Coronavirus Disrupting the Movie Biz

by Nathaniel R

With MULAN moving there are no wide-releases left for March due to the spread of the coronavirus

As you've undoubtedly heard the coronavirus pandemic has many governments as well as companies shutting down or postponing various services, products, and events, particularly where crowds are involved, and leaving lots and lots of people without income and given the sorry state of the US without universal healthcare we suspect things will be getting much worse. (It's also kept your host here interminably busy / depressed at his other job outside of TFE which is a matter for the therapist couch rather than this blog). But, as ever, we exist to discuss the movies here.

Though Cannes in France is still trying to keep their own May dream alive, here in NYC, the Tribeca Film Festival, which was scheduled to begin on April 15th has been indefinitely postponed, while Broadway theaters have all been shuttered through April 12th. So far movie theaters in the US are still open (though thousands are closed in China) but what movies will there be left to show?

A lot of films have begun indefinitely delaying their release dates...

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Is Daniel Day-Lewis the best triple Oscar winner?

by Cláudio Alves

In the past 92 years, only a handful of performers have managed to win more than one Oscar. More than two is even rarer and more than three is a feat only ever achieved by Katharine Hepburn. In the relatively exclusive club of three-time Oscar-winning actors, we can find six names, four men and two women. Despite their golden prizes, perusing their winning performances can be a sad affair with most of them having at least one terrible victory in their collection. For Meryl Streep it's The Iron Lady, for Ingrid Bergman Anastasia and Murder on the Orient Express. Jack Nicholso's win for As Good As It Gets isn't very well-regarded and Walter Brennan's first two victories are rather dire.

Only one rises above the others as a perfect case of the Academy honoring an actor for the right performances. It's Daniel Day-Lewis, of course…

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Crimson Peak: An Ecstasy of Gothic Style

by Cláudio Alves

Some films age like fine wine, others like milk. Guillermo del Toro's predecessor to one of the weirdest Best Picture winners ever is closer to grape juice than dairy. If you don't believe it, check out Crimson Peak, which is newly available on HBO Now. The film wasn't particularly well-received upon its 2015 release, but the years have been kind to it, highlighting its best elements while dulling the impact of its less impressive aspects. Its intoxicating visuals are of particular magnificence, resurrecting the iconography of classic Hammer-style horror philtered through the showmanship of Guillermo del Toro's imagination. Some may say this is a case of style over substance, though nothing couldn't be farther from the truth. After all, Crimson Peak is a production where style is substance…

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Doc Corner: Hulu's Four-Part 'Hillary'

By Glenn Dunks (who is currently counting down his top documentaries of the decade over on Twitter. Follow along or swing by next week for the conclusion!)

It’s remarkable, really. Hillary—Nanette Burstein’s four-part Hulu biography of the woman who needs only one name these days—is so much like its subject, it’s just uncanny. Ambitious and by most conceivable marks of quality a perfect candidate for greatness.

And yet.

One almost has to admire the chutzpah of Hulu releasing Hillary when they did. Like Taylor Swift uploading her back catalogue to streaming services on the same day Katy Perry had a new album out, it feels like some sort of joke, even if it was more likely simply a smart and shrewd way of getting eyeballs in a tough market by utilising the political attention of another wild democratic primary race as cross promotional advertising...

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Almost There: Renée Zellweger in "Jerry Maguire"

by Cláudio Alves

Throughout Oscar history, 15 films have conquered nominations in all acting categories. 1936's My Man Godfrey was the first and David O. Russell's American Hustle is the most recent example. Many didn't deserve such honors, their bountiful Oscar haul being mostly a matter of awards buzz rather than undeniable excellence. That said, there are also movies that got tangentially close to this feat and deserved it but didn't get it. Upon rewatching Jerry Maguire (currently streaming on Netflix), I was surprised to realize Cameron Crowe's seminal comedy was one of those productions which deserved to enter that exclusive club of Oscar champions…

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