Cheer up, Isabelle

(She's still processing the horrid news).

The Nine Foreign Film Finalists for Oscar

The Academy's complicated process in nominating for Best Foreign Language Film is nearing completion. Last night they winnowed down the 85 film list to a more manageable 9 films. Those 9 will screen for selected panels in multiple cities and 5 nominees will be determined. A few observations and trivia notes about the list after the jump...

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YNMS: "The Circle"

Chris here. We had expected to see The Circle among the Sundance lineup, but it looks like it will be director James Ponsoldt's first film away from the festival. No matter, because the film still will be one of the more intriguing of the coming spring. From David Eggers's novel, The Circle stars Emma Watson as a young professional given the chance to work for an all-consuming social media entity (think Facebook on steroids) that may be more sinister than meets the eye. The novel was a bit on the nose in its critique, but its anxieties grow all the more realized in our online hive mindset.

Let's take a look at the first trailer and break down the Yes No Maybe So after the jump...

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Review: "Collateral Beauty"

by Chris Feil

When the aliens discover Earth, long after the ice caps have melted, I hope we leave a time capsule that includes Collateral Beauty to explain ourselves. No seriously: there's something to the film's off-handed cruelty and blasé emotional platitudes that shows how dunderheaded we humans can be. However this is only one of the film's many accidents, coming from its lack of self-awareness rather than its content. Collateral Beauty thinks itself holistic and clever, but its actually deeply, fundamentally stupid.

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Ten Little Linkies

Coming Soon Lin-Manuel Miranda composing an original musical for Sony Animation? Who at Disney lost their grip on him? Mistake!
MNPP Chris Pratt got all banged up
NY Post emotional advice $2
/Film a La La Land scene recreated in Austin Texas

IndieWire reviews Cate Blanchett in Manifesto, a new art film installation 
Variety Ryan Reynolds gets his star on the Walk of Fame and talks about the Green Lantern valley before the Deadpool peak 

List-Mania
Daily Beast Jen Yamato is apparently feeling some rage. Her super violent top ten includes Green Room, The Witch, and Train to Busan
Tracking Board best of everything with lots of Lin-Manuel Miranda and blockbuster hits
Variety names worst movies of the year including right-wing fact-free propaganda "documentaries" and movies you forgot came out this year like The Brothers Grimsby and Nina -- unfortunately they also slam Tate Donovan right and left for his direction of Girl on the Train. Leave Tate Donovan alone, Variety. He doesn't direct and he's in Manchester by the Sea this year, not that thriller. Editor? Anyone?
AP's top ten has the usual suspects La La Land and Moonlight, a few documentaries but mixes it up with The Edge of Seventeen