Open Thread & Random Buzz

What movies are you thinking about right this very second?

I've got four movies playing in my head at the moment, two still imaginary and two just screened. The still-imaginary ones are, first, the Bill Condon / Sir Ian McKellen / Dame Helen Mirren thriller The Good Liar which got strong buzz out of the industry promo event CinemaCon. The second is the film adaptation of Cats which sounds Titanic-like (the boat not the movie) in its possibly epic high profile sinkability. Apparently the cats are not fully mocapped creatures but still look like the actors with fur digitally added but they're cat-sized (but why would they mention the cat-sized bit unless they shared scenes with humans which Nooooo).

As for the real movies that already exist in competed form, Laika has another winner with Missing Link (they've yet to make a stinker!) which we currently have in the 'most likely to be nominated' spot in the Best Animated Feature race. It opens in just one week so more on that one real soon. The other is Sebastian Schipper's Roads which we can't talk about yet because it doesn't premiere until later this month at Tribeca but let it be known that we love it. Oops. We weren't supposed to talk about it! But it's from the German director who made that exciting 'how'd he do that?' entirely continuous shot movie Victoria a couple of years back. This new film Roads could, like Victoria, be categoried in the subgenre of "Protagonist having dangerous and unexpected soul-shaking adventure whilst travelling abroad" movie but its much different so Schipper is no one-hit wonder or one-trick pony. The leads Fionn Whitehead (Dunkirk, Black Mirror: Bandersnatch) and Stéphane Bak (Elle, Farewell to the Night) have terrific chemistry. If you're planning to hit Tribeca, schedule it.

What's on your cinematic mind? 

Elton John 🎵

 Happy 72nd to Elton John today. With his biopic Rocketman just around the corner, let's list our favourite of his songs for a comment party.

Here are mine to get you started:

1. Your Song (1970)
2. Rocket Man (1972)
3. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973)
4. I Want Love (2001)
5. Tiny Dancer (1971)
6. The Last Song (1992)
7. Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me (1974)
8. Sacrifice (1989)
9. Don't Go Breaking My Heart (1976)
10. I Don't Wanna Go With You Like That (1988)

With apologies to This Train Don't Stop There Anymore (2001), Daniel (1973), The Bitch is Back (1974), I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues (1983), and more...

Open Thread for International Women's Day

Still sick. Apologies!  So herewith an open thread. I'll give you a prompt.

Name the first three actresses you ever loved in the comments! Mine were probably Hayley Mills and Maureen O'Hara (because The Parent Trap was my favorite movie as a wee tyke) and Natalie Wood (because I was obsessed with musicals as a kid and particularly West Side Story airings on television). The trifecta of Michelle Pfeiffer, Kathleen Turner, and Meryl Streep that completely done me in* at movie theaters happened a bit later. 

 *aka caused my actressexuality

Follow Team TFE, please!

Hello, with Oscar season closing up, there is generally some attrition in readership but we're here all year long so dont desert us. In fact, follow more of us on social media won'cha? We have an Instagram and a Newsletter that you should sign up for since they'll start up again about a week from now once we've recovered from Oscar exhaustion. A big thanks to the team here which keeps your host Nathaniel (c'est moi) alive because daily content requires more than just one voice. 

I thought we'd highlight eight team-members today. Get to know us better...

Hi neighbor!

CHRIS FEIL (sample tweet - very Chris)
As one of our most frequent contributors and intermittent podcast guest, you know Chris well. He writes the "Soundtracking" column and just co-wrote a piece with Joe Reid that you really have to read over at Vulture. 
Instagram | Twitter | Letterboxd | "This Had Oscar Buzz" | Rotten Tomatoes

Bri and I can only relate to women in film (dunno why), so please enjoy our Extremely Long and Incredibly Glenn Close episodes of Broad Appeal about the 2 actress categories at the #Oscars.

SEÁN MCGOVERN (sample tweet - very Seán)
You'll know Seán from film festival coverage here (Berlinale and more), his actress podcast 'Broad Appeal, as well as a Smackdown appearance.
Instagram | Twitter | "Broad Appeal" Podcast

Official holiday portrait

MURTADA ELFADL (sample tweet - very murtada!)
You already know and love Murtada from the podcast. He also does reviews, interviews, festivals
Instagram | Twitter |  YouTube Interview

The Craft (1996) 🥀 #witchesoffairfax

GINNY O'KEEFE
New contributor so we're excited to see what she'll bring us.
Instagram | IMDb 

THE CORPSE BRIDE (2005) | dir. Tim Burton

JORGE MOLINA (sample tweet - very jorge!)
You know Jorge from his Mamma Mia! obsession and the screenplay series "Blueprints"
Instagram | Twitter | Letterboxd

Lovefest trashfest

SPENCER COILE (sample tweet - very spencer!)
If you see a Spencer byline here, it's usually for a review of something currently streaming at you
Instagram | Twitter | Letterboxd 

There were worse ways to spend four months, although the view is somewhat spoiled this weekend by storms

GLENN DUNKS (sample tweet - very Glenn!)
Glenn is our longtime collaborator and currently stationed in Australia. He writes "Doc Corner" here at the site
Instagram | Twitter | Letterboxd | Rotten Tomatoes

She hates me. #catsofinstagram

DEBORAH LIPP
Deborah has been on hiatus but hopefully she'll be back now. She loves James Bond movies and Mad Men and ran the now departed but much beloved Mad Men site "Basket of Kisses" which got frequent attention from Matthew Weiner and the actors themselves.
Instagram  

THAT'S NOT ALL OF US -- YOU CAN READ MORE TEAM BIOS ON THE  "ABOUT" PAGE  BUT THAT'S ENOUGH SELF-PROMOTION FOR NOW.  I'm aware that we need more women and more writers of color! Working on expanding the team as the site grows. We're always looking for new contributors especially those with the following five things:

1. Strong accessible writing skills
2. Unique takes on current / classic cinema and the arts in general
3. Interest or obsession with the Oscars
4. Passion for movies that bleeds into their every day life in some demonstrable or engaging way.
5. Commitment to contribute once bi-weekly

3 days til the Oscars - comment party.

With only 3 days til the Oscars let's share our 3 utmost (positive only please) wishes for the big night. I'll start

1. For a half-shocking Oscar-winning acting quartet that goes like so: Close / Cooper / King / Grant
2. That Black Panther wins Best Costume Design
3. That the musical performances and speeches are all so entertaining and buzzy that the Academy at large realizes how stupid they've been all season and falls immediately back in love with their own brand, distances themselves from the clutches of ABC, elects entirely new leadership in each branch who all love both movies and the Oscars as a once annual event worth really embracing.

Is this too much to ask?