The Pfragrance of Pfeiffer and a "French Exit"

by Nathaniel R

"Henry Rose" comes in 5 scents

We expected to get Pfeiffer news this year with the upcoming publicity tours for both Avengers 4 and Maleficent 2 on the way but it appears it's not just cameos and supporting roles this year but a full-blown work schedule. In addition to those two films, she's just launched her fragrance line "Henry Rose" ($120 a bottle. Steep!) which we knew was coming but not quite when. What we didn't realize it's that it's a fully self-funded passion project (though LaPfeiffer declines to say how much money she spent). After realizing that the fragrance business was very non-forthcoming about ingredients, some of which can be toxic, damaging the environment or your health, she stopped wearing perfume for 10 years and created her own. The line of five different unisex fragrances is fully transparent and safe in a recyclable bottle; Pfans will think the name sounds familiar -- it's a portmanteau of the middle names of her kids.

But our passion for Pfeiffer is acting-based and there's news on that pfront, too. She plans to start work on a new film called French Exit this year. This is great news because it's a lead role in a character-driven film about a "tart, possessive" widow who moves her family from Upper East NYC to France to escape debts and scandal (shades of Blue Jasmine maybe? We should be so lucky!). Azazel Jacobs, who made The Lovers with Debra Winger a couple of years ago, is behind the project. He sure loves his iconic 80s stars so we, in turn, love him. 

Watch at Home: On the Basis of "Destroyer"

by Nathaniel R

Links go to our reviews or interviews

New Blu-Ray / DVDs
• Mirai - an Oscar nominated beauty from 
• The Mule -Clint Eastwood's 37th (!!!) feature
• On the Basis of Sex -Failed Oscar bait
• Vice - Inexplicably successful Oscar bait but not-so successful in theaters. It was the second lowest grosser among the Best Pictures globally (only Roma behind it) and second least well reviewed (only Bohemian Rhapsody behind it). 
• Welcome to Marwen - Robert Zemeckis crash and burned with this visual fx curiousity about a man who deals with trauma by creating dolls of his war experience. It grossed just $12.7 globally...

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Doc Corner: 'Hail Satan?'

By Glenn Dunks

How long do you think it took director Penny Lane to choose between putting a ? or an ! in the title of her latest delight of a documentary. Her follow-up to the equally wonderful Nuts! (another one where either punctuation mark would work), Hail Satan? left me wanting to convert from the cosy world of agnosticism to the Satanic Temple, which I suppose is as glowing a recommendation as one could get for a film directly about the Satanic Temple.

I was first introduced to Lane through Our Nixon, a relatively staid and standard assemblage of home movies that held little suggestion that Lane would quickly become one of the most interesting purveyors of absurd American life working today.

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April Foolish Predictions #6: Costume Design

Our annual April Foolish Oscar Predictions continue

Can "Aladdin" repeat "Beauty & The Beast"'s success in Costume Design? And can we ever forgive Michael Wilkinson for making Aladdin wear a shirt for the whole movie?

The last few years of the Costume Design category have been very Powell/Atwood heavy as Oscar's two design queens have either won again (Atwood in 2016) or been double-nominated twice-over (Powell in 2015 and 2018) but it looks like we'll be taking a wee break from those much honored artists this year. Will there be any room room for first-time nominees (Paul Tazewell, Mayes C Rubeo, Julian Day, Daniel Orlandi?) or will we get mostly costuming regulars who could continue to march to Atwood and Powell-like status (Jacqueline Durran, Albert Wolsky, Consolata Boyle, Alexandra Byrne?)

Here's the chart (and the prediction index if you haven't been playing along). But after the jump some images to whet your appetite for the year in costuming to come...

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Review: Brie Larson's "Unicorn Store"

by Anne Marie

With Captain Marvel crossing the $300million mark at the box office, Netflix has capitalized on Brie Larson's booming popularity to acquire her 2017 directorial debut. Unicorn Store is a coming-of-age comedy that happens to also star buddy and co-Avenger Samuel L. Jackson. And while Larson fans will enjoy watching the actress glitter (sometimes literally) across the screen for an untidy 92 minutes, ultimately the star's freshman effort comes off as more style than subsance.

Written by Samantha McIntyre (Married), Unicorn Store tells the self-consciously magical story of a twenty-something failed artist named Kit (Larson), who gets a second chance when she's offered the chance to fulfill her childhood dream...of owning a unicorn. After she fulfills some obligations, of course. The premise is purposely absurd, and for the most part, Larson adeptly navigates between the more magically bizarre scenes of straw-dying and stable-building, and the more quotidian (and creepy) B plot wherein Larson’s character tries to prove herself at a temp job with a predatory boss...

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