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“Wonder Woman” captured the weekend zeitgeist with reviews as good as any new adult-appeal specialized opener — and gobbled up potential audience. But that’s not the sole reason the specialty box office went to hell this weekend.

“Churchill” (Cohen), with the pedigree of an arthouse crossover winner, went nationally in top theaters but failed to capture more than desultory business. A trio of niche releases showed some mid-level interest in New York and Los Angeles — “The Exception”(A24), “Letters from Baghdad” (Vitagraph), and “Band Aid”(IFC) — but none looks likely to cross over beyond the big-city arthouse market.

The scariest weekend news: the total lack of response to Ken Loach’s Cannes 2016 Palme d’Or-winner “I, Daniel Blake.” While it’s been a long wait after a year-end qualifying run, it’s shocking that the well-reviewed BAFTA-winner met with near total disinterest.

Last weekend’s top opener “Long Strange Trip...

Last Week’S Review: Brotherly Love Goes Bad as Danger Mounts in the Season 3 Premiere

[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for “Better Call Saul” Season 3, Episode 2, “Witness.”]

Case Summary

On the surface, things initially look good for fledging law practice Wexler-McGill — at the very least, they’ve got a pip of a new assistant and fancy new wall art. However, there’s danger lurking thanks to a tip-off from Ernie about Chuck’s recording of Jimmy’s confession. Kim has a legal strategy mapped out to take care of things, but when Jimmy loses his temper and decides to take matters into his own hands, the results are explosive.

Meanwhile, Mike’s efforts to figure out who’s been tracking him lead to everyone’s favorite chicken joint: Los Pollos Hermanos, where some very familiar faces lie in wait. The episode ends with Mike getting a call — a call which seems likely to change his life.

Achievements in Cinematography

The kinetic energy...

“Remain happy, remain loving—but resist.” Those were Professor Robert Thurman’s opening remarks at the 30th annual Tibet House Benefit Concert held Thursday night at New York City’s iconic Carnegie Hall. But perhaps “opening shot” might be a more appropriate term. Despite the glitzy setting, the concert was a night of peaceful rebellion—assisted by an unparalleled lineup of diverse musicians ranging from punk poet laureate Patti Smith, soul shouters Alabama Shakes, electro pioneers New Order, dreamy acoustic troubadours Ben Harper and Sufjan Stevens, and the raw power of Iggy Pop.

Presiding over the evening was composer supremo Philip Glass,...

There’s a moment early on in “Captain Fantastic” where Viggo Mortensen’s Ben Cash, still reeling from the news of his wife’s suicide, addresses his children on the matter. “Last night mommy killed herself,” he says, “she finally did it.” The bluntness hits like a shock to the system.

It won’t be the last we encounter Ben’s child-rearing directness. Over the course of the film, he sticks firmly to his “no lying” mantra, going as far as to tell his young daughter about sexual intercourse after she asks. But that initial encounter is critical. As played by the extraordinary Mortensen, it’s a moment of deep tragedy. He gives the line a no-nonsense edge that proves euphemisms don’t run in this family, but his swelling eyes hint at how crippling that can be. It’s at this moment that “Captain Fantastic” asks its big question:...

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) kicks off its 16th annual Doc Fortnight on Thursday, a 10-day festival that includes 20 feature-length non-fiction films and 10 documentary shorts. This year’s lineup includes four world premieres and a number of North American and U.S. premieres.

Read More: 2017 New Directors/New Films Announces Full Lineup, Including ‘Patti Cake$,’ ‘Beach Rats,’ ‘Menashe’ and More

The festival is far from the only major North American showcase for non-fiction cinema. Festivals ranging from Hot Docs to True/False have played key roles in the expanding documentary festival circuit. However, Doc Fortnight has maintained its own niche on the scene, by aiming to expose undiscovered stories and filmmakers, screening a range of documentaries from around the world and capturing the ways in which artists are pushing the boundaries of non-fiction filmmaking.

“It’s not an industry festival, there aren’t awards, and distributors aren’t all coming looking to buy,...

The Sundance Film Festival is officially over and the awards have already been handed out, both the official ones and our own Unconventional Awards, and out of the roughly thirty films I saw during my time in Park City, Utah, I’ve put together a list of the ten very best movies I had a chance to see. Many of them will be coming to theaters across the country later in the year, and a few of them may even be in the Oscar conversation a year from now.

10. The Big Sick

Silicon Valley’s Kumail Nanjiani made his triumphant debut as a leading man with this movie produced by Judd Apatow, directed by Michael Showalter (Hello, My Name is Doris) and co-written with wife Emily V. Gordon. Based on their own experiences in courting and how Emily (played by Zoe Kazan) being put into a medically-induced coma affected it,...

Welcome to the first, hopefully annual, Weekend Warrior Sundance Awards, where I go through the couple dozen movies I had a chance to see over the course of the past week and pick some of my favorite things.

I ended up seeing roughly thirty movies in total, only walking out of a couple (that won’t be mentioned), and overall, it was a generally decent Sundance, although only a few movies really stood out and will be remembered later in the year when we start talking about next year’s Oscars.

Oddly, I missed many of the movies that won actual awards at Sundance, so I’ve decided to give a few of my own.

Salma Hayek as Beatriz in Beatriz At Dinner

Most Literal Use of a Movie Title

1. Beatriz at Dinner (starring Salma Hayek as a Mexican healer named Beatriz who is invited to stay for dinner at...

Animation’s storied Year of the Animal yielded five unforgettable characters.

Brought to life through superb writing, direction, performance, animated ingenuity, and tech innovation were: Judy Hopps, the eternally optimistic rookie bunny cop from “Zootopia,” badass Moon Beast from “Kubo and the Two Strings,” Hank, the cantankerous and camouflaging octopus from “Finding Dory,” Princess Poppy, the eternally happy heroine from “Trolls,” and Buster Moon, the impresario koala bear from “Sing.”

Judy Hopps (“Zootopia”)

Judy (Ginnifer Goodwin) represents the heart and soul of “Zootopia.” And to make her and the other animals look and behave realistically, Disney engineers launched iGroom, a new fur-controlling tool.

But it’s a good thing that screenwriter Phil Johnston (“Wreck-It Ralph”) switched protagonists from Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) to Judy a year and a half into production when his cynicism dragged the story down.

“And we figured out if the movie’s about bias, then that...

Back in September, Focus Features introduced Spanish filmmaker J.A. Bayona’s fantasy fable “A Monster Calls” at the Toronto Film Festival. I was wowed, as I had been by his first English-language film “The Impossible” (2012). This is a gifted filmmaker, as attested by his mentor-producer Guillermo del Toro, who hired him to direct “The Orphanage” and by Steven Spielberg, who hired Bayona to direct Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard in “Jurassic World 2,” accompanied by his essential right-arm producer Belen Atienza, the Brian Grazer to his Ron Howard. They’re in prep now.

Bayona is poised to be the next Paul Verhoeven, Baltasar Kormákur, or Denis Villeneuve, someone who becomes a star in their own country and also can bridge the challenging cinematic culture of Hollywood. Bayona knows how to handle, with empathy and without sentimentality, intimate, emotional scenes with adults and children, plus action and VFX. He insisted on...

Rebecca Clough Jan 20, 2017

As America gets its new President, we look at some excellent political drama films that may have slipped under your radar...

Political dramas can be entertaining, informative and even educational, opening up debates and offering new points of view. (When experiencing a year of tumultuous change like the one we’ve just had, they can also be a comforting reminder that, no matter what your situation, it could always be worse...) With the full whack of corruption, war, and conspiracy, here are 25 political dramas which deserve to be better known.

See related 25 underrated political thrillers 17 new TV shows to watch in 2017 Taboo episode 3 review The Girl On The Train review 25. The Marchers/La Marche (2013)

When teenager Mohamed (Tewfik Jallab) is shot by police, his friends want revenge, but he has a better idea: peaceful protest. Marching from Marseille to Paris, they band together with quite an assortment of characters along the way.

Every December, a slew of releases are tagged as “obvious Oscar bait.” What does this mean? Typically, they’re projects that focus specifically on a theme weighty enough to be marked as “important,” are shot with “seriousness,” and boast a cast of A-list names chasing Academy gold. The implication is that said film’s ultimate intention is winning awards, disregarding audience approval in the process.

“Oscar bait” generally gets a bad rap, but for a film like Fences – which is undoubtedly Oscar bait – a focus on Best Actor/Actress nominations makes for two of 2016’s most compelling performances. Stuffy cinematography does no favors based on August Wilson’s stage production (there’s a definite attempt to remain theater-savvy that does not work), but Denzel Washington and Viola Davis make this showcase piece worth the Oscar chase.

Both will be nominated for their respective acting categories, and there’s a damn-good...

For many years, Romany Malco has been the go-to “funny black guy” for many movies and television shows, though he’ll probably always be remembered for his role as Jay in Judd Apatow’s The 40 Year Old Virgin, where he got his big break. Since then, he also played Conrad on the show Weeds and appeared in quite a few movies produced by Will Packer.

In the David E. Talbert ensemble comedy Almost Christmas, Malco takes on a more serious role as Christian Meyers, the eldest son of Danny Glover’s Walter Meyers, who has returned home to spend Christmas with the family. At the same time, Christian is campaigning for the Senate, something that tends to distract him from the family drama while putting Malco in a more serious role.

Lrm got on the phone with Malco last week for the following interview where he talked about his role in the ensemble comedy,...

Actor best remembered as Radio Raheem in Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing

The actor Bill Nunn, who has died aged 63 of leukaemia, was a gentle giant who appeared frequently as a supporting player in mainstream American movies. He was most closely associated with the writer-director Spike Lee, who cast him in four films. The most widely admired of these was the incendiary Do the Right Thing (1989), set over the course of one hot day in Brooklyn during which racial tensions boil over into violence. Nunn played Radio Raheem, who blasts out Public Enemy’s Fight the Power from a boom-box bigger than most home stereo systems. With the exception of one memorable speech on the nature of love and hate, he is a brooding and taciturn figure. His death while being held in a chokehold by police shifts the picture’s climactic riot to another level.

Nunn claimed...

Resistance to the “female-centric” film is an affliction that has plagued Bollywood for most of its history; despite the few dozen films over the years that have proved actresses’ ability to hold their own without needing a male costar (dating back to 1957’s Oscar-nominated “Mother India”), screenplays that place women in the spotlight have been disappointingly infrequent.

Thankfully, with Vidya Balan’s “Kahaani” in 2012, Kangana Ranaut’s “Queen” in 2013, Deepika Padukone’s “Piku” in 2014 and Priyanka Chopra’s “Mary Kom” that same year, Bollywood has increasingly warmed up to the reality that female star power and strong stories can draw in crowds, box office returns, and critical acclaim. While you won’t see a fan following for an actress as rabid as that of, say, Salman Khan, the concept of a woman-oriented film is approached with less trepidation and more curiosity now than ever before by both filmmakers and audiences.

Rob Leane Simon Brew David Crow Nov 16, 2016

General Zod himself, Mr Michael Shannon, failed to stay awake through Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice...

Michael Shannon has been chatting to Fandango about his presumably-finished-now work in the DC Extended Universe.

See related Geeks Vs Loneliness: workplace stress Geeks Vs Loneliness: everything will be okay (in the end) Geeks Vs Loneliness: don't give up Geeks Vs Loneliness: coming out Geeks Vs Loneliness: recommend a book Geeks Vs Loneliness: recommend a film

It turns out that Shannon took the role of General Zod in Man Of Steel because he found the film rather topical. Here's what he said about it:

“When I did Man of Steel I thought the story was interesting; I thought it was relevant. It was about a civilization that destroys the planet they live on and goes looking for another one. Ring any bells? That’s why I did it.

Festival to host 60 UK premieres, including Time Out Of Mind [pictured] starring Richard Gere and Disney’s Zootropolis.

Glasgow Film Festival (Gff) has announced its full programme for its upcoming 12th edition, running Feb 17-28.

This year’s festival will host 60 UK premieres, 59 Scottish premieres, four European premieres and three world premieres among its line-up of 174 films. As previously announced, it will be bookended by the UK premieres of Hail, Caesar! and Anomalisa.

Richard Gere will attend Glasgow for the UK premiere of his new film Time Out Of Mind, while other guests include Ben Wheatley for the Scottish premiere of High-Rise, Game Of Thrones star Natalie Dormer for the UK premiere of The Forest, Joachim Trier for the UK premiere of Louder Than Bombs, veteran director Peter Greenaway and stuntman Vic Armstrong.

“The festival keeps moving forward, with new developments like our Industry Focus conference, whilst also maintaining our roots as an audience-focused festival where everyone can come...

They may be best known today for their later roles, but these six stars all got their first break by playing super heroes on TV. Maybe these shows aren’t the most memorable or well-made super hero projects, and they aren’t the highlight of the actor’s career, but these little shows jump-started the careers of some future celebrities.

Bruce Lee

Started out as—Kato, the Kung-Fu fighting sidekick to the Green Hornet in the TV series The Green Hornet (1966).

After that—Lee had a recurring role in the detective series Longstreet before returning to Hong Kong to star in a highly successful trio of films; The Big Boss (1971); the Chinese Connection (1972) and the Way of the Dragon (1972). His first and only Hollywood film was Enter the Dragon (1973). Lee died young and his legend has grown ever since. He is considered by many as the greatest martial arts star in the history of film.

Pop culture comes to life in St. Louis next month! It’s the Wizard World Comic Con May 22nd through the 24th at America’s Center downtown (701 Convention Plaza – St. Louis, Mo 63101), and boy oh boy, do they have an amazing line-up of guests!

Sure, you got the comic artists and cosplayers, wrestlers, a St. Louis Ram, a Power Ranger, and of course the ubiquitous Walking Dead stars, but what We Are Movie Geeks is most excited about are the celebrities from movies that will be on hand: Horror legend George Romero, Sharknado legend Tara Reid, horror hostess with the mostest (if you know what I mean) Elvira, Guardians Of The Galaxy tough guy Dave Bautista, Henry the serial killer himself Michael Rooker, Do The Right Thing’s ‘Buggin Out’ Giancarlo Esposito. Lord of the Rings Trilogy’s Pippin Billy Boyd, Captain America squeeze Hayley Atwell, and Silent Bob’s buddy Jay aka Jason Mewes.

Some years are just great for certain genres, and this year was a great one for action. All across the board were films within different subgenres stepping up and delivering great action set pieces and characters. Consider the shot on the revolving tank gun revealing the totality of carnage in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, or the tight line between insanity and sharp focus with the home invasion scene in The Guest, the shot of Chris Evans plowing through several baddies with an axe in slow motion during Snowpiercer, watching Keanu Reeves dispatching thugs with slick gun-fu in John Wick, or literally any scene from the action opera The Raid 2. Take all that together in the same year (!!!!) and it’s clear to see we’ve been spoiled.

But all that aside, only one person can take the title of 2014’s Action Hero. Action Heroes are like Highlanders,...

The director of The Equalizer talks about Denzel Washington, making Training Day, westerns, The Magnificent Seven remake and much more...

The last time director Antoine Fuqua and Denzel Washington made a film together, the result was Training Day - the 2001 crime thriller for which Washington won Best Actor and co-star Ethan Hawke was nominated for Best Supporting Actor.

The Equalizer is a thriller of a very different sort, based as it is on the 80s TV series of the same name (you know, the one with the really catchy Stewart Copeland theme tune). This time, Washington's unquestionably the hero rather than the coolly psychotic antagonist - he's Robert McCall, a quiet, unassuming Boston guy who happens to be extremely good at killing people. When he gets in a tangle with Russian gangsters, it's clear that his special set of skills weren't learned down the local Diy store where he works.

Yes, another day, another anniversary. But this one is quite noteworthy. Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing" turns 25 on Monday. It is a film I first saw when I was young, but I wasn't at all ready for it. I saw it again in film school and noticed I had grown with it, but it still whipped up complex feelings (as only the best films can). I've revisited it a number of times over the years and come to cherish it as one of the greatest pieces of cinema ever conjured, but the Academy frankly seemed like it was holding its nose just to give it the two nominations it received a quarter century ago. Kim Basinger had the right idea when the night of the Oscars came. "The best film of the year is not even nominated [for Best Picture] and it's 'Do the Right Thing,'" the "Batman" star said,...

American icons night on Monday's Dancing with the Stars brought Kenny Ortega to the judges' table, Jackson family music to the ballroom - and heavy drama for two competitors. The semi-finals came down to a pair of couples who easily could have vied for the mirror ball against each other, only to result in a bitter departure. Read on for more. After a beautiful night of dancing by the five remaining couples it was between ice skating partners Charlie White and Meryl Davis. White, who had a very high scoring night last week, was the one who bid adieu to the ballroom.

American icons night on Monday's Dancing with the Stars brought Kenny Ortega to the judges' table, Jackson family music to the ballroom – and heavy drama for two competitors.

The semi-finals came down to a pair of couples who easily could have vied for the mirror ball against each other, only to result in a bitter departure. Read on for more.

After a beautiful night of dancing by the five remaining couples it was between ice skating partners Charlie White and Meryl Davis.

White, who had a very high scoring night last week, was the one who bid adieu to the ballroom.

American icons night on Monday's Dancing with the Stars brought Kenny Ortega to the judges' table, Jackson family music to the ballroom - and heavy drama for two competitors. The semi-finals came down to a pair of couples who easily could have vied for the mirror ball against each other, only to result in a bitter departure. Read on for more. After a beautiful night of dancing by the five remaining couples it was between ice skating partners Charlie White and Meryl Davis. White, who had a very high scoring night last week, was the one who bid adieu to the ballroom.

Over five seasons of Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston was privy to — and, as Walter White, responsible for — numerous unsightly things, including Gus Fring's blown-up face, Jane's overdose and Saul Goodman's shirt-and-tie combos. But during a Tribeca Talks panel at the Tribeca Film Festival (aptly titled "Psychos We Love") the actor singled out a heinous moment from Season One, episode two as his choice for the show's grossest scene, Indiewire reports.

Check Out Our Countdown of 'Breaking Bad"s 10 Most Memorable Murders

"Early on, there was a scene where...

Superman’s first big-screen outing convinced audiences and Hollywood bean counters alike that a man really could fly — and in that pre Comic-Con culture, Superman had the skies all to himself. There was no Spider-Man movie or Batman movie to hold fans over until Superman was ready to fly again, a full three years after the original. So when Superman II was finally released in the United States — a full six months after it had premiered in Australia and Europe (!) — it was like the second coming.

In the original film, Superman (Christopher Reeve) merely had to dispatch a megalomaniacal real...

’12 Years a Slave’: Italian posters racist? (Brad Pitt in ’12 Anni Schiavo’ poster) As 2013 comes to a close, 12 Years a Slave has become embroiled in some healthy, Oscar-friendly controversy. A couple of Italian posters for the film have focused on its white supporting players, Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender, instead of on black protagonist Chiwetel Ejiofor. Since then, Italian distributor Bim has issued contrite apologies; Lionsgate’s Summit Entertainment, the film’s international sales agent, has demanded a recall of the “unauthorized” posters (it’s unclear if no character posters featuring Chiwetel Ejiofor were ever created, or if they were just not on display); the U.S. media and their cohorts elsewhere have played their usual role in pushing hot buttons and creating controversy — much to the delight of both their advertisers and their viewers/readers; and everyone is now aware of how relevant to our early 21st century world...

Captain Phillips | Enough Said | Escape Plan | Prince Avalance | The Lebanese Rocket Society | Like Father, Like Son | The Broken Circle Breakdown | Turbo | Last Passenger

Captain Phillips (12A)

(Paul Greengrass, 2013, Us) Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Michael Chernus. 134 mins

No room for Depp-like jollity aboard this pirate tale. Instead, Greengrass brings his usual reportage-style urgency to a true-life Indian Ocean hijack situation. It's tense, credible and intelligent, even if pitting four Somali fishermen against Hanks, a big ship and formidable back-up is a pretty unfair contest – that very imbalance is part of the point.

Enough Said (12A)

(Nicole Holofcener, 2013, Us) Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini, Catherine Keener. 93 mins

Gandolfini's final performance elevates a polished but trifling comedy, centring on a blossoming romance poisoned by an ex-wife.

Escape Plan (15)

(Mikael Håfström, 2013, Us) Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger. 115 mins

The "geriaction" veterans join forces to punch their way out of a high-tech super-prison.

Prince Avalanche (15)

(David Gordon Green,...

Odd List Shiromi Arserio 3 Oct 2013 - 07:00

Shiromi talks us through ten of the least expected sci-fi crossovers in the geek TV world...

Who would win in a fight? The crew of Babylon 5 or the crew of Deep Space Nine? While often reserved for the realm of fan fiction, two established franchises crossing over does happen from time to time. Typically you'll see this when the properties are owned by the same company, like Superman meeting Batman. While other times it's an intentional crossover of two very different properties like Star Trek characters crossing over into the X-Men universe. Yes, you read that right.

This list is devoted to the top franchise crossovers. I've tried to steer clear from shows that obviously exist in the same universe, like Tng characters showing up on DS9, or Buffy appearing on Angel, and instead focus on crossovers from separate franchises. Some of...

Speakerfone is a recurring column that focuses on music in movies.

Play us a song from "Inside Llewyn Davis" -- then add in another 40 or so classic folk songs, and invite a group of legendary musicians to come and perform them. The result: a star-studded, multi-generational event that pays tribute to a new film and its source material.

Last night in New York City, A-listers, journalists, and a small group of fans who were lucky enough to snag tickets online, came out to celebrate the newest Coen brothers movie at the legendary Town Hall in Midtown Manhattan. Over the course of three hours, a rotating cast of artists performed a wide range of standard folk tunes, along with tracks from the "Inside Llewyn Davis" soundtrack. Overseeing the three-plus-hour production was the man responsible for the film's music: songwriter, producer, and frequent Coen brothers collaborator T. Bone Burnett.

"Inside Llewyn Davis,...

BFI London Film Festival announced line-up of public events.

The 57th BFI London Film Festival (Lff) has announced this year’s programme of events, including Screen Talks with filmmakers Hirokazu Kore-eda, Catherine Breillat and Ralph Fiennes; Masterclasses with director Alfonso Cuarón and VFX Supervisor Tim Webber, cinematographer Barry Ackroyd, and composer Clint Mansell.

Talks will include a BFI-hosted panel focussed on the UK’s variety of filmmaking ‘British Cinema – Home-grown and all grown up’ and ‘William Faulkner: Film Noir & Nobel Prizes’ a talk from Adrian Wootton prompted by James Franco’s As I Lay Dying.

These sit alongside the previously announced talk with acclaimed artist Stan Douglas; and Sonic Cinema events, the special performance by celebrated British composer Michael Nyman, and a one-off live show by Angolan Kuduro act Buraka Som Sistema at Village Underground.

Screen Talks

The BFI will host a talk with Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, whose Cannes Jury Prize winning Like Father, Like Son...

We've already clued you in on what Scream Factory is planning for its Sdcc panel, and now we have info on Shout! Factory's screenings, exclusive items, signings, and lots more.

From the Press Release:

Shout! Factory returns to Comic-Con International once again to ignite fans of all ages with a robust lineup featuring a special panel event, five film screenings, a showcase of new home entertainment products, Comic-Con exclusive items, prize sweepstakes, surprise star appearances, and engaging fan interactive activities. Moreover, Shout! Factory invites fans and convention attendees to join in on the excitement surrounding Shout’s 10th anniversary celebration at the Shout! Factory booth (#4248) on the main convention floor. Fan-favorite screen icons and comics legend scheduled to attend this incredible pop culture gathering with Shout! Factory include: Adrienne Barbeau, Len Wein, The Aquabats, and other notables. Shout’s resident geek guru Brian Ward and Scream Factory’s resident horror...

We’ve been regularly covering classic horror titles that are part of the Scream Factory lineup and we’re excited to see what they have in store for horror fans at Comic-Con next week. While their panel was recently announced, we have new details on what we can expect from Shout! Factory and Scream Factory, including an Adrienne Barbeau autograph session:

Shout! Factory returns to Comic-Con International once again to ignite fans of all ages with a robust lineup, featuring a special panel event, five film screenings, a showcase of new home entertainment products, Comic-Con exclusive items, prize sweepstakes, surprise star appearances and engaging fan interactive activities. Moreover, Shout! Factory invites fans and convention attendees to join in on the excitement surrounding Shout’s 10th anniversary celebration at the Shout! Factory booth (#4248) on the main convention floor. Fan-favorite screen icons and comics legend scheduled to attend this incredible pop culture gathering with Shout!

"I don't know what my calling is, but I want to be here for a bigger reason. I strive to be like the greatest people who have ever lived." –Will Smith

Greetings from the apocalypse! It's a long way to the top if you wanna rock n' roll, but if you're Will Smith's kid it ain't that long. The thoroughly Thetan-free father-son gods among us will be exemplars of human perfection on screen this weekend, but that doesn't mean you have to give them your money. There's plenty to see, do, touch, taste, smell, snort and vomit with the fully stocked weekend of entertainment I have lined up for ya, kiddos.

Friday, May 31

Pow! In Theaters

M. Night Shyamalan hasn't exactly been an audience's best friend for the last, oh, decade or so, which is why the studio wasn't generous in name-dropping him as director of "After Earth." Indeed,...

He could have had it all, yet he never quite lost it all either. The mysterious and rather annoying case of Richard Gere

I've been rolling my eyes at Richard Gere for 30 years, alternately alienated and charmed by his good looks and his shockingly evident narcissism and self-regard; his abidingly terrible taste in projects, and the fact that somehow, no matter how many movies like Intersection he makes (or like King David, or Mr Jones) sooner or later there will come an end to his lengthy career-drought and, like a flailing magician, he will somehow revive his good name and box office rep with a blockbuster comeback like Pretty Woman, or an intelligent movie like Internal Affairs. Or, Nicholas Jarecki's very watchable new thriller Arbitrage.

As Robert Miller, a 60-year-old investment-fund billionaire, Gere has it all: a full head of silver hair, a good name on Wall Street and...

Richard Gere’s extraordinary talent and remarkable career deserves to be recognized. This year his outstanding performance in “Arbitrage” has been embraced by both the critics and the public at large. Gere plays the most self-serving Wall Street bastard since Gordon Gekko in Nicholas Jarecki’s “Arbitrage.” Actor and humanitarian Richard Gere can currently be seen starring in Nicholas Jarecki’s “Arbitrage” opposite Susan Sarandon and Tim Roth. Gere is known for his diversity of roles, from his Golden Globe winning performance in “Chicago” to the critically acclaimed “Pretty Women,” “An Officer and a Gentleman,” “American Gigolo,” and “Primal Fear.” He was last seen in “Amelia” alongside Hilary Swank and Ewan McGregor and in Anton Fuqua’s “Brooklyn’s Finest,” starring Don Cheadle and Ethan Hawke. Other recent credits include “Nights in Rodanthe,” “I’m Not There,” “The Hoax,” “The Hunting Party,” “Shall We Dance,” and “Bee Season.” Gere’s...

The 24th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (Psiff) will present Richard Gere with the Chairman’s Award on January 5 at the Awards Gala. Presented by Cartier, the Awards Gala will be held at the Palm Springs Convention Center. Hosted by Mary Hart, the Gala will also present awards to previously announced honorees the cast of Argo, Bradley Cooper, Sally Field, Helen Hunt, Helen Mirren, Naomi Watts and Robert Zemeckis. The Festival runs January 3-14. “Throughout his career Richard Gere has established himself as an accomplished actor and producer and yet still finds time to support crucial cultural and humanitarian causes,” said Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. “Over the years we’ve seen Mr. Gere in many memorable roles, however with Arbitrage, he turns in one of his strongest career performances to date, bringing to life a hedge-fund magnate whose world is upended amid personal and professional turmoil that threatens to...

The NAACP Image Awards have announced the nominees for their 44th annual awards show during a live press conference from the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, CA. Anthony Anderson (Guys with Kids), Niecy Nash (The Soul Man), Yvette Nicole Brown (Community), Garcelle Beauvais (Flight), Tyler James Williams (Go On), and Zendaya (Shake It Up!) announced the categories and nominees.

The NAACP Image Awards celebrates the accomplishments of people of color in the fields of television, music, literature and film and also honors individuals or groups who promote social justice through creative endeavors. Winners will be announced during the two-hour star-studded event, which will air live on Friday, February 1 (8 Et live/Pt tape-delayed) on NBC.

Following is the list of categories and nominees for the 44Th NAACP Image Awards:

Television

Outstanding Comedy Series

"Glee" (Fox)

"Modern Family" (ABC)

"The Game" (Bet)

"The Mindy Project" (Fox)

"The Soul Man" (TV...

Power finally coming back in the storm regions gave some added power to what was expected to be a wrecked box office. The biggest beneficiary: "Wreck-It Ralph," Disney's animated homage to classic videogames, which took in an estimated $49.1 million in its opening weekend. And "Flight," the airline thriller from Paramount starring Denzel Washington, got off to a great start too, taking in $25 million for the three days -- well beyond pre-release projections which had it in the mid-teen millions. Going into the weekend, between 150 and 200 Atlantic Coast theaters...

Michael C here having safely landed at the closing night of the New York Film Festival.

Nobody could have landed that plane like I did.”

That’s the mantra the Denzel Washington’s Captain Whip Whitaker repeats throughout Robert Zemeckis’ Flight to absolve himself of any guilt. He has a strong case to make. Nobody can deny that all ninety-six passengers on his plane would be dead were it not for his brilliant unorthodox piloting after the plane dropped into an uncontrolled dive without warning. But how does that heroism hold up when evidence begins to surface that Whitaker was not only several sheets to the wind that morning but also blasted on coke? Can he be both a national hero and a national disgrace? Does the former negate the latter? Would he have even attempted anything so crazy were he cold sober?

Understandably, Flight’s ad campaign focuses on...

Power rules all! Not necessarily a profound statement wouldn't you say? This is the ledge on which Arbitrage teeters as it boasts some great performances, but in the end doesn't pack quite the wallop of a punch I felt it was preparing to deliver. Twists in the narrative are, at first, jarring and then intriguing, but ultimately deliver a lot of the same old themes on the value of power over circumstance as a wealthy businessman sets out to protect himself and his family from financial ruin, but an unexpected disaster threatens the process. There are a lot of ways to spoil the story here so I'll be as brief as possible in the details. At the center of it all is hedge fund magnate Robert Miller (Richard Gere), ridiculously wealthy and employing both of his children (Brit Marling and Austin Lysy), we begin the film learning Robert is attempting...

Clemenger Bbdo Melbourne was named agency of the year at the Melbourne Advertising & Design Club Awards tonight.

The agency won top honours for the second year running. However, rival Gpy&R Melbourne – which won more lions at Cannes this year than any Australian agency – did not enter for the second consecutive year. Last year, Patts Ecd Ben Coulson cited cost reasons for not supporting the event, which is Melbourne’s top awards show.

The awards list in full:

The Adstream Award for Agency of the Year

Winner

Clemenger Bbdo Melbourne

The Madc Award for Best in Show

Winner

Guilt Trips V/Line Agency McCann

The Madc Award for Lifetime Achievement

Winner

Scott Whybin, Whybin Tbwa

The Blackley Award for Creative Leader of the Year

Winner

Jason Williams, Leo Burnett

The Madc Award for Client of the Year

Winner

Carlton United Brewers

The Exit Films Award for Best Junior

Winners

Jono...

By Allen Gardner

Quadrophenia (Criterion) Franc Roddam’s 1979 film based on The Who’s classic rock opera tells the story of working class lad Jimmy (Phil Daniels) struggling to find his identity in a rapidly changing Britain, circa 1965. Jimmy is a “mod,” a youth movement dedicated to wearing snappy suits, driving Vespa motor scooters bedecked with side mirrors, popping amphetamines and obsessed with the new sound of bands like The Who and The Kinks. Their other pastime is engaging in bloody brawls with “rockers,” throwbacks to the 1950s, who listen to Elvis and Gene Vincent, wear leather biker gear, grease in their hair and drive massive motorcycles a la Marlon Brando in “The Wild One.” Often cited as a worthy successor to “Rebel Without a Cause” as the greatest angry youth picture ever made, it is that and more, including a first cousin to the “kitchen sink” dramas of scribes John Osborne,...

Definition of “Arbitrage” not included in clip; confusion anticipated in Indiana.

Get ready for the first edge-of-your-seat-thriller of 1993 to be released in 2012. At first glance, it seems like Arbitrage will attempt to smear the spectre of current greed posterboy Bernie Madhoff over a pretty standard plotline involving a high-powered CEO who tries to cover up the manslaughter of his mistress in order to ensure that the Big Deal goes off without a hitch.

As far as thrillers go, this looks to be fairly straight-forward stuff that stands to be helped greatly by a stellar cast that also includes Complex fave Tim Roth as the cop in dogged pursuit of Gere. Check out the clip below:

Looks like Richard Gere shitcans the zen for five minutes and dons his cloak of moral torment for Arbitrage. He will be joined by co-star Susan Sarandon, who will play his beleagured wife. Arbitrage marks...

With “The Avengers” sequel officially confirmed by Marvel/Disney, comic book fans the world over will be contemplating which of the publisher’s other heroes could be added to the line-up, potentially getting their own solo movie as soon as 2014 – filling the popularly acknowledged gap in the schedule alongside Captain America 2 that summer.

Of course, we have to bear in mind that Marvel Studios do not own the film rights to characters as key to their comic book universe as Daredevil, Spider-Man, Wolverine or the Fantastic Four – all of whom have allied with or become members of the Avengers at one time or another – but with that consideration in place, here is another suggestion for Marvel’s Next Avengers Film:

Power Man (Luke Cage) and Iron Fist (Daniel Rand)

Why?: Because they are an awesome pairing and, whilst both characters could easily sustain their own solo movie, a...

Unsure who Black Widow is? Having trouble deciphering the Hulk’s roar? Can’t tell the difference between Iron Man and the Iron Giant? In anticipation of the release of The Avengers on May 4, EW’s team of super geeks is here to help guide you through the mythos with our seven-part series of superhero primers, the recently declassified “Avengers Files.” It doesn’t matter if you’re a comic book connoisseur or a Nick Fury newbie — follow along this week as we deconstruct Earth’s mightiest heroes and pose the question: Which Avenger is the mightiest?

Name: Captain America...

Gladys Knight earned the lowest scores on Motown night, while Jaleel White and Jenkins each earned a pair of 10s.

By Kelley L. Carter

Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas on "Dancing With the Stars"

Photo: ABC

Monday night's telecast of "Dancing With the Stars" opened with R&B legend Smokey Robinson crooning his Motown hit "Tears of a Clown." Then Martha Reeves came in singing her hit with the Vandellas "Dancing in the Streets." Then came the (current lineup of the) Temptations singing their classic hit "Get Ready." And Motown founder Berry Gordy was in the audience, to boot.

It was the perfect way to intro Motown night — this week's theme — for the popular ABC dance reality competition.

This week's scores included bonus points for a group cha-cha dance marathon.

At the top of the pack this week were Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas. The opera singer once again impressed judges with her moves.

It has been a year since Sidney Lumet passed away on April 9, 2011. Here is our retrospective on the legendary filmmaker to honor his memory. Originally published April 15, 2011.

Almost a week after the fact, we, like everyone that loves film, are still mourning the passing of the great American master Sidney Lumet, one of the true titans of cinema.

Lumet was never fancy. He never needed to be, as a master of blocking, economic camera movements and framing that empowered the emotion and or exact punctuation of a particular scene. First and foremost, as you’ve likely heard ad nauseum -- but hell, it’s true -- Lumet was a storyteller, and one that preferred his beloved New York to soundstages (though let's not romanticize it too much, he did his fair share of work on studio film sets too as most TV journeyman and early studio filmmakers did).

His directing career stretched well over 50 years,...

We're in Austin, Texas for the shank of this year's Fantastic Fest. If our preview chat with Tim League had you interested, be sure to hit refresh on this page over and over and over like a moon-eyed crazy person all day Sat, Sun and Monday for updates.

Friday 9/23/11

Fantastic Fest is already in full swing. I'm not there yet, but I'm flying in tonight. Last night I was all over Twitter to hear descriptions of The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)'s pre-screening antics. An hour and a half later, I read virtually every critic say it was awful. (Though one or two defended it as "having something to say about obsessed fandom.")

As a jury member for this year's "features" division - which means full length movies that aren't straight-up horror movies - I've actually been able to get a sneak peek at some of the eight movies in competition.

Hit List is a handful of items that we find noteworthy, shared with you daily on our homepage. Enjoy!

Memorial Retrospective of Sidney Lumet’s Work at Walter Reade Theater from indieWIRE

Why Is Loving Film Such an Expensive Hobby? from FrontRoomCinema.com (Suggested by scottlawlor73)

Cult Movies and the Power of the Close-Up from MovingImageSource.us

A Real Gang Member Seeks A Better Life from LATimes.com

Movies That Famous People Don’t Want You to See from Cracked.com (Suggested by badsharkmovie)

In Pictures: 2011′s Movie Crossovers from TheShiznit.co.uk (Suggested by aligray)

A Parisian Exhibition Inspired by “Freaks and Geeks” from UnDo.net (Suggested by fabiana-mariani)

Movie Poster Mash-Ups: Jack Nicholson from EmpireOnline.com

Have an item you’d like to see featured on Hit List? Submit it here.