What’s it about? I’ve seen “American Star” and I’m still not entirely sure—partly because director Gonzalo López-Gallego, who also edited the movie, and screenwriter Nacho Faerna go long stretches without dropping bits of exposition; but mainly because it’s the sort of film where the look and sound and overall energy is what it’s really “about,” not so much any … Read more
Its intended spell is immediately jumbled: Aren (Justice Smith), a struggling visual artist, watches as white buyer after white buyer moves past his multicolor yarn sculpture before another confuses him for the help. The experience deflates Aren, an amiable and deferential young Black man who says sorry more than most Canadians. His pliability almost costs … Read more
Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction is the most sophisticated, and moving comedy of the year, with superb acting by Jeffrey Wright. PLOT: A black university professor (Jeffrey Wright) who’s frustrated that all of his non-race related books are being deemed “black” writes a stereotypical, deliberately bad novel about “the hood,” and, to his dismay, it becomes … Read more
Trailer: the three-part docu-series American Nightmare, about a case referred to as the Gone Girl kidnapping, reaches Netflix this month The true crime documentary series American Nightmare is set to reach the Netflix streaming service on January 17th, and with exactly two weeks to go until this one is available to watch a trailer for … Read more
A new American Fiction trailer is out from Orion and Amazon MGM Studios, previewing the upcoming Jeffrey Wright-led comedy film. The film, which had its world premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, follows Wright’s Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison, a respected author who creates a pseudonymous novel that embodies every Black cliché, and is shocked … Read more
Resentful to that response and juggling uneasy family dynamics back home, Monk is left to navigate the conditions under which his work is deemed desirable and marketable, as well as the personal demons that prevent him from moving forward in his own story. Stagg R. Leigh is revered while Thelonious Ellison is stagnant, digging his nails into … Read more
And I knew that in her scenes with Monk, you had to have a formidable woman. Monk is somebody who steamrolls a lot of people in his life. When we were casting for that role, you know, people send names from agencies for actors that they think would be good for the parts. And it … Read more
One winner will receive full tuition for The American Pavilion 2024 Cannes Student Program including housing, daily breakfast, ground transportation, festival accreditation, and more (see full details here). The prize does not include travel to and from France and any meals besides breakfast. The winner may choose another AmPav program instead of Cannes as set forth in the Terms and … Read more
It can’t be denied that as far as martial arts movies go, the best ones come from Asia, particularly Hong Kong during their action heyday, which was arguably the 70s, 80s and first half of the ’90s. That said, martial arts movies were also making a foothold in the States at the time, thanks mainly … Read more
Rounding out the Best Picture nominees are two more romances, Andrew Haigh’s “All of Us Strangers” and Ira Sachs’ “Passages”, as well as Minhal Baig’s Chicago-set drama “We Grown Now.” Nominated for Best Documentary are “Bye Bye Tiberias,” “Four Daughters,” “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project,” “Kokomo City” and “The Mother of All Lies.” Best International … Read more