Saturday, June 20, 2015 at 1:36PM Manuel here sharing the funniest Inside Out Twitter thread around.
Nat and I inadvertently (though perhaps not surprisingly) went for Kidman-related images (it IS her birthday after all!)
Laurence suggested we begin a trending hashtag #InsideOutMyMind, so tell us, what do your Inside Out emotions look like?
Tuesday, June 16, 2015 at 11:13AM The Guardian have you heard about the school Tilda Swinton helped found in Scotland? Is there no end to her wonder?
HugoHugo made a cheeky piece of Jurassic World / Chris Pratt fan art "Clever Girl" that went viral immediately. Sadly almost no one is crediting the source!
Deadline in the absolute worst "WHY?" inducing news of the week, Maleficent is getting a sequel. I mean, the answer is "Money, duh!" but in TFE's opinion if the answer is only "money" to any movie-making question than we have a problem in the movies
In Contention Kris Tapley thinks Inside Out is Pixar's best film (quite a statement)
MNPP shares the happy news for Winona Ryder fans "Noni got a job!" i.e. a lead role for once - new Netflix show
Screen Crush on the rise of "selective sequels"
Towleroad Kristen Stewart's mother confirms that her daughter is dating a female personal assistant. Adds a whole new eyebrow raise to how damn good Kristen was pretending to be a female personal assistant in Clouds of Sils Maria, doesn't it?
VF BD Wong talks villainy in Jurassic World
The Mary Sue knew that it was necessary to remind genre writers that there are ways to motivate your female characters beyond being raped (sigh)
The New Yorker Perez Hilton, celebrity offspring and #NoKidsPolicy
Uproxx Mike Ryan continues to be awfully skilled at the art of the celebrity interview. Here is Amy Poehler on Parks & Recreation and Inside Out and even the Golden Globes
Towleroad has a new look / redesign. Check it out. Lot easier navigating to the types of stories you're interested in
MNPP remembers Jonathan Schaech's beauty as The Doom Generation (1995) turns 20. What a trippy movie that was back in the day
Boy Culture Burlesque star Blaze Starr -- Lolita Davidovich played her in the movie Blaze (1989) -- has died
Nights in WeHo The stars of Magic Mike XXL came out in full force for LA Pride. Smart outreach.
Programming Notes
Ann Dowd is a very busy woman -- talent like that will fill up your schedule -- so we've had to do some tinkering with this week's schedule. So this week's gone a bit crazy and everything's been pushed back to Friday (Women's Pictures & our Best Shot edition of Magic Mike) and Ann will be taking over Thursday! This is the last time that you will ever read "Ann Dowd" and "Magic Mike" in the same sentence unless she has a surprise cameo in XXL that we don't know about.
P.S. You'll also notice that there are suddenly dozens of articles about Warren Beatty's Dick Tracy (1990) up around the web. This occassion is the 25th anniversary of its initial release today. Sadly none of these "it's so beautiful!" odes to the movie's exquisite visual work link back to our Hit Me With Your Best Shot episode (we celebrated the movie two weeks ago) but what can you do?! "Best Shot" remains the web's Best Kept Secret of Cinephilia Eye Candy.
Here's what's up next in that series. Join us and spread the word so it's less hush-hush, y'all.
Monday, May 18, 2015 at 9:00PM 
We have a new Pixar film!
Two years after Monsters University failed to actively offend or actively entertain most of the world, the studio's 15th feature, Inside Out premiered out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival today. The consensus of critical opinion is that it's a strong work if not quite among the studio's best. While nobody I've found has tried to compare it to the recent run of not-that-greats including Cars 2 and Brave, it seems fair to assume it's a return to form.
Here's a quick tour of some of the reviews so far, in descending order of enthusiasm:
"...promises to forever change the way people think about the way people think, delivering creative fireworks grounded by a wonderfully relatable family story."
-Peter Debruge, Variety
"This is a humane and heart-wrenchingly beautiful film from Docter; even measured alongside Pixar’s numerous great pictures, it stands out as one of the studio’s very best."
-Robbie Collin, The Telegraph
"It hasn’t anything as genuinely emotionally devastating as Up, or the subtlety and inspired subversion of Monsters Inc. and the Toy Stories which it certainly resembles at various stages. But it is certainly a terrifically likeable, ebullient and seductive piece of entertainment."
-Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
"It can feel didactic in a way that the let-the-pictures-tell-the-story elegance of "Toy Story" and Docter's own "Up" never did... However, once the gigantic machine is up and running, these issues mostly fall away like booster engines from a space rocket."
-Jessica Kiang, Indiewire
"It’s an audacious concept, and Docter’s imagination, along with those of his numerous collaborators, is adventurous and genially daft enough to put it over."
-Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter
Those of us stuck hundreds of miles from the Croisette have to wait a while yet to make up our own minds - Inside Out hits the States on June 19. These early reviews have done a mostly good job of calming down the little voice inside my own head that's been terrified that Pixar would be stuck in a gear of high-achieving mediocrity for the rest of time, though "hey, this is a fun and good movie!" isn't quite the overriding level of passion that the studio used to produce from film after film after film.
The Voice Cast in Cannes
Still, it augurs well that, at a minimum, we're going to have a pretty snazzy piece of creative and moving entertainment at this time next month. It's a great feeling to actually be looking forward to a Pixar movie for a change, and not nervously counting down to the release date while praying "please don't suck". "Not one of their all-time masterpieces" will be good enough to get through these last few weeks of waiting!
Saturday, May 16, 2015 at 9:33AM 
Imperator Furiousa cleans up nice for CannesAs Cannes moves past that opening night international glamour, and into its heavy screenings opening weekend, there's a lot of reminiscing going around as well for those that aren't attending: Keyframe is looking at the 1985 festival -- which was heavily criticized for being too American -- to see what it tells us about the 2015 festival. And, of course, over at Nick's Flick Picks, Nick is looking back at 1995. He has corralled several critics to talk about and rewatch those films too, but that part hasn't been posted yet. Can't wait! But here's a little about what's been happening at the festival if you are, like 99.9% of the world including me, NOT in the South of France right about now, but wish to think about it intermittently.
Out of Competition
Mad Max Fury Road premiered at Cannes just as it was opening in theaters. That's a good excuse to get celebrities at your premiere and stay in a global conversation but, as good as the movie is -- and whoa it's thrilling (easily the best Mad Max film and the best action film since probably the last time James Cameron made anything) though I think maybe "the sistine chapel of action filmmaking" might be overstating it a little -- why go to a movie that's in theaters when you're at this kind of Best of World Cinema That Will Probably Never Make It to Really Big Screens Near You? Which is not to say that you shouldn't go. You absolutely should if you're not at Cannes. It's INSANE. And that is a high high compliment since most movies with insane premise play things so conservative in their mise en scene, you know? Michael's review will be up shortly and I'm sure I'll talk about it more too.
Woody Allen's PARKER POSEY: THE MOVIE... excuse me, Irrational Man, has also premiered as his movies do, Out of Competition. Our friend Tim Robey offered delicious shade in his review:
The word “murder” arrives in the script the second Kant, and his theories of human reason, pop up at the start. Like the superb Crimes and Misdemeanors, and also like Match Point, this contains a killing...
But honestly, I don't care if it's another mediocre effort from Allen. I'm so excited that Parker Posey got a big part again in a movie that people will actually see. And I love that she totally stole the show at the events with her incognito wacky glamour.
Supposedly Inside Out, another mainstream English-language film premiering there, is also a return to form of sorts for Pixar, but pardon me if I take this Oscar buzz with just a giant lick of salt - I think the days of Pixar (and maybe animation in general) being up for Best Picture are over. Those kinds of runs don't last forever and once people stop thinking of you in that light, it can be hard to return.
"The Lobster" character posters
Competition Buzz
Gus Van Sant, who has won big at the festival before, won't be repeating. His latest, Sea of Trees, which stars Matthew McConaughey as a suicidal man visiting Japan, was not well received. That's putting it lightly if you just skim the THR or Variety reviews. I'm choosing not to read or even skim reviews on The Lobster, but from what I've heard your guess is as good as mine to what it actually is and if it's great at being whatever that is. Our Little Sister, a Japanese family drama has been warmly received for being touching without being sentimental and Sony Pictures Classics will distribute in the US.
The buzziest title thus far is the Hungarian Holocaust drama Son of Saul. It's winning very generous reviews and it's also a debut feature which means that even if the competition jury surprises by stiffing it -- every year the press acts like they know what the jury will do and it never works out that way -- it could still win the Camera D'Or (which has a separate jury, just for debut films). Now we have to wonder if those titles will be the Oscar picks for Japan or Hungary. I'm going to assume yes on the latter so I've updated the Foreign Film wild guesswork on the Prediction Charts.
Finally...
Yes, we will have another fashion lineup soon. But for now please accept our vote for the worst person in Cannes this year: Russian celebrity Elena Lenina. This is a film festival. Imagine sitting behind her at any of these premieres. Her 'do is suddenly your protagonist, whether its a Holocaust tragedy, a Woody Allen dramedy, or an insane action flick. Screw the narrative.
True confession: Even when I see a person with high hair completely outside of movie scenarios like, say, on the street or in a talking head box on the news or several tables away at a restaurant my first thought is always 'oh god, please don't sit in front of me at the movies!'.
Be considerate of the comfort of your fellow moviegoers, readers -- shave your head!
Monday, May 11, 2015 at 8:00PM 
Tomorrow night the Q&A series in which Nathaniel answers reader questions returns. But here's an appetizer you didn't order, courtesy of the chef, our Question of the Week. What does Carlos, who dreamt it up, win? He wins the choice of the next banner theme (to replace the food one up top). It has to be a theme that can be conveyed in small pics, otherwise it's hard to read in banner form. So let me know, Carlos.
CARLOS: Inside Out opening at Cannes makes me wonder: which performer or specific performance do you think excels at enacting each of the emotions (joy, fear, disgust, anger and sadness) featured in the movie?
NATHANIEL: What a fun question! But before I answer it with gendered actors show of hands -- were you irritated that they gendered these emotions on their computers over at Pixar? They did that with monsters too and why? There's no reason why pure emotions or monsters for that matter should have to read feminine or masculine.
Since the question hangs on pure expression of emotion, these are literally my purest answers in that I didn't censor myself and named the very first actor that came to mind.
My choice for "Joy" is Ewan McGregor because of how pure and transcendent and contagious his giddy romantic open-hearted smile is (in Moulin Rouge! especially). "Fear" I have to give to Drew Barrymore who made one of the most memorable opening scenes and characters out of only that in Scream. "Disgust" is Catherine Keener who always looks put out by everything (but truth be told I'd prefer her to take a year or two off now for some creative rejuvenation so this isn't the only thing she's giving).
"Anger" is an emotion that's all too well represented in our macho cinema so let me come at this answer sideways with a surprise. Hear me out. I will take Heather Graham as Rollergirl in Boogie Nights from that scene in the back of a limo where they're trying to do an improv porn shoot and years of degradation finally busts some sort of dam in her and *stomp stomp stomp" byebye-prettyboy-face, sorry not sorry. It's still one of those chilling and exhilarating 'pure' emotions I've ever seen smeared across a movie screen. (It's actually my current banner on our Facebook page)
"Sadness"... that one is reserved for Michelle Pfeiffer since I always need her back on the screen and since the movie that made me fall for her was Ladyhawke (1985) where she literally has the line
I am sorrow."
...and I believed everything her face told me from that day forward.
