"Parasite" is the mashup of "Shoplifters" and "Burning" we never knew we wanted

by Lynn Lee

For a 132-minute Korean film that isn’t yet in wide release, Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite is already one of the most talked-about movies of the season, and for good reason.  Alas, most of the reasons can’t really be discussed without major spoilers – but that’s all the more incentive to see it as soon as it hits a theater near you.

When I saw it, I loved it, which I wasn’t necessarily expecting considering I hadn’t been a fan of either The Host or Snowpiercer, arguably the director's most popular films.  Despite its run time, Parasite is tighter than those films, and its tonal shifts and genre-melding smoother.  It's also more focused, its treatment of one of Bong’s favorite themes – class disparities – razor-sharp yet also oddly compassionate, ultimately condemning the system rather than any individual players.

Parasite, which took the Palme d’Or at Cannes this year, also felt to me like the deranged evil twin of last year’s Palme d’Or winner, Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Shoplifters...

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Downton Abbey: Style Ranking

By Cláudio Alves

Since its first season, Downton Abbey has been the delight of every costume drama fan. Starting in 1912 and ending in 1926, the show featured an astounding portrayal of changing styles. We all watched the characters go from Edwardian finery to the glamour of the 20s.

Every actor in the Downton Abbey movie is perfectly dressed by costume designer Anna Robbins. Sometimes the perfection is even a bit too emphatic  --no one ever looks even slightly rumpled! At the end of the day, though, this isn't a realistic view of the past but a romantic dream of a bygone era. For such nostalgic reveries, a bit of fairytale immaculateness isn't out of place. To celebrate such beauty, let's rank the Downton Abbey ladies, from worst to best dressed. For the sake of brevity and fairness, we're only looking at the upstairs crowd. It would be cruel to compare Mrs. Patmore's humble clothes to the literal crown jewels...

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Oscar History: Dame Maggie Smith

by Cláudio Alves

Younger audiences may know Dame Maggie Smith as Professor McGonagall and the sharp-tongued Countess of Grantham, but, before Downton Abbey and Harry Potter, she was already a British national treasure, having won two Oscars by 1979, with four additional nominations. This awards season, with the Dowager Countess promoted to the big screen, she might return to the Academy’s good graces.

Her Downton Abbey role has already proven an awards magnet with three Emmys and a Golden Globe. Maybe its popularity will translate to movie awards? 

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Podcast: Hustlers, Ad Astra, and More...

with Murtada Elfadl & Nathaniel R

 

Index (42 minutes)
00:01 Hustlers - lots and lots of Jennifer Lopez love for you, plus thoughts on Loren Scafaria, Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart, Constance Wu. Yes, we also talk Oscar buzz for JLo, which scenes Murtada wants to rewind again and again, and why Nathaniel was triggered.

25:00 Murtada gawks at Brad Pitty's beauty in Ad Astra while Nathaniel travels to Downton Abbey and marvels at Dame Maggie Smith's Oscar clip.

31:00 Best Supporting Actress chatter including Annette Bening in The Report

35:00 Recommendations from the New York Film Festival and which films are coming to regular theaters shortly after the festival: Pain & Glory and Parasite

40:00 Announcement: Murtada's new podcast "Sundays with Cate!" 

 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? 

JLo, Brad, Dame Maggie

Downton Abbey is a hit!

[NOW UPDATED WITH ACTUALS] Box office pundits thought it would be a tight battle for the crown this weekend but it wasn't. Downton Abbey trampled all over its competition with its army of butlers, ladies & ladymaids, footmen, and visiting royals. The chart is after the jump...

Weekend Box Office Sept 20th-22nd (ACTUALS) 🔺 = new or expanding / ★ = recommended
WIDE RELEASE (800+ screens)	PLATFORM TITLES
1 🔺 DOWNTON ABBEY $31 *new* ★	1  🔺 LINDA RONSTADT: SOUND... [DOC] $427k on 218 screens (cum. $1.6) REVIEW

2 🔺  AD ASTRA $19 *new* REVIEW ★	2 🔺 OFFICIAL SECRETS $249k on 482 screens (cum. $1.3) REVIEW

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