Middleburg Film Festival to open with "King Richard", close with "Power of the Dog"

by Nathaniel R

The 9th annual Middleburg Film Festival, which will be returning to an in-person experience this October 14th-17th in Virginia's historic wine and horse country (about an hour's drive from DC) has announced the first six films in this year's selection. The festival will open with Warner Bros King Richard on Thursday evening, Focus Feature's Belfast as its Centerpiece, and close with Netflix title Power of the Dog on Sunday night. Yours truly will be returning to Middleburg and I couldn't be happier about it.  (You might remember that for the past couple of years we've co-hosted a "Coffee and Contenders" panel there early in the morning to discuss the Oscar race.)

Ticket packages are now on sale and individual tickets go on sale on October. 

With health and safety being a top priority, MFF 2021 will require festival goers to be fully vaccinated and present proof of a negative COVID-19 test administered within 72 hours of arriving at the festival. Additionally masks will be required for all indoor screenings and events.

Other films announced for Middleburg 2021 are A24's Red Rocket, Netflix's Hand of God and NEON's Flee as the three "Spotlight" titles for US, International, and Documentary respectively. More films and panels will be announced as we get closer to the fest!

Queue up the next Smackdown movies

All five of the upcoming movies for the next Supporting Actress Smackdowns are rentable or free to stream (if so we've indicated where) so play along at home, won'cha? The Smackdowns are popular but they're more fun if YOU participate and watch and vote.

Tyrone Power and Alice Brady in "In Old Chicago"

Smackdown 1937  -Sunday, October 3rd, 2021 

• ★ Alice Brady in In Old Chicago -a family drama, disaster epic, and sort-of musical
• Andrea Leeds in Stage Door - a boarding house dramedy which is an absolute must-see for actressexuals since everyone is in it!
• Anne Shirley in Stella Dallas (Amazon Prime) - a Stanwyck weepie
• Claire Trevor in Dead End (Amazon Prime) - a Bogart noir
• May Whitty in Night Must Fall - a mystery starring Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell

Between them these movies scored 18 nominations and 2 Oscar wins with In Old Chicago, Stage Door, and Dead End also vying for Best Picture. Voting is open until September 30th so send your ballots then with "1937" in the subject line and a rating of 1 (terrible) to 5 (perfection) hearts for each performance. 

Up Next
2004, 1997, 1951 -- dates TBA. We're having to shift things around a bit as festival season got crazy!

Doc Corner: 'Civil War (or, Who Do We Think We Are)'

By Glenn Dunks

A movie called “Civil War” could really be about so many things. I immediately assumed a film about January’s insurrection had been produced, edited and released in just nine months’ time. What an achievement! It’s a surprise then to discover that Civil War (or, Who Do We Think We Are) is about the actual civil war. The one about the North versus the South. The one about slavery (depending on who you ask). The one they made Gone With the Wind about. It’s almost quaint in that regard.

No matter what it is or it isn’t about— the contemporary political space may not be the film's focus but its heavily on its mind --  it’s a good movie. Civil War finds interesting crevices within which to explore education and class-driven divides and the way the war's lessons are taught and absorbed by the next generations. Spoiler alert: it’s not entirely comforting...

Click to read more ...

Tweetweek

She’s looking at Katherine Hepburn’s Oscar record: pic.twitter.com/BEzQpPnvnE

— ShaneAvery (@ShaneAvery) September 21, 2021

Incredible celebrity impressions are after the jump plus Jessica Chastain's Oscar buzz, Olivia Colman's awards magnetism, anti-vax celebrity problems, and more...

Click to read more ...

Criterion Channel Wrap Up: Five By Billy Wilder

By Christopher James

Having a Criterion Channel subscription often feels like opening Christmas presents each month. Their monthly programming always provides subscribers with curated series from some of the greatest classic artists both domestically and in world cinema. This month, the Criterion Channel decided to honor the legendary director Billy Wilder with a sampling of five of his movies. The legendary Austrian director won six competitive Oscars over his decades-long career, plus an additional Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1988. 

Although—or perhaps because—he was born in Austria, writer, director, and Hollywood legend Billy Wilder saw America more clearly than most, probing its absurdities and hypocrisies with a witty yet lacerating eye. This sampler of five of his finest—including the Tinseltown tragedy Sunset Blvd., scathing media satire Ace in the Hole, and gripping POW drama Stalag 17—showcases the pitch-perfect blend of human understanding and barbed cynicism that defines Wilder worldview.

For this piece, I revisited two of my all-time favorites, re-experienced one I didn't remember well, and discovered two new (to me) gems. Let’s take a look at the films the Criterion Channel chose to highlight...

Click to read more ...