Gloria Steinem to be played by Carey Mulligan and Julianne Moore

by Murtada

2018 might become the year of Gloria Steinem at the movies. We’ve already told you about Dee Rees’ plans to make a film about the feminist movement’s fight to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, An Uncivil War. The project has lead parts for Steinem, activist Flo Kennedy and fundamentalist organizer Phyllis Schlafly. Rees has decided to continue collaborating with her Mudbound star Carey Mulligan and cast her as Steinem.

Director Julie Taymor (Frida, Across the Universe) and Playwright Sarah Ruhl will adapt Steinem’s memoir My Life on The Road. Their choice for the lead part is Julianne Moore. It looks like the Rees/Mulligan project will go before the cameras first, in March 2018. The Taymor/Moore film is still at the writing stage.

There is no reason why both movies could not be successful as they're telling different stories. One is about a particular moment in time with Steinem as one of three protagonists. The other centers squarely on her and is based on her memoir. Which of the two interests you more and why?

Yes No Maybe So: "Phantom Thread"

by Ben Miller

Paul Thomas Anderson's latest joint, Phantom Thread, has him collaborating for a second time Daniel Day-Lewis (who is reportedly retiring following this film). The Christmas release follows the true story of 1950s London fashion designer Reynolds Woodcock.  Tagging along are his muse Alma (Vicky Krieps) and his sister (Lesley Manville).

After a long long wait, the first poster and the trailer have arrived. See them after the jump as we nail down the Yes, No, and Maybe So of it all…

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What did you see this weekend?

by Nathaniel R

Weekend Box Office (October 13th-15th)
W I D E 800+ screens	L I M I T E D excluding prev. wide
1. 🔺 HAPPY DEATH DAY  $26.5 new	1.🔺 THE FLORIDA PROJECT $401k on 33 screens (cum. $623k) REVIEW 1, REVIEW 2
2. BLADE RUNNER 2049 $15.1 (cum. $60.5) REVIEW | SHORTS | "BESTS"	2. TIL DEATH DO US PART $319k on 400 screens (cum. $3.2)
3. 🔺 THE FOREIGNER  $12.8 new	3. THE STRAY $300k on 430 screens (cum. $1.2)
4. IT  $6 (cum. $314.9) REVIEW | 5 TAKEAWAYS	4. A QUESTION OF FAITH $155k on 228 screens (cum. $2.1)
5. 🔺  THE MOUNTAIN BETWEEN US $5.6 (cum. $20.5) REVIEW	5. 🔺 AMERICAN SATAN $132k on 55 screens new
6. AMERICAN MADE  $5.4 (cum. $40.1)	6. 🔺 MARK FELT $123k on 89 screens (cum. $257k)
7. KINGSMAN 2  $5.3 (cum. $89.6)	7. STRONGER $115k on 174 screens (cum. $4) REVIEW
8. LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE  $4.3 (cum. $51.5)	8. JUDWAA 2 $110k on 106 screens (cum. $1.4)
9. MY LITTLE PONEY  $4 (cum. $15.5)	9. 🔺 GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN $55k on 9 screens new
10. 🔺 VICTORIA & ABDUL  $3.1 (cum. $11.3) REVIEW	10. HUMAN FLOW $47k on 3 screens new
🔺 = new or significant expansion numbers (in millions unless otherwise noted) from box office mojo

It was a rough weekend for awards hopefuls that weren't named Victoria & Abdul. Dame Dench's new vehicle moved into the top ten in its fourth weekend when it finally went wide. Other movies seeking adult audiences had a rougher go of it. The biopics Marshall and Professor Marston & The Wonder Women both opened outside of the top ten despite plentiful screens. (I took in Professor Marston and though it's a niche subject, it's surprisingly good with yet another excellent performance from the ever reliable Rebecca Hall.) More biographical awards hopefuls Goodbye Christopher Robin and Breathe also failed to attract much interest in their platform debuts. It's a tough world out there for non-genre titles that would like adults to go to the movies again!

The weekend's best per screen averages went to the documentary Human Flow and A24's The Florida Project which added 29 screens in its second weekend. WHAT DID YOU SEE THIS WEEKEND?

Review: Jake Gyllenhaal gets "Stronger"

by Eric Blume

Have patience watching director David Gordon Green’s film Stronger, which captures real-life Boston native Jeff Bauman (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) as he’s caught in the 2013 Marathon bombing.  After a rickety start, Green relaxes into a nice rhythm and delivers an almost extinct creature: a true adult movie drama.

The first few scenes of Stronger come on a little, ahem, strong.  They’re written to show what a great guy Bauman is (he cuts out from work so he and his lucky beer can help the Red Sox win, he stands up for his gay boss), and Green has all the actors pushing too hard.  The initial scene where we meet Bauman’s family (including mom Miranda Richardson and girlfriend Tatiana Maslany) in a bar reeks of Boston cliché.  It’s a very tricky thing, honestly capturing that lower-middle-class Beantown language and attitude, and Green overplays his hand in this and several other early scenes.  The energy is overly commercial, and the movie gets off to an uneasy start.

But once the big sequence begins, where Bauman loses his legs in the terrible terrorist attack, Green begins observing smaller details, and starts scoring...

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Review: Darren Aronofsky's "mother!"

This review contains mild spoilers from the first half of the film since everything is essentially a spoiler given the cryptic promotions. The review was previously published in Nathaniel's column at Towleroad. 

“Baby?” is the first line spoken in Darren Aronofsky’s new film mother!  but not its first image. The film begins with a defiant girl burning in a house consumed by fire. Javier Bardem collects a gem from the ashes. He places it on a shelf with other less brilliant but similar gems and we watch as the house restores itself from blackened ash. What to make of this rebirth… or is it a timelapse reversal of the destruction? Are we seeing the future or the past?

Cut to Jennifer Lawrence, waking up suddenly in bed. Where is her husband?

Baby?

While Lawrence is the star she’s a cypher-like presence in this particular film (new for her) a mostly passive figure to whom the action happens... We learn very little about her marriage besides the fact that he is a writer and she spends her time restoring their massive home.

Then a knock on the door…

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