In this year’s group of nominees - more than any other year I have covered so far - the given space during their introductory moments is incredibly important in establishing the character and their place within the story. Whether it is set in the past or the present, the stories where these characters are situated are framed through the visual juxtaposition of the character and their location a few shots into the film. While that is the unifying theme among these women, they also dabble into different variations of perspective, filmmaking styles, and acting registers. This makes for a dynamic comparison of their first impressions.
Jennifer Lawrence has returned to the screen in Causeway, now streaming on Apple TV+. Lawrence plays a veteran recovering from an attack overseas. The film opens as she's working with a specialist (Tony winner Jayne Houdyshell, doing great work in a small role) to recover basic capabilities so she can return to “regular life.” Once Lynsey (Lawrence) returns to her New Orleans home she has one clear goal in mind – return to active duty. Her mother (Tony nominee Linda Emond) spends her nights out drinking and forgets to pick Lynsey up when she arrives. There’s clearly a troubled history between them, but most of it is left unsaid – an ongoing tactic of the movie. Not wanting to be stuck at home, she gets a job cleaning pools.
When Lynsey's truck has problems we meet the film's most interesting character, a shop owner named James (Brian Tyree Henry)...
• THRHeartstopper (and other series) make Netflix the leader for the Children & Family Emmy nominations -- by a large margin, too • Advocate Kit Connor (who plays Nick on Heartstopper) just came out as bisexual because he felt pressured to with the online accusations that he was queerbaiting. • Fangoria Talks to TV creator/showrunner Bryan Fuller (Hannibal, Pushing Daisies) about Crystal Lake which will be a prequel series (of sorts) to the Friday the 13th movies
After the jump comes more movie news, fun articles, or actor profiles like the superstar who came back down to earth Jennifer Lawrence, and rising hotties Ismael Cruz Córdova (Rings of Power) and Harris Dickinson (Triangle of Sadness)...
Kate Hudson is the standout in "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery"
The day had finally come. My most anticipated film of the whole festival. The one we’ve all been waiting for. A veteran star on the comeback trail. A critical darling steering the ship. There’s talk of awards but will the public and pundits be on board? I for one couldn't wait to find out, but The Return of Tanya Tucker featuring Brandi Carlisle was in the evening. I had other movies to see first.
And it started early. To my horror the screening of Glass Onion started at 9am. NINE AM!!! What was I thinking? It was worth the effort, though...
I wasn’t a big fan of the first Knives Out. Too convoluted by far. Too pleased with its own cleverness. Having been totally confused on first watch I saw it again earlier this year and still came away just as befuddled. Glass Onion, though,is a meticulously plotted and a huge improvement. The all-star cast are uniformly great. The relentless Elon Musk/Joe Rogan ribbing is a bonus delight. Great start to the day. It certainly woke me up.
Brian Tyree Henry & Jennifer Lawrence in "Causeway"
Next up was Causeway, JLaw’s return to serious acting after three years off and some dud of a comedy from last year I’ve done my best to forget (did you?). She’s pretty great in this small-scale character study but ironically it may be that her star power unbalances the tiny, understated indie. Very smart career move even if it seems unlikely to garner her another Oscar nod. Then again she got in for Joy so anything’s possible.
From there I went straight into Living a very subtle, quiet period drama with the great Bill Nighy making a serious bid for awards. To be honest I nodded off for a while in the middle and think I may have missed some crucial plot points. This is no reflection on the film, I was just tired (9am remember!). I suspect Academy voters may be taking more notice than I.
Now we come to the main event. As a Black man from London, I don’t think I’m her usual audience, but I adore Tanya Tucker. Although she’s barely known in the UK for soe reason I’ve been obsessed with her for decades. Many years ago, when Iived with my twin brother Jompy and best friend Kitty Supreme we played her songs to death. We loved every tale of revenge and heartbreak all being sung by a teenager who sounded like she smoked 40 a day.
In 2019 I flew straight from Toronto to NYC to see her in concert and then crashed the Meet and Greet (There was no way I was leaving without getting a photo with my heroine). Kitty Supreme was well jel. I can’t be objective about this doc. I loved every minute of it. My face hurt from smiling. It’s a behind the scenes look at her triumphant comeback after 17 years away from the recording studio. Shepherded by current Country superstar it’s beautiful to watch her coaxing a clearly nervous Tucker back to doing what she does best, with sensational results.
A notorious 70’s wild child who acquired drink and drug problems to go along with her forty Top 10 country hits. A pioneer who’s never received the respect she deserves is finally getting her due.
A lot of people are talking abou The Whale but I'm waiting to see it at the London Film Festival in a few weeks. The last time I saw a Darren Aronofsky film at TIFF it gave the man sitting next to me a nosebleed.
Film of The Day: My girl Tanya wins this one to go along with her 2 overdue Grammys!
Oscar Buzz: Academy Award nominee Bill Nighy has a nice ring to it, but will voters take to a very subtle performance in the very quiet film that is Living? Glass Onion could definitely repeat its predecessor and score a Screenplay nomination. It would be wonderful to see the stand-out Kate Hudson back in the Supporting Actress race after 22 years away from that party. Meanwhile Academy Award nominee Bill Nighy has a nice ring to it, but will voters take to a very subtle performance in a very quiet film?
Star Spot: The entire cast of Glass Onion was in attendance this morning with Daniel Craig’s horrendous hangover causing much hilarity. I also randomly saw Jordan Peele getting out of a car and most importantly I was able to apologise to Tanya for crashing her Meet & Greet three years back. I offered to pay the $50 she was owed but she graciously declined.
• Vanity Fair checks in with Jane Fonda about her cancer diagnosis and general feeling these days • Gawker a rundown of all the Don't Worry Darling chaos from early rumors to bizarrepress conference • Jezebel a funny review of Madonna's "50 Questions with Madonna" video • Coming Soon Have you always wanted to see Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman on the big screen? Here's your chance as Batman Returns gets a one day (?) rerelease on "Batman Day" Sept 17th
More after the jump including Lea Michele finally treading the boards at Funny Girl, Telluride Oscar contenders, Jason Momoa's shaved head, Jodie Turner-Smith's new role, and conservative meltdowns over the new Lord of the Rings series on Amazon...
Thursday, February 1, 2024 at 2:00PM 
