Happy birthday to all our Gemini readers!

by Nathaniel R

Today is my birthday! I don't want anything this year beyond these three things. 1) Safety and continued stamina for all the Black Lives Matter protestors. 2) Good health and continued stamina for the essential workers and anyone battling COVID-19. And 3) Strategic genius and continued stamina for anyone involved in the upcoming elections who wants to right this ship and get that family of narcissist sociopaths and (just as importantly) their legion of enablers out of office. A big ask, I know, but if you dont ask for what u want, how u gonna get it? 

OH NO WAIT I DO WANT ONE MORE THING. FROM YOU.  In the comments please tell us the very first time you realized you loved an actress too much*.

Reading these over the weekend will surely put a huge smile on my face. Happy early or belated birthday to all you Geminis reading, too! Twin power!

* There is no such thing as "too much" but you know what I mean.

Links: John Boyega's activism, Criterion Channel says "Black Lives Matter," The Eisner Awards and more...

We're always behind with our news roundups. Forgive. It's such a difficult time out there. We know we aren't the only people struggling to concentrate...

• THR A personal history of queer cinema by critic David Rooney with Dirk Bogarde anecdotes
• Vulture the 100 best movies on HBO Max
• The Guardian for our UK readers, Guy Lodge points out the awesome movies from RKO pictures that you can stream online there now

After the jump John Boyega's activism, Criterion Channel on Black Lives Matter, the Oscars of comic books', theaters opening in time for Tenet and more...

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That scene from "Unfaithful"

by Cláudio Alves

Oscar voters aren't the greatest fans of erotic thrillers. Despite that, there are some times when a cinematic achievement is so undeniable that AMPAS' usual prejudices are thrown out the window. One good example is Adrian Lyne's Fatal Attraction, a cultural phenomenon that, in 1987, managed to nab six Academy Award nominations, including for Best Picture and Best Actress. Years later, another of Lyne's erotic reveries would be honored with an important nod, though this time it was just in the Best Actress category. The picture was 2002's Unfaithful and the actress was Diane Lane delivering one of the most magnificent performances of her career. Her work as Connie Sumner is a masterclass in sexual discovery and abandonment, guilt, and desire.

If for nothing else, Lane earned the nomination for a scene in the middle of the movie, when her adulterous character is returning home by train, after her first tryst with Olivier Martinez's sexy bookdealer…

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Review: Shirley

by Chris Feil

Josephine Decker’s Shirley opens with the false optimism of young love with a couple in the mold of American idealism. Over the film’s volleying and spry 107 minutes, Decker curdles it with subversion by focusing on their dismantler: the genius writer Shirley Jackson, played by Elisabeth Moss.

The couple at the center, Rose (Odessa Young) and Fred (Logan Lerman), arrive in a college town already imbalanced, favoring the advancement of his studies over her own. Fred is under the leadership of writer and professor Stanley Hyman (Michael Stuhlbarg), the husband of Jackson, with Rose and Fred taking up residence in their booze-drenched home. The young couple disrupts their existence with tranquility and squareness, but Rose’s curiosity and oppression halts a patch of writer’s block for Shirley. The film crescendos with the status quo of the campus upper crust, Rose’s intoxication with Shirley, and the wringing of Shirley’s next masterpiece.

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Introducing... Supporting Actress Characters of 2002

The next Supporting Actress Smackdown is just 12 days away. We're on fire this season, aren't we? HERE ARE THE PANELISTS that will be talking about 2002 but we also need your votes. We highly encourage you to rewatch the movies before voting (time can change perspective!). To vote simply email us with "2002" in the subject line by Monday June 15th and include your rating of each of the nominees on a scale of 1 (weak) to 5 (perfect) hearts...

 

• Kathy Bates, About Schmidt
• Queen Latifah, Chicago
• Julianne Moore, The Hours
• Meryl Streep, Adaptation
• Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chicago

For an extra bit of whistle-wetting fun, let's look at how each of the characters are introduced in the movies. NOTE: Please save comments about the performances themselves for the Smackdown event. For now we're talking about the art of introduction in storytelling. Is the filmmaker tipping his hat to a star's arrival (fairly common practice) or merely introducing a new character...

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