TIFF: Nicole Kidman and "Destroyer"

by Nathaniel R

One of the screenwriters of the sun-blasted crime thriller Destroyer, describes the movie as "a detective investigating herself." Allowing a screenwriter rather than the reviewer to pigeonhole their movie may be an abdication of duty, but an appropriate one; Destroyer has long gone rogue, flashing its badge but totally off the clock. Even the LAPD, which we all know has behavioral trouble of its own, wouldn't approve of Detective Erin Bell's (Nicole Kidman) "police work" in the real world.

You can't imagine that she'd still be allowed that badge given her AWOL behavior and frequent intoxication but realism isn't what Destroyer is after. Director Karyn Kusama, introducing the movie at TIFF told us to "enjoy" it, providing her own finger quotes around the word, betraying a welcome sense of humor which is unfortunately little seen within the film. But again, levity is not what this relentless film is after...

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Early "Destroyer" Reviews. Guess How Good Nicole Is!

by Nathaniel R

We knew ahead of time that Nicole Kidman would be great in Destroyer -- it's kind of her schtick to be brilliant, duh! So it's not a surprise to hear early reviews saying that she delivers and then some. But it IS a surprise and a nice change of pace, post Lion & Big Little Lies, that people are willing to praise her so extravagantly for her uncommon gifts rather than berate her for (take your pick) not being warm enough onscreen / having a frozen forehead / liking "weird" projects / whatever other dumb things people used to hold against her between the Oscar win and Lion (so roughly 2003-2015)... Seriously why must every great actress go through the public hate period?

Anyway. In "we all love Kidman again" mode (nice but obnoxious to those of us who never stopped and didn't fall for the misogyny hamster wheel of public opinion) these are the kind of reviews she's getting...

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Nicole Kidman in "Destroyer". Is De-Glam Back?

by Nathaniel R

We've seen set photos but this is the first official image from Annapurna of Nicole Kidman in Destroyer, her LAPD drama and suspected second Oscar bid. She plays Erin Bell, a woman haunted by her past when she was undercover with a criminal gang...

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Nicole Kidman is One Perfect Stranger

By Spencer Coile 

It seems as though the success of Big Little Lies was only the start for the team of Nicole Kidman, producer Bruna Papandrea, and author Liane Moriarty. Kidman's Blossom Films and Papandrea's Made Up Stories have closed a preemptive deal for the rights to Moriarty's latest novel, Nine Perfect Strangers. Kidman will star and executive produce, while Papandrea and Moriarty will also serve as executive producers. And what's most astonishing: the book won't even be out until November 9. 

It's too soon to tell whether it will be a film or TV adaptation, but what we can glean from the novel is that it follows nine strangers who meet at a remote health resort -- some are there to lose weight, others to reboot their lives. What they learn is that attaining their goals is far more difficult than they initially thought. 

Although Nine Perfect Strangers is not technically complete yet, Kidman and Papandrea said: 

Simply put, Liane Moriarty is a force of nature, not just as a virtuosic author, but as a collaborator and friend. We’re beyond thrilled to be making Nine Perfect Strangers with this extraordinary woman.

And after Big Little Lies, how can we disagree? 

Yes No Maybe So: "Aquaman"

by Ilich Mejía

After being announced four years ago, DC's Aquaman is finally showing some promising signs of life. Director James Wan was joined by the film's cast at Comic-Con this weekend where they presented members of the press and fans with the film's first official trailer. The film's stars Jason Momoa (Aquaman) and Amber Heard (Mera) promised big action and a sci-fi fantasy, but more importantly Nicole Kidman was also there. 

Wonder Woman started turning some of us DC agnostics into intrigued believers. Will Aquaman uphold its predecessor's efforts? Before (or after) we get ahead of ourselves, let's pick its trailer apart after the cut...

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