The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: 'Space Jam: A New Legacy,' 'Pig' and My Cannes Report

Lots of movies to cram in this week. We reviewed Black Widow, Space Jam: A New Legacy, No Sudden Move and Pig. Then I asked Will about The Tomorrow War. But first, I talked about my time at Cannes. Hear the whole thing down below.

'Black Widow' Review

People are being entirely too kind to Black Widow, which I think is one of the weaker installments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I get into it over at Screen International.

'The Mummy' Has Held Up Really Well

More than 20 years after it came out, 1999's The Mummy is still silly, goofy, scary fun. How did that happen? I wrote about it over at SyFy.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Boxing, Animation and 18th Century England

Welcome to this week's podcast, where we review Creed II and The Favourite. Then I solo on Ralph Breaks the Internet. Check out the whole thing down below.

Some Thoughts on 'The Favourite'

To survive in a Yorgos Lanthimos movie, you can't have a heart. I talk about that, and The Favourite, over at MEL.

'Press Play With Madeleine Brand': 'Ralph Breaks the Internet,' 'Creed II,' 'Roma' and 'The Favourite'

A most unusual episode of Press Play this week. First of all, I appeared on Wednesday rather than the usual Friday. Plus, Barbara Bogaev filled in as guest host. And, finally, I was the sole critic on the program. So you get to hear me talk a lot about this weekend's releases. You can hear the whole segment here.

'Press Play With Madeleine Brand': Reviews of 'Kings,' 'Disobedience' and 'Avengers: Infinity War'

Always fun to be on Press Play -- it just occurred to me, they should call the show On Brand -- to talk movies. On Friday, I shared the mic with Roth Cornet to review Avengers: Infinity War, as well as two English-language debuts. First up is Mustang's Deniz Gamze Ergüven, whose Kings is an unfortunate disaster. Then, there's Sebastian Lelio, who won the Oscar for A Fantastic Woman, who is back with Disobedience, starring Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams. You can hear the whole thing here.

Venice 2016: 'The Light Between Oceans' Review

And now ... fall film festival season begins. We start with The Light Between Oceans, the latest from Blue Valentine director Derek Cianfrance. It stars Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander as lovers who find an abandoned baby and decide to pretend it's theirs. As you might imagine, things don't go well. My review is live at Screen International.

Sundance 2016: Ranking the Best and the Worst of the Festival

Another Sundance done. And while there's always a lament that I can't get to everything I would have loved to have seen, I feel better than usual about what I did catch. Still, I look forward to Dark Night, Goat, Love & Friendship, Lovesong, Operation Avalanche, Sand Storm, Weiner, White Girl, Wiener-Dog and others.

For the second straight year, Sundance's best film didn't premiere at the festival: The Lobster (from Cannes) narrowly beat out Antonio Campos' U.S. Dramatic entry Christine in my rankings, followed by Kelly Reichardt's lovely Certain Women and then another Cannes entry, the marvelous Cemetery of Splendor. Twenty-two of the 28 movies on this list would have gotten a thumbs-up from me, and even a few of the misfires down below had enough intriguing moments to keep me relatively engaged for at least a portion of their running time. That's a pretty good festival in my book.

Links lead to individual reviews.

28. Ali & Nino
27. Frank & Lola
26. Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt & Anderson Cooper
25. Captain Fantastic
24. Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You
23. Swiss Army Man
22. Other People
21. Green Room
20. Southside With You
19. Indignation
18. Morris From America
17. Maggie's Plan
16. Equity
15. Tallulah
14. Agnus Dei
13. The Birth of a Nation
12. Embrace of the Serpent
11. Kate Plays Christine
10. Little Men
9. Complete Unknown
8. Michael Jackson's Journey From Motown to Off the Wall 
7. Hunt for the Wilderpeople 
6. Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World
5. Manchester by the Sea
4. Cemetery of Splendor
3. Certain Women
2. Christine
1. The Lobster

Sundance 2016: 'Complete Unknown' Review

Complete Unknown is definitively my kind of movie, which probably explains why I like it more than most of my colleagues seem to. It stars Rachel Weisz as a mysterious woman who walks back into the life of Michael Shannon, her old boyfriend. No one has heard from her in 15 years, and now she has a new identity. What exactly happened to her? My review is up at Paste.

Cannes 2015: 'Youth' Review

Youth is the follow-up film from director Paolo Sorrentino, whose previous effort, The Great Beauty, won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. His new movie is in English, and stars Michael Caine as a retired composer taking a vacation in the Alps. Joined in the cast by Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz and Paul Dano, Caine does some fine work, and Sorrentino plies us with his usual amounts of sumptuous visuals. The film may recycle plenty of old tropes -- mortality, art, love -- but it goes down nice and smooth. I reviewed Youth for Paste.

Cannes 2015: 'The Lobster' Review

One of the most divisive films in the Competition may also be my favorite. Director Yorgos Lanthimos burst onto the scene a few years ago with the dark Dogtooth, and his latest is no less of a jet-black satire. It's called The Lobster, and it concerns a near future in which all single people must find a mate within 45 days or be turned into animals. And did I mention how funny it is? My review is up at Paste.