What did you see over the weekend?

by Nathaniel R

Weekend Box Office (May 11th-13th)
W I D E 800+ screens	L I M I T E D excluding prev. wide
Life of the Party	RBG
1. Avengers: Infinity War $61.8 (cum. $547.8) REVIEW	1.🔺 RBG $1.1 on 180 screens (cum. $2.0)  REVIEW
2.🔺 Life of the Party $18.5  NEW	2.🔺 Nothing to Lose $646k on 69 screens NEW
3.🔺 Breaking In $ 16.5 NEW REVIEW	3.🔺 Disobedience  $437k on 101 screens (cum. $1.2) REVIEW
4. Overboard  $10.1 (cum. $29.5)	4.  102 Not Out $275k on 102 screens (cum. $966k)
5. A Quiet Place $6.4 (cum. $169.5)  REVIEW, 2ND OPINION, SCREENPLAY	5.🔺 The Rider $225k on 85 screens (cum. $852k) REVIEW

The leaders of last weekend's box office in wide (Infinity War) and limited release (RBG) repeated this weekend. RBG is turning into a rather big player for indie distributor Magnolia. Magnolia releases lots of pictures but they usually don't crack two million as this new doc has in just two weekends. How big will it get? Only 11 of their releases have ever managed over $3 million theatrical (including TFE favorites Melancholia and I Am Love) but RBG looks likely to join them. Magnolia's all time biggest hit thus far was the Oscar nominated doc I Am Not Your Negro which managed $7 million theatrical last year...

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Smackdown '70 Companion Podcast Pt 2: "Five Easy Pieces" and "The Landlord"

Smackdown in 3 Parts
• The Write-Ups
• Podcast Companion Part 1
And now the conclusion!...

Pt 2 (39 minutes)
On the second half of the Supporting Actress Smackdown podcast we discuss Hal Ashby's debut film The Landlord (1970) starring Beau Bridges and Lee Grant. We theorize about why it's not more famous and what would have happened with the great African-American actress Diana Sands if she hadn't died so soon after the movie. We also make some time for the Best Picture nominee Five Easy Pieces and its abundance of actressing, not just Karen Black! 

You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Thanks again to the panelists: Mark Blankenship, Dan Callahan, Denise Grayson, Lena Houst, and Bobby Rivers . Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you? 

Pt Two: The Landlord and Five Easy Pieces (1970)

Smackdown '70 Companion Podcast Pt 1: "MASH" and "Airport"

Nathaniel R welcomes Mark Blankenship, Dan Callahan, Denise Grayson, Lena Houst, and Bobby Rivers to talk 1970 at the movies

Pt 1 (35 minutes)
You've read our takes on the five Supporting Actress nominees of 1970, now let's talk the movies they're in. On the first half of the podcast we discuss "cheese with wings" Airport (1970) and what it wrought at the movies and the Oscars. Who was the MVP among its actresses: Helen Hayes? Maureen Stapleton? Jean Seberg? Jacqueline Bisset? We then turn our attention to another smash hit M*A*S*H (1970) and both its modern filmmaking and its misogyny.

You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you? 

Pt One: MASH and Airport (1970)

Review: Breaking In

by Chris Feil

Twist a tried-and-true subgenre like the home invasion movie with just the slightest bit of invention and we’re intrigued - like say, the homeowners are the one who have to do the invading. Add in relatable context for emotional investment - motherly instincts, forging one’s own family unit after estrangement, female badassery. Sign up a dependable actress like Gabrielle Union and you have a formula for easy popcorn thrills and a rewarding opportunity for an underutilized actress to take center stage.

How has Hollywood not yet realized that Union is a star, and one we want to watch take revenge on a slew of bad guys with her poise and no-bullshit wit? Thank you, I'll have five. But Breaking In is only half of that movie.

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Smackdown '70: Maureen, Helen, Lee, Sally, and Karen Black

Presenting Oscar's Chosen Supporting Actresses of the Films of 1970. The Academy welcomed back one enduring icon (Helen Hayes), two of the eventual giants of this particular category (Maureen Stapleton and Lee Grant), and two new stars of the moment (Sally Kellerman and Karen Black).

THE NOMINEES  

Their characters were a devastated soon-to-be widow, a sneaky old lady flying the friendly skies, a pregnant waitress confused by her man, a wealthy "liberal" snob who is more conservative than she thinks, and a disciplined but highly excitable military nurse. 1970's supporting shortlist was more "pure" than the category often is now (only Karen Black could be argued as a lead... but she's on the borderline so it's fine) but how strong were the roles and how good the work?

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