"Weapons" Starts the School Year Right

by Nick Taylor

     Have y’all seen Zach Creggar’s new film Weapons, the breakout hit of this past weekend and the most recent evidence this year that Horror Is Back? You and I know both know horror has been back, and arguably never left to begin with. But in a very real, almost metaphysical sense, just because something has always been here doesn’t mean it can’t also be Back. Weapons proves this, not always a fresh or streamlined experience but an endlessly compelling one, especially in a crowded movie theater.

     Weapons begins with the narration of an unnamed, unseen young girl (Scarlett Sher), telling the audience we’re about to be told a story so weird and disturbing it was kept out of the news by the police. You can probably imagine the tone in which the girl says this, like she’s telling you a really crazy secret you gotta promise you’re cool enough to hear about before she gets started. Spoilers follow after the jump, so if you’re a cool cat, come with me into this basement . . . .

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Emmy Category Analysis: Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

By Abe Friedtanzer

Lily James in Pam and Tommy

This is quite a lineup, though just one of its six nominees is from an anthology series and none are from TV movies (Jenna Ortega would have made a phenomenal choice for HBO Max’s The Fallout). Every character portrayed is based on a real person, with only Margaret Qualley’s Alex Russell adapted from author Stephanie Land into someone slightly fictionalized. Exactly half of these women star in projects nominated for Best Limited or Anthology Series, but there’s still support for the other three even if their projects underperformed. Only Lily James and Amanda Seyfried are brand-new to the Emmys, and, of the rest, all but Qualley have actually won before. I think it’s likely a race between the newbies, but let’s examine the lineup...

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Emmy Category Analysis: Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

By Abe Friedtanzer

Sydney Sweeney as Cassie in Euphoria

Not a single one of last year’s nominees in this category was eligible this time around. Only two nominees this year have been nominated before for these roles (despite a few other eligible previous nominees like Chrissy Metz, Millie Bobby Brown, and Fiona Shaw):  Two-time winner Julia Garner, looking to make it three for three for the final season of Ozark, and Sarah Snook, back for the juggernaut nominations leader Succession. There’s plenty of new competition, though, that could make the outcome interesting.

Brief descriptions of the nominees below - click on the episode titles for spoiler-filled reviews…

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Links and Coming Attractions

• Variety Emmy winner Julia Garner (Ozark) has been offered the Madonna biopic -- after months of rumors and speculation. 
• MNPP paparazzi pics of Bradley Cooper and Matt Bomer kissing from the set of Maestro
• Vulture profile of Joel Kim Booster (Fire Island) by E Alex Jung (who always does great celebrity profiles)
• EW has Booster sharing the cover with Billy Eichner (Bros) as they discuss the rise of the gay rom-com

More after the jump including Blonde, Harvey Fierstein, Matthew McConnaughey, the failed attempt to make Morbius happen, and several new trailers...

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Review: "Ozark" Comes to an End with Season Four

By Christopher James

Will Marty and Wendy Byrd's actions finally catch up with them in?I didn’t think Ozark would be my latest binge. The Netflix crime drama was well lauded by the Emmys, winning 3 awards from 32 nominations over its past 4 seasons. In many ways, it seemed like the saturation point for “prestige TV,” an ultra-serious thriller with movie stars brooding in barely lit rooms. From the episodes I watched for Emmy coverage, it seemed like my suspicions were confirmed. However, when doing a fresh binge, the show’s personality and verve shone through the murky cinematography. The pilot sums up the central conflict the best, Ozark is about the clash of two worlds: the upper class city finance family and the brash locals they undermine at their own risk.

It all comes to an end with the final seven episodes of season four, which just dropped on Netflix. As the poster claims, the end revolves around one question: can the Byrds officially go clean?

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