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)..."

25th Anniversary: Alien 3 - the theatrical cut vs. the assembly cut

Tim here. With Alien: Covenant opening to #1 over the weekend, it's fortuitous timing that today marks the 25th anniversary of Alien³.  The 1992 sci-fi thriller is probably best-known today for two reasons: introducing music video director David Fincher to the world of theatrical features, and knocking all the shine off of the Alien franchise for the first time (and alas! not the last).

 Underperforming at the box office, and outright flopping with critics, Alien³ has never since recovered its reputation; if time has been kind to it, it's only because at least we can now say, "well, at least it's not as bad as Alien: Resurrection"...

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David Fincher Enlists For "World War Z 2"

Chris here. Looks like the sequel to 2013 surprise megahit (and famously troubled production) World War Z is finally a go - and just landed some major directorial heft. After many rumors of star Brad Pitt's wooing the director were shrugged off, David Fincher is signing on to the film. 

Already some Fincher fans and stuffy types are turning up their noses at the news, but it is a potentially inspired choice...

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Valentine's - Gone Girl

Team Experience is celebrating Valentines Day with favorite love scenes. Here's Chris...

Let’s not allow the roses of Valentine’s Day to let some thorny romances go unnoticed. For all its shocks and grisly goings-on, Gone Girl is still something of a morbid romance - if you can get past the extremity (ya know, like murder) to see its proposition that successful relationships require big compromise. And also that a relationship can’t expect to keep up its picturesque beginnings.

Take Amy and Nick’s rose-colored glasses moment: in a literal haze of sweetness, the two exchange a kiss, Nick grazing her lips in a distinctive cool move. It’s a sexy and definitive moment, one that defines what their love will forever chase when things get much more difficult.

The memory of the confectionary kiss is almost too good to be true, certainly at least too “perfect” to maintain. When Amy sees Nick recreate this with his mistress, it isn’t just a betrayal of fidelity but of the veneer they had created together, a moment she thought was theirs alone. She recounts this (a version, at least) to Lola Kirk’s shifty confidant with such reverence as to reveal more of Amy’s storytelling abilities, but a true genuine love for Nick as well. Amy’s sociopathy means she plays with a different language in expressing her affection, one that requires mining through terrible deeds to understand but is there all the same. Interpret Nick’s decision to stay together as you must, but their twisted game isn’t without actual love.

What's your favorite twisted love story?