In Luca Guadagnino’s latest cinematic endeavor, “Challengers,” Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist form a dynamic, throuple-esque trio, each delivering performances that scream Oscar-worthy. The real question is, will Academy voters look beyond the palpable sexual chemistry to acknowledge the film’s artistic merit? That’s a challenge for the marketing maestros.
Penned by newcomer Justin Kuritzkes, the spouse of “Past Lives” writer-director Celine Song, “Challengers” weaves through a 13-year narrative, chronicling the life of Tashi Duncan (Zendaya), a tennis wunderkind-turned-coach, who hatches a plan for her husband Art’s (Faist) comeback. The plan pits him against his ex-buddy and Tashi’s former flame, Patrick (O’Connor), setting the stage for a dramatic unraveling.
“Challengers”
Initially set for a grand reveal at the 80th Venice International Film Festival, its premiere was thwarted by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. The delay prompts the question: could Zendaya have joined the best actress fray,...
Penned by newcomer Justin Kuritzkes, the spouse of “Past Lives” writer-director Celine Song, “Challengers” weaves through a 13-year narrative, chronicling the life of Tashi Duncan (Zendaya), a tennis wunderkind-turned-coach, who hatches a plan for her husband Art’s (Faist) comeback. The plan pits him against his ex-buddy and Tashi’s former flame, Patrick (O’Connor), setting the stage for a dramatic unraveling.
“Challengers”
Initially set for a grand reveal at the 80th Venice International Film Festival, its premiere was thwarted by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. The delay prompts the question: could Zendaya have joined the best actress fray,...
- 4/11/2024
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Kim Basinger is the blonde bombshell has certainly proved her bonafides as an actress, quickly going from sex symbol to respected Oscar winner. Let’s take a look back at 10 of her greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1953 in Athens, Georgia, Basinger got her start as a model before turning to acting, catching the attentions of movie audiences as a Bond girl in the Sean Connery-starring “Never Say Never Again” (1983). She earned her first Golden Globe nomination soon thereafter for a supporting performance as Robert Redford‘s love interest in “The Natural” (1984).
She courted controversy with her sexually explicit turn in Adrien Lyne‘s “9 1/2 Weeks” (1986) and became a box office draw with Tim Burton‘s superhero smash “Batman” (1989). She even proved she could poke fun at herself with a cameo appearance in “Wayne’s World 2” (1992) as the aptly-named Honey Horneé.
It was with Curtis Hanson‘s neo-noir masterpiece “L.
Born in 1953 in Athens, Georgia, Basinger got her start as a model before turning to acting, catching the attentions of movie audiences as a Bond girl in the Sean Connery-starring “Never Say Never Again” (1983). She earned her first Golden Globe nomination soon thereafter for a supporting performance as Robert Redford‘s love interest in “The Natural” (1984).
She courted controversy with her sexually explicit turn in Adrien Lyne‘s “9 1/2 Weeks” (1986) and became a box office draw with Tim Burton‘s superhero smash “Batman” (1989). She even proved she could poke fun at herself with a cameo appearance in “Wayne’s World 2” (1992) as the aptly-named Honey Horneé.
It was with Curtis Hanson‘s neo-noir masterpiece “L.
- 12/1/2023
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
To Save and Project: The 19th MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation – See Screening Dates
The Museum of Modern Art announced in early December the To Save and Project: The 19th MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation, the latest edition of the annual festival dedicated to celebrating newly preserved and restored films from archives, studios, distributors, foundations, and independent filmmakers from around the world. Running from January 12 to February 2, 2023, this year’s program will open and close with the restoration premieres of two major silent films from MoMA’s archive: Paul Leni’s horror comedy The Cat and the Canary (1927) and Ernst Lubitsch’s comedy The
Marriage Circle (1924), respectively. To Save and Project is organized by Dave Kehr, Curator, Department of Film, The Museum of Modern Art, and Cindi Rowell, independent curator, with special thanks to Olivia Priedite, Film Program Coordinator, and Steve Macfarlane, Department Assistant, Department of Film.
The 2023 program includes the highly anticipated new version of Tod Browning’s insidious silent horror film...
Marriage Circle (1924), respectively. To Save and Project is organized by Dave Kehr, Curator, Department of Film, The Museum of Modern Art, and Cindi Rowell, independent curator, with special thanks to Olivia Priedite, Film Program Coordinator, and Steve Macfarlane, Department Assistant, Department of Film.
The 2023 program includes the highly anticipated new version of Tod Browning’s insidious silent horror film...
- 12/27/2022
- by Movies Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid Magazine - Movies
for Veronica Lake's centennial we're revisiting a few of her films...
by Jason Adams
Veronica Lake’s final words on film are “Heil Hitler.”
Nothing in the first sixty-five minutes of first-time director Brad F. Grinter’s schlocky 1970 mad scientist flick Flesh Feast will really prepare you for the final five minutes when a plot twist makes that line of dialogue possible, so I don’t feel particularly guilty spoiling the film’s ending up front – its ending is all it really has going for it...
by Jason Adams
Veronica Lake’s final words on film are “Heil Hitler.”
Nothing in the first sixty-five minutes of first-time director Brad F. Grinter’s schlocky 1970 mad scientist flick Flesh Feast will really prepare you for the final five minutes when a plot twist makes that line of dialogue possible, so I don’t feel particularly guilty spoiling the film’s ending up front – its ending is all it really has going for it...
- 11/14/2022
- by JA
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
"I Married a Witch" | © United Artists
Silky blonde tresses fall over one eye, a face masked by spun gold accented with spidery lashes and a slash of scarlet lipstick. When struggling to promote Veronica Lake's first movies as a full-on movie star, that's the image distributors found, depurating her commercial value into a flat facsimile of her beauty. Whether it was Paramount's poster for Sullivan's Travels or the main art for United Artist's I Married a Witch, it seemed as if Lake was a head of hair first, an actress second. Legend says that once, during the filming of 1941's I Wanted Wings, the young woman kept struggling with a lock of hair falling over her right eye. For the wannabee starlet, it was an irritation. For the studio execs lusting over the teenager, it was the look of a silver screen goddess, instant movie magic.
"I Married a Witch" | © United Artists
Silky blonde tresses fall over one eye, a face masked by spun gold accented with spidery lashes and a slash of scarlet lipstick. When struggling to promote Veronica Lake's first movies as a full-on movie star, that's the image distributors found, depurating her commercial value into a flat facsimile of her beauty. Whether it was Paramount's poster for Sullivan's Travels or the main art for United Artist's I Married a Witch, it seemed as if Lake was a head of hair first, an actress second. Legend says that once, during the filming of 1941's I Wanted Wings, the young woman kept struggling with a lock of hair falling over her right eye. For the wannabee starlet, it was an irritation. For the studio execs lusting over the teenager, it was the look of a silver screen goddess, instant movie magic.
- 11/13/2022
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
A dozen highlights from the month in case you missed 'em...
• "Hot Ones" as Oscar stop Best Actresses getting spicy
• Angela Lansbury in Death on the Nile as tribute when she passed
• Paul Mescal x 2 Eurocheese on Aftersun and God's Creatures
• Podcast Guesting Nathaniel had fun on "Hallmarkies" talking Bros and "Oscar Wild" taking pre-season Oscar Predictions
• Middleburg w/ special guests Nathaniel with Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All At Once) and Dolly DeLeon (Triangle of Sadness)
• Banshees of Inisherin Nathaniel on Martin McDonagh's Oscar hopeful
• TÁR Nathaniel on Todd & Cate's incredible collaborative drama
• TÁR's ending Ben thinks it's a major misstep. You?
• Brainwashed Glenn on the controversial gender/film theory doc
• Mars One Juan Carlos talks to the director of Brazil's Oscar submission
• Alcarràs Jason on Spain's Oscar submission
• Decision to Leave Cláudio on South Korea's Oscar submission
Coming In November
The Spirit Award nominations, that long awaited 1951 Smackdown...
• "Hot Ones" as Oscar stop Best Actresses getting spicy
• Angela Lansbury in Death on the Nile as tribute when she passed
• Paul Mescal x 2 Eurocheese on Aftersun and God's Creatures
• Podcast Guesting Nathaniel had fun on "Hallmarkies" talking Bros and "Oscar Wild" taking pre-season Oscar Predictions
• Middleburg w/ special guests Nathaniel with Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All At Once) and Dolly DeLeon (Triangle of Sadness)
• Banshees of Inisherin Nathaniel on Martin McDonagh's Oscar hopeful
• TÁR Nathaniel on Todd & Cate's incredible collaborative drama
• TÁR's ending Ben thinks it's a major misstep. You?
• Brainwashed Glenn on the controversial gender/film theory doc
• Mars One Juan Carlos talks to the director of Brazil's Oscar submission
• Alcarràs Jason on Spain's Oscar submission
• Decision to Leave Cláudio on South Korea's Oscar submission
Coming In November
The Spirit Award nominations, that long awaited 1951 Smackdown...
- 10/31/2022
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
It is fair to assume Criterion could plunder the world of licensed film to build an ultimate noir playlist; credit, then, for focusing sharp and nabbing deep cuts. The Criterion Channel’s November / Noirvember program will be headlined by “Fox Noir,” an eight-title program with Otto Preminger deep cut Fallen Angel, three by Henry Hathaway, Siodmak, Dassin, Kazan, and Robert Wise, and while retrospectives of Veronica Lake and John Garfield will bring some canon into the fold, I’m mostly thinking about that potential for discovery.
Following “Free Jazz,” Bob Hoskins, and Joyce Chopra programs, the other big series is a 30-year survey of Sony Pictures Classics: Sally Potter, Satoshi Kon, Panahi, Errol Morris, Almodóvar, Haneke, Mike Leigh, just a murderer’s row. Streaming premieres include 499 and A Night of Knowing Nothing, two recent epitomes of I Wish I Had Seen That; Criterion Editions comprise Cure, Brazil, Sullivan’s Travels,...
Following “Free Jazz,” Bob Hoskins, and Joyce Chopra programs, the other big series is a 30-year survey of Sony Pictures Classics: Sally Potter, Satoshi Kon, Panahi, Errol Morris, Almodóvar, Haneke, Mike Leigh, just a murderer’s row. Streaming premieres include 499 and A Night of Knowing Nothing, two recent epitomes of I Wish I Had Seen That; Criterion Editions comprise Cure, Brazil, Sullivan’s Travels,...
- 10/26/2022
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
If a single WW2 Hollywood war epic can sum up the complexity of homefront morale-building, this one is it. Claudette Colbert, Paulette Goddard and Veronica Lake enlist as Army nurses and are plunged into the disastrous opening onslaught in the Philippines. Adroit screenwriting and direction use the clichés of Hollywood glamour to give mom & dad back home a dramatic idea of what it might be like for a company of nurses in a failing war zone. Great studio effects show the rough retreats and casualties, while George Reeves and Sonny Tufts serve as reassuring sentimental diversions. And a squad of ‘unglamorous’ actresses get to play strong, patriotic roles. It’s an entertaining winner.
So Proudly We Hail
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1943 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 126 min. / Street Date September 13, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Claudette Colbert, Paulette Goddard, Veronica Lake, George Reeves, Barbara Britton, Walter Abel, Sonny Tufts, Mary Servoss,...
So Proudly We Hail
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1943 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 126 min. / Street Date September 13, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Claudette Colbert, Paulette Goddard, Veronica Lake, George Reeves, Barbara Britton, Walter Abel, Sonny Tufts, Mary Servoss,...
- 9/10/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Peter Roth started his career in show business fresh out of Tufts University with the dream of becoming another Harold Prince or Joe Papp in theater. He couldn’t have known back in 1973 that he was destined to become the Peter Roth of television executives.
“If you had a problem, you called Peter. If you needed advice, you called Peter. If you were wondering if you were doing your job well, Peter would beat you to the punch and call you, singing your praises, building you up and making you feel good,” says Julie Plec, a showrunner who worked with Roth for more than a decade at Warner Bros. TV. “He was a hands-on leader who never let the corporate side of the business prevent him from stepping right in just when he was needed the most.”
Roth exited his role as chairman of Warner Bros. Television Group at the...
“If you had a problem, you called Peter. If you needed advice, you called Peter. If you were wondering if you were doing your job well, Peter would beat you to the punch and call you, singing your praises, building you up and making you feel good,” says Julie Plec, a showrunner who worked with Roth for more than a decade at Warner Bros. TV. “He was a hands-on leader who never let the corporate side of the business prevent him from stepping right in just when he was needed the most.”
Roth exited his role as chairman of Warner Bros. Television Group at the...
- 10/14/2021
- by Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
The Israeli director Ari Folman rose to international fame at Cannes, where his feted Waltz With Bashir was a rare animated film that competed for the Palme d’Or. Its daring use of rotoscope imagery to explore trauma in the Lebanon War might have led to assume something equally provocative in exploring the horrors of the Holocaust.
Where is Anne Frank, however, premieres out of competition and, although led with good intentions, it is a film laden with heavy-handed storytelling and a tendency to didacticism that would make Brecht blush. It may be a film for children, and one that tries to sincerely link the darkest moments of history with current political issues for a younger generation, but Folman, the child of Auschwitz survivors, makes some big missteps.
The opening frames show a rainy near future Amsterdam, with a line of tourists waiting for entry to the Anne Frank Museum...
Where is Anne Frank, however, premieres out of competition and, although led with good intentions, it is a film laden with heavy-handed storytelling and a tendency to didacticism that would make Brecht blush. It may be a film for children, and one that tries to sincerely link the darkest moments of history with current political issues for a younger generation, but Folman, the child of Auschwitz survivors, makes some big missteps.
The opening frames show a rainy near future Amsterdam, with a line of tourists waiting for entry to the Anne Frank Museum...
- 7/19/2021
- by Ed Frankl
- The Film Stage
It’s been over a year since audiences found out “Why Women Kill.” The first season, airing on then-CBS All Access, now Paramount+, followed three women from three different eras all with one goal in mind: Killing their husbands. The series, from “Desperate Housewives” creator Marc Cherry, had a similar bitchy cattiness that fans of the past ABC series loved, but the stories were varying shades of weak. A 12-month break seems to be what the doctor ordered as Season 2 finally showcases why Cherry’s shows are so compelling, settling in with one unified narrative and a shift in time period.
Where the first season took place in the 1950s, 1980s, and present day, this season sticks firmly in 1949 Los Angeles, a glittering world of glamour — for some. Alma Fillcot (Allison Tolman) is a lonely housewife whose prize possession is her garden. She dreams of joining the Elysian Park Garden Club,...
Where the first season took place in the 1950s, 1980s, and present day, this season sticks firmly in 1949 Los Angeles, a glittering world of glamour — for some. Alma Fillcot (Allison Tolman) is a lonely housewife whose prize possession is her garden. She dreams of joining the Elysian Park Garden Club,...
- 6/3/2021
- by Kristen Lopez
- Indiewire
When celebrity events were halted because of the coronavirus pandemic last March, Hollywood’s clothing stylists, hairstylists and makeup artists were put out of work. The return of awards shows and virtual events has fostered a fashion resurgence.
In March 2020, stylist Ilaria Urbinati — whose client roster of Hollywood men includes Rami Malek, Dwayne (“the Rock”) Johnson and John Krasinski — was working on numerous press tours. “Rami had ‘Bond’ coming out, the Rock had ‘Jungle Cruise’ and ‘Red Notice,’” she recalls. “Aaron Paul had movies, then Cannes was coming up, and Venice, and we were in the middle of ‘A Quiet Place II’ press tour. And everything came to a grinding halt.”
Each day, more of her jobs were canceled due to Covid. “It was so surreal,” says Urbinati. “I’m used to working so much. Because I dress all men, I have like 40 clients.”
Urbinati appreciated having more time with her newborn twins,...
In March 2020, stylist Ilaria Urbinati — whose client roster of Hollywood men includes Rami Malek, Dwayne (“the Rock”) Johnson and John Krasinski — was working on numerous press tours. “Rami had ‘Bond’ coming out, the Rock had ‘Jungle Cruise’ and ‘Red Notice,’” she recalls. “Aaron Paul had movies, then Cannes was coming up, and Venice, and we were in the middle of ‘A Quiet Place II’ press tour. And everything came to a grinding halt.”
Each day, more of her jobs were canceled due to Covid. “It was so surreal,” says Urbinati. “I’m used to working so much. Because I dress all men, I have like 40 clients.”
Urbinati appreciated having more time with her newborn twins,...
- 4/17/2021
- by Jasmin Rosemberg
- Variety Film + TV
When celebrity events were halted because of the coronavirus pandemic last March, Hollywood’s clothing stylists, hairstylists and makeup artists were put out of work. The return of awards shows and virtual events has fostered a fashion resurgence.
In March 2020, stylist Ilaria Urbinati — whose client roster of Hollywood men includes Rami Malek, Dwayne (“the Rock”) Johnson and John Krasinski — was working on numerous press tours. “Rami had ‘Bond’ coming out, the Rock had ‘Jungle Cruise’ and ‘Red Notice,’” she recalls. “Aaron Paul had movies, then Cannes was coming up, and Venice, and we were in the middle of ‘A Quiet Place II’ press tour. And everything came to a grinding halt.”
Each day, more of her jobs were canceled due to Covid. “It was so surreal,” says Urbinati. “I’m used to working so much. Because I dress all men, I have like 40 clients.”
Urbinati appreciated having more time with her newborn twins,...
In March 2020, stylist Ilaria Urbinati — whose client roster of Hollywood men includes Rami Malek, Dwayne (“the Rock”) Johnson and John Krasinski — was working on numerous press tours. “Rami had ‘Bond’ coming out, the Rock had ‘Jungle Cruise’ and ‘Red Notice,’” she recalls. “Aaron Paul had movies, then Cannes was coming up, and Venice, and we were in the middle of ‘A Quiet Place II’ press tour. And everything came to a grinding halt.”
Each day, more of her jobs were canceled due to Covid. “It was so surreal,” says Urbinati. “I’m used to working so much. Because I dress all men, I have like 40 clients.”
Urbinati appreciated having more time with her newborn twins,...
- 4/15/2021
- by Jasmin Rosemberg
- Variety Film + TV
The director of Palmer helps us kick off our new season by walking us through some of his favorite movies.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Bloodhounds Of Broadway (1989)
Salvador (1986)
True Believer (1989)
Palmer (2021)
Wonder Wheel (2017)
A Face In The Crowd (1957)
On The Waterfront (1954)
No Time For Sergeants (1958)
The Confidence Man (2018)
Lolita (1962)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
The Ghost Of Peter Sellers (2018)
The Marrying Man (1991)
The Ruling Class (1972)
The Krays (1990)
Let Him Have It (1991)
The Changeling (1980)
On The Border (1998)
Murder By Decree (1979)
Bigger Than Life (1956)
The Night of the Iguana (1964)
Fat City (1972)
Angel (1984)
Animal House (1978)
My Science Project (1985)
Lucía (1968)
Paper Moon (1973)
Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
The Great McGinty (1940)
I Married A Witch (1942)
Do The Right Thing (1989)
Raging Bull (1980)
Once Upon A Time In America (1984)
The Rider (2017)
The Mustang (2019)
Nomadland (2020)
Murmur of the Heart (1971)
Sweet Smell Of Success (1957)
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
The Conversation (1974)
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather Part III (1990)
The Magnificent Ambersons...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Bloodhounds Of Broadway (1989)
Salvador (1986)
True Believer (1989)
Palmer (2021)
Wonder Wheel (2017)
A Face In The Crowd (1957)
On The Waterfront (1954)
No Time For Sergeants (1958)
The Confidence Man (2018)
Lolita (1962)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
The Ghost Of Peter Sellers (2018)
The Marrying Man (1991)
The Ruling Class (1972)
The Krays (1990)
Let Him Have It (1991)
The Changeling (1980)
On The Border (1998)
Murder By Decree (1979)
Bigger Than Life (1956)
The Night of the Iguana (1964)
Fat City (1972)
Angel (1984)
Animal House (1978)
My Science Project (1985)
Lucía (1968)
Paper Moon (1973)
Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
The Great McGinty (1940)
I Married A Witch (1942)
Do The Right Thing (1989)
Raging Bull (1980)
Once Upon A Time In America (1984)
The Rider (2017)
The Mustang (2019)
Nomadland (2020)
Murmur of the Heart (1971)
Sweet Smell Of Success (1957)
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
The Conversation (1974)
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather Part III (1990)
The Magnificent Ambersons...
- 2/2/2021
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
” Just don’t get too complicated, Eddie. When a man gets too complicated, he’s unhappy. And when he’s unhappy, his luck runs out.”
The Blue Dahlia (1946) starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake screens at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium(470 E Lockwood Ave) screens Tuesday February 18th. The film begins at 7:00pm. This is the final film in a 3-film ‘Lake and Ladd’ series . A Facebook invite can be found Here.
In the first original screenplay by master of the crime thriller Raymond Chandler—for which he received an Oscar nomination—The Blue Dahlia pairs Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake for the third time. Ladd plays Lt. Commander Johnny Morrison, who returns home from World War II only to find that his wife, Helen has been cheating on him. Helen soon after turns up dead, and Morrison enlists the help of a mysterious stranger (Lake) to clear his...
The Blue Dahlia (1946) starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake screens at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium(470 E Lockwood Ave) screens Tuesday February 18th. The film begins at 7:00pm. This is the final film in a 3-film ‘Lake and Ladd’ series . A Facebook invite can be found Here.
In the first original screenplay by master of the crime thriller Raymond Chandler—for which he received an Oscar nomination—The Blue Dahlia pairs Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake for the third time. Ladd plays Lt. Commander Johnny Morrison, who returns home from World War II only to find that his wife, Helen has been cheating on him. Helen soon after turns up dead, and Morrison enlists the help of a mysterious stranger (Lake) to clear his...
- 2/14/2020
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Rain may be a glam squad’s biggest nemesis, but Hollywood’s top pros didn’t bat a faux eyelash at the weather, bringing their A-game for the A-list attending the 92nd Academy Awards.
While many delivered on the classics—Charlize Theron nailed neutrals and Margot Robbie channeled Veronica Lake waves and a matte red lip—there were a few envelope pushers. Cue Billie Eilish with her two-inch talons and Lucy Boynton with pearls dotted along her hair part. Other standouts included America Ferrera channeling a warrior queen, Scarlett Johansson’s flawless glow and Olivia Colman and Saoirse Ronan’s new ...
While many delivered on the classics—Charlize Theron nailed neutrals and Margot Robbie channeled Veronica Lake waves and a matte red lip—there were a few envelope pushers. Cue Billie Eilish with her two-inch talons and Lucy Boynton with pearls dotted along her hair part. Other standouts included America Ferrera channeling a warrior queen, Scarlett Johansson’s flawless glow and Olivia Colman and Saoirse Ronan’s new ...
Rain may be a glam squad’s biggest nemesis, but Hollywood’s top pros didn’t bat a faux eyelash at the weather, bringing their A-game for the A-list attending the 92nd Academy Awards.
While many delivered on the classics—Charlize Theron nailed neutrals and Margot Robbie channeled Veronica Lake waves and a matte red lip—there were a few envelope pushers. Cue Billie Eilish with her two-inch talons and Lucy Boynton with pearls dotted along her hair part. Other standouts included America Ferrera channeling a warrior queen, Scarlett Johansson’s flawless glow and Olivia Colman and Saoirse Ronan’s new ...
While many delivered on the classics—Charlize Theron nailed neutrals and Margot Robbie channeled Veronica Lake waves and a matte red lip—there were a few envelope pushers. Cue Billie Eilish with her two-inch talons and Lucy Boynton with pearls dotted along her hair part. Other standouts included America Ferrera channeling a warrior queen, Scarlett Johansson’s flawless glow and Olivia Colman and Saoirse Ronan’s new ...
” I just met the swellest dame… She smacked me in the kisser. “
The Glass Key starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake screens at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium(470 E Lockwood Ave) screens Tuesday February 11th. The film begins at 7:00pm. This is the second film in a 3-film ‘Lake and Ladd’ series that continues February 18th with The Blue Dahlia. A Facebook invite can be found Here.
Fast-tracked into production on account of Ladd’s rising stardom, The Glass Key is an adaptation of Dashiell Hammett’s 1931 bestseller, previously adapted just seven years prior as a George Raft vehicle of the same name. Here we have Ladd playing Ed Beaumont, something of a fixer for corrupt politician Paul Madvig. Ed falls into a dangerous love triangle with Paul and Paul’s political rival’s daughter, Janet Henry (Lake). Things get even more complicated when Janet’s brother turns up dead,...
The Glass Key starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake screens at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium(470 E Lockwood Ave) screens Tuesday February 11th. The film begins at 7:00pm. This is the second film in a 3-film ‘Lake and Ladd’ series that continues February 18th with The Blue Dahlia. A Facebook invite can be found Here.
Fast-tracked into production on account of Ladd’s rising stardom, The Glass Key is an adaptation of Dashiell Hammett’s 1931 bestseller, previously adapted just seven years prior as a George Raft vehicle of the same name. Here we have Ladd playing Ed Beaumont, something of a fixer for corrupt politician Paul Madvig. Ed falls into a dangerous love triangle with Paul and Paul’s political rival’s daughter, Janet Henry (Lake). Things get even more complicated when Janet’s brother turns up dead,...
- 2/6/2020
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
This Gun For Hire (1942) starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake screens at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium(470 E Lockwood Ave) screens Tuesday February 4th. The film begins at 7:00pm. This is the opening film in a 3-film ‘Lake and Ladd’ series that continues February 11th with The Glass Key and February 18th with The Blue Dahlia. A Facebook invite can be found Here.
The first pairing of Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake wasn’t meant to be so—Ms. Lake’s love interest in the film is played by Robert Preston (The Music Man)—and yet all of the chemistry is between her nightclub singer and Mr. Ladd’s hit man. Based on the Graham Greene novel A Gun for Sale, This Gun for Hire shot Ladd to instant stardom and immediately had audiences clamoring for more Lake/Ladd films.
Admission is:
$7 for the general public
$6 for seniors, Webster...
The first pairing of Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake wasn’t meant to be so—Ms. Lake’s love interest in the film is played by Robert Preston (The Music Man)—and yet all of the chemistry is between her nightclub singer and Mr. Ladd’s hit man. Based on the Graham Greene novel A Gun for Sale, This Gun for Hire shot Ladd to instant stardom and immediately had audiences clamoring for more Lake/Ladd films.
Admission is:
$7 for the general public
$6 for seniors, Webster...
- 1/31/2020
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Kim Basinger celebrates her 66th birthday on December 8, 2019. The blonde bombshell has certainly proved her bonafides as an actress, quickly going from sex symbol to respected Oscar winner. In honor of her birthday, let’s take a look back at 10 of her greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1953 in Athens, Georgia, Basinger got her start as a model before turning to acting, catching the attentions of movie audiences as a Bond girl in the Sean Connery-starring “Never Say Never Again” (1983). She earned her first Golden Globe nomination soon thereafter for a supporting performance as Robert Redford‘s love interest in “The Natural” (1984).
SEERobert Redford movies: 15 greatest films ranked from worst to best
She courted controversy with her sexually explicit turn in Adrien Lyne‘s “9 1/2 Weeks” (1986) and became a box office draw with Tim Burton‘s superhero smash “Batman” (1989). She even proved she could poke fun at herself...
Born in 1953 in Athens, Georgia, Basinger got her start as a model before turning to acting, catching the attentions of movie audiences as a Bond girl in the Sean Connery-starring “Never Say Never Again” (1983). She earned her first Golden Globe nomination soon thereafter for a supporting performance as Robert Redford‘s love interest in “The Natural” (1984).
SEERobert Redford movies: 15 greatest films ranked from worst to best
She courted controversy with her sexually explicit turn in Adrien Lyne‘s “9 1/2 Weeks” (1986) and became a box office draw with Tim Burton‘s superhero smash “Batman” (1989). She even proved she could poke fun at herself...
- 12/8/2019
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
All hail Olivia de Havilland, America’s longest living movie star. The more de Havilland pictures we see, the more we admire her taste and judgment in roles… or is that better expressed as, the more we admire her ability to guide a near-perfect career, going so far as to defy the studios in court. This 1941 drama has director Mitchell Leisen in fine form, a smart script by Brackett & Wilder, and a central topic that’s currently quite hot: illegal immigration.
Hold Back the Dawn
Blu-ray
Arrow Academy
1941 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 116 min. / Street Date July 16, 2019 / 39.95
Starring: Charles Boyer, Olivia de Havilland, Paulette Goddard, Victor Francen, Walter Abel, Curt Bois, Rosemary DeCamp, Nestor Paiva, Eva Puig, Micheline Cheirel, Madeleine Lebeau, Mikhail Rasumny, Charles Arnt, Mitchell Leisen, Brian Donlevy, Kitty Kelly, Veronica Lake, Carlos Villarías, Richard Webb.
Cinematography: Leo Tover
Film Editor: Doane Harrison
Original Music: Victor Young
Written by Charles Brackett,...
Hold Back the Dawn
Blu-ray
Arrow Academy
1941 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 116 min. / Street Date July 16, 2019 / 39.95
Starring: Charles Boyer, Olivia de Havilland, Paulette Goddard, Victor Francen, Walter Abel, Curt Bois, Rosemary DeCamp, Nestor Paiva, Eva Puig, Micheline Cheirel, Madeleine Lebeau, Mikhail Rasumny, Charles Arnt, Mitchell Leisen, Brian Donlevy, Kitty Kelly, Veronica Lake, Carlos Villarías, Richard Webb.
Cinematography: Leo Tover
Film Editor: Doane Harrison
Original Music: Victor Young
Written by Charles Brackett,...
- 7/6/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Herman Wouk, who authored books that became legendary films and TV programs including The Caine Mutiny and The Winds of War, died today in his sleep in Palm Springs, the Associated Press reports. He was 103.
Wouk published about a dozen novels and a handful of plays and nonfiction books during a 70-year career, and many became landmark screen adaptations. His World War II novel The Winds of War hit bookstores in 1971 and was followed by the 1978 sequel War and Remembrance. Both were turned into smash ABC miniseries — with Winds of War airing in 1983 and War and Remembrance in 1988. Both starred Robert Mitchum as Capt. Victor “Pug” Henry and earned multiple Emmys.
Born on May 27, 1915 in the Bronx, Wouk — like so many other young Americans — join the Armed Forces after Pearl Harbor, serving in the Navy. He began writing while off watch aboard ship. And his best-known works chronicled seaman during...
Wouk published about a dozen novels and a handful of plays and nonfiction books during a 70-year career, and many became landmark screen adaptations. His World War II novel The Winds of War hit bookstores in 1971 and was followed by the 1978 sequel War and Remembrance. Both were turned into smash ABC miniseries — with Winds of War airing in 1983 and War and Remembrance in 1988. Both starred Robert Mitchum as Capt. Victor “Pug” Henry and earned multiple Emmys.
Born on May 27, 1915 in the Bronx, Wouk — like so many other young Americans — join the Armed Forces after Pearl Harbor, serving in the Navy. He began writing while off watch aboard ship. And his best-known works chronicled seaman during...
- 5/17/2019
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Herman Wouk, the author of novels adapted to the big and small screen, including “The Caine Mutiny,” “Marjorie Morningstar,” “The Winds of War” and “War and Remembrance,” has died. He was 103.
“The Caine Mutiny,” a 1951 bestseller that won Wouk the Pulitzer Prize, was memorably adapted into the 1954 film starring Humphrey Bogart, who played the paranoid, mentally unstable captain of a Navy minesweeper whose actions drive his subordinates to mutiny. That pic, directed by Edward Dmytryk and also starring Jose Ferrer, Van Johnson and Fred MacMurray, drew seven Oscar nominations, including those for best picture and screenplay for Stanley Roberts.
Wouk relied upon his wartime experiences not only for “The Caine Mutiny,” but for his later novels “The Winds of War” (1971) and “War and Remembrance” (1978). These expansive works, which followed one character, Navy Commander Victor “Pug” Henry, through seemingly every important moment in WWII, were adapted into the highly successful ABC miniseries of the same name.
“The Caine Mutiny,” a 1951 bestseller that won Wouk the Pulitzer Prize, was memorably adapted into the 1954 film starring Humphrey Bogart, who played the paranoid, mentally unstable captain of a Navy minesweeper whose actions drive his subordinates to mutiny. That pic, directed by Edward Dmytryk and also starring Jose Ferrer, Van Johnson and Fred MacMurray, drew seven Oscar nominations, including those for best picture and screenplay for Stanley Roberts.
Wouk relied upon his wartime experiences not only for “The Caine Mutiny,” but for his later novels “The Winds of War” (1971) and “War and Remembrance” (1978). These expansive works, which followed one character, Navy Commander Victor “Pug” Henry, through seemingly every important moment in WWII, were adapted into the highly successful ABC miniseries of the same name.
- 5/17/2019
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Tony Sokol Jan 26, 2019
I Am the Night exposes Dr. George Hodel, who was accused by his own son and granddaughter for being the Black Dahlia murderer.
I Am the Night tells the story of the characters who surround one of Hollywood's most famous homicides, and certainly the city of Los Angeles' longest and most infamous cold case: the Black Dahlia murder. TNT's new miniseries, directed by Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman), gets some facts right, fudges others for dramatic continuity, and smashes a few to pulp. At one point in I Am the Night, investigative reporter Jay Singletary, played by Chris Pine, picks up a graphic compilation of tabloid news on the case to catch up on what's he's missed since covering it last. The grotesque unsolved homicide had grown to iconic status.
Actress Elizabeth Short was 22 years old when her body was found in a vacant lot on Norton...
I Am the Night exposes Dr. George Hodel, who was accused by his own son and granddaughter for being the Black Dahlia murderer.
I Am the Night tells the story of the characters who surround one of Hollywood's most famous homicides, and certainly the city of Los Angeles' longest and most infamous cold case: the Black Dahlia murder. TNT's new miniseries, directed by Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman), gets some facts right, fudges others for dramatic continuity, and smashes a few to pulp. At one point in I Am the Night, investigative reporter Jay Singletary, played by Chris Pine, picks up a graphic compilation of tabloid news on the case to catch up on what's he's missed since covering it last. The grotesque unsolved homicide had grown to iconic status.
Actress Elizabeth Short was 22 years old when her body was found in a vacant lot on Norton...
- 1/26/2019
- Den of Geek
For playing the role of Lynn Bracken, a call girl made to look like actress Veronica Lake, L.A. Confidential’s Kim Basinger won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. During the interviews for L.A. Confidential, Basinger admitted she could relate to the image versus reality world that surrounded Bracken.
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” said [...]
The post Kim Basinger Related To Beauty Hurdles Of Oscar Winning ‘La Confidential’ Role appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” said [...]
The post Kim Basinger Related To Beauty Hurdles Of Oscar Winning ‘La Confidential’ Role appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
- 10/17/2018
- by Hollywood Outbreak
- HollywoodOutbreak.com
Nathaniel R welcomes the panel Yaseen Ali (cinephile), Kristen Lopez (critic), Rebecca Pahle (critic) and Kieran Scarlett (screenwriter) to discuss 1943 at the movies with recommended favorites and our favorite switch-the-actresses around game. We had previously reviewed the supporting actress nominees.
We talk about the three actresses in Ww II women's picture So Proudly We Hail. The running time slog of For Whom the Bell Tolls which doesn't showcase Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman well, the hit play turned message movie Watch on the Rhine and its place as a "homefront" movie when the war barely touched our soil, and religious epic The Song of Bernadette which won Jennifer Jones the Best Actress Oscar.
You can listen to the 1 hour podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you? ...
We talk about the three actresses in Ww II women's picture So Proudly We Hail. The running time slog of For Whom the Bell Tolls which doesn't showcase Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman well, the hit play turned message movie Watch on the Rhine and its place as a "homefront" movie when the war barely touched our soil, and religious epic The Song of Bernadette which won Jennifer Jones the Best Actress Oscar.
You can listen to the 1 hour podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you? ...
- 7/30/2018
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
The Oscar for Best Supporting Actress went to a wide swath of talented actresses in the 1990s, including Whoopi Goldberg, Marisa Tomei, Anna Paquin, Judi Dench and Angelina Jolie. A surprising amount of comedic performances won this category in the ’90s, especially for an academy that typically prefers drama. Which Best Supporting Actress winner is your favorite?
Check back on all the former champs and be sure to vote in our poll below. (See 2018 Oscar predictions for Best Supporting Actress.)
Whoopi Goldberg, “Ghost” (1990) — Whoopi Goldberg became the second black actress to win an Oscar thanks to her scene-stealing role as scheming psychic Oda Mae Brown in “Ghost.” She was previously nominated in Best Actress for “The Color Purple” (1985). Goldberg is one of only 12 individuals to have won the Egot, a.k.a. the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.
SEEWho’s your favorite Best Actor Oscar winner of the 1990s: Anthony Hopkins,...
Check back on all the former champs and be sure to vote in our poll below. (See 2018 Oscar predictions for Best Supporting Actress.)
Whoopi Goldberg, “Ghost” (1990) — Whoopi Goldberg became the second black actress to win an Oscar thanks to her scene-stealing role as scheming psychic Oda Mae Brown in “Ghost.” She was previously nominated in Best Actress for “The Color Purple” (1985). Goldberg is one of only 12 individuals to have won the Egot, a.k.a. the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.
SEEWho’s your favorite Best Actor Oscar winner of the 1990s: Anthony Hopkins,...
- 2/3/2018
- by Kevin Jacobsen
- Gold Derby
I’ve listened to many podcasts during the long upstate winter and one of my favorites has been Karina Longworth’s You Must Remember This. It’s billed as a storytelling podcast exploring the secret and/or forgotten histories of Hollywood’s first century. I enjoy it because Longworth spins great yarns, with vivid insights, about Hollywood stars and their careers.
But I think there’s more to why it’s popular and why I enjoy it so much. I’m starting to realize that the inevitable ups and downs of yesteryear’s Hollywood Stars are analogous to the rollercoaster rides that categorize so many of today’s careers.
It’s astounding to hear about how a legendary star’s career might have floundered at one point, only to do a complete 360 as he or she gets cast in a successful blockbuster movie. Thundering successes and crushing failures become the...
But I think there’s more to why it’s popular and why I enjoy it so much. I’m starting to realize that the inevitable ups and downs of yesteryear’s Hollywood Stars are analogous to the rollercoaster rides that categorize so many of today’s careers.
It’s astounding to hear about how a legendary star’s career might have floundered at one point, only to do a complete 360 as he or she gets cast in a successful blockbuster movie. Thundering successes and crushing failures become the...
- 4/24/2017
- by Ed Catto
- Comicmix.com
I’ve listened to many podcasts during the long upstate winter and one of my favorites has been Karina Longworth’s You Must Remember This. It’s billed as a storytelling podcast exploring the secret and/or forgotten histories of Hollywood’s first century. I enjoy it because Longworth spins great yarns, with vivid insights, about Hollywood stars and their careers.
But I think there’s more to why it’s popular and why I enjoy it so much. I’m starting to realize that the inevitable ups and downs of yesteryear’s Hollywood Stars are analogous to the rollercoaster rides that categorize so many of today’s careers.
It’s astounding to hear about how a legendary star’s career might have floundered at one point, only to do a complete 360 as he or she gets cast in a successful blockbuster movie. Thundering successes and crushing failures become the...
But I think there’s more to why it’s popular and why I enjoy it so much. I’m starting to realize that the inevitable ups and downs of yesteryear’s Hollywood Stars are analogous to the rollercoaster rides that categorize so many of today’s careers.
It’s astounding to hear about how a legendary star’s career might have floundered at one point, only to do a complete 360 as he or she gets cast in a successful blockbuster movie. Thundering successes and crushing failures become the...
- 4/24/2017
- by Ed Catto
- Comicmix.com
You’ve already found “the one,” picked out your dress and even chose your wedding bands. The hard part is almost over — but you still need to decide on the perfect hairstyle to wear on the big day. Up or down? Straight or wavy? Braid or no braid? In order to help answer those pressing questions, we turned to celebrity hairstylist and Kérastase brand ambassador Matt Fugate, who shared his foolproof tips for scoring a style that you’ll love as much as you love your new spouse.
1. Figure out your vibe
Before you speak with your hairstylist, Fugate recommends...
1. Figure out your vibe
Before you speak with your hairstylist, Fugate recommends...
- 4/20/2017
- by Jillian Ruffo
- PEOPLE.com
This charming Roy Rogers oater could reboot interest in vintage ‘series’ westerns. Basically a film for little kids, it’s earnestly played by all concerned and director William Witney’s direction sparkles. The added filip that makes the difference is the beautifully restored Trucolor image — Roy’s wonder horse Trigger is indeed magnificent. I listened carefully, but I don’t think Roy actually says, “Yippie-ki-yay, M_____f____r.”
Sunset in the West
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1950 / Color / 1:37 flat Academy / 67 min. / Street Date April 18, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 19.95
Starring: Roy Rogers, Trigger, Estelita Rodriguez, Penny Edwards, Gordon Jones, Will Wright, Pierre Watkin, Charles La Torre, William Tannen, Gaylord Pendleton, Paul E. Burns, Dorothy Ann White, Riders of the Purple Sage.
Cinematography: Jack Marta
Color by Trucolor
Film Editor: Tony Martinelli
Original Music: R. Dale Butts
Special Effects: Howard & Theodore Lydecker
Written by Gerald Geraghty
Produced by Edward J. White
Directed...
Sunset in the West
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1950 / Color / 1:37 flat Academy / 67 min. / Street Date April 18, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 19.95
Starring: Roy Rogers, Trigger, Estelita Rodriguez, Penny Edwards, Gordon Jones, Will Wright, Pierre Watkin, Charles La Torre, William Tannen, Gaylord Pendleton, Paul E. Burns, Dorothy Ann White, Riders of the Purple Sage.
Cinematography: Jack Marta
Color by Trucolor
Film Editor: Tony Martinelli
Original Music: R. Dale Butts
Special Effects: Howard & Theodore Lydecker
Written by Gerald Geraghty
Produced by Edward J. White
Directed...
- 4/15/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Seddok, l’erede di Satana (Atom Age Vampire)
Region 2 Pal DVD
Terminal Video Italia Srl
1960 / B&W / 1:66 flat letterbox / 103 min. / Street Date June 12, 2011 / available through Amazon.it / Eur 6,64
Starring: Alberto Lupo, Ivo Garrani, Susanne Loret, Sergio Fantoni, Rina Franchetti, Franca Parisi, Roberto Bertea.
Cinematography: Aldo Giordani
Film Editor: Gabrielle Varriale
Makeup Effects: Euclide Santoli
Original Music: Armando Trovajoli
Written by: Gino De Santis, Alberto Bevilacqua, Anton Giulio Majano; story by Piero Monviso
Produced by: Elio Ippolito Mellino (as Mario Fava)
Directed by Anton Giulio Majano
Let me herewith take a break from new discs to review an Italian release from six years ago, a movie that for years we knew only as Atom Age Vampire. Until sporadic late- night TV showings appeared, it existed for us ’60s kids as one or two interesting photos in Famous Monsters magazine. Forry Ackerman steered away from adult films, with the effect that...
Region 2 Pal DVD
Terminal Video Italia Srl
1960 / B&W / 1:66 flat letterbox / 103 min. / Street Date June 12, 2011 / available through Amazon.it / Eur 6,64
Starring: Alberto Lupo, Ivo Garrani, Susanne Loret, Sergio Fantoni, Rina Franchetti, Franca Parisi, Roberto Bertea.
Cinematography: Aldo Giordani
Film Editor: Gabrielle Varriale
Makeup Effects: Euclide Santoli
Original Music: Armando Trovajoli
Written by: Gino De Santis, Alberto Bevilacqua, Anton Giulio Majano; story by Piero Monviso
Produced by: Elio Ippolito Mellino (as Mario Fava)
Directed by Anton Giulio Majano
Let me herewith take a break from new discs to review an Italian release from six years ago, a movie that for years we knew only as Atom Age Vampire. Until sporadic late- night TV showings appeared, it existed for us ’60s kids as one or two interesting photos in Famous Monsters magazine. Forry Ackerman steered away from adult films, with the effect that...
- 1/21/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
When I was a kid I’d make the trek to Lewis’ Drug Store to buy comics with my allowance money. Maxwell’s Food Store had a better selection, but that was on the other side of the treacherous “Five Points” intersection, and I wasn’t yet allowed to cross that on my own.
Detective Comics, starring Batman, was a favorite, and you can make a case that some of the very best Batman stories were appearing each month during that early 70s period. They were fantastic thrillers by Denny O’Neil, Neal Adams, Irv Novick, with the occasional Michael Kaluta or Bernie Wrightson cover. I didn’t know how good I had it.
So you can imagine my surprise when I picked up Detective Comics #429 and looked at the interior story’s artwork by Frank Robbins. I remember thinking “Is this a joke?” and “Is this a Golden Age reprint?...
Detective Comics, starring Batman, was a favorite, and you can make a case that some of the very best Batman stories were appearing each month during that early 70s period. They were fantastic thrillers by Denny O’Neil, Neal Adams, Irv Novick, with the occasional Michael Kaluta or Bernie Wrightson cover. I didn’t know how good I had it.
So you can imagine my surprise when I picked up Detective Comics #429 and looked at the interior story’s artwork by Frank Robbins. I remember thinking “Is this a joke?” and “Is this a Golden Age reprint?...
- 10/10/2016
- by Ed Catto
- Comicmix.com
Director, producer and screenwriter who won an Oscar for the film adaptation of La Confidential
To get a measure of the wide range of themes and genres covered by the film director Curtis Hanson, who has died aged 71, one need only compare his greatest critical success, La Confidential (1997), with his biggest commercial hit, 8 Mile (2002). The former is a stylish, 1950s-set noir thriller shot through with ambivalence about Hollywood, which is shown in all its dreamy allure and soul-crushing horror. The latter picture is a semi-gritty star vehicle for the rapper Eminem (Aka Marshall Mathers III) which draws on the performer’s own background in its story of a young man who uses hip-hop to escape his insalubrious trailer-park origins.
La Confidential was acclaimed by critics who had believed they did not make them like that any more; Hanson and his co-writer, Brian Helgeland, won an Oscar for their assured adaptation...
To get a measure of the wide range of themes and genres covered by the film director Curtis Hanson, who has died aged 71, one need only compare his greatest critical success, La Confidential (1997), with his biggest commercial hit, 8 Mile (2002). The former is a stylish, 1950s-set noir thriller shot through with ambivalence about Hollywood, which is shown in all its dreamy allure and soul-crushing horror. The latter picture is a semi-gritty star vehicle for the rapper Eminem (Aka Marshall Mathers III) which draws on the performer’s own background in its story of a young man who uses hip-hop to escape his insalubrious trailer-park origins.
La Confidential was acclaimed by critics who had believed they did not make them like that any more; Hanson and his co-writer, Brian Helgeland, won an Oscar for their assured adaptation...
- 9/21/2016
- by Ryan Gilbey
- The Guardian - Film News
The recent box office success of The Boss firmly establishes Melissa McCarthy as the current queen of movie comedies (Amy Schumer could be a new contender after an impressive debut last Summer with Trainwreck), but let us think back about those other funny ladies of filmdom. So while we’re enjoying the female reboot/re-imagining of Ghostbusters and those Bad Moms, here’s a top ten list that will hopefully inspire lots of laughter and cause you to search out some classic comedies. It’s tough to narrow them down to ten, but we’ll do our best, beginning with… 10. Eve Arden The droll Ms. Arden represents the comic sidekicks who will attempt to puncture the pomposity of the leading ladies with a well-placed wisecrack (see also the great Thelma Ritter in Rear Window). Her career began in the early 1930’s with great bit roles in Stage Door and Dancing Lady.
- 8/8/2016
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Turner Classic Movies has released three Alan Ladd titles in a set titled "Alan Ladd: The 1940s Collection". Here is the official press release:
Handsome leading man Alan Ladd found success in the 1940s and ‘50s, first as the tough guy in several films noir co-starring Veronica Lake and then as the stoic hero in Westerns such as Shane (1953). Turner Classic Movies and Universal are proud to present this three-film collection that showcases Ladd’s talents in a range of genres from thriller to adventure, as well as the work of such directors as Irving Pichel and Frank Tuttle, and writers the likes of Richard Maibaum and Seton I. Miller. Lucky Jordan (1942) Directed by Frank Tuttle (who also directed Ladd’s breakthrough film This Gun for Hire the same year), Lucky Jordan stars Ladd as a racketeer who gets drafted into the Us Army and will do anything to...
Handsome leading man Alan Ladd found success in the 1940s and ‘50s, first as the tough guy in several films noir co-starring Veronica Lake and then as the stoic hero in Westerns such as Shane (1953). Turner Classic Movies and Universal are proud to present this three-film collection that showcases Ladd’s talents in a range of genres from thriller to adventure, as well as the work of such directors as Irving Pichel and Frank Tuttle, and writers the likes of Richard Maibaum and Seton I. Miller. Lucky Jordan (1942) Directed by Frank Tuttle (who also directed Ladd’s breakthrough film This Gun for Hire the same year), Lucky Jordan stars Ladd as a racketeer who gets drafted into the Us Army and will do anything to...
- 6/26/2016
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Life isn’t easy for witches. Sure, they have magical powers, live for hundreds of years, and can fly around on broomsticks — but it’s not all fun and games. Beyond the stinging social stigma attached to those who witch for a living, there’s also the constant threat of unruly villagers brandishing torches and pitchforks, hungry for a good old-fashioned witch-burning. It’s starkly amusing to recall that the archetypal witch caricature was born out of the cold-blooded, unlawful murder of innocent people, acts committed vainly in the name of religion. On film, the witch is prolific, with countless examples dating back to the dawn of the art form.
When examining the witch film genre, mounting similarities cannot be ignored. Some employ the witch in fairy tales, macabre bedtime stories intended to evoke fear and wonderment in equal measure. Others depict a society gone mad, fingers ever pointed at...
When examining the witch film genre, mounting similarities cannot be ignored. Some employ the witch in fairy tales, macabre bedtime stories intended to evoke fear and wonderment in equal measure. Others depict a society gone mad, fingers ever pointed at...
- 2/17/2016
- by Tony Hinds
- The Film Stage
Since 1989, the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress has been accomplishing the important task of preserving films that “represent important cultural, artistic and historic achievements in filmmaking.” From films way back in 1897 all the way up to 2004, they’ve now reached 675 films that celebrate our heritage and encapsulate our film history.
Today they’ve unveiled their 2015 list, which includes classics such as Douglas Sirk‘s melodrama Imitation of Life, Hal Ashby‘s Being There, and John Frankenheimer‘s Seconds. Perhaps the most popular picks, The Shawshank Redemption, Ghostbusters, Top Gun, and L.A. Confidential were also added. Check out the full list below.
Being There (1979)
Chance, a simple-minded gardener (Peter Sellers) whose only contact with the outside world is through television, becomes the toast of the town following a series of misunderstandings. Forced outside his protected environment by the death of his wealthy boss, Chance subsumes his late employer’s persona,...
Today they’ve unveiled their 2015 list, which includes classics such as Douglas Sirk‘s melodrama Imitation of Life, Hal Ashby‘s Being There, and John Frankenheimer‘s Seconds. Perhaps the most popular picks, The Shawshank Redemption, Ghostbusters, Top Gun, and L.A. Confidential were also added. Check out the full list below.
Being There (1979)
Chance, a simple-minded gardener (Peter Sellers) whose only contact with the outside world is through television, becomes the toast of the town following a series of misunderstandings. Forced outside his protected environment by the death of his wealthy boss, Chance subsumes his late employer’s persona,...
- 12/16/2015
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Pat O'Brien movies on TCM: 'The Front Page,' 'Oil for the Lamps of China' Remember Pat O'Brien? In case you don't, you're not alone despite the fact that O'Brien was featured – in both large and small roles – in about 100 films, from the dawn of the sound era to 1981. That in addition to nearly 50 television appearances, from the early '50s to the early '80s. Never a top star or a critics' favorite, O'Brien was nevertheless one of the busiest Hollywood leading men – and second leads – of the 1930s. In that decade alone, mostly at Warner Bros., he was seen in nearly 60 films, from Bs (Hell's House, The Final Edition) to classics (American Madness, Angels with Dirty Faces). Turner Classic Movies is showing nine of those today, Nov. 11, '15, in honor of what would have been the Milwaukee-born O'Brien's 116th birthday. Pat O'Brien and James Cagney Spencer Tracy had Katharine Hepburn.
- 11/11/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
‘The Witch Queen’ in The Last Witch Hunter.
The Witch: I’m not a witch, I’m not a witch!
Sir Bedevere: But you are dressed as one!
The Witch: *They* dressed me up like this!
Crowd: We didn’t! We didn’t…
The Witch: And this isn’t my nose. It’s a false one.
Sir Bedevere: [lifts up her false nose] Well?
Peasant 1: Well, we did do the nose.
Sir Bedevere: The nose?
Peasant 1: And the hat, but she is a witch!
Crowd: Yeah! Burn her! Burn her!
– Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Throughout history, witches have always gotten a bad rap. The Salem Witch Trials proved that.
Things didn’t improve with the birth of cinema. Filmmakers have had a magical time telling the tales of sorcery, magical powers and witchcraft.
Good or bad, funny or downright scary, their stories have fascinated moviegoers and these burnt offerings show no signs of slowing down.
The Witch: I’m not a witch, I’m not a witch!
Sir Bedevere: But you are dressed as one!
The Witch: *They* dressed me up like this!
Crowd: We didn’t! We didn’t…
The Witch: And this isn’t my nose. It’s a false one.
Sir Bedevere: [lifts up her false nose] Well?
Peasant 1: Well, we did do the nose.
Sir Bedevere: The nose?
Peasant 1: And the hat, but she is a witch!
Crowd: Yeah! Burn her! Burn her!
– Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Throughout history, witches have always gotten a bad rap. The Salem Witch Trials proved that.
Things didn’t improve with the birth of cinema. Filmmakers have had a magical time telling the tales of sorcery, magical powers and witchcraft.
Good or bad, funny or downright scary, their stories have fascinated moviegoers and these burnt offerings show no signs of slowing down.
- 10/20/2015
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Coleen Gray in 'The Sleeping City' with Richard Conte. Coleen Gray after Fox: B Westerns and films noirs (See previous post: “Coleen Gray Actress: From Red River to Film Noir 'Good Girls'.”) Regarding the demise of her Fox career (the year after her divorce from Rod Amateau), Coleen Gray would recall for Confessions of a Scream Queen author Matt Beckoff: I thought that was the end of the world and that I was a total failure. I was a mass of insecurity and depended on agents. … Whether it was an 'A' picture or a 'B' picture didn't bother me. It could be a Western movie, a sci-fi film. A job was a job. You did the best with the script that you had. Fox had dropped Gray at a time of dramatic upheavals in the American film industry: fast-dwindling box office receipts as a result of competition from television,...
- 10/15/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Pop star, designer, performer and provocateur: a new documentary, Ecco Homo, examines the diverse roles Davies played for different people
The girl was the spitting image of Veronica Lake, but her name was Vanessa.
She would take the train from Ferntree Gully to Flinders Street station and conduct a glamour shoot in the black-and-white photo booth. Flash, pout, flash, over-the-shoulder pout, flash, removing a black leather glove. She called herself Vanessa but she was born Peter Davies. Although everyone came to call her Troy.
Continue reading...
The girl was the spitting image of Veronica Lake, but her name was Vanessa.
She would take the train from Ferntree Gully to Flinders Street station and conduct a glamour shoot in the black-and-white photo booth. Flash, pout, flash, over-the-shoulder pout, flash, removing a black leather glove. She called herself Vanessa but she was born Peter Davies. Although everyone came to call her Troy.
Continue reading...
- 8/14/2015
- by Jenny Valentish
- The Guardian - Film News
Like most talented performers who’ve doubled as quintessential movie stars, Tom Cruise doesn’t always get the chance to demonstrate that he can actually act. There’s often just too much Tom Cruise in the way for people to notice, especially when he lets his erratic personal life take center stage. Putting together an “essential” list for such an actor is a bit of a tightrope act, walking the line between crowd pleasing star turns and performances of real substance. That said, here are ten Tom Cruise films that are not to be missed:
Risky Business (1983) – The early 80s were awash in teen sex comedies, most of which have justifiably faded from memory. Then there’s Risky Business, which not only rose above the pack, but made an indelible mark on pop culture history. It wasn’t Tom Cruise’s first movie, but it might as well have been:...
Risky Business (1983) – The early 80s were awash in teen sex comedies, most of which have justifiably faded from memory. Then there’s Risky Business, which not only rose above the pack, but made an indelible mark on pop culture history. It wasn’t Tom Cruise’s first movie, but it might as well have been:...
- 8/7/2015
- by M. Robert Grunwald
- SoundOnSight
Olivia de Havilland on Turner Classic Movies: Your chance to watch 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' for the 384th time Olivia de Havilland is Turner Classic Movies' “Summer Under the Stars” star today, Aug. 2, '15. The two-time Best Actress Oscar winner (To Each His Own, 1946; The Heiress, 1949) whose steely determination helped to change the way studios handled their contract players turned 99 last July 1. Unfortunately, TCM isn't showing any de Havilland movie rarities, e.g., Universal's cool thriller The Dark Mirror (1946), the Paramount comedy The Well-Groomed Bride (1947), or Terence Young's British-made That Lady (1955), with de Havilland as eye-patch-wearing Spanish princess Ana de Mendoza. On the other hand, you'll be able to catch for the 384th time a demure Olivia de Havilland being romanced by a dashing Errol Flynn in The Adventures of Robin Hood, as TCM shows this 1938 period adventure classic just about every month. But who's complaining? One the...
- 8/3/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
No matter who tries to revive finger waves, the look feels forever associated with old Hollywood sirens like Veronica Lake and Joan Crawford, who made the look famous in the '20s, '30s and '40s. So when Dascha Polanco stepped out at an Orange Is The New Black event in New York on Thursday, rocking straight-from-the-'30s pin curls with a twist—with hair colored a shocking purple —the beauty statement gave us pause: are we into the newest iteration of an old-school 'do? Does the look feel too costume-y? Help us decide by voting below: Would you rock finger waves—or leave it in the annals of history? Photos: Are these beauty looks aging you?...
- 6/16/2015
- E! Online
When Hot is Cold: Fletcher’s Tone Deaf Comedy a Frivolous Altercation
For those familiar with director Anne Fletcher’s studio track record, including the rom-com platitudes of The Proposal (2009) and the broad mother and son road trip comedy The Guilt Trip (2011), it will hardly be surprising to find a similar lack of comical finesse on hand in the shrill insistence of her latest venture, Hot Pursuit. Basically another blacktop jaunt desperately trying to amuse with a countless host of familiar squirming scenarios, television alums David Feeney and John Quintance try to inject their small screen inclined tropes into the old odd couple formula with a surprising lack of success. This had to have been something that seemed like it could have worked thanks to the talent it attracted to headline, but the vehicle serves a complete disserve to its leading ladies, on both content and visual fronts.
We’re...
For those familiar with director Anne Fletcher’s studio track record, including the rom-com platitudes of The Proposal (2009) and the broad mother and son road trip comedy The Guilt Trip (2011), it will hardly be surprising to find a similar lack of comical finesse on hand in the shrill insistence of her latest venture, Hot Pursuit. Basically another blacktop jaunt desperately trying to amuse with a countless host of familiar squirming scenarios, television alums David Feeney and John Quintance try to inject their small screen inclined tropes into the old odd couple formula with a surprising lack of success. This had to have been something that seemed like it could have worked thanks to the talent it attracted to headline, but the vehicle serves a complete disserve to its leading ladies, on both content and visual fronts.
We’re...
- 5/8/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
'Hold Back the Dawn': Olivia de Havilland behind Charles Boyer and Paulette Goddard 'Hold Back the Dawn' 1941 movie: Olivia de Havilland steals show as small-town teacher in love Olivia de Havilland shines in Mitchell Leisen's melodrama Hold Back the Dawn, a sort of opening bracket for the director's World War II-era films. Adapted by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett from Ketti Frings' semi-autobiographical story, Hold Back the Dawn stars Charles Boyer as George Iscovescu, a Romanian dancer unable to enter the U.S. from Mexico due to immigration quotas imposed at the onset of the European conflict. Paulette Goddard is his scheming former partner, Anita, who marries an American to gain entry into the country only to immediately leave the duped husband. George adopts the idea – a naïve small-town schoolteacher visiting a Mexican border town is his prey. As the unsuspecting teacher, Olivia de Havilland radiates understanding and sympathy.
- 5/7/2015
- by Doug Johnson
- Alt Film Guide
Sullivan’s Travels
Written and directed by Preston Sturges
USA, 1941
At the start of Sullivan’s Travels, movie director John L. Sullivan (Joel McCrea) has been screening his latest effort. The picture within the picture concludes with an intense rooftop fight aboard a train. It’s almost absurd in its inflated action and Sullivan is not at all pleased with his creation. This type of escapist entertainment may be all right for some, but it’s social commentary he now seeks. These are troubling times, he argues, with war in Europe and strikes on the home front, and the ambitious, idealistic filmmaker wants something beyond mere cinematic frivolity. Apparently, so did the director of Sullivan’s Travels, the great Preston Sturges. At least that’s what he ended up with anyway.
Sullivan’s Travels, “By” Preston Sturges, as the opening credit proclaims, lending the filmic fable something of a storybook...
Written and directed by Preston Sturges
USA, 1941
At the start of Sullivan’s Travels, movie director John L. Sullivan (Joel McCrea) has been screening his latest effort. The picture within the picture concludes with an intense rooftop fight aboard a train. It’s almost absurd in its inflated action and Sullivan is not at all pleased with his creation. This type of escapist entertainment may be all right for some, but it’s social commentary he now seeks. These are troubling times, he argues, with war in Europe and strikes on the home front, and the ambitious, idealistic filmmaker wants something beyond mere cinematic frivolity. Apparently, so did the director of Sullivan’s Travels, the great Preston Sturges. At least that’s what he ended up with anyway.
Sullivan’s Travels, “By” Preston Sturges, as the opening credit proclaims, lending the filmic fable something of a storybook...
- 4/29/2015
- by Jeremy Carr
- SoundOnSight
It's flip it Friday, y'all! No, that's not a real thing, but Katie Holmes is definitely making a strong case for that to become a new social media sensation with her latest Instagram post. The brunette beauty posted a video of herself wearing a red bikini and flipping her hair back in slow motion. "Thank you alterna caviar shampoo and conditioner for making my hair flip…happy Friday," she posted as the caption to the cute clip. In early March, the star's latest campaign shots for Alterna Haircare were released—and they were gorgeous, to say the least. Holmes sported not one, but two different hairstyles for the shoot—Veronica Lake-esque waves for...
- 4/24/2015
- E! Online
What amazed me most about Preston Sturges' Sullivan's Travels (1941), watching it for the first time on this newly released Criterion Blu-ray, is just how utterly unpredictable it is. Sure, we know where it may end once we are introduced to John L. Sullivan (Joel McCrea), a big Hollywood director, who's decided to hit the road as a hobo to attain a greater understanding of human suffering before embarking on a serious adaptation of the fictional novel "O Brother, Where Art Thouc" (Yes, it is this fictional book Joel and Ethan Coen were name-checking with the title of their 2000 comedy.) But as much as we know what the end will offer, it's the path to that ending we don't see coming, even when it arrives. Set during the Great Depression, Sullivan, known for his comedies, isn't seeing anything funny in the world. When his producers suggest making a "nice musical...
- 4/20/2015
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
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