Monday, July 16, 2018 at 5:23PM 
Anyone remember that John Sayles movie Casa de Los Babys. It popped into my head for no reason whatosever today. What a cast that had. So many actresses actressing all over the screen: Harden, Gyllenhaal, Hannah, Moreno, Taylor, Steenburgen, and more.
Monday, July 16, 2018 at 1:45PM Jason Adams from MNPP here on the 111th anniversary of my favorite lower-case dame's birthday - Barbara Stanwyck was born Ruby Stevens in Brooklyn NY on this day in 1908 and a rough-and-tumble 19 years later found herself making movies. Cut to 1944 she was one of the biggest stars there was or ever will be when she got what's probably her most famous role and the one that carved the Femme Fatale Archetype in stone - the unhappy wife with murder on her mind Phyllis Dietrichson, who wrangles the wranglable insurance salesman Walter Neff (a gloriously against-type Fred MacMurray) into doing her dirty work. And Billy Wilder's Noir classic Double Indeminity was born.
PREVIOUSLY Forrest Gump couldn't run fast enough last week to outrun his Jenny Girl - Robin Wright took 65% of your vote on the now controversial Oscar winner. Said Doctor Strange:
"I have hated Forrest Gump since it premiered, so I'm hardly a johnnie-come-lately hater. I find it manipulative, simplistic, and just plain unbelievable from beginning to end. It's got some very good performances that almost save it... but it's mostly a succession of cheap shots. I'm a boomer myself, but I was never blind to its self-aggrandizing convservatism and retrograde sexual politics."
Monday, July 16, 2018 at 8:00AM by Nathaniel R
| Weekend Box Office Estimates (July 13th-15th) |
|
| W I D E 800+ screens |
L I M I T E D excluding prev. wide |
 Hotel Transylvania 3 |
 Three Identical Strangers |
| 1.🔺 HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3 $44.1 *NEW* |
1. 🔺 THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS $1.1 on 170 screens (cum. $2.5) REVIEW |
| 2. ANT-MAN AND THE WASP $28.8 (cum. $132.8) | 2. 🔺 LEAVE NO TRACE $1.1 on 311 screens (cum. $2.1) TRAILER DISCUSSION |
| 3.🔺 SKYSCRAPER $25 *NEW* |
3. WHITNEY $535k on 408 screens (cum. $2.3) |
| 4. INCREDIBLES 2 $16.2 (cum. $535.8) |
4. SANJU $500k on 223 screens (cum. $7.1) |
| 5. JURASSIC WORLD FALLEN KINGDOM $15.5 (cum. $363.2) REVIEW |
5. 🔺 EIGHTH GRADE $252 k on 4 screens *NEW * |
Hotel Transylvania 3 had a strong opening weekend but Skyscraper, the other big new release not so much. I do personally wonder if Dwayne Johnson is a bit oversaturated in the market. This is his third action film to open in theaters within a seven months stretch beginning with Jumanji (a massive hit) on Dec 20th than Rampage on April 13th (which didn't quite hit $100 million domestically) and now Skyscraper on July 13th which opened weaker than Rampage. Maybe three movies of a similar genre from any star in a six month period is a bad idea...
Sunday, July 15, 2018 at 10:14PM by Nathaniel R
Morton and Manville face off every week in "Harlots"
The underdiscussed Hulu show Harlots has returned for a second season. Since we didn't cover the first (having discovered it so late) but want to cover the show going forward here is a quickie through the first season with our coin pouch out to tip the ladies. Harlots is not without a few wrenching dramatic moments but it's a helluva lot less depressing than The Handmaid's Tale. But back to the show in which women have more power of their own bodies, even if they're self-exploiting them for meager economic gains or survival in a sexist world. If you aren't watching Harlots, please do. We really think it's right up the alley of TFE readers. There be much actressing!
But if you need more info before you watch here's a quick synopsis / review of Season 1 (without much in the way of spoilers)...
Sunday, July 15, 2018 at 5:30PM 
Chris here. Now that Frozen's Broadway adaptation was largely met with "meh", fans are all eyes on next year's upcoming sequel. While we have the headling cast of Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel returning along with original directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck, we have had nary a detail about what to expect before the film arrives on November 27, 2019. But now we have two new exciting additions to the cast, two recent Emmy nominees This Is Us' Sterling K. Brown and Westworld's Evan Rachel Wood.
Naturally, we have no details whatsoever on who they will be playing but that need not stop us from speculating. Brown has become something of a steady franchise supporting player, having appeared earlier this year in Black Panther and will show up in this year's rehash of The Predator. With Santino Fontana's surprise villain Hans out of the picture, could he be a new romantic rival for Anna? Wood's presence however presents an intriguing notion or two - starting with the excitement that she might sing on screen again. The bigger question: could she be the answer to the Give Elsa A Girlfriend petition?
