Matt writes: With this year’s Oscar telecast just around the corner, RogerEbert.com has compiled a round-up of award prognostications into one of its latest Thumbnails installments. Join in the debate with writers such as Indiewire‘s Anne Thompson, Gold Derby‘s Paul Sheehan, Variety‘s Tim Gray and our own Collin Souter as they offer their best guesses on who will take home the evening’s top prizes. The article comes complete with a link to a printable ballot courtesy of the official Oscar site. In addition to this, our critic Susan Wloszczyna recently published an essay entitled, “Oscar’s History of Pickiness.” Here is an excerpt: “The true measure of Oscar’s power to make a difference might be better measured by the kinds of movies that Hollywood deigns to put out each year. Voters can only choose from the pool they are given. The fact is that ‘Hidden Figures’—whose current domestic box office of $130-plus million and counting makes it the top moneymaker among the nine nominees—yet again belies the supposed truism that films with female leads don’t draw big crowds while giving a trio of top-notch actresses incredibly rich roles as smart, successful role models. It’s proof that enriching entertainment can also be box-office bonanzas.”
Trailers
Split (2017) Written and directed by Deborah Kampmeier. Starring Amy Ferguson, Morgan Spector, Anna Mouglalis. Synopsis: A young woman embarks on a journey to claim her own darkness and sexuality so she can stop putting it into the hands of her abusive lover. Opens in US theaters on March 18th, 2017.
Graduation (2017). Written and directed by Cristian Mungiu. Starring Adrian Titieni, Maria-Victoria Dragus, Rares Andrici. Synopsis: A film about compromises and the implications of the parent’s role. Opens in US theaters on April 7th, 2017.
Carrie Pilby
(2017). Directed by Susan Johnson. Written by Kara Holden (based on the novel by Caren Lissner). Starring Bel Powley, Nathan Lane, Gabriel Byrne. Synopsis: A person of high intelligence struggles to make sense of the world as it relates to morality, relationships, sex and leaving her apartment. Opens in US theaters on April 4th, 2017.
Dean (2017). Written and directed by Demetri Martin. Starring Demetri Martin, Gillian Jacobs, Kevin Kline. Synopsis: Dean is an NY illustrator who falls hard for an LA woman while trying to prevent his father from selling the family home in the wake of his mother’s death. Opens in US theaters on June 2nd, 2017.
The Void (2017). Written and directed by Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski. Starring Ellen Wong, Kathleen Munroe, Kenneth Welsh. Synopsis: In the middle of a routine patrol, officer Daniel Carter happens upon a blood-soaked figure limping down a deserted stretch of road. Opens in US theaters on April 7th, 2017.
Everything, Everything (2017). Directed by Stella Meghie. Written by J. Mills Goodloe (based on the novel by Nicola Yoon). Starring Amandla Stenberg, Nick Robinson, Anika Noni Rose. Synopsis: A teenager who’s lived a sheltered life because she’s allergic to everything, falls for the boy who moves in next door. Opens in US theaters on May 19th, 2017.
The Bad Batch (2017). Written and directed by Ana Lily Amirpour. Starring Keanu Reeves, Jason Momoa, Giovanni Ribisi. Synopsis: A dystopian love story in a Texas wasteland and set in a community of cannibals. Opens in US theaters on June 23rd, 2017.
The Ticket (2017). Directed by Ido Fluk. Written by Ido Fluk and Sharon Mashihi. Starring Dan Stevens, Malin Akerman, Kerry Bishé. Synopsis: A blind man who regains his vision finds himself becoming metaphorically blinded by his obsession for the superficial. US release date is TBA.
Goon: Last of the Enforcers (2017). Directed by Jay Baruchel. Written by Jay Baruchel and Jesse Chabot. Starring Seann William Scott, Alison Pill, Jay Baruchel. Synopsis: A hockey player plagued by injuries is confronted with the possibility of retirement when a tough new player challenges his status as the league’s top enforcer. US release date is TBA.
Wish Upon (2017). Directed by John R. Leonetti. Written by Barbara Marshall. Starring Sherilyn Fenn, Joey King, Shannon Purser. Synopsis: A teenage girl discovers a box with magic powers, but comes with a deadly price. Opens in US theaters on June 30th, 2017.
Unlocked (2017). Directed by Michael Apted. Written by Peter O’Brien. Starring Orlando Bloom, John Malkovich, Noomi Rapace. Synopsis: A CIA interrogator is lured into a ruse that puts London at risk of a biological attack. US release date is TBA.
Beach Rats (2017). Written and directed by Eliza Hittman. Starring Harris Dickinson, Nicole Flyus, Frank Hakaj. Synopsis: An aimless teenager on the outer edges of Brooklyn struggles to escape his bleak home life and navigate questions of self-identity, as he balances his time between his delinquent friends, a potential new girlfriend, and older men he meets online. US release date is TBA.
Aftermath (2017). Directed by Elliott Lester. Written by Javier Gullón. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maggie Grace, Kevin Zegers. Synopsis: Based on the airline accident that occurred in July of 2002 and on the events that took place 478 days later. US release date is TBA.
The Dinner (2017). Written and directed by Oren Moverman (based on the novel by Herman Koch). Starring Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan. Synopsis: A look at how far parents will go to protect their children. Opens in US theaters on May 5th, 2017.
The Institute (2017). Directed by James Franco and Pamela Romanowsky. Written by Adam Rager and Matt Rager. Starring James Franco, Pamela Anderson, Topher Grace. Synopsis: In 19th century Baltimore, a girl stricken with grief from her parents’ untimely death, voluntarily checks herself into the Rosewood Institute, and is subjected to bizarre and increasingly violent pseudo-scientific experiments in personality modification, brainwashing and mind control, she must escape the clutches of the Rosewood and exact her revenge. Opens in US theaters on July 21st, 2017.
A Fantastic Woman (2017). Directed by Sebastián Lelio. Written by Sebastián Lelio and Gonzalo Maza. Starring Daniela Vega, Luis Gnecco, Antonia Zegers. Synopsis: Marina, a waitress who moonlights as a nightclub singer, is bowled over by the death of her older boyfriend. US release date is TBA.
This Is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous (2017). Directed by Barbara Kopple. Synopsis: One family’s acceptance is tested when a champion diver, destined for the Olympics, announces they’re transitioning from male to female and invites their YouTube followers along for every moment. Now available on YouTube Red.
It Comes at Night (2017). Written and directed by Trey Edward Shults. Starring Joel Edgerton, Riley Keough, Christopher Abbott. Synopsis: Secure within a desolate home as an unnatural threat terrorizes the world, a man has established a tenuous domestic order with his wife and son, but this will soon be put to test when a desperate young family arrives seeking refuge. Opens in US theaters on June 9th, 2017.
David Oyelowo on “A United Kingdom”
Matt writes: I recently had the great honor of interviewing David Oyelowo, an actor whose work I have loved in films such as “Selma,” “The Butler,” “Lincoln,” “Middle of Nowhere” and now, Amma Asante’s “A United Kingdom.” Among the topics we discussed was his use of the Method approach when portraying characters such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Click here to read the complete conversation.
Sam Schacht on Method Acting
Matt writes: Speaking of the Method, our critic Sheila O’Malley spoke with her old acting teacher, Sam Schacht, about this precise acting technique. Their wonderful conversation is entitled, “Living Truthfully Under Imaginary Circumstances,” and illuminates the mysteries of the Method that have culminated in so many unforgettable performances, many of which went on to win the coveted Academy Award.
Free Movies
The Amazing Mr. X (1948). Directed by Bernard Vorhaus. Written by Muriel Roy Bolton and Ian McLellan Hunter. Starring Turhan Bey, Lynn Bari, Cathy O’Donnell. Synopsis: On the beach one night, Christine Faber, two years a widow, thinks she hears her late husband Paul calling out of the surf…then meets a tall dark man, Alexis, who seems to know all about such things.
Watch “The Amazing Mr. X”
Suddenly (1954). Directed by Lewis Allen. Written by Richard Sale. Starring Frank Sinatra, Sterling Hayden, James Gleason. Synopsis: In the city of Suddenly, three gangsters trap the Benson family in their own house, on the top of a hill nearby the railroad station, with the intention of killing the president of the USA.
Watch “Suddenly”
The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). Directed by Otto Preminger. Written by Walter Newman and Lewis Meltzer (based on the novel by Nelson Algren). Starring Frank Sinatra, Kim Novak, Eleanor Parker. Synopsis: A strung-out junkie deals with a demoralizing drug addiction while his crippled wife and card sharks pull him down.
Watch “The Man with the Golden Arm”
Source link