Best Actress - April Foolish Oscar Predix

We always save the best category for last.

The April Foolish Oscar predictions are officially complete with the BEST ACTRESS chart which has just gone up. So many talent women. So much luscious actressing to come. We cannot wait to see these performances, wherever they happen to fall on the chart. Predictions are for fun and do not indicate who we're rooting for ever -- we try not to root for anything without actually seeing the films because "may the best performance win!" and we don't know what that will be yet, now do we? This year the April Foolish crystal ball says "all previous nominees" but that's largely because it does not appear to be a year where many women who aren't previous nominees have managed to land leading roles. But we shall see. 

Answer me these questions three:

1. Which actress's double feature are you most excited to see? The busy choices are: Jessica Chastain (A Woman Walks Ahead, Molly's Game), Kate Winslet (Wonder Wheel, The Mountain Between Us), Sally Hawkins (Maudie, The Shape of Water), and Charlize Theron (Tully, Atomic Blonde). Let's leave the very busy Nicole Kidman out of this survey since the size of her roles aren't totally obvious this year.

2. Do you think Annette Bening has momentum due to that near-miss last season (those sometimes build goodwill) or do you think 20th Century Women is irrelevant to this year's prediction equation?

3. Which performance are you convinced will be great sight unseen? ...and vice versa if you're feeling irritable today.

ICYMI 
Past articles on this new Oscar race
Last year's Oscars, the full index

Captain Marvel might not be imaginary after all!

While I remain skeptical about Marvel Studios commitment to their female heroes, they took a small step forward in making Captain Marvel a reality by signing directors to the project. That's right, directors, as in plural. The writer/director duo of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck won the gig. They're not doing the screenplay this time (which is new for them) but still co-directing. They debuted with the searing Half Nelson for which Ryan Gosling earned a well deserved Best Actor nomination. Their subsequent films (Sugar, It's Kind of a Funny Story, and Mississippi Grind) weren't quite as acclaimed but were respectable outings. They've recently been directing performance-centric shows like Looking, Billions and The Affair.   

What does this mean for the film? Well it bodes well for the acting (not that Brie Larson needs a lot of help there) since they always do right by the talent but we hope they have amazing first-timer intuitions in terms of helming action setpieces and doing a ton of greenscreen. What's the learning curve like on that?

Captain Marvel will supposedly open on March 8th, 2019. 

I'm With Her: Brie Larson Playing 1st Female POTUS Candidate

By Spencer Coile 

Fresh off the heels of an Oscar victory, stone-facing Casey Affleck, and battling Kong, it appears Brie Larson is coming back stronger than ever-- ready to test her political prowess. 

Amazon Studios has obtained rights to Victoria Woodhull, aptly named after the first female to ever run for the U.S. presidency. Larson, not only serving as a producer for the film, will jump into the title role of Victoria. Although very little is known about the upcoming project thus far, below are some initial thoughts and predictions about this latest venture from Larson and company.

Click to read more ...

Would you rather...?

Would you rather...

...play dressup with the men of Beauty & The Beast
...attend John Barrowman's bday party?
...snack with Pratt?
...book club with Missi Pyle? 
... eat popcorn with Brie and Tom?
... or get an in flight spa treatment with Brie Larson? 

Pictures after the jump to help you decide.

Click to read more ...

Review: "Kong: Skull Island"

by Chris Feil

Kong is back for another franchise chasing smash-em-up with a slight reimagining in Kong: Skull Island. This time director Jordan Vogt-Roberts is aiming almost exclusively for amusement park thrills after Peter Jackson’s high gloss, Very Serious take a decade ago. While the film does deliver the fun with its own visual zeal and resistance to some of the staples of Kong’s past, Skull Island is best met with limited expectations...

Click to read more ...