MURTADA ELFADL

Remaking successful international productions, particularly European ones, is a tried and true Hollywood tradition. In most cases we end up with a rehash that loses whatever edge the original had; in the process of trying to make it more palatable for American audiences, something almost always gets lost—particularly with thrillers and satires. From Diabolique and Vanilla Sky in the 1990s to the recent Downhill (2020), a remake of the Swedish satire Force Majeure (2014), the list goes on. Lat...

The Silent Twins opens with the voices of two young girls. They narrate the credits with inviting, peppy animation, reading the actors’ names and laughing at their own. The joy in their voices contrasts with the film’s title, offering an appealing way to welcome viewers into the story. Unfortunately, the remainder of the almost two-hour running time settles into a more somber and mournful tone, with only a little bit of humor and uplift.
The film, directed by Agnieszka Smoczynska and written ...

If you’re a filmmaker who’s just starting out, deciding which festival(s) to submit your movie to can be a daunting experience. Smaller festivals and side competitions from the majors can be exciting places to launch a film. Whether you’ve wrapped up your first project or are dreaming up your next, here are a few festivals to consider submitting to.
If you’re submitting a short film:
While most fests have shorts programs, it can be hard for a short to distinguish itself among the more highly ...

Close your eyes. Now imagine a giant Idris Elba telling you stories in his mellifluous voice. Now open your eyes. He’s there, offering to make three wishes of yours come true. Now if this isn’t heaven, I don’t know what is. It’s also the premise of Three Thousand Years of Longing.
Tilda Swinton’s Dr. Alithea Binnie, an academic on a trip to Istanbul, encounters Elba’s otherworldly Djinn when she frees him from thousands of years of imprisonment in a small bottle. What follows is a battle of w...

Theaters everywhere (September 23)
It will be a busy fall season for Harry Styles and Florence Pugh, who have three buzzy movies coming out between the two of them. First for both is director Olivia Wilde’s period psychological thriller Don’t Worry Darling. Pugh has the lead role as a 1950s housewife living in a seemingly idyllic community. However, the company where her husband (Styles) works seems to be in control of their lives. Something seems off. Is she being watched? Stalked?
Thanks to...

Theaters everywhere (September 16)

The poster proclaims, “Her Reign Begins.” The truth, however, is that we have been living in Viola Davis’ world for many years now. She has conquered all mediums: screen, stage, even books. Yet somehow The Woman King looks like another departure for the Oscar and Emmy winner that promises to show something we haven’t yet seen from her. Are you ready for Viola Davis, action star?

In this historical epic inspired by true events, Davis plays the leader of an al...

This week on And the Runner-Up Is, Kevin welcomes culture critic and film programmer Murtada Elfadl to discuss the 1952 Oscar race for Best Actress, where Shirley Booth won for her performance in “Come Back, Little Sheba,” beating Joan Crawford in “Sudden Fear,” Bette Davis in “The Star,” Julie Harris in “The Member of the Wedding,” and Susan Hayward in “With a Song in My Heart.” We discuss all of these nominated performances and determine who we think was the runner-up to Booth.
0:00 – 13:33...

Despite receiving an Oscar nomination for best actor—one of 13 for The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button—this performance is seldom regarded amongst Pitt’s best, perhaps because of the heavy old age makeup and CGI required to tell this story of a man aging backwards. The visual transformation might eclipse the performance, but look deeper and you’ll see the grounded humanity Pitt brings to the role. He’s somehow utterly believable playing someone born old with an innate and wise understanding o...

Pride Month has always been a time of celebration for the LGBTQ community and its allies. Along with the evolution of Pride, there have been improvements in the film and TV industry regarding queer media.
My early references for queer stories were films like Cheryl Dunye’s The Watermelon Woman and Sally Potter’s Orlando. I don’t think these films were labeled as queer at the time, but now they are. At the same time, a surge of queer pride narratives hit TV with Ilene Chaiken’s The L Word and ...

Before he returns to the blazing hot action of Mad Max with its prequel Furiosa (currently in production), writer-director George Miller dips into the fantastical with Three Thousand Years Of Longing. Based on the short story “The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye” by Booker prize-winning author A.S. Byatt, the film centers around an encounter in Istanbul between an academic (Tilda Swinton) and a Djinn (Idris Elba) who offers her three wishes in exchange for his freedom.
What follows is a battle...

Dakota Johnson has more than proven herself as a romantic lead. From the erotic (the Fifty Shades film series) to the the empathetic (Cha Cha Real Smooth), she has a warm and easy charm onscreen. But can she take on the literary doyenne of the Regency era, Jane Austen?
In the latest adaptation of Austen’s Persuasion she’s Anne Elliot, a woman looking for a second chance at love. Fans of the book took umbrage with the film’s attempts at modernization—like breaking the fourth wall—when the trai...

Theaters everywhere July 15
Where The Crawdads Sing became a surprise bestseller in 2019 and captivated readers with its tale about a lonely girl’s coming-of-age in the marshes of North Carolina. Author Delia Owens managed to appeal to a multitude of audiences by combining a murder mystery, a romance, and a nature survival story into an irresistible page turner. Translating all this for the big screen can be a tall order. But director Olivia Newman (First Match) and screenwriter Lucy Alibar (...

In this bonus episode we are discussing the 2022 Oscar Nominations. Our take on the acting categories and best picture. The discussion touches on the performances of Kristen Stewart, Nicole Kidman, Olivia Colman, Andrew Garfield and Denzel Washington. We lament the exclusion of Ruth Negga and raise a glass to Lady Gaga’s fun and fascinating press tour for House of Gucci. For this conversation Murtada welcomes back Izzy from Be Kind Rewind.
Click to listen:
Other movies discussed include West ...

In this bonus episode we are discussing the many films we screened at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. For this conversation Murtada welcomes Li Lai, founder and editor in chief of Mediaversity Reviews to discuss a few films including Bill Nighy in Living, Emma Thompson in Good Luck to You, Leo Grande and two films for both Dakota Johnson (AmI OK? and Cha Cha Real Smooth) and Regina Hall (Master and Honk for Jesus Save Your Soul).