Yes, No, Maybe So : The Huntsman Winters War

Here's Murtada deconstructing the trailer for the ridiculously titled The Huntsman Winters War.

YES

- The actresses of course. Emily Blunt, Jessica Chastain, Charlize Theron = a formidable trio.
- Chastain as a the Warrior. Yes!
- Blunt and Theron as dueling evil sisters. Yes again! May campiness rule the day.
- The oversize gestures of Blunt and Theron as they wreak havoc. Give me more!
- So it’s obviously all about the actresses. Oh and the possibility of a shirtless Chris Hemsworth.

NO

- From the producer of Maleficent and Alice in Wonderland….. NOOOOOOO.
- Hemsworth gets top billing?? I guess he's The Hunstman.
- The CGI doesn't look very convincing.
- “Men have forgotten what it means to be afraid. We will bring fear”. Hmmm cheesy line. It could be fun if the tone is over the top campy. The trailer is playing it straight so we are dubious.

MAYBE SO

- Does Blunt’s ice crown look odd above her face? It certainly is not as fierce as Theron’s crown. Is Colleen Atwood showing favorites?
- No enough Shirtless Chris. Will it be just the one scene like in Thor?
- Chastain is almost mute in the trailer. Only one line. More Warrior Jessica!
- Will we get enough of the British supporting cast of Nick Frost, Rob Brydon and Alexandra Roach as supposedly the dwarfs. They are hardly in the trailer.

It's a maybe so despite the fabulous trio of actresses. What’s your verdict?

Jessica & Madge

Remember that very first time we interviewed Jessica Chastain when we were just getting to know her name and she told us she was starstruck in the presence of Madonna? What a difference a few years makes. She got on stage in Prague with the Queen last night. They both shared the moment on Instagram

Tonights Sexy and Beautiful Unapologetic Bitch🎉💋💘. Thank you Jessica Chastain‼️. Thank you Prague! ❤️#rebelhearttour

A photo posted by Madonna (@madonna) on Nov 7, 2015 at 4:04pm PST

The moment right before @madonna handed me a banana. The fkn QUEEN. #rebelheart #unapologeticbitch

A photo posted by Jessica Chastain (@chastainiac) on Nov 7, 2015 at 4:55pm PST

More drama please, Crimson Peak

Here's Murtada to review of the new wide release Crimson Peak.

Visually Guillermo Del Toro’s Crimson Peak is a big sumptuous meal. So visually full at all times that it masquerades a thin plot and uninteresting lead character and almosts gets away with fooling us into thinking it a great film. The compelling visuals keep it enticing throughout: Huge frilly sleeves on the dresses; red smoke flaring up from creeks on the floor; a creepy black skeleton hand moving ominously. It never stops.

More...

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Celebrity and Chill

Groggy this morning. MORE COFFEE. Please to enjoy these celebrities doing their casual things as we get our act together for the week. An exciting new week. One in which your host is not sick. What could it possibly hold? Any requests.

Let's begin with Jessica Chastain reading about Diane Keaton (as one does should)... "bookworm" 

A photo posted by Jessica Chastain (@chastainiac) on Oct 11, 2015 at 11:34am PDT

 Amanda Seyfried, Hugh Jackman, Jared Leto and more after the jump...

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What's Next for Nolan

Kieran here. It was announced yesterday that Christopher Nolan's next feature film will be released on July 21, 2017.  Very specific release date for a project whose title/plot/cast have yet to be revealed, but this is Christopher Nolan after all. I can't think of too many directors who could announce a new project with very few details well over a year in advance and generate this kind of excitement. He's the "arthouse" director of choice for moviegoers who generally scorn the arthouse and yet he's often the fulcrum of the problematic "the Academy doesn't respect populist fare" argument. Quite an odd space to occupy in the consciousness of the cinematically minded.

With this new project, speculation about plot details and recitations of an ideal roster of actors are sure to follow. Questions of genre definitely loom in the back of the mind when you consider Nolan. He tends to work within some combination of sci-fi, mystery and thriller, though it's certainly not on every director to stretch, genre-wise. 

We're much more interested to see if Nolan's characterizations of women (or lack thereof in some cases) changes at all. Regardless of one's opinion about Nolan's overall output, it's hard to refute with any sincerity the argument that female characters in his films often get short shrift. Will this new project be any different? Interstellar, his most recent effort, is the closest he's come to handing the reins of a movie over to a female character. He does ultimately opt for following Matthew McConnaughey drifting solo through space, but you do still get what appear to be the first glimpses (with Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway) of Nolan attempting to imagine female characters from the inside out. Sure, you  could argue that these two women were motivated by their relationships to men, be it paternal or romantic. And yet there was an interest, however marginal, in women that's just not present in his other films.

I instantly thought of Viola Davis, who fit so well into the cold, eerie aesthetic of Steven Soderbergh's Solaris and how rarely she's given front-and-center focus in her non-televised projects. I would be fascinated to see what Davis could do at the center of a Nolan-helmed sci-fi outing. At any rate, aren't you curious to see if Nolan continues to improve his female characters after Interstellar or do you suppose we're in for more spectral wives and asexual audience surrogates?

Will Nolan ever give us a female protagonist?

What would you like to see from Nolan? Which actress could ignite his curiosities in an interesting way? Discuss in the comments.