Review: The Current War (Director's Cut)

by Tony Ruggio

After more than a year of pre-release hell at the scissorhands of Harvey Weinstein and his terrible deeds, The Current War has finally seen the light of day. Tackling the industrial war over electricity between famed inventor Thomas Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) and business magnate George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon), it’s a good story well told. Well, after a rough first half, anyway. The epic narrative is rushed and contracted in the early going, before evening out and focusing more on character in the final stretch.

The breakneck pacing actually does the film a disservice, as we barely get to spend time with Edison, Westinghouse, or their creations before director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon barrels forward to the next moment in history. Classical themes of greed, power, and loss are threaded like any other biopic of powerful men, but the greatest subtext lays therein, where the two men differed so greatly...

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Posterized: The still-young career of Tom Holland

by Nathaniel R

With Spider-Man Far From Home owning the holiday weekend, the just turned 23 year old Tom Holland is back in the spotlight. He's already been a professional actor for 11 years, starting with a West End production of Billy Elliott in 2008, where he first played Billy's best friend and later graduated to the lead role to rave reviews. His first gig in front of cameras (The Impossible, 2012) also prompted critical superlatives and he was well on his way to major stardom. We were rooting for him from then on and knew he would be the perfect Spider-Man before he was cast. Thankfully, the MCU made a good decision there and the rest has been history.

So let's take a trip back through his shortcareer via movie posters. How many of his 12 key screen projects (11 features and one major television event) have you seen? The posters are after the jump...

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No More Mara "Magdalene" This Year

Chris here. We've been dying to see Rooney Mara in Garth Davis's Lion follow-up Mary Magdalene ever since those set photos emerged of her smoking in costume. But unfortunately the wait is about to be longer: the Weinstein Co. just pushed the film off this year's release calendar. We suspected this news might be coming when the film wasn't showing up in any festival lineups, but now the news in confirmed.

However, this doesn't mean that Mary Magdalene is headed towards the same fate as their delayed-into-oblivion titles Suite Francaise and Tulip Fever (which will finally open wide Sept. 1 - allegedly). Weinstein Co. has simply pushed the film back to March 30, which will be appropriately timed for Easter weekend. Perhaps opening on the holiday will be a smart cash grab given the relevancy with the subject.

But the Weinstein's aren't giving up that prime November release date after the same timing worked out so well for them last year with Lion. They have now moved up the Edison/Westinghouse electricity race film The Current War to Magdalene's former November 24 date. That film plays right into the Academy's biopic sweet spot and boasts a nomination-ready ensemble that includes Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon, and Tom Holland. The financial struggles of the Weinstein Co. would likely have not been able to support the awards hopes for both, so maybe this is the best scenario for both films. Even if it means we'll have to smoke another pack with Mara Magdalene while we wait.

Costume Design ~ April Foolish Oscar Predix

on the set of THE CURRENT WARCutting right to the chase tonight. Here's what I'm predicting for Oscar's Costume Design category in this first round of punditry

• The Current War (Michael Wilkinson)
• The Greatest Showman (Ellen Mirojnick)
• Murder on the Orient Express (Alexandra Byrne)
• Victoria & Abdul (Consolata Boyle)
• Wonderstruck (Sandy Powell)

[Here's the chart]

Sandy Powell is always a good bet of course with 12 past nominations and 3 wins and she'll obviously be having a great time with the dual time frames and actressing of Julianne Moore. The other designers are less regular with the Academy but they've all been nominated with the exception of Ellen Mirojnick. But Mirojnick is no slouch having designed iconic pieces seen in films like Basic Instinct, Showgirls, and recently she won the Emmy for Soderbergh's Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra. She's got one of the year's (presumably) showiest gigs : Hugh Jackman's PT Barnum musical The Greatest Showman.

Ali Fasal stars opposite Dame Judi Dench in VICTORIA AND ABDUL

But that's just scratching the surface of what will surely be lots of fine threads in the movies this year from many talented designers. After the jump, a Beauty Break of Costume Design possibilities this year...

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