Beauty vs Beast: Who's The Poo

Jason from MNPP here... wait, that's not much of an introduction. I should do better. Ahem. One, two, three -- I'm sexy, I'm cute, I'm popular to boot. I'm bitchin', great hair, the boys all love to stare... I'm major, I roar, I swear I'm not a whore! ROLL CALL. It's "B-b-b-Beauty vs B-b-b-Beast" time and seeing as how tomorrow marks the 15th anniversary of the little cheerleading-movie-that-could called Bring It On I figured we'd slip into our team-colors and take sides on the greatest Cheer-Off of our times.

PREVIOUSLY Last week we celebrated the anniversary of Norma Shearer and with a wade into George Cukor's The Women -- Joan Crawford's trampy shopgirl pulled out in front early on, and while the lead narrowed with time it just wasn't Norma's time; Crawford dug her heel into 53% of the vote. Said Someone:

"To those of you not voting for Crystal, as she herself would say, "There's a name for you ladies, but it isn't used in high society... outside of a kennel. So long, ladies!""

D23: Disney Animation News

Manuel here to talk Disney Animation. As you can see Disney has a very busy (if, yes, remake friendly) slate ahead, and while Pixar will be offering mostly sequels (hey there unnecessary Cars 3, Toy Story 4, and long-awaited The Incredibles II!) with only the Day of the Dead-themed Coco as its original entry in 2017, Disney Animation looks to be picking up the slack. And so, let's look at three images from their upcoming films:

Zootopia (March 4, 2016)

We’ve already seen the teaser and with its release day fast approaching we’ll surely get a full-length trailer soon (perhaps attached to Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur?). And as I worried this might be Disney’s first full-length Dreamworks animated film, the folks at D23 surprised us with a new casting announcement. While Jason Bateman and Ginnifer Goodwin play the leads (he a fox, she a bunny; might it be a screwball-ish rom-com?), Shakira will be lending her voice to “Gazelle, the biggest pop star in Zootopia.” I kind of love this? But perhaps it’s just memories of Shakira’s early Colombian soap opera beginnings rushing back and reminding me of her pre-worldwide fame persona.

Moana (November 23, 2016)

Disney is surely taking its pledge for diversity in stride. Moana is being directed by John Musker & Ron Clements (Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules) and centers on an adventurous young woman who yearns for the sea. Set in the South Pacific, it currently boasts Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as its main voice cast (I wonder what’s kept them from casting its female lead?) who was ecstatic during the D23 presentation, clearly thrilled to be part of this story. I am particularly excited about this film, especially given the artwork that was shown. That she's reminding me of Lilo and Nani (two of my favorite Disney gals in recent memory) makes me all that more hopeful for this film.

Gigantic (2018)

Tangled, Frozen, and now Gigantic. There’s something to be said about re-branding fairy tales, but this new way of Disneyfying titles makes me happy we got The Little Mermaid and not Soaked, Beauty and the Beast and not Cursed. Tangled director Nathan Greno says this will be the “definitive” Jack and the Beanstalk adaptation. Oh, and if you haven’t guessed from that artwork, Jack is a Spaniard during the Age of Exploration who befriends an 11 year old girl giant, so clearly this isn’t your parents’ Beanstalk tale. 

Has the one-two-punch of Frozen and Big Hero 6 amassed enough goodwill to keep you excited about Disney animation’s prospects? Do you have any suggestions as to who Musker & Clements should be casting as Moana?

Box Office: Straight Outta Competition

 

Amir here, to bring you the weekend’s box office report.

It’s a historic weekend of sorts. In this year of records being broken left and right, perhaps Straight Outta Compton’s position as the 6th biggest August opening of all time isn’t all that impressive, but considering the context, it’s mighty impressive. Despite the weight of the name of its producers, the iconic original album and the enthusiastic reviews, $56m is still way above expectations. (A cursory look at the films around Compton on the August all-time top ten list truly sets the film apart. N.W.A. is a brand but not exactly a ticket-seller at the multiplex.) Significantly for Universal, the biopic’s gross – nearly double the previous record opening for a musical biopic – means they have reached the 2 billion dollar mark for the year in August, earlier (by four months!) than any studio ever before.

WEEKEND’S TOP FIVE
Straight Outta Compton $56m new
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation &17m (cum. $138m)
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. $13.5m new
Fantastic Four $8m (cum. $42m)
The Gift $6.5m (cum. $23.5m)

The other wide release, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. didn’t fare so well, which is a shame given at least of two of its four stars are very likeable (and exceptionally glamorous, too). On the limited front, one of my most anticipated films of the year, Noah Baumbach’s Mistress America, opened to rather disappointing returns on four screens, failing even to reach the mark set by Frances Ha, though we can never read too much into this super small platforms. Is it me or does it seem like no one is talking about this film, even though the few who are talking about it are very positive?

I had a splendid weekend: I binge-re-watched the second season of Bojack Horseman, which I wholeheartedly recommend to everyone, and also watched a soon-to-be-released film that currently tops both my best picture and best actress lists for the year.

What did you watch this weekend?

Will We Ever Get the Great Emma Stone Movie We Thought Woody Allen Would Give Us?

Jose here. As Emma Stone enters the second phase of her reign as the Woodsman’s current muse, comparisons to Scarlett Johansson are important not for the obvious reasons (both stunningly beautiful young actresses at the peak of their raspy-voice sexiness) but because after making two films with him in consecutive years, she still doesn’t have her signature Woody role. Similarly, Johansson’s streak with Allen, which spanned three non-consecutive films from 2005-2008, was characterized for the “renaissance” quality it brought to his work, more than for containing “essential” Scarlett Johansson performances.

More on Stone and ScarJo after the jump... 

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Top Ten: Best Ingrid Bergman Kisses

Our Ingrid Bergman Centennial continues with David dreaming about her most romantic moments...

Like all stars of Classic Hollywood, Ingrid Bergman was paired with numerous leading men, and romance was an integral part of practically every film she starred in. And when I think of Ingrid Bergman, I think of - well, I think of #1 on this list. But we'll get to that. Here, in entirely subjective order, are Ingrid Bergman's best on-screen kisses. Start swooning.

Much kissing - oh, so much - after the jump. And, for those with bad internet connections, a whole lot of gifs - you have been warned.)

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