A harmless, feature-length in-and-outer would be acceptable or at least tolerable, but six hours of this? C’mon… I’ve been to Martha’s Vineyard twice but never to Nantucket. I’ve just decided to go there within the next few weeks, or at least before November.
Kidman Tribute Friendo Commentary: “Nicole specifically named and thanked each and every director she’s ever worked with, and reminded the audience of her directors who’ve passed, including Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella. “Thoughts from Meryl Streep and fellow Aussie Naomi Watts were exceptionally moving. Ditto a confessional from her husband, Keith Urban. “‘Four months into … Read more
This just happened this afternoon… Friendo: Just saw Jeff Nichols‘ The Bikeriders and loved it. Why the mixed reviews? Jody Comer and Tom Hardy are terrific. Oscar nom potential for Jody. HE: It’s gotten mnixed reviews because it’s, like, terrible. Friendo: The audience here loved it. Gave it a standing ovation. HE: Jody Comer is … Read more
Pretty much the entire cast (significant-name-wise) of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Paradine Case (‘47), which is partly a courtroom drama but mainly a saga of sexual obsession and unrequited desire that ends in total humiliation. Extremely minor Hitchcock + the Kino Bluray allegedly blows from a perspective of HD quality. Speaking as a Hitchcock completist I’d … Read more
Before today I hadn’t paid the slightest amount of attention to Harry Styles since catching his performance in Chris Nolan‘s Dunkirk, or roughly three and one-third years ago. He was totally fine in that excellent World War II film, but I have to be blunt and say that Styles seems vaguely appalling in some of … Read more
1:20 pm Update: The Last Word‘s Lawrence O’Donnell has tweeted that he made “an error in judgment” last night by mentioning that a lone source had told him that some of Donald Trump‘s Deutsche Bank loans had been co-signed by Russian oligarchs close to Putin. Donald Trump‘s personal attorney Charles Harder has threatened NBCUniversal with … Read more
I’m peddling down a country road on my red Schwinn, cruising in an imaginary bike lane, careful not to stray into that portion of the road that belongs to cars. There are two kinds of drivers who pass me. One, confident, steady-as-they-go types (usually guys between their 20s and 50s) who come within, say, three … Read more
I’ve posted one or two Prague streetcar videos before. This one probably won’t be the last. Yeah, I have a thing about them. If you choose the right angle and hold the camera steady and just shoot and wait, it’s hard to miss. The short blonde running for the second train is what makes it.
I won’t be catching tonight’s Zoolander 2 all-media at the Arclight due to my obligations to the Santa Barbara Film Festival and particularly the Sylvester Stallone Montecito Award tribute at the Arlington, which begins about nine hours hence. I also missed last week’s Deadpool all-media but I’m fairly certain I’ll hate it. Okay, maybe I … Read more
“Far more at ease in Tehran than England, Gertude Lowthian Bell (Nicole Kidman) allows herself to be politely seduced by embassy secretary Henry Cadogan (James Franco, looking tired but charming, and acting almost entirely with his eyebrows). Their courtship is the stuff of Merchant Ivory movies, complete with scenic marriage proposal and an old Macedonian … Read more
Andrew Sullivan‘s 2.11 riff about how Ja Rule goes well with slow-mo Wes Anderson shots reminds how much I love Anderson’s original scoring of this scene with Nico‘s “These Days”. I’ll always adore how she couldn’t sing but sang with such honesty, and could hit every note. Perfect.
if Hangover 2 director Todd Phillips is even 25% serious (which I doubt), the issue isn’t the film’s star monkey getting addicted to cigarettes during filming. It’s allowable, I feel, for an animal to develop a nicotine craving if it happens in the service of art. The issue is enablers (people on the crew of … Read more