Goodbye, Gena Rowlands (1930-2024)

by Cláudio Alves

Gena Rowlands in OPENING NIGHT (1977) John Cassavetes

Two days ago, cinephiles worldwide were met with some sad news, tragic beyond belief. Gena Rowlands died at the age of 94 after a few years battling with dementia, as her son, Nick Cassavetes, had previously revealed to the public. It's a loss that defies comprehension because Rowlands' talent was just the same, a generational marvel whose importance can't be overstated. Cinema, especially independent American film, is what it is today because of her contribution. The same can be said about the art of screen acting, in general. So much so that even those who don't gel with her mercuriality must contend with Rowlands' place in the annals of history. 

Even as I loathe to use the term 'undeniable,' Rowlands is the exception to the rule. Consider her undeniable influence on countless artists. Consider the undeniable mark she left on those who watched her and felt themselves freefalling into the deepest recesses of the human soul, a chasm you love to get lost within…

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Streaming Nostalgia: The Breakfast Club

by Baby Clyde

From Rydell to Ridgemont and The High School of Performing Arts nothing seemed more exciting to a British tween in the 80’s than going to school in America. They had jocks and cafeterias and grade point averages. We had cricket and Spam Fritters and mock exams. There were no proms in the UK. No leather jacketed bad boys or Homecoming Queens. Nobody drove their own cars to school (Their own CARS!!!). It was blazers, morning prayers and the occasional coach rip to Hever Castle if you were lucky. We had Grange Hill. They had The Breakfast Club.

It's hard to explain just how cool the American education system seemed to us as kids back then. We thought that all US teens lived in their own John Hughes movie the same way the rest of the world thinks that we Brits attended Hogwarts. For that you can mostly blame The Brain, The Athlete, The Basketcase, The Princess and The Criminal...

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Would you rather?

This informal poll is just our silly way of sharing the latest Instagram photos we loved. So, would you rather...

• Grab an ice cream cone with Brie Larson?
• Have a moonlight bath with Gwyneth Paltrow?
• Attend the opera with Molly Ringwald?
• Wander the dunes with Lee Pace?
• Make your mark on the street with Nathan Fillion?
• Get pizza in a limo with Audra McDonald?
• Find your own stunt double so you can hang with Alessandro Nivola and his?
• Feed grapes to supermodel Kristen McMenamy?
• Do the "Buckingham Lean" with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II?
• Take a nap (anywhere) with Michelle Monaghan?
• Sign the Zurich guest book with Sharon Stone?
• Lift weights with Winston Duke?
• ...Or Make it a trio of voices on "Jolene" with Dolly, Lil Nas X and you?

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

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Vintage '86

The Smackdown of '86 (with special guests) arrives in just 9 days. Before we get to the main event let's talk about what people were talking about that year in film, television, stage, music, and books... 

Great Big Box Office Hits: Movie stars rather than IP still ruled so the top ten made room for Tom Cruise, Eddie Murphy, and Bette Midler vehicles along with just 3 sequels (can you imagine a top ten box office of the year with just 3 sequels nowadays? It's hard to do). Military men and women were also the rage with the marines of Aliens, the airforce bros of Top Gun, and the traumatized foot soldiers of Platoon all extremely popular with moviegoers.

1. Top Gun (military drama)
2. Crocodile Dundee (comedy)
3. Platoon (military drama)
4. Karate Kid Part II (sequel)
5. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (sci-fi sequel)...

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Bathroom Break with "The Breakfast Club"

Chris here. The days of deleted scenes providing much intrigue have long since past, ever since they became par for the course on DVD extras and overspeculation fodder for message board. Seldom does long-buried footage emerge that really screams "gimmie!" but the Criterion Collection has just that and it's coming very soon: nearly an hour of extra scenes for The Breakfast Club... 

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