Flashing back to movies while in nature...

by Nathaniel R

Apologies for the book-end birthday posts but we'll be back to movies in a hot second. Just back from the self-care birthday trip. Spent the weekend trying to enjoy quiet nature. Activities were as varied as laying in the grass, walking through the woods, and sitting on a beach with face mask on but shoes off. SUCH RANGE! (That image to the left was taken in Woodstock, New York. Nothing was open though we did manage an incredible take-out breakfast to eat outdoors thanks to The Mud Club. Ohmygod the deliciousness)

On the way back to NYC this morning we visited the spectacular grounds of the Vanderbilt Mansion. Twas so lush and moneyed, I flashed back alternately to every establishing shot of Downton Abbey and the party sequence in Baz Lurhmann's The Great Gatsby though no anachronistic music was booming to conjure the second...

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Streaming Roulette May: Circus of Books, Song of the Sea, Etc...

by Nathaniel R

If you're new to the site this is how we share new streaming offerings for the month. We select a handful or two of titles and just randomly hit a place on the scroll bar to see what the film looks like - no cheating.  Ready? Let's play...

I'm sorry it's just upsetting to me to hear that.

Circus of Books (2020) on Netflix
Sometimes expectations can get too high when you hear nothing but raves (including one right here). This documentary about nice Jewish parents running a gay porn shop, is a good film and you absolutely should watch it, don't misunderstand. But the clumsy hand-held camera took us out of the picture way too often. It's curious to land on this image of the daughter/director  because though the scene is moving and the movie wouldn't have been possible without the insider feel, we kept wanting more context from/about the adult children to better illuminate the family drama... which isn't really a sidebar topic, though it often feels that way.

More after the jump including The Half of It, and all-too familiar rants about Angela Bassett's career, and Oscar's Best Animated Feature category...

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The Linkhouse

• Film Doctor ten notes on the beginning of Psycho (1960)
• The Guardian we love hero Abigail Disney who continues to fight the good fight against the company that makes her one of the 1% - she's now criticizing Disney for laying off workers while protecting executive bonuses of more than 1 billion dollars:

That’d pay for three months’ salary to frontline workers,. And it’s going to people who have already been collecting egregious bonuses for years. Dividends aren’t all bad, given the number of fixed-income folks who rely on them. But still 80% of shares are owned by the wealthiest 10%. Pay the people who make the magic happen with respect and dignity they have more than earned from you. This company must do better.”

"Curated" tv binges, Ghibli backgrounds for your zoom sessions, a sad cut from The Lighthouse, and a new ageist threat for film and tv production after the jump...

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"The Farewell" tops at the Spirit Awards

by Nathaniel R

And the winners are...

BEST FEATURE The Farewell 
Though Lulu Wang's lovely family drama didn't receive any Oscar nominations, it proved the most beloved film at the Independent Spirits...  

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Welcome to the one-nomination club

by Cláudio Alves

It's easy to feel overwhelmed by the injustice of Oscar snubs, the general lack of diversity and other matters that forever plague the Academy Awards. One must remember, however, that, in the middle of this week's justifiable discontent, there are silver linings to consider. While the 92nd round of Oscar nominations are exhaustively dominated by Best Picture contenders (the most films ever with double digit nomination tallies), a few films managed to squeeze into the mix with just one nomination. In the past, many a great film ended the season with just a sole Oscar nod for its trouble.

Looking back at the last few years, we have such gems as First Reformed, Border, 20th Century Women, The Lobster, Elle, Silence, 45 Years and Gone Girl among many other notable movies. These films' nominations are little morsels of hope that remind us that the Academy isn't completely wrong, not always. So, let's celebrate those films that might not have conquered handfuls of nominations, but are still in the Oscar conversation…

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