Slithery Spacey & Co. Rule the "House of Cards"

Hello, lovelies. Beau here, returning after a major binge of quality television during the past seventy-two hours.

Yes, I have finished the first season of the newest business model for the entertainment industry, the David Fincher / Beau Willimon project "House of Cards", with a large cast led by Kevin Spacey as Francis "Frank" Underwood, a ruthless ambitious politician in DC.

I'll be perfectly honest in admitting that the show didn't do much for me. Whereas Homeland, Downton Abbey, Girls and Archer have proven to be tried and true addictions House of Cards treads over familiar territory with little to supplement the politics.

Spacey is, naturally, exceptional, having a ball with the material and the ability to flaunt his ungodly talents. The asides to the audience turn us into co-conspirators, advisers to his machinal, instinctual desire for revenge. Robin Wright (long one of my favorite actresses, who hasn't been given a fine enough opportunity to strut her stuff since Nine Lives years ago) fares slightly less well, given that her promising Lady Macbeth front slowly withers but all the drama is internal.

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TV|Line Madonna may be this year's halftime performer at the Superbowl
The Oreo Experience. An amusingly provocative (and depressing) look at fall movie trailers and what the white and black characters get to do in them. 
My New Plaid Pants on Ralph Fiennes' Coriolanus... coming soon. I'll admit a lack of familiarity with this particular Shakespeare play, too. 
ioncinema Andrew Haigh, the writer/director of Weekend names his ten favorite films. I asked him a similar question (which I didn't include in the published interview) and he only mentioned three of these: Don't Look Now, Last Night and Some Like It Hot.

Natasha VC on best uses of music in a Martin Scorsese film
Movie|Line Netflix Ten Most Rented Movies. An Interesting and Irritating List.
Shock Till You Drop asks David Cronenberg about his future projects including sequels (?) to Eastern Promises and The Fly. I spoke with Cronenberg today (interview coming eventually) but I didn't have time to talk up future theoretical movies since my predilection is always towards actual existing movies. Crazy, I know. I feel so lonely sometimes since most people only seem to care about future movies... though obviously I would be quite happy to see either of those imaginary movies as I'm a fan of both originals.

New York Mag talks to Laura Dern (Enlightened) who is my new hero for saying this:

I’m becoming fluent in French so I can go to France and make French films when I’m 60."

I have been suggesting this to actresses since I started writing a decade ago and finally someone is smart enough to take my advice. (okay okay. Maybe Laura doesn't read The Film Experience but let me have my fantasies. Shut up!)

Finally, Sasha over at  Awards Daily sounds off on the old complaint/notion that talking Oscar sucks the air out of the film room... particularly during the fall when we should be talking about how good the movies are. I'm in complete agreement here about film advocacy being the thing people are missing when they bitch about the Oscars. I discovered my cinephilia through the Oscars (as have several other people I've been lucky enough to meet over the years through my writing). They're two separate things now -- as they should be but all things take time -- but I take no issue with them sharing space each year.

Linkie the Pooh

Antagony & Ecstacy as part of his Blockbuster History series, goes the way of British Children's Literature (thanks Harry Potter) to discuss that great adaptation of Peter Pan in 2003. He has a fair point about Jeremy Sumpter's career since and I am alarmed to note that I didn't even realize it was the same actor when he had that one season key role on Friday Night Lights.
Scanners considers the Netflix pricing dilemma and the problem of aspect ratios. This makes me crazy too. Most television screens are wider now. Why does pan & scan still exist?
The Daily What shares my favorite new photo of a movie theater. I'll share it again.

I bring this up because at last night's Captain America: The First Avengers screening there was no air conditioning in a huge warehouse size movie theater here in Manhattan and it was, shall we say, sticky and smelly. If the reviews are terrible, blame the broken AC.

In Contention Captain America may find itself with a Best Original Song nomination. I'd be pleased. It sure was a fun ditty from Alan Menken and added to the film's period detail well.
Twitch Ubiquitous Oscar winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black gets another high profile gig with yet another Oscar winning director for Under the Banner of Heaven. I think it's official: DLB has the best agent in Hollywood. How many screenwriters have kept their moment in the sun despite being behind the scenes going for this long?
Salon Matt Zoller Seitz talks to his 9th grader daughter about his generation's defining franchise (Star Wars) and hers (Harry Potter). It's an interesting discussion though the conclusion worries me (visual superiority should never be considered "small consolation" in A MOVIE) and yet again reveals what damage George Lucas did to his intergalactic baby by screwing it up so badly in the Aughts. 
Super Punch omg. This 80s movie tee. I want. I want it hard. Someone buy it for me.
BoingBoing speaking of buying me things... like donations (see righthand sidebar) well, actually this has nothing to do with anything but what a fun concept. When this online store sells something, their Wario doll freaks out, with eyes lighting up and steam coming out his ears. Now I'm picturing all the actress dolls I should have and what they should do if i ever make any money...

Finally, MaryAnn at the long-running Flick Filosopher reminds us of a deeply entrenched problem in our popular culture this this simple graphic...

... and it's accompanying article. It'd be an easier argument to ignore if we didn't see it so often. Think of Pixar only now getting a female lead after 25 years in the animation biz.

I haven't seen the new Winnie the Pooh yet but I loved the character and his whole world as a child. Will I still? Have any of you seen it?