poptransmission

Category: Movies

  • Conclave: Behind the Scenes of Choosing a New Pope

    Black smoke is emitting from the Vatican signaling that a new pope has not been elected yet. What actually goes on behind those hallowed doors? Conclave takes us inside this beguiling, solemn process that has been occurring since 1271. It’s a fascinating ritual, taking place in the Sistine Chapel, that shows the revered Cardinals grappling…

  • Little Stevie Doc: So Much More Than a Sidekick

    Thirty-five years as guitarist for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. Lead role in The Sopranos as consigliere and strip club owner, Silvio Dante. These two roles of a lifetime are what most people know about Steven Van Zandt. While I was aware of his “other” music and social justice activism, I had no idea how…

  • Faye: HBO’s Absorbing Doc on the Legendary “Difficult” Actress

    As the day breaks on March 29, 1977, Faye Dunaway is poolside at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Surrounded by the day’s newspapers announcing her Best Actress Oscar for Network, the photo screams “Is That All There Is?” It’s this iconic only-in-Hollywood moment that introduces HBO’s documentary, Faye. To tell her story, documentary filmmaker Laurent Bouzereau…

  • A Quiet Place: Day One Goes for Silence Over Mayhem

    A Quiet Place: Day One has a unique protagonist for an apocalyptic movie. Lupita Nyong’o (Black Panther, Us) radiates pain and despair as Samira (“Sam”), a terminally ill cancer patient living in a hospice home outside New York City. She agrees to go on a group outing to a local theater in the city only…

  • Unfrosted: Seinfeld’s Zany Origin Story of the Pop Tart

    In his directorial debut, Jerry Seinfeld takes on the cereal wars of the 1960s. The epic battle between Kellogg’s and Post to create a toaster breakfast pastry that will addict children to a new form of morning ritual. A Manhattan Project for cereal, if you will. In 1963, Kellogg’s is king and Post the also-ran.…

  • Kingdom: Planet of the Apes Starts a New Epic

    “I’m back home. We finally really did it. You maniacs, you blew it up. God Damn you, God Damn you all to hell.” George Taylor’s (Charlton Heston) anguish in 1968 concluded the first chapter of The Planet of the Apes. The planet with talking apes as the intelligent dominant species was Earth all along. Based…

  • Hitchcock’s Blondes: An Inside Look at Eight Remarkable Actresses

    With over 50 films to his credit, Alfred Hitchcock was a ubiquitous presence in cinema. From the silent movies of the 1920s to the color films of the 1960s, his list of indelible Hollywood moments goes on and on…Ingrid Bergman with co-stars Cary Grant and Gregory Peck, Grace Kelly and co-stars Cary Grant and Jimmy…

  • Bob Marley: One Love – His Reggae Music Still Rules

    Does “Is This Love” get your body bouncing? Does “Redemption Song” get your emotions stirring? If so, hopefully you enjoyed the new Bob Marley movie in the surround sound of the theaters. If not, you still may have time before One Love ends its theater run. And don’t let the lukewarm critical reviews sway you.…

  • The 96th Academy Awards: No Surprise, Oppenheimer Was the Big Winner

    After sweeping the Directors, Producers, and Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as the Golden Globes, Oppenheimer was a shoo-in for Best Picture. Nominated in 13 (!) categories, it won seven – Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Supporting Actor, Cinemaphotography, Editing, and Score. Poor Things took home the Oscar for Best Actress, Production Design,…

  • Oscars Predictions 2024: Looks Like Oppenheimer for the Big Wins

    The Best Picture nominations for the year 2023 run from blockbusters (Barbie and Oppenheimer) to critical favorites that few people saw (Past Lives and Anatomy of a Fall). Often by now many of the categories are sure things by building an unstoppable momentum during the Awards season. That’s still the case, but there are some…

  • Leave the World Behind: A Slow Burn Apocalyptic Movie

    I try not to look at other reviews too much before I write my own. But in my world, they’re hard to avoid entirely. Leave the World Behind seems to have a large share of detractors with the usual comments along the lines of “I want my two hours back” and an audience review of…

  • Napolean Review: The French Emperor’s Glory and Defeat

    France 1793. In the aftermath of the French Revolution, the Reign of Terror is in full swing. Marie Antoinette is beheaded as a young soldier looks on among the jubilated throngs. So begins Ridley Scott’s Napolean, an epic film saga starring Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line) in the title role and Vanessa Kirby (The Crown)…