Film
Top 10 Horror Films of 2020
What a year for horror… 2020 has certainly seen its share of terror — both on screen and in reality. With a global pandemic forcing most of us inside our homes, it’s been scary times for the film industry. Yet while horror was hardly immune to the year’s savagery — bye-bye Candyman, see you next Fall Halloween Kills — it’s arguably fared better than any other genre. Thanks to a strong community and a willingness to push the creative envelope, horror has survived, thrived, and, in some cases, held us together during this long, dark year. Sure, the delays for the blockbuster horror fare were disappointing, but they also opened the door for low-budget horror gems that have long been the backbone of the genre. Similarly, genre festivals led the way in experimenting with digitization, allowing ...
Creed Singer Scott Stapp to Play Frank Sinatra in Ronald Reagan Biopic
Scott Stapp (via “My Sacrifice” video), Frank Sinatra (via Nothing But the Best album cover) We’ve been inundated with some unforeseeable headlines in 2020, and here’s one more before the year ends: Creed singer Scott Stapp is playing Frank Sinatra in an upcoming biopic on Ronald Reagan. Yes, the rock vocalist is portraying the legendary crooner in the movie Reagan, starring Dennis Quaid as the 40th president of the United States. Stapp already filmed the role, telling Billboard, “Sinatra in performance mode was an exercise in restraint. He had this steely, stylish swagger and his sheer presence commanded a room. I was excited to join the cast and blown away by the on-set attention to detail, style, and overall production.” His performance as Sinatra comes during a scene in whi...
Oliver Stone Received Russia’s Controversial COVID-19 Vaccine, Is “Hopeful” It Will Work
Oliver Stone has become one of the first people to receive Russia’s controversial Sputnik V vaccine. Stone is in the country filming a documentary on climate change. He revealed his inoculation in an appearance on the state-run network Channel One Russia, and the story was subsequently picked up by Associated Press. “I got a vaccine shot, yeah,” he said, adding, “I don’t know if it’s going to work. I got it a few days ago. I’ve heard good things about the Russian vaccine. I have to get a second shot in 45 days or so. I have to come back. But I’m hopeful.” Via Newsweek, the Sputnik V vaccine is only recommended for people between the ages of 18 and 60, and experts have warned of potentially harmful consequences for people 61 and up. This makes the 74-year-old director’s choice som...
Kacey Musgraves Joins English-Language Voice Cast of Studio Ghibli’s Earwig and the Witch
With just one week to go before Christmas, Kacey Musgraves has been granted her so-called “biggest heart dream”: a role in a Studio Ghibli film. The Grammy-winning country star has just joined the cast of the English-language version of Earwig and the Witch, Studio Ghibli’s first fully-CGI film. Musgraves is set to voice the mother of protagonist Earwig. She will also perform her own version of the movie’s theme song “Don’t Disturb Me”. According to a tweet Musgraves posted on Tuesday, she has wanted to work with the renowned Japanese animation studio since she was a child. “My dad brought a VHS tape of [My Neighbor] Totoro home when I was about 9, and I’ll never ever forget the comfort and the magic that movie (and many other Ghibli films) have given me,” Musgraves, now 32 years old, wrot...
Promising Young Woman Attempts to Scorch Earth with Provocative Rape Revenge Thriller: Review
The Pitch: Cassie (Carey Mulligan) was once a promising young woman in medical school, along with her best friend, Nina. When a traumatic event involving Nina resulted in her suicide, it left Cassie jaded and enraged at the system that would protect those that hurt her best friend. Because of this, Cassie dropped out of med school, took on a dead-end job at a coffee shop, and now spends her evenings dismantling the system one “Nice Guy” at a time. However, her plans for ruthless vengeance alter when she crosses paths with former classmate Ryan (Bo Burnham). “Toxic”: Writer and director Emerald Fennell’s auspicious feature debut serves as a scathing critique of rape culture and the privilege that protects it. To make the medicine go down easier, Fennell uses a bubble gum pop aesthetic, an e...
Minari’s Steven Yeun on His Performance of the Year: “I Just Want to Keep Playing My Part”
Two things you need to know about Steven Yeun: He calls comparisons “comps”, and he has a better understanding of who he is as an actor and cultural figure than many other stars his age. Of course, it helps that he’s taken the long road to stardom, breaking out in a big way as zombie apocalypse survivor Glenn for six years on The Walking Dead, before moving on to roles in films by some of our most idiosyncratic, interesting filmmakers working today: Bong Joon-ho (Okja), Boots Riley (Sorry to Bother You), and Lee Chang-dong (Burning), to name a few. His latest, A24’s soul-stirring family drama Minari, feels like a turning point of sorts, both in the gripping complexity of his performance and the film culture that’s finally taken due notice of him. In Lee Isaac Chung’s thoughtful melodrama, ...
Naomi Ackie to Play Whitney Houston in Upcoming Biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody
Whitney Houston in The Bodyguard and Naomi Ackie in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Sony’s upcoming Whitney Houston biopic, I Wanna Dance with Somebody, has finally found its leading star. English actress Naomi Ackie is in “final negotiations” to play the late legendary singer, according to Variety. The 28-year-old Ackie recently earned a BAFTA for her acclaimed performance in the Netflix comedy-drama The End of the F***ing World. She’s also scored major screen time in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and the British anthology series Small Axe from Steve McQueen, whom we recently named our Filmmaker of the Year. Together with director Stella Meghie (The Photograph) and screenwriter Anthony McCarten (Bohemian Rhapsody), Ackie will tell the complex yet inspiring story of Whitney H...
Tom Cruise Goes Off at Mission: Impossible 7 Crew for Breaking COVID-19 Protocol
Tom Cruise has had several infamous breakdowns over the years where he’s yelled at the people around him. Surprisingly, his latest rant was not only justified, but completely necessary. Nearly 50 crew members watched as the Mission: Impossible 7 star went off on two coworkers after he noticed they weren’t following COVID-19 safety protocols. In audio obtained by The Sun, Cruise can be heard threatening to fire two crew members after spotting them standing less than three feet apart by a computer. “If I see you do it again, you’re fucking gone,” he screamed. “And if anyone on this crew does it, that’s it — and you too and you too. And you, don’t you ever fucking do it again. That’s it!” Following the CDC guidelines during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is essential to slow the spread of C...
Sundance Film Festival Announces 2021 Virtual Lineup
The Sundance Film Festival will continue in 2021 and returns with a new upgrade amidst the ensuing pandemic. For the first time ever, the entire festival will take place digitally through “a feature-rich, Sundance-built online platform” in conjunction with in-person festivities that will air through Satellite Screens across the country from January 28th to February 3rd, 2021 “Togetherness has been an animating principle here at the Sundance Institute as we’ve worked to reimagine the Festival for 2021, because there is no Sundance without our community,” said Sundance Institute Founder and President Robert Redford. “Under Tabitha’s leadership, we’ve forged a new collective vision: one that honors the spirit and tradition of these invigorating yearly gatherings in Utah, while making roo...
Top 25 Films of 2020
Our Annual Report continues as we reveal the Top 25 Films of 2020. Stay tuned for more awards, lists, and articles in the days and weeks to come about the best music, film, and TV of the year. If you’ve missed any part of our Annual Report, you can check out all the coverage here. Going to the movies ain’t like it used to be, right? What an understatement. With theaters shuttered up and movie chains filing for bankruptcy, one might argue it’s been a pretty crap year for cinema. Financially speaking, they’re not wrong. But, art is a funny thing. It has a way of enduring even the most arduous obstacles — you know, that whole Ian Malcolm, Jurassic Park, “life finds a way” bit — and this year was a testament to that truth. Art had no issue finding a proper stage. That stage, as fate...
National Film Registry Adds The Dark Night, Shrek, A Clockwork Orange, Record Number of Films by Women
The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.), Shrek (DreamWorks), and A Clockwork Orange (Warner Bros.) The Library of Congress has announced the next crop of 25 movies admitted into the National Film Registry, as NPR reports. The class of 2020 includes Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece A Clockwork Orange, recent blockbusters The Dark Knight and Shrek, and a record number of films made by women. As with last year’s list, there are several films that are so obviously classics, it’s a surprise they haven’t been added already. The unsinkable 1978 musical Grease fits that description, as does the Charlie Chaplin flick Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914), Wim Wender’s 1999 documentary about Cuban musicians, The Buena Vista Social Club, and, if you’re of a certain generation, The Bl...
Soul Wears an Old Hat But Opens New Doors for Pixar: Review
The Pitch: A new original Pixar film from the co-writer/director of Monsters, Inc., Up, and Inside Out, Soul is meant to remind us all how wonderful this studio’s films can be. And with a cast including Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, and Graham Norton … could it possibly go wrong? Death Becomes Him: The ads for Soul have been playing for roughly a year, due to the film’s original release plan being upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. But the gist has been the same: Foxx voices Joe, a kindhearted middle-school music teacher in New York City who has dreams of being a full-time jazz pianist. Lucky for Joe, he’s got the talent, too, as he shows to a jazz legend (Angela Bassett) during an impromptu audition. After getting the gig, everything seems swell for Joe…until he falls through an open sewer and die...
