Soundtracking: Hustlers

by Chris Feil

“This is a story about control...”

Lorene Scafaria’s Hustlers begins by brilliantly underlining its thesis through the musical vessel of Janet Jackson. The film is a story about control, of reclaiming it in a workforce that tries to take it from you, and ultimately of losing it. But the film is also about female power and shoving back against an oppressive system, all of this embodied in the pop perfection prowess of Jackson herself. Hustlers may be the most slamming pop soundtrack of the year, but it’s also deployed with similar subtextual wisdom. The hits keep coming, but they also reinforce Scarfaria’s examination of feminine defiance with a razor specific period detail.

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Soundtracking: Bridesmaids

by Chris Feil

“Hold On” by Wilson Phillips ends Bridesmaids on a high note, both soaring the film to its crowd-pleasing crest and underlining the emotional depths of what we’ve just watched. Yes it’s a film about women leaning on eachother for support in crucial moments, but it’s also about the journey out of isolation. But even with all of the pathos, it’s still an upbeat experience. You couldn’t pin a more appropriate song on the feeling that the film conjures, or for its central journey.

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Lord of the Tweets

Fiona Apple always knew. pic.twitter.com/8tZZJ0FSsH

— Chris Crocker (@ChrisCrocker) August 29, 2017

A sobering reminder before we hit a sillier survey of most amusing tweets o' the week. Topics include but are not limited to: Tulip Fever mania, Laura Dern action figures, mother! enthusiasms, that stupid news that there's going to be an all female Lord of the Flies movie (that doesn't even make sense -- women aren't that stupid!), Judith Light, Ridley Scott and more. It's all after the jump...

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Today in Film History. Meow

It's Father's Day. Happy Father's Day. It's also Juneteenth. The day in which the nation commemorates the end of slavery in the mid 1860s (though like most holidays the actual timeline involves several days and months and years and lots of political manuevering -- see Lincoln and be reminded what a mess governing and policy making and constitutional debates always are). June 19th has another history civil rights event in 1964 with the passing of the Civil Rights Act (see Selma) so exercize your right to vote in November. People are always trying to deny people that right, and if everyone voted, we'd be in such better shape. Now on to cinema...

On this day in history as it relates to the movies...

Good god, woman. Let it go.1865 Dame May Whitty, two time Oscar nominee is born in Liverpool. Remember her all caps obsession with winning that damn flower contest in Mrs Miniver? 
1905 The first Nickelodeon (an early form of the movie theater) opens in Pittsburgh. By 1910 there are thousands of them and an estimated 26 million Americans visit them weekly. Can you imagine how popular film blogs would be - sniffle. The movies shown in them get longer and longer...

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'Red, red, red, red, red now...What am I gonna do'

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