COMING SOON

Early next year, there will be not one but two thrillers involving lesbians on-the-run: one dark and treacherous and the other dark and wacky.

Ethan Coen, one half of the filmmaking team, the Coen Brothers, is about to release his first narrative feature film without his brother, Joel who made his own solo directorial debut with "The Tragedy of Macbeth" in 2021. "Drive-Away Dolls", co-written with his wife, Tricia Cooke, is a comedic road-trip caper. Margaret Qualley plays a young free spirit that has just ended a relationship with a girlfriend and looking for adventure. Geraldine Viswanathan is her more uptight friend who is ready to let loose. They get their wish when they take off on the road to Tallahassee. But their trip is interrupted when they end up getting mixed in with a group of menacing yet inept gangsters. Bill Camp, Beanie Feldstein, Colman Domingo, Pedro Pascal and Matt Damon also star. "Drive-Away Dolls" (which had the more interesting working title, "Drive-Away Dykes") was supposed to have been released last fall but was delayed due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.

"Drive-Away Dolls" is due in US theaters on February 23, 2024

For the follow-up to her acclaimed horror-drama, "Saint Maud", the filmmaker Rose Glass returns with "Love Lies Bleeding", a gritty thriller with a touch of sweet romance. Kristen Stewart stars as Lou, a manager at a gym who becomes infatuated with a female bodybuilder (Katy O'Brian). But their love affair leads them into the crosshairs of Lou's criminal family lead by her father, played by Ed Harris.  The film will make its world premiere at the Sundance Film Fest in January before reaching theaters in March.

"Love Lies Bleeding" is due in US theaters on March 8, 2024

MAY DECEMBER (2023)

Written by Samy Burch



Directed by Todd Haynes



Where & When: Los Feliz 3 Theatres, Los Angeles, CA. November 20, 2023 1:30 PM



Available to stream now on Netflix



"May December", the latest fascinating, transgressive work from filmmaker, Todd Haynes, looks at a relationship, deemed by many as highly inappropriate and disturbing due to the extreme age difference between the couple, years after their affair was revealed to the world in a shocking scandal. Yet the film becomes cleverly very meta as an actress arrives to study the participants in order to play the woman involved in this infamous case for an upcoming movie.

Arriving in Savannah, the actress, Elizabeth Berry (Natalie Portman) attends a festive gathering at the home of Gracie Atherton-Yoo (Julianne Moore) and her husband, Joe (Charles Melton). The couple's history goes back twenty-three years ago when a thirteen-year-old, Joe was hired to work part-time at a pet shop where Gracie, the thirty-six-year-old married mother of three children, also worked. They were caught having sex in the back of the store, leading to her arrest and Gracie having their first child while in prison.

Gracie and Joe seemed to have weathered the scandal, now living largely out of the public glare although they still occasionally receive packages filled with feces to their home. They are the parents to three children with their eldest, Honor (Piper Curda) attending college while the twins, Charlie (Gabriel Chung) and Mary (Elizabeth Yu) are preparing to graduate from high school.

With seemingly unlimited access and not wanting to waste any time, Elizabeth quickly begins her research, interviewing anybody willing to talk who are in the couple's orbit. And that seems to be everyone from Gracie's ex-husband (D. W. Moffett) to the son of the owner of the pet store and with Georgie (Cory Michael Smith), one of Gracie's older children who clearly is more troubled than his parents will acknowledge. But her real focus is on Joe, trying to connect with him through gentle persuasion and coy seduction.

Since his audacious debut with the queer-themed "Poison" over thirty years ago, Haynes has been a filmmaker who created works of cinema that were provocative and challenging. And while he has continued to make films with unconventional themes, audiences began to embrace his movies on a wider scale and even when he ventured into more commercial fare (the legal thriller, "Dark Waters", the HBO miniseries, "Mildred Pierce"), Haynes found a way to add his own distinctive style to the material. "May December" certainly is a subversive subject filled with his sense of wit and playfulness. And if this story sounds familiar, it should. Inspired by the Mary Kay Letourneau case, which involved this middle school teacher who began an intimate relationship with one of her students, Haynes has crafted his take as a cross between a Douglas Sirk styled melodrama and a modern "ripped-from-the headlines" tabloid exploitation. The film's score, adapted by Marcelo Zarvos from Michel Legrand's music for the 1971 British drama, "The Go-Between", is dramatic and jarring, intended to add even more offbeat tension to the story.

As an actress on a mission to learn all she can in order to perfectly inhabit this role, Portman's Elizabeth may appear laid-back and unassuming on the surface, yet she is alarmingly ruthless, unconcerned with the fallout from her reopening of old wounds or the potential damage that could come from her relentless pursuit. And while Gracie may come across as serene nurturer, offering warm smiles and a welcoming disposition, and defers to her husband to discipline the children, she keeps her family firmly under her control. The always reliable Moore skillfully plays her as unsteady with a complicated mixture of child-like impulsiveness and calculated manipulation. But the real revelation here is Melton who first received attention playing Reggie on the television series, "Riverdale". Struggling against spending most of his young life as a parent (coming across more like his children's brother than father) and unsure how to move forward as he approaches having an empty nest, the actor expertly captures the devastation this man-child goes through as he reflects on what he has missed out on and tries to have an honest discussion with his wife about their relationship. And while Elizabeth might be the most obvious in this triangle, all of them are delivering a performance, saying what they think people want to hear and, most telling, fearful that they might be caught publicly delivering a false line.

I went to see "May December" twice; the first time in a theater and the other on Netflix a few weeks later. The main reason for the repeat screening was largely because of all the recent chatter about the film being viewed as a comedy including the submission of "May December" into the musical/comedy categories for the Golden Globes. It didn't come across to me as a comedy after my first viewing and despite a few quirky moments and odd bits of offhand dialogue ("I don't think we have enough hot dogs") the film still never registered to me as much of an actual comedy, more of a drama with some comedic elements. The second viewing only reinforced my opinion that "May December" is a disquieting examination of a couple that has their long unresolved trauma and emotional conflicts together forced to the surface, after years of successfully keeping them buried, by the welcomed dramatic recreation of the problematic beginning of their relationship. Thoughtfully executed, expertly performed and yes, with moments of dark humor, Haynes has made "May December" into a mesmerizing film that has you riveted to the screen as unsettling secrets and confessions are gradually revealed yet also leaves you feeling extremely uncomfortable afterwards from this knowledge.

2023 NATIONAL FILM REGISTRY

Some of the twenty-five films selected for this year's National Film Registry includes the Disney animated classic, "Lady and the Tramp" about the romance between two dogs; Ang Lee's charming, queer-centered rom-com, "The Wedding Banquet"; "Desperately Seeking Susan", Susan Seidelman's edgy NYC romantic-comedy that introduced Madonna, a rising pop star at the time, in her first major film role; George Cukor's all-star, pre-code comedy, "Dinner at Eight", based on the popular play by George S. Kaufman and Edna Farber, about a wealthy family preparing a society dinner; "Apollo 13" which recounts the disastrous space mission on the fifth US trip to the moon from Ron Howard; the beloved holiday classic, "Home Alone" with Macaulay Culkin as a young boy who is accidently left behind on a family vacation; "Bamboozled", Spike Lee's controversial satire on the creation of a modern television minstrel show; the musical-drama, "Fame" which focuses on the students that attend the high school of performing arts in Manhattan (and one of my all-time favorite movies); "Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision" is a documentary on the artist behind the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC; and the Best Picture Oscar winner, "12 Years a Slave", Steve McQueen's harrowing yet deeply moving drama about a free African-American sold into slavery.

The Library of Congress has added these movies this year to the National Film Registry which recognizes their artistic significance while helping to ensure their preservation for generations to come. These films, which must be at least ten years old, have been named because of their cultural, historic or aesthetic importance and with these selections brings the number of films in the registry to 875.

Here is the complete list of the films selected to the 2023 National Film Registry:

"A Movie Trip Through Filmland" (1921)
"Dinner at Eight" (1933)



"Bohulano Family Film Collection"(1950s-1970s)
"Helen Keller: In Her Story" (1954)
"Lady and the Tramp" (1955)



"Edge of the City" (1957)



"We’re Alive" (1974)
"Cruisin’ J-Town" (1975)
"¡Alambrista!" (1977)
"Passing Through"(1977)
"Fame"(1980)



"Desperately Seeking Susan"(1985)



"The Lighted Field" (1987)
"Matewan" (1987)



"Home Alone" (1990)
"Queen of Diamonds" (1991)
"Terminator 2: Judgment Day" (1991)
"The Nightmare Before Christmas" (1993)
"The Wedding Banquet" (1993)
"Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision" (1994)



"Apollo 13" (1995)
"Bamboozled" (2000)



"Love & Basketball" (2000)
"12 Years a Slave" (2013)
"20 Feet From Stardom" (2013)

2023 AWARD SEASON BEGINS

The 2023 award season has finally begun with several critics groups weighing on what each considers the best of the year. As always, this can vary wildly yet there are a few select films and performances that tends to appear somewhere in each group's list. But they also tend to find room to recognize films  under the radar that will greatly benefit from the attention.

Since 1975, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, comprised of L.A.-based professional film critics, honor screen excellence on both sides of the camera. This year, "The Zone of Interest" took the top prize from the LAFCA. This intense drama about an Auschwitz commandant and his family trying to live a comfortable life in their home next to a concentration camp also marked the return of the British filmmaker, Jonathan Glazer after a ten year absence, who received the Best Director award. This group does reveal the runners-up in each category and the acting categories are genderless but two winners are selected in each of them.

Here are the winners of the 2023 Los Angeles Film Critics Association:

Best Picture: "The Zone of Interest"
Best Director: Jonathan Glazer, "The Zone of Interest"
Best Screenplay: Andrew Haigh, "All of Us Strangers"
Best Lead Performance: Sandra Hüller, "Anatomy of a Fall" and "The Zone of Interest" and Emma Stone, "Poor Things"
Best Supporting Performance: Rachel McAdams, "Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret" and Da'Vine Joy Randolph, "The Holdovers"
Best Documentary/Nonfiction: "Menus-Paisirs – Les Troisgros"
Best Animation: "The Boy and the Heron"
Best Cinematography: Robbie Ryan, "Poor Things"
Best Editing: Laurent Sénéchal, "Anatomy of a Fall"
Best Production Design: Sarah Greenwood, "Barbie"
Best Music/Score: Mica Levi, "The Zone of Interest"
Career Achievement Award: Agnieszka Holland

The New York Film Critics Circle Awards annually make their selections to honor excellence in cinema worldwide. While the group chose "Killers of the Flower Moon", Scorsese's lengthy period drama, as their Best Film, the members of NYFCC spread the other awards around to honor "Oppenheimer", "The Holdovers", "May December" and an inspired Best Actor choice with Franz Rogowski for his amazing work in "Passages"

Here are the winners of the 2023 The New York Film Critics Circle:

Best Film: "Killers of the Flower Moon"
Best Director: Christopher Nolan, "Oppenheimer"
Best Screenplay: Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik, "May December"
Best Actress: Lily Gladstone, "Killers of the Flower Moon"
Best Actor: Franz Rogowski, "Passages"
Best Supporting Actress: Da'Vine Joy Randolph, "The Holdovers"
Best Supporting Actor: Charles Melton, "May December"
Best Cinematography: Hoyte Van Hoytema, "Oppenheimer"
Best International Film: "Anatomy of a Fall"
Best Non-Fiction Film: "Menus-Plaisirs — Les Troisgros"
Best Animated Feature Film: "The Boy and the Heron"
Best First Film: "Past Lives"

For over a hundred years the National Board of Review has been dedicated in its efforts to support cinema as both art and entertainment. This private organization of film enthusiasts, largely New York based, has been offering their selections for the best in cinema each Year. Usually the first of the critics groups to announce their picks but recently others have jumped ahead to try and be the first out the gate. This year, the NBR has selected Martin Scorsese's recent "Killers of the Flower Moon" as the big winner with Best Film, Best Director, Lily Gladstone as Best Actress and Rodrigo Prieto for his camerwork for this film and "Barbie". "The Holdovers" follows with three awards for Best Original Screenplay and Paul Giamatti and Da'Vine Joy Randolph for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress respectively.

Here are the winners of the 2023 National Board of Review:

Best Film: "Killers of the Flower Moon"
Best Director: Martin Scorsese, "Killers of the Flower Moon"
Best Original Screenplay: David Hemingson, "The Holdovers"
Best Adapted Screenplay: Tony McNamara, "Poor Things"
Best Actress: Lily Gladstone, "Killers of the Flower Moon"
Best Actor: Paul Giamatti, "The Holdovers"
Best Supporting Actress: Da'Vine Joy Randolph, "The Holdovers"
Best Supporting Actor: Mark Ruffalo, "Poor Things"
Best Ensemble: "The Iron Claw"
Best Documentary: "Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie"
Best International Film: "Anatomy of a Fall" (France)
Best Animated Feature: "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse"
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography: Rodrigo Prieto, "Barbie" and "Killers of the Flower Moon"
Outstanding Achievement in Stunt Artistry: Chad Stahelski, Director and Stephen Dunlevy & Scott Rogers, Stunt Coordinators, "John Wick: Chapter 4"
Best Directorial Debut: Celine Song, "Past Lives"
Breakthrough Performance: Teyana Taylor, "A Thousand and One"
NBR Icon Award: Bradley Cooper

And the nominations of the Film Independent Spirit Awards were announced with "Past Lives", "May December" and "American Fiction" each receiving five noms apiece. To be eligble for a Spirit Award, films must have a budget below $30 million, making many of the most buzzed about movies of this season unable to be recognized by this non-profit arts organization. The 39th Spirit Awards will be held on February 25, 2024 on the beach in Santa Monica, CA. hosted by Aidy Bryant. The awards will be streamed live on the IMDb and Film Independent YouTube channels.

Here are the nominations of the 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards (Film):

Best Feature:

"All of Us Strangers"
"American Fiction"
"May December"
"Passages"
"Past Lives"
"We Grown Now"

Best Director:

Andrew Haigh, "All of Us Strangers"
Todd Haynes, "May December"
William Oldroyd, "Eileen"
Ira Sachs, "Passages"
Celine Song, "Past Lives"

Best Screenplay:

David Hemingson, "The Holdovers"
Cord Jefferson, "American Fiction"
Laura Moss and Brendan J. O’Brien, "Birth/Rebirth"
Emma Seligman and Rachel Sennott, "Bottoms"
Celine Song, "Past Lives"

Best Lead Performance:

Jessica Chastain, "Memory"
Greta Lee, "Past Lives"
Trace Lysette, "Monica"
Natalie Portman, "May December"
Judy Reyes, "Birth/Rebirth"
Franz Rogowski, "Passages"
Andrew Scott, "All of Us Strangers"
Teyana Taylor, "A Thousand and One"
Jeffrey Wright, "American Fiction"
Teo Yoo, "Past Lives"

Best Supporting Performance:

Erika Alexander, "American Fiction"
Sterling K. Brown, "American Fiction"
Noah Galvin, "Theater Camp"
Anne Hathaway, "Eileen"
Glenn Howerton, "BlackBerry"
Marin Ireland, "Eileen"
Charles Melton, "May December"
Da'Vine Joy Randolph, "The Holdovers"
Catalina Saavedra, "Rotting in the Sun"
Ben Whishaw, "Passages"

Best Cinematography:

Katelin Arizmendi, "Monica"
Eigil Bryld, "The Holdovers"
Jomo Fray, "All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt"
Pablo Lozano, "Chronicles of a Wandering Saint"
Pat Scola, "We Grown Now"

Best Editing:

Santiago Cendejas, Gabriel Díaz and Sofía Subercaseaux, "Rotting in the Sun"
Stephanie Filo, "We Grown Now"
Daniel Garber, "How to Blow Up a Pipeline"
Jon Philpot, "Theater Camp"
Emanuele Tiziani, "Upon Entry"

Best Documentary:

"Bye Bye Tiberias"
"Four Daughters"
"Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project"
"Kokomo City"
"The Mother of All Lies"

Best International Film:

"Anatomy of a Fall" (France)
"Godland" (Denmark/Iceland)
"Mami Wata" (Nigeria)
"Tótem" (Mexico)
"The Zone of Interest" (United Kingdom, Poland)

Best First Feature:

"All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt"
"Chronicles of a Wandering Saint"
"Earth Mama"
"A Thousand and One"
"Upon Entry"

Best First Screenplay:

Samy Burch; Story by Samy Burch, Alex Mechanik, "May December"
Noah Galvin, Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman and Ben Platt, "Theater Camp"
Tomás Gómez Bustillo, "Chronicles of a Wandering Saint"
Laurel Parmet, "The Starling Girl"

Best Breakthrough Performance:

Marshawn Lynch, "Bottoms"
Atibon Nazaire, "Mountains"
Tia Nomore, "Earth Mama"
Dominic Sessa, "The Holdovers"
Anaita Wali Zada, "Fremont"
Alejandro Rojas and Juan Sebastián Vásquez, "Upon Entry"

John Cassavetes Award (Given to the best feature made for under $1,000,000):

"The Artifice Girl"
"Cadejo Blanco"
"Fremont"
"Rotting in the Sun" "The Unknown Country"

Someone To Watch (Recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition):

Joanna Arnow, "The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed"
Laura Moss, "Birth/Rebirth"
Monica Sorelle, "Mountains"

Truer Than Fiction Award (Presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition):

Set Hernandez, "unseen"
Jesse Short Bull and Laura Tomaselli, "Lakota Nation vs. United States"
Sierra Urich, "Joonam"

Robert Altman Award (Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast):

"Showing Up"

RYAN O'NEAL (1941 - 2023)

Ryan O'Neal, the handsome, charming yet troubled actor, has sadly passed away on December 8th. One of the biggest names in cinema throughout the 1970's, the actor had been suffering from some serious health issues over the last few years which included leukemia and prostate cancer although no exact cause of death has been revealed to date. O'Neal was eighty-two.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, O'Neal was part of a show business family with his mother, Patricia O'Callaghan an actress and his father, Charles O'Neal was a novelist and screenwriter. The oldest of their two sons, O'Neal had first trained to be a Golden Gloves boxer. But the lure of the business proved unavoidable and with some assistance from his mother, he began to get work guest starring in episodes of several popular television series in the 1960's. O'Neal's first major breakout was when he was cast in the nightime soap opera, "Peyton Place" in 1964. The show was a huge hit and made stars out of the young cast which included Mia Farrow, Barbara Perkins and Leigh Taylor-Young, who joined in the third season and later became O'Neal's second wife.

O'Neal's co-stars were making the transition into the movies yet he struggled to find significant roles. But in 1970, O'Neal won a part that would change the course of his career when he was selected to be in the film, "Love Story". Based on a wildly popular novel by Erich Segal, O'Neal, who got the role after several actors turned it down which included Jeff Bridges, Jon Voight and Michael York, was paired with former fashion model, Ali McGraw (who was married to Paramount's studio head, Robert Evans) and this tragic romantic drama went on to become one of the highest-grossing films in U.S. history. Both actors would receive their only Academy Award nominations for their work in "Love Story".

O'Neal's career in the movies took off and he went on to star in Peter Bogdanovich's screwball comedy, "What's Up, Doc?" with Barbra Streisand; "Paper Moon" (which co-starred his daughter, Tatum who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 1973); Stanley Kubrick's now-acclaimed period drama, "Barry Lyndon"; the all-star war film, "A Bridge Too Far"; Walter Hill's cult thriller, "The Driver" and the comedy, "The Main Event" which re-teamed him with Streisand.

But by the 1980's, O'Neal's red-hot film career had cooled considerably. Some of the films he appeared in like the underrated 1984 comedy, "Irreconcilable Differences' (with Shelley Long and Drew Barrymore), "Fever Pitch" and "Tough Guys Don't Dance" which was written and directed by novelist, Norman Mailer were intriguing yet they all disapointed at the box-office. O'Neal returned to television with some movies (including one "The Man Upstairs" with Katharine Hepburn in 1992) and a short-lived sitcom, "Good Sports" in 1991 which co-starred his long-time partner, Farrah Fawcett.

O'Neal was the father of four children; Tatum and Griffin with his first wife, actress, Joanna Moore, Patrick with Taylor-Young and Redmond with Fawcett. He had difficult and volatile relationships with all of them, estranged at various times throughout his life. O'Neal was arrested in 2007 for shooting at Griffin, claiming it was in self-defense but the charges were later dropped. But in later years, his relationships with them had improved with efforts of reconciliation.

PRISCILLA (2023)

Written & Directed by Sofia Coppola




Where & Where: TCL Chinese Theatres, Hollywood, CA. November 7, 2023 4:20 PM

Last year, Baz Luhrmann's "Elvis" brought the King of Rock & Roll's story to life in a kinetic, colorfully bombastic drama which went on to earn big box-office, eight Oscar nominations and made a star out of Austin Butler who delivered a dazzling performance as Presley. Priscilla Beaulieu, Presley's wife of six years, mother of his only child and longtime love since she was a teenager, appears in "Elvis" yet their romance is regulated into a minor subplot while the film largely focuses on the fraught relationship between Presley and his controlling manager, Colonel Tom Parker.

With "Priscilla", Sofia Coppola's captivating adaptation of Presley's 1985 memoir, "Elvis & Me", explores her version of events, capturing the loving, bewildering and highly traumatizing moments of her life involved with the "King". In 1959, a fourteen year old Priscilla (Cailee Spaeny) was living with her parents (Ari Cohen, Dagmara Domińczyk) in West Germany while her father was stationed there for the US Air Force. This was when she would meet Presley (Jacob Elordi) who is also stationed in Germany while serving in the army. Forced to put his blazing hot career on hold after being drafted, the twenty-four year old musician becomes infatuated with the young girl, leaving her parents unclear (and Priscilla herself) on what Presley really wants from their daughter. After convincing them that his intentions were purely honorable, Elvis began to see Priscilla, surprisingly unchaperoned. And Presley kept his word, stealing a few kisses and putting the brakes on when it began to get too heavy, and the relationship remained chaste.

Presley is soon discharged and returns to his career, promising to keep in touch with Priscilla. They would initially exchange letters but as time went on, his correspondence would become less frequent and soon stopped altogether. It would be two years later before Presley would contact Priscilla again, requesting her parents to allow her to visit Graceland, his home in Memphis. Once again reassuring them that their teenage daughter would be in safe hands, surrounded by his family, they reluctantly agree to let Priscilla fly to Tennessee alone.

This is when Priscilla would begin to see the wild, chaotic world that Presley was living in, filled with a rowdy crew of hanger-ons along with their jaded ladies who catered to his every whim and all night parties fueled by booze and amphetamines. Quietly observing her surroundings, this young teenager is easily fascinated and impressed with Presley's lavish lifestyle. Seven years after they first met, Priscilla marries Presley in Las Vegas, with her now transformed into a feminized, mirror image of the rock-n-roller.

"Priscilla" could seem like a companion piece to Luhrmann's extravaganza yet Coppola's bio-pic is far removed from "Elvis". Modestly scaled and emotionally grounded, Coppola explores a love story that seemed to be doomed for failure from the beginning. Presley's beloved mother, Gladys who he shared an unusually close relationship, had passed away a year before meeting Priscilla. And this deep sense of loss seemed to shape his views on women: some were available strictly for carnal desires while others are supposed to be just nurturing mothers and wives. And the two did not meet. After Priscilla gave birth to their daughter, Lisa Marie, Presley would make excuses not to touch her in an intimate way, leaving her confused and frustrated.

Coppola has made her film career focusing on female protagonists, usually young women, in search of their own identity and value in society while trying to lift the heavy shadow of the baffled men in their lives. With her reflective screenplay, she manages to keep the focus on the inner turmoil that Presley struggles with despite the hovering presence of the larger-than-life singer. The visual approach is subtle as cinematographer, Philippe Le Sourd begins with a warm and dreamy atmosphere as seen through the childlike eyes of Priscilla before a dramatic shift that is brighter and more garish as she enters into the real-life of Presley's inner orbit.

Spaeny (who won the Best Actress Award for her role at the Venice Film Festival) is extraordinary as she advances from a precocious, lovestruck teen fully convinced she can handle a mature romance with one of the most popular and desirable men on the planet to a less enamored young woman no longer willing to endure his erratic behavior and endless womanizing. And as for our Elvis, the Australian Elodi offers another well-crafted version of Presley, perfectly capturing the essence of the King, right down to his distinctive mumbling, Southern drawl.

Coppola has created another fine feature film, thoughtful and poignant, yet "Priscilla" reveals something that may or may not have been intentional. Despite Presley's best efforts of wistfully presenting her story as a tragic romance, it is also a disturbing account of neglect and abuse. It's shocking that Elvis Presley was allowed, with her parents' blessing, to groom this young child into his ideal version of a woman only to essentially discard her emotionally once he had made her a mother. This only adds another more troubling layer to an already complicated history of one of the most significant cultural figures of the last century.

NYAD (2023)

Written by Julia Cox



Directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin



Where & When: Landmark Theatres Sunset, West Hollywood, CA. October 24, 2023 8:00 PM



Available to stream on Netflix on November 3, 2023



For the first narrative feature by the Oscar-winning documentary filmmakers, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, the married couple decided to continue in their fascination with themes involving intense sports and athletes. "Nyad" is an engaging yet safe recreation of Diana Nyad, the famed long-distance swimmer, and her dream of completing a treacherous sixty-hour, one hundred and three-mile swim from Havana, Cuba to Key West, Florida. Facing unpredictable weather conditions, fluctuating water temperatures, perilous marine life and her advanced age, Nyad had plenty of obstacles that made this extreme marathon seem virtually impossible to accomplish. Yet after several attempts, with fierce determination and a powerful ability to dissociate, Nyad was able to actually make the impossible possible.

We meet Nyad (Annette Bening) in 2010 on her sixtieth birthday and demanding to her friend, Bonnie (Jodie Foster) that she absolutely does not want a party. But having briefly been lovers and now her closest friend, Bonnie throws a thrilled Diana a surprise party, knowing very well what she really wanted. Aging also triggers in Nyad a strong desire to complete a swim from Havana to Key West she first attempted thirty-two years ago. Nyad begins extensive training and pushes a skeptical Bonnie into being her coach.

Hiring John Bartlett (Rhys Ifans), the captain of the fishing vessel who will follow alongside her as she swims, Nyad makes her second attempt a little over a year later escorted by a paddler in a kayak equipped with an electronic shark repellent. But ends the quest twenty-nine hours later after strong winds throw her off-course and begins to suffer some shoulder pain. Nyad attempts again a month later but is stopped once more after forty-one hours in the water due to multiple stings from jellyfish and Portuguese man-of-war when bad weather pushes her off-course. Nyad tries again yet is unable to finish although she covers more distance than her previous attempts. With Bonnie and the crew beginning to lose their patience, time and money on this more seemingly, crazy venture, Nyad knows she can do it if given one more chance.

Memory plays a large part of the film with Nyad continuously going over in her mind the errors that were made in her previous attempts to make the journey to Florida. She is also haunted by the abandonment of her father from the family and most troubling, the sexual abuse she suffered from her swim coach that Nyad had a crush on when she was a pre-teen.

One thing about Nyad is that she is no shrinking violet. Abrasive and demanding, this swimmer is confident in herself and her abilities and more than happy to share this information with anyone who will listen. Benning is a reliable commanding presence and delivers another terrific performance. Yet the four-time Oscar nominee still has some difficulty making the prickly Nyad an appealing protagonist and finding a way to make us really want to root for her. Luckily, Bonnie is around to try and soften Nyad's rough edges and lack of proper people skills. Playing her first queer character on screen, Foster comes across as jovial and relaxed, capturing a lighter side of the actor that has been rarely seen over her lengthy career. Together, these veteran performers make a great team, displaying genuine warmth and chemistry. 

It's clear that Chai Vasarhelyi and Chin are still trying to find their way to make a smooth transition from documentary filmmaking to narrative storytelling. They lean a little too much on actual footage of the real Diana Nyad and her journey throughout the film, undercutting the actors' achievements to some degree. The film is a solid debut feature film yet ultimately, "Nyad" feels conventional, never pushing to challenge us narratively or visually. We are left to be moved by the sheer will and determination of Nyad, trying to beat the odds of this incredible quest. And while the film certainly succeeds as an inspirational biopic, it's not really enough to keep "Nyad" afloat as a compelling drama.

2023 AFI FILM FESTIVAL

AFI Fest is the premiere event in Los Angeles that celebrates world cinema and this year's thirty-seventh edition will feature over one hundred and forty films from across the globe. The festival will once again be held in the heart of Hollywood at the historic TCL Chinese Theatres.

The Opening Night Red Carpet Film that is making its world premiere will be "Leave the World Behind", Sam Esmail's adaptation of the novel by Rumaan Alam. Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali and Ethan Hawke star in this dystopian thriller about two couples, who are complete strangers and holed up in a house in Long Island, having to decide how best to survive a mysterious disaster threatening the world.



The Centerpiece Screening is "Maxine's Baby: The Tyler Perry Story", a documentary by Gelila Bekele and Armani Ortiz that examines the complicated life and groundbreaking career of the African American actor, filmmaker and media mogul, allowing us access into the little-seen, inner world of Perry.



And the Closing Night Red Carpet Film selected is Bradley Cooper's latest turn as a director, "Maestro", a bio-pic in which he also stars as the composer Leonard Bernstein. This drama takes us on an emotional journey through this gifted musician's life, his artistry and complicated relationship with his wife Felicia Montealegre, played here by Carey Mulligan.



There are various sections in the Fest that include World Cinema which will feature several films selected by their country to be the submission for this year's Oscars; Discovery which highlights new voices in contemporary cinema; Luminaries offers a selection of the latest films from important filmmakers; Documentaries; Special Screenings and a shorts competition.













This year's Guest Artistic Director is Greta Gerwig, the actor and director who was behind "Barbie", the summer blockbuster hit that became an unlikely cultural phenomenon. She has curated five films to be screened during the fest that had an impact on her as an artist and filmmaker. The classic films selected are "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" (1985) and "A Matter of Life and Death" (1946) (which Gerwig will be on-hand to do in-person introductions for these films); "All That Jazz" (1979), "An American in Paris" (1951) and "Wings of Desire" (1988).







For the complete list of films and to purchase tickets and passes, please click below:

2023 AFI Fest

WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS @ 100

Warner Bros. is not the only movie studio celebrating a centennial. This year Walt Disney Studios came into existence on this day one hundred years ago. Far removed from the global media conglomerate that it has now become, Disney began as a scrappy, yet innovative animation company started by two midwestern brothers, Walt, who was the creative driver and Roy who handled the production side of the studio.

Arriving in Los Angeles from Kansas City, MO in 1923, the brothers got their start producing a series of silent shorts that merged live-action and animation about a young girl named Alice and Julius, her cartoon cat. Another creation by Disney was "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit" with the animated shorts were done for Universal Studios. But after a contract dispute over money and not owning the rights to Oswald, Disney began secretly working on a new character with a mouse named "Mickey".

The first Mickey Mouse short appeared in 1928 was silent and with sound on the horizon, the next film, "Steamboat Willie" was released later that year and became the first with synchronized sound. It became a major success and Disney began work on a second cartoon series, "Silly Symphonies" the following year. All of the initial animated films were in black & white and after the studio made a deal with Technicolor and their three-strip color film process in 1932, Disney made the first color "Silly Symphonies" short, "Flowers and Trees".

Walt Disney began considering a feature length animated film in 1934, deciding to base the story on the Brothers Grimm's German fairy tale. This expensive project, at over a million dollars and taking three years to complete, was extremely risky and if it failed could bankrupt the company. But "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" became a critical and commercial success, earning more than eight million globally during its initial release.

Disney would continue to achieve great success with other popular animated features ("Cinderella", "Bambi", "Dumbo", "Peter Pan", "Alice in Wonderland") and live action films ("Treasure Island", "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", "Mary Poppins", "The Shaggy Dog", "The Parent Trap"). The company expanded to build a brand amusement park in Anaheim, Ca named "Disneyland" in 1950 and moved into television, offering such shows as "Walt Disney's Disneyland" and "The Mickey Mouse Club". Disney was in the process of developing a second theme park in Orlando, Fl and near completion of production on their nineteenth animated feature, "The Jungle Book", when Walt Disney, a heavy smoker, passed away from lung cancer in 1966.

The studio continued on, opening "Disney World" in 1971 and finding some success in live-action films and television yet struggled for a number of years in the animation division. But it was in the late 1980's with the release of "The Little Mermaid" that helped return Disney back into a reliable studio that created critically acclaimed and globally popular animated movies.



Disney’s 1937 animation classic, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" will be coming to Disney+ in a new 4K restoration that will premiere on Oct. 16th to celebrate the company’s 100th anniversary.

INVISIBLE BEAUTY (2023)

Directed by Bethann Hardison and Frédéric Tcheng

Where & When: Laemmle Royal, West Los Angeles, CA. September 28, 2023 7:00 PM


You may not be familiar with the name Bethann Hardison unless you're really intrigued by the inner workings of the fashion world. And Hardison's story would be fascinating enough with her being an unassuming African American woman from Bed-Stuy who managed to beat the odds at the time by becoming a popular international model then going on to start her own successful modeling agency. But what the documentary, "Invisible Beauty", co-directed by Hardison and Frédéric Tcheng, brings into focus is what the former model has become best known and greatly admired for by many who work in the style industry: her outspoken activism in fearlessly challenging the status quo and being extremely vocal in regard to how the business over the years has inadequately dealt with race, more than willing to call individuals out by name when necessary.

Born and raised in New York City, Hardison attended FIT and NYU Tisch School of the Arts before landing a job as seller in the garment district. Her life would make a dramatic change after meeting designer, Willi Smith, the man behind the whimsical fashion line, WilliWear and would go on to be regarded as one of the most successful African American designers after his passing in 1987 from complications of AIDS. First becoming his fit model, Hardison smoothly transitioned into working in front of the camera.

A highlight of her modeling career came when she was a part of the largely African American models who came to France in 1973 for the Battle of Versailles Fashion Show, a fund-raising, face-off event between French and American designers. While the French had an elaborate yet stiff presentation, the Americans (which included Oscar de la Renta, Halston and Anne Klein) only had the models to display their clothes on the runway which they did with a carefree style and exuberance, bringing the audience wildly to their feet.

By 1981, Hardison changed her focus from modeling to becoming a model booking agent. Three years later, she formed the Bethann Management Agency which represented a diverse range of models that most agencies probably would never have considered. Some of the beautiful faces that Hardison repped included Roshumba, Kimora Lee Simons, Veronica Webb (who became the first African American model to land a major cosmetics contract) and Tyson Beckford, one of the world's most famous male models who enjoyed a long, exclusive contract with designer Ralph Lauren.

And it was around this time that Hardison went on to form Black Girls Coalition with fellow former model, Iman to celebrate these women, uplifting and guiding these models to give back to the community. Later she became a major force not long after the turn of the century when the industry went backwards by actively not using models of color. Hardison quickly went to work organizing a town hall meeting to address this lack of diversity in fashion and advertising.

Originally, Hardison wanted to make a film about the fashion industry but people around her wisely suggested she narrow her focus. She teamed up with Tcheng, who has a history of creating captivating documentaries on important figures in fashion (Valentino, Diana Vreeland, Halston) and together came up with the concept to shape "Invisible Beauty" around her struggle to write her memoir, allowing this film to organically reflect back on her life.

Hardison married young and briefly, having a son, Kadeem who would become known as an actor, appearing in "The Cosby Show" spin-off sitcom, "A Different World". She's aware that she never achieved a perfect balance between her career and motherhood, leaving her relationship with her son today complicated and, at times, strained. Yet Hardison is maternal and nurturing, caring for the young models that came her way, mentoring and offering her home as shelter when needed.

"Invisible Beauty" is an inspirational document which details of a life well-lived. Hardison is certainly filled with contradictions yet she's a generous spirit who offered her experiences and created opportunities to made sure that those who followed after her could also benefit to have an equal and fair chance to flourish in the arduous fashion business.

2023 NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL

The 2023 New York Film Festival is set to begin on September 29th and running through October 15th. This event has served as the first opportunity in the US to preview many of the films that will be vying for attention during the upcoming awards season. The 61st edition of NYFF will be held at Film in Lincoln Center as well as utilizing theaters in all five boroughs of New York City.



The fest will open with "May December", the latest from Todd Hayes based very loosely on the story of Mary Kay Letourneau. Natalie Portman stars as an actress researching to play on-screen a woman (Julianne Moore) that became a tabloid figure years ago when she was a teacher who got romantically involved with her teenage student, now her husband (Charles Melton).



The Centerpiece Selection is "Priscilla" from Sofia Coppola which explores the life of Elvis Presley's teenage bride, Priscilla (Callee Spaeny who won Best Actress at Venice) and her complicated relationship behind closed doors with the "King of Rock & Roll", played here by Jacob Elordi.

And The Closing Night Film will be "Ferrari", Michael Mann's look into the life of the legendary, Italian car manufacturer with Adam Driver portraying Enzo Ferrari. Patrick Dempsey, Jack O'Connell, Shailene Woodley and Penélope Cruz co-star.



Many of the films in the Main Slate have previously been screened in other film festivals but will be making their US or North American premieres at the New York fest. Some of these international films selected include the Turkish drama from Nuri Bilge Ceylan, "About Dry Grasses"; "The Beast", a French drama from Bertrand Bonello based on the Henry James short story; "The Delinquents", Rodrigo Moreno's heist drama set in Argentina; "Evil Does Not Exist", Ryûsuke Hamaguchi's follow-up to his Oscar-winning film, "Drive My Car" and Agnieszka Holland's controversial "Green Border" which details the harrowing story of a Syrian family trying to escape the violence in their home country only to endure further trouble in Poland.





The films in the Spotlight section will showcase some of the season's most anticipated works. This will feature the first animated feature from the acclaimed Japanese filmmaker, Hayao Miyazaki in ten years, "The Boy and the Heron"; Steve McQueen's four and a half hour long documentary, "Occupied City" which examines Amsterdam under Nazi occupation during World War II while offering contemporary parallels in the British filmmaker's adopted home; the North American premiere of Yorgos Lanthimos' black & white, silent short film from last year, "Bleat" that features Emma Stone (Lanthimos and Stone's current feature length project together, "Poor Things", which won the Golden Lion after making its premiere at this year's Venice Film Festival, will also be screened in the Main Slate) and Pedro Almodovar's second English language short film, "Strange Way of Life", an unconventional western which will be followed by an in-person conversation with the Spanish filmmaker.



And the Revivals section will feature remastered and restored films from distinguished filmmakers. The fest will feature the world premiere of the restored version of Nancy Savoca's 1993 comedy, "Household Saints" that stars Lili Taylor, Tracey Ullman and Vincent D'Onofrio. "Return to Reason: Short Films by Man Ray" spotlights the celebrated photographer's first foray into filmmaking with these silent shorts accompanied with new music by Jim Jarmusch (the indie filmmaker who designed this year's poster for the fest) and Carter Logan who together are known as the band, SQURL. There will also be screenings of Oscar-winning actress Lee Grant's 1980 directorial debut, "Tell Me a Riddle", Jean Renoir's final feature film from 1947, "The Woman on the Beach" and "La Roue (The Wheel)", a seven hour long 1923 French film from Abel Gance that merged early narrative silent cinema with an experimental style.





For the complete list of films, events and to purchase tickets, please click below:

2023 New York Film Festival

BOTTOMS (2023)

Written by Emma Seligman and Rachel Sennott



Directed by Emma Seligman



Where & When: AMC The Grove 14, Los Angeles, CA. September 5, 2023 7:30 PM



"Bottoms" is a teenage, romantic comedy from filmmaker, Emma Seilgman that is very far removed from your standard comedy in this genre. What Seilgman's film delivers is unhinged, extremely dark and features a couple of horny, young lesbians as our unexpected protagonists in this wildly, offbeat story. And while it's not entirely successful, "Bottoms" is a teen comedy that boldly presents queerness as a natural state of being, propelled by an insane, manic energy and off-the-wall laughs.

PJ (Rachel Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edebiri) are best friends in high school who happen to be nerdy, unpopular and lesbians. They are both lusting after two of the popular cheerleaders at school who are also best friends: Josie has the hots for Isabel (Havana Rose Liu) while PJ is infatuated with Brittany (Kaia Gerber). After an incident involving an argument between Isabel and her boyfriend, Jeff (Nicholas Galitzine), the quarterback for the school's football team, a rumor spreads around that PJ and Josie spent the summer in juvenile detention and had beaten up Jeff during this quarrel. Now this didn't actually happen yet none of the participants correct this misinformation especially after the girls are called into the principal's office demanding an explanation for injuring the quarterback (who was never seriously hurt but enjoying the attention).

In order to avoid expulsion, PJ comes up with the excuse they had been practicing in order to start a self-defense club for the girls at school. This leads to a plan to actually start a fight club and after PJ points out this will be a great way for them to meet girls, a reluctant Josie agrees to the crazy idea. With teacher, Mr. G. (former football player, Marshawn Lynch) on board as an advisor, the girls begin teaching female students how to fight. But PJ is disappointed that the girls attending are not attractive enough until Isabel and Brittany show up for lessons.

Seligman first became noticed with her NYU senior-thesis short, "Shiva Baby" which was later selected for the South by Southwest film festival in 2018. The Canadian-born filmmaker later further developed this comedy about a young bisexual Jewish woman (also played by Sennott) who attends a shiva with her parents where her complicated love relationships collide into a feature length film. I will admit I was not a big fan of this film, but I certainly recognized her potential gifts as a director and admired what she accomplished in telling a rarely told story in cinema involving the "B" in the LGBTQ communities.

"Bottoms" began with Seligman and Sennott wanting to create a film that featured queer characters prominently in your standard Hollywood-style comedy. I'm sure there were several films that sparked their imagination, but the clear inspiration behind "Bottoms" seems to be "Heathers", the 1989 cult film that has gone on to become the quintessential dark teen comedy. And while they both share in gleeful, irreverent humor, quirky characters and unexpected bursts of bloody violence, "Bottoms" is not fully formed enough to become memorable in the high school comedy canon. The script by Seligman and Sennott features some emotionally grounded moments in between the weird, zany humor but the writers are just not there yet to make it work together cohesively. At times in the film, some moments are heavy-handed, the pacing is ragged, the jokes are not always sharp and the motivations behind some of the characters are wobbly. And as "Bottoms" progresses to its conclusion, the situations become far more surreal and shockingly brutal, making it feel like we have suddenly entered into another movie.

As a teen comedy, "Bottoms" feels fresh and modern by successfully challenging traditions of the genre and aggressively flipping expectations regarding gender and sexual identity. The film is further elevated by solid performances and a hilarious, edgy vibe. But with a little more work to refine some details, "Bottoms" would have easily shifted from a good to a great comedy.

WINNERS OF THE 2023 VENICE FILM FESTIVAL

The 80th annual Venice Film Festival has officially concluded and "Poor Things", Yorgos Lanthimos' fantastical sci-fi black comedy, received the top prize of the Golden Lion. The story involves a young Victorian woman (played by Emma Stone) who is crudely resurrected by a mad scientist (Willem Dafoe) who then runs off on a journey where she discovers her womanhood and sexuality. The Greek filmmaker honored his star, Stone, who was unable to attend the fest due to the ongoing actors strike, by dedicating the award to her during his acceptance speech.

The Grand Jury Prize went to "Evil Does Not Exist", Ryusuke Hamaguchi's follow-up to his acclaimed 2021 drama, "Drive My Car". The story is about a man and his young daughter living in a small village outside Tokyo and discovers the plans to disturb the quiet area with a camping development for city dwellers.

Best Director went to Matteo Garrone for his latest, "Io capitano" which tells the story of two young men from Dakar who make their way across Africa in a harrowing journey to Europe. One of the leads of the film, Seydou Sarr won The Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Performance by an Emerging Actor or Actress.

Pablo Larraín and Guillermo Calderón won Best Screenplay for "El Conde (The Count)" with director Larraín's political satire involving the idea that what if the Chilean dictator, Augusto Pinochet never really died because he was a blood-sucking vampire. The film will be available to stream on Netflix beginning September 15th.

Cailee Spaeny received the Best Actress prize for her performance in the title role of "Priscilla", Sofia Coppola's bio-pic on the complicated love affair between the King of Rock & Roll, Elvis Presley and his teenage bride. Peter Sarsgaard won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor for his work in Michel Franco's "Memory" where he plays a man who reconnects with a fellow student (Jessica Chastain) during their high school reunion that impacts them both in surprising ways.

Here is a partial list of winners of the 2023 Venice Film Festival:

Golden Lion: "Poor Things"
Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize: "悪は存在しない (Evil Does Not Exist)"
Special Jury Prize: "Zielona granica (Green Border)"
Silver Lion Best Director: Matteo Garrone, "Io Capitano"



Best Screenplay: Pablo Larrain and Guillermo Calderón, "El Conde (the Count)"
Best Actress: Cailee Spaeny, "Priscilla"
Best Actor: Peter Sarsgaard, "Memory"
Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress: Seydou Sarr, "Io Capitano"
Lion of the Future – Luigi De Laurentiis Award for a Debut Film: Lee Hong-Chi, "Love is a Gun"



Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement: Tony Leung Chiu-wai

2023 FALL MOVIE PREVIEW

The summer of "Barbenheimer" has officially come to a close and this unexpected cinematic phenomenon has ended up helping this season become one of the biggest box-office successes of all-time. These two films (that would be Greta Gerwig's colorful fantasia, "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer", the dramatic telling of the creation of the atomic bomb from Christopher Nolan, in case you just came out of hibernation) managed to generate a lot of money but also created an exciting buzz that spurred movie attendance, finally bringing people back to theaters which surprisingly spread across the globe.

With the writers and actors on strike, movie production has essentially come to a grinding halt. So, what does this mean for the fall movie season? The studios, still unwilling to negotiate and realizing that they will have no one to promote their expensive investments as well as running out of product to cover next year, have become skittish and decided to delay some planned upcoming releases. The most notable to date is the second part of "Dune" which was supposed to arrive in theaters in November and has been pushed off until next March. So far, no other major fall releases have announced any date changes however it's still early. It's all so unfortunate that a deal has not come together yet, leaving the momentum created this summer to probably just fizzle out if more movies are taken off the schedule. But at this moment, there are plenty of movies arriving in theaters this fall. Here is my list of upcoming films that I am anticipating and hope to actually see over the next four months:


All release dates are subject to change:

"DICKS: THE MUSICAL"

Release date: September 29, 2023

"Dicks: The Musical" is an absurdist musical-comedy based on an Off-Broadway show, "Fucking Identical Twins" by Josh Sharp and Aaron Jackson. In a deranged twist on "The Parent Trap", Sharp and Jackson reprise their roles as two adult business adversaries who discover that they are actually identical twins who were separated when their parents divorced. They decide to switch places in a plot to reunite their parents (Megan Mullally and Nathan Lane) so they can all be a real family once again. Hip-Hop royalty, Megan Thee Stallion co-stars and Larry Charles ("Borat") directs.



"FOE"

Release date: October 6, 2023

Based on the novel by Iain Reid (who co-wrote the screenplay with the director, Garth Davis), "Foe" is an intense sci-fi drama set in the not-so-distant future where Junior (Paul Mescal) and his wife, Henrietta (Saoirse Ronan) are visited on their remote farm by Terrance (Aaron Pierre) who represents an aerospace corporation. He has come with an offer for Junior to work in their large space station for a couple of years. However, this invitation is extended only for him, leaving Henrietta behind in the care of a bio-mechanical duplicate of Junior while he is away.



"KILLER OF THE FLOWER MOON"

Release date: October 20, 2023

After a splashy premiere at Cannes in May, "Killer of the Flower Moon", the latest from the legendary filmmaker, Martin Scorsese, will finally reach theaters. This epic drama is an adaptation of the fact-based novel by David Grann that tells this 1920's-set story of several Osage Indians in Oklahoma discovering oil on their lands, making them very wealthy. However, this doesn't sit well with the White people running the administration in the area. Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio), a war veteran in desperate need of employment, goes to his uncle (Robert DeNiro) looking for a job. After getting work as a taxi driver, Ernest is lured by his uncle into a plot to steal land and money from the Indians. But he becomes further conflicted when he falls in love with Mollie (Lily Gladstone) who is Osage.



"THE HOLDOVERS"

Release date: October 27, 2023

In the dramatic comedy, "The Holdovers", the director, Alexander Payne's welcome return to feature films following the lukewarm reception to his 2017 sci-fi comedy, "Downsizing", a "holdover" is a college student who is unable to return to their homes during Christmas break. Paul Giamatti (who reteams with Payne for the first time since their popular 2004 road trip comedy, "Sideways") plays a much-disliked teacher who is assigned to watching these kids and runs into particular trouble with one student (Dominic Sessa). Da'Vine Joy Randolph also stars as the school's head cook who is struggling with her own personal issues.




"RUSTIN"

Release date: November 3, 2023

"Rustin" puts a long overdue spotlight on the unheralded man who helped organize the March on Washington Movements and worked closely with Martin Luther King Jr. The celebrated stage director turned filmmaker, George C. Wolfe takes on the story of Bayard Rustin (played by Colman Domingo), a highly influential civil rights activist who promoted nonviolent civil resistance. But his not-so-secret homosexuality would create problems for him, particularly in his advisory role with King on the 1963 March on Washington, leaving some people concerned how this association could negatively impact the movement. Chris Rock, Jeffrey Wright, Da'Vine Joy Randolph and Audra McDonald co-star.



"THE KILLER"

Release date: November 10, 2023

Following his stiff, Hollywood bio-pic, "Mank" three years ago, David Fincher has returned to the genre he has become best associated with: the psychological thriller. "The Killer" has the director taking on a French graphic novel and putting his distinctive spin on a familiar story involving a hired assassin who is being hunted down after failing an assignment following an existential crisis. But what makes this film even more intriguing is the return to the big screen of Michael Fassbender who plays the hit-man (the Irish-German actor will also appear in Taika Watiti's sports-comedy, "Next Goal Wins" out in November). Tilda Swinton co-stars.



"NAPOLEON"

Release date: November 22, 2023

Napoleon Bonaparte was a military commander in the 18th century who during the French revolution rose to prominence to become an influential political leader. His story will be told in a big budget, English-language, Hollywood epic from acclaimed director, Ridley Scott. With Oscar-winner, Joaquin Phoenix as the Emperor, "Napoleon" will examine his rise to power and his obsessive love with Joséphine (Vanessa Kirby), a widow who was first his mistress before quickly becoming Empress of the French.



"THE COLOR PURPLE"

Release date: December 25, 2023

"The Color Purple", Alice Walker's harrowing yet moving novel about a young girl's coming-of-age and overcoming heart-wrenching obstacles she faced, has come a long way since it was first published in 1982. It was first adapted into a critically acclaimed, 1985 box-office hit film by Steven Spielberg that made stars out of Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey. Twenty years later, a musical was created of Walker's story that ran on Broadway for three years. Then a stripped-down, more enthusiastically received revival came back to New York ten years later. Now we this musical that has been filmed with Spielberg, Winfrey and Quincy Jones (who did the musical score for the 1985 movie) returning as producers and Blitz Bazawule directing this version of "The Color Purple". Fantasia Barrino (the American Idol winner making her film debut assumed the role in the original Broadway production) plays Celie; Danielle Brooks (who did the role in the 2015 revival) will play Sofia and Taraji P. Henson appears as singer Shug Avery. Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, Aunjanue Ellis, Halle Bailey, H.E.R. and Ciara rounds out the cast. 

2023 VENICE FILM FESTIVAL

The Venice Film Festival, about to celebrate its eightieth year making this the world's oldest annual film event, will be held August 30th through September 9th on the island of the Lido in the Venice Lagoon. American filmmaker, Damien Chazelle has been chosen to preside over the jury which will select the prizes for this year’s edition as President. His fellow jurors are an impressive group of international figures in cinema: Palestinian actor, Saleh Bakri; New Zealand filmmaker, Jane Campion; French filmmaker, Mia Hansen-Løve; Italian filmmaker, Gabriele Mainetti; British-Irish filmmaker, Martin McDonagh; Argentine filmmaker, Santiago Mitre; American filmmaker, Laura Poitras and Taiwanese actress, Shu Qi.

The films in competition include the latest works by some of the world's greatest filmmakers. This includes Luc Besson ("Dog Man"), Bradley Cooper ("Maestro"), Sofia Coppola ("Priscilla"), Ava DuVernay ("Origin"), David Fincher ("The Killer"), Michel Franco ("Memory"), Matteo Garrone ("Io Capitano"), Ryusuke Hamaguchi ("Evil Does Not Exist"), Agnieszka Holland ("The Green Border"), Yorgos Lanthimos ("Poor Things"), Pablo Larrain ("El Conde"), and Michael Mann ("Ferrari").









Luca Guadagnino's tennis drama, "Challengers" was originally scheduled to have its premiere as the festival's opening film, but its release has been delayed due to the ongoing WGA and SAG/AFTRA strikes ("Challengers" will now be released next spring). "Comandante", an Italian war drama directed by Edoardo De Angelis, will now open the fest. Set during WWII, the war submarine, Comandante Cappellini sinks the Belgian ship, Kabalo. The Italian captain (Pierfrancesco Favino) of the Comandante decides to disobey orders and attempt to rescue the Kabalo's crew.

A few highlights of films premiering Out-of-Competition are Harmony Korine's new feature, "Aggro Dr1ft", an experimental drama featuring musician, Travis Scott; a remake of the legal drama, "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial" which will be the final feature film by the late William Friedkin; "Hit Man", an action-comedy by Richard Linklater that stars Glen Powell, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Linklater; and new films by two very controversial directors: "The Palace", a dark comedy by Roman Polanski and the fiftieth feature film by the eighty-seven year old, Woody Allen, "Coup de chance (Stroke of Luck)", a French-language thriller that stars Niels Schneider, Lou de Laage and Melvil Poupaud.





The Closing Night Film will be "La Sociedad De La Nieve (Society of The Snow)" from J.A. Bayona. This dramatic thriller tells the true story of a Uruguayan rugby team whose plane crashes on a glacier in the Andes in 1972 and the few passengers who lived find themselves struggling to survive in extremely harsh conditions. This is an Out of Competition screening, and the film will be released by Netflix.



And this year's recipient of Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to the Filmmaker Award, which began in 2006 and honors the careers of people who have made a significant contribution to cinema, will be Wes Anderson. His latest, "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar", a short film based on story by Roald Dahl, will make its world premiere screening at the fest and can be seen on Netflix in September.