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Archives for : Susan Kamyab Stephens

DFW Film Critics Association 2021 Award Winners

Posted by :Susan Kamyab On : December 20, 2021
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Category: Movie Reviews, Special Features

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SUMMARY OF AWARD WINNERS

2021 Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association

(Choices listed in order of votes received)

BEST PICTURE

Winner: THE POWER OF THE DOG

Runners-up: BELFAST (2); KING RICHARD (3); WEST SIDE STORY (4); LICORICE PIZZA (5); DUNE (6); NIGHTMARE ALLEY (7); THE FRENCH DISPATCH (8); THE LOST DAUGHTER (9); CODA (10)

BEST ACTOR

Winner: Benedict Cumberbatch, THE POWER OF THE DOG

Runners-up: Will Smith, KING RICHARD (2); Andrew Garfield, TICK, TICK, BOOM! (3); Peter Dinklage, CYRANO (4); Denzel Washington, THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH (5)

BEST ACTRESS

Winner: Kristen Stewart, SPENCER

Runners-up: Olivia Colman, THE LOST DAUGHTER (2); Jessica Chastain, THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE (3); Lady Gaga, HOUSE OF GUCCI (4); Nicole Kidman, BEING THE RICARDOS (5)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Winner: Kodi Smit-McPhee, THE POWER OF THE DOG

Runners-up: Troy Kotsur, CODA (2); Ciaran Hinds, BELFAST (3); Ben Affleck, THE TENDER BAR (4); Jesse Plemons, THE POWER OF THE DOG (5)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Winner: Ariana DeBose, WEST SIDE STORY

Runners-up: Kirsten Dunst, THE POWER OF THE DOG (2); Aunjanue Ellis, KING RICHARD (3); Caitriona Balfe, BELFAST (4); Ruth Negga, PASSING (5)

BEST DIRECTOR

Winner: Jane Campion, THE POWER OF THE DOG

Runners-up: Steven Spielberg, WEST SIDE STORY (2); Kenneth Branagh, BELFAST (3), Denis Villeneuve, DUNE (4); Paul Thomas Anderson, LICORICE PIZZA (5)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Winner: DRIVE MY CAR

Runners-up: A HERO (2); THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD (3); THE HAND OF GOD (4); FLEE (5)

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Winner: SUMMER OF SOUL

Runners-up: FLEE (2); THE RESCUE (3); PROCESSION (4); VAL (5)

BEST ANIMATED FILM

Winner: ENCANTO

Runner-up: THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES

BEST SCREENPLAY

Winner: Jane Campion, THE POWER OF THE DOG

Runner-up: Paul Thomas Anderson, LICORICE PIZZA; Kenneth Branagh, BELFAST (tie)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Winner: Greig Fraser, DUNE

Runner-up: Ari Wegner, THE POWER OF THE DOG

BEST MUSICAL SCORE

Winner: Hans Zimmer, DUNE

Runner-up: Jonny Greenwood, THE POWER OF THE DOG

RUSSELL SMITH AWARD (best low-budget or cutting-edge independent film)

Winner: FLEE

“House of Gucci” – Lady Gaga Interview

Posted by :Susan Kamyab On : December 10, 2021
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Category: Interviews, Movie Reviews

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“House of Gucci” is Ridley Scott’s new crime, drama that’s creating a lot of buzz during this awards season. I spoke with Oscar/Grammy Winner Lady Gaga about her transformational performance as Patrizia Reggiani. They discuss what she would hope a future biopic about her would capture and which of her songs means the most when quoted to her.

“House of Gucci” is currently playing in theaters.

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Movie Review: “Licorice Pizza” & “Hawkeye”

Posted by :Susan Kamyab On : December 7, 2021
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Category: Movie Reviews

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Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman in ‘Licorice Pizza’.

“Licorice Pizza” is Paul Thomas Anderson’s newest, lighthearted romance and “Hawkeye” is Marvel’s newest mini-series. I reviewed both! Find out if they should be on your “must watch” holiday list.

“Licorice Pizza” opens on December 25, 2021

“Hawkeye” is currently streaming on Disney Plus

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Interview: Alex Wolff talks “Pig”

Posted by :Susan Kamyab On : November 24, 2021
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Category: Interviews, Movie Reviews

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PIG is the sleeper hit that has stayed with me since viewing earlier this year. The film follows a truffle hunter (Nicolas Cage) who lives alone in the Oregonian wilderness, but must return to Portland in search of his beloved, stolen, truffle pig.

The film also stars Alex Wolff, who plays opposite Cage as rich kid Amir. It’s a role Wolff values for many reasons, including his admiration for Cage. “Nick is on a very small list of what I believe is the greatest artist. Nic is a like a magician in making you feel like you’re an equal. Making you feel like you’re in this together. So I think initially it was like wow like this the Nicolas Cage. The person I modeled my career after. But it’s just Nic now, we developed a deep, profound, long lasting, friendship that has been one of the most rewarding of my life,” Wolff explains. He proceed to say that Cage is a person he really clicked with and they filmed this project during a time when they both needed each other.

In the film, Nicolas Cage’s character, Rob, is a former, world-renowned chef who remembers every meal he ever cooked. And when I asked Alex, what’s the most memorable meal he’s ever had, he responded, “Wow do you know I actually haven’t been asked that question, but I feel like if I were a reporter that would be a question I’d ask. A meal that I remember, there’s a few thanksgivings ago my mom made a meal that was really good and I’ll never forget it. That, and then, Thanksgiving about seven years ago in the south with my dad’s family. They made some sweet potatoes with a little bit of marshmallows on top and I’ll never forget it. Thanksgiving is my favorite meal of the year.”

PIG has been raved among critics and audiences, currently rated 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film features powerful performances and an unforgettable screenplay. “Every step of the way this movie has shocked me. I just feel like I’m trying to take it in and I never expect this to happen again because it’s just one in a million,” Wolff added.

If you have yet to see PIG, it’s truly a must see. Nicolas Cage is at his best, and the film will leave craving more.

Rating: 4.75/5

PIG is now available On Demand.

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Movie Review: “Belfast” & “King Richard”

Posted by :Susan Kamyab On : November 17, 2021
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Category: Movie Reviews

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“Belfast” is director/writer, Kenneth Branagh’s newest film that tells the story of a young boy and his working class family during the troubling late 1960s. “King Richard” follows tennis legends, Venus and Serena Williams’s journey to success and how their father, Richard Williams, helped guide them there. I review both Oscar contending films.

“Belfast” is currently playing in theaters and “King Richard” opens in theaters and on HBOMax November 19, 2021.

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Sixth Annual Critics Choice Documentary Award Winners

Posted by :Susan Kamyab On : November 15, 2021
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Category: Movie Reviews, Special Events, Special Features

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(Brooklyn, NY – November 14, 2021) – The Critics Choice Association (CCA) has unveiled the winners of the Sixth Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards, that recognize the year’s finest achievements in documentaries released in theaters, on TV and on major digital platforms, as determined by the voting of qualified CCA members. 

Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) topped every category in which it was nominated, winning the evening’s most prestigious award for Best Documentary Feature, as well as Best Director (TIE), Best First Documentary Feature, Best Editing, Best Archival Documentary and Best Music Documentary. 

There was a tie for Best Director between Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson for Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin for The Rescue.

In addition to the tie for Best Director, The Rescue received the awards for Best Cinematography and Best Score.

Winners of the Sixth Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Summer Of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

BEST DIRECTOR (TIE)

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson – Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

BEST DIRECTOR (TIE)

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin – The Rescue

BEST FIRST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson – Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

David Katznelson, Ian Seabrook and Picha Srisansanee – The Rescue

BEST EDITING

Joshua L. Pearson – Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

BEST SCORE

Daniel Pemberton – The Rescue

BEST ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTARY

Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

BEST HISTORICAL OR BIOGRAPHICAL DOCUMENTARY

Val

BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY

Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY

The Crime of the Century

BEST SCIENCE/NATURE DOCUMENTARY

Becoming Cousteau

BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY

The Alpinist

BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY

The Queen of Basketball

BEST NARRATION

Val

MOST COMPELLING LIVING SUBJECTS OF A DOCUMENTARY (HONOR)

Ady Barkan – Not Going Quietly (Greenwich Entertainment)
Selma Blair – Introducing, Selma Blair (Discovery+)
Pete Buttigieg – Mayor Pete (Amazon Studios)
Anthony Fauci – Fauci (Magnolia Pictures/National Geographic Documentary Films)
Ben Fong-Torres – Like a Rolling Stone: The Life and Times of Ben Fong-Torres (StudioLA.TV)
Val Kilmer – Val (Amazon Studios)
Ron and Russell Mael – The Sparks Brothers (Focus Features)
Rita Moreno – Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It (Roadside Attractions)
Valerie Taylor – Playing With Sharks: The Valerie Taylor Story (Disney+)

“Love is Love is Love” Interview with Eleanor Coppola

Posted by :Susan Kamyab On : November 12, 2021
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Category: Interviews, Movie Reviews

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“The latest feature film from award-winning director Eleanor Coppola (Paris Can Wait, Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse), LOVE IS LOVE IS LOVE tells three stories that explore love, commitment, and loyalty between couples and friends.  In the film’s first story TWO FOR DINNER, a married couple (Joanne Whalley and Chris Messina) find an unconventional way to transcend long distance through technology, but discover they were farther apart than they knew.  In SAILING LESSON, a long-married couple (Kathy Baker and Marshall Bell) tries to reignite their honeymoon-phase heat through a spontaneous sailing trip… and unexpected events arise.  And in LATE LUNCH, a young woman (Maya Kazan) who recently lost her mother gathers together a group of her mother’s friends (including Cybill Shepherd, Rosanna Arquette, and Rita Wilson) to share memories.  Surprising revelations ensue.”

I spoke with director Eleanor Coppola about the film, her inspiration behind the stories, how the movie speaks to underserved audience, and much more.

Blue Fox Entertainment will release LOVE IS LOVE IS LOVE in New York and Los Angeles on Friday, November 12 and on VOD Tuesday, December 14.

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“Love is Love is Love” Interview with Eleanor Coppola

Movie Review: “Eternals”

Posted by :Susan Kamyab On : November 4, 2021
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Category: Movie Reviews

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“Eternals” introduces a new, diverse group of immortal superheroes. Marvel Studios gives audiences another cinematic experience in this visually stunning and moving film. Watch my review of the movie and a preview of the upcoming sci-fi/comedy, “Ghostbusters: Afterlife”.

“Eternals” opens in theaters November 5, 2021 and “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” opens November 19, 2021.

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6th Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards Nominations

Posted by :Susan Kamyab On : October 18, 2021
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Category: Movie Reviews, Special Events, Special Features

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Los Angeles, CA (Monday, October 18, 2021) — The Critics Choice Association(CCA) has announced the nominees for the Sixth Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards (CCDA). The winners will be revealed at a Gala Event on Sunday, November 14, 2021 at BRIC in Brooklyn, NY.

The Critics Choice Associationwill once again be honoring the year’s finest achievements in documentaries released in theaters, on TV and on major digital platforms, as determined by the voting of qualified CCA members. 

This year, the Critics Choice Documentary Awards proudly has its first Presenting Sponsor, National Geographic Documentary Films. 

Catalyst Sponsors for the Sixth Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards are HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, and Showtime Documentary Films.

Last year at the Fifth Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards, Dick Johnson is Dead took home the CCA’s top award for Best Documentary as well as the Best Director award for Kirsten Johnson.

The nominees for the Sixth Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards Presented by National Geographic Documentary Films are:

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Ascension (MTV Documentary Films)

Attica (Showtime)

Becoming Cousteau (Picturehouse/National Geographic Documentary Films)

The Crime of the Century (HBO Documentary Films)

A Crime on the Bayou (Augusta Films/Shout! Studios)

Flee (Neon)

Introducing, Selma Blair (Discovery+)

The Lost Leonardo (Sony Pictures Classics)

My Name is Pauli Murray (Amazon Studios)

Procession (Netflix)

The Rescue (National Geographic Documentary Films)

Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (Searchlight Pictures/Hulu)

BEST DIRECTOR 

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin – The Rescue (National Geographic Documentary Films)

Liz Garbus – Becoming Cousteau (Picturehouse/National Geographic Documentary Films)

Jessica Kingdon – Ascension (MTV Documentary Films)

Stanley Nelson and Traci A. Curry – Attica (Showtime)

Jonas Poher Rasmussen – Flee (Neon)

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson – Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (Searchlight Pictures/Hulu)

Edgar Wright – The Sparks Brothers (Focus Features)

BEST FIRST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Jessica Beshir – Faya Dayi (Janus Films)

Rachel Fleit – Introducing, Selma Blair (Discovery+)

Todd Haynes – The Velvet Underground (Apple TV+)

Jessica Kingdon – Ascension (MTV Documentary Films)

Kristine Stolakis – Pray Away (Netflix)

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson – Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

(Searchlight Pictures/Hulu)

Edgar Wright – The Sparks Brothers (Focus Features)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY 

Jessica Beshir – Faya Dayi (Janus Films)

Jonathan Griffith, Brett Lowell and Austin Siadak – The Alpinist (Roadside Attractions)

David Katznelson, Ian Seabrook and Picha Srisansanee – The Rescue

(National Geographic Documentary Films)

Jessica Kingdon and Nathan Truesdell – Ascension (MTV Documentary Films)

Nelson Hume and Alan Jacobsen – The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52 (Bleecker Street Media)

Emiliano Villanueva – A Cop Movie (Netflix)

Pete West – Puff: Wonders of the Reef (Netflix)

BEST EDITING 

Francisco Bello, Matthew Heineman, Gabriel Rhodes and David Zieff – The First Wave (National Geographic Documentary Films)

Jeff Consiglio – LFG (HBO Max and CNN Films)

Bob Eisenhardt – The Rescue (National Geographic Documentary Films)

Affonso Gonçalves and Adam Kurnitz – The Velvet Underground (Apple TV+)

Jessica Kingdon – Ascension (MTV Documentary Films)

Joshua L. Pearson – Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (Searchlight Pictures/Hulu)

Julian Quantrill – The Real Charlie Chaplin (Showtime)

BEST NARRATION

9/11: Inside the President’s War Room (Apple TV+) Jeff Daniels, Narrator

Becoming Cousteau (Picturehouse/National Geographic Documentary Films) Vincent Cassel, Narrator & Mark Monroe and Pax Wassermann, Writers

The Crime of the Century (HBO Documentary Films) Alex Gibney, Narrator & Writer

The Neutral Ground (PBS) CJ Hunt, Narrator & Writer

The Real Charlie Chaplin (Showtime) Pearl Mackie, Narrator & Oliver Kindeberg, Peter Middleton and James Spinney, Writers

Val (Amazon Studios) Jack Kilmer, Narrator & Val Kilmer, Writer

The Year Earth Changed (Apple TV+) David Attenborough, Narrator

BEST SCORE

Jongnic Bontemps – My Name is Pauli Murray (Amazon Studios)

Dan Deacon – Ascension (MTV Documentary Films)

Alex Lasarenko and David Little – The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52 (Bleecker Street Media)

Cyrus Melchor – LFG (HBO/CNN)

Daniel Pemberton – The Rescue (National Geographic Documentary Films)

Rachel Portman – Julia (Sony Pictures Classics)

Dirac Sea – Final Account (Focus Features)

BEST ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTARY 

Becoming Cousteau (Picturehouse/National Geographic Documentary Films)

The Real Charlie Chaplin (Showtime)

The Real Right Stuff (Disney+)

Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street (HBO Documentary Films)

Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (Searchlight Pictures/Hulu)

Val (Amazon Studios)

The Velvet Underground (Apple TV+)

BEST HISTORICAL OR BIOGRAPHICAL DOCUMENTARY

Attica (Showtime)

A Crime on the Bayou (Augusta Films/Shout! Studios)

Fauci (Magnolia Pictures/National Geographic Documentary Films)

Final Account (Focus Features)

Julia (Sony Pictures Classics)

My Name is Pauli Murray (Amazon Studios)

No Ordinary Man (Oscilloscope)

Val (Amazon Studios)

BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY 

Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry (Apple TV+)

Bitchin’: The Sound and Fury of Rick James (Showtime)

Listening to Kenny G (HBO Documentary Films)

The Sparks Brothers (Focus Features)

Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (Searchlight Pictures/Hulu)

Tina (HBO Documentary Films)

The Velvet Underground (Apple TV+)

BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY

The Crime of the Century (HBO Documentary Films)

Enemies of the State (IFC Films)

Four Hours at the Capitol (HBO Documentary Films)

Influence (StoryScope, EyeSteelFilm)

Mayor Pete (Amazon Studios)

Missing in Brooks County (Giant Pictures)

Nasrin (Hulu)

Not Going Quietly (Greenwich Entertainment)

BEST SCIENCE/NATURE DOCUMENTARY

Becoming Cousteau (Picturehouse/National Geographic Documentary Films)

Fauci (National Geographic Documentary Films)

The First Wave (National Geographic Documentary Films)

The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52 (Bleecker Street Media)

Playing with Sharks (National Geographic Documentary Films)

Puff: Wonders of the Reef (Netflix)

The Year Earth Changed (Apple TV+)

BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY 

The Alpinist (Roadside Attractions)

Changing the Game (Hulu)

The Day Sports Stood Still (HBO)

Kevin Garnett: Anything is Possible (Showtime)

LFG (HBO Max/CNN Films)

Tiger (HBO)

BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY 

Audible (Netflix)

Borat’s American Lockdown (Amazon Studios)

Camp Confidential: America’s Secret Nazis (Netflix)

Day of Rage: How Trump Supporters Took the U.S. Capitol (The New York Times)

The Doll (Jumping Ibex)

The Last Cruise (HBO Documentary Films)

The Queen of Basketball (The New York Times)

Snowy (TIME Studios)

MOST COMPELLING LIVING SUBJECTS OF A DOCUMENTARY (HONOR)

Ady Barkan – Not Going Quietly (Greenwich Entertainment)

Selma Blair – Introducing, Selma Blair (Discovery+)

Pete Buttigieg – Mayor Pete (Amazon Studios)

Anthony Fauci – Fauci (Magnolia Pictures/National Geographic Documentary Films)

Ben Fong-Torres – Like a Rolling Stone: The Life and Times of Ben Fong-Torres (StudioLA.TV)

Val Kilmer – Val (Amazon Studios)

Ron and Russell Mael – The Sparks Brothers (Focus Features)

Rita Moreno – Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It (Roadside Attractions)

Valerie Taylor – Playing With Sharks: The Valerie Taylor Story (Disney+)

“Hard Luck Love Song” Interview w/ Michael Dorman & Sophia Bush

Posted by :Susan Kamyab On : October 14, 2021
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Category: Interviews, Movie Reviews

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Roadside Attractions’ new film, “Hard Luck Love Song” is based off the song “Just Like Old Times” by Todd Snider. It’s a gritty love story about a troubled musician living out of motels and making bad choices. One night he reconnects with his old flame and the two experience an emotional and unforgettable evening. I spoke with the stars of the film, Michael Dorman and Sophia Bush, to talk about personal discoveries, what puts them at ease when meeting new people, and more.

“Hard Luck Love Song” opens in theaters October 15, 2021.

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