Saving Private Ryan @ 25: Robbed or Not?

by Cláudio Alves

As Oppenheimer enjoys tremendous success worldwide, another World War II movie turned summer blockbuster celebrates a quarter century. Though, of course, while Christopher Nolan's movie ponders history away from the battlefield, Steven Spielberg drops the viewer in the middle of carnage, violence smeared on your face until you can't take it anymore. Yes, it's been 25 years since Saving Private Ryan opened in cinemas, receiving immediate critical acclaim and frontrunner status by the awards pundits at most major publications. Come Oscar night, though, the war story took 'only' five awards. It lost the Best Picture trophy to Shakespeare in Love in an upset that angers many people to this day. 

To mark the anniversary, let's celebrate the film's undeniable qualities, investigate some of its drawbacks, consider its competition at the 71st Academy Awards, and relitigate the controversy. Was Saving Private Ryan robbed? Well…

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Box Office: Two SmashHits Temporarily Reinvigorate Movie Theaters

by Nathaniel R

By now even people who don't pay attention to the movies (a depressing large amount of people) know that this weekend was historic. Barbenheimer broke all kinds of records and in just three days rescued the overall numbers of this summer.  People seemed genuinely thrilled to be at the movies this past weekend, didn't they? At least they did in NYC where we witnessed the pink-clad mania. Oppenheimer viewers were harder to spot --no color uniting them -- but they were also out in droves as both movies had enormous, even historic weekends. So much for Hollywood's recent-history belief that you shouldn't open big movies opposite each other. Competition used to be the norm but it's been rare in recent years...

Weekend Box Office July 21-23 🔺 = new or expanding /  ★ = Recommended
WIDE (Over 600 Screens)	LIMITED / PLATFORM
BARBIE	THEATER CAMP
1🔺★ BARBIE $162 *NEW* 4243 screens	1 ★ PAST LIVES $563k (cum. $10) 629 screens
2 🔺★ OPPENHEIMER  $82.4 *NEW* 3610 screens	2 🔺★ THEATER CAMP $280k (cum. $687k) 51 screens

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Return to Dust: Against Censorship

by Cláudio Alves

Barbie this, Oppenheimer that, the Barbenheimer double feature wasn't the only title worth watching to arrive in theaters last week. Indeed, one of 2022's most controversial titles finally enjoyed its American release well over a year after it competed at the Berlinale and incurred the wrath of the Chinese government. Ruijun Li's Return to Dust deserves the attention of every cinephile, both because one shouldn't bow to the pressures of censorship but also because it's a remarkable bit of social realist filmmaking. Its ability to touch on hard truths made it an unlikely box office success before all that attention ruffled some feathers…

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Barbenheimer - Ten Great Box Office Showdowns

by Christopher James

This is the summer of "Barbenheimer". What started as a rivalry has morphed into a marketable double feature. In a way, they’ve hyped each other up, making this past weekend (July 21st-July 23rd) the most exciting and anticipated movie weekend of the summer. Both movies exist at opposite poles of the gendered film divide to a comical degree - the hot pink colored Barbie against king of the film-bros Christopher Nolan and his three hour 70mm extravaganza, Oppenheimer. The ultimate winner is the audience, who get two big-budget auteur-driven swings in one weekend. (Barbie won but both movies had huge opening weekends which will talk about tonight when the actuals come in)

This isn’t the only time counterprogramming has pitted a “boy movie” and “girl movie” against each other for a star-studded showdown. Here are our top 10 box office showdowns that served as fabulous precursors for Barbenheimer...

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A Maggie Smith Top Ten

by Cláudio Alves

Have you seen The Miracle Club yet? Thaddeus O'Sullivan's comedy has been in theaters for a week, and it's bound to bewitch actressexuals, showcasing performances from a cadre of lovely thespians. There's Kathy Bates and Laura Linney in what Matt St Clair described as a work of "unwavering grace and sly tenacity." There's also Maggie Smith, one of my favorite living actresses, delivering another late-career turn to remind viewers they shouldn't take her for granted. Sure, her decade-spanning portrayal of Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey seemed like a congealment of the actress's greatest hits. However, that doesn't mean Smith is a one-trick pony, that her filmography is without risk or variety.

To commemorate, let's make the two-time Oscar winner our subject for list-mania. So, dear reader, will you join me down Maggie Smith's extensive repertoire, searching for the top ten highlights? It's a vast scope of roles, from scene-stealing supporting parts to titanic leads, from heartbreak to cutting pithiness…

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