"Belfast" is TIFF's choice. How far can it go with Oscar?

by Nathaniel R

going to the movies in "Belfast"

It's been strange to have gone without TIFF, my once favourite festival, for two years running. As a result i have yet to see Kenneth Branagh's Belfast which did not play at Venice though its Oscar buzz is now quite loud. It recently won TIFF's People's Choice Award which has long been a strong Oscar bellwether. We'd argue that that connection is less causal than reflective of a "similar taste profile", though. The type of people who go to huge and accessible film festivals are not unlike Oscar voters in that their tastes lean mainstream but mainstream under the now niche umbrella (sigh) of "also art"...

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Links: French Exit, Barb and Star, and More...

• Sundays with Cate Murtada on Michelle Pfeiffer in French Exit which has finally been released
• ...TFE and my own take in case you're finally seeing the movie (which I'm hoping to watch again very soon now that I'm acclimated as a huge fan of the novel)
• Vogue on Pfeiffer's expensive wardrobe in the picture
• THR "Searching for Shelley Duvall" -someone we missed this profile from Seth Abrahamovitch. Duvall, who has been absent from the public eye for years and years talks with him about fleeing Hollywood and The Shining.
• AV Club revisiting a musical number from Muppets Treasure Island that speaks to the now “Cabin Fever”
•  Coming Soon speaking of musical numbers. A new musical animated short called “Us Again” will premiere before Disney’s Raya and teh Last Dragon in its theatrical run next month.

More after the jump including Bridgerton news, Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, Frankenstein movies, and yet another remake of The Three Musketeers...

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Tweetweek: Lucas Hedges not a cinephile, Kirsten Dunst's mystique, Jamie Dornan clones

Can we talk about Lucas Hedges saying he'd never seen a Michelle Pfeiffer pfilm while promoting French Exit (finally "out" though that definition is so strange now) in which he plays her son?

Rescind his Oscar nomination pic.twitter.com/wuXVZm8g4T

— Nathaniel Rogers (@nathanielr) February 11, 2021

How is that even possible? Yes, he's just 24 but he's in the industry and she's made all kinds of movies in every genre from massive franchises to surprise blockbusters to indie darlings to cult favourites...

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Review: Endings, Beginnings

by Chris Feil

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, one of the past decade's best examinations of the messy terrain between mental health and romantic entanglements, hilariously gave us a number called "Sexy French Depression". Skewering the French New Wave aesthetic, the song (co-written by recently departed genius Adam Schlesinger) spoofed not only our outsized self-perceptions, but a wan glamorization of female depression in cinema. It’s a trope you’ve seen before and will see again.

That vibe is very much at play in Drake Doremus' new minor key film Endings, Beginnings, where Shailene Woodley suffers from an actually rather sexy but very Los Angeles depression. Woodley stars as art programmer Daphne, in a rut after a recent breakup sends her (back, apparently) to her sister's poolhouse as she tries to find a job between art club sessions with Kyra Sedgwick and performing R.E.M. at karaoke. Woodley is solid, but in Doremus' hands, the most cliche version of Los Angeles plays itself.

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Would you rather?

Since everyone is bored inside, let's fantasize about being quarantined with celebs. Would you rather...

• do a Ghibli jigsaw puzzle with Connor Jessup?
• dance with Pedro Pascal and Miguel Angel Silvestre?
• cook with Florence Pugh?
• foster a pet with Gilles Marini?
• cut Ted Danson's hair with Mary Steenburgen?
• devour a bottle of khilji with Deepika Padukone?
• skateboard with Liam Hemsworth? 
• get blue with Jamie Dornan?
• play with your food with Laura Dern? 
• self grooming with Leslie Jordan? 
• meditate with Marion Cotillard? 

Pictures are after the jump to help you decide...

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