The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: '28 Years Later: The Bone Temple' and Our Oscar Nomination Predictions

I leave for Sundance tomorrow. Thursday, the Oscar nominations are announced. But first, let's do a podcast. Will and I reviewed The Rip and the latest installment in the 28 Days Later franchise. And then we make some guesses about which people will and won't hear their names called on Thursday morning. Enjoy!

My Interview With Edward Berger and Ralph Fiennes, the Team Behind 'Conclave'

For much of awards season, I've been trying to nail down a time to speak with the director and star of Conclave. This past week, it finally happened. For the Los Angeles Times, I jumped on the phone with Edward Berger and Ralph Fiennes to talk about faith, both in a higher power and in the potential of art. I was also especially interested to ask Fiennes about playing spirituality, which yielded an interesting answer. Our Conclave conversation is here.

How Did 'Longlegs,' 'Anora' and 'Conclave' Become Arthouse Hits?

This was fun: For the Los Angeles Times, I spoke to the marketing teams behind three of this year's indie/arthouse success stories to find out how they did it. We keep hearing that audiences won't go see specialty films in theaters anymore. Here are three examples that contradict that received wisdom. Learn more about the campaigns behind Longlegs, Anora and Conclave here.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Conclaves, Symbiotes and the Presidential Election

Will wanted to try a little something different for this episode, the last one we'll record before the presidential election. We did our usual movie-reviewing thing, discussing Conclave and Venom: The Last Dance, but for the final segment, we had an off-the-cuff conversation about how we're feeling with the election right around the corner. I hadn't planned anything in advance, neither had Will, so we just talked some things out. Will others get anything out of it? I honestly don't know. You can hear the entire episode down below.

Toronto 2024: 'Conclave' Review

The Pope has died, which means the Catholic Church must vote for a new pontiff. For Screen International, I reviewed a thriller some think could be a major awards contender, Conclave.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Reviewing 'The Creator' and the Wes Anderson Netflix Shorts

Two features and four shorts are the focus of this week's episode. We both liked Dumb Money, both disliked The Creator, and then we spend some time digging into Wes Anderson's Roald Dahl adaptations: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, The Swan, The Rat Catcher and Poison. Hope you enjoy.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Raving About 'She Said'

On our latest episode, we review three new movies, including The Menu and The Wonder. But the movie I spent extra time discussing was She Said, which I think is fairly wonderful. Hear the whole thing down below.

Toronto 2021: 'The Forgiven' Review

Ralph Fiennes and Jessica Chastain play a rich married couple who travel to Morocco for a friend's lavish weekend party. But then they accidentally kill someone with their car. There's a lot to like in The Forgiven, but ultimately I came away from it disappointed. My review is up at Screen International.

Ralph Fiennes Before and After 'The Avengers'

No, not the Avengers with all the Marvel characters. I'm talking about the one based on the British spy series. That infamous bomb was a defining moment in Ralph Fiennes' career, as I explain over at MEL.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Reviews of 'The Lockdown,' 'The Dig' and 'American Skin'

Welcome to our first podcast of the new year. We've got reviews of three new movies, as well as some thoughts about the Capitol riot and Twitter dummies. Hope you enjoy.

Sundance 2019: 'Official Secrets' Review

Between movies like Spotlight and The Post, we've become accustomed to true-life dramas like Official Secrets. This Gavin Hood film still works pretty darn well, though, starring Keira Knightley as whistleblower trying to keep the U.K. and U.S. from invading Iraq in 2003. You can read my review here.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Talking Wonder Woman, English Patients and 'In Bruges'

This week's episode features only one new review, but it's a big one. We go long on Wonder Woman. Then, in our Reboot segment, we discuss The English Patient (don't tell Elaine) and In Bruges. So, yup, it's a Ralph Fiennes double feature. Hear the whole thing down below.

My LAFCA Awards Presentation for 'The Grand Budapest Hotel'

Considering that Boyhood was my pick for 2014's best film, you can imagine that I was disappointed that it didn't win Best Picture last night at the Oscars. My other great sadness, however, came from the fact that Wes Anderson didn't walk away with Best Original Screenplay for The Grand Budapest Hotel, although that film did win four other prizes. (And, yes, Boyhood was also nominated in that category.)

I decided to reprint my speech I wrote for Anderson when I gave out the Los Angeles Film Critics Association's Best Screenplay prize to him back in early January. This encapsulates what I love about the film....

The Grand Budapest Hotel is about the stories we tell. Filled with characters who are authors or poets or simply old men reflecting on their lives over dinner, Wes Anderson’s film is consumed with the passage of time and how we chronicle it -- how we make sense of it through narratives, or personas that we invent for ourselves. Divided into novelistic chapters and spread out over different decades, The Grand Budapest Hotel may be Anderson’s most ambitious work yet. It is certainly his most poignant.  

But that’s not what you think of first. What you remember about The Grand Budapest Hotel is how funny it is. Working from a story he co-wrote with Hugo Guinness, Anderson has given us one of his richest creations in Gustave, a concierge so impeccably elegant he never suspects how ridiculous he is. Played to comedic perfection by Ralph Fiennes, Gustave embodies many of the traits we have come to love in Anderson’s films: that proud sense of individualism; that defiantly optimistic view of the world that no amount of cruel reality can squash.   

This is Anderson’s eighth feature, and one of his very best. If this film were a book, it would be a page-turner: part thriller, part war drama, part comedy, part romantic fable. The Grand Budapest Hotel is a splendid confection, an exquisite fantasy -- and to quote one of the character’s assessment of Gustave, Wes Anderson sustains the illusion with a marvelous grace.  

Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in congratulating our Best Screenplay winner, Mr. Wes Anderson.

'The Grand Budapest Hotel' Review

The sets are gorgeous, Ralph Fiennes is hilarious and Wes Anderson flirts with his first action-thriller. Those are just some of the delights awaiting those about to see The Grand Budapest Hotel. My review is up at Deadspin.