Wednesday, April 11, 2018 at 9:00PM by Eric Blume
Half a century ago two ultimate sci-fi classics were released. We've just revisted 2001 but what of the other hit? 20th Century Fox released the original Planet of the Apes directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and starring Charlton Heston at essentially the same time. Revisiting the original film after decades of sequels and reboots provides some fascinating reveals...
Saturday, March 31, 2018 at 7:00PM by Nathaniel R
Unsane (Steven Soderbergh)
Synopsis: A disturbed young woman, who is institutionalized against her will, is convinced that a former stalker is one of her nurses.
Capsule: The queer community got there first. Although to be fair when isn't that the case? Soderbergh's iPhone shot movie is no aesthetic relevation like the trans iPhone classic Tangerine. Still, more filmmakers ought to try to make something as fast and cheap and spirited as this thriller inbetween pricier or weightier projects...
Saturday, December 23, 2017 at 9:15AM by Ben Miller
Will Smith misses the good ole days. He has been trying to reclaim his blockbuster status since 2008’s Hancock. In between, Smith has been featured in a string of weird melodramatic dramas (Seven Pounds, Collateral Beauty), traditional action genre vehicles (Men in Black 3, After Earth, Suicide Squad) and films that sink or swim on the charisma of the stars (Focus, Concussion). None of these have worked.
Reuniting with Suicide Squad director David Ayer, Smith tries to make it work again in action/sci-fi with Netflix’s Bright. This also doesn’t really work...
Tuesday, December 19, 2017 at 11:00PM by Nathaniel R
Since there are 35 days left until Oscar nominations --well perhaps 34 by the time this is published. Damn you, ever ticking clock! -- let's look back back at the 35 films that have won the regular Achievements in Makeup Oscar. We should admit straightaway that that's fudging the number a bit for the sake of a trivia countdown. In truth 37 films have won this prize but two were before the category was an official competitive one. The first two films to be Oscared for their Makeup effects were The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964) and the original Planet of the Apes (1968). Nevertheless it took quite some time for a category to emerge and title changes and such until it became the character we know today (which is also sure to change again!)...
Saturday, October 14, 2017 at 12:17PM In an effort to break out of my silence -- October is my favorite month so why has it been so hard? -- micro thoughts on 5 Oscar hopefuls I meant to review but didn't. Whoops. Please to discuss in the comments.
Battle of the Sexes (Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris)
The story of Billie Jean King's (Emma Stone) famous 1973 match with Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell) and her efforts to make women's tennis viable in a sexist industry
Capsule: A timely well-crafted look back to the beginnings of a gender war that's depressingly still raging and a soupçon of queer romance to give it unique personality. Dayton & Faris's light touch is the right choice for this briskly-paced but delicately felt recreation of a pivotal American moment. Emma Stone is perfection as the heroic tight shouldered athlete at the center. Just discussed on the podcast. B+
Oscar Chances: This one could go either way. Much will depend on how smart Fox Searchlight is at selling it to voters. Though maybe don't bet against Emma Stone returning to Best Actress; she's very burrowed into King's skin but still as sunny as Emma Stone.
Blade Runner 2049, Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool, Victoria and Abdul and the Shape of Water are after the jump
