Beauty vs Beast: The Maniac From Uncle

Jason from MNPP here using this week's "Beauty vs Beast" to wish one of my favorite actors of Classic Hollywood a happy birthday today - the great Joseph Cotten was born on this day in the year 1905. Cotten got his start on Broadway, where he caught the eye of some fella called Orson Welles - I suppose you can do worse for yourself than have your very first movie in theaters end up being Citizen Kane.

Just two years later Cotten took the job I always identify him with, as "Uncle Charlie" opposite Teresa Wright as his niece (also named Charlie, cuz doubling) in Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt. Hitch considered this his greatest film and I'd rank it up there (although "greatest" is a bit much when everything he made between 1954 and 1963 is sitting there) and mainly due to Cotten's subtly deranged work. Wright is also wonderful though - her best work, I think, by far. So where oh where does the Merry Widow's Waltz stop...

PREVIOUSLY Speaking of waltzes we danced the week away with Fred & Ginger for last week's hoe-down, and y'all decided that backwards in heels was your winner, giving Miss Rogers an eight point toe up over her competition. Said Claran (and I'm surprised there wasn't more of this):

"This is CRUEL!!! I propose a tie, since Top Hat wld not hav been so successful w/o their magical chemistry together. As indv performers, they r not so memorable, but as a team, they are certainly on TOP. "

The Furniture: Decorating Obsession in "The Skin I Live In"

It's a Pedro Party! Our Almodóvar week is extending a couple of days. You can click on the images from this production design feature to see them in magnified detail. Here's Daniel Walber...

El Cigarral is a mysterious, hidden estate that lurks on the outskirts of Toledo, Spain. Its gates are perpetually locked and its secrets are not easily pried loose. Its owner, Robert Ledgard (Antonio Banderas), keeps the outside world at a distance.

That said, more people manage to break in than he might like. It’s inevitable, at least in movies like these. Almodovar’s The Skin I Live In is part of a long tradition that winds its way from The Island of Lost Souls through Eyes Without a Face. And this house, which seems to be accessible only under cover of night or in disguise, is among the most dramatically conceived in the entire genre...

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Powers Boothe (1948-2017)

Powers Boothe with his daughter Parisse (both acted in DEADWOOD) at a 2006 Emmy partyThe Emmy winning character actor Powers Boothe, best known for screen villains on TV (Deadwood, Nashville) and in movies (Sin City, Tombstone) died yesterday morning in his sleep from natural causes. After Shakespearean work on stage after college, his screen career began with "bad Shakespeare" as part of the Richard III play within the Oscar nominated comedy The Goodbye Girl (1977) in which he mostly lays like a corpse on a table while Dreyfus overacts the hunchback around him. The on camera career stretched for nearly another 40 years ending with the recurring baddie role as one of HYDRA's top leaders  "Gideon Malick" on  the third season of Marvel's AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. (2015/2016).  

The native Texan was 68 years old and is survived by his wife of 48 years (they married in college before his acting career began) and their two children. After the jump a quick survey of key roles... 

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Today's 5: Gigi, Bulworth, and much Cannes mania

Here are you five mood boosting anniversaries from showbiz history. Do these things today and report back on how they made you feel!

May 15th

2015 At the 68th annual Cannes Film Festival Son of Saul, Embrace of the Serpent, and The Lobster, all have their world premieres. All three go on to successful awards runs and arthouse releases.

In their honor: Embrace your singular point of view, however strange it seems at first. So many of the greatest movies over the years did this...

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Mother's Day Weekend Box Office

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY y'all. Are you taking your mom to the movies? Does your mom even go to movies? (My mom does not unless I'm visiting her so it happens about once a year).

In its second week Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 dipped below 50% but that's par for the course for blockbusters which are super frontloaded now. It still handily took the weekend making more than the two new wide releases combined (Snatched and King Arthur). In limited release the top new films were Lowriders (starring Demian Bichir and Eva Longoria) with a good per screen average and the sniper drama The Wall which risked a nearly wide opening to uncertain results. We'll see how word of mouth goes. 

Weekend Box Office (Date)
W I D E	L I M I T E D
1. GUARDIANS VOL. 2 $63 (cum. $246.1) REVIEW	1. 🔺 LOWRIDERS $2.4 NEW (295 screens)
2.🔺 SNATCHED $17.5 NEW REVIEW	2. BAAHUBALI 2 $1.5 (374 screens) (cum. $18.9)
3.🔺 KING ARTHUR $14.7 NEW REVIEW	3. 🔺 THE WALL $891k NEW (541 screens)
4. FATE OF FURIOUS $5.3 (cum. $215) FRANCHISE RANK	4. NORMAN $409k (153 screens) (cum. $1.6)
5. BOSS BABY $4.6 (cum. $162.3) REVIEW	5. THEIR FINEST $290k (258 screens | cum. $2.9)
6. BEAUTY & THE BEAST $3.8 (cum. $493.1) REVIEW | SCORE	6. SLEIGHT $285k (364 screens) (cum. $3.6)
7. HOW TO BE A LATIN LOVER  $3.7 (cum. $26.1)	7. THE DINNER $245k (429 screens) (cum. $1.1)
8. THE CIRCLE $1.7 (cum. $18.9) REVIEW	8. 🔺  A QUIET PASSION $199k (116 screens | cum. $766k)
9. GIFTED $1.3 (cum. $21.4)	9. 🔺 THE LOVERS $140k (23 screens) (cum. $229k) REVIEW
10. SMURFS: LOST VILLAGE $1.1 (cum. $42.1)	10. COLOSSAL $115k (160 screens) (cum. $2.7) REVIEW
11. GOING IN STYLE $1.0 (cum. $42.3)	11.🔺 PARIS CAN WAIT $101k NEW (4 screens)
12. BORN IN CHINA $820k (cum. $12.3)	12. 🔺 CHUCK $79k (39 screens) (cum. $121k) REVIEW
🔺 = new or added screens numbers from box office mojo

The Lovers and Chuck, two Tribeca debuts which went immediately to theaters last weekend after the festival, charted after adding theaters this weekend. Check out the reviews in case you missed 'em linked in the chart above.

What did you see this weekend?