Saturday, September 16, 2017 at 12:18AM TIFF wraps up Sunday and since we'd like the last few pieces to be positive let's get some negativity out of the way. Here are two films which yours truly did not respond well to. One is certain to be trashed by critics and the other, though trashy, is being widely praised. But they're both bad.
Monday, September 11, 2017 at 5:15PM by Lynn Lee
Sneakers turns 25 today, and until last week I’d never seen it. Although it came out when I was of moviegoing age, it was barely on my radar. All I remembered of it later was that it was about hackers and maybe also spies and the NSA, and I tended to confuse it with Hackers (which I’d never seen either). My husband was amazed to learn this, having seen Sneakers more times than he could count, and said I had to see it. But wouldn’t it be awfully dated now, I wondered? He insisted it still held up, despite admitting he hadn’t seen it in a while. There was only one way to find out…
Sunday, August 27, 2017 at 7:26PM by Nathaniel R
One of the most satisfying moments of Emmy nomination morning was the contemporary costume nomination for Grace & Frankie. The Netflix sitcom starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin is hot off its third and best season. The writers and creative team seem to know the characters and their interpersonal dynamics, in and out at this point. That intimacy is abundanctly evidence in the terrific costuming. Until the television Academy split off their costume design category into period and contemporary, their was little opportunity for designers who specialize in contemporary clothing to be honored no matter how strong their work - exceptions like Sex and the City were all too rare.
I had the opportunity to discuss Grace & Frankie's worthy and vibrant work with its three nominees Allyson B Fanger the costume designer, Heather Pain, her assistant costume designer, and Lori DeLapp the costume supervisor. Their overlapping answers, despite their separate duties, and light ribbing over the abundance of statement piece jewelry worn by Frankie were ample evidence that they're totally in synch.
That's true whether or not their subjects Grace (Jane Fonda) and Frankie (Lily Tomlin) are seeing eye to eye in any given episode...
Wednesday, August 2, 2017 at 4:44PM This article was originally published in Nathaniel's column at Towleroad. It is reprinted here in a slightly extended edition.
It’s a special ‘Sister’s Are Doin’ It For Themselves’ double review with two female-driven hits.
Have you caught Girls Trip yet? I was one week late to the party after its hit opening weekend. When we looked around the theater this weekend my best friend was all “it’s 80% women of color and 20% gay men!” Truth! And perfect as target audiences go for an urban female comedy called Girls Trip. The crowd was boisterous, laughing their asses off throughout but also visibly feeling the '90s hiphop soundtrack and audibly praising the “message” moments in the movie.
The night before I saw Atomic Blonde and though I didn’t see anyone dancing in their seats, I was dancing on the inside with its killer 1980s new wave soundtrack...
Friday, July 28, 2017 at 2:30PM by Tim Brayton
As part of our celebration of the career of Charlize Theron, I'm revisiting the performance of hers that first made me clearly aware that here was a woman whose career would be worth keeping an eye on. Unfortunately, it's a crap film, one of the worst she's ever been in: I speak of the 2001 Woody Allen project The Curse of the Jade Scorpion, a sluggish, mirthless throwback to the screwball comedies of old that is, by some reports, Allen's own least favorite of his career. I can't quite bring myself to agree with that assessment, but it's certainly right down there near the bottom.
In fact, Theron's performance as bored, spoiled rich society woman Laura Kensington is easily the best thing about the film, if not indeed the only good thing about it, period. I'm very happy to report that her work holds up, even without the sense of newness...
