Film Review: "Supernova"

by Christopher James

Who wouldn’t want to see Stanley Tucci and Colin Firth in love?

The suave former Mr. Darcy would make the perfect husband for a cocktail-swirling Tucci. On paper, any movie starring these two men as lovers would be a real winner. Even though they are both straight, they've eached proven that they can realistically and empathetically play gay without leaning on stereotypes. Plus, Stanley Tucci's cookbooks (and the accompanying photo shoot) have done more for the gay community than any other straight moviestar ally. Yet, Supernova is a far cry from any delightful rom-com or charming late-in-life love story. Writer/director Harry Macqueen’s film is a much more serious and somber affair.

While both Tucci and Firth are in fine form, Supernova is more of a slog than an engrossing drama...

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Oscar Charts - All acting categories two weeks before Globe & SAG nods

by Nathaniel R

Zendaya smiling because the camera is absolutely besotted with her.

As strange as it is to note, it's still worth reiterating that Academy voters don't begin to fill out their nomination ballots for another five and a half weeks (!!!) A lot of things can change in that long of a stretch of time. Films and performances can move in or out of favor in two weeks time, let alone five!  But here is where our crystal ball is right now...

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Gay Best Friend: Nigel in "The Devil Wears Prada"

In this series by Christopher James we investigate the 'Gay Best Friend' trope in movies.

With the release of The Prom this Friday, people have been talking about the ethics of straight men taking on gay roles. As Nathaniel noted in his review, James Corden’s limp wrist and flouncy take on Barry is a tone deaf disaster. A large part of this comes from him, a straight man, constantly feeling like he must don exaggerated gay affectations rather than actually sketching out a three dimensional character. In 2020, we are in a place where we do have big name, openly gay actors more than qualified to tackle the gay roles that Hollywood writes.

While queer people should be prioritized when telling queer stories, there are many great gay performances by straight men. Perhaps one of the strongest examples is Stanley Tucci as Nigel in The Devil Wears Prada. While it’s clear from the jump that Nigel is gay, Tucci doesn’t “play” into the stereotype. Instead, his first point of reference for Nigel is a driven professional who is comfortably hyper-confident in his field...

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Almost There: Saoirse Ronan in "The Lovely Bones"

by Cláudio Alves

Oscar-wise, Saoirse Ronan is an interesting case study. The Irish actress was only thirteen when she got her first nomination for her supporting turn in 2007's Atonement. From the start, she was seen as a prodigy, a young performer of uncommon talent and even rarer maturity whose characterizations seemed wise beyond their years. Still, one could have easily believed Ronan would go the way of other Oscar-honored child actors, fading into obscurity or just falling off AMPAS' radar. As luck would have it, things turned out differently. 

Ronan shares with Jodie Foster (nominated at 14), Sal Mineo and Natalie Wood (both nominated at 17) the honor of being the only underage Oscar nominees to be nominated again in adulthood. This year, Saoirse is back in the conversation thanks to Francis Lee's introspective Ammonite, though the picture's somewhat cold reception and austere nature might repel the Academy. In the past, Ronan's been lucky, conquering nods nearly every time she was in contention – Atonement, Brooklyn, Lady Bird, Little Women. Still, no lucky streak is perfectly continuous and without bumps. Just look at 2009's The Lovely Bones…

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Beauty vs Beast: Devils of the Details

Jason from MNPP here with a "Beauty vs Beast" first -- last week when we had you face down the leading ladies of The Devil Wears Prada for its 13th anniversary several of you took to the comments with a suggestion of another competition from this film that you desired, and I thought it fine enough to bring us back here just one week later. The film really is a four-hander -- venture outside of the Runway offices and it falls apart, but the casting done to fill out those fashion hallways was divine. So let's hit up those other two class acts...

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PREVIOUSLY The winner of last week's DWP competition was of course, with little surprise, Meryl Streep's De La Renta swathed demoness Miranda Priestley, with 84% of your vote. Said Val:

"Hathaway is wonderful here. The movie wouldn't work at all if her transformation wasn't believable, but let's be for real, in a movie with plenty of stars turns, there is very much one sun at the center. Streep makes Miranda's quiet wrath a thing of beauty. Minimal tricks (at least they aren't showing here), just a great actor clearly enjoying a great role."