Remember the Stanwyck

Fans of Classic Hollywood Goddesses will want to check out The Barbara Stanwyck Blog-a-thon which is apparently going on all this week.

A LOT of articles are scheduled and some are already up including a tribute to her sparkling hot costume in Ball of Fire (1941, my second favorite Babs performance!) and a litle Christmas in July action with Remember the Night (1940). I wish I'd known about this one in time to join. It was really fun to write and read about Double Indemnity earlier this summer and Stanwyck has a highly discussable extensive body of work that stretches all the way from classic 1930s Pre-Code talkies on through to hugely popular 1980s television soaps like The Thorn Birds and Dynasty. Anyone remember her on those?

What's your favorite Stanwyck role?

A Topic That Never Grows Old: Best Actress 1995

Elisabeth Shue had my vote among the Oscar nominees

With the time left -- you can have more money, you can drink all you want -- just stay. That's what I want. I want you to talk. Or listen. Just stay."

Alicia Silverstone, Clueless (MTV Winner, Globe Nominee)
Angela Bassett, Waiting to Exhale (Image Award Winner)
Annette Bening, The American President (Globe Nominee)
Gong Li, Shanghai Triad (None)
Joan Allen, Nixon (SAG Lead Nominee but Oscar Supporting Nominee)
Jennifer Jason Leigh, Georgia (NYFCC Winner, Spirit Nominee)
Jessica Lange, Rob Roy (None)
Julianne Moore, [safe] (Spirit Nominee)
Julie Delpy, Before Sunrise (None)
Kathy Bates, Delores Claiborne (Saturn Nominee)
Michelle Pfeiffer, Dangerous Minds (MTV Nominee, #1 Female Led Box Office Hit)
Nicole Kidman, To Die For (Globe Winner)
Sandra Bullock, While You Were Sleeping (Globe Nominee, #2 Female Led Box Office Hit)
Toni Collette, Muriel's Wedding (AFI Winner, Globe Nominee)

...and the Oscar nominees
Elisabeth Shue, Leaving Las Vegas 
Emma Thompson, Sense & Sensibility (won for Screenplay!)
Meryl Streep, The Bridges of Madison County (#3 Female Led Box Office Hit)
Sharon Stone, Casino (Globe Winner)
Susan Sarandon, Dead Man Walking (The Winner) 

*and I dedicate this list to Pocahontas in Pocahontas who I wish was a real actress

Such riches to choose from! Definitely in the running for Bestest Best Actress Year of All Time? Your ballots please.

Here She Is Boys! Here She is World! Here's Natalie!

Presenting... Natalie Wood Week for her 75th anniversary. Anne Marie kicks it off as Natalie flings her kit off.

Let’s get this out of the way now: GYPSY is not a great movie musical. It’s not even a good movie musical. It’s not the best Natalie Wood musical, nor is it her best performance in a musical. In fact, you’d be forgiven for almost missing her entirely behind Rosalind Russell in full Auntie-Mame-mode, all personality and no pipes. But despite these glaring flaws, Gypsy is a significant film; significant to Natalie Wood’s career, significant to us as star worshippers, and significant to the countless young actresses since who have tried to mature their images. It’s significant because this is the movie where Natalie Wood (literally) strips herself of her ingenue status and steps into full-blown sex symbol stardom. [more...]

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Thoughts I Had... While Staring at Promo Images for "Edge of Tomorrow"

This movie used to be called All You Need is Kill but in the grand tradition of Hollywood, any unusual title MUST degenerate/mutate into a generic one before release. See also John Carter of, No He's Not From Mars! or Cop Gives Waitress Two Mi-- It Could Happen To You! and thousands of other movies before them...

Tom Cruise having his "get away from her you, bitch" moment?

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'Yes, No, Maybe So' Blow-Out Special

Trailers everywhere! At the movies and at home this weekend I saw a whole slew of trailers and realized I hadn't written about any of them. So let's catch up with super quick trifurcated thoughts on five forthcoming features (The Grandmaster, Blue Jasmine, Out of the Furnace, Oldboy, and Runner Runner) via their current trailers.

Are you aching to see any of these movies, eager to avoid them, or withholding judgment until you see reviews? Don't be shy, lurkers. Speak your three-part thoughts in the comments.

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