Streaming Review: Boss Level

by Ben Miller

 

Groundhog Day is becoming its own genre of film.  Groundhog Day as a horror film -> Happy Death Day.  Groundhog Day as a sci-fi war film -> Edge of Tomorrow.  Groundhog Day as an existential romantic comedy -> Palm Springs.  Joe Carnahan's Boss Level continues this new tradition as the violent action film edition. It does this while maintaining a fun tone and never crossing over into offensiveness.

Frank Grillo stars as Roy Pulver, a former special forces soldier who wakes up every morning with people trying to kill him...

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Q&A: Best Musicals, Pick of Ensemble Litter, Jamie Lee Curtis, Etc...

I promised a round of reader questions a couple of weeks back and here's the first round of answers. Ready? Let's go.

JAMES FROM AMES: Thoughts on the four musicals up for the Tony this year (editors note: TONIGHT)? What's your favorite musical from this century? 

Alas, I cannot answer part one of this question as I've only seen one of them (Groundhog Day) which I thought was very well staged with a sensational lead performance by Andy Karl but the best score nomination feels... let's say "generous". But we have reviewed a few of the nominated productions right here. Funds have been terribly tight this year so not much theater. The other part of the question is (slightly) easier to answer. The best new musicals of the new century... don't make me pick just one. My top 12 in alpha order since I couldn't decide which to jettison. I wish they could all be movies... or most of them, that is. If they already have a film adaptation they're marked with an asterisk.

The list and questions about Gosford Park, color vs black and white cinema, and more after the jump...

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Beauty vs. Beast: Evil Julianne & Evil Eddie

Jason is out of town so it falls on me to complete his Beauty vs. Beast duties this week. I cycled through so many possibilities before I succumbed to this fact: I spend at least 15 minutes of every day lately fantasizing that off camera  Julianne Moore and Eddie Redmaybe are reenacting mother/son Savage Grace sequences at all of their awards season campaign stops. In addition to being the frontrunners for Best Actress and Best Actor they also are the primary villains of two of this weekend's big poorly reviewed would be blockbusters that busted no blocks. So a twofer today, Savage Grace's psychotic beauty and murderous beast and Jupiter Ascending and The Seventh Son's Beauties who are also both Beasts.

Two Gingers, Twice. You've Got Two Votes. Go! 

poll by twiigs.com

poll by twiigs.com

You have one week to vote starting now!

LAST WEEK
Last time we looked to Groundhog Day and discovered we had more wintriness to endure. The battle of Phil Connor vs. Punxsutawney Phi is apparently doomed to repeat itself forever; you couldn't decide resulting in the second 50/50 split in this series history (the first and only other time was the Black Swan episode) 

Brookesboy summed up your wishywashiness this cycle

I started voting for little Phil because he's got better hair. But it was only a shadow of a doubt. Gotta go with Bill.

Beauty vs Beast: Winter Is (Still) Coming

Jason from MNPP here with another round of "Beauty vs Beast" -- this week we're headed to Gobbler's Knob (I still can't believe that's a real name of a real place) in the little town called Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, about an hour and a half outside of Pittsburgh, where the fate of our Winter lay in the balance. Well laid in the balance, that is - it's already been reported this morning that the world's furriest prognisicator this side of Sam Champion, the eternal Punxsutawney Phil, has seen his shadow and laid six more weeks of Winter upon us. Boo, Phil. Seeing as how I awoke to several fresh inches of slush this morning, I'm not terribly surprised by the forecast, but still. Boo, Phil.

Which brings me to what is maybe the greatest comedy ever made about the maybe dumbest holiday on the calendar: Harold Ramis' also-eternal 1993 Bill Murray comedy Groundhog Day, and this week's Battle of the Phils!

poll by twiigs.com

You've got one week - or one-sixth of the Winter that oh-so-wise woodchuck just dropped on us - to vote, so don't forget your booties it's cold outside and get to work.

PREVIOUSLY Two weeks back in the comments of the Blue Velvet contest TFE-reader Murtada pointed out that no actor had ever beaten an actress in any of these polls; well it's finally happened! It was close, but Paul Newman's Hud managed to shimmy his slim-hips to a six-percent win over Patricia Neal's Alma. Yeah he was a bastard, but... well, he was Paul Newman as a bastard, so it goes. Said San FranCinema:

"Newman, a great beauty no one took seriously until he surprised them all by becoming a great actor, always gets my vote."

April Showers: Bill Murray's Bad Day

waterworks weeknights at 11

Robert (writer of Distant Relatives) here, sitting in for Nathaniel, with an April Showers entry. Every have a really terrible day you just want to end? Turns out Bill Murray's legendary curmudgeon Phil Connors is having one of those days. So what to do?

Retreat.

Take a hot shower.

very hot.

too hot!

It's a seemingly throw-away gag, but actually epitomizes why I think I love Groundhog Day more each time I watch it (and I've watched it many times now).

Yes, even Phil Connors' attempt to relax goes wrong. His day sucks. You don't blame him for blowing off the Groundhog Dinner just a scene earlier (though you do blame him for being a jerk about it). And you don't realize yet that going to the dinner-engaging with life rather than avoiding it, was the right thing for him to do.

Dang, if only he had it to do over again.