Horror Actressing: Charlotte Burke in "Paperhouse"

by Jason Adams

Even though I've already admitted I can get pretty broad on defining movies as "Horror Movies" when other people might not consider them as such, I for some reason always hesitate when it comes to calling Bernard Rose's 1988 film Paperhouse a "horror film." The first two-thirds of the movie, yes, for sure. But -- without getting into spoilers because lord knows how many of you have had the luck to see this extraordinary film a first time yet -- the movie makes decisions, and comes to a point, that ultimately shows its intentions were not horror. 

That said there's enough of a Horror Movie in there for me to justify directing you towards one of the most foundational films and performances of my life, which I've just today discovered is available for streaming on Amazon here in the US. Rose directed Paperhouse two years before Candyman (a film we've already touched upon in this series) and you can see some of the same fascinations -- a female entering a Freudian Netherworld where her darkest fascinations consume her... just think of Paperhouse as Candyman Jr, I guess... 

Click to read more ...

All Oscar Charts Updated!

Every single Oscar chart has been updated. Woo-ho. Click on over to explore. The big movers up the chart this month are Marriage Story, Parasite, and The Irishman. Unfortunately we think this comes at a high cost for The Farewell. The films that no one has really seen yet but which could disrupt multiple races remain Bombshell and 1917. And, having seen Harriet, we've dropped that down to just competitive in three races.

NYFF: Albert Serra's idea of "Liberté"

by Jason Adams

What better way to make a movie about sadomasochism than to inflict that relationship on the viewer? That seems to have been the grain of an idea that ignited Albert Serra to make Liberté, at least -- a fascinating nightmare slog that actively pokes you in the eye while also lulling you to sleep. I say all this with a sort of admiration! Perhaps I was brainwashed a bit by the time it was through but I certainly haven't been able to stop thinking about Liberté since I fell under its awful spell days ago, and that's got to count for something.

Somewhere in a patchy nighttime forest in 18th Century France an assemblage of powder-puffs, mostly men but with a couple of corseted ladies who keep caged up in their litter boxes -- the proper word is really "palanquin" but "litter box" will totally make sense once you've seen/suffered the movie -- have gathered to cavort. And cavort they shall, in the slowest of motions...

Click to read more ...

Abominable and Judy both meet eager audiences

Weekend Box Office Actuals September 27th-29th  🔺 = New or Expanding / ★ = Recommended
W I D E	PLATFORM / SPECIALTY TITLES
Abominable	Judy
1 🔺  Abominable  $20.6 *new*	1 🔺 Judy $2.9 on 461 screens *new* QUICK TAKE
2 Downton Abbey $14.3 (cum. $58.3)  DAME MAGGIE	2 🔺 Nothing to Lose 2 $606k on 97 screens *new*
3 Hustlers $11.3 (cum. $80.5) REVIEW, PODCAST ★	3 🔺 Linda Ronstadt... $385k on 247 screens (cum. $2.2) REVIEW
4 It Chapter Two  $10.2 ($193.7)	4 Official Secrets $149k on 260 screens (cum. $1.6)
5 Ad Astra $10 (cum. $35.3) REVIEW ★	5 Chhichhore $136k on 78 screens (cum. $1.9)

numbers on that chart are pulled from boxofficemojo

Judy and Abominable were the stories of the weekend, both opening well. Despite opening on 461 screens, Judy was the 7th highest grosser of the weekend with a promising $6313 per screen average. A good launch for Renée Zellweger's Oscar campaign which will expand to more cities/theaters next weekend and probably also a sign that adults are ready for the Oscar-aiming fare to arrive. Abominable benefitted from an opportune release date, despite being that rarity: a non-sequel. It's been over a month since the last animated feature with a wide release and that was the underperformer Angry Birds 2 so demand was high. 

NYFF: The color-filled noir of "The Wild Goose Lake"

by Jason Adams

Police officers close in on and surround a perp, their light-up dance sneakers blinking blue with every step. Hotel rooms half orange half pink, a sleepless phantasmagoria. A panicked streak through a zoo in the middle of night, flashes of light illuminating a tiger, an elephant, a succession of wild animal eyes in extreme close-up, blinking back madness. The Wild Goose Lake, the latest film from Black Coal Thin Ice director Yi'nan Diao, turns the crowded alleys and markets of Wuhan, Central China, into some sort of neon fever dream -- a riot of crime and color and scooter rides straight to hell, bang bang.

Starting off like a variation on The Warriors we first meet our characters gathered for an underground syndicate meeting -- everybody's come together to divide up the city, block by block, street by street...

Click to read more ...