Red Flag Alert: "Wicked" will now be two movies long!

by Nathaniel R

Though we've been anxiously awaiting the Wicked movie for (checks IBDB) 18 years, 6 months, and 6 days, we are suddenly dreading it. We were fairly pleased with the casting and the director choice but this new information is a major red flag. In keeping with Hollywood's money-grubbing franchise mania in which they attempt to wrestle as much money from consumers as possible even if they have to pad the stories or extend them well past their breaking point -- popularized by finales that were cleaved in half to guarantee an extra billion in ticket revenue (see Twilight and Harry Potter) or three movies based on a single book (The Hobbit) -- they've decided to make Wicked a two part movie.

Director Jon M Chu (Crazy Rich Asians, In the Heights) writes...

Click to read more ...

Hit Me With Your Best Shot: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)

by Nathaniel R

Jane Powell is no Julie Andrews but she does take a spin on a hilltop while singing in MGM's "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers"

Our film title this week on Hit Me With Your Best Shot is Seven Brides for Seven Brothers which is streaming on HBOMax. We knew we'd need to chase The Godfather with something lighter so we opted for a musical. So saddle up, and ride into this absurdly problematic but bouncy and colorful comedy after the jump...

Click to read more ...

Cláudio’s Best Shot Pick: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)

The next episode of our series, ‘Hit Me With Your Best Shot,’ arrives tomorrow night. It’s focused on the 1954 musical extravaganza Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. You still have time to participate. For now, as something of a preview, here’s Cláudio’s entry.

Adapted from Stephen Vincent Benet's The Sobbin' Women, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is the definition of problematic. Indeed, for some, a romantic premise that hinges on the real and horrifying subject of bride kidnapping might be irredeemable. Even for one like me, who regards cinema as audiovisual expression that can be entirely divorced from narrative, this effervescent tale of abducted women falling for their captors can be hard to swallow, look past. Consider that such objections don't even touch on the picture's penchant to treat rape imagery as comedy – yikes…

Click to read more ...

April Foolish Oscar Predix Pt 2 - Screenplay, Scores, Song, Sound

Previously: Pt 1 Animated Features

A promo still from SPIRITED © Apple TV+

We're dropping the April Foolish Oscar Predictions daily for a week and that should take us through Cannes when the game shifts again with lots of new information to process. Excuse our sibilant sssssssss today but it's time for the two screenplay categories, and the three sound related categories.

Are There Any Musicals This Year?
Yes but not like last season. 2021 was shocking with 11 musicals released though only three turned into real Oscar players (Encanto, tick tick BOOM!, and West Side Story) This year there are half as many. We're getting a Nicholas Britell scored version of Carmen (directed by Mr Natalie Portman himself Benjamin Milipied), Apple TV+ is releasing Spirited, a new musical take of the constantly retold Scrooge story with Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds in the leading roles...

Click to read more ...

Streaming Review: Disney+'s 'Better Nate Than Ever'

By Abe Friedtanzer

 

Couldn’t we all just use some positivity today? It feels like it’s not all that common to find a feel-good movie that isn’t also an outright comedy, and, given the state of things, shouldn’t there be an abundance of that type of content? For something that fits that bill perfectly, look no further than Better Nate Than Ever, a new musical that comes to Disney+ this week…

Click to read more ...