Features Archives - Page 2 of 189

‘The United States Vs. Billie Holiday’: Lee Daniels’ Drama Can’t Honor The Trauma Behind ‘Strange Fruit’ [Review]

February 19, 2021 12:23 pm

"God Bless the Child" was the first Billie Holiday song I ever heard. It was one of my grandmother's favorites. She loved the lyrics because it was a lesson about how fake friends and money don't mix. Reading ...

‘Allen v. Farrow’: A Scathing Indictment Of Woody Allen Is Also Terribly Heavy-Handed & Undermining [Review]

Andrew Crump

February 19, 2021 11:39 am

Features, Reviews, Television

Watching a car crash, train wreck, or other such accident triggers the human fight or flight instinct. It’s why we can’t look away from flashing lights on the highway as tow trucks and emergency vehicles drag ...

Reconsidering ‘The Silence Of The Lambs’: Wolves Do More Than Wear Sheep’s Clothing In Jonathan Demme’s Complicated Classic

Walter Chaw

February 14, 2021 5:01 pm

Essays, Features, News

"The Silence Of The Lambs" is a hostile workplace environment melodrama about what women endure in and out of the home, trained to be pliant and agreeable while predated upon by superiors, peers, and serial ki...

Cathy Yan Talks ‘Dead Pigs’ Hitting Streaming & How Her Journalism Past Is Shaping Her Future In Film [The Playlist Podcast]

Charles Barfield

February 12, 2021 11:58 am

Features, Interviews, News, Podcasts

For many people, the name Cathy Yan automatically brings to mind “Birds of Prey.” That makes sense, considering for years, that is the only film that the young filmmaker has released. But you see, “Birds of Pr...

Steven Yeun Faces His Father’s Generation In ‘Minari’ [Interview]

Gregory Ellwood

February 12, 2021 10:59 am

Awards, Awards Campaign, Features, Interviews, News

Lee Isaac Chung's "Minari" follows a family of Korean-American immigrants who try to reboot their lives on a farm in 1980s Arkansas. The semi-autobiographical drama finds Steven Yeun essentially playing Chung'...

Shaka King On ‘Judas and The Black Messiah’ & The Current Social Justice Movie Zeitgeist [Interview]

Gregory Ellwood

February 9, 2021 10:38 am

Awards, Awards Campaign, Features, Interviews, News

Shaka King's "Judas and the Black Messiah" has arrived at something of a cultural tipping point for Hollywood. Months before the tragedy of George Floyd's death or the millions of people marching in the street...

Michelle Pfeiffer Shares Her Favorite One-Liner From ‘French Exit’ [Interview]

Gregory Ellwood

February 8, 2021 11:20 am

Awards, Awards Campaign, Features, Interviews, News

28 years. That's how long it's been since Michelle Pfeiffer was nominated for an Academy Award. In that case, it was the now forgotten drama "Love Field." Now, thanks to the attention of a Golden Globe nominat...

Sam Levinson Talks ‘Malcolm & Marie,’ The Return Of ‘Euphoria’ & His Filmmaking Father [The Playlist Podcast]

Charles Barfield

February 4, 2021 4:01 pm

Features, Interviews, News, Podcasts, Television

“Malcolm & Marie” is far from your typical film. Not only is it an incredibly intimate black and white drama with a cast list of only two actors and a setting inside a beautiful mansion, “Malcolm & Mar...

SAG Awards Snubs & Surprises: ‘Bridgerton,’ Glenn Close, Amanda Seyfried

Gregory Ellwood

February 4, 2021 1:47 pm

Awards, Awards Campaign, Features, News, Television

The actors are always full of surprises when it comes to the SAG Awards. Sometimes they are good ("Parasite" winning Ensemble last year), sometimes they perplexing (remember when Emily Blunt won for "A Quiet P...

Golden Globes Snubs & Surprises: Zendaya, ‘I May Destroy You,’ Jared Leto

Gregory Ellwood

February 3, 2021 11:07 am

Awards, Awards Campaign, Features, News, Television

Let's get the worst news regarding the Golden Globes nods out of the way. No, it wasn't the fact that Sia's "Music" earned two nominations or that Jared Leto cracked the Supporting Actor field for "The Little ...

‘Mank’ & ‘The Crown” Lead 2021 Golden Globes Nominations

Gregory Ellwood

February 3, 2021 9:10 am

Awards, Awards Campaign, Features, News, Television

In one of the most confusing award announcements in recent memory, Sarah Jessica Parker and Taraji P. Henson had the honor (or is that horror?) of announcing the 2021 Golden Globes nominees bright and early on...

Daniel Kaluyaa, Judas and The Black Messiah

‘Judas And The Black Messiah’: Daniel Kaluuya Is Electric In Flawed Hampton Biopic [Sundance Review]

Robert Daniels

February 1, 2021 11:00 pm

Features, News, Reviews

Martyrs demark the African-American experience. The documented lineage began with Emmett Till’s murder, his ravaged visage strewn across Jet Magazine's issues, and continued through Medgar Evers' assassination...

February films falling cherry judas land

11 Movies To See In February: ‘Cherry,’ ‘Land,’ ‘Judas’ & More

Ally Johnson

February 1, 2021 1:13 pm

Features, News

After a relatively slow start to the year, on the film front, at least, February looks to provide a larger range of films across streaming platforms (and some still only available in theaters.) There’s a decen...

‘The Sparks Brothers’: Edgar Wright Transforms Ride Or Die Fandom Into A Moving Dedication To The Kinship Of Eccentric Visions [Sundance Review]

Rodrigo Perez

January 31, 2021 5:34 pm

Features, Festivals, News, Reviews

To call a portrait documentary an “affectionate tribute” to its lesser-known subject, is usually redundant. That’s the whole point of adoring acknowledgment docs of this ilk— “shining a brighter spotlight” on ...

Robin Wright Talks Her Directorial Debut ‘Land,’ Grief, Survival & Renewed Hopefulness [Sundance Interview]

Tomris Laffly

January 31, 2021 12:53 pm

Features, Interviews, News

After a renowned career of nearly four decades in both film and TV, actor Robin Wright makes a confident feature directorial debut with “Land,” screening this year as part of Sundance Film Festival’s Premieres...