“Aanikoobijigan [ancestor/great-grandparent/great-grandchild],” the thoughtful and quietly radical new documentary from Ojibwe filmmakers Adam and Zack Khalil, which recently won the NEXT Audience Award at Sundance, is about a great many things.  It’s about life just as it is death, theft as much as it is restoration, and history just as much as it is our current moment. It’s about the ways the past, present, and future are interconnected, challenging us to look more deeply at their relationship, serving as an act of often revolutionary reframing of how we think about time and knowledge. Continue reading ‘Aanikoobijigan’ Review: Adam & Zack Khalil Craft A Quietly Radical Documentary About Life, Death, Time, & Knowledge [Sundance] at The Playlist.

Moshe Rosenthal’s second feature, “Tell Me Everything,” billed by Sundance as a drama about a boy reckoning with a “shattering truth” about his father (Assi Cohen) at the height of the AIDS crisis, straddles two timelines. There’s the protagonist, Boaz, at age 12 in 1987 (played by the talented young newcomer Yair Mazor), and then there’s Boaz in 1996 (played by Ido Tako). Continue reading ‘Tell Me Everything’ Review: A Tale Of Complex Father-Son Betrayal That Doesn’t Say Enough [Sundance] at The Playlist.

“What a terrible time to have eyes,” one YouTube user lamented. And with that, if the pitch for Darren Aronofsky’s “On This Day… 1776” is meant to sound like a classy collision of history, craft, and new tools, the early reception has landed closer to riot. A new trailer for the short-form animated series—an American Revolution project released through TIME Studios and produced by Aronofsky’s AI venture Primordial Soup—has triggered a loud and unusually personal wave of disappointment, with critics and creators framing it less as an experiment and more as an auteur crossing a line. Continue reading ‘On This Day… 1776’ Trailer: Darren Aronofsky’s AI-Animated Revolution Series Drops, And The Backlash Arrives Right On Schedule at The Playlist.

As far as one can tell, Murphy (Ethan Hawke), a father, WWI veteran, and avid car mechanic, has never encountered an insurmountable challenge. Living in Eugene, Oregon, in 1933, four years into the Great Depression, Murphy and his young daughter, Penny (the adorable Avy Berry), are evicted from their home. To no fault of his own, the search for a new place is the inciting incident in “The Weight,” the feature debut from director Padraic McKinley. Continue reading ‘The Weight’ Review: Ethan Hawke Elevates A Rugged, Predictable Gold-Run Survivalist Western[Sundance] at The Playlist.

The multiverse is supposed to be infinite, but blockbuster filmmaking, particularly the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has its own version of reshaping infinity. Sometimes it’s through test screenings, Kevin Feige’s instincts, and other option-generating that erases ideas so completely they only survive in the way a director talks about an actor’s work.  Take Sam Raimi’s “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness. Continue reading ‘Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness’: Sam Raimi Says A Fourth Universe With Alt-Characters Was Shot & But Cut From Film at The Playlist.

If Sundance has taught us anything, it’s that a talented filmmaker can turn one adolescent summer into a resonant work of art. In just the last ten years, there was Luca Guadagnino’s “Call Me by Your Name,” Eliza Hittman’s “Beach Rats,” and Jeremiah Zagar’s “We the Animals.” This year, with her debut feature “Hold Onto Me,” the Cypriot writer and director Myrsini Aristidou offers a singular take on sun-soaked coming-of-age cinema by focusing on an 11-year-old girl and her absent father. Continue reading ‘Hold Onto Me’ Review: A Stunning Portrayal Of Wild Girlhood In The Streets Of Cyprus [Sundance] at The Playlist.

The A.I. gold rush has already produced enough corporate intrigue to fill a mini-series, but Hollywood rarely resists a clean, high-concept headline. Now, it sounds like one of the more interesting creative pairings is taking shape behind the scenes: Damon Albarn, of Blur and Gorillaz fame, says he’s currently working on the score for Luca Guadagnino’s “Artificial,” a comedic drama in development at Amazon MGM Studios inspired by the brief executive upheaval around OpenAI boss Sam Altman. Continue reading Blur’s Damon Albarn Says He Is Working On The Score To Luca Guadagnino’s ‘Artificial,’ Open-AI Movie at The Playlist.

The 2026 Sundance Film Festival is coming to an end, which means handing out some life-changing awards from both jury members and the voting public at large. The most prestigious honor, the U.S. Dramatic Competition Jury Award, went to Beth de Araújo’s “Josephine.” The drama starring Gemma Chan and Channing Tatum also won the Audience Award for U.S. Dramatic. READ MORE: “Leviticus” Review: Spirit-Fueled Conversion Therapy Haunts A Passionate Gay Love Affair [Sundance] The Directing Award U.S. Continue reading ‘Josephine’ Wins Grand Jury And Audience Award For U.S. Dramatic At 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Playlist.

It’s official: the “Fast & Furious” franchise will continue, and it’s coming back to theaters in 2028. READ MORE: Vin Diesel Wants Universal To Bring Back Brian O’Conner For ‘Fast X: Part 2’ Despite Tasteful Sendoff In ‘Furious 7’ Franchise star Vin Diesel announced the sequel to 2023’s “Fast X” on social media today, and also supplied a release date for when Universal will launch the film in theaters: March 17, 2028. Continue reading ‘Fast Forever’: Next ‘Fast & Furious’ Installment Will Hit Theaters On March 17, 2028 at The Playlist.

Go ahead.  Name a documentary, any documentary, covering any major conflict since the dawn of human history, or one particular facet within said conflict, be it small-scale or otherwise.  Hollywood seems to possess no shortage in this regard, whether in its works of fiction so accurately assembled they could very well pass off as fact, or with last year’s “Warfare” immediately entering the chat as a pastiche of sorts.  The list remains long, and “Birds of War” deserves its own spot, but in its raw, unflinching capture of a period of time set against the Syrian Civil War, by combining a blossoming relationship between two journalists with some genuine jump scares meant to thrust the viewer into such a horrific environment, what seems at times too real to believe needs to be seen.   Continue reading ‘Birds Of War’ Review: A Relationship Blooms Against A Terrifying Backdrop [Sundance] at The Playlist.

There’s always been a mischievous rigor to Sam Raimi’s filmmaking—an ability to make genre feel like a prank pulled with absolute craft. He’s the director who helped define modern horror’s scrappy, kinetically shot absurdity with “The Evil Dead,” then later rode a very different kind of roller coaster with the mainstream breakthrough of “Spider-Man” and its sequels. That shape-shifting instinct is all over Raimi’s terrific new genre blitz, “Send Help,” a movie that, as I wrote in my review, “shifts from office satire to stranded-island survival and then detonates into full-throttle horror-comedy chaos,” practically turning itself inside out by the time it reaches its final stretch. Continue reading ‘Send Help’: Sam Raimi On Power Dynamics, And The Virtuosity Of Rachel McAdams [Interview] at The Playlist.

It’s something anyone dealing with loss, be it unexpected or otherwise, may very well seek.  Some want nothing more than the release that is closure, especially when questions outweigh answers as to the circumstances surrounding the event.  Some simply want a gentle transition from a state of grief to that which lies after, while others may choose to live in the sorrow, subconsciously allowing it to etch within the fabric of their identity.  For those seeking resolution, even when the path ahead may exist as impassable, the journey may never be seen as such, as the one in the midst surges ahead nevertheless. Continue reading ‘Closure’ Review: A Sad, Compelling Look At One Father’s Quest For Answers [Sundance] at The Playlist.

Who’s checking into “The White Lotus” for Season 4? Only Steve Coogan, Caleb Jonte Jones, AJ Michalka, and Alexander Ludwig were confirmed thus far, but now, after early talks, it’s confirmed that Helena Bonham Carter is also part of the new season’s ensemble cast, as well as Marissa Long and Chris Messina. READ MORE: ‘The White Lotus’ Season 4 Adds AJ Michalka & Alexandra Ludwig Season 4 of Mike White‘s Emmy-winning HBO series takes place in France and follows the show’s usual formula, tracking the luxury hotel’s various rich, vapid, and criminally inclined guests over the course of a week. Continue reading ‘The White Lotus’ Season 4 Cast Adds Helena Bonham Carter, Chris Messina & Marissa Long, Who Join Steve Coogan & Others at The Playlist.

This summer, “Sugar” returns to Apple TV+ for an all-new mystery. Colin Farrell is back in the title role of one of the streamer’s most popular original series, this time tackling a new case involving a boxer, his missing sister, and a conspiracy that leads the detective to the darkest recesses of the LA underworld. READ MORE: The 75 Most Anticipated TV Shows & Mini-Series Of 2026 Here’s a brief synopsis of the neo-noir show’s upcoming new season, courtesy of Apple TV+: “Sugar” is a contemporary, unique take on one of the most popular and significant genres in literary, motion picture and television history: the private detective story.  Continue reading ‘Sugar’ Season 2: Neo-Noir Drama Starring Colin Farrell Returns To Apple TV+ On June 19 at The Playlist.

Need a new original network show to watch this Spring? AMC has an intriguing option in “The Audacity,” from “Better Call Saul” alum Jonathan Glatzer. READ MORE: The 75 Most Anticipated TV Shows & Mini-Series Of 2026 Starring Billy Magnussen, the new eight-episode series takes place in rapidly changing Silicon Valley, following a CEO whose sky-high ambition and massive ego drive him to impossibly profitable heights, no matter the ethical cost. Continue reading ‘The Audacity’ Trailer: Billy Magnussen, Zach Galifianakis & Sarah Goldberg Star In New Silicon Valley Dark Comedy Premiering On AMC On April 12 at The Playlist.

“John Rambo” will be back on the big screen soon, as Lionsgate‘s prequel starring Noah Centineo has entered production in Bangkok, Thailand. READ MORE: Sylvester Stallone Says He Wanted To Direct A Young ‘Rambo’ Movie Himself As An AI Movie, Talks New Memoir First announced last May, the all-new film, set before the events of 1982’s “First Blood,” stars Centineo as a young Rambo in the thick of a tour of duty during the Vietnam War. Continue reading ‘John Rambo’: Lionsgate’s Prequel Stars Noah Centineo, ‘Sisu’ Director Jalmari Helander Behind The Camera at The Playlist.

“What a terrible time to have eyes,” one YouTube user lamented. And with that, if the pitch for Darren Aronofsky’s “On This Day… 1776” is meant to sound like a classy collision of history, craft, and new tools, the early reception has landed closer to riot. A new trailer for the short-form animated series—an American Revolution project released through TIME Studios and produced by Aronofsky’s AI venture Primordial Soup—has triggered a loud and unusually personal wave of disappointment, with critics and creators framing it less as an experiment and more as an auteur crossing a line. Continue reading ‘On This Day… 1776’ Trailer: Darren Aronofsky’s AI-Animated Revolution Series Drops, And The Backlash Arrives Right On Schedule at The Playlist.

PARK CITY – This past summer, filmmakers Hossein Keshavarz and Maryam Ataei secretly filmed a remarkable new drama, “The Friend’s House Is Here” in Tehran, Iran. It was just weeks after June’s 12-day war between the Islamic Republic and Israel. At the time of its world premiere at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, just five months later, the Iranian government was in the final days of another brutal crackdown on political dissent. Continue reading ‘The Friend’s House Is Here’ Review: A Striking Tale Of Fearless Tehran Artists Living In Plain Sight [Sundance] at The Playlist.

The multiverse is supposed to be infinite, but blockbuster filmmaking, particularly the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has its own version of reshaping infinity. Sometimes it’s through test screenings, Kevin Feige’s instincts, and other option-generating that erases ideas so completely they only survive in the way a director talks about an actor’s work.  Take Sam Raimi’s “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness. Continue reading ‘Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness’: Sam Raimi Says A Fourth Universe With Alt-Characters Was Shot & But Cut From Film at The Playlist.

There is a point while trying to explain “The Beauty” where the description simply gives up. FBI investigations. Global travel. Corporate greed. A miracle cure. Bodies everywhere, beautiful and horrific. Somewhere in the middle of all that, the sentences collapse, because the show isn’t interested in being neat or easily digestible. It wants overload. It wants provocation. It wants you to pause mid-thought and realize you’re not doing it justice. Adapted from the graphic novel and brought to the screen by Ryan Murphy, “The Beauty” imagines a world where physical perfection is contagious. Continue reading ‘The Beauty’: Evan Peters & Rebecca Hall On Ryan Murphy’s Most Unhinged Series Yet, Globetrotting Adventure, & Marvel Character Returns [Bingeworthy Podcast] at The Playlist.

Time has always been the third person in Claire and Jamie’s marriage — possessive, merciless, and completely unmoved by how badly you want a happy ending. That’s the ache STARZ is leaning into with the emotional final trailer for Season 8 of “Outlander,” framing the endgame as both a love story and a reckoning with history’s bill coming due. READ MORE: The 75 Most Anticipated TV Shows & Mini-Series Of 2026 In the newly released footage, the series’ signature push-pull is back in full force: fleeting calm colliding with the sense that something inevitable is closing in. Continue reading ‘Outlander’ Final Trailer: STARZ Promises One Last Wrenching Ride For Claire & Jamie As A Death Prophecy Hangs Over Season 8 at The Playlist.

Don’t look now, but Damon Lindelof has yet another project in active development over at HBO. This time, it’s a eight-episode series order for “The China,” a limited series based on 2019 New York Times bestseller, “The Chain.” The show will be Lindeloff’s fourth series with the network after “The Leftovers,” “Watchmen,” and the upcoming “Lanterns.” READ MORE: The 75 Most Anticipated TV Shows & Mini-Series Of 2026 The set-up of Adrian McKinty‘s 2019 novel is very parents’ worst nightmare: a mother drops her daughter off at the bus stop, only to get a call moments later from a woman who claims she’s kidnapped the child. Continue reading ‘The Chain’: Damon Lindelof’s Next HBO Limited Series Adapts Adrian McKinty’s 2019 Kidnapping Thriller Novel at The Playlist.

Postcards hidden around the Liverpool Institute For Performing Arts today held a big surprise: the first glimpses at Paul Mescal, Harris Dickinson, Barry Keoghan, and Joseph Quinn as The Beatles in Sam Mendes‘ upcoming four-film series. The four postcards each feature one image of the actors as the band members they’ll play, and for the most part, the resemblances are uncanny. Continue reading ‘The Beatles’ First Look: Here’s Our First Glimpse At Sam Mendes’ Fab Four From His Upcoming Cinematic Event at The Playlist.

The A.I. gold rush has already produced enough corporate intrigue to fill a mini-series, but Hollywood rarely resists a clean, high-concept headline. Now, it sounds like one of the more interesting creative pairings is taking shape behind the scenes: Damon Albarn, of Blur and Gorillaz fame, says he’s currently working on the score for Luca Guadagnino’s “Artificial,” a comedic drama in development at Amazon MGM Studios inspired by the brief executive upheaval around OpenAI boss Sam Altman. Continue reading Blur’s Damon Albarn Says He Is Working On The Score To Luca Guadagnino’s ‘Artificial,’ Open-AI Movie at The Playlist.

The 2026 Sundance Film Festival is coming to an end, which means handing out some life-changing awards from both jury members and the voting public at large. The most prestigious honor, the U.S. Dramatic Competition Jury Award, went to Beth de Araújo’s “Josephine.” The drama starring Gemma Chan and Channing Tatum also won the Audience Award for U.S. Dramatic. READ MORE: “Leviticus” Review: Spirit-Fueled Conversion Therapy Haunts A Passionate Gay Love Affair [Sundance] The Directing Award U.S. Continue reading ‘Josephine’ Wins Grand Jury And Audience Award For U.S. Dramatic At 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Playlist.