Nicole Kidman Tribute: Malice (1993)

by Mark Brinkerhoff

The early ‘90s were a peculiar period in the ascendant career of young Nicole Kidman. Hot off her breakthrough in Dead Calm (1989), Hollywood poached her quickly, (mis)casting her in a series of prominent but mostly forgettable, largely thankless roles—from Days of Thunder (1990) and Billy Bathgate (1991) to Far and Away (1992) and My Life (1993). In between, her real claim to fame (for a time) was bagging Hollywood’s biggest star, not necessarily popping on screen. Or at least that’s how I viewed her in the fall of 1993, when the Harold Becker-directed, Aaron Sorkin-penned Malice was released in theaters…

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I Wanna Link With Somebody

• Vanity Fair Jamie Lee Curtis answers the Proust questionnaire
• Esquire Candid interview with Josh Charles who talks his HBO show We Own This City as well as delivering Aaron Sorkin's dialogue in the past
• EW Ewan McGregor and Mary Elizabeth Winstead got married over the weekend
• Slate on the sexual landscape of TV at the moment. interesting take

Viola Davis, Singin' in the Rain, The Northman, CinemaCon and more after the jump...

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Oscar Volley: Who knew that Best Original Screenplay would so divide us?

Our Oscar Volleys continue with  Eric Blume, Baby Clyde, and Gabriel Mayora with surprising confessions, hot takes, and unexpected sentiment.

Eric Blume:  I suspect we have three locks for nominations in this category: Paul Thomas Anderson for Licorice Pizza, Kenneth Branagh for Belfast, and Adam McKay for Don't Look Up!  I am a colossal fan of PTA, but it makes me sad to think he could finally win his Oscar for one of his weaker pictures.  I am mystified by the rave reaction to Licorice Pizza, which is wonderful in patches, but the screenplay is so meandering and fails to culminate in anything dramatically. Plus, it's a genre we've seen hundreds of times. PTA is able to bring his directorial dazzle to it, but as a script, it's severely undercooked.  I do think Don't Look Up! has a magnificent setup for a comedy, but the jokes are flabby and tepid, and it's not exactly razor sharp in terms of structure or dialogue.  The script just kind of lays there.  Of the three, I think Branagh's script is the strongest: it indeed does culminate in something dramatically, plus it's tight and contained, and captures the Irish humor dead-on. 

Belfast is no masterpiece, but it feels true, has some vivid characterizations, and Branagh finds a good balance between how the personal and political flow over each other.  What are your feelings on these three contenders?

Baby Clyde: I disliked Licorice Pizza immensely...

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Podcast: Being Macbeth's Lost Daughter (Who Has No Time To Die)

Nick and Nathaniel reunion part two (of three!). This past weekend we had a mammoth talk trying to cover everything we've been catching up with or watching again. So we've split this podcast into two. Apologies that it ends on an ellipses but we live in franchise culture so you're used to it by now!

62 minutes
00:01 Indie critical darling Test Pattern
07:40 The ensemble work in Mass with a shout-out to Martha Plimpton's revelatory work
15:50 Admiring The Tragedy of Macbeth ...especially Kathryn Hunter
24:20 Nick is obsessed with The Lost Daughter and tells us why. We particularly dig into Maggie Gyllenhaal's direction and how hot smart people are
42:00 An unexpected defense (albeit with several reservations) of Being the Ricardos. We both love Nicole Kidman in it (sorry haters) but we wish Aaron Sorkin would stop directing his own stuff
49:23 No Time To Die... franchise culture, changing times, and the Daniel Craig era.
1:01:30 To be continued...

You can listen to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify or download the attachment below. If you missed our previous recent discussion covering a full dozen 2021 movies, that's here. 

Being Macbeth's Lost Daughter

Almost There: Jessica Chastain in "Molly's Game"

by Cláudio Alves

Nicole Kidman just won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama for her work in Aaron Sorkin's third feature as a director, Being the Ricardos. In truth, most of the writer turned writer/director's projects have garnered awards attention, so this win shouldn't be surprising. The first two movies he directed Trial of the Chicago 7 and Molly's Game earned Sorkin Oscar nominations for writing. His 2017 directorial debut, Molly's Game has another connection to the current awards season. Since Zero Dark Thirty earned her a Best Actress nod, Jessica Chastain has tried to return to the Academy's good graces but it hasn't yet happened. This year, The Eyes of Tammy Faye could end her Oscar dry spell.

As we wait for nomination morning, let's look back at Chastain's performance in Sorkin's gambling drama as the real-life character, Molly Bloom…

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