And here we are. The day after Easter and we’ve reached the top of the mountain. While compiling this list, it’s become evident that true religious films just aren’t made anymore (and if they are, they are widely panned). That being said, religious themes exist in more mainstream movies than ever, despite there being no …
Vinyl, Season 1, Episode 10: “Alibi” Written by Terence Winter Directed by Allen Coulter Airs Sundays at 9pm on HBO Prior to the penultimate episode of Vinyl’s first season, HBO announced that co-creator and showrunner Terence Winter would be leaving the show, supposedly over creative differences (usually code for low ratings and/or critical disapproval). Although filled with …
Vinyl, Season 1, Episode 9: “Rock and Roll Queen” Written by Debora Cahn Directed by Carl Franklin Airs Sundays at 9pm on HBO Ever since Richie lost all the money gained from selling American Century’s private jet, a shoe has been hanging over the show. Zach is Richie’s most loyal lieutenant, and one who’s really more of …
Vinyl, Season 1, Episode 8: “E.A.B.” Written by Riccardo DiLoreto & Michael Mitnick Directed by Jon S. Baird Airs Sundays at 9pm on HBO So far, a fairly reliable indicator of the strength of a Vinyl episode is how much humor it has. That’s not to say that the show needs to veer toward broad …
Vinyl, Season 1, Episode 7: “The King and I” Written by David Matthews Directed by Allen Coulter Airs Sundays at 9pm on HBO If Vinyl has managed to convey one thing about Richie’s personality, it’s that he never does anything halfway. He has to run his business with a constant pipeline of cocaine direct to his nose. …
Vinyl, Season 1, Episode 6: “Cyclone” Written by Carl Capotorto & Erin Cressida Wilson Directed by Nicole Kassell Airs Sundays at 9pm on HBO If it succeeds at anything, Vinyl knows how to do a good coke scene. Bobby Cannavale has perfected the wild-eyed look of someone who’s been doing cocaine for three days straight, …
Vinyl, Season 1, Episode 5: “He in Racist Fire” Written by Adam Rapp Directed by Peter Sollett Airs Sundays at 9pm on HBO The revelation from last week’s episode of Vinyl was that the show can be hilarious when it wants to be. It was a necessary discovery, because Vinyl would eventually implode if it chose to …
Vinyl, Season 1, Episode 4: “The Racket” Written by Debora Cahn Directed by S. J. Clarkson Airs Sundays at 9pm on HBO Perhaps Vinyl has regained its footing. The first three episodes of the series were filled with drama – Richie falling off the wagon, murdering Buck Rogers, and threatening his already shaky marriage. The episodes were …
Richie takes a backseat in an episode that introduces a particularly sedate real-life rock star.
A more streamlined second episode still has some kinks to work out.
Vinyl, Season One, Episode One: “Pilot” Written by Terence Winter and George Mastras Directed by Martin Scorsese Airs Sundays at 9pm on HBO It seemed inevitable that Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger would work together at some point. After all, The Rolling Stones have created the essential music of Scorsese’s life, and his films would …
America has always possessed a winning mentality, and proudly boasts about it at any passing opportunity. Between politicians who claim the United States is the greatest country in the world – with no statistical data on hand to back such claims, no less – and college frat boys wearing tees or tank tops that read …
Martin Scorsese’s ‘Raging Bull’—oft-cited these days as the director’s magnum opus— first premiered in New York on November 14, 1980 to a volley of mixed reviews. At least, that’s what the Internet would have modern researchers believe.
Goodfellas turned 25 on Sunday. We were introduced to Henry Hill and his gangster cohorts in a world where Martin Scorsese had never won an Oscar. It was a world where The Godfather was the reigning champion of gangster films, uncontested, except possibly for The Godfather Part II. Goodfellas introduced us to a new kind of …
“Day for Night,” a much loved, widely awarded, and truly joyous work about the trials and triumphs of making a film and the extraordinary power of motion pictures as objects of affection and obsession.
Some of the best things in life come in pairs, and film is no different. No, I don’t mean sequels and/or remakes, because I think we all know how those often turn out. Instead, I mean those actors and directors who very frequently collaborate on films, so much so that it feels odd when the …
The most lucrative director/actor partnership of the last decade plus has been Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese: Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed, Shutter Island, and most recently, The Wolf of Wall Street. For what will be their sixth film together, Scorsese, DiCaprio, and Paramount Pictures have closed the deal on the rights …
In 1995 acclaimed director Martin Scorsese made one of his best loved films, the intense crime drama Casino. And earlier this year he revisited the casino format with a multi-million dollar advertisement for two Asian casinos that featured some seriously heavyweight names. The Asian Las Vegas Although Casino was based in the famous American gambling …
One of the defining features of these character-driven studies is that character development isn’t always a given. These are vibrant and multifaceted characters, but they aren’t necessary going to grow or evolve as human beings.
The River favors style and characterization over any major storyline. But its multifaceted slice-of-life chronicle is a beautiful one, a distinct and universal one, and one that is all so gloriously realized.
One of the most anticipated films of 2015 is Martin Scorsese’s Silence. Although that anticipation was under the presumption that Silence would actually come out this year, let alone be made. The film has been in pre-production for ages, by Marty’s account, nearly two decades, but the film is finally coming together with funding from Fábrica …
#10. Chinatown (1974) Lost to: The Godfather Part II Well, no one will argue that it should have won, but still. Roman Polanski’s film made a true leading man out of Jack Nicholson. It grabbed eleven nominations, only taking home one. That being said, that one was for Original Screenplay, written by Robert Towne, which may …
#20. The Exorcist (1973) Lost to: The Sting Crammed in between two Best Picture wins for Francis Ford Coppola’s “Godfather” films was an interesting little year that rewarded another pairing of Robert Redford and Paul Newman (trivia: “The Sting’s” Julia Phillips is the first time female producer to ever win Best Picture). The other big landmark …