Venice 2023: Sofia Coppola's "Priscilla"

by Elisa Giudici

Cailee Spaeny stars in Sofia Coppola's "Priscilla"

Years after her own Marie Antoinette, Sofia Coppola returns with Priscilla weaving another narrative about a teenage queen trapped within a gilded palace. Few storytellers are as adept as Coppola in capturing the essence of female adolescence and the fleeting emotions of someone discovering their true self. (Unfortunately, there is a scarcity of writers and directors interested in exploring such characters.)

From the outset of Priscilla, Priscilla (Cailee Spaeny) is depicted as the quintessential American adolescent girl: there's even a scene of her idly tapping her foot beneath her school desk, lost in boredom and daydreams. This seems like a nod to Britney Spears' "Oops... I Did It Again" music video, albeit without the hypersexualization...

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Emmy Analysis: Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

By Abe Friedtanzer

Lukita Maxwell and Jason Segel in "Shrinking," now streaming on Apple TV+.

Isn’t this supposed to be a comedy category? Yes, two of the shows with a questionable genre distinction -- Barry and The Bear – are represented here, but all five men chose relatively serious fare as their episode submissions. Before we dig in, let’s start with a mention of the three eligible nominees from last year who didn’t make the cut this time around. Donald Glover, a past winner of this category, had his last shot for Atlanta, and Steve Martin missed out on a repeat bid for season two of Only Murders in the Building. Most lamentably, Nicholas Hoult was somehow not selected for The Great. How that’s possible is beyond me, but fortunately the five men who did make the cut are all worthwhile…

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Venice 2023: "The Killer" and "Hit Man"

by Elisa Giudici

Venice's most sought-after job this year? The sicario. Professional assassins are trending. Today David Fincher's The Killer and Richard Linklater's Hit Man. 

THE KILLER by David Fincher
The real mystery here is whether The Killer's lack of ambition stems from production during the COVID years and a tight schedule due to Michael Fassbender's busy agenda, or if Fincher simply wanted to have fun. While it may not be a masterpiece or top tier Fincher, The Killer is still a thriller directed by Fincher, a master of the form.

This time, Fincher designs the movie around the protagonist's voiceover, setting the rhythm for the entire story and influencing the cinematography and editing choices...

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How was your holiday weekend at the movies?

by Nathaniel R

Labor Day weekend is not traditionally big box office though people almost always turn out for Denzel Washington and his third Equalizer film did very well given how Labor Day usually goes. Instead people head outdoors historically this weekend, desperate to catch the last rays of summer. Accidentally I was the latter this time even though I am decidedly not a summer person and avoid the sun like a vampire much preferring the dark cold of the movie theater. I was miserable on Monday with the heat but my friends wanted a picnic. So my moviegoing was home-bound. How about you? 

Weekend Box Office Sept 1-4 Holiday Weekend 🔺 = new or expanding /  ★ = Recommended
WIDE (Over 600 Screens)	LIMITED / PLATFORM  (spotty reporting this holiday week from the indie set)
EQUALIZER 3	THEATER CAMP
1 🔺 THE EQUALIZER 3 $42.8 *NEW* 3965 screens	1 🔺 THE GOOD MOTHER (US, drama)  $367k *NEW* 423 screens

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Venice 2023: Roman Polanski's "The Palace" and more...

by Elisa Giudici

"The Palace"

Venice is experiencing an absence this year: the middle-ground movies. While there are some mind-blowing films and quite a few terrible ones, those good yet imperfect titles are notably missing. This 80th edition of the festival has been quite the rollercoaster, with moments of brilliance followed by real disappointments. Some movies have sunk so low that they become oddly memorable. Let's take a closer look at a few of the disappointments witnessed in Venice recently.

THE PALACE by Roman Polanski
It might be too early to pass judgment, but Polanski's latest film is a disaster of such magnitude that I hope the title of the worst movie in competition won't fall to an Italian entry...

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