Boss Us Around: Which Streaming Titles Must We Discuss?

PSA: Call Me By Your Name is just 99¢ on iTunes this week. So if you haven't yet seen the 4th best movie of 2017, get on that! We've written quite a lot about the film here so we don't feel the need to revisit yet but there are a lot of other practically free rentals to consider.

In an effort to better serve you let's hand you the reigns for a bit. Please sound off on the following polls after the jump and we promise to say something -- though how much who knows -- about the top 2 movies you pick in each poll...

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Stage Door: Anika Noni Rose Brings Raw Sensuality to "Carmen Jones" Off Broadwa

Stage Door is our intermittent theater column in which we often feature plays and musicals with film connections. Please welcome guest contributor Erica Mann...

The moment Carmen Jones walks onto the stage of Classic Stage Company, it’s like time completely stops. It’s not just because the character is played by the incomparable Anika Noni Rose whose illustrious career has spanned stage (a Tony win for Caroline or Change), TV (Bates Motel, The Good Wife), and film (Dreamgirls, For Colored Girls, The Princess and the Frog). Her presence as the namesake is that powerful from the moment she sets foot into the spotlight.

Oscar Hammerstein II's adaptation of Bizet's opera Carmen became a classic screen musical in 1954 starring Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte but has rarely been seen on the NY stage. CSC's production is the first major New York revival since the 1940s. Carmen Jones is the story of love, lust, betrayal and tragedy with the action moved to the 1940s in the American south. Corporal Joe, stationed at an army reserve and working in a parachute factory, falls in love with the stunning Carmen Jones. Aware of his feelings, Carmen convinces him to change his life trajectory in pursuit for a life in Chicago with her. Things change when those initial feelings become blurry and passion turns into jealousy...

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Three Ways "Set It Up" Succeeds

By Spencer Coile 

Considering Netflix’s constant stream of original content, it's a smaill miracle that their latest original film, Set It Up, is receiving some attention. Set It Up tells the cookie-cutter story of two overworked PA’s (Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell) who decide to set up their overbearing bosses (Lucy Liu and Taye Diggs) only to find love themselves. It follows the familiar beats of your favorite romcoms. It's glossy, quirky, and wrapped up with a cute little bow when the credits roll. 

Set It Up is everything we have come to expect from the genre but which the genre hasn't been delivering of late. Director Claire Scanlon (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, GLOW, Brooklyn Nine-Nine)and writer Katie Silberman bring sensitivity to a story that feels slight, but is rewarding enough. In many ways, the film is a refreshing run-of-the-mill romcom.

Here are three reasons why Set It Up really works...

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Beauty vs Beast: Pop Quiz, Hot Shots

Happy Monday! Jason from MNPP here with your weekly "Beauty vs Beast" fix - we're celebrating 1994  leading up to the Supporting Actress Smackdown and I figured I'd focus in on another great big hit from the year today (to compliment the Interview With the Vampire poll two weeks back), namely Jan de Bont's Speed. Which still holds up! I caught it on TV a couple of weeks ago and man, it still revs and roars. It's also got a stellar hero and villain pair - Keanu's buzzcut and biceps were The 1994 Fetish Du Jour, and Dennis Hopper is Dennis Hopper, the end.

polls

PREVIOUSLY I really thought that Jeff Goldblum's Finest Hour might put a dent in your acctressexual predilections but no, nope, not gonna happen, Laura Dern's Ellie Sattler still triumped in last week's Jurassic Park poll to the tune of 71% of your vote. Said chasm301:

"This movie is basically perfect and I would never pick against Laura Dern."

Random Oscar Trivia: Earliest years with all living nominees

This is a weird potentially morbid trivia list for you coming for no reason whatsoever -or perhaps my birthday? Uff getting older is thumbs down -- but we follow our trivia instincts wherever they take us. Here are the oldest years in each category wherein all the nominees are still living (excluding categories where generally multiple people are nominated for each film, like say Best Picture or Best Makeup)

Earliest Best Actress Race Where All Women Are Still With Us

1971
Julie Christie, McCabe & Mrs Miller
Jane Fonda, Klute ★
Glenda Jackson, Sunday Bloody Sunday
Vanessa Redgrave, Mary Queen of Scots
Janet Suzman, Nicholas and Alexandra

Janet Suzman and Julie Christie appear to have retired now... but both within the past handful of years so maybe it won't stick. The others are still very active of course with Glenda Jackson just finishing the Triple Crown resorting in a big trivia update on our part. 

Earliest Best Supporting Actress Race Where all the Women Are Still Us

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