Posterized: Thomas Vinterberg

By Nathaniel R

Vinterberg at the Oscars in 2014When we were first were introduced (not literally) to writer/director Thomas Vinterberg, who turns 48 today (Gratulerer med dagen!), in 1998 we thought "he ought to be in pictures!".

⇱ Just look at that mug!

The Dane auteur IS in pictures, at least spiritually, since he still makes Danish pictures inbetween his English language films and some of them are clearly pulled from his soul. His new film The Commune is a fictional story but the director did grow up in a commune watching the adults struggle with their decisions (The Commune has a key teenage character who is very observant).

So with that film in theaters in select cities and also on VOD (you can stream it for a price on Amazon) let's look back at his career to date via movie posters.

He's made nine features. How many have you seen? 

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The Irresistible Danger of Matthias Schoenaerts and Michael Shannon

 As we continue Actor Month here's Murtada on Matthias Schoenaerts & Michael Shannon.

One might ask what do Matthias Schoenaerts and Michael Shannon have in common. A hulking body (stocky Schoenaerts and tall angular Shannon). Intensity? Yes but also a certain menacing danger that sweeps through in every performance. It's a danger that comes out sexy with Schoenaerts and somewhat evil with Shannon. One never knows what they are going to do next, and that's why they are so mesmerizing to watch.

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Beauty Break: Costume Design (Personal Ballot & Oscar Shortlist)

We're about to wrap up the "traditional" portion of the Film Bitch Awards which are essentially Nathaniel's Oscar ballot were he to have one in every category. (There will be more awards each day until we're finished -- before the Oscars, mind you! -- but they're the fun "extras")

Oscar's costume branch and I were fairly sympatico on our shortlists this year differing by only two pictures. Yet citing only 7 pictures (all featured after the jump) feels stingy. Costume heavy period pictures like Macbeth, Crimson Peak, The Assassin and Brooklyn definitely had their moments. Two contemporary pictures worth noting for their clever work were Youth and Chi-Raq. And then there are the pictures that have one costume so special it's what you always think of later on when you're picturing the movie: that lime green slit-to-there dress in M:I - Rogue Nation, the perfect action hero simplicity of Chris Pratt's functional but very tight outfits in Jurassic World, the barely visible sight of Jennifer Jason Leigh under huge furry everything in The Hateful Eight, that stylish pilot jacket in Star Wars: The Force Awakens that traded hands and so on...

In short, if you don't love costumes -- get outta here! Let's celebrate the five Oscar nominees plus two Nathaniel nominated in his own awards after the jump. Crazy gorgeous photos ahead...

OSCAR'S COSTUME DESIGN NOMINEES

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Posterized: Carey Mulligan

Carey Mulligan at the Women in Hollywood Awards earlier this weekTwo Oscar hopefuls will hopefully dominate the conversation. Steve Jobs went wide today and the scrappy fighting-for-our-rights British period piece Suffragette is finally starting its US release in select cities. The movie has whethered some controversy of late and unexpectedly muted reception critically... at least in its first round. But release is a different challenge than pre-release buzz. If audiences like it, expect the Oscar buzz to reheat. At least for its leading lady who, we should remind ourselves, already had a minor unexpected hit this year with Far From the Madding Crowd.

Which means it's time to think about Carey Mulligan again.  How many of Carey Mulligan's 14 films have you seen? The posters (and more commentary) after the jump...

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New DVD: Is this unofficial costume drama week or something?

Question: Do you ever look to the left sidebar to see "new on dvd"? That's our handy way of referencing older articles once a movie reemerges in its new format. Release dates used to be so much simpler. Now in addition to tortured theatrical patterns, it's super complicated afterwards, too: rental before or during theatrical, streaming only, digital release, cable release, exclusive rental windows at one place before it's available elsewhere, blu-Ray/DVD editions (sometimes on separate dates), etc. It's all so exhausting. Movies are meant to be seen; they shouldn't be playing hide & seek or 'Where am I now?' games. This is why we gave up trying to have a devoted DVD column.

This is all a long way to say that a weird coincidence prompted this post. This week's DVD releases are heavy on the actressy costume dramas. Unofficial Corset Convention! So, naturally our eyes here at TFE flashed a little. You've got Kate Winslet in A Little Chaos, Carey Mulligan in Far From The Madding Crowd, and Mia Wasikowska in Madame Bovary all at once.

It's like a spontaneous Who Wore It Best party. 

Also on DVD this week and with links if we've written something about them: The Affair S1, Child 44, Chocolate City - the no-budget urban response to Magic Mike but with even less nudity (it's like they don't even know why people watch cheapie ripoffs), The Divergent Series: Insurgent (the first was too boring to bother with the second), Every Secret Thing an actressy mystery with Diane Lane, Dakota Fanning, and Elizabeth Banks, How to Get Away With Murder S1 - which I gave up on early, True Story, and something called The Salvation which I'll admit I've never heard of but it stars two creepy great actors Mads Mikkelsen and Eva Green so for a moment visions of gonzo supernatural fantasy loomed but it turns out it's just a bloody western (sigh). On the other hand the director Kristian Levring did that Dogme 95 movie The King is Alive (2001) back in the day and that was heavy on the ALL CAPS ACTING so maybe we should check this one out? [UPDATE: EEEeeek. We reviewed it right here a full year ago from a festival. Thanks David!]