Yes No Maybe So x 4: The Mule, The Happy Prince, Mortal Engines, and Aquaman (again)

Let's get caught up on movie trailers. Clint Eastwood is dropping another December surprise, Rupert Everett reminds us that Bradley Cooper isn't the only actor stepping behind the camera, and there's always another would be franchise or two on the horizon. Four trailers after the jump starting with the Eastwood...

THE MULE

Yes - Very effective trailer opening with that car trunk mishap and the barking dog. Perhaps it's a bit vain, given that he is directing and starring, but we admire the honest of Clint only giving himself a solo title card at trailer's end despite major stars and cherished character actors supporting him (Bradley Cooper, Michael Peña, Dianne Weist, and Laurence Fishburne) since that's probably the truth of the movie. It'll live or die based on Clint's work behind and in front of the camera...

No - This isn't fair to the movie but I dont think I can take Clint Eastwood dashing lots of other people's Oscar dreams AGAIN with a sneak attack in the last two weeks of the year...

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Soundtracking: "My Best Friend's Wedding"

by Chris Feil

Time has been kinder to My Best Friend’s Wedding than what my memory of its initial response was: the film was too mean-spirited for a mainstream romantic comedy, Julia Roberts’ heroine’s reprehensible behavior at odds with her America’s Sweetheart status. Now the film’s legacy shows just how wrong those initial hot takers were, with its dismantling of genre fairy tale illusions being the core of its peak genre genius. Oddly, one of the primary ways it cracks open our expectations of cinematic romance is one of its most pleasing and digestible: its soundtrack of gold standard, Burt Bacharachian love songs.

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Smackdown '94 Companion: "Mrs King" and vague 'Women's Troubles'

Nathaniel R welcomes Erik Anderson, Nick Davis,  Itamar Moses, and Alfred Soto to talk 1994 movies

The Supporting Actress Smackdown of 1994 has just gone up and the panelists have gathered for a deeper conversation. 

Podcast (42 minutes)
In part one we discuss people we wish had been nominated in the category. We also discuss the comic tone of The Madness of King George, and there are split opinions on Helen Mirren's work and whether she's elevating or bringing down the movie. Surprisingly though she won the Smackdown Dianne Wiest's classic performance in Bullets Over Broadway isn't quite as loved as it once was. The panel also discusses Miramax style filmmaking of the 90s and the troubles with the 'approved' nature of literary biopics like Tom & Viv. 

You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you? 

Smackdown 94 Madness of Viv Over Broadway

The Furniture: The Cluttered, Musty Madness of King George

"The Furniture" is our weekly series on Production Design. You can click on the images to see them in magnified detail.

by Daniel Walber 

Play adaptations are frequently criticized for not being “cinematic” enough. It’s as perennial a complaint as it is a silly one. Many of the best play adaptations don’t abandon their more theatrical elements, they use cinema’s unique capabilities as an especially potent additive. 

The Madness of King George is a great example, a film that juxtaposes the visual freedom of on-location shooting with the precision of period sets. Adapted by Alan Bennett from his own play and directed by Nicholas Hytner, it chronicles the Regency Crisis of 1788. King George III (Nigel Hawthorne), perhaps as a result of porphyria, lost his grip on reality. The Prince of Wales (Rupert Everett) petitioned Parliament to have his father removed from power, and to have himself declared regent. It very nearly worked.

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Matt's Mouth Tastes Like Foot. And Other Truths & Lies

For those who aren't on Twitter where I got kind of worked up about Matt Damon's latest foot-in-mouth disease, a quick recap what went down is in order. Before we begin I think it's important to note that I have liked Matt Damon as an actor since School Ties (1992). I still like him as an actor and movie star and The Martian is a lot of fun. Go see it next weekend! What follows is in no way bitching about his work, his fame or even his character (I do not believe he's a homophobe, just that he doesn't quite "get" what he found himself talking about and should probably stop).

Why people (including me) got worked up about what he said after the jump... 

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