Month: October 2022

“Paris, October 4h, 2022 — Microids is pleased to announce Pendulo Studios’ latest narrative adventure game, Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo, which is now available on PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox One consoles, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch. It will launch on October 4th in North America.

“Loosely based on the famous director’s movie of the same name, Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo is a narrative experience, also available on PC (Steam, GOG, Epic Games Store).

“Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo tells the story of Ed Miller, a writer who escaped unscathed from a car crash in Brody Canyon, California. Ed insists that he was traveling with his wife and daughter, though nobody was found in the car wreckage. Traumatized by the crash, Ed begins to suffer from severe vertigo. As he starts therapy, Ed will try to uncover the truth behind what really happened on that tragic day.”

And I certainly admired and respected the Real McCoy — a country music legend, a contemporary of Elvis and Jerry Lee, not much younger than Hank Williams.  And I understand the basic thing about  country singers being conservative.  But her musical gifts aside, I always felt a certain distance from Loretta Lynn.  She was a Nixon fan in the early ’70s and a supporter of Donald Trump’s candidacy in ’16.   But Sissy Spacek‘s performance melted my heart, and it obviously came straight from Lynn’s life so I guess I should respect that.  Hard to believe Coal Miner’s Daughter opened 42 years ago. Tommy Lee Jones‘ “Doo” was one of his finest.

…feels a little off here and there.  I’m at a disadvantage as I haven’t yet seen Steven Spielberg‘s The Fabelmans (Universal, 11.11), which Feinberg and a few others are calling the Best Picture front-runner, and I haven’t seen Martin McDonagh‘s The Banshees of Inisherin (Searchlight, 10.21) either.  And we all understand that things are always a little bit vague at this point and that Feinberg will sometimes err on the side of generosity around this time, etc.  But I can at least insert my own spitball projections and hold my finger to the wind, etc.  Boldfaced italics indicate serious HE faith.

Feinberg Frontrunners:

The Fabelmans (Universal) — HE agrees that Spielberg’s Amarcord is a Best Picture nomination shoo-in.  Boil it all down and the basic reactions are that (a) it’s a good, approvable film for cineaste devotionals — the sentiments all fall under the umbrella of positive, supportive, affectionate, Belfast-y, etc. But the serious rocket-fuel enthusiasm seems restricted to the performances by Michelle Williams and Judd Hirsch plus a cameo from a certain fellow who needn’t be named at this point.  Everyone adores the final scene. 

Top Gun: Maverick (Paramount) — Likely to be nominated for the money it made and for affirming the widespread belief that Joe and Jane Popcorn adore grade-A, woke-free entertainment values.

Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24) — A likely Best Picture nominee, but an infuriating Matrix-y multiverse film (over-plotted, superficially trippy, all that hammering, on-the-nose exposition).  The only blessing, really, is that excellent ending.  The absence of  invisible elements (i.e., things that are there but not precisely identified or explored) is a huge issue.  Where would this movie be without the shallow enthusiasms of Millennials and  Zoomers? 

The Banshees of Inisherin (Searchlight) — Hoping to see it soon.

Women Talking (UAR) — Not a chance.  Strictly for glum-faced wokester elites.

Elvis (Warner Bros.) — Liked and respected for the most part, or at least sporadically enjoyed.  But truly loved by no one + everyone hated Tom Hanks‘ Colonel Tom.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Netflix)  — Not a serious Best Picture suggestion.

The Woman King (Sony) — Good, energetic, well-crafted, respected.  Might be nominated for political reasons, but most certainly won’t win.

She Said (Universal) — Positive word-of-mouth for a smart, engaging, urban #MeToo film.  Doesn’t quite deliver those Spotlight-ish undercurrents, I’ve heard. but crisp, urgent and well-ordered.  

Tár (Focus) — A dynamic, first-rate, high-style fascination piece.  A chilly mood trip about a steely, not-entirely-there character whom you can’t really “read”, but that’s what gets you at the same time.  Elusive and chilly but carried by Cate Blanchett‘s mesmerizing performance.  Too cold to win.       

Major Feinberg Threats (i.e., Scott has his doubts)

Till (UAR) — Danielle Deadwyler‘s performance is the all of it.
Close (A24) — Brilliant, searing tragedy of innocence destroyed.  Pre-pubescent terrain but devastating.
Triangle of Sadness (Neon) — Not as good as The Square.
Good Night Oppy (Amazon) — Nope.
The Whale (A24) — Haven’t seen it.
Empire of Light (Searchlight) — Excellent yesteryear vibes, fascinating drama. awesome Olivia Colman performance.
Armageddon Time (Focus) — Get past the James Gray shrug factor and it grows in your head.  Gets better every time I think back on it.  
Living (Sony Classics)

HE’s bottom line:  The Fabelmans, Top Gun: Maverick, Everything Everywhere All At Once, She Said, Tar, Close, Empire of Light, Armageddon Time (8)

I have a 10:45 am appointment at the Norwalk DMV (new license and plates), and I’m chilling in a nearby Starbucks.  “Chilling” isn’t actually the word due to a  boom-box couple sitting 15 feet away.  They’re broadcasting (i.e., shouting, bellowing) their conversation, and every customer has no choice but to listen to the dude, who sounds exactly like Delroy Lindo as he turns on the charm.  The Delilah he’s flirting with is no broadcasting slouch herself.  They’re oblivious to the fact that the conversational noise they’re making is as distracting (and certainly as annoying) as a barking dog.  It all comes down to how you were raised.  If you come from a loud family, you’re going to follow suit as an adult.

White people are a problem. Obviously. They need to be devalued and dismissed. Help me out with the Kanye and Candace thing.

In a 7.20.22 Atlantic article titled “The Real Reason Democrats Are Losing Ground on Education,” Conor Friedersdorf reports that typical voters are not wildly supportive of equity and gender identity standards.

Friedersdorf based this conclusion of a poll conducted last May by The American Federation of Teachers. The poll is composed of responses from 1,758 likely voters. One of the poll’s findings is that voters are split on which party they trust more as far as education is concerned — 39% for Republicans, 38% for Democrats.

Democrats have lost ground on this issue because they’re all tied up in wokester theology, and average voters hate that shit.

Here’s a key paragraph from Friedersdorf’s article:

The two suffering angels of the Best Actress race are Blonde‘s Ana de Armas and Till‘s Danielle Deadwyler. Both are based on real-life figures who lived 60-plus years ago — AdA’s Marilyn Monroe and Deadwyler’s Mamie Till.

It seems highly likely that both will be nominated but who knows? Perhaps voters will conclude that one suffering angel is enough.

Many dislike Blonde but everyone admires Ana de Armas’ lead performance — nobody’s blaming her for what they don’t like about Andrew Dominik‘s film. Methinks that many Academy members of color will vote to nominate Deadwyler as well as Michelle Yeoh, the likely Best Actress nominee from Everything Everywhere All At Once.

I can’t gauge who gives the most emotionally live-wire performance between them, but ethnic voters will probably regard them in a similar light (yay, team).

Who are the most likely contenders outside of these two or three? I’m presuming it’ll be The Fablemans‘ Michelle Williams, Cate Blanchett‘s Lydia Tar in Todd Field‘s TAR and Empire of Light‘s Olivia Colman.

That means, if I’m correct, that the following performances are looking at an uphill situation: The Woman King‘s Viola Davis, Babylon‘s Margot Robbie, She Said‘s Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan, Good Luck To You, Leo Grande‘s Emma Thompson, The Wonder‘s Florence Pugh.

In sum, the six hottest contenders are Danielle Deadwater, Ana de Armas, Michelle Yeoh, Michelle Williams, Cate Blanchett and Olivia Colman.

HE faves, in this order: Cate Blanchett, Olivia Colman, Danielle Deadwyler, Ana de Armas, Michelle Yeoh. I haven’t seen The Fablemans.

Guillermo del Toro Cabinet of Curiosities (Netflix, 10.25) is an eight-episode horror anthology series. It debuts between 10.25 and 10.28.

The only episode I’m strongly interested in is The Murmuring, directed and written by Jennifer Kent (The Babadook) with Guillermo taking a “story by” credit. Guillermo “storied” only one other episode — Guillermo Navarro‘s Lot 36.

Of all the scary anthology series of the early to mid ’60s, who was your favorite moderator — The Twilight Zone‘s Rod Serling, Way Out‘s Roald Dahl or Thriller‘s Boris Karloff?

I wish someone would remake “The Cheaters,” my all-time favorite Thriller episode. Based on a short story by Robert Bloch. Music by Jerry Goldsmith.

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In the wake of Saturday’s surprise screening of Antoine Fuqua and Will Smith‘s Emancipation, Apple has announced that the Civil War-era drama will open in theatres on Friday, 12.2, and begin streaming on Friday, 12.9.

Smith slapping Chris Rock on the Oscar stage several months ago was “bad form,” obviously, but only in a performative or ceremonial sense. Superficially uncool but at the same time revelatory.

For what really happened was that Smith, after pretending to be Mr. Chuckly Happyvibe for over three decades, showed us who he really was deep down — an angry, abused dude from West Philadelphia who was ready for violence at a moment’s notice. And what’s wrong with that? It’s who he is, and he finally broke through and told us that. Don’t we value honesty and confession?

One significant revealing by the Emancipation teaser is that apart from the opening shot (green leaf, red blood), the suggestion is that the film is largely in black-and-white with faint hints of desaturated color.

I’m sorry that Bros flopped — perhaps an understandable thing from a Joe Popcorn perspective but a deeply wounding thing from the viewpoint of the Movie Godz, given the generally excellent craft levels — tight script construction, naturalistic acting, revelatory writing, etc.

All I can figure is that people know Billy Eichner from Billy on the Street and Parks and Recreation, and they just didn’t want to watch him in flagrante delicto.

Over the last 20-plus years Average Joes and Janes have gone through a sea-change in their attitudes about gay people, but generally speaking they don’t want to pay $16 at the megaplexes to watch certain bearded guys doing certain things bare-assed.

Last weekend Bros producer Judd Apatow told CNN’s Chris Wallace that the gay community has been “underserved.” Did he mean in terms of sex scenes featuring bearded guys or hunky good looking ones like Luke Macfarlane? No offense and due respect but given what happened last weekend, the gay community should probably get accustomed to being “underserved” in this regard.

It probably wouid have been more comprehensive to say to Wallace that over the last 20 or 30 years the gay community has been slavishly catered to by Hollywood six ways from Sunday, and particularly by way of emotional investments in films and TV series, general glamorizing, image enhancements and political alignments.

Apatow’s response to Wallace about his preference for “just funny”, or the stuff that many comedies put into their first halves, because he lives an overworked and over-stressed life…that was funny.

Apatow also mentioned how his two daughters, Maude and Iris, never let him soak in any sort of satisfaction when a civilian compliment comes along. When some random passerby praises Apatow for one of his comedies, say, “as soon as he’s out of earshot they’ll make fun of that person for, like, ten minutes.”