The 2024 Cannes Film Festival may be lighter on glitz and glamour than in years past, but that means arthouse and international fare from emerging and established filmmakers will get a chance to shine. Still, at least two American auteurs, Francis Ford Coppola (“Megalopolis”) and Paul Schrader, have films in the main competition for the first time in decades. David Cronenberg (“The Shrouds”) and Yorgos Lanthimos (“Kinds of Kindness”) are also back at the festival, with both making personal stories in their own way: Cronenberg, here, reckons with grief over the death of his wife seven years ago, while Lanthimos appears to retreat back into “Dogtooth” territory in a film that’s almost a rebuke of the global success he’s acquired with “Poor Things” and “The Favourite.”
Sean Baker, Andrea Arnold, Ali Abbasi, Jia Zhangke, Karim Aïnouz, and Paolo Sorrentino are also back at Cannes this year with new films in the competition.
Sean Baker, Andrea Arnold, Ali Abbasi, Jia Zhangke, Karim Aïnouz, and Paolo Sorrentino are also back at Cannes this year with new films in the competition.
- 5/14/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio, David Ehrlich and Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
[Editor’s note: this list was originally published in May 2023. It has since been updated with new entries in honor of Mother’s Day 2024.]
Movies offer an excellent excuse to ruminate on your deepest fears, and they’re certainly cheaper than therapy. So if you’re struggling with some deep mommy issues, why not cue up a matriarchal tale of terror and sort through some of that trauma in style?
Auteurs have been hashing out their issues with their mothers on the big screen for decades, to varying degrees of success. Consider mother-centric horror as its own subgenre, and you’ll notice there’s a tendency among filmmakers to take more than one stab at the thorny subject matter. Alfred Hitchcock used the real crimes of serial killer Ed Gein and added a profoundly morbid murder of a mother at a motel to brilliantly realize Norma and Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) for his exquisite “Psycho” in 1960, of course. But he’d whipped up something just as insidiously spectacular with Leopoldine Konstantin for his earlier...
Movies offer an excellent excuse to ruminate on your deepest fears, and they’re certainly cheaper than therapy. So if you’re struggling with some deep mommy issues, why not cue up a matriarchal tale of terror and sort through some of that trauma in style?
Auteurs have been hashing out their issues with their mothers on the big screen for decades, to varying degrees of success. Consider mother-centric horror as its own subgenre, and you’ll notice there’s a tendency among filmmakers to take more than one stab at the thorny subject matter. Alfred Hitchcock used the real crimes of serial killer Ed Gein and added a profoundly morbid murder of a mother at a motel to brilliantly realize Norma and Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) for his exquisite “Psycho” in 1960, of course. But he’d whipped up something just as insidiously spectacular with Leopoldine Konstantin for his earlier...
- 5/11/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
This year’s nominees for the 66th Southern California Journalism Awards were released today by the Los Angeles Press Club and IndieWire received a site-record nine nominations. Coming on the heels of our wins last year for Criticism of TV and Entertainment Reporting and following our 2022 win for Best Website, Traditional News Organization, the entire IndieWire staff has been nominated for Best Website, News Organization Exclusive to the Internet. IndieWire writers also earned nominations for individual accolades in eight categories.
“The nominated work illustrates the scope, insight, and unparalleled quality of our team,” said Dana Harris-Bridson, Senior VP and Editor-in-Chief at IndieWire. “We are thrilled and sincerely appreciate the Los Angeles Press Club for the Southern California Journalism Award nods.”
After winning the award for Best Criticism of TV last year, IndieWire’s Deputy TV Editor and TV Critic Ben Travers is a finalist in the category again for a number of his reviews,...
“The nominated work illustrates the scope, insight, and unparalleled quality of our team,” said Dana Harris-Bridson, Senior VP and Editor-in-Chief at IndieWire. “We are thrilled and sincerely appreciate the Los Angeles Press Club for the Southern California Journalism Award nods.”
After winning the award for Best Criticism of TV last year, IndieWire’s Deputy TV Editor and TV Critic Ben Travers is a finalist in the category again for a number of his reviews,...
- 5/9/2024
- by Harrison Richlin
- Indiewire
Nicole Kidman is the rare actress in the 21st century who, like the stars of Hollywood’s golden years, doesn’t disappear into roles so much as elevate films by her mere presence.
She’s certainly swung big at mainstream blockbusters (think: the “Aquaman” films) that might feel out of her step with her character-driven work elsewhere (like most of the films on the list that follows). But that’s because the Australian icon is unafraid of any role, whether stripping down her post-Oscar, A-lister veneer to film Lars von Trier’s Brechtian “Dogville” in Sweden, slipping into a bathtub with the 10-year-old possible reincarnation of her dead husband in Jonathan Glazer’s “Birth,” or, yes, donning a fake nose to play a suicidal Virginia Woolf for her Oscar-winning turn in “The Hours.”
On April 27 in Los Angeles, Nicole Kidman will receive the 49th AFI Life Achievement Award, joining the ranks of Jane Fonda,...
She’s certainly swung big at mainstream blockbusters (think: the “Aquaman” films) that might feel out of her step with her character-driven work elsewhere (like most of the films on the list that follows). But that’s because the Australian icon is unafraid of any role, whether stripping down her post-Oscar, A-lister veneer to film Lars von Trier’s Brechtian “Dogville” in Sweden, slipping into a bathtub with the 10-year-old possible reincarnation of her dead husband in Jonathan Glazer’s “Birth,” or, yes, donning a fake nose to play a suicidal Virginia Woolf for her Oscar-winning turn in “The Hours.”
On April 27 in Los Angeles, Nicole Kidman will receive the 49th AFI Life Achievement Award, joining the ranks of Jane Fonda,...
- 4/26/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Who says this summer is light on blockbuster fare, despite the strikes holding productions and release dates up?
Big movies coming to theaters in the next hot few months include favorite IP getting a 2024 burnish, from “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” to “Alien: Romulus” and “Twisters”. Oh, and a little movie called “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” (May 24), which George Miller will first bring to the Cannes Film Festival before opening it in theaters later that month. Plus, poised to be a Netflix hit this summer is Richard Linklater’s “Hit Man” (May 24 in theaters), playing for a couple of weeks in select cities before the crime comedy starring Glen Powell hits the streaming platform.
But those bigger-ticket titles aside, summer 2024 is a time for indies to shine, from Annie Baker’s long-awaited festival hit “Janet Planet” (June 14) to India Donaldson’s wonderful Sundance premiere “Good One” (August...
Big movies coming to theaters in the next hot few months include favorite IP getting a 2024 burnish, from “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” to “Alien: Romulus” and “Twisters”. Oh, and a little movie called “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” (May 24), which George Miller will first bring to the Cannes Film Festival before opening it in theaters later that month. Plus, poised to be a Netflix hit this summer is Richard Linklater’s “Hit Man” (May 24 in theaters), playing for a couple of weeks in select cities before the crime comedy starring Glen Powell hits the streaming platform.
But those bigger-ticket titles aside, summer 2024 is a time for indies to shine, from Annie Baker’s long-awaited festival hit “Janet Planet” (June 14) to India Donaldson’s wonderful Sundance premiere “Good One” (August...
- 4/23/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio, David Ehrlich and Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Four months into 2024, and it’s already shaping up to be an exceptionally strong year for cinematography, with several standout films that represent the art form at its apex. Perhaps what’s most welcome about these films is their variety, not only in terms of genre and tone but also budget and position in the marketplace. From the studio system, we have Greig Fraser’s extraordinary work on “Dune: Part Two,” which doubles down on the ambition and tactile detail of Fraser’s work on its predecessor (for which he justly received an Academy Award) to create one of the most flat-out beautiful epics since the glory days of David Lean. From the world of low-budget, independent filmmaking, we have “I Saw the TV Glow,” where cinematographer Eric Yue designs a meticulous and expressive visual corollary for his protagonist’s inner state.
Somewhere in between “Dune” and “I Saw the TV Glow...
Somewhere in between “Dune” and “I Saw the TV Glow...
- 4/20/2024
- by Jim Hemphill and Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
Emily Kassie and Julian Brave NoiseCat’s documentary “Sugarcane” garnered the top nonfiction honor at the 26th annual Sarasota Film Festival. About the abuse and death of Indigenous children at a Canadian-based Indian Residential School, the docu premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival (Sff), where it picked up the U.S. documentary directing kudo. In February, National Geographic Documentary Films acquired the film.
The doc feature jury made up of producer Wren Arthur, Indiewire’s Christian Blauvelt, NPR’s Eric Deggans, and Doc NYC artistic director Jaie Laplante said in a joint statement that they selected the film for “bravely tackling the legacy of trauma from the abuse of First Nations students at the St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School in British Columbia. The Catholic Church-run school closed decades ago, but the horrors there are still deeply felt by generations across an entire community. The filmmakers do not lose sight...
The doc feature jury made up of producer Wren Arthur, Indiewire’s Christian Blauvelt, NPR’s Eric Deggans, and Doc NYC artistic director Jaie Laplante said in a joint statement that they selected the film for “bravely tackling the legacy of trauma from the abuse of First Nations students at the St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School in British Columbia. The Catholic Church-run school closed decades ago, but the horrors there are still deeply felt by generations across an entire community. The filmmakers do not lose sight...
- 4/15/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
The entire film industry is soon to descend upon the Côte d’Azur this May as the Cannes Film Festival readies for its 77th edition. From May 14 through May 25, the iconic festival event of the year will host much-awaited new works for auteurs and rising directors alike, across sections like the Competition, Directors’ Fortnight, Un Certain Regard (with jury president Xavier Dolan), and Critics’ Week. Major prizes will come at the end of the festival, and will no doubt set the tone for the movie year ahead.
Such was the case last year when Justine Triet’s eventual Oscar winner “Anatomy of a Fall” took home the top award, the Palme d’Or, the fourth consecutive film distributed by Neon to do so. Jonathan Glazer’s 2023 Grand Prize winner “The Zone of Interest” also won two Academy Awards, while Competition entries “Perfect Days” and “May December” earned Oscar nominations, too.
Such was the case last year when Justine Triet’s eventual Oscar winner “Anatomy of a Fall” took home the top award, the Palme d’Or, the fourth consecutive film distributed by Neon to do so. Jonathan Glazer’s 2023 Grand Prize winner “The Zone of Interest” also won two Academy Awards, while Competition entries “Perfect Days” and “May December” earned Oscar nominations, too.
- 3/27/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio, Kate Erbland and David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
We live in strange times. This young century has been defined by harrowing disasters both natural and man-made, political tribalism, and existential threats to the future of the planet. What better time for documentary filmmaking?
Non-fiction cinema has been evolving since the birth of the medium while capturing a world in motion. From the actualités of the Lumière brothers in the late 19th century to the heavily manipulated ethnographic films of the 1920, from the vérité films of the Maysles brothers to the man-on-the-street agitprop popularized by Michael Moore, documentaries have naturally always been more responsive to their times than any other mode of filmmaking.
Not only do they reveal our world to us, but they shape how we view it, and the early years of the 21st century have proven that to be more true than ever before. On one hand, digital technology has infinitely expanded our range of vision,...
Non-fiction cinema has been evolving since the birth of the medium while capturing a world in motion. From the actualités of the Lumière brothers in the late 19th century to the heavily manipulated ethnographic films of the 1920, from the vérité films of the Maysles brothers to the man-on-the-street agitprop popularized by Michael Moore, documentaries have naturally always been more responsive to their times than any other mode of filmmaking.
Not only do they reveal our world to us, but they shape how we view it, and the early years of the 21st century have proven that to be more true than ever before. On one hand, digital technology has infinitely expanded our range of vision,...
- 3/27/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
[Editor’s note: This list was originally published in 2017. It has since been updated many times.]
With everything going the way it is in the world right now, we’re laughing to keep less cheery emotions at bay. At least this bizarre, still-very-much-in-progress century has already produced a slew of spectacular, silly, snarky, and cynical comedies: ready to fire up whenever you need a serotonin burst or distraction thanks to the ever-growing cadre of streaming services.
The pandemic may be in the rearview for the U.S. federal government, but the specter of war, a tortured economy, and human rights issues across the globe have occupied the minds of many instead. So, in desperate need of some humor, we thought it was more important than ever to give our Greatest Comedies of the 21st Century list, originally published in 2017, yet another rethink. Since the list was originally published, we’ve expanded it to 90 entries, including titles released since then that deserved including and other titles we somehow overlooked the first time.
With everything going the way it is in the world right now, we’re laughing to keep less cheery emotions at bay. At least this bizarre, still-very-much-in-progress century has already produced a slew of spectacular, silly, snarky, and cynical comedies: ready to fire up whenever you need a serotonin burst or distraction thanks to the ever-growing cadre of streaming services.
The pandemic may be in the rearview for the U.S. federal government, but the specter of war, a tortured economy, and human rights issues across the globe have occupied the minds of many instead. So, in desperate need of some humor, we thought it was more important than ever to give our Greatest Comedies of the 21st Century list, originally published in 2017, yet another rethink. Since the list was originally published, we’ve expanded it to 90 entries, including titles released since then that deserved including and other titles we somehow overlooked the first time.
- 3/26/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
If curating the Best Action Movies of All Time felt borderline impossible, then ranking just the top entries from this century is Mission Barely Manageable.
Most franchise IP blockbusters released to big box office hauls in recent years could qualify as “action movies” in one way or another. That’s particularly true when it comes to the omnipresent cultural phenomenon we call superhero films. It can be tempting to write off the entire action genre when all you see is the over-pixelated epics about super-somethings stopping intergalactic injustice that make up an increasingly large chunk of modern Hollywood. However, the action movies that depend less on fetishized source material have yielded some of the most personal higher-budget workaround. When done well, action movies can tell great character-driven stories through movement. Action — acted or animated — is simply drama made dynamic.
That principle is what separates so many of the movies on...
Most franchise IP blockbusters released to big box office hauls in recent years could qualify as “action movies” in one way or another. That’s particularly true when it comes to the omnipresent cultural phenomenon we call superhero films. It can be tempting to write off the entire action genre when all you see is the over-pixelated epics about super-somethings stopping intergalactic injustice that make up an increasingly large chunk of modern Hollywood. However, the action movies that depend less on fetishized source material have yielded some of the most personal higher-budget workaround. When done well, action movies can tell great character-driven stories through movement. Action — acted or animated — is simply drama made dynamic.
That principle is what separates so many of the movies on...
- 3/22/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
What would movies be about if not for love? Since well before the days of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in “Casablanca,” romance has driven countless classic stories, setting up some of the highest highs in cinematic history to follow. Be it Cary Grant and Grace Kelly seeing stars in “To Catch a Thief” or Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal disturbing diner patrons in “When Harry Met Sally,” the 20th century was chock full of iconic romances that helped humanity fall in love with the movies. Of course, those titles were dominated by white artists telling largely heteronormative tales — meaning many (but not all) of the best and most inclusive romances have arrived this millennium.
Now, the best romance movies of the 21st century both resonate and surprise, showing audiences characters they might recognize from their own lives in new and surprising ways. Yes, finding “the one” is exceedingly well-frequented thematic territory,...
Now, the best romance movies of the 21st century both resonate and surprise, showing audiences characters they might recognize from their own lives in new and surprising ways. Yes, finding “the one” is exceedingly well-frequented thematic territory,...
- 3/20/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
The musical sometimes feels like a relic of a long-dead Hollywood studio system, but it remains a genre that captures movies’ ability to create story worlds that move freely between reality and fantasy. The worst examples come from filmmakers who give license to music, color, and movement to run amok; the best transcend artifice and integrate songs that become expressions of pure character emotion. Musicals offer endless possibilities, but success demands a complete mastery of the medium.
The best movie musicals of all time have faced obstacles as varied as their creators’ styles and tastes. That’s in part because its integration of at least two art forms — music and film always, but sometimes also dance — demands an unusually high-caliber of multi-faceted talent from those attempting its complexities.
After Lee De Forest invented the “talky,” the opportunity oozing from that new tech prompted an industry rush on musicals in the last days of the 1920s.
The best movie musicals of all time have faced obstacles as varied as their creators’ styles and tastes. That’s in part because its integration of at least two art forms — music and film always, but sometimes also dance — demands an unusually high-caliber of multi-faceted talent from those attempting its complexities.
After Lee De Forest invented the “talky,” the opportunity oozing from that new tech prompted an industry rush on musicals in the last days of the 1920s.
- 3/20/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
[Editor’s note: this list was originally published in July 2023 and has since been updated].
America. The land of the free, and the home of buck wild political thrillers. That’s not to take anything away from the ample international political thrillers in existence. But there is something about the United States that seems to make it an ideal setting for suspense built around corruption and conspiracy. Maybe it’s the country’s (misguided) sense of triumph and greatness: when a country is founded on ideals of democracy and liberty, a great yarn about the darkness behind its government is harder to resist. Whatever the case, the country has a great history of political thrillers, some of which stand as all time greats.
As a genre, political thrillers unquestionably hit their peak in the mid-‘70s, thanks to a combination of the JFK assassination, renewed cynicism against the federal government against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, and an honest-to-god conspiracy theory in the form of Watergate.
America. The land of the free, and the home of buck wild political thrillers. That’s not to take anything away from the ample international political thrillers in existence. But there is something about the United States that seems to make it an ideal setting for suspense built around corruption and conspiracy. Maybe it’s the country’s (misguided) sense of triumph and greatness: when a country is founded on ideals of democracy and liberty, a great yarn about the darkness behind its government is harder to resist. Whatever the case, the country has a great history of political thrillers, some of which stand as all time greats.
As a genre, political thrillers unquestionably hit their peak in the mid-‘70s, thanks to a combination of the JFK assassination, renewed cynicism against the federal government against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, and an honest-to-god conspiracy theory in the form of Watergate.
- 3/15/2024
- by Wilson Chapman, Alison Foreman and Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
[Editor’s note: this list was originally published in November 2022. We’re recirculating it to coincide with the release of “The Girls on the Bus.”]
It’s an election year in the United States. So, uh, how you doing, buddy?
Even in a world as spectacularly screwed up as ours [insert long list of alarming, urgent problems we have no practical solutions for, ending with some half-assed joke about the planet being on fire that you’ve definitely heard before!], the American political landscape is especially rocky terrain. In a post-Trump-presidency U.S., democracy is on the ballot and faith in both our electoral system and fellow humans is at an all-time low.
But, you knew that. And as we gear up for a 2020 election repeat showdown between Trump and Biden, it’s difficult not to feel fatigued by the circular nature of our political landscape and the lack of real progress made on a number of major crises boiling over at this very moment. Even international bystanders are probably dreading the death march to Election Day this year, and the sea to shining shit storm it will likely be. So to keep your head above water as we head into election season,...
It’s an election year in the United States. So, uh, how you doing, buddy?
Even in a world as spectacularly screwed up as ours [insert long list of alarming, urgent problems we have no practical solutions for, ending with some half-assed joke about the planet being on fire that you’ve definitely heard before!], the American political landscape is especially rocky terrain. In a post-Trump-presidency U.S., democracy is on the ballot and faith in both our electoral system and fellow humans is at an all-time low.
But, you knew that. And as we gear up for a 2020 election repeat showdown between Trump and Biden, it’s difficult not to feel fatigued by the circular nature of our political landscape and the lack of real progress made on a number of major crises boiling over at this very moment. Even international bystanders are probably dreading the death march to Election Day this year, and the sea to shining shit storm it will likely be. So to keep your head above water as we head into election season,...
- 3/14/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
When showrunner Michelle Paradise and co-creator Alex Kurtzman sat down to begin planning what would ultimately become the final season of “Star Trek: Discovery” they had one big goal: “Bigger and bolder,” of course, Paradise said.
They didn’t originally know the program would be coming to an end, but they still wanted to take some big swings when it came to keeping the story fresh for Season 5 — and that means compelling villains.
“They’re kind of like the Bonnie and Clyde of the ‘Star Trek’ universe,” Kurtzman said to IndieWire about the new baddies that fans will meet in the premiere episode. “But like all great villains, they have a sympathetic story. You know the old adage: The villain is the hero of their own story. That’s very true for them, and I think ultimately you’ll love them as much as you’ll see them as the villain.
They didn’t originally know the program would be coming to an end, but they still wanted to take some big swings when it came to keeping the story fresh for Season 5 — and that means compelling villains.
“They’re kind of like the Bonnie and Clyde of the ‘Star Trek’ universe,” Kurtzman said to IndieWire about the new baddies that fans will meet in the premiere episode. “But like all great villains, they have a sympathetic story. You know the old adage: The villain is the hero of their own story. That’s very true for them, and I think ultimately you’ll love them as much as you’ll see them as the villain.
- 3/12/2024
- by Erin Strecker
- Indiewire
[Editor’s Note: This list was originally published in May 2016 and has since been updated.]
So…what is sci-fi? It’s not the easiest question to answer when “sci-fi elements” permeate so many of the biggest blockbusters: thought-provoking genre concepts flattened into one-size-fits-all franchise fodder that make countless titles “feel” and, on occasion, even look the same.
Yes, science fiction is rooted in profound origins, examining humanity’s deep-seated fear of itself and the intimidating possibility of worlds unknown. But the last two decades have seen a metaphoric rush on sci-fi storytelling that’s left the once niche subgenre a supersaturated movie market. On the one hand, that’s produced an onslaught of sci-fi(ish) titles that aren’t always up to snuff. But on the other, it’s prompted some of the best sci-fi films ever made. Masterworks like “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and “Nope” both arrived in the past two years, and top our list at number five and number eight respectively.
So…what is sci-fi? It’s not the easiest question to answer when “sci-fi elements” permeate so many of the biggest blockbusters: thought-provoking genre concepts flattened into one-size-fits-all franchise fodder that make countless titles “feel” and, on occasion, even look the same.
Yes, science fiction is rooted in profound origins, examining humanity’s deep-seated fear of itself and the intimidating possibility of worlds unknown. But the last two decades have seen a metaphoric rush on sci-fi storytelling that’s left the once niche subgenre a supersaturated movie market. On the one hand, that’s produced an onslaught of sci-fi(ish) titles that aren’t always up to snuff. But on the other, it’s prompted some of the best sci-fi films ever made. Masterworks like “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and “Nope” both arrived in the past two years, and top our list at number five and number eight respectively.
- 3/5/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Remembering Philip Seymour Hoffman 10 Years Later: The Actor’s Best Roles, from ‘Twister’ to ‘Doubt’
The worst thing that could have happened to the film community did on February 2, 2014: Philip Seymour Hoffman, the great actor who transcended every project he graced, died alone of a drug overdose in his Manhattan apartment. Everyone remembers where they were when the news broke. His death was a shock to the system of all his collaborators and everyone in the creative community, but he left behind an Oscar-winning, untouchable body of work that, whenever revisited, gives the consistent feeling that he’s still among us.
Though Hoffman won his Academy Award for his etched-in-stone portrayal of a great American writer in “Capote,” Bennett Miller’s film is hardly the best work he ever did. The mid-’90s saw Hoffman begin a too-short of a lifelong collaboration with Paul Thomas Anderson, working together on films like “Hard Eight,” “Boogie Nights,” and “Magnolia” before playing a charismatic cult leader who...
Though Hoffman won his Academy Award for his etched-in-stone portrayal of a great American writer in “Capote,” Bennett Miller’s film is hardly the best work he ever did. The mid-’90s saw Hoffman begin a too-short of a lifelong collaboration with Paul Thomas Anderson, working together on films like “Hard Eight,” “Boogie Nights,” and “Magnolia” before playing a charismatic cult leader who...
- 2/2/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
That’s almost a wrap, folks, as this year’s Sundance Film Festival concludes its eleven-day run tomorrow. While Team IndieWire has already decamped back to their various home bases (eleven is a lot of days), we’re all still enjoying what this year’s festival has to offer through both its virtual screening platform and our already-fond memories of the best films we saw at this year’s festival.
And what films are those, you might ask? We’re all too happy to share, care of the following list of 17 standout features from this year’s festival, hereby termed the best of the fest. The following list includes over a dozen films one IndieWire staffer really wanted to highlight. Narratives and documentaries, first-time filmmakers and old favorites, comedies, dramas, horror films, and so much more, this list also captures the breadth of filmmaking prowess put on display at this year’s festival.
And what films are those, you might ask? We’re all too happy to share, care of the following list of 17 standout features from this year’s festival, hereby termed the best of the fest. The following list includes over a dozen films one IndieWire staffer really wanted to highlight. Narratives and documentaries, first-time filmmakers and old favorites, comedies, dramas, horror films, and so much more, this list also captures the breadth of filmmaking prowess put on display at this year’s festival.
- 1/27/2024
- by Kate Erbland, David Ehrlich and Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Is there a single director working today with a better track record than Martin Scorsese? Ever since breaking through with his gritty, scrappy crime drama “Mean Streets,” the Italian-American’s name has been synonymous with quality, and he’s kept that train going for several years. Some films were more acclaimed than others, but from the ’70s all the way to the 2020s, Scorsese has remained a consistent top-tier filmmaker, pumping out at least one or two stone-cold classics per decade.
What’s even more impressive is how adaptable and varied the man has proven himself to be. A refrain popular among internet contrarians is that Scorsese is just a dude who makes gangster movies, but one look at the films he’s made over the years shows that only scratches the surface of his capabilities and tastes. While his mafia films like “Goodfellas” and “The Irishman” are obvious greats,...
What’s even more impressive is how adaptable and varied the man has proven himself to be. A refrain popular among internet contrarians is that Scorsese is just a dude who makes gangster movies, but one look at the films he’s made over the years shows that only scratches the surface of his capabilities and tastes. While his mafia films like “Goodfellas” and “The Irishman” are obvious greats,...
- 1/26/2024
- by Wilson Chapman and Alison Foreman
- Indiewire
Cinema completionists and fans of unreleased movies appeared to receive their Holy Grail last week when reports began to circulate that “The Day the Clown Cried,” Jerry Lewis’ infamous Holocaust movie that has never seen the light of day, would be screened at the Library of Congress in 2024.
Lewis spent decades disavowing the film, which he directed and stars in as a circus clown imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp, but ultimately donated his footage from it to the Library of Congress in 2014. The deal stipulated that the footage could not be screened for 10 years, meaning that 2024 would be the first year that it could be made public. Lewis died in 2017.
However, a representative for the Library of Congress confirmed to IndieWire that no public screenings are planned, as the archive does not possess a complete cut of the film. The footage donated by Lewis contains several unedited scenes from...
Lewis spent decades disavowing the film, which he directed and stars in as a circus clown imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp, but ultimately donated his footage from it to the Library of Congress in 2014. The deal stipulated that the footage could not be screened for 10 years, meaning that 2024 would be the first year that it could be made public. Lewis died in 2017.
However, a representative for the Library of Congress confirmed to IndieWire that no public screenings are planned, as the archive does not possess a complete cut of the film. The footage donated by Lewis contains several unedited scenes from...
- 1/13/2024
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
After three years of virtual and hybrid event offerings, the Sundance Film Festival is set to celebrate its fortieth anniversary with its most robust in-person edition of the festival since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. While online offerings will still be available to those who wish to participate from home, with the official online viewing window opening on Thursday, January 25. That lineup will include at-home screenings of the five competition sections (including Next).
On the ground, however, seems like the place to be. As ever, this year’s festival boasts a wide variety of new films from some of our favorite filmmakers, plus an assortment of rising stars, new talents to keep an eye on, and perhaps a few surprises.
This year’s program includes new films from Steven Soderbergh, Debra Granik, David and Nathan Zellner, Richard Linklater, Lana Wilson, Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, Dawn Porter, Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden,...
On the ground, however, seems like the place to be. As ever, this year’s festival boasts a wide variety of new films from some of our favorite filmmakers, plus an assortment of rising stars, new talents to keep an eye on, and perhaps a few surprises.
This year’s program includes new films from Steven Soderbergh, Debra Granik, David and Nathan Zellner, Richard Linklater, Lana Wilson, Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, Dawn Porter, Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden,...
- 1/11/2024
- by Kate Erbland, David Ehrlich and Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
January is one of the biggest months of the year for independent film, with hundreds of film critics descending upon the Sundance Film Festival to discover the works of up-and-coming directors. But for those of us who can’t make the trek to Park City, Utah, there are plenty of independent movies to enjoy from the comfort of our homes.
This month, there’s a particularly big selection of independent classics to choose from on streaming, particularly if you’re subscribed to the Criterion Channel. In celebration of the approaching festival, Criterion is hosting a massive selection of past Sundance favorites, including the 1968 experimental documentary “Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One.” Other favorites in the selection include “Blood Simple,” “Stranger Than Paradise,” “The Times of Harvey Milk,” “Desert Hearts,” “Working Girls,” “Paris Is Burning,” “Mississippi Masala,” “Slacker,” “Hoop Dreams,” and “The Doom Generation.” Other major indie favorites on the streamer this January include...
This month, there’s a particularly big selection of independent classics to choose from on streaming, particularly if you’re subscribed to the Criterion Channel. In celebration of the approaching festival, Criterion is hosting a massive selection of past Sundance favorites, including the 1968 experimental documentary “Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One.” Other favorites in the selection include “Blood Simple,” “Stranger Than Paradise,” “The Times of Harvey Milk,” “Desert Hearts,” “Working Girls,” “Paris Is Burning,” “Mississippi Masala,” “Slacker,” “Hoop Dreams,” and “The Doom Generation.” Other major indie favorites on the streamer this January include...
- 1/6/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Films are stunning artifacts of humanity’s singular ability to dream and wonder in unison. But if the moviemaking miracles produced by Hollywood’s studio system are predestined — recycled IP inevitabilities that cost as much money as there are stars in the sky — indies are something greater.
Indie filmmaking is notoriously hard to define; combine the constantly shifting number known as “low budget” and another shifty goalpost, “independent,” and we’re partly there. Here’s another definition: It feels as if it’s willed into existence, both in the final story on screen and in the behind-the-scenes journey that explains how an auteur’s story got there. It was created because it had to be, rendered by talented and undaunted auteurs, through powerful visions and innovative commitment to craft. And finally, it’s introduced to equally ambitious audiences.
It’s in our name: IndieWire was founded in 1996 as an outlet...
Indie filmmaking is notoriously hard to define; combine the constantly shifting number known as “low budget” and another shifty goalpost, “independent,” and we’re partly there. Here’s another definition: It feels as if it’s willed into existence, both in the final story on screen and in the behind-the-scenes journey that explains how an auteur’s story got there. It was created because it had to be, rendered by talented and undaunted auteurs, through powerful visions and innovative commitment to craft. And finally, it’s introduced to equally ambitious audiences.
It’s in our name: IndieWire was founded in 1996 as an outlet...
- 1/3/2024
- by Alison Foreman and Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
There’s no question: 2023 is one of the best years for cinema so far this century, with an astonishing range of formally inventive, philosophically rich, and deliriously entertaining films. The year has been filled with great examples of nearly every type of movie, from mainstream theatrical releases and international festival entries to auteur-driven historical pieces and star-driven character studies, with innovative pictures by filmmakers from a broad array of backgrounds.
The art of cinematography has been particularly robust, and choosing the very best work in a year so rich is a difficult task. There are dozens of films not on this list that easily would have made it in a lesser year, and the ones that did make the cut will, we believe, stand the test of time. In terms of subject matter and tone the films couldn’t be more different; the candy-colored satirical extravaganza that is “Barbie” is...
The art of cinematography has been particularly robust, and choosing the very best work in a year so rich is a difficult task. There are dozens of films not on this list that easily would have made it in a lesser year, and the ones that did make the cut will, we believe, stand the test of time. In terms of subject matter and tone the films couldn’t be more different; the candy-colored satirical extravaganza that is “Barbie” is...
- 12/18/2023
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
Updated: Just hours after this article was first posted, MGM+ announced it had acquired Alex Gibney’s “In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon” and will air as a two-part docuseries on March 17 and March 24, 2024 at 9 p.m. Edt/Pdt.
It’s not too late to pick up a thoughtful gift for the people in your life, and that includes film distributors. While much of Hollywood is shutting down in advance of the holidays, plenty of cinema-loving elves are still toiling away in hopes of seeing their (very deserving) films land underneath the metaphorical tree.
And there are plenty of gifts to share, because even as the distribution landscape continues to shift and shape with startling regularity, some of the year’s most interesting and unique cinematic efforts are still looking for a home. In fact, we’ve got 18 of them wrapped and ready to go.
This holiday season,...
It’s not too late to pick up a thoughtful gift for the people in your life, and that includes film distributors. While much of Hollywood is shutting down in advance of the holidays, plenty of cinema-loving elves are still toiling away in hopes of seeing their (very deserving) films land underneath the metaphorical tree.
And there are plenty of gifts to share, because even as the distribution landscape continues to shift and shape with startling regularity, some of the year’s most interesting and unique cinematic efforts are still looking for a home. In fact, we’ve got 18 of them wrapped and ready to go.
This holiday season,...
- 12/6/2023
- by Kate Erbland and David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
The great Joni Mitchell once wrote, “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone,” which certainly applied to acting in 2023. Of course, actors didn’t disappear this year. They were just far less visible for a while. The SAG strike — lasting from mid-July to early November — was an eye-opening necessity, protecting the guild from the studios’ ghastly attempts to implement artificial intelligence and correcting issues like lost wages and residuals that stemmed from the “great” streaming disruption.
But if you would’ve told me a year ago I’d be lamenting the loss of all those red carpets, publicity junkets, and various press appearances actors bravely embark upon for their art, I would’ve laughed in your face — and then I would have apologized for laughing in your face, and explained, slowly and assuredly, that “No, I would never miss the scourge of half-formed quotes and...
But if you would’ve told me a year ago I’d be lamenting the loss of all those red carpets, publicity junkets, and various press appearances actors bravely embark upon for their art, I would’ve laughed in your face — and then I would have apologized for laughing in your face, and explained, slowly and assuredly, that “No, I would never miss the scourge of half-formed quotes and...
- 12/5/2023
- by Ben Travers and David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
The Los Angeles Press Club held the 16th annual National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards on Sunday night, honoring the best reporting, criticism, and analysis from across the digital, print, and broadcast media industries. IndieWire received nine nominations and ultimately won seven awards.
Executive Managing Editor Christian Blauvelt won first place in the Soft News, Arts category, for his analysis piece “Will Disney Win Against DeSantis? The Florida Lawsuit Explained.”
IndieWire’s entire staff was honored with third place in the Entertainment Website category. TV Critic and Deputy Editor Ben Travers was also awarded third place in the TV Critic category for his overarching body of work at the site. Additionally, four other individual stories were honored with second or third place finishes.
“I’m really proud of the IndieWire team,” said Dana Harris-Bridson, senior VP and Editor-In-Chief at IndieWire. “We’re a small but mighty crew and I’m...
Executive Managing Editor Christian Blauvelt won first place in the Soft News, Arts category, for his analysis piece “Will Disney Win Against DeSantis? The Florida Lawsuit Explained.”
IndieWire’s entire staff was honored with third place in the Entertainment Website category. TV Critic and Deputy Editor Ben Travers was also awarded third place in the TV Critic category for his overarching body of work at the site. Additionally, four other individual stories were honored with second or third place finishes.
“I’m really proud of the IndieWire team,” said Dana Harris-Bridson, senior VP and Editor-In-Chief at IndieWire. “We’re a small but mighty crew and I’m...
- 12/4/2023
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Now here’s an interesting piece of trivia: for the second year in a row, a first-time feature has topped our best films of the year list. That makes our cheeky little kick-off line — “just how good were this year’s debut features? One of them has already been crowned our best film of the year, and it’s got plenty of company” — both easily repeatable and simply true.
But, more than that, it proves an adage we’ve been touting for years: the art of cinema is alive and thriving. There are always good movies. There are always good directors. And there are always rising stars worthy of attention. This year is no different. Last year wasn’t either. And we’re feeling pretty good about 2024.
Among the best first features of 2023: festival favorites, awards contenders, genre offerings, personal histories, and at least one film that hinges on...
But, more than that, it proves an adage we’ve been touting for years: the art of cinema is alive and thriving. There are always good movies. There are always good directors. And there are always rising stars worthy of attention. This year is no different. Last year wasn’t either. And we’re feeling pretty good about 2024.
Among the best first features of 2023: festival favorites, awards contenders, genre offerings, personal histories, and at least one film that hinges on...
- 11/30/2023
- by David Ehrlich and Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Episodes are worth celebrating. After all, they’re the thing that makes television TV. It’s the chance that the next one might be fresher or messier or scarier than the one before it. Each new episode of a show is a new chance to recontextualize someone else’s hard work within a new set of circumstances for anyone watching.
Transcendent TV experiences can be products of time or place. A casual check-in with a show you’ve fallen away from turns out to be the episode that transformed the series for good. Some momentous occasion means cause for celebration or wallowing and you just happen to pick the one chapter of an ongoing story that perfectly matches the mood. At its most powerful, TV has the ability to shift your entire being and make you see someone else in a fundamentally different way.
We wanted this list to celebrate...
Transcendent TV experiences can be products of time or place. A casual check-in with a show you’ve fallen away from turns out to be the episode that transformed the series for good. Some momentous occasion means cause for celebration or wallowing and you just happen to pick the one chapter of an ongoing story that perfectly matches the mood. At its most powerful, TV has the ability to shift your entire being and make you see someone else in a fundamentally different way.
We wanted this list to celebrate...
- 11/29/2023
- by Steve Greene, Ben Travers and Erin Strecker
- Indiewire
In hindsight, it shouldn’t be surprising that the cinema of 2023 was so preoccupied with the unknown, as the first proper year after the start of the pandemic was always going to find the movie industry plunging into a brave new world.
Some of the most pressing questions we had at the start of January were answered with resounding force. Would the studios — some of which had fatally diluted their brands with streaming options in a desperate bid to appease the stock market — find that once-reliable franchises had lust their luster? Yes. Would audiences — so eager for a different breed of “event film” that they had already started to redefine the term themselves — actually follow through on the “Barbenheimer” meme that first spread across social media in late 2022? Yes. Would titans like Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, and Wes Anderson make good on the breathless chatter that surrounded their latest projects...
Some of the most pressing questions we had at the start of January were answered with resounding force. Would the studios — some of which had fatally diluted their brands with streaming options in a desperate bid to appease the stock market — find that once-reliable franchises had lust their luster? Yes. Would audiences — so eager for a different breed of “event film” that they had already started to redefine the term themselves — actually follow through on the “Barbenheimer” meme that first spread across social media in late 2022? Yes. Would titans like Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, and Wes Anderson make good on the breathless chatter that surrounded their latest projects...
- 11/28/2023
- by David Ehrlich and Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
“One more time: animation is a medium, not a genre. Animation is film,” Guillermo del Toro said last year. IndieWire couldn’t agree more, and yet animation — an art form that requires the most precise control of the cinematic medium — is continually disrespected.
Infamously, 2022’s Best Animated Oscars presentation featured several jokes about the nominees that, in the words of Phil Lord and Chris Miller, framed “the five Academy Award nominees for Best Animated Feature as a corporate product for kids that parents must begrudgingly endure.” The directing duo called upon the Academy to do better by animation. And this year’s ceremony largely delivered, with less jokes that belittled animation as kiddy stuff and a sterling speech from del Toro himself for his acclaimed stop-motion feature adaptation of “Pinocchio.”
Pixar and Studio Ghibli tend to spring to mind first when discussing great animation, but there’s a world beyond those two giants.
Infamously, 2022’s Best Animated Oscars presentation featured several jokes about the nominees that, in the words of Phil Lord and Chris Miller, framed “the five Academy Award nominees for Best Animated Feature as a corporate product for kids that parents must begrudgingly endure.” The directing duo called upon the Academy to do better by animation. And this year’s ceremony largely delivered, with less jokes that belittled animation as kiddy stuff and a sterling speech from del Toro himself for his acclaimed stop-motion feature adaptation of “Pinocchio.”
Pixar and Studio Ghibli tend to spring to mind first when discussing great animation, but there’s a world beyond those two giants.
- 11/23/2023
- by Bill Desowitz and Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Every year, we here at IndieWire take on the daunting and potentially insane task of plowing through seemingly endless lists of potential Sundance entrants to pick out the films that not only could make their way onto the annual festival’s slate, but the ones we’d most like to actually land in Park City in January. As ever, there’s no shortage of possibilities for the upcoming festival, including a wide variety of films shot under various Covid protocols, a slew of holdovers from the before times, and some long-gestating films we’ve been expecting and hoping to see for entire years.
And while we don’t yet know how the twin strikes will have impacted the overall lineup — as this article is published, the SAG-AFTRA strike has been over for barely 12 hours — and who will be on hand to attend this year to tout their work, we do know that,...
And while we don’t yet know how the twin strikes will have impacted the overall lineup — as this article is published, the SAG-AFTRA strike has been over for barely 12 hours — and who will be on hand to attend this year to tout their work, we do know that,...
- 11/9/2023
- by Kate Erbland, David Ehrlich, Ryan Lattanzio and Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
The Los Angeles Press Club unveiled the nominations for the 16th annual National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards, and IndieWire earned nine nominations. After 1,600 entries were evaluated by the committee, IndieWire’s entire staff was honored with a nomination for Best Entertainment Website, and eight staffers received additional nominations for their individual works.
IndieWire’s TV Critic and Deputy Editor Ben Travers was nominated in the TV Critic category for his entire body of work over the past year.
IndieWire’s Executive Managing Editor Christian Blauvelt earned a nomination in the Soft News, Arts category, for his analysis piece “Will Disney Win Against DeSantis? The Florida Lawsuit Explained.”
IndieWire’s Executive Editor, Business Tony Maglio received a nomination for Humor Writing for his essay “I Took My Daughters, 3 and 6, to See ‘The Little Mermaid.’ Here’s Who Slept and Who Danced in the Aisles.”
IndieWire’s Senior Reporter Brian Welk was also nominated in the Business,...
IndieWire’s TV Critic and Deputy Editor Ben Travers was nominated in the TV Critic category for his entire body of work over the past year.
IndieWire’s Executive Managing Editor Christian Blauvelt earned a nomination in the Soft News, Arts category, for his analysis piece “Will Disney Win Against DeSantis? The Florida Lawsuit Explained.”
IndieWire’s Executive Editor, Business Tony Maglio received a nomination for Humor Writing for his essay “I Took My Daughters, 3 and 6, to See ‘The Little Mermaid.’ Here’s Who Slept and Who Danced in the Aisles.”
IndieWire’s Senior Reporter Brian Welk was also nominated in the Business,...
- 11/2/2023
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
As the SAG-AFTRA strike seems to have hit a major stalemate, a group of major Hollywood stars — George Clooney, Emma Stone, Ben Affleck, Tyler Perry, and Scarlett Johansson — are taking matters into their own hands. The six have proposed a solution to the strike by eliminating the cap on membership dues for the guild’s wealthiest members.
The six stars made this proposal to SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher and lead negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland during an October 17 Zoom call, as reported by Deadline. Their pitch focused on removing the current $1 million cap SAG-AFTRA places on membership dues, and charging the A-list stars that are members of the guild with higher fees. The coalition estimated the removal would bring over $50 million to the union annually, and over $150 million over the next three years.
In addition, they pitched a bottom-up residual structure, that would make it so the lowest people on a...
The six stars made this proposal to SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher and lead negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland during an October 17 Zoom call, as reported by Deadline. Their pitch focused on removing the current $1 million cap SAG-AFTRA places on membership dues, and charging the A-list stars that are members of the guild with higher fees. The coalition estimated the removal would bring over $50 million to the union annually, and over $150 million over the next three years.
In addition, they pitched a bottom-up residual structure, that would make it so the lowest people on a...
- 10/19/2023
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Updated: While the fall festival season often plays home to the kind of films we’ve been buzzing about for quite some time (here are 36 of those very titles), the kind of features long set for “awards season potential” before they roll so much as a trailer, the sort of heavy-hitters we’re eager to keep chatting about for months and months (here are 18 in particular that we loved), there are always a wide variety of gems that arrive on the circuit still looking for homes (read: a way to reach the wider movie-going public).
This year’s season is no exception, and while the Hollywood strikes have thrown more than a few wrenches into business-as-usual, the rise of interim agreements and the need for many non-amptp distributors to bulk up their slates mean that sales should still be cooking. While Netflix has already done the bulk of this season’s buying,...
This year’s season is no exception, and while the Hollywood strikes have thrown more than a few wrenches into business-as-usual, the rise of interim agreements and the need for many non-amptp distributors to bulk up their slates mean that sales should still be cooking. While Netflix has already done the bulk of this season’s buying,...
- 10/18/2023
- by Kate Erbland, David Ehrlich, Anne Thompson and Marcus Jones
- Indiewire
Updated: With the fall festivals behind us — we’re talking the triple whammy of Venice, Telluride, and Toronto, plus the just-wrapped New York Film Festival and BFI London — we’re taking stock of the best films of the circuit. While it’s always easy to use the fall festivals as a window into this year’s awards contenders, of which many debuted over the past few weeks, the festivals have also provided us with some of the best films of 2023, full stop.
These standouts include new films from perennial favorites like Hayao Miyazaki, Errol Morris, Bertrand Bonello, Yorgos Lanthimos, Kitty Green, Andrew Haigh, Bill and Turner Ross, and Alexander Payne. Rising stars aren’t in short supply either, including first and second narrative features from TIFF winner Cord Jefferson, Annie Baker, and Kristoffer Borgli. Amongst this selection, words like “gem,” “masterpiece,” and “crowd-pleaser” are thrown around with regularity, but not without real consideration.
These standouts include new films from perennial favorites like Hayao Miyazaki, Errol Morris, Bertrand Bonello, Yorgos Lanthimos, Kitty Green, Andrew Haigh, Bill and Turner Ross, and Alexander Payne. Rising stars aren’t in short supply either, including first and second narrative features from TIFF winner Cord Jefferson, Annie Baker, and Kristoffer Borgli. Amongst this selection, words like “gem,” “masterpiece,” and “crowd-pleaser” are thrown around with regularity, but not without real consideration.
- 10/16/2023
- by Kate Erbland, David Ehrlich and Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
It’s Frasier Week at IndieWire. Grab some tossed salad and scrambled eggs, settle into your coziest easy chair, and join us. We’re listening.
Hey baby, do you hear the blues a-calling? We do! It’s been 30 years, but we still can’t get enough of “Frasier.” Luckily for us, there’s more “Frasier” on the horizon! Not many could have predicted that a “Cheers” spinoff about a lovably pompous psychiatrist unable to take his own advice would have been such a success, but it works, and more than that, it’s magic.
Part of the sitcom’s charm is that Frasier, as played by Kelsey Grammer, is routinely fallible. He’s pretentious, nitpicky, and status-obsessed, so we love to see him fall on his face. What’s unique about Frasier is that it’s never because of the fact he’s smart that he gets tripped up. It’s his pretention,...
Hey baby, do you hear the blues a-calling? We do! It’s been 30 years, but we still can’t get enough of “Frasier.” Luckily for us, there’s more “Frasier” on the horizon! Not many could have predicted that a “Cheers” spinoff about a lovably pompous psychiatrist unable to take his own advice would have been such a success, but it works, and more than that, it’s magic.
Part of the sitcom’s charm is that Frasier, as played by Kelsey Grammer, is routinely fallible. He’s pretentious, nitpicky, and status-obsessed, so we love to see him fall on his face. What’s unique about Frasier is that it’s never because of the fact he’s smart that he gets tripped up. It’s his pretention,...
- 10/9/2023
- by Kristina Grosspietsch
- Indiewire
From an evil queen pondering “Mirror, mirror on the wall: Who is the fairest of them all?” to Three Weird Sisters chanting “Double, double toil and trouble! Fire burn, and cauldron bubble,” witchcraft has been something of a skeleton key across centuries of storytelling on screen and in print. As old as ghost stories themselves, witches are fabled beings — typically more human than creature, but sometimes vice versa — known for using magic to abuse and manipulate us mere mortals.
Some witches feed on children; see Roald Dahl‘s “The Witches” and its two film adaptations starring Anjelica Huston and Anne Hathaway respectively. Some witches just want to be loved; consider the appropriately-named “The Love Witch” or the middle chunk of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” Others crave beauty, youth, power, or something altogether more sinister; think the unending greed examined in Luca Guadagnino’s astounding re-imagining of Dario Argento’s “Suspiria.
Some witches feed on children; see Roald Dahl‘s “The Witches” and its two film adaptations starring Anjelica Huston and Anne Hathaway respectively. Some witches just want to be loved; consider the appropriately-named “The Love Witch” or the middle chunk of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” Others crave beauty, youth, power, or something altogether more sinister; think the unending greed examined in Luca Guadagnino’s astounding re-imagining of Dario Argento’s “Suspiria.
- 10/3/2023
- by Alison Foreman
- Indiewire
Since the turn of the century, one thing remains a highly-debated topic: What is the best order in which to watch Star Wars? Prequels, sequels, originals, standalones — the answer grows more complicated as the years go by, and anyone loyal to their specific method won’t hear otherwise.
The question all but falls apart when it comes to Star Wars TV shows, whether they’re integrated into film viewing or watched separately. Does one start chronologically, with “Droids” and “Ewoks” (best viewed in their original paired “adventure hour” format)? Should “Clone Wars” come before “The Mandalorian,” or “Rebels”? What’s the deal with “Visions” and “Tales of the Jedi,” and is the Boba Fett show actually good? (No.)
IndieWire’s keen Star Wars experts put their heads together, and while we didn’t come up with a viewing order, we did rank every single Star Wars TV show — from “Droids...
The question all but falls apart when it comes to Star Wars TV shows, whether they’re integrated into film viewing or watched separately. Does one start chronologically, with “Droids” and “Ewoks” (best viewed in their original paired “adventure hour” format)? Should “Clone Wars” come before “The Mandalorian,” or “Rebels”? What’s the deal with “Visions” and “Tales of the Jedi,” and is the Boba Fett show actually good? (No.)
IndieWire’s keen Star Wars experts put their heads together, and while we didn’t come up with a viewing order, we did rank every single Star Wars TV show — from “Droids...
- 9/27/2023
- by Proma Khosla
- Indiewire
When thinking of the best French movies of the 21st century, there are some titles that leap to mind immediately, even if the past 23 years haven’t appeared to be as creatively fecund as the heady heights of the New Wave period. Celine Sciamma, François Ozon, Bruno Dumont, and Julia Ducournau have all produced stunning, instantly canonical works. But what’s interesting is to consider how expansive the idea of “Frenchness” in cinema has been this century: on the list below, Austrian Michael Haneke, Iranian Abbas Kiarostami, and American Julian Schnabel appear, with the main criterion for inclusion being simply the use of the French language.
Their inclusion does call into question a bit the idea of national cinemas. And yet, even in this highly interconnected, global 21st century, France singularly remains one of the medium’s most essential guiding lights. From the pioneer era of the Lumiere brothers to...
Their inclusion does call into question a bit the idea of national cinemas. And yet, even in this highly interconnected, global 21st century, France singularly remains one of the medium’s most essential guiding lights. From the pioneer era of the Lumiere brothers to...
- 9/25/2023
- by Eric Kohn and David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Ghosts are ubiquitous and zombies have had their moments of dominance, but of all the classic horror monsters, vampires have the strongest claim for the greatest film legacy. The vampire genre is nearly as old as cinema itself, with F.W. Murnau’s “Nosferatu” scaring up audiences in 1922, followed by the countless iterations that came in its shadow. Every era and every filmmaking country has since taken up its own spins on the myth of the vampire, from Universal Studios’ “Dracula” series beginning with Tod Browning’s Bram Stoker adaptation in 1931, all the way up to Iranian-American director Ana Lily Amirpour’s indie feminist twist “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night” in 2014.
2023 though, has not exactly been a banner year for brilliant takes on the horror genre’s most iconic creatures of the night. Sure, there have been plenty of movies starring vampires; it’s just that most of them haven’t been very good.
2023 though, has not exactly been a banner year for brilliant takes on the horror genre’s most iconic creatures of the night. Sure, there have been plenty of movies starring vampires; it’s just that most of them haven’t been very good.
- 9/20/2023
- by Alison Foreman and Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
“The clouds lifted” for cinema’s future recently. At least that was how Martin Scorsese felt after he saw “TÁR,” on which he lavished praise at the New York Film Critics Circle awards dinner in early January 2023.
That kind of praise means a lot. Scorsese is not just one of the greatest filmmakers of all time: he’s one of its greatest cinephiles. In recent years, he’s become known for the movies — or, as he might say of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “theme parks” — he doesn’t enjoy. But the Oscar-winning director’s favorite films are as wide-ranging in genre, year of release, and national origin as you might imagine, from Ti West’s “Pearl” to the horror flicks of Val Lewton and the works of Senegalese master Djibril Diop Mambety. He’s such an avid-moving watching buff that, in a recent interview with Time Magazine, he admitted he...
That kind of praise means a lot. Scorsese is not just one of the greatest filmmakers of all time: he’s one of its greatest cinephiles. In recent years, he’s become known for the movies — or, as he might say of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “theme parks” — he doesn’t enjoy. But the Oscar-winning director’s favorite films are as wide-ranging in genre, year of release, and national origin as you might imagine, from Ti West’s “Pearl” to the horror flicks of Val Lewton and the works of Senegalese master Djibril Diop Mambety. He’s such an avid-moving watching buff that, in a recent interview with Time Magazine, he admitted he...
- 9/13/2023
- by Alison Foreman and Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
When you’re putting together a list of the biggest taboos in Western culture, death itself might not make the cut. But it should: North Americans and Europeans are chronically averse to facing death. Too many of us quietly believe if we follow the right workout regimen, eat enough kale, and take the right expensive supplements we may just live forever. It’s a predictable belief for our youth-obsessed culture. So the intrigue of zombie movies is that this genre forces us to confront death face-to-face. Or rather, death confronts us, looking to scoop out our brains and have us join its ranks.
Sometimes, zombies can bear larger metaphors on their disintegrating shoulders — for our increasingly wired yet increasingly isolated post-internet world, say, as in “Shaun of the Dead.” But sometimes zombies are just zombies: walking corpses who shuffle around and remind us that, even if we’re never somehow reanimated,...
Sometimes, zombies can bear larger metaphors on their disintegrating shoulders — for our increasingly wired yet increasingly isolated post-internet world, say, as in “Shaun of the Dead.” But sometimes zombies are just zombies: walking corpses who shuffle around and remind us that, even if we’re never somehow reanimated,...
- 8/24/2023
- by Alison Foreman
- Indiewire
As has become standard in recent years, our annual fall and winter film preview comes with something of an asterisk: it’s (another!) unpredictable time for movies, right down to when we might even expect to see them. With both the WGA and SAG-afra strikes still winding on, everything from production to promotion has been disrupted for many new features, and the entire calendar remains in flux.
And yet, even with those very valid concerns in place, the next three months at the multiplex (and beyond) offer a bounty of exciting new films. We’re talking new films from Martin Scorsese, Pablo Larraín, Sofia Coppola, Todd Haynes, Emerald Fennell, David Fincher, Jonathan Glazer, Taika Waititi, Justine Triet, Wes Anderson, and Yorgos Lanthimos. Jeff Nichols is back, as is Godfrey Reggio and the juicy stars of “Chicken Run.” Festival faves like Christos Nikou, Kristoffer Borgli, and Chloe Domont make a play for further dominance.
And yet, even with those very valid concerns in place, the next three months at the multiplex (and beyond) offer a bounty of exciting new films. We’re talking new films from Martin Scorsese, Pablo Larraín, Sofia Coppola, Todd Haynes, Emerald Fennell, David Fincher, Jonathan Glazer, Taika Waititi, Justine Triet, Wes Anderson, and Yorgos Lanthimos. Jeff Nichols is back, as is Godfrey Reggio and the juicy stars of “Chicken Run.” Festival faves like Christos Nikou, Kristoffer Borgli, and Chloe Domont make a play for further dominance.
- 8/22/2023
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Whether or not you agree with Quentin Tarantino’s unsparing assertion that “’80s cinema is, along with the ’50s, the worst era in Hollywood history,” there’s a curiously undeniable truth to his follow-up statement: “Matched only by now! Matched only by the current era.” Revisiting the defining movies of the ’80s from our current perspective at the height of Barbenheimer summer, two things become abundantly clear.
The first is that modern Hollywood would probably need a Barbenheimer every month in order to equal the creative output of a studio system that used to be capable of releasing “Blade Runner” and “The Thing” on the same night as if it were just another Friday. The second is that, in a wide variety of different ways both negative and not, the ’80s provide a perfect match for the movies of our current moment — if not the current moment itself.
Perhaps that...
The first is that modern Hollywood would probably need a Barbenheimer every month in order to equal the creative output of a studio system that used to be capable of releasing “Blade Runner” and “The Thing” on the same night as if it were just another Friday. The second is that, in a wide variety of different ways both negative and not, the ’80s provide a perfect match for the movies of our current moment — if not the current moment itself.
Perhaps that...
- 8/14/2023
- by IndieWire Staff
- Indiewire
It goes without saying that movie music has come a mighty long way in the last 100 years or so, but the first two decades of the 21st century have nevertheless been an extraordinarily active and evolutionary stretch of time for film scores. Without discounting the bold and formative achievements of old masters like Bernard Hermann and Toru Takemitsu, it’s fair to say that the rise of independent cinema and the challenge of the digital age have provoked a true paradigm shift in how we think about musical accompaniment.
Rock and avant-garde musicians like Jonny Greenwood and Mica Levi have used narrative projects as inspiration to explore new facets of their genius, while more traditional composers such as Alexandre Desplat and Carter Burwell have risen to the challenge by delivering the most beautiful work of their careers. Indeed, some of the very best movie scores in recent memory (including the...
Rock and avant-garde musicians like Jonny Greenwood and Mica Levi have used narrative projects as inspiration to explore new facets of their genius, while more traditional composers such as Alexandre Desplat and Carter Burwell have risen to the challenge by delivering the most beautiful work of their careers. Indeed, some of the very best movie scores in recent memory (including the...
- 8/10/2023
- by Wilson Chapman, David Ehrlich, Kate Erbland and Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
After a blockbuster musical episode, “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” is closing out its second season in much more serious fashion. The sci-fi series’ season finale “Hegemony” will pit the crew of the USS Enterprise against a classic enemy of old. And in a first look at the finale, exclusively shared with IndieWire, it’s revealed that said enemy is one of the most dangerous in the “Star Trek” galaxy: the Gorn.
The Gorn, a race of hostile reptellian humanoid aliens, first appeared in “Arena,” one of the most iconic episodes of Gene Roddenberry’s science fiction series. In “Strange New Worlds,” the species appeared twice in the show’s first season: “Memento Mori,” where a Gorn military ship attacks the Enterprise, and “All Those Who Wonder,” where hatchlings from the species caused the death of Enterprise engineer Hemmer (Bruce Horak). The finale marks the first and only appearance of the species,...
The Gorn, a race of hostile reptellian humanoid aliens, first appeared in “Arena,” one of the most iconic episodes of Gene Roddenberry’s science fiction series. In “Strange New Worlds,” the species appeared twice in the show’s first season: “Memento Mori,” where a Gorn military ship attacks the Enterprise, and “All Those Who Wonder,” where hatchlings from the species caused the death of Enterprise engineer Hemmer (Bruce Horak). The finale marks the first and only appearance of the species,...
- 8/9/2023
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
It’s the shock of seeing Norman Bates, knife in hand, clad in his mother’s clothes, grinning maniacally in the swinging lamplight. It’s a supposedly dead husband rising from a bathtub with terrifying saucer contact-lenses. It’s finally connecting “I see dead people” with Bruce Willis being shot at the beginning of “The Sixth Sense.” When movies pull the rug out from under us, it’s one of the greatest thrills that cinema can provide.
As Hollywood continues to reboot countless old properties, it’s easy to think that the days of original and surprising storytelling are long behind us. But these films prove that Hollywood still has a few tricks up its sleeve, ones that have kept us talking for years, and have cemented their place in film history.
Beware of spoilers! Here are the best plot twists of the 21st century.
Samantha Bergeson, Christian Blauvelt, Jude Dry,...
As Hollywood continues to reboot countless old properties, it’s easy to think that the days of original and surprising storytelling are long behind us. But these films prove that Hollywood still has a few tricks up its sleeve, ones that have kept us talking for years, and have cemented their place in film history.
Beware of spoilers! Here are the best plot twists of the 21st century.
Samantha Bergeson, Christian Blauvelt, Jude Dry,...
- 7/28/2023
- by Wilson Chapman and Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
In February, a clip went viral of Steven Spielberg telling Tom Cruise at an Oscars luncheon that he “saved Hollywood’s ass.” Spielberg was referring to the explosive success of Cruise’s return to the pilot seat in “Top Gun: Maverick.” Released in May 2022, the long-awaited sequel was the top earner at the domestic box office last year, raking in over $700 million in the United States. It was the shot in the arm that cinemas needed after the pandemic, and proof positive of Cruise’s enduring appeal as both a marquee movie star and skilled actor — two bona fides not always packaged together so successfully.
Cruise has been leveraging looks and charm, and flexing his blockbuster muscles, for decades. Going all the way back to the early 1980s, his appeal never seems to age, even at 61 years old. He’s skillfully shepherded original movies as a star and producer, never...
Cruise has been leveraging looks and charm, and flexing his blockbuster muscles, for decades. Going all the way back to the early 1980s, his appeal never seems to age, even at 61 years old. He’s skillfully shepherded original movies as a star and producer, never...
- 7/11/2023
- by Ryan Lattanzio, Christian Zilko and Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
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