New on DVD: Bridget Jones's Baby

David here on the return of one of the UK's most memorable heroines...

Bridget Jones's Baby is, as things stand, the highest-grossing film released in the UK this year. Quite the result for the long-delayed comeback of a female romcom heroine whose target audience isn’t typically recognised by the movie industry as big ticket buyers. Sure, Bridget’s return wasn’t as heralded at the US box office, earning a paltry $20 million. But Bridget’s peers amongst the UK public are more loyal creatures, and the film’s easy rewatchability is apparent in the abundant returns. (Perhaps as a result of the film’s longer theatrical lifespan in the UK, the home entertainment release on UK shores isn’t until the end of January.)

Click to read more ...

On Loss and Letting Go in 2016

Year in Review. Every afternoon, a new wrap-up. Today Steven Fenton on grief at the movies... 

The loss of a parent is one of life’s great tragedies. As long as humans have been telling stories, they have reflected on the trauma of this loss. It’s one of few facets of life that almost every person will experience. So it’s no surprise that we, as a society, have explored this grief across generations and media, from ancient epics to pop songs. We’ve turned the subject over in our hearts and minds, examining it from every angle. The threat of losing a parent is a concept and anxiety we’re actually raised with --children are introduced to countless stories featuring orphaned heroes who find strength in their loss, and transform their pain into triumph.

2016 was a tumultuous year for many of us, and our on screen avatars suffered as well. My mother passed away in January, and shortly after that, I watched as House of Cards’ Claire Underwood and Veep’s Selena Meyer lost their mothers in remarkably similar ways (played to very different effect)...

Click to read more ...

The Great "Make-Up and Hairstyling" Bake-Off of 2016

We just wanted the blog post title to sound fancy. Who knows if the screening/meeting/deliberation at the Academy was anything like a superlative adventure this year? But let it suffice to say that they narrowed down some unknown number of films (why no semi-finals list, AMPAS?) to seven films which will compete for the 3 Oscar nominations in Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

Those films, with photos to jog your memories, are after the jump with some commentaries about their specific follicular and beautifying achievements...

Click to read more ...

New Oscar Predictions: Acting Categories... Locked Up or Not?

By Nathaniel R

Post SAG & Globe Nominations each year oscar's acting categories start feeling locked up. But here's something always worth remembering: Each year brings us 1 or 2 new additions to the "nominated for SAG & Globe but still missed Oscar" close-but-no-cigar club.  This year in particular seems unlikely to have as much exact 5/5 correlation due to the double whammy of Oscar's acting branch voting a little later than usual (they don't get ballots until January 5th) and the precursors voting a smidge earlier than usual. The next two weeks are crucial; no one who is remotely close to a nomination should give up just yet.

ACTRESS
Portman has been winning lots of critics awards but, strangely, her film (just as strong or even stronger than her eery performance) isn't doing as well. She's not exactly locked for a second win but she's definitely giving Emma Stone a fright and probably preventing Amy Adams or Annette Bening from dreaming of their first very long-awaited wins. The nomination race is even tighter...

Click to read more ...

Instagram Fun with Baz, Elle, Orlando and More...

Would you rather...

See, everyone loves Star Wars! #flashback

A photo posted by Baz Luhrmann (@bazluhrmann) on Dec 16, 2016 at 3:05pm PST

...reminisce about the first time you saw Star Wars (1977) with Baz Lurhmann (can you believe how young he was here!)
...celebrate the 15th anniversary of Lord of the Rings with Orlando Bloom?
...go roller skating with Elle Fanning?
...visit Warsaw in the winter with Ewan McGregor? 
...or take your lunch from a RuPaul bag with Cheyenne Jackson?  

Click to read more ...