Review: Stuber

by Dancin' Dan

Stu is a nice guy. Far too much of a nice guy, in fact. After he clocks out from his job working a big-box sports store, he cleans his car and clocks in to Uber, enduring all the assholes and drunks that use the car service in and around Los Angeles. He does this to get the money to help his best friend Becca open an all-women spin center, because he's also hopelessly in love with her. So after a rash of particularly bad (and mostly unfair) Uber reviews puts his precious star rating in jeopardy, and taciturn cop Vic Manning gets in his car, Stu is willing to do just about anything to make sure he gets a five-star rating. The problem is, Vic is reeling from the death of his partner, has just gotten a lead on his killer, and just had Lasik eye surgery. He can't see, and needs someone to drive him. Let the sparks - and laughs - fly.

Yes, the plot of Stuber is pretty boilerplate buddy comedy stuff. But it gains a lot from its casting...

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"True Lies" at 25

by Mark Brinkerhoff

On July 15, 1994, the re-teaming of James Cameron, fresh off the monstrous success of his previous film (1991’s groundbreaking Terminator 2: Judgment Day), and his Terminator star Arnold Schwarzenegger, not so fresh following the flameout of The Last Action Hero the year prior, debuted in theaters across the U.S. In one of those packed theaters that day: a teenaged me eagerly anticipating the ballyhooed, $100+ million spectacle. 25 years later, has True Lies held up? For that matter, have I? Let’s dive into one and the other, n’en parlons pas...

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It Begins. Algeria submits "Papicha" for the Oscars

by Nathaniel R

We were waiting to see which European country would be first to announce before publishing our famous Oscar submission pages. But an African country surprised us by being first up to bat. Word is in that Algeria will submit Papicha as their Oscar entry this year.

Papicha centers on a teenager (her nickname being the title) who dreams of being a fashion designer despite conservative bans. The film, a debut from the 41 year-old director Mounia Meddour, premiered at Cannes. No word yet on US distribution. This is the second consecutive submission from Algeria by a female director. Only two previous women have been submitted by Algeria: Yamina Bachir (Rachida, 2002) and later her daughter Yasmine Chouikh (Until the End of Time, 2018) 

Papicha's trailer, and more on Algeria, Africa, and the Oscar race after the jump...

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Retcon this, link

• Vulture are Spider-Man Far From Home and Call Me By Your Name the same film? (hilarious read)
• IndieWire upsetting account of turmoil behind the scenes of Big Little Lies season 2 as Andrea Arnold's vision was thrown aside during post-production. Well, we knew it didn't feel like an Arnold production so here's why
• Hard Drive "J.K. Rowling reveals that you, the reader, were gay all along" (this is a few months old but I LOL'ed so much I had to share icymi) 

more after the jump including Mindhunter, Disney's global dominance, Jack Reynor and Gus Kenworthy...

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'My Beautiful Laundrette' for the UK stage

Jonny Fines and Omar Malik headline the production

Have you heard that My Beautiful Laundrette, one of our favourite 80s movies and one of the most beloved LGBTQ films ever, is getting the stage treatment? The production which is using the Oscar-nominated screenplay by Hanif Kureishi as its text, will open September 20th at Leicester's Curve. Though it's not a musical adaptation, the Pet Shop Boys are composing the score for it. The leads look the part but we are giggling a bit that they actually cast actors named Jonny and Omar for the lead characters of Johnny & Omar. 

If you are a UK-based reader who is plannning to see it, please do report back about your experience! I will be tense with anticipation until you do but, to quote Johnny (Daniel Day-Lewis) directly from the film...

In my experience it is always worth waiting for Omar"