movies

Steven Soderbergh talking with Bill Simmons is a fascinating conversation

/ Ian Casselberry / 1 Comment

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Tastes may vary when it comes to Bill Simmons and his podcast, but I don’t think he gets enough credit as an interviewer. Even if you don’t like his sports opinions, Simmons shows great taste in who he brings on his show, particularly with writers and directors.

The most recent example of this is his chat with director Steven Soderbergh, who was at the Sundance Film Festival to promote his new movie, High Flying Bird, and was probably the best guy Simmons could’ve talked to about the current state of filmmaking and how that content can find an audience.

But the interview is also an opportunity to talk about Soderbergh’s 30 years of filmmaking — which began with Sex, Lies and Videotape showing at Sundance — and everything he’s learned about the industry during that span. The conversation begins at the 28:45 mark:

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2019 Oscar nominations: Who was snubbed? Who are the favorites?

/ Ian Casselberry / 1 Comment

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The Academy Award nominations are always an exciting morning, but the 2019 Oscars seem to have a bit less juice than in previous years. Maybe because there’s not one clear front-runner that many fans are rallying around? No clear critical darling?

Also, I think there are a lot of movies that people either simply haven’t seen. That’s always the case (and Oscar nominations can change that), but feels like it’s even more so this year. Also, one of the favorites was made for Netflix, an idea people will have to get used to.

Since I typically write something about the Oscars, I figured I’d do a quick overview of the big categories, picking the favorites and noting the snubs. And there were a lot of notable snubs this year.

I’ve seen five of the eight Best Picture nominees, but there are several contenders I need to watch. (That’s one reason why I dragged my ass on putting together a Best of 2018 list.) Those include Green Book, The Favourite, Roma, Shoplifters, Can You Ever Forgive Me and The Wife. (I know!) So my opinions on any of these could change before Feb. 24. If so, maybe we’ll have some predictions.

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25 years ago, Terminator 2 raised standard for sci-fi, action movie sequels

/ Ian Casselberry / Leave a comment

Note: This piece was originally published at The Comeback in July 2016.

With the weak, disappointing sequels that we’ve seen so far this year at the movies — including Batman v Superman, X-Men: Apocalypse and the abysmal Independence Day: Resurgence — it’s getting difficult to remember (or believe) that a follow-up to a successful film can actually be an improvement on the original.

Yes, I realize some of you will counter that assertion with citing The Empire Strikes Back or The Godfather: Part II as great sequels. But I would argue that those movies and other strong sequels like The Road Warrior or Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan were continuations of a larger story, rather than another standalone film that came after a breakout hit.

(This continuation caveat applies to nearly every superhero sequel, doesn’t it? It’s essentially understood that those properties are intended to be multi-film franchises. So movies like Spider-Man 2, X2: X-Men United, The Dark Knight, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier weren’t necessarily created when their predecessors were breakout hits. Sequels were already part of the larger plan.)

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