Another Round of Links

• Scandinavia and the World makes a little joke about Denmark's Oscar winner Another Round
• Welp Magazine lists the 20 best Film podcasts of 2021. So sweet (and a surprise) that they included us.
• Variety Timothée Chalamet to play the young Willy Wonka in yet another origin movie/prequel to a popular film. (Sigh. we're so tired of fan-fiction as mainstream fiction. Mystery and using your own imagination is what makes so many classic characters great!)

More after the jump including new projects for Debra Messing, Lindsay Lohan, Yorgos Lanthimos, Sara Ramirez, and a win for Michelle Pfeiffer...

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Streaming Review: Boss Level

by Ben Miller

 

Groundhog Day is becoming its own genre of film.  Groundhog Day as a horror film -> Happy Death Day.  Groundhog Day as a sci-fi war film -> Edge of Tomorrow.  Groundhog Day as an existential romantic comedy -> Palm Springs.  Joe Carnahan's Boss Level continues this new tradition as the violent action film edition. It does this while maintaining a fun tone and never crossing over into offensiveness.

Frank Grillo stars as Roy Pulver, a former special forces soldier who wakes up every morning with people trying to kill him...

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Yes No Maybe So: Mortal Kombat (2021)

by Ben Miller

Since 1993, production studios have tried again and again to adapt a video game for movie audiences and again and again they have failed.  Some of these films have been dumb fun (Angelina Jolie’s Tomb Raider), some have been seriously-minded disasters (Assassin’s Creed), while others have been financially viable misfires (Warcraft) or just outright catastrophes (Super Mario Bros.).

Paul W.S. Anderson tried his hand at it with 1995’s Mortal Kombat to the tune of $122 million worldwide.  Warner Bros, producer James Wan and director Simon McQuoid will try again with the aptly titled Mortal Kombat (2021 version).  The new red-band trailer just dropped, so let’s do a round of Yes, No, Maybe So...

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Interview: Makeup artist Denise Kum on working with Gong Li and Mulan's epic battles

by Nathaniel R

Gong Li and Denise Kum on the set of Mulan

Mulan may have been released in September but some of its most memorable looks -- battle scarred villains, matchmaking painted faces, Gong Li's masked face and taloned hands, and Mulan's hair flowing in battle -- are still remarkably easy to conjure up with great clarity months later. We were thrilled to speak with its gifted makeup artist Denise Kum about her career and work on the Disney epic.

We spoke over Zoom while she was in Prague completing work on a World War II drama called Operation Mincemeat before diving into full fantasy with Amazon's forthcoming series The Wheel of Time based on Robert Jordan's bestsellers. Kum's work stretches from lush period pieces, through grounded dramas, to high fantasy and superhero franchises. She likes to genre hop. One consistent throughline in her work, though, is her frequent collaborators. "I've worked with Niki since I was very young," she says with obvious love for Mulan's director Niki Caro. Mulan was also a reunion with the costume designer Bina Daigeler who she's known for years and production Designer Grant Major "I've know him since I was, god, 18 or 19. He's actually the godfather of one of my daughters." This tight-knit filmmaking family's shorthand was helpful on Mulan though she's quick to add that "That's an unnatural situation for a film of this scale."

[this interview has been edited for length and clarity]

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Review: Wonder Woman 1984

By Lynn Lee

Heading into this strange winter holiday season, Wonder Woman 1984 faces a daunting double challenge even for one of the world’s most iconic superheroes.  First, as a movie, does it live up to the widely acclaimed first Wonder Woman?  Second, will its performance – by whatever metrics apply in COVID times – justify Warner Bros’ decision to release the movie simultaneously in theaters and on its newly controversial streaming platform HBOMax?

The jury’s still out on the second question, but the answer to the first, alas, is no.  Wonder Woman 1984 is a mess.  Despite that fact, it’s also surprisingly enjoyable, due to the charisma of its cast and residual goodwill from its 2017 predecessor.  But as the movie that may shape the future not only of the Wonder Woman franchise but of movies as we know them, it’s a worryingly slender reed to bear such pressure...

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