The Playlist

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

Interviews

What Are You Seeing This Weekend? The 'Star Trek' Franchise Faces Off Against Indies 'Frances Ha' & 'Erased'

By Emma Bernstein
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May 17, 2013 3:10 PM
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0 Comments

News

We haven't hit Memorial Day Weekend yet, but it's official: Summer Blockbuster Season is underway. Between comic books, Michael Bay's latest flick, a Tom Cruise vehicle, and summer dalliances in the Hamptons, the second installment of the rebooted "Star Trek" franchise almost seems superfluous. Almost. Still, there's plenty of other delightful fare at the cinemas: another "Taken" imitation, a New-York-set coming-of-late-20s-ager, a B-horror movie set in Maine, a Korean thriller that may or may not feature Oedipal urges, and plenty of engaging documentaries. So enjoy the early onset of summer, faithful readers! And tell us what you want to see to celebrate it in the comments below!

By Oliver Lyttelton
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May 16, 2013 2:00 PM
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1 Comment

Reviews

With only a few days left of the Venice Film Festival, no clear front-runner has emerged to pick up the Golden Lion. “The Master” is probably the best-received film to date, but festival juries often shy away from the most obvious pick. “To The Wonder,” “At Any Price” and “Fill The Void” all have their fans, but all received raucous booing at critics screenings. The best movies have premiered out of competition, and many films seem like non-starters. But the best reaction we’ve heard to date across our week on the Lido came last night from abrasive, confrontational Korean director Kim Ki-Duk's “Pieta.”

By Kevin Jagernauth
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April 8, 2013 5:00 PM
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2 Comments

News

Gotta be honest here, we didn't care much for Kim Ki-Duk's "Pieta" out of Venice. The picture semi-controversially beat out "The Master" at the Venice Film Festival last year for the Golden Lion (there was some confusion about how many awards one movie could win or something), and while the director's movies -- which arrive at a prolific rate, with four movies coming in the last two years -- aren't for everyone's tastes, Drafthouse Films has rolled the dice on this one, hoping it can reach a nice audience.

By Oliver Lyttelton
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September 8, 2012 1:51 PM
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5 Comments

Awards

Update: Well, now it's a little clearer what Mann was talking about -- according to The Hollywood Reporter's sources, the jury wanted to give "The Master" the Golden Lion as well, but were told that they couldn't give one film more than two major awards. After some deliberation, it was decided to give "Pieta" the top prize, and "The Master" the two others. It all sounds like a bit of a clusterfuck, frankly, but it's not going to hurt the film's Oscar chances one bit...