2022's hottest DILFs (Dads I'd Like to Film)

by Cláudio Alves

We've all heard about the gore, the historical accuracy, and Nicole Kidman's latest feat of monstrous mothering. However, one element of Robert Eggers's The Northman has been curiously – criminally? – left out of the promotional material and effusive word-of-mouth. The picture's leading man may make Prince Amleth into a mountain of muscle, but there's more eye candy to enjoy beyond the Skarsgård beefcake. In a scene of ritual sacrifice and funeral tradition, Claes Bang gets to showcase his assets, and they are glorious. Indeed, though the movie skews dark and gloomy, cinematographer Jarin Blaschke highlights the actor's bare back with golden flames, resulting in one of The Northman's most indelible shots.

Forgive the silliness and crass words, but in a time of sexless cinema, it's worth celebrating what little sensuality still graces the screen. Moreover, Bang's surprisingly soulful King Fjölnir is a reminder that we might be living through another great year for hot movie dads...

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"Heartstopper" and a world without Olivia Colman

by Cláudio Alves

Adapted from Alice Oseman's webcomic and graphic novel, Heartstopper is Netflix's latest hit. The story of two teen boys falling in love, this queer teen romance is an overdose of sweetness packed into eight swift episodes. There's not much conflict beyond the usual fare for this type of narrative, though a good dose of angst keeps the sentimental dessert from tipping into schmaltz. All in all, I can't call myself a fan even though I recognize how such a production would have rocked my world as a gay teen growing up. It's cute, endearing, and terminally chaste, the kind of diversion that feels bound to delight its target audience.

That's not why I felt compelled to binge it, however. So, following that train of thought, let's talk about Olivia Colman and the Oscar-y conjectures Heartstopper accidentally puts forward…

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I'll Link To That

• AV Club as if the Gilded Age didn't have enough Broadway stars already, Robert Sean Leonard and Laura Benanti are joining the cast for Season 2
• IndieWire It's Batman vs Spider-Man on PVOD charts (but the iTunes chart is fairly interesting for its older titles like Easter hits like Ten Commandments and Passion of the Christ)
• Cartoon Brew Across the Spider-Verse has been pushed back until summer 2023 so yes...
• TFE... we've already had to update the Oscar charts for Best Animated Feature
• AV Club Andy Serkis is going to direct an animated Animal Farm

More after the jump including honors for Lily Tomlin, Liza Minnelli's feelings about her Oscar apperance, Danny Elfman at Coachella, The Northman and more...

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Our Cannes Plans

by Nathaniel R

© Paramount Pictures Corporation – Jim Carrey, The Truman Show by Peter Weir / Graphic design © Hartland Villa

Look! The official Cannes poster is out (see above) which uses a moment from The Truman Show (1998). About which the festival says:

The decisive scene urges viewers to not only experience the border between reality and its reprsentation but to ponder the power of fiction, between manipulation and catharsis. Just as Truman escapes falsehood as he rises, the Festival, with its famous ascending red carpet, offers viewers the truth of the artists when they enter the theater

Last year we had our most Cannes coverage ever with our favourite Italian Elisa Giudici at the festival covering the Competition lineup. Simultaneously Cláudio was doing a 'Cannes at Home' series to highlight older films by directors with new pictures at the festival. Since you liked both we're doing it again! The 75th edition of the festival runs May 17th- May 28th this year. We'll also be celebrating Cannes with an episode of "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" covering Wong Kar Wai's Happy Together on May 12th. That moody gay drama took the Cannes Best Director prize 25 years ago from a jury led by the great French movie star Isabelle Adjani.

P.S. The Cannes lineup post has been updated to reflect the week later additions to the official selection.

Alternate Oscars: 1955 Edition

by Cláudio Alves 

Ever since I started following the Oscars, I've liked to come up with dream ballots. Indeed, it's become something of a hobby to write down such ideal Academy Awards, whether following eligibility rules or not. Lately, through Letterboxd and the influence of an Excel-addicted friend, those lists have graduated from notebooks to an array of overcomplicated multicolored spreadsheets with which I horrify whoever is unlucky enough to see them. All this to say that, when Gabe Guarin asked me to be part of his Alternate Oscars podcast, I was ecstatic. At long last, I've found an opportunity to make good use of those spreadsheets!

On the latest episode of Alternate Oscars, Gabe and I discuss 1955 and come up with our ideal ballots in a podcast awards ceremony full of cinephile gushing and Kenji Mizoguchi-love. Take a listen:

What do you think of our choices? Share your choices, too.