Future Critics: Benji Cherukuri on Composers Hans Zimmer & Nicholas Britell

In the first installment of our series Future Critics, we’d like to introduce you to Benji Cherukuri. Benji’s an avid movie fan, musician, and performer himself. You can check out Benji’s videos—which he edits—on his YouTube channel. Today, however, Benji becomes our first Future Critic. Benji took some time out from his busy schedule, which includes ...

By Bryan Abrams  |  January 28, 2021

Interview

Special/Visual Effects

How The Last Jedi & Dunkirk‘s Colorist Subtly Manipulated Your Feelings

The son of farmers from near Turin, Italy, colorist Walter Volpatto went from studying electrical engineering at a local university to working at Italy’s national public broadcasting company, RAI. It was here he honed his chops with electronic compositing, lighting and photography. When computers became both ubiquitous and advantageous for his line of work, Volpatto ...

By Bryan Abrams  |  March 2, 2018
A Peek at Your Oscar Contenders—A Day Before The Nominations

If there’s one film in this year’s Oscar race that could benefit from the current moment in the cultural consciousness, it’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Martin McDonagh’s darkly comic tale of revenge about a middle-aged badass  (best actress frontrunner Frances McDormand) angry at authorities for failing to solve the murder of her daughter seems ...

By  |  January 22, 2018
Blade Runner 2049, Three Billboards & The Shape of Water Lead BAFTA Noms

The British Academy of Television Arts has announced the nominations for their film awards for 2018, known as the BAFTAs, with Guillermo del Toro’s glorious creature feature, The Shape of Water, netting a best 12 nominations. Del Toro’s surprisingly tender film, which won him a Golden Globe for Best Director and Best Score for composer Alexandre Desplat is ...

By The Credits  |  January 9, 2018
Jordan Peele’s Get Out Tops BFI’s Sight & Sound Poll as Film of the Year

Awards season is officially upon us, and thus far, Jordan Peele’s Get Out is cleaning up. Peele’s brilliant social thriller/horror nabbed a bunch of Gotham Independent Film Awards, including best screenplay and audience award, was named best first film by the New York Film Critics Circle, was nominated for best feature by the Independent Spirit ...

By The Credits  |  December 5, 2017
Watch Film Critic David Ehrlich’s Immensely Satisfying Supercut of his Favorite 25 Films of 2017

If you’re going to watch but one year-end supercut, you really can’t do better than film critic David Ehrlich’s annual video. Once again Ehrlich has counted down his 25 favorite movies of the year, and the finished product is both a loving homage to a year in film and a work of art itself. This ...

By The Credits  |  December 4, 2017

Interview

Sound Designer

The Brilliant Sound Technique That Makes Dunkirk so Viscerally Intense

We’ve written quite a bit about Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, specifically about the film’s boundary pushing technical brilliance. We explained to you why it matters that the film was shot in 70-mm (and how it affects your movie-going experience), and we wrote about how Nolan and his team’s use of IMAX cameras helped tell one of ...

By  |  August 7, 2017

Interview

Special/Visual Effects

Explainer: IMAX Vs. Standard—Here’s Why it Matters That Dunkirk was Shot on 70-mm

The big screen will feel even bigger for some moviegoers watching Dunkirk starting July 21. Director Christopher Nolan shot the World War II drama using 70-millimeter IMAX and 65-mm large-format cameras. And audiences in 125 theaters across the U.S. and Canada will get to see the fruits of those labors in their entirety through large-format ...

By  |  July 18, 2017

Interview

Special/Visual Effects

Dunkirk’s IMAX Release Magnifies Power of one of History’s Most Miraculous Escapes

History has decided its name: The Miracle of Dunkirk. In May 1940, Germany launched its war against Western Europe with a lightning invasion that saw Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands fall in quick succession. With the Low Countries devoured and a still ravenous appetite, the Nazis turned their gaze to France and continued their advance. ...

By  |  July 14, 2017
This is why you Should see Dunkirk on IMAX

"There were 400,000 men trapped in one place on a beach, their backs to the sea, the enemy closing in all around them, and it's just a matter of time before they face surrender or annihilation, and the fact that this story does not end in surrender or annihilation is what makes it one of ...

By  |  July 13, 2017
Christopher Nolan Discusses What it Would Take for him to Helm James Bond

The James Bond series has seen films released regularly since the early 1960s, with the titular spy transcending generations to be as familiar to millennials as he is to their parents. With the successful release of Spectre in late 2015, the time feels ripe for another installment. That said, the future of the series has ...

By  |  July 10, 2017
Watch the Thrilling new Trailer for Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk

It’s always a big deal whenever Christopher Nolan releases a new film, and his upcoming Dunkirk needs to be on your radar. Shooting his first historical drama, depicting a crucial moment during World War II, Dunkirk has quietly released some of the best trailers of the summer. Warner Bros. has dropped the latest, a thrilling, ...

By  |  July 5, 2017
Brilliant Sound Design on Display in new Dunkirk Spot

We wrote earlier today about how seeing the Dunkirk trailer on the big screen before Wonder Woman was breathtaking, and now a new 30 second TV spot has been released, making brilliant use of sound design and proving, once again, just how masterful the folks editing trailers have become. The film chronicles the crucial events ...

By  |  June 13, 2017
The Most Thrilling Trailer That Played Before Wonder Woman in the Theater Was…

By now you've seen Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman, and like us, probably loved it. We're curious, however, about what your favorite trailers were that played before Gal Gadot's Diana Prince started teaching Steve Trevor and the rest of the Allied forces to believe in her? We saw a bunch of very strong trailers (and one very brief, intriguing teaser), but ...

By  |  June 13, 2017
Watch the Gripping new Trailer for Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk

Writer/director Christopher Nolan is back with the World War II epic Dunkirk, which tells the story of the chaotic rescue of Allied soldiers during one of the bloodiest and most crucial battles of the war. It was May, 1940, and Germany looked poised to secure a decisive victory in their war effort, one that would have essentially made WWII ...

By  |  May 8, 2017
See the First Trailer for Christopher Nolan’s War Epic Dunkirk

Director Christopher Nolan has carved out a career for himself that, even at the tender age of 46, reminds one of Steven Spielberg. Nolan's films are simultaneously personal and hugely ambitious (Memento, Inception, Interstellar), which he's paired along side blockbuster popcorn movies (albeit ones with complexity and heft) like his Batman trilogy, with The Dark Knight functioning, for us,  as the best ...

By  |  December 14, 2016
Watch the 1st Teaser for Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk

Director Christopher Nolan has become, at the tender age of 46, a filmmaker whose name alone means immediate interest in a film. Like Spielberg, he has managed to make very personal, hugely ambitious studio films (Inception, Interstellar) along side blockbuster popcorn movies (albeit ones with complexity and heft) like his Batman trilogy, with The Dark Knight functioning, for ...

By  |  August 5, 2016