Posterized: Jack O'Connell

In a curveball for "Posterized" which usually looks at major movie stars, let's talk about the 25 year old rising star, Jack O'Connell whose fame is entirely dwarfed by his co-stars (Julia Roberts & George Clooney) and his director (Jodie Foster) in this weekend's big release, Money Monster.

Though he's recently headlined a $100 million hit (Angelina Jolie's Unbroken), and two critically lauded indies (prison drama Starred Up & the wrenching nail-biter '71) he isn't exactly a household name. (I met him once at a party for Unbroken and while Angelina Jolie and some of his co-stars were holding court with well wishers he was keeping a low everyman profile near the bar -- you definitely wouldn't have recognized that he was the star of the picture -- but was friendly and humble about that big opportunity and showcase when approached.)

Cut to May 2016. With his new film opening, will people even know he's "that guy from Unbroken" when they catch him as the desperate threat crashing Clooney's finance show in the new thriller (see the trailer)? (Given how long O'Connell has been working overseas, breaking through as so many young Brits have on the television show Skins, perhaps it's a whole different fame ball game in the UK? UK readers will have to tell us.)

But in the meantime, tell us: how many of his pictures have you seen? All the posters are after the jump...

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Actresses Adorn the Cannes Competition Posters

Daniel Crooke, here, nursing a serious case of intercontinental jealousy. Yesterday marked the kick-off of the 69th Cannes Film Festival with a typically out of competition Woody Allen picture (Café Society, met with polite nods and a lingering line of extra-textual inquiry) and today George Miller and his jury of wisecrackers and Kikis hunker down for eleven days of cinematic deliberation. To those of us salivating across borders for news of the Farhadi, Arnold, Dolan, or Almodóvar, let’s celebrate with one of Cannes’ greatest gifts: a proud tradition of actress-heavy posters. [More...]

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#Links

CriticWire this ongoing conversation about what critics should review is troubling/interesting
i09 seems we're getting a new Interview with the Vampire movie
Variety on what's holding Hollywood back from putting gay characters in franchises. I mean imagine if this hashtag were successful...
#GiveElsaAGirlfriend for Frozen 2. It's what the fans want and the narrative really calls for.
Pajiba omg. There's a kickstarter for a deck of "woman cards" which has awesome illustrations including Hillary, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Beyoncé

EW Congratulations to Colton Haynes, he of bolting from TV series just when everyone is falling in love with him (Teen Wolf, Arrow) and amassing a massive Instagram following. He is officially out of the closet after years of rumors and hints and non-denials
New Yorker Kiki & Herb are back after 8 years! My favorite cabaret act of all time
Final Girl looks back at James Whale's The Old Dark House. That's a fun ol' horror flick for Whale while he was warming up for Bride of Frankenstein (1934) 
TV Line I was never into the show Alias (Jennifer Garner has never done it for me with the exception of Juno) but if you were you'll probably like this oral history
Awards Daily Alicia Vikander sets up her own production company - first project is called Euphoria and Eva Greene is her screen-sibling co-star
Towleroad Channing Tatum introduces the Men of Magic Mike Live. (I thought they were doing this as a Broadway show but it looks more like it's going to be more of a Las Vegas revue thing.) 

Yes I will review Captain America: Civil War but until then...
Here are some articles on Avengers 3...
Games Radar 26 easter eggs for comic fans in the new movie
E! News 20 (fawning) questions you'll have after the movie 
Comics Alliance schools Emily VanCamp (Agent 13, Cap's current love interest) on the world of "Stucky" fan fic. How did she not know that fans obsess about Steve & Bucky being in love? 
Screen Crush all the Captain America: Civil War rumors that turned out to be false and the sites that published them. Haha. Another reminder of how useless the internet is when it comes to obsessing over things that don't exist yet!  

Finally because I couldn't unsee it...

When Posters Collide pic.twitter.com/Hej8wERYKi

— Nathaniel Rogers (@nathanielr) May 6, 2016

 

Posterized: Movies named after holidays

With Mother's Day in theaters today starring romcom queens of yester-yore (Kate Hudson, Julia Roberts and Jennifer Aniston) the question comes to mind: What other U.S. holidays are available for Garry Marshall to make all star ensemble mosaics about?  A lot of holidays are already taken as you'll see in today's Posterized. (Disclaimer: We've opted to include only movies with theatrical releases and no holiday-themed titles -- there'd be hundreds with straight to dvd titles or movies with a holiday within the title)

How many of these movies, which take their names from holidays, have you seen?
Let's take them in order of their place on the calendar.

New Year's Day (1989), New Year's Day (2000), Groundhog Day (1993)

Ash Wednesday (1973), Valentine's Day (2010), April Fool's Day (1986)

Mother's Day (2016), Independence Day (1983), Independence Day (1996)

Labor Day (2013), Halloween (1978), Halloween (2007)

Christmas Eve (1947), Christmas Eve (2015), New Year's Eve (2011)

Still waiting for the Garry Marshall Treatment: Columbus Day, Martin Luther King Jr Day, Flag Day, President's Day, Easter, Father's Day, Thanksgiving... although the latter did get that sick sick sick fake slasher trailer by Eli Roth in Grindhouse (2007)

It seems beyond strange that the best movie named after a holiday is still a low budget 1970s slasher movie (that turned out great and became highly influential, for better...and usually worse). Halloween was #3 in our list of greatest modern horror movies.

Thoughts I Had... The "Cafe Society" Poster

Look at this amazing poster for Woody Allen's Cafe Society (2016). The film will open the Cannes Film Festival and also, a little closer to home, the Seattle Film Festival this May. It will play near you this August as counterprogramming to Suicide Squad and Pete's Dragon.

After the jump, thoughts I had as they came to me unedited. Share yours, too, why don'cha...

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