The Bourne franchise has reshaped modern spy cinema since The Bourne Identity arrived in 2002. Across five films directed by Doug Liman, Paul Greengrass and Tony Gilroy, the series introduced a grittier, more grounded take on espionage that pushed the genre away from glamorized fantasy toward a rawer, post-9/11 realism. Adapted from Robert Ludlum’s novels, … Read more
Standing Still: Paula González-Nasser on The Scout, Community, and Time THE SCOUT Poster | @5thfloorpictures The conversation around The Scout began for me as an outgrowth of the Calgary Underground Film Festival experience. Paula Andrea González-Nasser could not attend in person, but we connected virtually afterward, which felt right for a film about distance, brief … Read more
Before Christmas (2016) Director: Chuyao He Starring: Jianchun Hao, Deyang Hou, Chengliang Li, Xianyuan Zhu. Plot: A poor Chinese family moves to the city to find work. The father and his son Xiao Lee, an 18-year-old who dreams of being a singer, take hard labour jobs in a Christmas decoration factory. Xiao Lee resists accepting … Read more
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017/18) Director: Martin McDonagh Screenwriter: Martin McDonagh Starring: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Abbie Cornish, Peter Dinklage, John Hawkes, Lucas Hedges, Željko Ivanek, Caleb Landry Jones In Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Frances McDormand plays Mildred Hayes, a grieving mother who rents three billboards on the road outside her … Read more
Critics’ Choice Awards 2018 — Full Winners List On January 11, 2018, the 23rd annual Critics’ Choice Awards took place at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica Airport. Hosted by actress Olivia Munn, the ceremony honored the best in film as determined by 373 film critics and journalists across the United States. Guillermo Del Toro’s … Read more
Inside the Rot: Oliver Bernsen on Bagworm, Family, and Making the Movie You Can Make What is Bagworm About? Still from Bagworm | www.bagwormfilm.com I first heard about Bagworm after its North American premiere at the 2026 SXSW Film & TV Festival, though I didn’t catch it there. Seeing it later at the Calgary Underground … Read more
The Shape of Water (2017) Director: Guillermo del Toro Screenwriters: Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor Starring: Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Stuhlbarg, Doug Jones Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water is a modern fairy tale that blends fantasy, romance, and classic monster-movie tropes into a lush, emotionally resonant film. Known … Read more
At the Edge of the Volcano: Pete Ohs, Jeremy O. Harris, and Will Madden on Erupcja and Charli xcx Back at the Table of Bubbles ERUPCJA Still | Courtesy of Pete Ohs This is the second consecutive year I’ve met with Pete Ohs at the South by Southwest Film & TV Festival to discuss his … Read more
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) announced the nominees for the 2018 EE BAFTA Film Awards on Tuesday, 9 January 2018. The ceremony is scheduled to take place on Sunday, 18 February 2018 at the Royal Albert Hall in London. This year’s nominations feature a mix of international blockbusters, acclaimed indie films … Read more
Despite some quiet weekends driven by underperforming August releases and a pre-The Last Jedi lull in December, the UK box office reached a record high in 2017, grossing £1.378 billion ($1.87 billion) across the year. That final figure represents a 3.6% increase over 2016’s total of £1.33 billion ($1.8 billion), making 2017 the highest-grossing year … Read more