Would you rather?

Would you rather?

... slide down a waterfall with Chloe Sevigny?
... vandalize a classroom with Asa Butterfeld?
... ski with the Hemsworth brothers?
... get sessy with Amandla Stenberg?
... eat your feelings with Sam Smith?
... go backstage at a Versace show with Luke Evans?
... hang with Glenn Close & Timothée Chalamet?
... or have lunch with Lily Tomlin & Debi Mazar?

Pictures are after the jump to help you decide.

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Nicole Kidman Rules the Box Office

Nicole Kidman has the top two movies in the nation today, with the surprise hit The Upside and the endless hit Aquaman. She's also got Destroyer in the top ten platform films of the moment. In short she never stops working and sometimes audiences come out for it. Listen, you could argue that she has nothing to do with the success of Aquaman or The Upside but why would you want to? Come live in our better world where the public lines up in droves and says "one for the new Nicole Kidman, please!".

More box office commentary after the jump...

Weekend Box Office (Estimates) (January 11th-13th)
W I D E 800+ screens	PLATFORM / LIMITED excluding prev. wide
1 The Upside $20.3 on 3080 screens *NEW*	1 🔺 Free Solo $812k on 154 screens (cum. $12.3)  Review ❤️

2 Aquaman   $17.3 on 3863 screens (cum. $287.9) Review, Podcast	2 🔺 Uri: The Surgical Strike $631k on 101 screens *NEW*

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Beauty vs Beast: Why Must EVERYTHING Be a Contest?

Jason from MNPP here - I'm sure if Faye Dunaway were to come to The Film Experience and stumble upon us wishing her a happy 78th birthday here today with a Mommie Dearest themed edition of our "Beauty vs Beast" poll she'd roll her eyes in that certain way she does that makes you quake in your slippers and utter some four-letter word... and that's just why we love her. She may not love the movie that turned her knobs up to Full Camp and then snapped right off, but we do, and we always will - her stratopheric take on Joan Crawford has the stuff of myth about it, as if she squeezed heaven and hell like a wet rag and drank down every last drop right before they said "Action!" That said... Joan's a tough vote all the same! 

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PREVIOUSLY I think this is the first time this has ever happened, y'all - we ended with a tie on last week's poll! Mahershala Ali's performance in Green Book & Rami Malek's turn as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody came down 50/50. So I guess we'll go with the most magnaminous comment then... said lylee:

"Recognizing these were both problematic movies, I still really enjoyed them - and these performances. Fine acting by a couple of fiiine men. I pick Don because I have a soft spot for brilliant pianists and Freddie seems like he'd get exhausting after a while."

FYC: "A Simple Favor" for Best Costume Design

Please welcome new contributor Mark Brinkerhoff

A simple favor to ask members of the Academy (its costume branch, in particular): don’t miss your opportunity to nominate A Simple Favor, simply one of the finest showcases of contemporary costuming in years. How so? Let’s examine.

First off, it’s only natural to zero in on Blake Lively’s character’s frankly stunning series of sharply-tailored suits with vertiginous stilettos. But while my own love of ladies in menswear knows no limits there is much more happening front and center (Anna Kendrick) and around the margins (Linda Cardellini, Jean Smart, Lively’s other character) to pique the interest of sartorially-minded viewers...

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FYC: Nicole Kidman in "Destroyer"

Eric here, with a brief plea for Oscar consideration for a dark horse candidate for Best Actress:  Nicole Kidman for Karyn Kusama’s Destroyer. For harmony in numbers, here’s five reasons why Nicole should be one of our final five when nominations are announced next Tuesday...

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