'I volunteer as tribute for Covergirl!'

In October just in time for Hunger Games: Catching Fire, CoverGirl is launching a new makeup line.

This reminds me of that 'what are they thinking?' time when Hilary Swank was trying to sell a fragrance or as i09 memorably puts it...

Want to feel like you're part of a decadent crumbling society that oppresses the working classes and forces children to kill each other for your amusement?

Hee.

But, bizarre morals aside (and, really, when have the fashion or beauty industry been interested in morality?) this got me to thinking about other films which really deserve their own cosmetic lines. I hereby submit to you three ideas. 

poll by twiigs.com

With Six You Get Linkroll

New York Times a fascinating discussing about"strained pulp," the trend of low culture and disreputable genres being remade as art films by Nicolas Winding Refn, Steven Soderbergh and more.  
Cinema Blend more drama for the fantasy Seventh Son (trailer discussed) with Julianne Moore which is still having trouble getting into theaters
MNPP Lovelace in 200 words or less

/Film Loki continues to hold the Thor franchise hostage. Reshoots to give him more screentime
Playbill on that rare breed: musicals based on movies that were better than the movies from the obvious (Kinky Boots, The Producers) to the highly arguable (Hairspray, Once) and others inbetween
IndieWire Qu(e)eries why don't LGBT films make money in movie theaters anymore? Fascinating article! Depressing topic.

40 Years a Dragon

Hey all, it's Tim. The twin altars of worship at The Film Experience are Actresses and the Oscars, but I hope you’ll forgive me if I take a moment to go as far as possible in the opposite direction from either of those points, all the way to the land of grind houses and the classic age of chop socky martial arts film. For this weekend marks the fortieth anniversary of the U.S. release of the iconic Bruce Lee vehicle Enter the Dragon, and with the imminent North American debut of Wong Kar-wai’s The Grandmaster, the story “of the man who trained Bruce Lee”, as the ads insistently proclaim, it seems the ideal moment to visit a legendary film that, to my shame, I had never seen before.

Stories don’t get a whole lot more basic: Han (Shih Kien) the shadowy crimelord owner of an island just barely grazing the edge of Hong Kong’s territorial waters has proclaimed a martial arts tournament, and among the many fighters in attendance are three whose private reasons for attending are revealed to us: Lee (Bruce Lee) has been sent by the British government, hunting for illegal arms and primed to get revenge for the life of his sister, killed by Han’s goons; Roper (John Saxon) is hoping to scare up a lot of money immediately before the mobsters he’s in debt to break his legs; Willam (Jim Kelly) is on the run from… racism? Anyway, he’s there too, and he’s old war buddies with Roper. In between scenes of the competitors fighting in the tournament, there are scenes of them fighting in the shadow recess of Han’s palace, attempting to take down his empire of evil. [more...]

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Morning Truth Tell: "Feel-Good" Is a Useless Term

On facebook the other day I noticed this new entry in an ongoing series of promotional images for Short Term 12, a movie I am wild about. Like wild cuckoo-crazy besotted with.

But here is Today's Truth: Feel Good is a useless term. It means too many things to too many different people. Carry this truth with you today. Discuss it with friends (and share The Film Experience while you're at it). What does "feel good" mean to them? To you?

Short Term 12 is absolutely a Feel Good movie to me both for its moments of joy and because I was elated when I left the theater having seen such a rich movie. But many people who love "feel good" movies, in the more typical definition of the term --  'no troubling thoughts' & 'happily ever after!' -- might have trouble with this story of troubled children and the Foster Care supervisor Grace (Brie Larson) who carefully connects with them.

Attack of The December Glut

I shall honestly try not to complain about the studios weird habit of shoving everything into one month of the year this year. I shall honestly try! I know the complaint is as tired as their inability to think outside of the Christmas Box. This post is brought to you by tonight's news that Sony Pictures Classic will open Foxcatcher, the true crime story of Olympic wrestler brothers and the schizophrenic who murdered one of them, the same day as their other Oscar hopeful The Past (December 20th) from Oscar winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi. This post was also brought to you by the sorry news that Spike Jonze's fascinating looking Her was recently pushed back to December, too, despite looking like a perfect fall title... like a Lost in Translation kind of moodpiece that could really use some air on both sides of it to breathe a little in the imagination.

Herewith the current schedule for the last month of the year so save up your pennies and let your friends and family know you won't be available for their parties and reunions because Hollywood is greedy-greedy-greedy and Scrooge-like. They want ALL your money and your time at the tail end of the year. Unless you wanna just wait until February and try to catch up after the Oscar nominations. That's so much less fun, damnit! See, I'm not a velvet rope kind of person. I don't believe in exclusivity when it comes to the movies. I want everyone invited to the Oscar discussion party. Not just people who do showbiz as their work or have lots of free time in December and happen to live in New York or Los Angeles. (sigh)

two musicals kick off holiday movie season: Black Nativity and Frozen

Thanksgiving Weekend
BLACK NATIVITY
FROZEN
GRACE OF MONACO - expanding in December
MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM - expanding in December

December 6th
DALLAS BUYERS CLUB
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS -- expanding for Christmas
OUT OF THE FURNACE 

Dave and Mark Schultz... to be played by Mark Ruffalo & Channing Tatum in "Foxcatcher"December 13th
AMERICAN HUSTLE --expanding for Christmas
THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SEMI-COLON FILM TITLES
SAVING MR BANKS -- expanding for Christmas

December 18th-20th
HER -- going wide in January  
THE MONUMENTS MEN  
THE PAST  -- expanding in January
FOXCATCHER  -- expanding in January 

December 25th
AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY
LABOR DAY -- expanding in January 
THE INVISIBLE WOMAN (Ralph Fiennes directing) -- expanding in January 
THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY

That's it. That was my last ever rant this year about December glutting!

The point is to really embrace and enjoy the serious movies that open before the holidays. They are rare beasts that deserve your love. In fact, go pledge yourself to Blue Jasmine again!