Posterized: Spike Lee

by Nathaniel R

Currently in love with this image of Spike Lee and Topher Grace on the set of BlacKkKlansman. But let's get to the point. After a long hiatus, we're back with a new season of our Friday series "Posterized"... I know it's Sunday. Shush. What better way to kick off than with the films of Honorary Oscar Winner Spike Lee? His latest joint, BlacKkKlansman, which we've reviewed, is new in theaters. We hope you'll go as it will surely prove to be one of 2018's defining films. But for now on to his filmography as a whole.

People often disagree on what his best work is aside from Do The Right Thing (1989), his consensus masterpiece. That's probably because he's a natural risk taker so naturally his output is uneven.  For the purposes of this exercize we had to limit it to traditional features because Spike Lee has always done everything: short films, commercials, music videos, tv movies, miniseries, documentaries, segments within movies, filmed stage shows. The two most acclaimed pieces not included below are his Emmy-winning docuseries When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006) for HBO and his Oscar-nominated documentary4 Little Girls (1997). How many of his joints have you seen? All the posters are after the jump...

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Linking With Yourself

Vulture A fine appreciation of Jonathan Demme's stellar crime comedy Married to the Mob
Deadline Hilary Swank to play a "seductive female police detective" in a new film called Fatale.  Hmmm, not sure this is in her range. Remember Black Dahlia?
Slate What's fact and what's fiction in BlacKkKlansman?
AV Club Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth are playing hardball with Paramount over their Star Trek paychecks

Awards Daily Sasha has quite a different take on the Oscar's new decision to include some kind of "popular achievement" award. (One thing I think we can all agree on: since we actually know nothing about the Academy's plans with their extremely vague announcement, it's really hard to say anything about what it might be or look like or mean.
Salon Casey Affleck breaks his silence on his behavior on the set of I'm Still Here
Boy Culture Cher's ABBA album now available for pre-orders
/Film Japanese film Mirai getting a US release from GKids in the fall. Oscar possibility?
Gothamist oh dear. Sean Young is in trouble again. The Blade Runner actress is wanted for questioning about a burglarly in Queens.
Coming Soon Paul Rudd to co-star with himself in philosophical Netflix comedy Living With Yourself
Coming Soon Ava DuVernay has cast her Central Park Five. It's mostly unknowns but Jharrel Jerome (Moonlight) and Jovan Adepo (Fences) are in there, too. 

Showbiz History: Norma, Viola, and Two Sexy Guys Named "Chris"

10 random things that happened on this day in history (Aug 11th)

1902 Norma Shearer is born in Montreal. Or was she? IMDb lists her date as August 10th but most sources say August 11th. There were previous disputes about the year, too -- 1900, 1902, 1904? But most sources seem to have settled on 1902. Regardless she was a huge star in the 1920s and 1930s. We love her here at TFE even if nobody else does.

1937 The Life of Emile Zola premieres. It goes on to win Best Picture and oh my god y'all...  J'accuse that one of being a giant slog! Seriously it's unending. They had so many better choices that year including one of the all time best screwballs The Awful Truth (Sigh)...

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Vintage '72

1972 is our year of the month so let's give it some overall context before we visit specific films. 

Great Big Box Office Hits: The Godfather, which would go on to win Best Picture and spawn two sequels was the year's box office champ. But The Poseidon Adventure, and What's Up Doc? were also gigantic hits continuing the threads of all-star disaster movies and Barbra Streisand movies as sure things with audiences of the 1970s. Other box office draws that year: Deliverance, Cabaret, Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw in The Getaway, and Robert Redford as Jeremiah Johnson.  This was also the year that Deep Throat and Behind the Green Door launched the 'porno chic' boom of the 1970s and both were substantial hits along with the X rated animated feature Fritz the Cat.

Oscar's Best Picture Nominees: The Godfather  (11 noms / 3 wins) and Cabaret (10 noms / 8 wins) dominated the Academy Awards leaving no wins for the rest of the Best Picture field: The Emigrants (5 nominations), Sounder (4 nominations), and Deliverance (3 nominations). Our theory as to what was just outside the Best Picture shortlist plus more '72 goodies follow...

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Review: The Meg

by Chris Feil

Summer is for sharks at the multiplex and 2018 is no different. Recent highs include Blake Lively’s solo survival rendezvous with The Shallows and the lows have been last year’s spiteful low-fi 47 Meters Down. This year we get the highest concept and machoest of them all with The Meg, an amalgam of batshit tidied up into the most convincing guano bowl it can muster. But that’s fine, because witless mayhem is why you showed up in the first place. For something insane however, it isn't the whole hog disasterpiece of your schadenfreude fantasies.

And what do the shark invested waters have in store this time? Basically... a bigger shark. Consider it Mega-Shark Vs. Giant Sourpuss because we've got noted mean mugger Jason Statham at the head of this amusement ride...

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