"The Last Jedi" Trailer Arrives!

Chris here. A full trailer for The Last Jedi is finally here! Now before anyone complains about long waits or lack of plot details, allow me to remind that the limited information for the new Star Wars films has been refreshing compared to other franchises. Which is good, because now officially starts a likely three month period of Star Wars invading conversation and consciousness with relentless vigor. Luckily, it looks like director Rian Johnson has created a thrilling and singular entry into the beloved franchise that even the indifferent can get excited about.

But the thing you will all be lamenting is that we get no glimpse of Laura Dern's mauve-haired Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo. I'll give you a moment to let out that frustration before we dive in to the trailer. Inhale. Vent. Exhale. Very good. Shall we begin?

No need to give this one a Yes No Maybe So treatment, because we've already bought our tickets! Take a look at the trailer (if you haven't devoured it a dozen times already) and I'll give some ecstatic notes after the jump...

Click to read more ...

The Furniture: The Gas Lighting of Gaslighting in Gaslight

"The Furniture," by Daniel Walber, is our weekly series on Production Design. You can click on the images to see them in magnified detail.

This week I’d like to talk about gas lighting. That’s in addition to gaslighting, which is obviously related. Basically, I’d like to talk about the way that Gaslight (1944) uses gas lighting to distill the concept of gaslighting. It was so effective that “gaslighting” stuck, and has remained a popularly understood concept nearly 75 years after the film debuted.

Of course, these days the term has been almost completely divorced from memory of the original play or its various adaptations. The 1944 version is mostly remembered for winning Ingrid Bergman her first Oscar, and deservedly so. Her performance is astonishing, newly powerful with each successive viewing.

However, the film did win a second Oscar. Not for director George Cukor, who wasn’t even nominated. Nor for cinematographer Joseph Ruttenberg, who lost to Joseph LaShelle’s work on Laura...

Click to read more ...

Beauty vs Beast: Original Sinners

Jason from MNPP here. It is October when a young man's fancy will turn to cable-knit cardigans and exquisitely plotted murder schemes, but it's more specific this week than the usual - tomorrow night the New York Film Festival is screening the premiere episode of David Fincher's Mindhunter series (which stars Jonathan Groff as an early FBI profiler) and then on Friday The Snowman (Tomas Alfredson's film starring Michael Fassbender as Detective Harry Hole - yes really - on the trail of a Frosty-fixated killer) comes out. And so what better time to transport "Beauty vs Beast" back to the wet streets of an anonymous city on the brink in Fincher's film Se7en...

PREVIOUSLY I assume some of y'all saw Blade Runner 2049 this weekend (fewer than anticipated though!) and have opinions, but last week you shared your opinion on the original film, and while it bounced back and forth over the course of the week it was Daryl Hannah's Pris who finally squeezed the life out of Deckard with those glorious calves once and for all, taking just under 55% of the vote. Said kermit_the_frog:

"Daryl Hannah showed such promise (I'd argue that she has, unfortunately, never bettered this performance - admittedly, a high bar was set)..."

YNMS x 3: Wonder Wheel, Crooked House, Replicas

Time to catch up on recent trailers that slipped pass us in a difficult week. Ready set - go for discussions on the latest star vehicles for Kate Winslet and Keanu Reeves and a new Agatha Christie movie Crooked House.

The trailers with quickie YNMS breakdown are after the jump...

Click to read more ...

Podcast: Festival Goodies Opening Very Soon

Nathaniel, Nick, Joe and Chris (who all attended TIFF together) discuss highlights from this past month of festivals, some of which are just opening in theaters.

Index (42 minutes)
00:01 Florida Project, Professor Marston...
07:00 Mudbound, First They Killed... and BPM
14:50 Under the radar beauties like Disappearance and A Fantastic Woman (and the joy of festivalling with Nick Davis)
27:00 Hoping to see again: Lady Bird, On Body and Soul, Three Billboards
34:00 We JUST saw: Mr Gay Syria, Spoor, and Wonderstruck
41:00 Byeeee

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? 

Related Reading
Three Billboards (Chris's review)
Downsizing (Nathaniel's first impression)
First They Killed My Father (Joe's review)

Festival Fun. Coming Soon