Beauty Break: Horizontal Lovelies

From top to bottom chronologically: Natalie Wood, Jane Fonda as Barbarella, Burt Reynolds as The Cosmopolitan Man, Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia Organa, Miss Piggy, La Pfeiffer as Catwoman, Rollergirl of Boogie Nights fame, Charlize Theron as Aeon Flux, and Dame Helen Mirren.

P.S. If you would like to replay this post at maximum volume, might I suggest queueing up the Velvet Goldmine soundtrack whilst doing so?

 

"Are you thoughtless in your remarks?" - The Master Winners

Maybe if we'd passed out free handjobs?Last week I asked readers to submit themselves to processing to enter a chance to win a copy of The Master on Blu-Ray. Whether it's the polarizing nature of the film or that I merely asked too much of you -- what's a little processing between friends? -- this contest had less participation than we usually get.

How come?

Nevertheless, The Master strikes me as the sort of film that those who enjoy will end up watching on loop to try to tease out its sometimes obtuse meaning.

Honorable Mentions: Apologies to Derreck whose entry was creepy sublime --- all right all right, we'll do The Talented Mr Ripley for Hit Me With Your Best Shot! --  and Checko whose entry was quite amusing. But I only have two copies to give away. Trust that I wish I had four. 

THE WINNERS ARE

Winner #1 is Kenneth.
This informal processing just gets better and better as it goes. Loves it.  I don't know if Kenneth is the bald one or the furry one but I'm crushing hard either way. 

Winner #2 is Manuel
Who also went the extra mile. He submitted Nicole Kidman for processing! Ha. What would Nicole make of this? LOL. I personally loved it and you will too if you have a little Kidmaniac inside of you... here's a taste:

Are you thoughtless in your remarks?

NO. Biting and truthful maybe. Never thoughtless.

Do you linger at bus stations for pleasure?

NO. I prefer train stations. They help me pass the hours.

So click on over to his blog to read the full processing. 

Gentlemen, your Blu-Rays are on the way (or will be as soon as you get in touch with me to arrange)!

Do you think Jennifer Connelly ever has nightmares about Labyrinth?

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The Link Squad

The Film Stage Gangster Squad, with its machine gun in the movie theater moment -- already revealed in the trailer --  may be delayed or reedited now in the wake of Aurora Colorado tragedy. (I figured this was coming)
i09 Lt Ellen Ripley and Child, painted. Other sci-fi women also iconized. 
Telegraph RIP Actor Simon Ward of The Tudors, Three Musketeers, Supergirl, and Young Winston fame. He was 70 years old.
Rope of Silicon is wondering about the Oscar chances of Beasts of the Southern Wild now that it's expanded well.

My New Plaid Pants Quote of the Day via The House of Kermit
Pajiba Dustin recounts his single most humiliating experience as a critic. Curse you, Taylor Lautner!
The Broadway Blog celebrates musical theater's belters: Sutton, Babs, Lupone and more
Hollywood Elsewhere has lunch with the Criterion Blurays of Rosemary's Baby and Sunday Bloody Sunday
Vanity Fair says goodbye to The Dark Knight Trilogy with a behind the scenes slideshow 
Vulture looks at the dissolution of the TomKat marriage
NPR this is sweet, actor Donald Faison (Clueless, Scrubs) on the movie he has seen a million times: The Empire Strikes Back
The Film Doctor discusses The Dark Knight Rises with a film major at Waffle House. Cheese, eggs, raisin toast, and spoilers.

P.S. Yes, yes. I did start a review myself and I hope to have it up today but I'm moving in slo-mo this week.

Take Three: Chris Cooper

Craig here with this week’s Take Three. Today: Chris Cooper

Take One: Adaptation. (2002)
Cooper was up against a quartet of big names in the 2003 Best Supporting Actor Oscar race: Christopher Walken (Catch Me if You Can), Ed Harris (The Hours), John C. Reilly (Chicago) and Paul Newman (Road to Perdition). As the then least weighty name, his nomination didn’t necessarily guarantee success. But, conversely, his fifteen prior award wins and a further 5 nominations for the role spoke volumes. He emerged victorious, yet, inexplicably, Adaptation remains his only nod to date.

Spike Jonze’s very meta, self-referencing Adaptation was unique and playful in equal measure. It mulled over plenty of original ideas with its life-fiction overlap. Cooper, as orchid thief John Laroche, a real-life figure, stole the film away from actors as lively as Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep and Tilda Swinton. He played the wry humour and the tragedy of Laroche with equal skill. The event that haunts him (the death of his wife in a car accident) has plot repercussions that Cooper almost invisibly folds into his performance. He uses Laroche’s dry, off-kilter amiability as a subtle yet defining trait. And in the driving scenes featuring with Streep he can be glimpsed looking cautiously for each road turn, knowing danger can arrive out of anywhere, any day. Such moments reveal how immersed Cooper is in the role. But, further than that, he navigates the increasingly bizarre and intentionally conventional plot swerve into thriller territory with ease. It’s a cranky, clever piece of acting both oddly knowing and incredibly moving.

Thanks to his Oscar win here, his career since has been a plethora of top-drawer performances, not least his largely under-appreciated role in Take Two’s film...

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