The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,' 'Rebel Ridge' and My Fall Film Festival Report

We're back! It's been several weeks, but on this week's episode, we reunite to discuss Tim Burton's smash sequel and Jeremy Saulnier's quietly great Netflix thriller. Also, I talk a bit about Venice and Toronto. Check it all out below.
 

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Our Latest Mailbag Show and 'Blue Ruin'

You sent us questions, we have answers. I always enjoy our mailbag shows ... although we also make time to do one Reboot request: Jeremy Saulnier's neo-noir thriller Blue Ruin. Hear the whole thing down below.

Netflix's Best Sci-Fi and Thriller Films

Netflix has been making original films for a few years now. For SyFy, Will and I highlighted the five best sci-fi/thrillers. (We'll focus on the streaming platform's horror offerings next time.) Here's the list.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: 'Night School,' 'Hold the Dark' and 'The Old Man & the Gun'

On this week's episode, we set aside Reboots to review three new movies. It was nice to go this long on Hold the Dark in particular. Check out the whole thing down below.

My Interview With Jeremy Saulnier, Director of 'Hold the Dark'

Four years ago, I interviewed Jeremy Saulnier just as his breakout film, Blue Ruin, was about to hit theaters. He and I chatted again about his new film, Hold the Dark. I like it, others don't. We talked about that, and several other things, including snow angels. The piece is up at MEL.

Toronto 2018: 'Hold the Dark' Review

My understanding is that some people think Jeremy Saulnier has laid an egg with his latest, Hold the Dark. I am not one of those people. I reviewed the defiantly loopy, surreal thriller for Screen International.

Giving 'Green Room' a Second Chance

I saw Green Room at Cannes last year and liked it fine, although I was disappointed that filmmaker Jeremy Saulnier had made "just" a midnight-movie thriller. A year later, I revisit the film -- and like it a lot better. I reviewed Green Room for The New Republic.

Cannes 2015: 'Green Room' Review

Two years ago, filmmaker Jeremy Saulnier brought a little movie called Blue Ruin to Directors' Fortnight at Cannes. It was a hit, soon making its way to U.S. theaters. Now, Saulnier returns to the section with Green Room, which pits a punk band against a scary group of skinheads (including one played by Patrick Stewart). Not nearly as nuanced as Blue Ruin, Green Room is straight-up B-movie pulp. It's pretty well done, as I explain in my Screen International review.

My Interview With Jeremy Saulnier and Macon Blair of 'Blue Ruin'

I very much enjoyed speaking with director Jeremy Saulnier and star Macon Blair, the men behind Blue Ruin, a fine indie thriller that hits theaters this Friday. Saulnier and Blair grew up together, and this new movie is sort of the culmination of years of giddy genre filmmaking they've been doing since childhood. You can read my interview over at Rolling Stone.

Sundance 2014: Ranking the Best and Worst of the Festival

The more I go to Sundance, the more frustrated I get that I can't see everything I want to catch during the festival. Assignments and scheduling can be blamed up to a point, but still I'm sad I didn't have the opportunity to see The Overnighters, Rich Hill, Love Is Strange and several others. (As a side note, because I have an editor who is a producer on Life Itself, I declined to review the Roger Ebert documentary. I look forward to seeing the film soon and am gladdened by the number of glowing reviews it got at the festival.)

Below is my ranking of Sundance 2014, including films I saw prior to the festival. Links lead to individual reviews. You'll notice there are no documentaries on the list. Thank goodness I'll be attending True/False next month to do some catch-up.

28. Hits
27. God's Pocket
26. Infinitely Polar Bear   
25. Frank
24. Laggies
23. Ernest & Celestine
22. Wish I Was Here
21. Dead Snow: Red vs. Dead    
20. Ping Pong Summer
19. Land Ho!
18. Young Ones
17. Song One
16. The Voices
15. Happy Christmas
14. Ida
13. The One I Love
12. Whiplash
11. Only Lovers Left Alive
10. Blind
9. The Trip to Italy
8. Blue Ruin
7. I Origins
6. Stranger by the Lake
5. Listen Up Philip
4. Calvary
3. A Most Wanted Man
2. Boyhood
1. The Raid 2

And one final note. My head tells me that Boyhood is going to eventually overtake The Raid 2 on my end-of-the-year list. Linklater's film feels like one for the ages, while Gareth Evans's achievement may diminish with multiple viewings. They couldn't be more different films: Boyhood caresses the heart, while The Raid 2 pummels the senses and rearranges your nervous system -- and for this moment in time, it's the grander achievement. But ask me again in about 11 months.

AFI Fest 2013: 'Blue Ruin' Review

Blue Ruin was one of the surprise sensations of Cannes. It hadn't been an easy path to the festival, however, having been previously rejected by Sundance. I caught up with the low-budget thriller at AFI Fest and found it to be a welcome mixture of the Coen brothers and Jeff Nichols. I reviewed the film for Paste.