July. It's a Wrap

Will this hellscape of a year ever be over? Apparently it will because each month of the year has arrived and then departed even if they've been thrice as long as usual. Here are a dozen or so highlights from July that you might have missed!

• Costumes of Clueless 25 years later, Claudio feels they're even more iconic
• Mira Sorvino Mini-Fest  the actress programmed her own retrospective for us
• Let's talk about poop jokes -Michael's brilliant take on Bridesmaids (2011)
• 100 Oldest Living Oscar Nominees -Sadly we had to update this recently
• Eva Green in Dark Shadows Jason considers when a bad movie houses a great star turn
• Smackdown 1957 some people say this is one of Oscar's worst lineups but it was still interesting to discuss
• Almost There: River Phoenix His performance in My Own Private Idaho remains a treasure both of promise fulfilled and agony of what could have been thereafter
• First on Vanity Fair Viola Davis's cover prompted a look back
• Bloody Nose Empty Pockets we keep hearing great things about this doc
• Lana Turner what star power!
• Hamilton on Disney plus

Most Discussed
• Smackdown 1991 Juliette Lewis vs Mercedes Ruehl in a photo finish
• Hamilton for the Oscars? The rise and fall and chaos of 'is it eligible?'
• Olivia de Havilland (RIP) the last superstar of Hollywood's Golden Age

Coming in August
We'll take intermittent trips back to 2005 (any requests?) before the next Smackdown which will feature reconsiderations of Amy Adams in Junebug, Catherine Keener in Capote, Michelle Williams in Brokeback Mountain, Rachel Weisz in The Constant Gardener, and Frances McDormand in North Country.

We'll also be celebrating the career of two-time Oscar winner Shelley Winters (any requests?) for her Centennial. The rest will be a surprise to you AND TO US as we haven't planned much!  

Sakamoto on Criterion

by Cláudio Alves

Ryuichi Sakamoto is a master of music that needs no introduction. Thanks to his work with the Yellow Magic Orchestra and solo experiments, Sakamoto has helped shape the evolution of electronic music like few other artists in the past decades. His avant-garde sound is difficult to confuse with that of other composers, but he's not an artist predisposed to repetition or stagnation. Since the 1970s, has never stopped composing, never stopped challenging himself, or dazzling his audience with music whose beauty transcends comprehension. Sakamoto's also an avid cinephile and had been writing film scores since the 80s when Nagisa Oshima cast him in Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence. Across the years, he's built an eclectic filmography that's rich in artistic brio and lacking in mediocre efforts. He even won an Oscar.

Because of such excellence, the Criterion Channel has curated a selection of 10 Ryuichi Sakamoto scored pictures. Here are some highlights…

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The genius of Euzhan Palcy

by Cláudio Alves

One of the Criterion Channel's most enticing July releases is A Dry White Season by Caribbean director Euzhan Palcy. Her record-breaking career is a fascinating, often frustrating, piece of cinema history, full of fearless political artistry and a will to challenge the Hollywood machine. While her name isn't very well known, Palcy should be famous for all the risks she took and the astounding quality of her features. They might be few, but they are excellent. With that in mind, we invite you to explore the filmography, the story, and the genius of Euzhan Palcy…

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Doc Corner: 'The Fight'

By Glenn Dunks

The Fight is not a film about the ACLU. It’s probably wise to know that before going in. Because lord knows the American Civil Liberties Union have had their fair share of odious choices under the guise of free speech, namely defending anti-unionists, Nazis, the Klu Klux Klan, and—as seen briefly here, the only such moment of critical assessment—the Charlottesville white nationalists and their antisemitic tiki torch parade that resulted in the death of Heather Heyer in 2017.

What The Fight is, however, is a cleverly constructed documentary about four lawyers by three filmmakers who by happy accident or quickly assembled timing placed themselves on the frontlines (so to speak) of the American President’s war against the rights of immigrants, voters, women and transgender individuals. It’s a film that begins on the courthouse steps and in the airport waiting lounges as fast-typing associates battle against the ‘Muslim ban’ and which hasn’t let up in the three and a half years since...

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Sixteen Linkles

• Vulture why Charlize Theron is so pleasurable to watch in action films
• My New Plaid Pants Luca Guadagnino signing on to deliver a feature adaptation of Scotty Bower's "Full Service" which has already inspired a feature doc and that gas station as whorehouse in Ryan Murphy's Hollywood
• Vanity Fair What Olivia de Havilland remembered about the 1939 Oscars 

After the jump, Ramy's nominations, Michael Fassbender's return, Hugh Jackman's butt, Scarface memories, X-Men's 20th, and more...

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