Tuesday, April 14, 2015 at 11:59PM 
A Scene From PRISONERS (2013)
It's David Dastmalchian! Perhaps you don't know his name yet but you probably know his face (The Dark Knight, Prisoners, TV guest spots and two movies this summer: Marvel's Ant-Man and the SXSW sensation Animals). He'll be here in a week or so taking over the blog for a day.
Please welcome this rising actor! Got any questions?
Tuesday, March 31, 2015 at 7:36PM March was busy busy busy once we wrapped up Oscar. Three series returned: Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Ask Nathaniel, and Posterized. Anne Marie spent a month w/ Ida Lupino, Manuel and Nathaniel said goodbye to Looking, the TCM festival and Mad Men premiere, and the finale of the Film Bitch Awards 2014. Whew.
Most Popular
Kenneth Branagh's Cinderella met plenty of silly outrage criticism for its actually thoughtful gender politics, but the handsome and well-reviewed production made a lot of money, continuing both Disney's fairy tale hot streak and Downton Abbey's star-making power. And FWIW, Kenneth Branagh probably needed this. The Sound of Music was also on the world's mind as it hit its 50th, prompting events, handprint ceremonies, and our own favorite things... by which we mean "shots".
Oscar Watching
Cinderella started the race for Costume & Production Design competitions but the talk this month was whether the Academy would go back to 5 Best Pictures.
Monthly Playlist
The phenomenon that is "Empire" concluded its first season and got everyone talking Emmy for Best Actress. Madonna made her best record in 10 years with "Rebel Heart" inspiring us to imagine a video album crafted by favorite auteurs. Three final hot tracks for the March play list: The "Firefly Theme Song" as interpreted by the cast of "The Flash," an all male version of Chicago's "Cell Block Tango," and Carly Rae Jepsen's "I Really Like You" feat. Tom Hanks.
7 Other Key Posts
We Can't Wait - Our 15 Most Anticipated Movies of 2015
The Rise and The Fall - of Dreamworks Animation, a retrospective investigation
Pretty Woman at 25 - an ode to Julia Roberts' infectious laughter
Run All Night - away from Liam Neeson's increasingly tired ass-kickery?
Richard Glatzer RIP - the co-director of Still Alice passes away
Posterized: Judi Dench - a true late bloomer, becoming a star in her 60s
Hot Piece(s) o' the Month
Sophia Loren in Yesterday Today and Tomorrow (1963) and Jake Gyllenhaal in the Southpaw (2015) trailer
Coming in April
Ex-Machina and artificial intelligence, The Woman in Gold, Tony Awards talk, the films of Jane Campion, Daredevil on Netflix, the return of 'Mad Men @ the Movies', Clouds of Sils Maria, and a celebration of Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca.
Tuesday, March 31, 2015 at 6:00PM 
"April Showers," our series celebrating shower scenes of any kind, returns April 3rd, weeknights at 11 PM. Any requests?
Sunday, March 22, 2015 at 5:16PM Yesterday a reader by the name of Noah Tsika (who just wrote a book on Nollywood) was asking about the coinage of the term "Actressexual" a word popularized at The Film Experience. The term grew beyond us obviously and people have since used it online who probably haven't even read this site or Nick's. Noah found the original post himself but I thought I'd share it for newer readers.
It was originally published on August 2nd in 2006 (hence the very mid Aughts examples) and went like so:
Recently, during the umpteenth Oscar Best Actress discussion over at Nicks Flick Picks his partner Derek, continuously bewildered by our communal enthusiasm, quipped "Is Best Actress, like, its own sexual orientation?" After laughing out loud I had to face facts. This was a lightning bolt of truth.
I'm an Actressexual. 
It explains so much. It explains those nights lying in bed dreaming, not of glistening male hardbodies but of actresses swathed in Valentino, Saab, Armani, and vintage whomever. It explains the shared lust, not for their tuxedoed dates, but for that gold statue. It explains the dreams not of Ethan Hawke but of Uma Thurman. I'd like to think my love for Michelle Pfeiffer transcends any sexual orientation but it probably explains that, too.
Come to think of it, it even explains Warren Beatty. Actressexuality defies hetero and homo boundaries. Beatty may have screwed everything with a vagina back in his Hollywood heyday but notice: the only serious relationships --Julie Christie, Natalie Wood, and Annette Bening-- these were women who had just been nominated for an Oscar. Or were named Madonna. But, readers, she somehow counts.
OMG. How am I going to explain this to my parents?
Sunday, March 22, 2015 at 12:25AM Thank you for making the return of Hit Me With Your Best Shot, a success with its first three episodes The Sound of Music, Paris is Burning and The Quiet Man. We hope you'll join us Tuesday night for a special "triptych" episode (inspired by the current anthology craze in film & tv. Have your pick posted anytime before 10 PM on the day of the event and send us the link to be included.
Tues March 24th - YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW (1963)
*SPECIAL EPISODE* Let's look at the anthology romantic comedy from the great Vittoria DeSica starring Oscar's favorite Italians Marcello Mastroianni and Sophia Loren. It won Best Foreign Film for 1964. I saw it for the first time last year and l-o-v-e-d.. There are two options for this episode: pick three shots, one from each mini film OR if you're pressed for time, pick one of the three films within the film to choose a shot from. It breaks down like so if you're instant watching:
Adelina of Naples (00:01-51:30) Sophia is always pregnant, Marcello her perpetually unemployed husband.
Anna of Milan (51:30- 1:13:00) Sophia is a wealthy callow socialite, Marcello her frustrated side piece.
Mara of Rome (1:13:01-1:58:00) Sophia is a flirty call girl, Marcello her favorite client.
[Netflix Instant Watch | Amazon Instant]
Wed, April 1st - MOMMIE DEAREST (1981)
PLEASE NOTE THE DATE - this is a Wednesday instead of Tuesday, we're moving back to Wednesdays as in previous seasons due to Tuesday schedule difficulties. This is our second annual April Fools Day episode. We had so much fun last year with a 'Bad Movie We Love' and first Razzie Winner, Can't Stop the Music that we're trying to chase that high. Meet Joan Crawford, one of the great stars, by way of the very committed Faye Dunaway (another one of the great stars, whatever this movie did to her career).
[Amazon Instant | iTunes | Netflix -- currently rental only but moves to Instant Watch on this very day if you're running late.]
Complete list of April titles will be announced on March 26th
