Cinema Royale

As we inch closer to the big awards nominations, I had a chance to sit down with Ben Younger, director of the boxing drama Bleed for This, and talk about the lead performance by Miles Teller. Teller plays former world champion Vinny Pazienza who overcomes a life-threatening spinal injury to return to the ring. 

I didn't realize how much I missed the Wizarding World of Harry Potter until I sat down for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. But does that mean J.K. Rowling's prequel lives up all of our magically lofty expectations?  On the latest episode of Cinema Royale I'll be joined by film critic Hannah Buchdahl and hopefully we'll both have found it spell-binding! We'll go from magic spells to invad...

I had the chance to sit down with Jeff Nichols, director of the amazing drama Loving, along with one of the film's stars, Joel Edgerton. We talked about the powerful film which centers on Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple (Ruth Negga plays Mildred) whose Supreme Court case that made it legal to marry outside one's race. If you've been listening to the show you know I feel it's goin...

Marvel is hoping Benedict Cumberbatch can help turn DOCTOR STRANGE into the next IRON MAN, but does the film actually live up to those lofty expectations? Cinema Royale will be joined by Jeff Lyles of Lyles' Movie Files to explore Marvel's first foray into a mystical realm that looks like THE MATRIX and INCEPTION had a love child. Also, I'll save a few thoughts for Mel Gibson's war drama HACKSAW R...

Cinema Royale has been away for far too long while I dealt with film festivals and illnesses, which usually go hand-in-hand for me, but I'm back in time to talk about one of the awards season's biggest films. Tim Gordon join me to discuss Moonlight, the long-awaited second feature from Barry Jenkins. It's a film that is kicking all kinds of ass on the indie scene and could make an even bigger spla...

Travis Hopson is joined by Jonas Cuaron, writer/director of the intense thriller, Desierto, which takes the immigration issue in a deadly new direction. The film stars Gael Garcia Bernal as an immigrant seeking to cross into the U.S., only to be targeted by an insane "patriot" played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan. 

It's the perfect week to be joined by Tim Gordon, my homie and president of the Black Reel Awards. We'll have a chance to discuss Nate Parker's controversial The Birth of a Nation, a film we saw way back at Sundance in January.  With that film's arrival and potential place as a Best Picture contender at the Academy Awards, we're going to look at the black movies that may give it some competition....

On this week's episode of Cinema Royale I'm joined by my homie Chris Bumbray of Joblo.com, who has just returned from the Toronto International Film Festival. I'm going to pick his considerably brain on the best movies from TIFF, and what we should look out for this awards season. Maybe he can also tell us what to avoid. Plus he and I will discuss The Magnificent Seven remake starring Denzel Washi...

Cinema Royale is joined by Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o as she discusses her latest film, Queen of Katwe, based on the true story of Ugandan chess champion, Phiona Mutesi! Nyong'o discusses her motivation in making the film, her working relationship with director Mira Nair, playing Phiona's fiery mother, and diversity in Hollywood.

Ever since Adam Wingard's boringly-titled The Forest was revealed to actually be Blair Witch, a sequel to the terrrifying The Blair Witch Project, I've been eager to see if it can hold up to the original. Does it live up to the original? Will it make you never want to enter he woods of Maryland again? As if you would ever want to anyway? Plus we do what nobody should do and ride with Tom Hanks in...

It's the 1980s all over again and damn is it sweet! I grew up on the martial arts action flicks of Jean-Claude Van Damme and Kickboxer was...well, it wasn't Bloodsport, but it was still awesome. Now twentyfive years later JCVD is back and playing the mentor role in Kickboxer: Vengeance! But can this new, updated version starring Alain Moussi and Dave Bautista kick butt like the original?  Joblo.co...

The story of Barack and Michelle Obama's first date is told in Richard Tanne's spirited new film, Southside with You. Cinema Royale's Travis Hopson had a chance to sit down with Parker Sawyers and Tika Sumpter, who had the unenviable task of playing the Obamas, to talk with them and Tanne about the pressures of telling this story.

Cinema Royale's Travis Hopson sits down with Alysia Reiner (Orange is the New Black), Sarah Megan Thomas, and director Meera Menon to discuss the red-hot Wall Street thriller, Equity!

On the latest episode of Cinema Royale, we're runnin' guns with Miles Teller and Jonah Hill in War Dogs, the latest film from The Hangover director, Todd Phillips! I'll also be joined by Tim Gordon, President and founder of the Black Reel Awards, to talk about the controversy surrounding Birth of a Nation director Nate Parker. Will prior rape charges derail what looks to be a clear Oscars favorite...

On one side, you have Disney's Pete's Dragon a remake of their 1977 live-action/animated hybrid and the latest in the Mouse House's successful line of retellings. On the other, the gritty neo-Western Hell or High Water starring Jeff Bridges, Ben Foster, and Chris Pine. What do they have in common? Probably low expectations, but for very different reasons. We'll look at both of these films along wi...

Logan Lerman and director James Schamus chat with Cinema Royale about their new film, 'Indignation', an adaptation of the book by cherished author, Philip Roth.

Are you down with the Skwad? Warner Bros. hopes you are, and that you love Suicide Squad more than you apparently loved Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. On this week's show we're going to look at the film with the baddest team of do-gooders ever, and if it's the start of bold new era for the DCU!  

It's a wrap for this year's San Diego Comic-Con, and while I took a year off I'm inviting someone to Cinema Royale who definitely was there. Brandon Troy of ReelFilmNews.com joins us to talk about what he saw on the show floor and in Hall H where all the big stuff happens! Justice League, Wonder Woman, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Captain Marvel, we'll talk about all of that and more so tune in, joi...

Who ya gonna call? Probably not the whiny fans of the original Ghostbusters complaining about Paul Feig's reboot.  But do they have good reason to be upset? Are Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon really the harbingers of nostalgic doom? Or are a bunch of dudes really upset over nothing?  Kristen Lopez of Journeys in Classic Film joins me to talk about Ghostbusters, its...

On this special episode of Cinema Royale, I get to indulge in two of my favorite things ever: movies and professional wrestling. Lucha Mexico directors Alex Hammond and Ian Markiewicz join me to talk about their new documentary on Mexico's wild, mysterious, dazzling world of Lucha Libre!

In a special episode of Cinema Royale, I chat with the hilarious Adam Devine about his new comedy, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, in which he stars alongside Zac Efron, Aubrey Plaza, and reteams with Pitch Perfect's Anna Kendrick. 

On this week's Cinema Royale, I finally get a chance to talk with fellow PDCer and Nicolas Winding Refn superfan Rocky Hadadi about The Neon Demon, the polarizing director's twisted LA horror starring Elle Fanning, Keanu Reeves, Jena Malone, and more. It's so visually resplendent my review was done in all GIFs, so check that out before Rocky and I chat it up. I'll also see if she stopped staring a...

On a very special episode of Cinema Royale, I'm joined by film critic and animation expert Leslie Combemale to talk about Pixar's long-awaited sequel, Finding Dory. I wasn't totally convinced that Finding Nemo needed a sequel, but did Pixar manage to make me care about the forgetful fish voiced by Ellen Degeneres? Plus, the sudden tragic death of Antony Yelchin has hit me pretty hard, and I'll tak...

Cinema Royale's Travis Hopson sits down with award-winning Chi-Raq writer Kevin Willmott to talk about his hilarious sci-fi spoof and racial satire, Destination: Planet Negro! 

On this week's Cinema Royale we head across the pond and try not to be scared out of our boots by James Wan's The Conjuring 2, reuniting Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson! Good thing we have Kristen Lopez (@Journeys_Film) calling in to keep us safe!  Plus, we'll talk about the all-new Ocean's Eleven "sequel" led by Sandra Bullock and an all-female cast. We'll get the full casting rundown and discuss...