Review: For all its artful presentation, "Spencer" is a misfire

by Nathaniel R

A woman driving alone stops at a diner along the road to ask directions. She’s lost which is as common a problem as it gets. In any usual circumstance this would go unnoticed by other patrons but this is not a usual circumstance and this woman is far from common, and no Commoner at that. The whole room stops to gawk at her. This clever gambit early in Spencer sets Princess Diana (Kristen Stewart) immediately apart from humanity. A elegant but sterile aerial shot from the gifted cinematographer Claire Mathon (Portrait of a Lady on Fire) futher isolates her when she reaches that destination. She’s just a tiny figure about to be swallowed up in an imposing estate (Sandringham House, to be exact).

While the opening scenes of Spencer are promising and mobile, and the craft of the filmmaking as rich as you’d expect from the Chilean master Pablo Larraín, Spencer stops abruptly in its tracks at the estate...

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Tweetweek: Punctuated Titles (and other brief distractions)

Let's start with our old pal Joe, who is brilliant at Twitter asking a very good question:

Thinking about "Tick, Tick... Boom!" and whether any other movies pass the "three types of punctuation in the title" test.

— Joe Reid (@joereid) November 4, 2021

Turns out it's pretty rare. Even super long movie titles usually only use one or, maximum, two. But here are a handful that do...

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Gay Best Friend: Peter (Stephen Fry) in "Peter's Friends" (1992)

A series by Christopher James looking at the 'Gay Best Friend' trope

Who wouldn't want a 10 year college reunion in their rich friend's new mansion?I love a good Big Chill type set-up.

Yes, I do love the actual 1983 movie The Big Chill. However, the hit film has itself spawned an entire genre of movies and TV. How many movies have you seen where an attractive ensemble of longtime friends spend a weekend away and come to terms with central truths within the friendship. There’s always as many laughs as there are tears. The uptight people finally get drunk or stoned and loosen up. Party animals gain new depth. A collection of the greatest hits of decades past are played throughout, usually with an accompanying singalong. I eat all of it up, no matter how predictable it may be.

One of the finer entries in the genre is Kenneth Branagh’s 1992 film Peter’s Friends. It’s more than just the English re-telling of The Big Chill. The film is simultaneously a pricklier and warmer examination of what friends do and don’t tell each other... 

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Links: Exciting Memoirs, Luscious Italians, and the Out100

• The Hollywood Reporter Paul Mescal and Josh O'Conner to star in early 20th century gay love story, The History of Sound (the curious part is that it's about America and both stars are British and the director is South African)
• The Guardian Eternals banned in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait over gay content
• People actor Kal Penn (Harold & Kumar) has come out publicly before his memoir "You Can't Be Serious" hits. He'll be marrying his partner of 11 years soon

More after the jump including a Paul Newman memoir, new roles for Joe Alwyn and Gael Garcia Bernal, Titane's Oscar dreams, luscious Italians and the annual OUT100 list...

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"Wicked" Movie announces its Elphaba and Glinda casting! What about the other roles?

by Nathaniel R

After years of fan-casting and online speculation we finally know who will be following in Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth's footsteps in that Emerald City of stage and screen legend. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande will be taking on the iconic roles of Glinda and Elphaba in the big screen adaptation of Broadway behemoth Wicked which is, if you've been sleeping under a rock, about the witches before the events of The Wizard of Oz. The news was announced tonight by the film's director Jon M Chu. 

How are you feeling about this news? Well how am I feeling? Not even sure and I'll tell you why...

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