Let the River Run... To "Best Shot" Tomorrow Night.

Just as a reminder we have a very full very accessible month of Best Shot coming up. I'll give you an extra day on Working Girl (1988) -- your reader's poll pick now streaming on Netflix. So, we'll post the roundup tomorrow (Wednesday) night instead of tonight. I figured everyone is probably nursing hangovers from fireworks and parties today and getting caught up on their regular lives.

But if you're eager to get started in reading about the Best Picture nominated hit comedy, a first 'Best Shot' entry is already up at Film Mix Tape. Check it out. 

Doc Corner: Norman Lear's Golden Age of TV

Glenn here with our weekly look at documentaries from theatres, festivals, and on demand.

We get told time and time again that we are in a golden age of television, and it’s impossible to deny that the expansion of the viewing landscape has resulted in a boon of creativity that can be seen in every single corner of the television globe. There are times throughout the brisk Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You where it appears directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady are attempting to suggest that this golden age was birthed some 40-odd years ago when Norman Lear was the centre of the small screen universe with a collection of series to his name that not only snagged record-busting ratings, but also critical acclaim and pop culture buzz that saw his shows watched by some 120 million American a week.

You could say he was like David E. Kelley and Shonda Rhimes of his day.

While guest appearances by the likes of Amy Poehler, Jon Stewart and even George Clooney highlight his influence both creatively and politically, Ewing and Grady’s film is far too concerned with the man himself to truly dive into the reverberations of his work on modern television...

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RIP Abbas Kiarostami (1940-2016)

The world just lost another master artist yesterday, after the recent passing of Michael Cimino and Elie Wiesel. Abbas Kiarostami has passed away after a battle with gastrointestinal cancer.

Kiarostami's blended fiction and non-fiction during his over forty year career in film. One of the most prominent Iranian filmmakers, he had been a mainstay of the Cannes Film Festival, jurying multiple times and winning the Palme d'Or in 1997 for Taste of Cherry. His most recent films Certified Copy and Like Someone in Love ventured out of Iran, but it's his homegrown meditations on death like Cherry and The Wind Will Carry Us are what instantly come to mind on this sad news.

Kiarostami wasn't just a film artist but a poet as well, though poetic language heightened much of his film work. His films were soulfully awake and fiercely personal - Cherry being the brusing and enlightening standout, with Copy's existentialism winning him his newest fans. Just last week, he had been included on the Academy's list of newly invited members. You can catch up with many of his films on Hulu.

What was your favorite Kiarostami film?

The Long Box Office Weekend: Finding Tarzan

How was your holiday weekend? I took a rare break from blogging for a long 4th of July weekend with two friends I hadn't seen in far too long. We didn't hit the movies but for a couple of post meal watches on shared couches (The Intern & 10 Cloverfield Lane). But movies are always big business on this weekend, even without our help. It was a tough opening weekend for The BFG but both the new Tarzan and The Purge did well, Despite three major new films and a big expansion for a others like Swiss Army Man, cinemas were still under the sea. Finding Dory remains at #1 and will soon be the top grossing film of the whole year. Haven't all the fish been found by now?

TOP FIVE WIDE
1000+ screens. arrows indicate gaining or losing screens
▫️01 Finding Dory $50.1 (cum. $380.5) Review
🔺02 The Legend of Tarzan $45.5 NEW Review
🔺03 The Purge: Election Year $34.7 NEW
🔺04 The BFG $22.2 NEW
🔺05 Independence Day: Resurgence $20.2 (cum. $76.3)  Roland Emmerich

TOP FIVE LIMITED
Less than 1000 screens. Excluding previously wide. 
🔺01 Swiss Army Man $1.7 (cum. $1.8) 636 screens 
🔺02 Our Kind of Traitor $1.2 NEW 372 screens 
🔻03 Love & Friendship $512K (cum. $12.6) 185 screens Review, Podcast  
🔻04 The Lobster $425K (cum. $7.6) 151 screens Reviewish, Podcast 
🔺05 Maggie's Plan $400K (cum. $2.7)  Review
 

What did you see/do this weekend?

Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016)

Editor's Note: This review was originally published in Nathaniel's column at Towleroad. Our "Swing Tarzan Swing" column, investigating the shifting portrayals and quality of Tarzan films over pop culture history will resume next weekend. We'll circle back to Skarsgård at the end.

You know that antipiracy text that sometimes appears on movie screens now post-credits? "The making and legal distribution of this film supported over X-many thousands of jobs." This message kept bothering me the day after seeing The Legend of Tarzan (2016). Yes, piracy is bad but you know what else is terrible? That none of those jobs were for animal trainers! I swear that not a single real animal appears in the new film, which has to be a first for a Tarzan film. And hopefully a last. It's all computer generated imagery for this jungle adventure...

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