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For many moviegoers, there is pre- and post-Tarantino cinema. Before "Reservoir Dogs," movies couldn't be so brazenly self-referential up to the point that characters discussed pop culture like they were all the savviest kid in your friend circle. For those of us who wolfed down movies, music, books and the rest of it like a large deluxe pizza, early Tarantino validated our fixation; his successes made it seem possible for us to tell stories via our own referential patois. It sounds absurd now, but no one outside of scenarists like Daniel Waters and Shane Black dared to write like this.

Somewhere in between "Kill Bill" chapters, Hollywood types began wondering if Tarantino's style of filmmaking had pigeonholed him to the point of self-parody. Factor in the countless Tarantino wannabes that began sprouting up in the mid-1990s, and it felt like the most daring thing the filmmaker could do...

Eleven months in to 2021, and Warner Bros. movie streaming strategy on HBO Max is still going strong. Now the list of new releases for November 2021 on HBO Max is highlighted by yet another big ticket film.

King Richard, starring Will Smith, is set to arrive on HBO Max and in theaters on Nov. 19. The movie will tell the story of Richard Williams, the father and coach of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams. Smith is already getting some early awards buzz for the role so Oscar-heads may want to check this one out.

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Aside from that, it’s a relatively light month for originals on HBO Max. The streamer is clearly attempting to step up its non-English...

November is a good month for saying goodbye on HBO Max. The streaming platform will host the final 2021 episodes of HBO late-night staples “Real Time with Bill Maher” and the Emmy Award-winning “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” the season finales of Max originals “Love Life” and “Doom Patrol,” and also provide home viewers their last opportunity to watch “Dune” on HBO Max until sometime in 2022 (“Dune” leaves HBO Max on November 21).

But beyond those conclusions, there are some huge premieres as well: Oscar contender “King Richard” arrives on November 19 with Will Smith in the lead role, the back-half of “Gossip Girl” Season 1 will make its debut at some point, and the HBO Music Box series continues with the Alanis Morrisette documentary “Jagged” (which the singer roundly criticized) and a new feature on Dmx. All of that content, plus a number of library classics, including but not limited to “Moonstruck,...

This year, in the chilly tent in Santa Monica the day before the Oscars, the Independent Spirit Awards went really indie. That meant that several high-profile contenders who did not land Oscar nominations scored Spirit sympathy votes. A24 dominated the field with seven Spirit Awards over three films, making up for their light showing at the Oscars.

“The Lighthouse” started off winning two awards for mustachioed veteran Willem Dafoe and cinematographer Jarin Blaschke, followed by three for the Safdie brothers’ “Uncut Gems,” for Directing, and Editing and Adam Sandler — who scored two big standing ovations and brought down the house with his hilarious speech. “The Indie Spirits are the Best Personality award,” he said.

“Being an editor I am going to try and cut this short,” said Benny Safdie. “The two of us working together we always try to stay in sync.” Editor Ronald Bronstein said that working with the...

This year, in the chilly tent in Santa Monica the day before the Oscars, the Independent Spirit Awards went really indie. That meant that several high-profile contenders who did not land Oscar nominations scored Spirit sympathy votes. A24 dominated the field with seven Spirit Awards over three films, making up for their light showing at the Oscars.

“The Lighthouse” started off winning two awards for mustachioed veteran Willem Dafoe and cinematographer Jarin Blaschke, followed by three for the Safdie brothers’ “Uncut Gems,” for Directing, and Editing and Adam Sandler — who scored two big standing ovations and brought down the house with his hilarious speech. “The Indie Spirits are the Best Personality award,” he said.

“Being an editor I am going to try and cut this short,” said Benny Safdie. “The two of us working together we always try to stay in sync.” Editor Ronald Bronstein said that working with the...

This year there isn’t as much overlap between the Independent Spirit Awards and the Oscars as usual, but there is one actor nominated at both events: Renee Zellweger (“Judy”). She’s the front-runner to win both awards, so she’ll need two more acceptance speeches this weekend. Though she’s already an Oscar winner, this would actually be her first Spirit Award victory; she was previously nominated for “Love and a .45” (1994) and “The Whole Wide World” (1996) years before the Oscars first gave her the time of day.

SEERenee Zellweger movies: 15 greatest films ranked from worst to best

Zellweger gets leading 17/5 odds of winning Best Female Lead at the Spirit Awards for her role as tragic Hollywood icon Judy Garland. That’s based on the combined predictions of thousands of Gold Derby users, including most of the Expert journalists we’ve surveyed from top media outlets as of this writing,...

Fifty years after the release of low-budget rebel odyssey “Easy Rider,” which pushed Hollywood into the ’70s and shook the foundations of Hollywood, writer-director-actor Peter Fonda has died of respiratory failure from lung cancer. The son of Hollywood star Henry Fonda and New York socialite Frances Seymour Brokaw was born 79 years ago in New York City. He is survived by his older sister, actress Jane Fonda, and his daughter, actress Bridget Fonda.

In a statement to People magazine, the family said Fonda “passed away peacefully on Friday morning, August 16 at 11:05am at his home in Los Angeles surrounded by family …In honor of Peter, please raise a glass to freedom.”

Said Jane Fonda: “I am very sad. He was my sweet-hearted baby brother. The talker of the family. I have had beautiful alone time with him these last days. He went out laughing.”

Fonda made a splash with his...

Fifty years after the release of low-budget rebel odyssey “Easy Rider,” which pushed Hollywood into the ’70s and shook the foundations of Hollywood, writer-director-actor Peter Fonda has died of respiratory failure from lung cancer. The son of Hollywood star Henry Fonda and New York socialite Frances Seymour Brokaw was born 79 years ago in New York City. He is survived by his older sister, actress Jane Fonda, and his daughter, actress Bridget Fonda.

In a statement to People magazine, the family said Fonda “passed away peacefully on Friday morning, August 16 at 11:05am at his home in Los Angeles surrounded by family …In honor of Peter, please raise a glass to freedom.”

Said Jane Fonda: “I am very sad. He was my sweet-hearted baby brother. The talker of the family. I have had beautiful alone time with him these last days. He went out laughing.”

Fonda made a splash with his...

TheWrap takes a look at the evolution of the actress from movies like “Dazed and Confused” to “My One and Only.” Renee Zellweger was born on April 25, 1969 in Texas. Her first job out of college was working in a beef commercial. 1991: Zellweger appeared as the uncredited “Girl in the blue pickup truck” in “Dazed and Confused.” 1994: Zellweger had her first major film role in the horror film, “Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation” alongside Matthew McConaughey. 1994: Her next film was “Love and a .45,” in which she played a woman who plans a robbery with her boyfriend.

Tiff’s Midnight Madness program turned 25 this year, and for two and half decades, the hardworking programers have gathered some of the strangest, most terrifying, wild, intriguing and downright entertaining films from around the world. From dark comedies to Japanese gore-fests and indie horror gems, the Midnight Madness program hasn’t lost its edge as one the leading showcases of genre cinema. In its 25-year history, Midnight Madness has introduced adventurous late-night moviegoers to such cult faves as Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused and Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs. But what separates Midnight Madness from, say, Montreal’s three and half week long genre festival Fantasia, is that Tiff selects only ten films to make the cut. In other words, these programmers don’t mess around. Last week I decided that I would post reviews of my personal favourite films that screened in past years. And just like the Tiff programmers,...

Here's the latest in Austin and Texas film news.

Austin-based director Richard Linklater's latest film Bernie opened on Friday in limited runs in New York, L.A. and Austin (at Violet Crown). The Austin Chronicle reported the result: the best opening weekend ever for a Linklater feature. Needless to say, Bernie killed at the box office with more than $30,000 estimated per screen ($90,400 total).IndieWIRE reported that Dallas filmmaker David Lowery is set to write and direct the Rooney Mara (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Ben Foster, Casey Affleck flick Ain't Them Bodies Saints. Lowery's short film Pioneer (Jette's article) won the Grand Jury Award at SXSW 2011 and his feature debut, St. Nick (Jette's article), was a 2007 Texas Filmmakers Production Fund recipient. Ain't Them Bodies Saints, a project of the 2011 Creative Producing Labs and Creative Producing Summit at Sundance, tells the story of a 1970s outlaw who escapes from prison...

For those of you who have yet to see Stuart Gordon's superb 1985 Re-Animator and its 1989 sequel, Bride of Re-Animator, allow me to introduce you to Doctor Herbert West, the titular Re-Animator, portrayed by the one and only Jeffrey Combs. What is Combs up to these days? We were lucky enough to catch up with him for an exclusive interview to find out.

Before we look forward, however, let's take a quick look back at Combs' career:

Through his seriously questionable research and macabre experiments in Re-Animator, Combs' Doctor West pioneers a serum that brings dead tissue back to life – often with disastrous consequences. Playing a man dangling so precariously on the edge of genius and lunacy -"I will not be shackled by the failures of your God!" - is no cakewalk for any actor, but Jeffrey relished the challenge, turning out one of the most entertaining madman performances...

Subject: Renée Kathleen Zellweger, 41-year old American actress

Date of Assessment: October 1, 2010

Positive Buzzwords: Versatile, talent, nonthreatening beauty

Negative Buzzwords: Overrated, vanity, recluse

The Case: Today's surveillance involves the Magically Disappearing Career of Renée Zellweger. Not too terribly many years ago, this subject was an imminently employable actress who possessed an everyday, realistic good looks. Of course, that was back when Zellweger began her acting career with low budget productions (Love and a .45, The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre) in her home state of Texas. After moving to Hollywood, Zellweger parlayed her unusual physical appeal by banging Rex Manning in Empire Records. Then, she had us at "hello" in Jerry Maguire and, subsequently, showcased some refreshing versatility in A Price Above Rubies. As to that last movie, I recall watching a "Today Show" interview, which posed the question of why a starlet would bother with a "small" film...