Review: A quartet of actresses grace "The Miracle Club"

by Matt St Clair

Thaddeus O’Sullivan’s The Miracle Club is the latest entry in the multiverse involving pictures where elderly, award-winning actress legends unite Avengers-style for an adventure. However, compared to previous entries in the unofficial multiverse like Book Club, 80 for Brady, and Poms, The Miracle Club is a more profound effort. There are moments of humor to be found in this story about friends coming together for a potentially “last” trip to fulfill an unrealized dream or goal but The Miracle Club leans heavily on the dramatic side.

Set in 1960s Ireland, Oscar winners Kathy Bates and Dame Maggie Smith play Eileen and Lily, two close-knit friends from the working-class village of Ballygar...

Click to read more ...

Stage Door: Great actressing in "Summer 1976"

by Nathaniel R

It begins with a gesture. Twinned gestures, really, though they’re not identical. Laura Linney and Jessica Hecht enter from stage right and stage left, respectively and face the audience. Linney’s hand sweeps away from her body presentationally to the audience, It’s a fun and curious movement as if to say  ‘here you are and here we are’ at once. There’s a sharp edge to it, though. Is it mocking and, if so, who is the target? Hecht soon makes a similar gesture, though the body language is sloppier with a ‘whatever’ nonchalance.  And we’re off. 

The two actresses begin to recount the story of how two very dissimilar mothers, Diana (Linney) and Alice (Hecht) met and how they improbably became close friends…

Click to read more ...

Emmy Category Analysis: Lead Actress in a Drama Series

By Abe Friedtanzer

Previous winner Zendaya in her standout episode of Euphoria

Though none of last year’s Lead Drama Actress nominees were eligible this year, the shortlist for 2022 is actually pretty close to what this category was like two years ago albeit with a different actress from The Morning Show in contention. Two Emmy seasons ago, Zendaya was the big winner for her buzzy freshman show, and now her fiercest competition is also in a buzzy freshman show. Melanie Lynskey is hot off a win from the Hollywood Critics Association. While it’s possible that the other four will factor into the race, it feels like a race between those two.

But let’s dig deeper. Brief descriptions of the nominees below - click on the episode titles for spoiler-filled reviews…

Click to read more ...

"my mother, myself"

Behold, The Lovely Laura Linney with her mother this week in Hollywood...

diplopia (noun)
dip·​lo·​pia \ di-ˈplō-pē-ə \
Definition of diplopia
: a disorder of vision in which two images of a single object are seen (as from unequal action of the eye muscles)
— called also double vision pic.twitter.com/WMh0PsRxlB

— Caitrin 🦊 (@CaitrinRoss) July 26, 2022

You're not seeing double. But Laura's mom is even doing the You Can Count on Me wave, to further slay our eyeballs. Just uncanny! 😍 

Linking up that hill

• Criterion Renate Reinsve (Worst Person in the World) demonstrates marvelous taste while inside the Criterion Closet
• Boy Culture their delicious annual recap of Broadway Bares (lots of photos and video)
• MNPP Pedro Almodóvar is making another short (after that Tilda-starring The Human Voice). This one a gay western starring Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal. Can't wait!

More after the jump including Dakota Johnson, The Lovely Laura Linney, Kate Bush, a new film from Andrew Haigh, and a reinvention of James Bond...

Click to read more ...