108 days til Oscar...

Did you know that there are said to be 108 pressure points in the human body? That number factors into many martial arts. In popular fiction you only need to hit five of them to cause instantaneous death. Movies reference this occassionally and most famously, to westerners at least, in Kill Bill Vol. 2, when The Bride slays her titular foe with the "five point palm exploding heart technique".

What are five pressure points Oscar voters have hit in their attempts to kill you? One of mine is skipping Uma Thurman for her most iconic role. Hell, I would've been tempted to give her the actual statue for Kill Bill Vol 1 -- that was such a weird Best Actress year (2003) so why not? 

Tweetweek: Directors vs Marvel, Regina King, Parasite, and More...

 All anybody on twitter has been talking about of late is Martin Scorsese vs Marvel (which was very funny until it was sad but some good tweets came of it) but before we get to the auteurs vs the "oppressed" corporate product (lol) some Parasite enthusiasm and other random topics...

The best sexts I’ve ever gotten are friends sending me #Parasite raves after they leave the theater

— Zack Sharf (@ZSharf) October 19, 2019

FYC: "Jessica, Only Child" for Best Original Song https://t.co/6oavcG04L5

— The Wolf Matt 🎃 (@filmguy619) October 23, 2019

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How had I never seen... "Z" (1969)

by Mark Brinkerhoff

After finally having gotten around to seeing 1931’s M, it seemed only fitting to round it out with 1969’s Z, co-record-holder of the shortest movie title ever. Who knew that these two would have more in common than their one-word titles? 

Bracingly directed by Greek-born Costa-Gavras, the Algeria-set, French-language Z is a thinly veiled version of the circumstances around the 1963 assassination of a reformist Greek politician by right-wing zealots. Both the fictional and actual events stoked social upheaval and prompted a political crisis. Factor in a shady government coverup, eventually exposed by a dogged team of investigators and journalists, and you have the makings of a thriller that is as timeless as it is unnerving...

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Soundtracking: Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore

by Chris Feil

Martin Scorsese is perhaps one of the more discussed directors in terms of movie music - how could he not be on his many music documentaries alone? His filmography is one accented with rock and roll iconography, most recognizable for its big band era details and Rolling Stones fanaticism. But while the recurring “Gimme Shelter” may be the most obviously iconic example of Scorsese’s musical insights, his ability to unleash character detail through song has a mightier narrative impact in some more unexpected places. Like Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a film where its heroine and its music are caught between tradition and the turbulent now.

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That time when one of the great cinematographers hooked up with Jake Gyllenhaal...

by Nathaniel R

Here's a little teaser for a forthcoming interview with Rodrigo Prieto, the two-time Oscar nominated DP whose latest film is Martin Scorsese's The Irishman. The famed Mexican cinematographer turns 54 next month. We'd always seem him in photos, handsome, crouched down behind cameras with tightly cropped hair. In person he's a tall silver fox and he's let his hair grow out. He could have been in front of cameras but instead got behind them from an early age. And what a career he's had. Standing majestically amongst his classics is Brokeback Mountain (2005) so during a lengthy sit down we had at the Middleburg Film Festival this past weekend, we asked him how he ended up with his only onscreen role.

We don't know if you knew this but he plays the Mexican hustler who Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) picks up during a quick trip south of the border. That's the trip that Ennis and Jack fight about, later in the movie, lighting a bonfire of scorched feeling in that famous 'I wish I knew how to quit you' scene...

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