You Chose... Only Angels Have Wings (1939)

Our reader's choice "streaming film club" is going weekly since we're all soon stuck at home in this brave new world of Covid-19. This week you selected the Howard Hawks adventure romance classic Only Angels Have Wings (1939) starring Cary Grant and Jean Arthur so we'll be discussing that on Monday March 23rd so queue it up on the Criterion Channel. In second place was Disney's Pollyanna (1960) so we'll also discuss that on Wednesday March 25th so watch that one on Disney+ if you'd like to play along. Okay? 

Last week's runner up film to Lady in a Cage was the romantic comedy Cactus Flower (1969) and Murtada and I decided to discuss it on the podcast (returning very soon) since it was such a close vote. So see, we're doing double duty to keep you thinking about movies when you're no longer allowed to go see them in theaters! *sniffle*

Stay safe out there and wash your hands.

Previous Readers Choice Posts
Voyage of the Damned (1976)
Lady in a Cage (1964) 

The glory of Maggie Smith's "Judith Hearne"

by Cláudio Alves

Loneliness hurts. It infects body and mind, eating away at our sanity. We tell ourselves it's a voluntary thing, that it's a choice, but those lies can only work for a time. When self-delusion loses its power, desperation can set in, corroding the spirit and worsening it. Even in crowds, there's a sense of being alone and human touch becomes like bread for a starving man, a morsel feels like the world and its absence gives hunger pains. As time goes by, the will to get out of bed wains and constant bouts of crying can turn to self-hate and disgust. To cure the illness of lonesomeness is hard and some poor folk search for it at the end of a bottle. However, the prophylactic qualities of booze, like self-delusion, have an expiration date. The euphoria of drunkenness gives way to the shame of a hangover and the condition becomes unbearable. It's a chaotic spiral, out of control and ready to destroy our very souls.

The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (available on The Criterion Channel) is one of the best films about this subject…

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Box Office crashing during the pandemic

By the looks of the weekend box office -- the single worst in 20 years -- you weren't at the movies this weekend. Every movie suffered a massive drop but for those which were still in the process of adding theaters and they didn't score with strong per screen averages. Here's how the current releases fared...

Weekend Box Office March 13th-15th (ESTIMATES) 🔺 = new or expanding / ★ = recommended
WIDE RELEASE (800+ screens)	PLATFORM TITLES
Onward	Hope Gap
1 ONWARD  $10.5 (60.8) --down 73%	1 PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE $178k  (cum. $3.7) - down 66%  TOP TEN LIST ★
2 🔺  I STILL BELIEVE  $9.5 *new*	2 🔺  HOPE GAP $55k (cum. $99k) up  79% REVIEW

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What should have been Meryl's third?

by Cláudio Alves

Daniel Day-Lewis may be the best triple Oscar winner among actors, but that doesn't mean he's the best performer of the bunch. It just means that he's had the luck of getting awards for his very best efforts. Historically, if we can count on the Academy for something it is to award the right people for the wrong movies. That started early -- Katharine Hepburn won her first Oscar for Morning Glory in the same year she was eligible for George Cukor's Little Women?

In any case, neither Hepburn or Day-Lewis are the subjects of this piece. That would be Meryl Streep, the most nominated actor ever and proud winner of three Oscars. Her first two victories, for Kramer vs Kramer and Sophie's Choice, are usually considered among the best in their respective categories, but the same can't be said for her third triumph...

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Today in Showbiz History: Julie Andrews in "My Fair Lady"

by Nathaniel R

We've discussed the Oscar wars of My Fair Lady and Mary Poppins (1964) before but have you ever wondered how history would have been different if Julie Andrews had scored the movie role in My Fair Lady after playing it on Broadway? Would there have been a different Mary Poppins? Would they have waited and wouldboth films hav won Best Picture in separate years? Would Julie Andrews never have won an Oscar at all (since so many saw her very atypical Oscar win and Audrey's own lack of a nomination as a way to shame My Fair Lady, the movie, for not hiring her?! The ripple possibilities are endless...

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