Doc Corner: 'The Janes' on HBO Max

By Glenn Dunks

If you were paying close enough attention to the ways the American political winds were blowing, you likely could have foreseen how relevant The Janes would ecome. Well, even more so than it already was. Still, even as recently as its Sundance premiere in January, it’s unlikely that filmmakers Tia Lessin (her first since 2013’s Citizen Koch) and Emma Pildes could have envisioned its release a mere few months late would coincide so frighteningly with the systematic dissolving of the rights their subjects were fighting for. Right in front of everybody’s eyes.

That The Janes is a film for this very moment isn’t what makes it so good. Although it helps...

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Cláudio's Best Shot Pick: Fire Island (2022)

The next episode in our series, 'Hit Me With Your Best Shot,' arrives Thursday night. This week's film is Andrew Ahn's Fire Island, which recently premiered on Hulu. You still have time to participate! In the meantime, here's Cláudio's entry:

For the past decade or so, numerous filmmakers have tried to revive the romantic comedy with varying degrees of success. And yet, it seems that the romcom's heyday will never return. Still, there's plenty of nostalgia for those days gone by when mid-budget projects of this ilk were a mainstay of any studio's output. Nowadays, every such exercise feels like an exception to the rule, a precious rarity, and a throwback. Maybe that's why the modern romcom refuses to stick, as it often comes off as a retrospective homage rather than its own thing. Or else it's too focused on justifying its existence, wanting to appear cool and hip with such alarming vehemence it ends up forgetting the basics that make these movies work.

By centering identities rarely depicted in mainstream cinema, appealing to classic literature tropes, and getting a director with a strong point of view, Fire Island avoids most of these pitfalls. It succeeds where others have stumbled, and even if it doesn't revive the romcom's Golden Age, it's pleasant summer entertainment…

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Judy Garland @ 100: "A Star Is Born"

Team Experience is revisiting nine Judy Garland movies for her Centennial. Here's Cláudio Alves on the star's first Oscar nomination.

A Star Is Born is Hollywood's favorite legend about itself, a mythic middle point between propaganda and self-critique filmed four different times from the 1930s to the 2010s. Five, if one considers George Cukor's What Price Hollywood? since that was likely the basis for the '37 version. Though flexible, the story remains mostly unchanged throughout its interpretations. Norman Maine, an alcoholic star on the decline, meets Esther Blodgett and immediately falls in love, with the woman and her undeniable talent. Opening doors for her in the entertainment industry, he watches as she's rebaptized Vicki Lester and rises to the top, far surpassing him. After their wedding and an awards night, whereupon Norman ruins Vicki's moment, she considers giving up her career to take care of him. Realizing this, he kills himself, intent on saving his beloved from his downfall. 

Though every A Star Is Born has its merits, the 1954 musical tends to be the consensus pick for the best iteration in no small part due to Judy Garland's performance in the titular role…

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Links and Coming Attractions

• Variety Emmy winner Julia Garner (Ozark) has been offered the Madonna biopic -- after months of rumors and speculation. 
• MNPP paparazzi pics of Bradley Cooper and Matt Bomer kissing from the set of Maestro
• Vulture profile of Joel Kim Booster (Fire Island) by E Alex Jung (who always does great celebrity profiles)
• EW has Booster sharing the cover with Billy Eichner (Bros) as they discuss the rise of the gay rom-com

More after the jump including Blonde, Harvey Fierstein, Matthew McConnaughey, the failed attempt to make Morbius happen, and several new trailers...

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Judy Garland @ 100: "Summer Stock"

Team Experience is revisiting nine Judy Garland pictures for her Centennial. Here's Nathaniel R on a troubled moment in time...

Judy Garland's enduring legend comes not just from her rightful title as "The World's Greatest Entertainer" but for her troubled offscreen life. It's not that sadness, addictions, tragedy, and/or an early demise should fascinate the public more than the work itself but the fact is that they often do (see also Clift, Monroe, Ledger, Dean, Leigh, and many other stars throughout history). Judy's struggles only make her incredibly transcendent work in concert halls and movie screens more jaw-dropping; you rarely see anything other than megawatt talent and professional magic. That isn't quite the case with Summer Stock (1950) which makes it an anomaly in her filmography. It's a rare curious glimpse at Garland in-and-out of her magic, like a flickering but gorgeous light. For a time it even threatened to be her final picture...

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