Review: ‘Argylle’ is a Lot

By Abe Friedtanzer

I find that going into movies knowing as little as possible is always an advantage, though it can be difficult when something has a big budget and has been relentlessly advertised. Fortunately and perhaps miraculously, all I knew of Argylle before sitting down to watch was the tagline from the billboards I’ve seen plastered all over Los Angeles:

“The greater the spy, the bigger the lie.”

With those expectations, I imagined excess and entertainment, which this film sort of delivers…

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"Enola Holmes"

by our new Italian contributor Elisa Giudici

It's been a while since a Netflix film prompted me to write in my cinephile What's App group chat: "ok everybody, I have a fun movie to suggest." After the boring disappointments of The Devil All the Time and Project Power, after the unspeakable horrors I witnessed in The Last Days of American Crime, I confess I log in my Netflix account holding my breath. Enola Holmes brought a sigh of relief. Nothing life-changing, mind you, just a fun, entertaining movie that reimagines the canon of Sherlock Holmes, the classic of classics. Conan Doyle's detective is one of the few fictional characters who keeps getting adapted in fresh ways without ever wearing out his welcome. 

Giving Mycroft and Sherlock a little sister is not entirely new...

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Yes, No, Maybe So: Two new fantasies "His Dark Materials" and "The Witcher"

by new contributor Maggy Torres-Rodriguez

A few days ago, the earth went a little quieter as nerds all around the world paused their latest video game obsession to turn their attention over to the new Netflix trailer for The Witcher. The Polish novel series-turned-video-game-turned-Netflix show has raised all kinds of inquisitive eyebrows, especially at the notion of Henry Cavill taking on the role of Geralt de Rivia.  But HELLO, we welcome it. 

The Witcher brings forth all kinds of magic and lore and monsters, from wraiths to vampires to elves, in this deeply sophisticated world where beasts and humans are trying (or not trying) to coexist. And as per ugee, the most beastly monsters of all tend to be human...

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Beauty vs Beast: Tiger vs Dragon

Jason Adams from MNPP here, hoping against hope that Michelle Yeoh's name doesn't get lost among all the brand new Oscar contenders currently dominating our thoughts thanks to the ongoing Toronto Film Festival; they might be fresh playthings but Crazy Rich Asians as Nathaniel just reported is still dominating the box office, so let's keep Yeoh's heat going.

And what better way than to use this week's "Beauty vs Beast" glance back at her previous greatest role, that of the love-stricken bad-ass Yu Shu Lien in Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. She faced down an ignorant but loveable upstart that time around to, with Zhang Ziyi embodying all fiery desire as the thief and shit-kicker Jen Yu. 

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PREVIOUSLY Our Hammer vs Cavill battle kept itself pretty tight but Armie came out on top (I hear he's into that) with 52% of your vote - said Matt:

"Well, Armie Hammer wants to wrestle. So....yeah."

Beauty vs Beast: Say U.N.C.L.E.

Hello and happy Monday, it's Jason from MNPP with our weekly "Beauty vs Beast" experience - tomorrow is Armie Hammer's birthday, and I don't know if you guys saw but I was kind of a Call Me By Your Name fan. But don't worry - we're never going to make you choose between Elio and Oliver (especially not for Armie's birthday, since he'd most likely lose that one by a substantial margin). No let's take a look back at Armie's other great gay romance (that's what it was, right), Guy Ritchie's underrated 2015 film of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. And yes I know that technically Henry Cavill's Napoleon Solo & Armie's Illya Kuryakin were (reluctant) partners, but do we really think if I put the film's actual villain played with swan-necked gusto by Elizabeth Debicki anybody would be beating her? I thought not. So let's make this a contest...

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PREVIOUSLY Speaking of contests last week's Doubt-match was a bit of a doozy - over the course of the past seven days every time I checked on Amy Adams & Meryl Streep were about tied. But then what always happens happened - Meryl pulled ahead and stayed ahead and ended up with about 52% of the vote. Said Val:

"Does any of it matter once Viola Davis shows up, establishes her family's heartbreaking stakes, and commits grand theft movie all in under 10 minutes!? If nothing else Doubt should be appreciated as a rare moment where Streep seems knocked out by someone else's performance."