The Furniture: Ellen Revolts Against the Upholstery in Leave Her to Heaven

"The Furniture," by Daniel Walber. (Click on the images for magnified detail)

This week marks the 75th anniversary of Leave Her to Heaven, a technicolor noir blockbuster with set decoration so opulent, you will find yourself shouting at the upholstery.

It has other virtues, of course: Gene Tierney’s wickedly genre-shifting performance, Leon Shamroy’s shadow-wielding cinematography, Vincent Price’s height, etc. But the last time I watched it, I couldn’t take my eyes off the sets. The film takes place in a fever-dream of post-war prosperity before the fact, an endless parade of over-decorated vacation homes.

Frankly, it should have won the Oscar for Best Art Direction - Interior Decoration, Color...

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Oscar Chart Updates: The Screenplays

by Nathaniel R

After Visual Effects and Makeup and Animated and Documentary Features let's turn out attention to the written word seeking Oscar approval. The critics awards for Best Screenplays are never very telling because many film critic organizations lump Adapted and Originals together. The only films in the Oscar race that have already won Best Screenplay prizes this year (at this writing) are the originals Promising Young Woman (LAFCA) and Never Rarely Sometimes Always (NYFCC and CFCA) and the adaptation that feels like an original i'm thinking of ending things (BSFC, FFCC, and IFJA). (The various screenplay winners from Cannes, Venice, Sundance and Berlinale are not eligible at the Oscars this year.) That's a long way of saying that we have very little to go on in the Oscar race...

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Carey Mulligan's Quest For Oscar Nomination #2

by Christopher James

Carey Mulligan patiently waits for her second Oscar nomination for Promising Young Woman.Carey Mulligan has repeatedly proved that she is one of the most talented actors in Hollywood. Yet, she has still not received an Oscar nomination since her breakout performance in 2009’s An Education. With great reviews and a Best Actress win from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Mulligan’s performance in Promising Young Woman could (finally) be the ticket to a second nomination...

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What's your favorite Christmas song?

by Cláudio Alves

The first time I remember hearing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" was in The Holiday. That 2006 picture has become something of a Christmas mainstay over the years and, while I'm not its biggest fan, I can't help but feel grateful for it. After all, it introduced me to my favorite Christmas song. Written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane in 1943, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" has cinematic origins despite some of its best-known version having little to do with cinema. Long before Sam Smith, Florence Welch, Frank Sinatra, or Ella Fitzgerald sang the holiday classic, this was Judy Garland's song…

Just as the tune is my favorite Christmas song, the film for which it was made, Meet Me in St. Louis, is probably my favorite holiday movie too...

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Review: Monster Hunter

by Tony Ruggio

2020 has been a prolific year for monster movies, be they funny and romantic (Love & Monsters), purely for kids (A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting), or in the case of Monster Hunter, mindless action. Paul W.S. Anderson (Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil) returns to the other genre that made him, the genre he never really left: video game adaptations. He and wife Milla Jovovich are the king and queen of them, if there can be such a thing for the seemingly accursed genre.

Folks, including myself, keep saying they’re the next big thing in Hollywood after superhero movies, and while valiant attempts have been made, even when talented people are aboard (Jake Gyllenhaal in Prince of Persia, Justin Kurzel and Fassy/Cotillard in Assassin’s Creed), they don't pan out. Like all the rest, Monster Hunter ain’t exactly the ticket to Hollywood genre royalty...

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