Posterized: Michelle Yeoh

by Nathaniel R

It's a new season of our series Posterized in which we look back at the entire careers of various actors and directors. Last week Spike Lee joints. Today, Malaysia's finest: Michelle Yeoh. The fifty-six year old Asian superstar is currently grande dame'ing it through the romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians, giving the movie nearly all of its dramatic bite through her excellent nuanced underplaying of the intimidating and at times outright cruel potential mother-in-law. 

Yeoh's career is harder to track here in the US since not all of her films are released here. Nevertheless, let's do our posterized retrospective. We've pruned just a bit for lack of quality posters or obscurity but this is nearly everything starting with her first leading role in 1985 in Yes, Madam! (which has apparently been retitled Police Assassins), a dual-lead action vehicle with American actress Cynthia Rothrock (of late 80s B movie fame). Anyway... on to the pictorial survey.

How many of these 34 Michelle Yeoh projects have you seen? Was it more than you expected? The posters are after the jump...

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Review: "Crazy Rich Asians"

by Chris Feil

Crazy Rich Asians feels like something sterling from the past, the kind of wholly satisfying and rapturous romantic comedy that we bemoan is missing from the multiplex. Director Jon M. Chu’s loving embrace of the genre pulls its influences from across the decades, infusing Doris Day/Rock Hudson rompiness with the cutting character detail of The Devil Wears Prada. It’s a high mark that the film clears and safely so, sliding with ease onto a shelf next to your rewatchable favorites - and it’s been a minute since something new joined the ranks.

The film’s massive ensemble is led by Constance Wu as Rachel Chu, a self-made economics professor set for her fated meeting with the overseas family of her charming boyfriend Nick Young, played by a painfully dashing Henry Golding. Unbeknownst to Rachel, this family wedding getaway is about to thrust her center stage in front of one of the wealthiest families in Singapore. And all of the generational expectations and deceptive opulence that entails...

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Beauty Break: "Crazy Rich Asians" Covers THR

Chris here. While August is usually a slow winding down of the summer movie season into unfortunateness, one of this summer's most anticipated is still to come: hit lit adaptation Crazy Rich Asians! We fans of Kevin Kwan's extended family book series already know why you should be very excited about this Jane Austen-esque delight, but allow me to quickly illuminate you what's in store: an ever rare romantic comedy, set in the glamorous and opulent lifestyle of the filthy rich, and most crucially, the first American studio film led by an Asian American cast in decades.

The film is currently sitting poolside on the cover of The Hollywood Reporter, which gives us a moment to luxuriate in its gloriousness...

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Burning Question: Most egregious Weinstein-backed Oscar Nods?

Upon seeing Harvey Weinstein in handcuffs yesterday our friend Rob asked a very timely question on Twitter which we though we'd share here for rabid discussion purposes. 

In the spirit of the day: Which ridiculous Oscar nomination that Harvey Weinstein facilitated was the most infuriatingly egregious?

My personal vote goes to Chocolat's 5 nominations (including Best Picture!!!) in 2000. The fluffy disposable film was nominated over obviously well-liked films like Billy Elliott, Wonder Boys, and Almost Famous... and great but divisive films like Dancer in the Dark and. 

And though Juliette Binoche is one of the all time great screen actors, there was simply no excuse for that Best Actress nod when Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) and Björk (Dancer in the Dark) were both RIGHT THERE, totally inspired, and more than worthy of nominations. Even further outside the race there were still other leading ladies who were running circles around one of Binoche's least impressive performances including Michelle Pfeiffer's genre transcending in What Lies Beneath, Renée Zellweger's comic skill in Nurse Betty, and Gillian Anderson, all tragic and ravishing in The House of Mirth! 

But what's your answer to the question? And if you are 2000 focused, please let us know you're ideal Best Picture/Best Actress lineup that year.

YNMS x 3: Crazy Rich Asians, Venom, and Woman Walks Ahead

So many trailers hitting recently. So little time to Yes No Maybe So them all. So let's catch up with three of the newer ones after the jump: Crazy Rich Asians, Venom, and Woman Walks Ahead...

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