TV Musicals: Schmigadoon (Apple TV+) & Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies (Paramount+)

By Christopher James

TV is embracing the musical. Just this week, two new musical series premiered on different streaming services - season two of Schmigadoon (now tackling 60s/70s darker musicals) on Apple TV+ and Grease: The Rise of the Pink Ladies on Paramount+. Both series use previous musical IP as a launching pad for new stories, one a parody and one an “origin story.” While the level of success varies between the shows (hell, sometimes it varies episode-to-episode), it is wonderful to see new musicals with original songs streaming on our TVs in the same week...

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Reader's Choice: Don't let 'Dick' run your life!

Each weekend Nathaniel is looking at a movie that you, the readers, chose the previous week.

Arlene: What's the deal with that Watergate thing. Do you know anything about it?
President Nixon: No, no. No no no. Absolutely nothing. I don't know a thing. No way, Jose.

Dear readers, I struggled with finding time for Dick this week. I recall mostly loving Dick in the late 90s/early 00s even though the quality of it definitely varies. But you demanded I spend some time with Dick so I finally did this weekend. It turns out it's especially delightful in the morning.

Everything you've just read is jokey but true (literally and figuratively) and if you found it annoying, then Andrew Fleming's Dick (1999) is probably not the movie for you...

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Chaplin vs. Keaton vs. Lloyd

by Cláudio Alves

Today marks a century since Harold Lloyd delivered his most legendary work to movie theaters. Safety Last! is a silent comedy classic, featuring such riveting stunts as the famous climax that finds our hero hanging from a clock. Though no other Lloyd picture has a comparable legacy, the man's filmography is a treasure trove for slapstick lovers with an inclination for bespectacled hunks. If you have any doubts, jump over to the Criterion Channel, where a new 42-title collection showcases the man's work from the late 1910s to the advent of sound and 1936's Milky Way. If you're not entertained, see a doctor, stat.

But of course, maybe Lloyd's not your preferred flavor of silent comedy. Amid the classic loving community, it seems everyone has a favorite from the three big names that defined Hollywood slapstick and continue to live in the public imagination. So, because this is a day for foolishness, why not indulge in pot-stirring drama and futile competition? Between Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd, who's your pick? Maybe it's…

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In defense of Jamie Lee Curtis

by Cláudio Alves

Yes, I know that title is ridiculous. After all, nepo baby extraordinaire Jamie Lee Curtis just achieved the highest form of recognition in her industry, winning the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award after having already nabbed a SAG in the same category. Moreover, Everything Everywhere All At Once, the film she's been championing ever since it premiered at last year's SXSW, became a sweeping sensation, our latest Best Picture champion. And yet, if you love the actress or have some fondness for her performance, social media has proved a hostile environment. It started way before the Oscar nominations when the possibility of Curtis making the lineup to Stephanie Hsu's detriment angered multitudes…

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Review: "80 For Brady" is a winning comedy

by Matt St Clair

Good timing! 80 For Brady is opening the week before the Super Bowl but it's also opening in the thick of Oscar season, the Super Bowl for movie lovers.  Making it feel yet more timely is the fact that its main quartet consists entirely of actresses with Oscar pedigree. As unlikely as it is that this’ll make any dent next year at this time, 80 For Brady is still a winning comedy...

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