Podcast: Aquaman Into the Poppins-Verse

Nathaniel R and Murtada Elfadl and Chris Feil talk new films

Index (51 minutes)
00:01 Mary Poppins Returns, the songs, the costumes, the Blunt
20:17 James Wan bonkers vision of Aquaman, shirtlessness and the lack thereof, and the kick-ass fun Nicole Kidman is having as Aquamom
30:08 Returning to the Poppins-Verse for a moment 
33:20 Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and comic book style
40:40 Split opinions on Cold War but we all love the cinematography, music, and the performance of its leading actress Joanna Kulig
46:47 Murtada makes us talk about Beale Street... again.
49:45 Wrap-up

Further Reading / References
• Pawel Pawlikowski on KCRW's "The Business"
• Chris's review of Aquaman
• Yahya Abdul-Mateen underneath the "Black Manta" suit 
• Jason's review of Cold War
• Tim's review of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you? 

Into the Poppins-Verse

18 Beautiful Examples of Co-Star Chemistry in 2018

Year in review list mania each day. Here's Nathaniel...

This is our fourth year of highlighting that unpredictable spark between actors that can elevate a movie whether the movie is able to catch up or not (see previously installments for '15, '16 and '17, if you're so inclined).  If only we could bottle these formulas but the thing about great chemistry is that it can't ever be fully recreated even if old movies during the studio system teach us that the same pairing can at least generate similar energy again. Why Hollywood doesn't still try to repackage successful combos of actors (rather than just all the brand do-overs) remains an unsolved mystery 

Herewith the most beautifully realized relationship energy of the year...

18 [TIE] Ben Foster & Thomasin McKenzie, Leave No Trace 
AND Josh Hamilton & Elsie Fisher, Eighth Grade (Single Father/Teenage Daughter)
There's a lot to recommend in both films, two sleeper arthouse successes this year, but neither film would have the same emotional resonance without that authenticity of feeling in the central duet. Marvel at the way Hamilton looks at or speaks to Fisher, for example, perpetually impatient to be let in on her interior life, but also nervous about intruding on her journey and walling her off yet further. Equally impressive is the difficult balancing act McKenzie plays as both dutiful daughter and emotional caretaker for her troubled father, as she grows ever more restless to escape him without losing him. What a quartet of performances...

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EFA Nominations: Poland's "Cold War" Leads

by Nathaniel R

Joanna Kulig in "Cold War"

It was a big morning for Oscar hopefuls in the foreign language film category as a handful of them have been nominated for multiple European Film Awards. Pawel Pawlikowski, whose nun drama Ida won the Oscar a handful of years back, is leading the EFA field with his new music-filled drama Cold War, about a musician and singer in a long tragic love affair across Europe. It's nominated in 5 categories. The nearest rivals with 4 nominations each are Italy's Dogman, Sweden's Border, and Italy's Happy as Lazzaro (the only one not submitted for the Oscars). Two other Oscar submissions also had cause to celebrate: Denmark's police thriller The Guilty and Belgium's trans ballerina drama Girl were also nominated for a few awards. 

The complete list of nominations and a few more comments are after the jump...

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NYFF: Pawel Pawlikowski's Cold War

Jason Adams reporting from the New York Film Festival

Like Phantom Thread last year Pawel Pawlikowski's magnificently romantic and visually bewitching new film Cold War deals in the secret languages and strange understandings between true lovers - that no matter how hard it is on your soul and constitution that person sitting across the table is the one made for you and vice versa, and you might be the end of each other but you'll be each other's beginnings too...

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Q&A: Actors Who Should Be More Famous, Broadway Crossovers, and Animal Horror

Hello everyone!

Nathaniel, eternally cat-sittingWe haven't done a Q & A in so long so let's jump right in. In order to actually do these more often I'll answer just five or six questions at once. Hopefully this will stir up more focused comment parties, too!

PAR: Julianne Moore, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Annette Bening enter the thunderdome. Only one leaves. Who? - par

A: LOL! I hope you aren't being cruel and just making me sacrifice two of my all time favorites at the altar of, well, my Pfavorite. But if we're talking about cage matches in post-apocalypse desert landscapes my answer is The Bening. Moore would break down into crying jags in no time, becoming too vulnerable. Pfeiffer would seem like easy prey put up a very spirited and scary pfight but you know that The Bening is all wile and steel and surprise maneuvers. How else did she conquer Hollywood and Warren Beatty and continue to become even more incredible as an actress the older she got despite being brilliant right out of the gate?

STEVE G: What film out of Cannes 2018, that wasn't previously on your radar, are you most excited to see?

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