August. It's a Wrap
Friday, August 31, 2012 at 11:00PM Some people -- strange and unusual people -- don't spend much time on the internet in the summer. If you're one of those peculiar people and you're just rejoining us for Fall Film Season... here are ten highlights from the month that was!
Actress a Day - I started a new sketch series but I didn't get very far. Certainly not to "daily!"
Cosmopolis, or the Absence of Feeling - Beau took on the challenging new Cronenberg
Dog Day Afternoon - Hit Me With Your Best Season 3 Finale. My god what a movie. What a good time season 3 was. Thanks for rallying.
Total Recall - I had way more fun writing about this movie than watching it
Melanie Lynskey's DVD Collection - a window into the actress's movie passions
"Growing up Cinephile" - a formative movies memoir from writer/director Lesley Headland (Bachelorette)
Team Experience and the Sight & Sound Poll - reactions to the month's most discussed list
Cast This: All Female Expendables? - would you want that movie? who would you cast?
Most Eyeballs: Jodie Foster is Wrong. On the Mandatory Price of Fame
Most Discussed: Anne vs Amy. Supporting Actress Battle to Come?
COMING IN SEPTEMBER
How to lure you back daily? Hmmmm. Your input is appreciated. Give us bait by which to hook you little fishy.
Apart from our extra special guest stars Melanie & Leslye, August was a slow month. But prestige film season is upon us and things will heat up as the air cools down. Expect: Q&A sessions (we must!), Emmy Award Hoopla (how should we cover it? I'm all ears), P.T. Anderson's return with The Master, James Bond countdown to Skyfall, Jake Gyllenhaal's return with End of Watch, Finding Nemo, Joseph vs. Bruce/Himself in Looper, Viola & Maggie & back to school with Won't Back Down, Jodie Foster, the return of Revenge and more... What are you looking forward to most in September? Boss me around a little. It's time for me to bunker down and blog up as we approach awards season.
Year in Review
Reader Comments (17)
I'm thinking it might be fun to go a little P.T. Anderson crazy since we have such an interesting Oscary film from him so early in the season. Maybe throwbacks to some of his best moments.
ALSO - I'll be following the buzz from the festivals like crazy, so maybe extra speculation on the buzz would be fun.
Maybe a piece on what kind of role will ultimately win Viola her Oscar, and if Won't Back Down is in that wheelhouse.
We have the first official reviews from Telluride for Hyde Park on Hudson, and it was a mediocre reception. Linney won't win with these reviews -Even I doubt the nomination- and even if Murray is the best of the three, the most he could expect is a GG Comedy nom. - Sorry Volgavia, but not this year for Murray.
I'm mostly looking forward to the Emmys.
I kinda expected HPOH to be mediocre. Laura's not winning. My money is on Wallis right now.
Im madly in love with your podcasts, so perhaps one or. Two more episodes than last year. I've said it before, but your podcast is by far the most enjoyable.
Poood-casts, pooodcasts, podcasts...
Also, if I were you I'd stop punishing myself with the Q&A section. Or do it thematically, or less frequent (during awards season only?). We'll end up not having more questions about Meyl Streep to ask at some point.
And now that we are at it, could it be possible to have guest stars as stellar as this week, more often?
Iggy -- as far as celebrity guest stars. I'd love it as much as you but it's far from easy to get a "yes". all the more reason to love Melanie & Leslye. Hopefully Melanie & Leslye's awesomeness will become a gold standard for other talents in the industry.
as far as Q&A... it's true. but i like doing them. they're just so hard.
Jtagliere -- i'll try. the problem with group projects of any sort (including guest bloggers) is that you have to convince other people to do them. :)
I think part of the reason for the lull in traffic on this site is just because there's a natural ebb and flow to the "serious" film season. I really do not look forward to summer films, other than a couple of independents, though last year gave us Bridesmaids and The Help. I appreciate the fact that you don't focus exclusively on new releases, though.
BTW, I LOVE Bill Murray, he may be my favorite actor consistently working right now, but I'd much rather see him recognized with an Oscar for something in his traditional wheelhouse than Hyde Park on the Hudson.
I'm looking forward to the film version of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I loved the book when I read it in my late teens. I hope the movie delivers.
I don't mean to beat a dead horse, Nat, but before we plunge head-on into Oscar-movies season I'd love to read the final Film Bitch Award categories! Please! :)
Expect Streep to steal an Oscar nomination with such a weak field for actresses this year. Her performance was wonderful. I really bought her as Kay and never once thought I was seeing Meryl Streep creating a character...
@me
me,too
Meryl Streep perennial fifth slot filler in Best Actress will remain so for the foreseeable future.
The Emmy's are kind of uninspiring this year, but there are some cool people who got through the cracks like Michelle Dockery. Your fashion wrap-up is always funny and an enjoyable read.
leon: That's really unfortunate, because I think he's been edging close to packing it in for a while now, and this might have been his last shot at the actual win. I still think, considering the kind of film it is, that an Oscar nomination is closer than you think, especially if Murray campaigns.
Suzanne: Two things. 1. For Bill Murray, that would be wheelhouses, because he really does have two. 2. Which wheelhouse would be preferred? A last shot quality studio comedy like Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day or something more like Rushmore?
If Murray wants a nomination, maybe he needs to go as a supporting player, because in the leading with heavy fighters like Day-Lewis, Hawkes, Jackman and Phoenix and with Damon, Affleck and maybe Mikkelsen fighting, Murray doesn't have a chance for leading with these reviews and this type of film.
i feel the need to caution everyone that first impression reviews from major fests don't always tell the story (in fact RARELY tell the storywhen it comes to middlebrow "stuffy" Oscar entries). Do any of you think MRS. HENDERSONS PRESENTS would have lit up twitter? hee. It still got Judi a nomination without much trouble at all.
Volvagia - I was thinking of his Wes Anderson/Jim Jarmusch wheelhouse (I wish he and Sofia Coppola would work together again, I am still bitter that he lost that year to that overwrought Sean Penn performance). He doesn't seem to be too interested in the big-budget comedies anymore, does he? Though he did do Zombieland, which is kind of along those lines.