Women's Pictures - Kathryn Bigelow's K-19: The Widowmaker

Anne Marie's 'Women's Pictures series' continues with July's subject Kathryn Bigelow...

Films about the Cold War are an unusual bunch. Whereas most war movies have a streak of jingoism necessary to the action ("fight the enemy, kill the enemy, win the war for God and country!"), the point of films about the Cold War - barring any alternate realities - is to actually avoid conflict. Men in these movies are forever preparing for war, even as they frantically try to prevent it. Instead of fighting soldiers, men fight bureaucracy, accidents, and misinformation. Done poorly, these films can feel like a trip to the DMV: too much paperwork and waiting in line. Done well, the looming cloud of Doomsday can overshadow even the most seemingly insignificant decision. There may be no genre more anti-war than the Cold War Film.

K-19: The Widowmaker, Kathryn Bigelow's first war film, is a fictionalized retelling of the misfortunes onboard Russia's first K-19 nuclear submarine that nearly caused World War III. Amidst government negligence, rushed manufacturing, and political malarky, Captain Alexei Vostrikov (Harrison Ford) is assigned to captain the submarine's crew, led by the former captain, Mikhail Polenin (Liam Neeson). 

Neeson & Ford's Gruff-Off after the jump...

Click to read more ...

Rosamund Pike, "Gone" No More

Murtada reporting. Thanks for such kind comments on my first post last week.

Rosamund Pike became a star when she stared blanky at French speaking Carey Mulligan in An Education and calmly said “no you didn’t, you said something completely different”. A new delicious take on the ditzy blonde. She shifted that cool blank blonde vibe to convey ruthless smarts, to grand Oscar-nominated results in  Gone Girl. We’ve been wondering how Hollywood will capitalize on her breakthrough ever since.

Earlier this week it was announced that she will be joining Jon Hamm in the political thriller High Wire Act. This marks the third high profile project for her since that breakout. She’s also been cast opposite David Oyelowo in Amma Asante's Belle follow up, also an interracial romance, A United Kingdom, and alongside Jason Clarke, Jack O’Çonnell and Mia Wasikowska in the World War II drama HHH. Three roles, three leading men, three different genres, three period pieces: a political thriller, a historical drama and a love story taking place during WW II, right after it and in the 1970s. They look great on paper given the collaborators and topics but are they well written or will it be the cool blonde in stock wife / love interest mode?

Here's what little we know about the roles.
In Kingdom she will be Ruth Williams, a British woman who faced controversy because of her interracial marriage to Seretse Khama, Botswanan royal. In HHH she’s Lina Heydrich, wife of Reinhard one of the main architects of the Holocaust. Supposedly she was the one who introduced him to the Nazi  party. We don’t know anything about her role in Wire beyond being a CIA undercover operative tasked with protecting Hamm’s character.

the famous photographer Margaret Bourke White shot this photo of Ruth Williams and Seretsa Khama

She’s not the headliner in any, though Kingdom sounds like a strong two-hander. Hopefully the movies deliver for us and for her. (Announced last year but maybe not happening as things have quieted down, is Hany Abu Assad’s The Mountain Between Us with Charlie Hunnam.) Which of the upcoming projects excites you and who would you most like to see her paired with next? 

Yes No Maybe So: Freeheld

Manuel here eager to discuss the new trailer for Julianne Moore and Ellen Page's upcoming lesbian drama, Freeheld. Nat is swamped off-blog today so it's up to me to rush in to talk about this (ugh watermarked!!) trailer that premiered last night. We all know where the TFE readership will fall in pre-viewing collective excitement about Peter Sollet's film about the legal fight of a local cop with the Ocean County, New Jersey Board of Chosen Freeholders over her pension benefits transferring to her domestic partner after she's diagnosed with lung cancer. But that won’t stop us from submitting it to our handy Yes No Maybe So test, and typing YES several times in the next couple of paragraphs.

The breakdown and trailer after the jump...

Click to read more ...

Shanté, Link, You Stay.

The Playlist shares what is supposedly the first poster for Silencio -- which makes it look like a lesbian drama -- but it looks incomplete since it's not regular poster size and even looks a little square for the European quad size. Or do my eyes deceive me?
Interview talks to Gal Gadot the new Wonder Woman, with photos by Chris Colls. Let's hope Gal has some screen charisma to go with the beauty since her body type is so teensy-tiny for that Amazon princess.
Vogue and Nicole Kidman are really getting along, huh? Now she's talking about Fashion and Film at the Met. Plus she this bit about her Galliano/Dior at the Oscars that one time...

Madonna came up to me at the after-party saying ‘Best dressed, best dressed!"

 

AV Club comic book artist Annie Wu has created a superhero for all of us "General Dread."  This is, in a word, awesome
Rope of Silicon Miles Ahead to close NYFF this year - will it generate any Oscar heat?
Buzz Feed looks at that controversial doc Open Secret which has had a rough road to theaters
Cosmopolitan gets on the set stories from 5 extras in Magic Mike XXL
Film Stage new trailer and poster for The Assassin starring Shu Qi and Chang Chen
Forbes wonders whether Terminator Genisys and Mad Max Fury Road have been labelled "flop" and "hit" respectively despite the same box office tally and budget. Interesting observations about media power and biases but this ignores a fundamental... when it comes to previous grosses from their own franchises there's no other way to label them. 

icymi
This story is a week old but I hadn't seen it and WTF?!? According to Variety, silent film genius FW Murnau's (Nosferatu, Sunrise) head was stolen from his grave early this month. Creepy!   

...

Cast Them Queens!
RuPaul has announced the second RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars season. He's even asked that people chime in on twitter with their dream lineups, so I did. Assuming they're only drawing from the three seasons that came after All Stars (though perhaps they'll go older than that) what would your picks be among these queens?  Will it be a coronation for Katya, Adore, Alaska Thunderf**k or someone else entirely? 

"Best Shots" and Plentiful Words on VMA Nominees

Presenting: a "very special" (ahem) edition of Hit Me With Your Best Shot in which Nathaniel climbs on a speeding train of thought for an impromptu journey into this year's celebrated music videos. Lots and lots more after the jump...

Click to read more ...