Contrarian Corner: A Quiet Place

Contrarian Corner is an irregular series in which TFE team members sound off on a film that they just can't join the consensus with. Chris loved the movie (as audiences seem to). But here's Sean Donovan with quite a different reaction...

A Quiet Place is very very quiet, as all of the characters are keen to remind us, frantically throwing up a finger to their lips in a suppressed SHHHHH. The monsters can hear you, a mysterious species blind but intensely sensitive to sound, and capable of swinging in from far off distances to decimate any disturbance in the soundscape. As a result, one survivalist family of this ruined civilization (dad John Krasinski, mom Emily Blunt, children Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe) have calibrated their lives perfectly to function without sound.

I, for one, wanted more of a sense of this family’s regular routine in their soundless environment: how do they communicate, how are their lives different, how do they have fun? You can imagine the Swiss Family Robinson or Rube Goldberg machine fun this movie could have had: what are Noah Jupe’s favorite sound-free toys? How does Emily Blunt make toast so the toaster stays PERFECTLY SILENT? 

Click to read more ...

JLaw gets the last word

by Nathaniel R

Did you see Jennifer Lawrence's jaw-dropping Versace at the London photocall for Red Sparrow? Apparently when the photo came out social media erupted, articles were written, etcetera (somehow I personally missed this but blink-and-you'll-miss-a-controversy). People were outraged on her behalf about the sexualization of women while the men stay dressed and all that (we've seen a million examples of this happening so it's easy for all the very dumb to spot now). Some of the people who called it out did have a good sense of humor about it -- suggesting that Jeremy Irons wear assless chaps? Hee!

(But, you know, he probably would if you asked him. He hasn't actually been shy about his own beauty onscreen. Look it up.)

Still instant outrage is usually problematic. The world's highest paid female movie star is pissed that people made a big deal of it, writing on her facebook account...

Click to read more ...

with six you get linkroll

• Anna Biller would like you to stop calling old movies "feminist" because that has specific meaning. It does not just mean 'has great female characters' which many old movies do
• Deadline Julie Dash (Daughters of the Dust) is working on a biopic about the early life of Rosa Parks
• AV Club Ian McKellen: Playing the Part, is a new documentary out later this year. Apparently it made a festival appearance last year and is planning a unique release of some kind. 
• Vulture an interview with the legendary Bernadette Peters. She sounds like a tough woman to interview but somehow her constant reticence about the question and obvious withholding sounds charming rather than nightmarish
• Pride Sasha Lane (American Honey) comes out as gay
• Show-Score I wrote this piece (experimenting with the human interest profile format) about two women who travelled together inspired by the Broadway musical Come From Away. Hope you like.

Cate Blanchett only the 9th Actress to Preside over Cannes!

by Nathaniel R

Pedro Almodóvar was always going to be a tough act to follow. So surprise, Cannes went with an actress instead of a director to head its 71st annual event (May 8th through 19th, 2018). We're sure Pedro would approve, being the big Actressexual that he is. Actresses are more common than actors for this honor but the bulk of the Main Competition jury presidents are famous auteurs. Cate the Great will only be the 9th actress to preside (for the tenth such occurence). She's also only the second Australian after director George Miller reigned in 2016.

The only actresses to have previously presided over the main Cannes jury

• Olivia de Havilland (UK) in 1965
• Sophia Loren (Italy) in 1966
• Michele Morgan (France) in 1971
• Ingrid Bergman (Sweden) in 1973
• Jeanne Moreau (France) in 1975 and 1995
• Isabelle Adjani (France) in 1997
• Liv Ullman (Norway) in 2001
• Isabelle Huppert (France) in 2009

This is a smart move on Cannes part given the criticism they often receive about their exclusionary nature. Now if they could only address that problem within their actual lineup. Other A list festivals have definitely made greater strides about including female directors in their competitive lineups. At Cannes they're still often relegated to "Un Certain Regard" or whatnot.

The 25 Youngest Women Ever Nominated for Best Actress

by Nathaniel R

Saoirse Ronan hosting SNLTimothée Chalamet (about to turn 22) and Saoirse Ronan (23) are only a year apart in age and both are looking like major Oscar contenders in Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively. In other words, it MIGHT be a really young Oscar year. Despite their close ages they're miles apart in terms of Oscar statistics. If Timothée is nominated he'll be a first time nominee and become the 3rd youngest man ever up for Best Actor while Saoirse, if nominated, would be on nomination #3 and would just barely crack the youngest 20 contenders in her category. 

So, who are the youngest female leads ever nominated?  We're about to tell you but one thing is for sure: this list is MUCH younger than the corresponding leading man list.

DISCLAIMER: The male list was comparatively easier to order as there were significant gaps in ages. With so many women roughly the same age on this list it's possible the order is not entirely accurate (given that Oscar dates are not the same each year) but we did the best we could.

I'm just a human girl person and I ain't always perfect."

JUST MISSED THE LIST: Laura Dern was 24 when Rambling Rose came out but by the time Oscar season hit she had just turned 25. When Audrey Hepburn won on her first nomination Roman Holiday (1953) and Shirley Maclaine lost for her first nomination for Some Came Running (1958) they were both about to turn 25. Jeanne Crain was another 24 year old who just missed this list with Pinky (1949). They were the closest all rans...

Click to read more ...