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Check out the brand new trailer for director Jeff Nichols’s The Bikeriders, in theaters June 21.

The film stars Jodie Comer, Austin Butler and Tom Hardy, Michael Shannon, Mike Faist with Norman Reedus.

The Bikeriders follows the rise of a midwestern motorcycle club, the Vandals. Seen through the lives of its members, the club evolves over the course of a decade from a gathering place for local outsiders into a more sinister gang, threatening the original group’s unique way of life.

Nichols and Shannon worked together on the terrific, but overlooked sci-fi film Midnight Special. Read the review here and check out our list of the 5 reasons we thought the 2016 film was one of the best of the year.

For his new film, the director has once again assembled what has come to be known as his “film family” for the shoot, a core group of behind-the-scenes talent, many...

Following the success of their Halloween trilogy, writer/director David Gordon Green and Blumhouse re-teamed to tackle another esteemed horror property: The Exorcist.

The Exorcist: Believer possesses home video with an audio commentary by David Gordon Green, co-writer Peter Sattler, special makeup FX designer Christopher Nelson, and executive producer Ryan Turek, among other extras.

Here are 15 things I learned from The Exorcist: Believer commentary…

1. The film’s opening soundscape is inspired by a meditation app.

The film’s opening logos are accompanied by droning sounds inspired by calming music on a meditation app that Green uses.

“I am a fan of the mid-afternoon meditation shutdown, and I listen to a little app that’s full of singing bells and chimes and little brain cleansers, so I thought nothing better for our brainwaves than to open our movie with some of the same.”

‘Brainwaves’ was also the code name adopted for the production.

If you didn't see it in theaters or want to experience it again from the comfort of your couch (and perhaps in the warm glow of the lights from your Christmas tree), The Exorcist: Believer is coming to Digital on December 1st and 4K Uhd, Blu-ray, and DVD on December 19th via Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, and we have a look at the cover art and full list of bonus features for the home media release, including a feature-length commentary with David Gordon Green, Ryan Turek, Peter Sattler, and Christopher Nelson:

Press Release: Universal City, California, November 27, 2023 – Discover what makes Blumhouse’s The Exorcist: Believer horrifying with never-before-seen bonus content available on Digital December 1, 2023, and 4K Uhd, Blu-rayTM and DVD on December 19, 2023, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. The all-new bonus content with cast and filmmaker interviews gives a behind-the-scenes look at making the film, including editing an exorcism,...

The Hollywood Music in Media Awards (Hmma) today announced the 2023 nominees for scores and songs in film and other visual media categories. The awards will be presented Wednesday, November 15, 2023 at 8:00 p.m. (Pst) at The Avalon, 1735 Vine Street, in Hollywood, CA.

Song nominees include Oscar-winners Billie Eilish and Finneas for “What Was I Made For?” from Barbie, Olivia Rodrigo and Dan Nigro for “Can’t Catch Me Now” from Hunger Games: The Ballard of Songbirds & Snakes. Justin Timberlake, Alan Menken, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Lenny Kravitz, Diane Warren, Metro Boomin, and A$AP Rocky also received nods for their original songs in films.

Composers nominated include Alexandre Desplat, Michael Giacchino, Ludwig Göransson, Laura Karpman, Branford Marsalis, Thomas Newman, James Newton Howard, Daniel Pemberton, John Powell, Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, Robbie Robertson, Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt, Hans Zimmer (The Creator), among many others.

Films nominated in score, song, onscreen performance, and in...

The year 2023 is shaping up to be an exciting one for movie fans, as some of the most awaited films are set to hit the big screen. From thrilling action to captivating drama, from historical biopics to musical comedies, there is something for everyone in this list of the top 10 anticipated upcoming Hollywood movies.

10. Wonka

Wonka is a prequel to the popular children’s story Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It tells the story of how Willy Wonka became a world-famous chocolatier. Timothée Chalamet is set to star as the titular Wonka, which means the candy creator may be a heartthrob this time around1

Wonka Trailer

The film is directed by Paul King, who also helmed the charming Paddington movies. The film will feature original songs by Neil Hannon and a score by Joby Talbot. Wonka is scheduled to be released on December 15, 2023.

9. Joker 2

Joker 2 is the sequel to the 2019 film Joker,...

The latest film from acclaimed director Jeff Nichols, ‘The Bikeriders’, has received a perfect score of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, the popular review aggregator website. The film, which stars Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, Michael Shannon and Mike Faist, is a thrilling drama about a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who embark on a cross-country road trip in the 1960s.

The film is inspired by the iconic photography book of the same name by Danny Lyon, who documented the lives and culture of the Chicago Outlaws Motorcycle Club. Nichols, who also wrote the screenplay, said he wanted to explore the themes of freedom, rebellion and identity that Lyon captured in his images.

The Bikeriders First Look

‘The Bikeriders’ features stunning cinematography by Adam Stone, who collaborated with Nichols on his previous films such as ‘Mud’, ‘Take Shelter’ and ‘Loving’. The film also boasts an original score by David Wingo, who composed...

Jeff Nichols’ filmography is still young, and still showing no signs of settling in to a stylistic signature — or rut. Through such distinctive features as Take Shelter, Loving, Midnight Special and Mud, the writer-helmer has, though, established a certain directorial integrity. Valuing mood and gesture over plot or formula, his stories are propelled by an openhearted but unsentimental tenderness toward his characters, and invigorated by electrifying grace notes.

With his latest offering, the gloves, at first, seem to be off. The Bikeriders is set within a testosterone-fueled counterculture where brute stupidity frequently prevails, and many viewers will find its violence and code-of-honor brotherhood distancing, or at least familiar movie territory. But what resonates beyond the brawls and blood is a profound affection for the people onscreen — those grace notes provided by a fine cast, with Jodie Comer and Tom Hardy stirring undercurrents that are particularly affecting precisely because they’re never explicitly examined or explained.

Composers Atli Örvarsson, Mark Mothersbaugh and Mark Isham led the list of winners announced Monday for the annual BMI Film, TV & Visual Media Awards, with the three scorers picking up six, five and four trophies, respectively.

Örvarsson, the Icelandic composer, is now up to 29 BMI honors with the six he adds this week. His new shelf’s worth of awards came for work on “Chicago P.D.,” “Chicago Med,” “Chicago Fire,” “FBI,” “FBI: Most Wanted” and “Defending Jacob.”

Mark Mothersbaugh, of Devo as well as scoring fame, was five-times rewarded for “Dirty John,” “What We Do in the Shadows,” “The Willoughbys,” “The Croods: A New Age” and “Tiger King.”

Mark Isham’s four awards came for “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Honest Thief,” “Little Fires Everywhere” and “Togo.”

“I’m not that much of an awards guy, but even I’m impressed — four BMI awards,” Isham said in a taped acceptance speech.

Veteran screenwriter Scott Z. Burns stepped behind the camera as a director for the first time with “The Report,” a fact-based drama about one man’s search for truth while facing down an intractable political bureaucracy. His critically acclaimed directorial debut could land him in the Oscar race for the first time. Could a Best Original Screenplay nomination be his for the taking?

SEEScott Z. Burns Interview: ‘The Report’ director, writer

Burns is best known for his collaborations with Steven Soderbergh (who serves as a producer on this film), with whom he made “The Informant!” (2009), “Contagion” (2011), “Side Effects” (2013) and “The Laundromat” (2019). Burns could actually find himself competing in both screenplay categories this year since “The Laundromat” is eligible in the adapted race. He’s no stranger to awards, having competed at the BAFTAs for Best British Film (2007’s “The Bourne Ultimatum”) and at the Gotham Awards for Best Documentary. But...

A cursory glance at the television these days, especially when the news is on, gives ample evidence of how complicated it is in the political world to try and seek out the truth. People and groups with different sorts of politics can see the same information and find different truths in it. However, right and wrong, on a moral level, remains static. That’s part of the appeal of the granular political drama The Report, which really digs in to the United States’ use of torture after September 11th. Opening this week, the Amazon Studios release is hoping to go from Sundance Film Festival prestige player to Academy Award nominee. The Report is a well executed procedural, with another excellent Adam Driver performance that’s wholly riveting. Suffice it to say, Amazon would do well to campaign this one heavily. The movie is a dramatic thriller, looking back on recent American history.

“None of us know the right answer in the beginning,” admits composer Nicholas Britell when asked about how he begins work on a new project. Britell was one of four top musical maestros who participated in Gold Derby’s Meet the Experts panel discussion recently at the Landmark Theater, which was moderated by managing editor Chris Beachum. Watch the full interview with Britell, Michael Abels (“Us”), Alan Silvestri (“Avengers: Endgame”) and David Wingo (“The Report”) above. Watch 10-minute individual interviews with each of them by clicking on their names above.

For Britell, who was there on behalf of Netflix’s medieval epic “The King,” “it’s really impossible for me to know what works until I actually put stuff against the picture. So there are those early conversations where we’ll have interesting conversations” with the filmmakers, “it’s very sobering to get the footage and then to try things out.

For composer David Wingo, “The Report” was “the kind of movie I’ve always wanted to work on,” something that’s “in the vein of ’70s paranoia thrillers” like “All the President’s Men” (1976) and “Three Days of the Condor” (1975). “I feel like those kinds of movies aren’t getting made that much anymore, and those are some of my favorite films and some of my favorite scores.” The composer spoke at length about his score for the film while appearing at Gold Derby’s Meet the Experts panel, hosted by managing editor Chris Beachum. Watch our exclusive video interview with Wingo above.

SEEOscar predictions: Top 10 frontrunners for Best Actor include Adam Driver, Leonardo DiCaprio, Joaquin Phoenix and …

Wingo has long been attracted to films that are essentially about “people exchanging information to one another, and it’s mostly talking,” which is something that doesn’t happen a lot in the titles he works on.

You are invited to attend our Q&a discussion with four of film’s top music composers who now compete for Oscars, Golden Globes and more. Our event is on Tuesday, October 22, at 7:00 p.m. at the Landmark Theater at 10850 W. Pico Blvd. in Los Angeles. Admission and parking are free. Academy and guild members will get priority seating.

To RSVP, make your reservation here: https://goldderbycomposerspanel2019.splashthat.com/

Gold Derby managing editor Chris Beachum will moderate this “Meet the Film Experts” panel with the following contenders for 2019/2020 awards consideration:

Michael Abels represents Universal for “Us”

Abels was nominated at the Black Reel Awards for “Get Out” and at the World Soundtrack Awards for both “Get Out” and Us.” Other films have included “See You Yesterday” and “Bad Education.”

Nicholas Britell represents Netflix for “The King”

Britell has been nominated at the Oscars for “Moonlight” and “If Beale Street Could Talk.

HBO’s “Barry” had a killer second season at the Emmys, earning 17 nominations including Best Comedy Series. Gold Derby recently spoke with several of the show’s contenders, including stars Henry Winkler, Stephen Root and Anthony Carrigan and composer David Wingo. Scroll down and click on any name below to be taken to their full interview.

See Bill Hader gunning to be the 11th person to snag consecutive Best Comedy Actor Emmys

TV legend Winkler won his first Emmy last year for playing Gene Cousineau, an acting coach teaching a highly-trained assassin (Bill Hader) how to kill it with monologues. “It really is a lovely thing,” he explains when reflecting on the victory. “It doesn’t define you, it doesn’t make you better, I’m not better than anybody else in my category. All I did was win the statue,” which, he adds with a smile, “is now on my dining room table,...

“I was very surprised,” admits composer David Wingo about his first ever Emmy nomination. “Comedies usually don’t get recognized in the music category,” he says, adding that “but I was very very happy!” Watch our exclusive video interview with Wingo above.

The composer is nominated for Best Music Composition – Series (Original Dramatic Score) for his work on the HBO dramedy “Barry,” alongside four dramatic contenders – Jeff Beal (“House of Cards”), Adam Taylor (“The Handmaid’s Tale”), Ramin Djawadi (“Game of Thrones”) and Siddhartha Khosla (“This is Us”).

SEEAnthony Carrigan Interview: ‘Barry’

Wingo was thrilled with the nomination in a category that is usually stacked with dramatic, epic and genre series. “My first reaction was confusion,” he admits. “Then I had to look it up,” he says. “‘Barry’ is the first TV show I have worked on, as I’ve been working in film for 20 years. So when you’re...

Beyoncé and Sara Bareilles could add Emmy trophies to their awards shelves this year, having been nominated in key music categories Tuesday by the Television Academy.

Beyoncé’s “Homecoming” special on Netflix was nominated in six categories, and four of those include a nod for the pop superstar herself. Only one of those is in a music category; she’s nominated for music direction of a variety special alongside co-music director Derek Dixie (a first-time nominee). Her other nods are as a producer, co-director and writer of the special.

Bareilles, nominated last year for her performance as Mary Magdalene in “Jesus Christ Superstar,” was cited this year as co-songwriter of a new song on CBS’s Tony Awards, “This One’s for You.” Her co-host on that show, Josh Groban, shares the nomination and is up for his first Emmy.

They were the most high-profile performers cited by Emmy voters in the seven music categories.

In 1994, a documentary called Hoop Dreams set the standard by which almost all sports related documentaries set in High School. The way Steve James captured the hopes of student athletes who saw basketball as a way out of their poverty stricken existence was uncanny. Now, this week brings another doc that can boast the same thing. It’s Wrestle, a look a the same sort of teenager. Athletics play a prominent role here, but as much as anything it’s a depiction of low income life in the American south. This world often seems forgotten, but this movie shines a fascinating light on it all. The film is a documentary about a High School wrestling team, as well as the poverty that surrounds them. Set in Huntsville, Alabama, it follows a group of students at J.O. Johnson High School who see potentially their only hope for the future resting...

As hazy and amorphous as a rain cloud, Meredith Danluck’s “State Like Sleep” does a fine job of recreating the dream-like fog of grief. But it doesn’t go much further, and “somnolence” isn’t an ideal quality around which to build an entire film.

As played by Katherine Waterston (“Fantastic Beasts”), American photographer Katherine has been floating dully since her Belgian movie star husband, Stefan, was mysteriously killed a year earlier. But when her mom (Mary Kay Place) winds up in a Brussels hospital, Katherine is jolted into action. She wants to know what really happened to Stefan, and the more she looks, the less she finds to like.

Stefan’s severe mother, Anneke, appears to be an open book: she bluntly hates her daughter-in-law, whom she blames for stealing her beloved son. A series of effective flashbacks also suggests that she was the Momager from Hell, though...

There’s no wrong way to grieve. How one deals with the loss of a loved one is a deeply unique situation. Whatever path someone takes, that’s what is right for them. Unfortunately, the same can not be said about films dealing with grief. When done right, they’re devastatingly powerful. When done wrong, you just can’t feel for the protagonist’s plight and have no connection. In the case of State Like Sleep, the movie wavers back and forth between both sides of the coin. In the end, poor pacing and too slow a buildup ultimately sabotage a potentially affecting piece of work. The movie is a drama laden with mystery/noir elements. Set a year after the death of her actor husband Stefan Delvoe (Michiel Huisman), Katherine (Katherine Waterston) is still trying to make sense of it all. When she gets a phone call that sends...

When it comes to Emmy nominations for below-the-line talent, traditional broadcaster NBC more than held its own in the major Creative Arts categories, tying HBO and besting juggernaut Netflix. The Peacock network broadcast three of the 13 shows that amassed seven or more noms in such areas as cinematography, production design and editing. HBO also had three shows in that arena; FX and Netflix each scored two, while Amazon, Hulu and Showtime each had one. Here’s an appraisal of those strongly crafted programs by some of the artisans who helped create them.

Atlanta / FX (seven noms)

The challenges facing editor Kyle Reiter on “Atlanta” were not the usual ones, “where you’re fixing problems and searching for the best takes,” he says. All the performances are so good that “there are an infinite number of ways of dealing with it, and it’s simply daunting.” It helped, he adds, that...

David Zellner and Nathan Zellner with Anne-Katrin Titze: "We love Westerns and we always wanted to do one but we didn't want to just copy what's been done before." Photo: Ally Navolio

The Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter creators are back this time with a Western. David Zellner and Nathan Zellner's latest, shot by Adam Stone, stars Robert Pattinson, Mia Wasikowska, and a horse named Butterscotch with Robert Forster, Joseph Billingiere, and a Barrel Of Laughs cameo by Nichols' longtime composer David Wingo.

David Zellner (Parson Henry) and Nathan Zellner (Rufus Cornell) sat down with me for a Damsel conversation that took us through Sophie Fiennes' The Pervert's Guide To Ideology (in which Slavoj Žižek says that Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver is a remake of John Ford's The Searchers), Hayao Miyazaki's Totoro, Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate, a scene from Jane Campion's The Piano, the Zen-like Butterscotch played by Daisy,...

141 original scores just made the Oscar shortlist, meaning that we have no real idea which soundtracks will go on to be nominated for the actual Academy Award — “Phantom Thread” composer Jonny Greenwood looks poised to finally be recognized for his work, but might “Baywatch” be a spoiler? We simply don’t know, dear reader. We simply don’t know.

As you await the nominations — which will be announced on Tuesday, January 23 — treat yourself to this selection of tracks from the shortlist.

Read More:2018 Oscar Predictions: Best Original Score



Read More:Oscars 2018: Best Original Score Shortlist Includes ‘The Shape of Water,’ ‘All the Money in the World,’ and More

Here are the 141 scores vying for an Oscar nod:

“Alien: Covenant,” Jed Kurzel, composer

“All I See Is You,” Marc Streitenfeld, composer

“All the Money in the World,” Daniel Pemberton, composer

“Annabelle: Creation,” Benjamin Wallfisch, composer

“Band Aid,” Lucius, composer

“Battle of the Sexes,...

This weekend, an oddball, endearing and sweet movie lands in theaters with “Brigsby Bear.” Earning strong buzz out of Sundance, the film, co-written and starring “Saturday Night Live” star Kyle Mooney, works its own unique magic, one that’s aided by the score from David Wingo. The composer has been a longtime collaborator on the films of David Gordon Green and Jeff Nichols, and brings his great touch to this charming indie.

Continue reading Exclusive: Stream David Wingo’s “Premiere” From The ‘Brigsby Bear’ Soundtrack at The Playlist.

The story of Mildred and Richard Loving could easily have become a sledgehammer epic about social injustice. Writer-director Jeff Nichols instead sticks to the facts and recounts their ordeal with a quiet subjectivity that neither exaggerates nor sanctifies. The result is a marvelously affecting demonstration of how a civilized, progressive America rights a wrong. Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton are terrific as just plain folks oppressed by an obsolete law.

Loving

Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD

Universal Studios Home Entertainment

2016 / Color / 2:40 widescreen / 123 min. / Street Date February 7, 2017 / 34.99

Starring : Ruth Negga, Joel Edgerton, Terri Abney, Marton Csokas, David Jensen, Nick Kroll, Jon Bass, Michael Shannon.

Cinematography: Adam Stone

Film Editor: Julie Monroe

Original Music: David Wingo

Produced by: Nancy Buirski, Ged Doherty, Colin Firth, Marc Turtletaub

Written and Directed by Jeff Nichols

Growing up in the 1950s, interracial marriage was a strange subject, and major entertainments handled it with kid gloves.

A total of 145 scores were recently announced as being eligible for this year’s Academy Award, with everything from perceived frontrunner “La La Land” (Justin Hurwitz) and “Jackie” (Mica Levi) to outliers like “Sausage Party” and “Elle.” The final five will be nominated on January 24. In the meantime, avail yourself of this Spotify playlist featuring selections from 110 of the eligible scores — as well as the full list of every eligible score.

Read More: Oscar Best Score Contenders: The Inside Story of Creating 5 Diverse Frontrunners

Read More: Oscars 2017: Listen to 70 Songs Eligible for This Year’s Academy Award

The Abolitionists,” Tim Jones, composer

“Absolutely Fabulous The Movie,” Jake Monaco, composer

“The Accountant,” Mark Isham, composer

“Alice through the Looking Glass,” Danny Elfman, composer

“Allied,” Alan Silvestri, composer

“Almost Christmas,” John Paesano, composer

“American Pastoral,” Alexandre Desplat, composer

“The Angry Birds Movie,” Heitor Pereira, composer

“Anthropoid,” Robin Foster, composer

“Armenia, My Love,...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 145 scores from eligible feature-length motion pictures released in 2016 are in contention for nominations in the Original Score category for the 89th Academy Awards.

The eligible scores along with their composers are listed below, in alphabetical order by film title:

“The Abolitionists,” Tim Jones, composer

“Absolutely Fabulous The Movie,” Jake Monaco, composer

“The Accountant,” Mark Isham, composer

“Alice through the Looking Glass,” Danny Elfman, composer

“Allied,” Alan Silvestri, composer

“Almost Christmas,” John Paesano, composer

“American Pastoral,” Alexandre Desplat, composer

“The Angry Birds Movie,” Heitor Pereira, composer

“Anthropoid,” Robin Foster, composer

“Armenia, My Love,” Silvia Leonetti, composer

“Assassin’s Creed,” Jed Kurzel, composer

“Autumn Lights,” Hugi Gudmundsson and Hjörtur Ingvi Jóhannsson, composers

“The Bfg,” John Williams, composer

“Believe,” Michael Reola, composer

“Ben-Hur,” Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders, composers

“Bilal,” Atli Ӧrvarsson, composer

“Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk,” Mychael Danna and Jeff Danna,...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has announced the 145 scores eligible in the Best Original Score category, includeing work from “Jackie” and “La La Land.” The latter film, a musical directed by “Whiplash” helmer Damien Chazelle, picked up the Los Angeles Film Critics Association’s award for Best Music earlier this month; “Jackie” was the category’s runner-up. Notably absent, meanwhile, are “Arrival” (which just landed a Golden Globe nod), “Manchester by the Sea” and “Silence.”

Read: ‘La La Land’: Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling’s ‘City of Stars’ Duet Will Sweep You Off Your Feet – Listen

Justin Hurwitz composed and orchestrated the “La La Land” score, while “Jackie” marks “Under the Skin” composer Mica Levi’s second silver-screen effort. Decades after becoming one of the world’s most renowned film composers, Ennio Morricone won last year’s Oscar for his work on Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight.

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:

Last Friday saw the release of Garth Davis’ “Lion,” the musical score for which is the gorgeous result of a collaboration between two giants of the neo-classical movement, Dustin O’Halloran and Hauschka. It’s just the latest indication that we’re living in a fascinating, vibrant time for movie music, and December boasts a number of films that will only add more fuel to that fire. With that in mind, we asked our panel of critics to name their favorite film score of the 21st Century.

Tasha Robinson (@TashaRobinson), The Verge

There are some really striking contenders out there, topped by Susumu Hirasawa’s manic,...

In light of the deep concern encompassing the country following this week’s presidential election, you might be looking for a cinematic reminder that ultimately love wins. That message is at the heart of Jeff Nichols‘ gentle, true story drama “Loving,” and the director has once again sought out the composer David Wingo (“Midnight Special,” “Mud,” “Take Shelter“) to bring his musical touch to the picture.

Continue reading Exclusive: Stream David Wingo’s Full Score For Jeff Nichols’ ‘Loving’ at The Playlist.

Ever since the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, pundits like myself have had the biopic Loving doing some damage in the Oscar race. I currently don’t have it dominating like I once did, but this is certainly one of the bigger prestige titles of 2016. This week, Focus Features finally releases it into theaters, after its successful festival run. Without too many other biopics in the race this year, there’s a clear spot for something like this to make a dent. There are plenty of fans for the movie, so it’s going to be noticed on the precursor circuit. The question is just, to what degree? The film is a look at Richard Loving (Joel Edgerton) and Mildred Loving (Ruth Negga), an interracial couple in 1958 Virginia, back during the time of anti-miscegenation laws. When the Loving marriage is discovered, Richard and Mildred are jailed, eventually having to move out of state.

In a medium founded on expanding one’s imagination and perception of reality, no genre does it better than science fiction. We’ve come a long way from the days when Georges Méliès took us to the moon, for today’s filmmakers look far beyond our universe and into the deepest corners of our soul to reflect the current society.

With the latest entry in the Star Trek franchise arriving in theaters this week, we’ve set out to reflect on the millennium’s sci-fi films that have most excelled. To note: we only stuck with feature-length works of 60 minutes or longer and, to make room for a few more titles, our definition of “the 21st century” stretched to include 2000.

Check out our top 50 below and let us know your favorites in the comments. We’ve also put the list on Letterboxd to keep track of how many you’ve seen.

Last week, we got two big Oscar friendly Trailers. The one I’m going to be talking about today is Loving, coming to us from filmmaker Jeff Nichols. He’s a writer/director who has been growing in stature the last few years, though this is his first overt play at awards. From the look of Loving, it’s a true life civil rights drama/biopic that should have real appeal across the board, and undoubtedly will be of interest to the Academy and its voters. Reviews were very strong out of the Cannes Film Festival and this Trailer debut was excellent as well. You’ll see it below, but first…let’s discuss it a bit. The film is a biopic of the Loving family, Richard (Joel Edgerton) and Mildred (Ruth Negga). An interracial couple living in the south in the 1950’s, they run into even more bigotry when they decide to get married.

Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton deliver remarkably nuanced performances in Loving, a late ’50s- / early ‘60s-set true life story of a mixed-race couple whose illegal marriage became a landmark case in the United States Supreme Court. Having tried his hand at the coming-of-age drama (Mud) and both small- and large-scale science fiction (Take Shelter and Midnight Special, respectively), the increasingly prolific Jeff Nichols branches out once more here to the awards season period drama. This heartwarming and wonderfully refined film might not do a whole lot of things we haven’t seen before in the civil rights-era picture, but it does the familiar stuff with enormous care and control.

As they say about these sorts of things: you just couldn’t write it. In June 1958, at the age of 18, Mildred Delores Jeter — of African American and Native American descent — became pregnant with the child of Richard Loving, a 24-year-old white man.

Every line in the poster above is correct about the film Midnight Special. It’s gripping, emotional and imaginative.

This film contains layers of depth and a mystifying tenor and has an extraordinary surprise reveal at the climax. (Review)

It’s an engaging and entertaining story and so far, one the best films this year.

Following impressive critical and audience response, the sci-fi thriller Midnight Special, from acclaimed writer/director Jeff Nichols, earned an outstanding $38,000 per-screen average across only five theaters in its March 18th debut in New York, Los Angeles and Austin, for an approximate opening weekend total of $190,000 in only five theaters, making it one of the year’s most successful limited openings.

The film, starring Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Adam Driver, Jaeden Lieberher and Sam Shepard, first played to overwhelming acclaim at its February 12th world premiere in competition at the Berlin International Film Festival,...

Stars: Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Jaeden Lieberher, Adam Driver, Bill Camp, Scott Haze, Sam Shepard, Paul Sparks, David Jensen | Written and Directed by Jeff Nichols

Family and encroaching doom seem to be staple themes in Jeff Nichols’ filmography thus far with Shotgun Stories, Take Shelter and Mud all dealing with ideas of how the familial unit can be disturbed or destroyed but each of his films have had a different feel and approach to them which has made them feel legitimately different. With Midnight Special he does this again, with sci-fi of the 1980’s having a direct sway over its thriller narrative throughline but also in its attention to character amid the wonder.

Starting with a disconcerting in media res jolt, Midnight Special intrigues from the beginning with Nichols cleverly introducing two men, a father and his friend, already having supposedly kidnapped a child and on their way...

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From the director of Take Shelter comes Midnight Special, starring Michael Shannon and Joel Edgerton. Our review of a great sci-fi movie...

Science fiction can take in monumental events and big ideas, but the genre’s just as powerful when it deals with the quiet and the intimate. Director Jeff Nichols’ Midnight Special owes a certain debt to Sf films of the 70s and 80s - among them John Carpenter’s Starman, a film he himself has cited as an inspiration - but it’s also told with the poetic intensity of a Ray Bradbury short story.

Michael Shannon (who previously starred in Nichols’ earlier films Shotgun Stories, Take Shelter and Mud - all excellent) plays Roy, a father on the run with his eight-year-old son, Alton (Jaeden Lieberher). With Joel Edgerton’s tough state trooper in tow, the three flee across Texas from government forces and...

While those in New York, Los Angeles, and Austin are lucky enough to get see Midnight Special in their local theaters, the latest feature from Jeff Nichols will finally expand a week from today. To help hold one over, today we have one of the film’s best elements: David Wingo‘s wonder-filled, otherwordly score.

“It’s ethereal,” he tells GQ, discussing the process of creation. “There is gentleness to the chord progression. The chord progression typical to a lot of church hymns. French horns. Long, held-out chords, with pauses in between. A stately, grand feel to it.” Check it out below, along with a 30-minute talk with Nichols and Jonathan Levine, and a scene analyzation from the director.

Midnight Special is now in limited release and expands on April 1st.

Slowly but surely, filmmaker Jeff Nichols is becoming one of the more popular names in independent cinema. In fact, some pundits already claim that he’s one of the new masters of the medium. This week, he takes his first step towards the mainstream with the science fiction film Midnight Special, a unique movie that could introduce him to a wider audience. Nichols makes hard to define cinema, and this is certainly the case as well. There are genre trappings, but this is as much about the nature of faith and fatherhood as it is a sci-fi tale. It’s not perfect, but Midnight Special is one of the more interesting releases of 2016 so far. The film is a strange animal, but certainly doesn’t lack for ambition. As it begins, we’re introduced to Roy (Michael Shannon), who is in a hotel room with Lucas (Joel Edgerton) and young...

I was very impressed with writer/director Jeff Nichols' two most recent films, Take Shelter and Mud, so I was slightly torn when I heard he was going to be directing his first studio film. Would this new project retain the qualities that made the aforementioned movies so enjoyable, or would a bigger budget and navigating the complicated landscape of studio filmmaking soften the style I enjoyed so much? Thankfully, Midnight Special is a mostly-satisfying thriller that tells its own story while feeling like a throwback to classic sci-fi movies like Close Encounters of The Third Kind, Starman, and E.T.

Nichols avoids the exposition dump that so often happens in movies like this, instead choosing to drop us into the middle of the action and slowly reveal information about the characters we meet. Roy (Michael Shannon) and Lucas (Joel Edgerton) are armed and on the run in a dark...

A young boy who possesses strange and difficult-to-explain powers makes his way towards a mysterious rendezvous with his father doing everything he can to protect him from anyone who might stop him. That's it. That's the basic plot of Midnight Special, and when you boil it down that far, it sounds like something familiar, something we've seen many times before. What makes the film sing is the extraordinary control exhibited by Jeff Nichols as a filmmaker at this point, especially when he's working with Michael Shannon, who has given some of his finest performances when working with Nichols. That continues here. Michael Shannon plays Roy, and when we meet him, he's on the road with his childhood best friend Lucas (Joel Edgerton) and his little boy Alton (Jaeden Lieberher). It's not clear at first why they're running, where they're coming from, or where they're going, and Nichols does a very...

It’s a Jeff Nichols kind of morning. Earlier today we revealed three exclusive new TV spots for the director’s latest film, the sci-fi thriller “Midnight Special,” and now we’ve got another exclusive that's a bit of a throwback. With “Midnight Special” making its North American premiere at SXSW this week (kicking off Friday, March 11), art gallery and online store Mondo is announcing the premiere vinyl soundtrack release to Nichols’ acclaimed 2012 film “Mud” starring Matthew McConaughey. We’ve also got the exclusive debut of the vinyl artwork designed by Tomer Hanuka. Read More: Berlin Review: Jeff Nichols' 'Midnight Special' With Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst & Adam Driver The vinyl goes on sale at MondoTees on March 10th. The “Mud” soundtrack was written by David Wingo, the longtime composer of David Gordon Green who also scored Nichols’ “Take Shelter.” Memphis-based country punk outfit Lucero also...

It isn’t often that a movie remotely related to Jeff Nichols‘ Midnight Special will actually offer you insight from a set of pictures, but this quirky, sci-fi effort gives you a lot to think about with this set of images.

If you aren’t familiar with Nichols, the writer/director of the underappreciated Mud and Take Shelter is quickly proving himself one of the best storytellers in the game.

If you aren’t familiar with Midnight Special, the film stars Michael Shannon as a father who is on the run with his son Alton (Jaeden Lieberher). Alton has mysterious powers, and his father just wants to keep him away from people, but that turns into an escalating chase as more an more people get involved in the hunt.

That opens a lot of doors, and at the same time doesn’t tell you much, but the images offer a bit more.

With id Software's revival of Doom on the horizon, these Funko Doom Pop! figures couldn't arrive at a better time. Read further for more details on this story. Also in today's round-up: a new trailer for Midnight Special starring Michael Shannon and details on the limited edition Kiss Demon Mask by HalloweenCostumes.com.

Doom Pop! Vinyl Figures: From Funko: "The seminal PC game Doom is now part of the Funko gaming library!

You’ll need as many Doom Marine Pop! figures as you can get to navigate the harsh terrain found in each Doom level!

Make sure you come with as much firepower as possible when facing the classic Doom enemies like the Cyberdemon!

Coming in March!"

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Midnight Special: Press Release: "In the sci-fi thriller “Midnight Special,” writer/director Jeff Nichols proves again that he is one of the most compelling storytellers of our time, as a father...

Kirsten Dunst, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Michael Shannon, Jaeden Lieberher and Jeff Nichols Weltpremiere Midnight Special, Berlinale 2016

Jeff Nichols’ must-see Midnight Special had its World Premiere in Berlin on Friday, February 12, 2016 at the 66th Berlinale International Film Festival .

Peter Debruge (Variety) says in his Berlin film review, Midnight Special “puts an original spin on the road movie, ending with a spectacular sci-fi finale on par with Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”

A provocative, genre-defying film as supernatural as it is intimately human, it follows a father, Roy (Michael Shannon), who goes on the run to protect his young son, Alton (Jaeden Lieberher), a boy with mysterious powers that even Roy himself cannot comprehend.

What starts as a race from religious extremists and local law enforcement quickly escalates to a nationwide manhunt involving the highest levels of the Federal Government. Risking everything, Roy is committed to helping Alton reach his ultimate purpose,...

In his fourth feature, Midnight Special, Jeff Nichols pays transporting homage to the rich tradition, spanning the late 1970s through the mid-'80s, of intelligent sci-fi emotionally grounded in relatable human dynamics. There's an explicit nod, in particular, to John Carpenter's Starman, echoed even in the enveloping mood of David Wingo's driving electronic score. But this suspenseful, beautifully acted supernatural thriller is also very much of a piece with Nichols' overarching thematic concerns and stylistic approach, with notably strong links to another riveting study in fatherhood, family and home, Take Shelter. And like that film, it's built around a

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'The Peanuts Movie': 2016 Best Original Score Oscar contender along with 111 other titles. Oscar 2016: Best Original Score contenders range from 'Mad Max: Fury Road' to 'The Peanuts Movie' Earlier this month (Dec. '15), the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made public the list of 112 film scores eligible for the 2016 Oscar in the Best Original Score category. As found in the Academy's press release, “a Reminder List of works submitted in the Original Score category will be made available with a nominations ballot to all members of the Music Branch, who shall vote in the order of their preference for not more than five achievements. The five achievements receiving the highest number of votes will become the nominations for final voting for the award.” The release adds that “to be eligible, the original score must be a substantial body of music that serves as original dramatic underscoring, and must...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 112 scores from eligible feature-length motion pictures released in 2015 are in contention for nominations in the Original Score category for the 88th Academy Awards.

The eligible scores along with their composers are listed below, in alphabetical order by film title:

“Adult Beginners,” Marcelo Zarvos, composer

“The Age of Adaline,” Rob Simonsen, composer

“Altered Minds,” Edmund Choi, composer

“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip,” Mark Mothersbaugh, composer

“Anomalisa,” Carter Burwell, composer

“Ant-Man,” Christophe Beck, composer

“Beasts of No Nation,” Dan Romer, composer

“The Big Short,” Nicholas Britell, composer

“Black Mass,” Tom Holkenborg, composer

“Bridge of Spies,” Thomas Newman, composer

“Brooklyn,” Michael Brook, composer

“Burnt,” Rob Simonsen, composer

“By the Sea,” Gabriel Yared, composer

“Carol,” Carter Burwell, composer

“Cartel Land,” H. Scott Salinas and Jackson Greenberg, composers

“Chi-Raq,” Terence Blanchard, composer

“Cinderella,” Patrick Doyle, composer

“Coming Home,” Qigang Chen, composer

“Concussion,...

Check out the first trailer for the highly anticipated Midnight Special.

In the sci-fi thriller Midnight Special, writer/director Jeff Nichols proves again that he is one of the most compelling storytellers of our time, as a father (Michael Shannon) goes on the run to protect his young son, Alton (Jaeden Lieberher), and uncover the truth behind the boy’s special powers. What starts as a race from religious extremists and local law enforcement quickly escalates to a nationwide manhunt involving the highest levels of the Federal Government. Ultimately his father risks everything to protect Alton and help fulfill a destiny that could change the world forever in this genre – defying film as supernatural as it is intimately human.

Midnight Special stars Oscar nominee Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Adam Driver, Jaeden Lieberher and Oscar nominee Sam Shepard. Rounding out the main cast are Bill Camp, Scott Haze and Paul Sparks.

Dreams and hallucinations can be the broadest of horror staples. Throw in some weird imagery, maybe a few jarring cuts, and you have an instant scare. But an effective dream sequence is more than technique, it’s a filmmaker capturing a specific type of fear: losing control, having your life shattered, or meeting a manifestation of your guilt. The dream or the hallucination is the character’s psyche putting the pieces together or falling apart completely. Of course, dreams don’t always require messages. Sometimes, they’re just damn scary.

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Aliens (1986)- Ripley’s nightmare

Aliens is the perfect sequel for many reasons. It follows in the footsteps of the original 1979 classic while existing as its own entity and delivering new characters that are just as memorable as the first’s. What’s more, it favors high-tension action scenes over more traditional horror-centric scenes, demonstrating the malleability of the series.

Here’s your first look at the brand new trailer for director David Gordon Green’s Our Brand Is Crisis, starring Oscar winners Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side) and Billy Bob Thornton (Sling Blade).

The film will debut this coming weekend at the Toronto International Film Festival and then in theaters on October 30th.

In the film, a Bolivian presidential candidate failing badly in the polls enlists the firepower of an elite American management team, led by the deeply damaged but still brilliant strategist “Calamity” Jane Bodine (Bullock). In self-imposed retirement following a scandal that earned her nickname and rocked her to her core, Jane is coaxed back into the game for the chance to beat her professional nemesis, the loathsome Pat Candy (Thornton), now coaching the opposition.

But as Candy zeroes in on every vulnerability – both on and off the campaign trail – Jane is plunged into a personal crisis...