **** himself/herself. cloud atlas is
Place Beyond the Pines is a modest hit, no doubt (and a terrific film!) but it had a $15 million
I thought that the movie could have been done without Lois Lane. In a city as massive as
My problem wasn't so much that supes killed zod, but that he barely had any time to reflect