Arthouse Box Office... Go see "The Lovers"

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (reviewed) opened huge as expected, and is now #2 in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in terms of this highly specific metric: Most box office improvement over the opening of the first film. Number 1 in this regard is still Captain America Winter Soldier. With the mainstream box office being totally dominated by two franchises featuring action heroes of scant relation deploying the word "family" as frequently as rounds of ammo, let's turn our attention to the films in limited release. Richard Gere is the unexpected leader with not one but two films (The Dinner and Norman) in the top five.

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Review: "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2"

by Chris Feil

Superhero sequels these days seem burdened to go more bigger than bombastic. If the entire human race isn’t at stake and they aren’t finding new ways to topple more and more skyscrapers, they aren’t following the rules of engagement. So it is with some relief that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 operates very much on the same level and ambitions as its predecessor, its sights on delivering what it did before and just as well. It gets what we loved about it before, and doesn’t mistake it for empty spectacle.

That means more bickering, more quips, and more retro tunes as our space badasses once again defend the galaxy - but also about the same amount of scale in regards to what they are saving us from...

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Q&A: The Force is With Reader Questions

by Nathaniel R

I got a little verbosely carried away whilst answering reader questions so you get two Q & A columns from your last batch of questions. Thanks for playing. This week I asked for a few Star Wars Questions but that's just three of the six questions answered here. Ready, let's go! 

TROY: Within the past year Cynthia Erivo has won a Tony, Grammy, and Daytime Emmy for her work in the recent Broadway revival of The Color Purple, making her only one step away from completing the EGOT. Which type of project do you think would giver her her best chance at winning an Oscar?

NATHANIEL: I hate to get nitpicky but technically should Daytime Emmys even count with the EGOT? If you count any old Emmy as towards the EGOT than about 100,000 people you've never heard of who have local Emmies (seriously they give those statues out like candy) are 1/4th of the way to that showbiz goal. It's only Whoopi Goldberg, Robert Lopez, and their fans that would argue that Daytime Emmys count. No shade!

Anyway my dream for Erivo is that they give her either the film version of The Color Purple musical, though I fear they'd just hand it to a bigger less worthy star (like, oh, Jennifer Hudson, who she and Danielle Brooks, the other Tony nominee from that show, both ran circles around onstage) or a film version of Caroline or Change (if they won't rehire the incredible Tonya Pinkins) as those two roles are powerhouse vehicles for a black woman with giant pipes. But any musical role would be dreamy. That voice!

 PEDRO: What is your favorite Star Wars character? And your favorite Star Wars actor?

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Drag Race S9E7 - 9021Ho No She Better Do

by Chris Feil

[a large cardboard giftbox rolls in and after a few confusing seconds, Chris emerges] I’m back, bitches!

Forgive my Shangela moment, I’m just that excited to be back on the Drag Race beat after Nathaniel kindly took over in my absence for last week’s fantastic Snatch Game. But while that episode felt like a real return to form, this episode was the show at its peak, serving full talent, drama, and emotion the way its best episodes do. The 90210 challenge and big hair runway concept were relatively unfussy, proving that RuPaul’s Drag Race excels by keeping its focus on the queens...

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Tweetweek: Pfans, Met Gala Madness, and Handmaid's Dystopia

More tweets after the jump including the healing power of Michelle Pfeiffer, the Met Gala, Face/Off and The Handmaid's Tale...

Never forget the exact moment Nicole Kidman decided — at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party — she was DONE with Tom Cruise's bullshit pic.twitter.com/TtX9s5aOto

— Russell (@RussellFalcon) May 2, 2017

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