Q&A: Who needs their own "Big Little Lies"?

Hello dear readers. I didn't forget about your questions. I just ran away for two weeks to beautiful southern Connecticut and the National Critics Institute. It was grand. But, now, back to work. Here are seven questions you asked (more to come) answered...

MARK G: Word in the UK from a respected critic is that Kate Winslet is on top/peak/Blue Jasmine form in Woody's Wonder Wheel and the film has a chance as breakout hit. What do you think of Winslet's chances of winning a 2nd - you always say the ladies win a 2nd within the first 10 years.

NATHANIEL: Until the Steve Jobs year I thought it highly improbable but that year reminded me that it was possible if she lucks out and runs with a great performance in a weak year. She was clearly in the runner-up position and only category frauding from Vikander denied her her second. Winslet's hurdle will be that people who win an "overdue" Oscar don't tend to win again thereafter. Overdue Oscars carry a whiff of 'thanks for the career -- NEXT!' as if everyone knows it has to happen but wants to swiftly move on. Note that Pacino and Sarandon were never nominated again after winning. (As for Wonder Wheel who knows. Woody's output is so uneven.)

TYLER: What is your absolute favorite Audrey Hepburn performance? 

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Thoughts I Had... "The Mountain Between Us" First Look

Chris here. Summer is heating up, but feast your eyes on the wintery skies of The Mountain Between Us. The film stars Kate Winslet and Idris Elba as two strangers who must band together when their plane crashes in the mountains, forcing them to trek hundreds of miles to safety. The film arrives October 20, which puts it in prime Oscar season should the lead stars and film itself deliver the goods. Here is the first image of the film and some thoughts after the jump...

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Best Actress - April Foolish Oscar Predix

We always save the best category for last.

The April Foolish Oscar predictions are officially complete with the BEST ACTRESS chart which has just gone up. So many talent women. So much luscious actressing to come. We cannot wait to see these performances, wherever they happen to fall on the chart. Predictions are for fun and do not indicate who we're rooting for ever -- we try not to root for anything without actually seeing the films because "may the best performance win!" and we don't know what that will be yet, now do we? This year the April Foolish crystal ball says "all previous nominees" but that's largely because it does not appear to be a year where many women who aren't previous nominees have managed to land leading roles. But we shall see. 

Answer me these questions three:

1. Which actress's double feature are you most excited to see? The busy choices are: Jessica Chastain (A Woman Walks Ahead, Molly's Game), Kate Winslet (Wonder Wheel, The Mountain Between Us), Sally Hawkins (Maudie, The Shape of Water), and Charlize Theron (Tully, Atomic Blonde). Let's leave the very busy Nicole Kidman out of this survey since the size of her roles aren't totally obvious this year.

2. Do you think Annette Bening has momentum due to that near-miss last season (those sometimes build goodwill) or do you think 20th Century Women is irrelevant to this year's prediction equation?

3. Which performance are you convinced will be great sight unseen? ...and vice versa if you're feeling irritable today.

ICYMI 
Past articles on this new Oscar race
Last year's Oscars, the full index

New to Prime: Dressmaker, What We Do in the Shadows, Etcetera

March isn't a big month for either Netflix (previously discussed) or Amazon Prime. But there are still new titles to view if streaming if your main movie outlet. Here's what's new for late February and early March on Prime. We've freeze framed titles at totally random places and sharing whatever came up.

 

I hit the main artery so it's a real mess in there. On the upside I think she had a really good time.

What We Do in the Shadows
Bless Taika Waititi. This movie is so funny. And I saw it on a plane and still laughed so that's quite a recommendation because who can enjoy a movie fully on a plane? The Thor movies are definitely the superhero franchise I'm least interested in but with him behind Thor: Ragnarok I'm curious.

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Beauty vs Beast: Bonnie & Clyde's Last Stand

Jason from MNPP here continuing the talk of last night's big events - specifically the biggest, the corker, the one for the ages, when Warren Beatty rammed the wrong envelope into Faye Dunaway's hands and just made her deal with it. (Something tells me Annette Bening is the one who calls the plumber and writes the checks in that household.) Or was Warren just too scared of Faye to speak up? Don't fuck with her, fellas - if Faye was eyeballing me like that I might crumble to dust too.

Or perhaps it was a Russian conspiracy that will be solved when we finally see Donald Trump's tax returns? So many possibilities, and it's clearly a bit rude to lay any real blame for a dumb mistake at the feet of Faye & Warren, who were after all standing there in the hot glare of two billion eyeballs with a ticking little paper time-bomb in their hands.... but here we are.

PREVIOUSLY For Valentine's Day we wiped our brains clean with the quirky romance of Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine, and of course Kate Winslet won but I'm proud of you guys for making it closer than it could have been - she only took 58% of the vote. Said Scott:

"Clementine. In real life she would drive you insane. Onscreen you can't tear your eyes away."