Almost There: Angela Lansbury in "Death on the Nile"

by Cláudio Alves

From Gaslight to Glass Onion, Angela Lansbury had one extraordinary career whose sheer grandeur is hard to overstate. For almost 80 years, she entertained people worldwide, be it on the stages of Broadway or on TV as Jessica Fletcher, from roles of unspeakable villainy to cherished nurturers in children's media. So to read news of her death was shocking, even though Lansbury was almost 97 – she passed less than a week before her birthday. It just seemed like she would live forever, a primordial force eternally present in our lives. Lansbury worked to the end, maintaining a last vestige of Old Hollywood alive with her. How can one come close to articulating what a loss this is for show business? There was simply no one else quite like Angela Lansbury.

To honor the star, let's recall one of her most colorful film creations, a foray into Agatha Christie's world of murder mysteries that almost nabbed Lansbury a fourth Oscar nomination – the 1978 Death on the Nile…

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Streaming Roulette (Oct 11th-16th): Tuneful agents, teenage ladies, and werewolves (by night)

by Nathaniel R

In the Streaming Roulette series we spotlight a few new-ish watches and freeze them randomly on the scroll bar. Whatever scene that comes up is the image we use.  Usually we mix it up in terms of services but this week Amazon Prime is hogging our conversation. Your streaming assignments for the week, should you choose to accept them... 

- Does he look like the Archangel Michael?
- No. No dead saint could be as beautiful as he.

CATHERINE CALLED BIRDY (2022) on Amazon Prime

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What did you see over the weekend?

By Ben Miller

For the second straight week, the story of the North American box office is about failure instead of success.  While horror film Smile captured the top spot for the second straight week, David O. Russell's star-studded Amsterdam managed only $6.4 million on a reported $80 budget. Many are blaming the poor reception from critics and audiences (33% on Rotten Tomatoes, a measly B CinemaScore), but this feels like Russell's indiscretions coming back to bite him.  Meanwhile, Lyle, Lyle Crocodile, the first kid-focused film released in months, made for a solid 2nd-place showing.  

Holiday Weekend Box Office (estimates... not every film has reported yet) October 7th-10th 🔺 = new or expanding /  ★ = Recommended links if we've written about it
WIDE (OVER 800 SCREENS)	LIMITED / PLATFORM
SMILE	TRIANGLE OF SADNESS

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The Fault in Our 'TÁR'

by Nathaniel R

Cate Blanchett as "TÁR" © Focus Features

The world famous conductor Lydia Tár is breathing strangely in the wings. As she inhales and exhales forcefully with tiny staccato bursts of her facial muscles, the image of a rock star hopping in place, self-hyping before their concert is conjured. Will Tár's elite audience devolve into a hysterical screaming teenager at the first sight of her?

Conductor as rock star? It's a rare and incredulous notion. Gone are the days of monoculture when a "Maestro" like Leonard Bernstein (emphatically name checked) could become a household name. But in Todd Field's TÁR we believe it, surely in part because one of the most famous movie stars in the world is playing her. In the year of our lord 2022, Cate Blanchett needs no introduction; Lydia Tár is a different story, and her introduction -- an exhausting recitation of her many diverse accomplishments as she turns 50 -- is a doozy...

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Review: "Piggy" is a visceral nightmare

by Cláudio Alves

© Magnet Releasing

Somewhere in the Spanish countryside, in a small town of Extremadura, Sara lives the kind of earthly hell familiar to many of those who grew up as fat teens. Judgment comes from every direction, shame inflicted upon her until it curdles the spirit. It's not just strangers that hurt, for a casual remark from one's mother can be so lacerating it leaves a scar. Still, there's nothing worse for Sara than her peers, cruel kids who couch their hatred in vacuous assertions that they mean well, that it's for her own good. A trip to the pool for Sara becomes another opportunity for torment at the hands of mean girls, including former friends.

Nearly drowned, her clothes stolen, a humiliated Sara walks home half-naked under the summer sun. It's then that a mysterious van appears, looming ominous in her path. Inside, the girl's tormentors lay powerless, victimizers turned victims at the hands of a kidnapper cum killer. Sara sees it all, the man in charge sees her, and they both do nothing – the van drives away…

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