Review: Dark and Tired Phoenix

This review was previously published in Nathaniel's column at Towleroad...

Don't they have any healing and creative rejuvenation among the super-powered mutations at Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Children? If so they needed them to lay their hands on this franchise for a few years before making another bungled attempt at the beloved Dark Phoenix storyline (from the 1980 comic books) within this movie franchise's 19 movie years. But that's a rhetorical question. If Dark Phoenix (2019) is indication, mutations cannot save this franchise.

When we return to our characters, much has changed since our last visit. Which is fine since who wants to be reminded of X-Men Apocalypse? The X-Men are now no longer shunned by society but held up as heroes. Professor Xavier (James McAvoy, phoning this one in... but then who isn't?) has a direct phone to the White House, like a Batman / Commissioner Gordon sitch on steroids. Their first mission, which serves as kind of a second prologue to the over and underwritten film, is making Raven (Jessica Lawrence) nervous for some underwritten/performed reason...

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Would you rather?

It's time to play our favourite time wasting Instagram game (an elaborate excuse to share 10-12 fav celebrity social media posts of the week). So, WOULD YOU RATHER...

• do the can-can in Paris with Jessica Chastain and Sophie Turner?
• do research on Elvis with Baz Luhrmann?
• take a hot ride with Zoe Saldana?
• test perfume mixes with Michelle Pfeiffer? (It's called "layering")
• sip on Shah Rukh Khan in Dubai?
• kiss a llama with Daryl Hannah?
• go plant shopping with Jake Choi?
• have lunch with Marvel's superwomen? 
• count it down with Madonna & Meluma? 
• get beautiful with Judy Greer? 
• eat skittles with Carrie Preston? 
• shower with Channing Tatum? 

Pictures are after the jump to help you decide.

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Beauty Break: One Last Golden Globes Ogle

 

Good Morning! We hope you enjoyed our Globe coverage if you missed any of the pieces here they all are:

• Globe Night: the Review
• How did Sandra Oh & Andy Samberg do?
• Globe-to-Oscar Stats
• Fashions Pt 1
• Fashions Pt 2
• Team Reactions: Fantasy Tables and Other Silliness
• The Presenters, Ranked
• Jeff Bridges Tribute
• Glenn Close's Acceptance Speech
• Dr Don Shirley vs Freddie Mercury
• Fun Globe Tweets

To close it all out, here's a collection of great photos from Globes night and presumably the wee hours of Monday as well that you might not have seen. Celebrities are pretty. Click if you agree...

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Big Beautiful Losers

by Jason Adams

Have y'all been keeping an eye on the ever-ballooning cast of cool cats that've joined the It sequel? This week brought one of the names that's made me the happiest - Jess Weixler, star of Teeth and Jessica Chastain BFF, has joined It: Chapter II to play the wife of Bill Denbrough, aka the leader of the "Losers Club" who will be played by James McAvoy in the sequel. (Chastain herself is playing grown-up Bev, the lone girl in the Losers.) We've been clamoring for good stuff for Weixler ever since she wowed hard with Teeth in 2007 but even though she's worked steadily she's remained under-the-radar. The role of Bill's wife will probably definitely still under-exploit her talents, but it'll be good to have her around all the same.

Anyway back in September Chris asked y'all to offer up casting suggestions for the adult versions of the first film's kids and y'all actually got some names right in the comments! Pat yourselves on the back! The rest of the cast besides Chastain & McAvoy (Eleanor Rigby reunion in the house) are as follows: Bill Hader is Richie, James Ransone is Eddie (that one's my favorite), Jay Ryan is Ben, Isaiah Mustafa is Mike, and Andy Bean is Stanley. Oh and Xavier Dolan is playing a character that everybody figured would get cut from the film adaptation... but I'll refrain from details to keep this spoiler-free. Plus Bill Skarsgard will be of course be back doing his Pennywise thing. What do we think of the new cast? 

Reason No "355" to Love Jessica Chastain

by Nathaniel R

If the future really is female as protest signs and t-shirts so often prophesy, the movies are going to be getting sooo good. This just in: Jessica Chastain's production company Freckle Films is mounting a film called 355 which is a spy thriller based on an idea by and starring Chastain herself. Her co-stars will be Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Fan Bingbing, and Lupita Nyong'o. Excuse us while we faint...

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