Harlots (S2:E3-4) Raging and Conspiring in the Pleasure Gardens

by Nathaniel R

Episode 3 
Official Synopsis: "Margaret must focus on business but a visit to the Pleasure Gardens leads to an unexpected confrontation. Charlotte tries to secure a powerful ally and gain Margaret's approval, while Lucy falls under Fallon's spell."
Minor Characters Rising: Noah Webster (Eric Kofi-Abrefa)... the tavern Mr. North frequents and Emily & Charlie's new brothel offer intriguing new possibilities for the show.
Our Take:What an episode! Every character is in play, and all of them are brought together under one roof (not literally - it's the first episode that takes place mostly outdoors!). On the surface it's all eye candy, flirtations, and the business of "pleasure". But the complicated and dangerously flimsy interior construction is built from personal intrigue and conflicted emotions and it might not be able to withstand all these dangerous games...

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Natalie Portman is going to Venice and to Space

by Murtada

Remember when Natalie Portman’s Jackie appeared seemingly out of nowhere in competition at the 2016 Venice Film Festival and put her on the top of the best actress Oscar list? Two years later Portman might have a similar scenario in store for us.

Vox Lux is her new film, directed by Brady Corbet and co-starring Jude Law, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Stacy Martin. It will be playing Venice next month in competition and will probably appear at some other fall festivals as well. While it remains without distribution, it will sure be snapped up if it's warmly recieved. This time however Portman is not playing an Iconic American but rather a pop star. The film charts its lead character's rise to superstardom.

Rooney Mara was first cast when the film was announced 2 years ago, with Sia providing the music...

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Showbiz History: Waterworld, Waterfront, and Wonderland

10 random things that happened on this day in showbiz history

1892 Joe E Brown, the comic actor who delivered Some Like It Hot's immortal closing line, was born in Ohio on this day.

1951 Disney's Alice in Wonderland has its NYC premiere two days after its world premiere in London. It was not (initially) a success in theaters, the studio taking a loss. But in the 1970s people became interested in it in a big way prompting its first rerelease in 1974...

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Review Catch-up: Eighth Grade, Ant-Man and the Wasp, etc...

by Nathaniel R

A few recent major pictures we didn't post full reviews on. Oops. Let's take them in order of preference...

Eighth Grade (Bo Burnham)
Synopsis: A slice of life in middle school as an introverted teenager with an unwatched YouTube channel tries to survive eighth grade. 
Capsule: Such is the miracle of this movie that I felt pangs of recognition all throughout it even though I am basically the dad's age and not the daughter's, and also not a parent. I went to middle school a million years ago and so much about life as a teenager has changed radically since then. We didn't have social media, cel phones, and gun drills when I was a teenager...

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Nicole Kidman is One Perfect Stranger

By Spencer Coile 

It seems as though the success of Big Little Lies was only the start for the team of Nicole Kidman, producer Bruna Papandrea, and author Liane Moriarty. Kidman's Blossom Films and Papandrea's Made Up Stories have closed a preemptive deal for the rights to Moriarty's latest novel, Nine Perfect Strangers. Kidman will star and executive produce, while Papandrea and Moriarty will also serve as executive producers. And what's most astonishing: the book won't even be out until November 9. 

It's too soon to tell whether it will be a film or TV adaptation, but what we can glean from the novel is that it follows nine strangers who meet at a remote health resort -- some are there to lose weight, others to reboot their lives. What they learn is that attaining their goals is far more difficult than they initially thought. 

Although Nine Perfect Strangers is not technically complete yet, Kidman and Papandrea said: 

Simply put, Liane Moriarty is a force of nature, not just as a virtuosic author, but as a collaborator and friend. We’re beyond thrilled to be making Nine Perfect Strangers with this extraordinary woman.

And after Big Little Lies, how can we disagree?