Open Easter Thread

For this bunny, it will not end well
Happy holidays.

Any Easter movie plans? Will you go down with the Leo/Kate ship again (in three dimensions)? Will you seek out a limited release gem? Will you stay in and program your own mini-festival while dying easter eggs?

Please to share in the comments. My plans are still in flux but no one will see Titanic with me*. Boo. Why must my friends be haters? Titanic is great.

Pssst. Next week we'll celebrate the Titanic centennial somehow. This weekend we'll try and complete the new Oscar predictions. Stay tuned.

April Showers: "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"

In the years doing the April Showers series it's become clear that there are basically four types of shower scenes in movies: sex scenes, sight gags, horror moments when characters are at their most vulnerable and emotional cleansing moments (that the body also gets scrubbed is just a bonus). Dragon Tattoo's shower sequence is clearly the latter type, after Lisbeth's brutal rape. David Fincher famously quipped pre-release that his movie had too much anal rape for Oscar. Oscar didn't mind so much nominating it for several Oscars.

Fincher's discussion of the sequence [after the jump. NSFW] on the commentary track is interesting. 

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Yes, No, Maybe So: Like Someone in Love

Amir here. The semi-official trailer for Abbas Kiarostami’s new film, Like Someone in Love, was released last week. The internet mostly ignored it, except for a few mentions here and there. Kiarostami might be a world class auteur and Certified Copy may have become an arthouse sensation but it seems like without a recognizable star like Juliette Binoche, enthusiasm for a new film by the Iranian director will just not be as high. With a May premiere on the croisette very likely to be announced in the next few days – with one exception, Kiarostami’s last five films have all opened in Cannes – the film is bound to find more attention coming its way.  If it is indeed included in the festival line-up with a jury presided over by Kiarostami’s friend and past collaborator Nani Moretti, expect plenty of chatter about the film’s chances of netting the director his second Palme d’Or.

That’s all speculation, of course. For now, let’s apply our usual Yes, No, Maybe So to the trailer.

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Hit Me With Your Best Shot: "Easter Parade"

If you have yet to join in the "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" series we urge you to participate next week on April 11th when we look at a movie you've surely seen: Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937). Last time we did an animated film we had a super turnout. All you have to do is 1) choose your favorite shot 2) post it on your blog, tumblr, site or pinterest page before next Wednesday night and 3) let me know. Presto, The Film Experience links up. The first step, choosing your best shot, is the only hard part.

This week's film is EASTER PARADE (1948).  

I love a perfect title. Easter Parade promises exactly what it delivers. The Judy Garland / Fred Astaire musical features two actual easter parades which form a through line on which the film can hang its gowns and musical numbers. In the first Nadine (Ann Miller), Don Hewes' (Fred Astaire) ex-girlfriend and ex-dance partner, stops traffic with a smashing gown and the chic accessories that are her show dogs.  Hewes, still hurt over the breakup promises his new partner Hannah (the immortal Judy Garland) that a year from then she'll be the one that no one can take their eyes off of. But the title offers more than just these two holidays. The movie is an easter parade all by itself. The whole movie doubles as one big lavish procession of color. It's got all the yellows, greens, whites, blues, pinks and purples you could possibly expect from an easter movie and every other color in the rainbow, too. Like many real parades it's alternately amazing and garish but there's always something to gawk at for better and worse.

The "worse" would be a hateful brown and pink gown (gag) that may well be the ugliest thing I've ever seen on Judy Garland. The "best" might be the white into hot pink gown that Nadine just floats in near the climax when she attempts to take Don back from Hannah.

The two shots that thrilled me the most both exploded by focusing on only one particularly saturated color. The first of these was Ann Miller's bright yellow gloves and bright yellow tear away skirt in her jaw-dropping toe-tapping solo "Shakin' the Blues Away". 

Keep dancing (and reading)

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Yes, No, Maybe So: "To Rome With Love"

Jose here with a new edition of Yes, No, Maybe So. After the success of the Oscar-winning Midnight in Paris, all eyes were set on Woody Allen's next movie. First the movie caused a tiny outrage because of its "unimaginative" title, later we got a look at an underwhelming poster that had people once more complaining and accusing Woody of "losing his touch".

However, this has become the norm with his work. He's unarguably the most productive artist in moviemaking and people always have very strong reactions towards him and his movies. For all the people who loved Midnight in Paris there were a few who hated it because it wasn't Annie Hall or refused to watch it because they oppose Woody morally.

Here's the first trailer. Help us decide if it's Yes, No or Maybe So...

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