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Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of film and TV critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday. (The answer to the second, “What is the best film in theaters right now?”, can be found at the end of this post.)

This week’s question: In honor of “The Trip to Spain,” what is the best movie trilogy?

Richard Brody (@tnyfrontrow), The New Yorker

Far be it from me to choose between Antonioni’s non-trilogy “L’Avventura,” “La Notte,” and “L’Eclisse” and Kiarostami’s explicitly-denied “Koker” trilogy of “Where Is the Friend’s Home?,” “Life and Nothing More,” and “Through the Olive Trees” (and I’m tempted to make a trilogy of trilogies with Carl Theodor Dreyer’s “Day of Wrath,” “Ordet,” and “Gertrud”), but if I put Kiarostami’s films first, it’s because he puts their very creation into the action. Reflexivity isn’t a...

25. “Game of Thrones,” “The Winds of Winter”

This was a crucial season for “Game of Thrones” co-creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, who, in their sixth year nurturing this beast into life, had to go off-book for the first time since author George R.R. Martin had been outstripped by the TV series. Although the pair pulled off an epic ninth episode — the signature stunner in seasons past — it was the finale that came together the best this year. The opening sequence alone is worth the price of admission because it certainly brings words like “cinematic” to mind. Set to a gorgeous score by Ramin Djawadi, the scene was deftly shepherded by director Miguel Sapochnik to create an almost sadistic amount of tension as we waited for Cersei’s green revenge to be unleashed. Once the catastrophic event occurred though, that was not the end of the dragon ride for us viewers.

It’s holiday gift book time, and our list of must-reads includes weighty coffee table books on two iconic film franchises, some video store nostalgia, the mysteries of David Lynch, a bit of pre-Star Wars: The Force Awakens reading, and the brilliance of Terry Gilliam. Check out the recommendations below and see more here.

Back to the Future: The Ultimate Visual History by Michael Klastorin with Randal Atamaniuk (Harper Design)

Even as a fan of the Back to the Future trilogy, I was a bit taken aback by the hype surrounding October 21, 2015, a.k.a., the date Marty McFly and Doc Brown arrived in the Hill Valley of the future in Back to the Future II. It is only fitting, then, that part of the hype includes the wildly entertaining Back to the Future: The Ultimate Visual History. Featuring the participation of, well, everyone involved, from...

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From Thomas F Wilson in Back To The Future to Nicolas Cage and John Travolta in Face/Off - when actors play multiple roles...

The dramatic use of actors playing multiple characters is a bold and rather theatrical device that has its ups and downs. It goes at least as far back as Captain Hook being played by the same actor who plays the Darling children's father in stage productions of Peter Pan, a technique largely adopted in film adaptations of the story, too (hello to Jason Isaacs).

It's used a lot in cinema too. Done well, it's impressive, but when it's bad, it's Jack & Jill. Whether used in comedy or drama or outright horror, there are countless examples of actors delivering terrific performances in more than one role at once, and that's before we even get past Cloud Atlas. Still, we've had a go at totting up 25 of the best.

Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture:   Movie Reunion of the Day: Back to the Future stars Christoper Lloyd and Michael J. Fox reunited for a Toyota commercial where they talk about technology from Back to the Future Part II that we still don't have (via ComingSoon.net):   Movie Parody of the Day: College Humor addresses the same topic by showing us what Back to the Future Part II would be like if Doc and Marty traveled to the real 2015:   Deleted Scenes of the Day: Watch newly released animated sequences by Terry Gilliam that didn't make it into Monty Python and the Holy Grail (via Dangerous Minds):   Casting Depiction of the Day: Boss Logic has rendered...

Read More...

This last weekend, there was a Johnny Ramone tribute at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery where Rob Zombie played, because apparently the two became friends that time The Ramones were touring around White Zombie (if all of this has been foreign to you, know there's one of your peers feeling really old for knowing exactly what I'm talking about). Anyway, Jeff Jampol, a man whose name you can quickly forget, co-manages the band's estate and with the recent death of Tommy, the last surviving Ramone, Jampol is ready to re-orient the brand around the entire band as a group (rather than honoring the individual members).

Jampol isn't any slouch, he also reps the estates of The Doors, Janis Joplin, Tupac (thank you for the hologram, Mr. Jampol), and Otis Redding, and has a grand plan for the future of the Ramones brand.

Billboard reports:

“The 40th anniversary of the Ramones is...

There is something about getting a kick out of the sleazy celluloid cretins that feels rather intriguing. Whether these movie weasels are unctuous lawyers, abusive spouses or borderline bullies the concept of being a big screen weasel brings to mind some of the most colorful cast of conniving cohorts of misbehaving ever assembled. Okay…maybe that is a stretch as there are countless of other worthy weasels deserving of making a top ten list–probably even better known or notorious than the selection being presented currently.

Nevertheless, let’s check out the weasel-like wonders that movie audiences have learned to love or despise depending on the frame of mind in celebrating these shifty oddballs.

Note: The selections of The Art of Being Shady and Shifty: The Top 10 Movie Weasels featured below are presented in no particular preference or order:

1.) Igor from Young Frankenstein (1974)

Now how can anyone omit one of...

Contributed by Tom Stockman, Jim Batts, Melissa Howland, Travis Keune, Michael Haffner and Michelle McCue

A Son of El seeks refuge on Earth… the Undead run amuck in the streets… artificial intelligence finds love… Sisters from the Kingdom of Arendelle bond… Brothers from the Realm of Asgard unite … car races that put you in the driver’s seat… the old man and the unforgiving sea… and scares that gets under your skin.

A trip to your local cinema was a ticket to some of the most fantastic voyages of 2013.

Rounding out the year in film, the silver screen was filled with journeys Terrestrial and Otherworldly, images both frightening and scary, poignant affairs of the heart-strings and emotions, sojourns so colorful that the stories took us to new heights and two of the greatest American comedies.

It was a magnificent overload of the senses.

“Beautiful… don’t you think?”

So without further adieu…...

  Daniel Radcliffe says while it's a bit too early in the project to figure out what sort of read he's going to give Igor opposite James McAvoy's Victor Frankenstein in 20th Century Fox's Frankenstein, he already has his eye on the possibilities the role presents.   "We haven't even started rehearsals yet, but in terms of Igor, I think we're going to see a character who is given a lot more depth than we've seen him allowed in any other incarnations of the story," Radcliffe recently said in a phone call with FEARnet from the Toronto International Film Festival.   While the former Harry Potter star can't share any intricate details of Chronicle scribe Max Landis's screenplay just yet, he implied that it's going to be a Frankenstein tale like none other.    "It's a wild script. It constantly surprises you and it's great, great fun as well," Radcliffe enthused. "The...

It's a big week for blue characters in TV and film. On Monday, "X-Men" director Bryan Singer tweeted a photo of Jennifer Lawrence in her full blue glory, done up for her role of Mystique in "X-Men: Days of Future Past," and this weekend, "Arrested Development" character Tobias Fünke who famously "blue" himself returns with Netflix's release of new "Arrested Development" episodes.

Blue-hued characters have held a special place in pop culture for decades, inexplicably appearing far more often than their counterparts from the rest of the color wheel. Take a spin through a brief history of blue characters below.

Jennifer Lawrence was painted blue for her role in "X-Men: Days of Future Past."

In "Big Fat Liar," Paul Giamatti's character Marty Wolf is shown blue.

The Smurfs may be the most famous blue characters, making their mark in their comic strip, television series, and film.

The Na'vi species...

With his third feature film Looper, writer/director Rian Johnson marks the official return of the smart science-fiction film that works to stimulate audiences while making them think. Such a double-layer genre of “style equals substance” sci-fi has been elusive but more than often successful in Hollywood as studios took a leap of faith on projects like Blade Runner, The Matrix, Dark City, Minority Report, and most recently Inception. I can only assume that the film industry insiders who attended the premiere of Looper at the Toronto International Film Festival also leaned towards that same exercise and brought up comparisons of years past to properly qualify their impressions of the film. In doing so, none could be more accurate than Terry Gilliam’s Twelve Monkeys, the 1995 mind-bending remake of the French cinema classic La Jetée (which also featured Bruce Willis…). Johnson may have been inspired by the closing scene of Gilliam’s opus, where...

Whether they’re male or female, old or young, they’ve illuminated some classic movies. Here’s our top 50 list of sci-fi heroes and heroines…

On the face of it, compiling a list of truly great sci-fi protagonists should be easy. Pick a load of familiar names from a hat, write some breathlessly adoring drivel beneath them, and head off to the pub to reward a job well done.

Except it was never going to be as simple as that – and compiling lists seldom is. For every character making an appearance in the list below, there were at least two other possible candidates who didn't quite make the cut. Some sci-fi heroes were removed, then quickly reinstated. The order was jiggled around, then reordered again.

At one point, your humble writer realised there were more than 50 entries, and then had the unenviable task of hunting back through to decide which poor soul to eliminate.

Things are about to get even dumberer with Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels.

Director Peter Farrelly confirmed to ComingSoon.net he and brother Bobby will be shooting a sequel to their 1994 comedy "Dumb & Dumber," with Carrey and Daniels reprising their roles.

At the junket for their latest comedy, "The Three Stooges," Peter Farrelly said, "We're getting set to shoot 'Dumb & Dumber 2' in September. It's the first sequel we've ever done and we've got Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels back.

Getty Images Actress Angelina Jolie arrives at the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 15, 2012 in Beverly Hills, California.

Ricky Gervais is back for a return stint hosting the Golden Globes 2012. Which actors, producers and directors will leave with awards–and which ones will go home smarting from Gervais’s sharp tongue? Early winners include Kate Winslet and “Downton Abbey.”

Speakeasy is live-blogging the show. You can follow along and leave your thoughts in the comments.

Just a day ago I talked about Seven Psychopaths, the new movie [1] from In Bruges director Martin McDonagh, because Mickey Rourke had proclaimed [2] McDonagh to be a 'jerkoff' and refused to be in the film. McDonagh "wanted a whole lot for nothing,” the actor said, so he bailed. Everything has worked out fine, as long as I'm concerned, however. Rourke is gone, but now Woody Harrelson has taken his role, and Olga Kurylenko and Tom Waits have also signed on to the film that already featured Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell and Christopher Walken. Deadline [3] says that the film began production this week, with Farrell playing the main character, a screenwriter who is having trouble with his work. He's implicated in some shadowy dealings of two friends (Rockwell and Walken) who may or may not have stolen a dog from a gangster (Harrelson). How do Waits and Kurylenko fit in? No idea.

Brian’s been reading Marty Feldman. He’s also been making TV shows. Find out about both below!

It’s always fascinating (to me, at least) when gurus come in to record commentaries, if only because that moment is a nice little reflection of their viewing habits and what they’re currently enthusiastic about. Same goes for when we get notes in our inbox (which we encourage more of!) because it’s genuinely nice to see where the various creatives involved with helping our little site keep getting their energy to do so.

So when Brian Trenchard-Smith emailed us to tell us he’d been reading the biography of Marty Feldman, he had a little more to say, seeing as he once worked with the man. Here’s Brian:

I had the pleasure of directing Marty Feldman back in 1972 for an Australian TV Special. Two years earlier, I had worked...

Marty Feldman: The Biography Of A Comedy Legend

Written by Robert Ross | Published by Titan Books | Format: H/back, 320pp

“Mike Myers regards him as ‘a genius’, while John Cleese considers him a ‘true cultural icon’. A pioneer of comedy, he died aged only 48. His name was Marty Feldman, and here, at last, is the first ever biography. Paving the way for Monty Python, then becoming a major Hollywood star, Marty will be forever remembered as Igor in Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein.”

Acclaimed author Robert Ross, who has previously penned books on Monty Python and the Carry On films, draws from previously unpublished material that Feldman gathered together in preparation for an autobiography he never wrote. Ross combines this material with new interviews with many of Marty’s family and friends – including Monty Python’s Michael Palin and Terry Jones.

The book covers the entire of Feldman’s life...

Jamie Thraves and Aidan Gillen return to the big screen, while the Life of Brian controversy is explored by BBC4 and Martin Scorsese shows his favourites movies at Port Eliot

Thraves thrives

After a decade out of British cinemas, director Jamie Thraves's Treacle Jr (see Philip French's review this week) sees the return of a film-maker much admired for his debut, The Low Down, in 2000. I'm pleased to see that the Irish actor Aidan Gillen has stuck by Thraves, even now that his star has risen after roles in The Wire and Game of Thrones. The pair are now working on another collaboration, a music film, which will combine Gillen's rock-star fantasies with Thraves's skills honed making videos for Radiohead, Coldplay and Dizzee Rascal. Thraves remortgaged his house to make Treacle Jr and shot it for £30,000, composing and playing much of the soundtrack himself. The film is part of...

By Zachary Swickey

Beatles fans have something to get excited about! It appears legendary director Martin Scorsese is finally ready to reveal his much anticipated documentary on the group’s late guitarist, George Harrison.

A posting on the Harrison’s website states the special will air on HBO over the nights of October 5 and 6 later this year. The project is much more than just a film documentary. Dubbed George Harrison: Living in the Material World, it is a collaboration with the guitarist’s widow, Olivia, that also includes a coffee table book she organized, which is due in September. The set will reportedly trace the guitarist’s life through rare photographs, old home videos and plenty of unreleased live footage. Also included will be interviews with Harrison’s old chums: Eric Clapton, Tom Petty, director Terry Gilliam, producer Phil Spector, Yoko Ono and of course the two living Beatles, good ole’ Paul and Ringo.

From Grove Street, Spitfire Pictures And Sikelia

Film Surveys The Life And Times Of The Iconic Musician

New York, July 13, 2011 – HBO has acquired the North American TV rights to Martin Scorsese.s Grove Street Pictures. The film was produced by Scorsese (through his Sikelia Productions banner), Olivia Harrison (through her Grove Street Pictures banner) and Nigel Sinclair (through Exclusive.s documentary label, Spitfire Pictures). Margaret Bodde served as executive producer on the film, which was edited by David Tedeschi, who previously worked with Scorsese, Bodde and Sinclair on .No Direction Home: Bob Dylan,. and with Scorsese and Bodde on .Public Speaking.. Tedeschi also edited Scorsese.s Rolling Stones concert film .Shine a Light.. The documentary will debut in two parts – on Oct. 5 and 6, 2011 - exclusively on HBO.

George Harrison: Living In The Material World focuses the imaginative and inspired eye of one of cinema.s most preeminent filmmakers on one...

After the success of 2008′s Rolling Stones documentary Shine a Light, Martin Scorsese set his sights on another musical giant: George Harrison. George Harrison: Living in the Material World, Scorsese’s doc on the former Beatle, has been acquired by HBO for a two-part airing on Oct. 5 and 6 of this year.

“From rock’n'roll icon to moviemaker, to spiritual seeker and humanitarian, George Harrison was a true renaissance man. This amazing film will illuminate every aspect of Harrison’s remarkable, multifaceted life,” said HBO Programming president Michael Lombardo.

Unlike Shine a Light’s in-concert angle, Living in the Material world...

After The Last Waltz, which focuses on The Band‘s final concert, No Direction Home, an account of Bob Dylan‘s early life and career and the Rolling Stones concert, Shine a Light, Martin Scorsese has no finalized plans to release his George Harrison doc this year.

George Harrison: Living in the Material World will air on HBO on Oct. 5 and 6, 2011 and features interviews with Eric Clapton, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, George Martin, Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono, Tom Petty, Phil Spector, Ringo Starr and Jackie Stewart. We’ve previously extensively covered the project here, so just check out the press release via The Wrap below for more information, including comments from Scorsese himself.

New York, July 13, 2011 – HBO has acquired the North American TV rights to Martin Scorsese’s George Harrison: Living In The Material World from Grove Street Pictures. The film was produced by Scorsese (through his Sikelia Productions banner...

With comedies such as "Bridesmaids" and "The Hangover Part II" currently making big bucks at the box office, "Extra" highlights 30 of the most hysterical lines from cinematic comedies of all time.

30 Hilarious Movie Quotes'Some Like It Hot' (1959)

Jerry (Jack Lemmon): "Oh no you don't! Osgood, I'm gonna level with you. We can't get married at all." Osgood (Joe E. Brown): "Why not?" Jerry: "Well, in the first place, I'm not a natural blonde.

We tug at some of those annoyingly slack plot lines that have left moviegoers tied up in knots and lost down plot holes

Nothing nags like a film that leaves its plot or characters dangling. Some unanswered questions (did Cobb's spinning top fall after Inception finished?) seem placed to give the audience something to mull over or argue about after the film has finished. Others (Beauty and the Beast's Chip is clearly under 10, and the curse has been on the castle for 10 years, so did Mrs Potts give birth to him whilst she was a teapot? And who is his father?) look more like goofs than deliberate head scratchers. Yet they raise interesting, and sometimes disturbing, questions.

Some loose threads are so neglectful they leave a lingering sense of injustice. Such is the case with Source Code, whose treatment of one of its central characters was so heinous it demanded...

As 2010 draws to a close, we celebrate the year's 10 most underrated performances...

As we head into awards season, the likes of Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter are hotly tipped to pick up nominations at the very least, if not actual gongs for their acting in The King's Speech. Christian Bale made a big old physical transformation for The Fighter, as did Natalie Portman for Black Swan. But those two films won't come out until 2011 in the UK, and nor will The King's Speech.

The tendency is to award stuff that comes out at the very end of the year, and so a lot of good performances earlier in the movie calendar are forgotten. Most of these actors didn't undergo gruelling physical transformations or star in the kind of film that Oscar likes to reward. They were just good. Maybe not Oscar good, but they were undervalued, either in reviews...

Back To The Future:25th Anniversary Trilogy (Blu-Ray)Universal Home ENTERTAINMENTRated PG/1985, '89 & '90/Running Time 116, 109, 119 minsList Price $79.98 – Available October 26, 2010A kid from the 80's goes back in time thirty years and nearly causes his parents to never meet. Along the way he invents the skateboard and rock n roll and helps his father became a man. A simple premise that was wrapped up in some brilliant science fiction ideas and some great comedy. There are many, many reasons why Back to the Future and its subsequent sequels are still regarded as three of the best films ever made. To fully explore each one would be a massive undertaking, yet beyond the laughs, pop culture references and complete zaniness, lies a story with actual heart. It's the story of two men, seventeen-year-old High Schooler Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) and “crazy wide-eyed old man who claims to be a...

• Eno hopes to repeat Minghella success

• Company says 'It's our most ambitious season yet'

The man who defined Monty Python's visual language, and directed such films as Brazil, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, is to try his hand at opera for the first time.

Terry Gilliam is to direct The Damnation of Faust at English National Opera next summer – where it is hoped that his production of Berlioz's masterpiece will not be beset by the problems that have harried the director in other contexts.

Heath Ledger died part way through the production of The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus, while The Man Who Killed Don Quixote was abandoned after Jean Rochefort, the star, suffered a herniated disc and the set flooded.

John Berry, Eno's artistic director, acknowledged the risks for newcomers attempting to take on opera. "It can be like a car crash coming at you from every angle,...

On March 26th the hilarious new comedy "Hot Tub Time Machine" opens in AMC theaters everywhere. The film stars John Cusack, Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry, Clarke Duke, Chevy Chase and Crispin Glover and revolves around a group of friends who end up getting transported back in time through... well... a hot tub.

But "Hot Tub Time Machine" is not the first film to use time travel as a major plot device. Quite often time travel is used for big blockbuster type films and sometimes for smaller films. It’s used in animation, features, shorts, comedies, dramas, sci-fi… basically every form or genre has utilized this device to tell a story.

It’s understandable that it’s used so much. With time travel we can see the future and catch a glimpse of the way things might be. We can travel to the past to revisit better times or alter tragic...

The biggest night in Hollywood is here and over the next few hours they’ll be tears, cheers and (hopefully) a few surprises as the 82nd Academy Awards are handed out.

The sordid trudge up the red carpet has finished and I’m going to be blogging live as the winners are announced, you can have a look at our Oscars predictions here and follow us on as the Twitter storm rages, or get all interactive with FilmXtra Tom who is video blogging the Oscars here.

My hopes are with Colin Firth and Carey Mulligan and I’m secretly hoping that Tarantino walks off with Best Picture for Inglourious Basterds and Coraline bests Up for Best Animated Feature.

Ok… the time is upon us. I’ll be updating the blog with the winners as I go, as well as providing as coherent a commentary as possible.

Remember to keep hitting...

Marty Feldman as Igor in Young Frankenstein

Photo: 20th Century Fox

As the story goes, Gene Wilder's agent, Mike Medavoy, approached him with the idea of doing a movie combining his talents with Marty Feldman and Peter Boyle. Wilder considered this and thought they could actually make for a great collaboration. "What made you think of that combination?" Wilder asked his agent. Medavoy, in what Wilder calls a moment of "wonderful artistic basis," replied, "Because I now represent you, Marty and Peter." Sometimes this is how classics get made and yesterday was its 35th birthday!

Obviously, Medavoy's proposal became just the right project for the three of them to combine their talents. They had a treatment of a satire on the Frankenstein story, and now all they needed was a director. Wilder - who first worked with Mel Brooks on The Producers - just finished working with him again...