Review: The Aftermath

Please welcome guest contributor J.B.

When I saw The Aftermath, the latest from Testament of Youth director James Kent, starring Kiera Knightley, Jason Clarke and Alexander Skarsgård, last weekend, I was seated next to an older man with a notepad who I assumed was a journalist. I chatted briefly with him before the film started, and when the lights went up and the credits began to roll, I asked him what he thought. His response: “I interviewed her [Knightley] when she did Atonement with James McAvoy. She was so good in that.”

That's a pretty fair takeaway from The Aftermath, which casts Knightley as Rachel, a bereaved military wife recently arrived in Hamburg in 1946 to join her estranged husband, Lewis (Jason Clarke), an officer in the British Army tasked with overseeing the rebuilding of the war-torn city and ferreting out any remaining Nazi-sympathizers...

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1st Quarter Box Office Report. Twelve categories!

With the first quarter wrapping up, let's break down the year at the box office (thus far). It's much more interesting to break it down into types of films and see which films most interested the ticket-buying public. Figure are as of March 31st, 2019. Since many of these are still open, these aren't final results but we thought it would be a fun snapshot of this moment, 1/4th of the way through the calendar year. (One final note: We did not include Fathom Events and other non-traditional styles of release because those numbers aren't directly comparable and often make less sense. i.e. if you couldn't see it at regular showtimes in a theater somewhere it's not included.)

TOP GROSSING FILMS WITH A FEMALE LEAD
(Excluding films where a male lead is just as prominent as his female co-star)

What Men Want

01 Captain Marvel (Disney/Marvel) $353.9 starring Brie Larson. March 29th
02 Us (Universal) $127.8 starring Lupita Nyong'o. March 22nd
03 Alita Battle Angel (Fox) $84.9 starring Rosa Salazar. Feb 14th
04 What Men Want (Paramount) $54.4 starring Taraji P Henson. Feb 8th...

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Review: The Beach Bum

by Murtada Elfadl

If your favorite Matthew Mcconaughey mood is of the naked bongo drumming variety, then Harmony Korine has made just the movie for you. In The Beach Bum Mcconaughey is Moondog, a rebellious rogue living outside society in Florida doing exactly what he wants, whenever he wants it, and all the while high as a kite. He’s nice, benevolent, kind, mostly peaceful, accepting of all and of their foibles. He believes in true love and practices it (straight of course but not adverse to a bit of cross dressing). Even when he finds out his wife (Isla Fisher) is also sleeping with other people, it takes him literally only a minute to go from surprise to complete acceptance.

The plot -if we can call it that - is to follow Moondog along his travels in Key West and Miami...

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The Once and Future Link

• /Film Tom Hanks to play Elvis Presley's shady manager Colonel Tom Parker in Baz Luhrmann's upcoming Elvis biopic. Thankfully Baz is looking for a complete unknown for Elvis himself
• Towleroad this is awesome. Gay rights hero Harvey Milk is now on the tail fits of Norwegian Airlines. And to think he can't even get a national holiday in the US. We are so behind sometimes!
• Shadowplay some fun thoughts on John Boorman's Excalibur as "The Ridiculous"
• MNPP "do dump or marry" Matrix anniversary edition

More after the jump including the awesomeness of Eva Green, the fate of X-Men movies, an Alien high school production, and filmmaker interviews...

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RIP Agnès Varda

by Anne Marie Kelly

Acclaimed godmother of the French New Wave and belated Honrary Oscar award-winner Agnès Varda passed away this Friday of breast cancer at 90 years old. The film community is in mourning for a singular and pioneering visionary, who treated film as art and famously declared that she refused to watch movies before embarking on her own career. In spite, or perhaps because, of this fact, Varda would go on to create incredible works across multiple genres and decades, creating unforgettable films that were personal, political, comedic, deeply poignant expressions of a spirit that never ceased being fascinated by the world around her.

We at Team Experience have long been fans of Varda, including her early work, famous films, late-career documentaries, and her unbelievable offscreen appearances as well. Her brusque presence and iconic style was a fixture at film festivals, where she had time for fans but never for praise. She will be missed.

What are your favorite Varda moments? What are you watching in her honor?