Beauty vs Beast: Sisterly Sensibilities

Jason from MNPP here using this week's "Beauty vs Beast" to wish a happy birthday to one of our favorite directors, the great Ang Lee. In a strange coincidence I spent some of this weekend talking Ang on Twitter even though I hadn't realized it was about to be his birthday today, so I'd say Fate chose this week's contest. And because more than anything a battle between actresses livens you folks up, let's face down the Sisters Dashwood of Ang's 1995 classic Sense & Sensibility.

And no before anyone asks I don't think Kate Winslet or Emma Thompson to be beastly in any manner. But seeing as the film itself pits their two ways of existing at odds with one another for the majority of its run-time (only to eventually decide, with fine wisdom, that the sisters could clearly stand to learn a little from one another) it doesn't seem completely far-fetched to pitch them against one another here. They are, for all their adoration of one another, each other's main antagonists once the who's who of romance falls away.

PREVIOUSLY Even though Angela Lansbury's original Manchurian Candidate performance won somewhat decisively over Meryl Streep's in the remake (she took 74% of the vote) it was a real battle in the comments. Said Jono:

"I am surprised this never came up before. I voted for Meryl because Angela will get more votes, and I love both performances. The Demme version is kind of underrated - everyone in it is uniformly great. But the original with Angela is impeccable."

Beauty vs Beast: Political Animals

Jason from MNPP here with this week's "Beauty vs Beast" where we are wishing the grand Dame Angela Lansbury a happy 92nd birthday today! It's difficult to believe we still have an entire year before Rob Marshall's Mary Poppins Returns film comes out (Xmas 2018) but we're still hoping, as we did when she was cast, that Landsbury's got something lovely to work with in the film - we don't get to see her on-screen nearly as often as we'd like to.

But she's such a legend... how could I possibly find someone to compete? Well "somebody" already had the gumption to do it herself - in 2004 a working actress by the name of Meryl Streep tackled Lansbury's still delightfully against-type turn in the remake of The Manchurian Candidate. So let's put these two ladies in a room and see which one walks out...

PREVIOUSLY Did everybody watch Mindhunter over the weekend? I did not so don't say anything if you did. But feel free to share your thoughts on last week's decision on David Fincher's original serial-killer vision Se7en, in which y'all chose Brad Pitt over Kevin Spacey 57 to 42%. That needs explaining! Said Huh:

"Spacey gets a lot of hate nowadays but anyone who thinks Brad’s performance here is better and adds more to the film than Spacey’s is nuts."

Beauty vs Beast: Original Sinners

Jason from MNPP here. It is October when a young man's fancy will turn to cable-knit cardigans and exquisitely plotted murder schemes, but it's more specific this week than the usual - tomorrow night the New York Film Festival is screening the premiere episode of David Fincher's Mindhunter series (which stars Jonathan Groff as an early FBI profiler) and then on Friday The Snowman (Tomas Alfredson's film starring Michael Fassbender as Detective Harry Hole - yes really - on the trail of a Frosty-fixated killer) comes out. And so what better time to transport "Beauty vs Beast" back to the wet streets of an anonymous city on the brink in Fincher's film Se7en...

PREVIOUSLY I assume some of y'all saw Blade Runner 2049 this weekend (fewer than anticipated though!) and have opinions, but last week you shared your opinion on the original film, and while it bounced back and forth over the course of the week it was Daryl Hannah's Pris who finally squeezed the life out of Deckard with those glorious calves once and for all, taking just under 55% of the vote. Said kermit_the_frog:

"Daryl Hannah showed such promise (I'd argue that she has, unfortunately, never bettered this performance - admittedly, a high bar was set)..."

Beauty vs Beast: Dreaming of Electric Sheep

Jason from MNPP here... or am I? Is this me? Am I here? So many existential questions here on the eve of the release of Blade Runner 2049 this weekend and all I have is a "Beauty vs Beast" poll to face them down with. Y'all gotta help me suss it out! Are we a Deckard (Harrison Ford) or are we a Pris (Daryl Hannah)? And is this the version of life with the voiceover and the unicorns or isn't it? I am so confused...

PREVIOUSLY Last week we wished David Lynch's Eraserhead a happy 40th birthday, and in a delightfully close contest you came down on the side of the pulsating little baby pod thing - a testament to a special effect that Lynch himself steadfastly refuses to label as such, I'd say. Said Nick T:

"Baby, because I asked my dad if he resonated with Henry's parental struggles raising me and he gave me a look that said I was still making him struggle."

Beauty vs Beast: Listen to the Lady in the Radiator

Jason from MNPP here -- this Thursday David Lynch's cult masterpiece Eraserhead is marking its 40th anniversary! 40 years have passed and I still haven't seen anything like it. Even among Lynch's work it still feels singular - you know how there's the blue key in Mulholland Drive that opens the little box? Sometimes I feel like Eraserhead is the blue key. Everything flows through it. It's his beautiful brain's Rosetta Stone, but good luck deciphering it. Anyway let's celebrate the film with this week's round of "Beauty vs Beast" shall we...

PREVIOUSLY You guys gave James Marsden a very happy birthday week, giving his Enchanted performance a whopping 85% against Patrick Dempsey's. That's one of the soundest beatings I think we've ever had. Said PoliVamp:

"Prince Edward all the way. He's so enthusiastically sincere that, even if the sex was terrible, he'd still find someway to make sure you enjoyed it."