Natalie Portman has been announced as the winner of the Hollywood Film Award’s Best Actress trophy for her role in Pablo Larraín’s Jackie while Janelle Monáe is being honored with the Spotlight award for her supporting turn in Hidden Figures.
Category: Film
Viola Davis Will Be Campaigning in Supporting Actress for “Fences”
After countless rumors and whispers, The Playlist has confirmed that Viola Davis will indeed be campaigned in Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film adaptation of Fences. Continue reading
Natalie Portman is Exceptional in the Transcendent “Jackie”
There’s a scene in Jackie which sees the titular First Lady (played by Natalie Portman) preparing to walk out of the private jet carrying her, husband John and their entourage in Dallas, Texas. She’s rehearsing her speech while applying her makeup. Wearing the now iconic pink Chanel suit, she adds the finishing touch: the matching pillbox hat. She stares ahead never meeting his gaze, with a blank expression on her face.
“Ready?” John asks her.
“Of course,” she says with the slightest grin.
“Moonlight,” “Manchester By The Sea,” “Jackie” Land Major Gotham Independent Award Nominations
The 2016 Gotham Award nominations have been announced, and while Manchester By The Sea came out on top with four nominations, films like Moonlight and Jackie managed to score some key mentions as well.
Emily Blunt is Fantastic in the Otherwise Average “The Girl On the Train”
Ever since The Girl On the Train was released last year, it was hailed as “the next Gone Girl.” Such a comparison was probably a little unfair, despite both novels’ reliance on the untrustworthy narrator device, the switching between POV’s throughout the story and the fact they were shocking thrillers.
And so when it was announced that the film adaption of The Girl On the Train would be announced in October, just days shy of Gone Girl’s (the film) two year anniversary, the comparisons grew. Many wondered if Emily Blunt, starring as the main character Rachel, would secure the first Oscar nomination that has (unfairly) eluded her throughout her career like Rosamund Pike did for Gone Girl. The film would no doubt be a smashing success (it’s already being projected to be the #1 film this weekend with close to $30 million. Not Gone Girl level numbers, but pretty respectable nonetheless). It just needed to be good enough for Oscar consideration, right?
Unfortunately, critics have not been kind to The Girl On the Train. Metacritic has it at a middling 48, with many mentioning or flat out comparing it to Gone Girl.
And while the film does have its issues, one of them shouldn’t be that it’s not the next Gone Girl. Continue reading
Natalie Portman is Front and Center in New “Jackie” Trailer
The Best Actress race refuses to slow down.
Just last week, we got a glimpse of Viola Davis in Fences and Annette Bening in 20th Century Women. Emma Stone won Best Actress at Venice and has been topping a lot of Oscar pundits lists for the final five, but one contender that has managed to astound everyone is Natalie Portman. The actress’ buzzy Jackie Kennedy biopic has been the talk of the town since it premiered to critical acclaim at Venice and Toronto last month.
Lupita Nyong’o is transcendent in the outstanding “Queen of Katwe”
Inspirational, “feel good” movies oftentimes break a sweat trying to earn the audience’s emotions. Through the use of saccharine music, stereotypical character troupes and cliché dialogue, not to mention formulaic plot points. Queen of Katwe, a film that very easily could have fallen into those trap holes manages to avoid all of them while holding onto its uplifting message, hitting you like a shot in the heart.
“Blair Witch” Review
When The Blair Witch Project was released in theaters back in 1999 it became a phenomenon. There was nothing else quite like it; a scrappy little film made for next to nothing, featuring no big name stars or a high-profile director attached to it. And yet it went on to gross over $240 million, and inspired a long line of films trying to recreate its magic (the Paranormal Activity films).
Enter the sequel, aptly named Blair Witch. Originally disguised as a film called The Woods featuring a cryptic teaser trailer, the film comes over a decade after the first film (and a much maligned sequel that’s generally ignored here). It seems a little weird that this sequel would come so far after the first film, especially given the original being a product of its time. Much of The Blair Witch Project‘s success is attributed to its marketing campaign, which was revolutionary at the time. An online website was created specifically for the movie, with false “legends” and stories about the fictional Blair Witch being spread far across the internet.
In today’s world, online marketing campaigns are seen as a necessity for a lot of films, especially a film like The Blair Witch; a lot of that magic has disappeared due to to the rise of the internet and social media. Even watching the original film isn’t as magical as it was back in the pre-internet age. Blair Witch doesn’t just set out to continue the legacy of the first film, but recreate some of that magic for a new generation.
Breaking Down The Best Actress Race
It’s that time of the year; Sundance, Cannes, Telluride and Venice are behind us while the Toronto Film Festival has just begun, and so has Oscar season. The contenders are beginning to emerge and narratives are starting to take shape. There are some films that have gotten a head start thanks to some critical raves (Jackie, La La Land, Moonlight, Loving, Sully) and some that are playing catch up (The Birth of A Nation) while others are giant question marks in the race right now (Arrival,
One race that’s particularly interesting, as it stands right now, is Best Actress. With so much left of the race left to go there are a number of exciting possibilities that, if played right, could make this one of the best years for Best Actress in awhile. Continue reading
Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight” Screens At Telluride, Enters the Oscar Race
I’ve been thinking about Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight from the moment its gorgeous trailer premiered over the summer. I hadn’t heard anything about it before that, but the buzz around the film became inescapable after. Film critics and various writers were all enamored like I was, while the lucky few who had seen the film in some capacity all had the same message: This was a film to watch out for, and see at any cost.
Suddenly it was announced that Moonlight would be screening at the Telluride Film Festival, with screenings at the prestigious Toronto and New York Film Festivals to follow. It’s clear that following the success of Room and Ex Machina last year, the film’s distributor A24 was not messing around with this one and if the word of mouth out of Telluride is any indicator of what’s to come, Moonlight is in it for the long haul.
Jon On Film 