Sundance Opening Night: CODA

By Abe Friedtanzer

 

It’s never the biggest movies that premiere on opening night of the Sundance Film Festival, but they’re always worth looking at carefully since they do set the tone for what comes next. I reviewed the first films I saw in 2020 and 2019 for this site, and they were both among the best films I saw each year – Summertime, director Carlos López Estrada’s follow-up to another Sundance opening night premiere, Blindspotting, coming out sometime this summer, and the Alex Gibney documentary The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley, which ended up debuting on HBO.

That impressive club adds a new member this year in the form of CODA. I didn’t realize until I finished watching the film that its title is an acronym for Child of Deaf Adults...

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Showbiz History: Black Panther, Sweet Charity, and Paul & Joanne Marry

10 random things that happened on this day, January 29th, in showbiz history

1937 The Good Earth has its world premiere in Los Angeles though it won't really be playing for the general public until the summer. It later receives five Oscar nominations including Best Picture. Luise Rainer in "yellow face" (sigh) becomes the first actor, male or female, to win consecutive Oscars. 

1951 Elizabeth Taylor divorces her first husband, hotel heir Conrad Hilton Jr, after 8 months of marriage. She would marry 7 more times in her much gawked-at life but the first was her shortest marriage...

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Streaming Review: "Palmer" (Apple TV+)

by Christopher James

Justin Timberlake headlines the newest Apple TV+ film, "Palmer."When a movie has its heart in the right place, you can forgive a lot of things. Palmer, the latest Apple TV+ movie, is as saccharine as they come. It never aims to surprise, instead it just wants to make your heart soar and tear ducts swell. On both counts, it achieves its goal.

The film stars Justin Timberlake as Eddie Palmer, a former football star who spent the last twelve years of his life in prison. He gets out and lays low with his grandmother, Vivian (June Squibb giving you exactly what you expect), who often babysits her neighbor’s child, Sam (Ryder Allen). Sam’s Mom, Shelly (Juno Temple), goes on an indefinite bender, leaving Sam with Palmer and Vivian. Sam is obsessed with princesses and fairies, which often leaves him the target for schoolyard bullies. While Palmer initially bristles at Sam’s femininity, he soon becomes Sam’s protector, fighting for his right of self expression...

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Goodbye, Cicely Tyson (1924-2021)

by Cláudio Alves

Cicely Tyson, who died earlier this afternoon at the age of 96, was one of a kind. "Legend" doesn't even come close to describing her grandiose wonder, her legacy, her impact. No words I can scrounge up are enough to summarize the greatness of this model turned acting sensation, icon, pioneer. Her career spanned more than half a century and Tyson made sure to leave her mark on the big and on the small screen, on stage too, earning countless golden accolades, much-deserved acclaim, and the adoration of millions across generations.

She was an inspiration to many, a woman who made sure to immortalize and celebrate Black History in her roles and embody Black excellence in her exquisite craft. I still remember the first time I ever saw her…

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Animated Feature - what will be nominated?

by Nathaniel R

Studio Ghibli's "Earwig and the Witch"

We really do not approve of the Academy's new shyness in telling the public which films are competing for the specialty categories. They didn't announce the animated feature eligibiility until TODAY. But here are the 27 features competing for Best Animated Feature, though the Academy has not made them official. We've helpfully divided them into categories for you after the jump...

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