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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Review: Monster Hunter

by Tony Ruggio

2020 has been a prolific year for monster movies, be they funny and romantic (Love & Monsters), purely for kids (A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting), or in the case of Monster Hunter, mindless action. Paul W.S. Anderson (Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil) returns to the other genre that made him, the genre he never really left: video game adaptations. He and wife Milla Jovovich are the king and queen of them, if there can be such a thing for the seemingly accursed genre.

Folks, including myself, keep saying they’re the next big thing in Hollywood after superhero movies, and while valiant attempts have been made, even when talented people are aboard (Jake Gyllenhaal in Prince of Persia, Justin Kurzel and Fassy/Cotillard in Assassin’s Creed), they don't pan out. Like all the rest, Monster Hunter ain’t exactly the ticket to Hollywood genre royalty...

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The Strange Pleasures of "Strange Days"

by Cláudio Alves

In a future that's now our past, Strange Days tells a beguiling and disturbing tale of addiction and police brutality. Kathryn Bigelow's most most ambitious project to date, at least at the level of form and theme, opened in movie theaters twenty-five years ago today. Mixing social commentary with action excitement, insane feats of camera choreography, and feverish performances, the movie's a testament to its director's skill even if it wasn't the title that won her the Oscar. It's also a heady thrill ride that's out to dazzle the spectator, to shock them and galvanize too. Pleasure and violence are forever intertwined in this dream of celluloid.

The setting is Los Angeles on New Year's Eve, 1999, and the air is suffused with the threat of revolt. Strange Days, which opened in movie theaters on this very day in '95, posits a near future where technological advancements have made it possible to record and share memories...

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Yes No Maybe So: Jessica Chastain and the "355"

by new contributor Josh Bierman

The 355 is a new action film starring a host of bad ass international superstars set for a January 2021 release. If we’re being honest, when I first saw Sponcon for this on my Instagram, I was 100% certain that this was a short film for Lancôme or Chanel starring their brand ambassadors. Turns out it’s a real life feature length film! Huzzah for female-fronted action movies. Let’s take a deep dive into the trailer...

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