The New Classics - Eastern Promises

Michael Cusumano here to argue a case for the the best fight scene of the last two decades.

The Scene: The Sauna Fight
It’s no surprise that just about every discussion of the sauna fight from Eastern Promises dwells on the bare skin. If the King of Middle Earth strips down to his tattoos and takes on two goons in a bathhouse brawl it’s gonna dominate the conversation.

And it’s not only gawking. It’s thematically on point. This scene uses nakedness to make you feel a character’s vulnerability as effectively as any film since Psycho, plus all the skin on display reflects the film’s obsession with bodies -- bodies as currency and bodies defaced and disfigured... 

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Doc Corner: 'The River and the Wall'

By Glenn Dunks

The effects of the current administration on the psyche and the soul of American life have been well-documented in cinema. Documentaries about how Donald Trump has torn at the fabric of the country are almost a dime a dozen. Many have been great, and there will be many more until the day filmed entertainments cease to exist. It is a part of our cinematic lives now.

Less common as a subject is the effect the current administration is having on the land itself. That's surprising considering Trump and his cabinet are doing everything within their power to not just continue environmental genocide but speed it up. The soil and the water and the earth that surrounds us are at the heart of the evocative new documentary The River and the Wall...

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73rd Tony Awards: "Hadestown" and "The Ferryman" lead the nominations

by Nathaniel R

Tony nominee Brandon Victor Dixon and Tony winner Bebe Neuwirth announced the nominations this morning for Broadway's top honor. "Hadestown" led the nominations for musicals with 14 (wow) while "The Ferryman" and Aaron Sorkin's adaptation of "To Kill a Mockingbird" led the plays with 9 nominations each. In a surprise twist though, "To Kill a Mockingbird" was NOT nominated for Best Play despite such a wealth of nominations across the board; it's even nominated for Original Score (a category usually reserved for musicals only).

 A full list of nominations with trivia and commentary is after the jump though you should refresh your screens on ocassion as we're still adding photos and commentary...

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April. It's a Wrap

April tends to be a slow month here at TFE but we'll hopefully pick back up now for summer movie season which is also Emmy nominating season so expect more Game of Thrones and Fosse/Verdon shortly. If you're just rejoining us here are a dozen highlights from the month...

Donna Lynne Champlin in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015-2019)

Best of April
• Complete West Side Story Casting - Meet the new Sharks and new Jets
• Serial Mom 25th Anniversary - Salim looked back at the John Waters classic
• Smackdown of 1972 -Donna Lynne Champlin and more special guests joined us to talk The Poseidon Adventure, stage to screen acting, and the difficulty of playing drunk scenes
• Farewell Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - Dan says goodbye to TV's genius musical comedy
• Oscar Rule Changes - Makeup and Hair and Foreign Film get minor adjustments
• Howard Keel Centennial - Lynn, Tim, Deborah, and Nathaniel looked back at three of his musicals and one late career sci-fi flick
• Beyoncé's Homecoming - Glenn on the hot concert doc
• Podcast Questions - Murtada and Nathaniel answer yours!

Most Discussed Posts
• Dumbo and Tim Burton - a list heavy look at the auteur's filmography
• April Foolish Predictions - Nathaniel's first crack at this year's Oscar charts
• Renee Zellweger turns 50 - Eric pens a love letter
• The New Classics - Michael's new column kicked off with an ode to Michael Clayton 

COMING IN MAY
Anne Hathaway and The Hustle, Disney's Aladdin, the celebrity fashion doc Halston, Amy Poehler's Wine Country, and Zhang Yimou's stunning wuxia pic Shadow. We'll also celebrate anniversaries for Midnight Cowboy, Julia, The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus, and Anne Heche.

Our 'year of the month' leading up to the next Smackdown (June 2nd, to avoid the holiday weekend at the end of May) will be 2001 so expect a good deal of that film year along with the 'now' of 2019 summer movie season.  Any requests?

"Endgame" breaks all the records. Is counterprogramming dead?

What did you see over the weekend? Or perhaps we should ask "Were you part of the record 1.2 billion global haul of Avengers Endgame?" Yes, we're living in the capitalist end times when one corporation (Disney) will soon control the entire world. Or 50% of showbusiness soon. With that in mind let's look at everything in wide release (that's only 13 films and just barely that with Endgame on 4661 screens) and their limited/platform counterparts... 

Weekend Box Office (Actuals) April 26th-28th  🔺 = new or expanded theater counts
W I D E	PLATFORM / LIMITED
1 🔺 Avengers Endgame $357.1 on 4662 screens *NEW*	1 🔺 Amazing Grace $519k on 245 screens (cum. $2.1)

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