O Canada, we stand on link for thee!

Pajiba celebrates the hottest Canadian celebrities for Canada day. I didn't even know that Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) and Helo  (Tamhoh Penikett) were Canadian.
Movie|Line opts for "badass Canadians" like Carrie-Anne Moss and Nathan Fillion. 
unexamined / essentials Lovely review of Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris. (I hadn't considered Gil's insomnia before.) Hey maybe when Woody is done with Rome he should continue his world tour in Canada. Maybe Montreal? Winnipeg?
Guardian a new book of private candids of Elizabeth Taylor and famous friends. Fun fact: Liz married Richard Burton (the first time at least) in Canada. The second time they were married in Botswona. Obviously.

Brando & Liz, so candid its almost demystifying.

Rants of a Diva Halfway Report: best rentals, hot boys, best films, and more...
CHUD Why there's no sequel to Spike Lee's Inside Man and what might be next for him. 
Awards Daily They're now calling The Invention of Hugo Cabret, "Hugo" only. Gah, DULL. Audiences are so dumb. Or Hollywood thinks they are. It amounts to the same thing.

Telegraph Whoa. Tim Robey kinda likes Transformers Dark of the Moon. I love this bit especially...

If you wonder why it had to take a spirit-taxing two and a half hours about this, it’s because Bay’s ego clearly considers it logically irrefutable that the longer one of his films is, the better it must be.

You can say the same, unfortunately, for many far greater auteurs. Length -- one might say dick-measuring --almost always comes with the territory of being a respected auteur, whether you're respected for your art or your money-generating craft... the same thing tends to happen.
My New Plaid Pants meanwhile JA fears he'll go see it this very weekend "like some sort of brain-damaged masochist." hee.

 

Finally, Clothes on Film has a fine piece on Kate Winslet's omnipresent floral housedress in Todd Haynes' remake of Mildred Pierce (which should be cleaning up in the Emmy nominations in a couple of weeks -- I'm most curious to see if/how many supporting actress nods it manages since I suspect Brian F. O'Byrne and Kate Winslet are givens). Ann Roth was the costume designer for that miniseries. You can see an interview with Ann Roth about her designing process (not a Mildred interview) here.

June. It's a Wrap

2011 is now half over. [Gulp] Well that got away from us. If you were offline for June -- and if so my god why? -- please revisit some highlights from the month that was. 

• Peggy Sue Got Married holds up 25 years later... the first ⅔ at least.
• Top Ten X Moments the best moments in the Marvel's mutant movie franchise.
• Red Carpet "Voices of Reason and Flamboyant Firemen" -this was so fun to do.

• Unsung Heroes Michael on the "Origins of Love" sequence in Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
• Curio gets its most popular ep' ever: "Do You Save Your Ticket Stubs?" 
• Dick Tracy 2? Alex attends the Warren Beatty Q&A in Los Angeles
• Hit Me With Your Best Shot: MOULIN ROUGE! It remains a "Spectacular! Spectacular!"
• Top Ten Ewan McGregor Have you seen Beginners yet? So glad he's back.

Most Discussed: 10 Best Picture Nominees... or Less 
Most Popular: X-Men: First Class Review
"Live Blog" Madness: MTV Movies and The Tony Awards
Series Debut: Cinema de Gym

COMING IN JULY:
New Oscar Predictions (next weekend!)... and there's a lot of new info to parse, Harry Potter "It All Ends", the Italian classic Rocco and His Brothers, summer's last superhero Captain America: The First Avenger, Cowboys & Aliens, New York City's Judy Garland's retrospective, and a 25th anniversary celebration of Lt. Ellen Ripley and Aliens (1986). "Get Away from her you bitch!" right here at the Film Experience and other participating blogs.

May. It's a Wrap

One more month until the "halfway mark" for 2011. Of course the film year is a bit different stretching basically from each March to the following February; the Oscar calendar, don'cha know!

Best of May In Case You Missed It...

• Beauty & The Beast - the magic flower is his heart, you see.
• "Maverick" at 25 -Michael, a Top Gun virgin, checks out the Cruise "classic" on its 25th bday
• Film Bitch Awards - 2010 finally gets all wrapped up. I Am Love, The Social Network and Black Swan led the nominations and medals ceremony
• Waif vs. Waif -Special Guest Ester pitted Mia Wasikowska against Saoirse Ronan. Who won?
• May Flowers: The Hours it's a favorite film for many readers. It's aromatic, too.
• Melancholia Fallout - Lars von Trier's press conference blunder was the story everyone wanted to discuss from Cannes
• Hit Me With Your Best Shot: Matador - Pedro Almodóvar's dark bloody thriller made an excellent choice for the "best shot" series
• Ishtar's Second Wind -Elaine May reminisces about her maligned but funny flop
• Reader Spotlights continued with four movie-loving men: K.M., Sergio, John and Borja
• Cannes Goddesses - Jose and I discussed the best gowns at Cannes

Most Popular Post Game of Thrones
I guess everyone wanted to discuss HBO's new show
Runner Up: Top Ten: Tom Hardy From Behind
Most Discussed Timetables Tween Films
We're so Goldliocks. Which directors are fast, slow and "just right".
Runner Up: Cannes Winners

COMING IN JUNE
Moulin Rouge!, X-Men new and old, Super 8, Green Lantern, The Tree of Life, Midnight in Paris, DVD Reader's Choice, True Blood Season 4, and more to be determined by our whims and your enthusiasms.

Film Bitch Nominees. Final Categories

Whew that took me too long this year? I'm working on a new system for 2011, building templates already so we'll see if it pans out. I can't promise anything but I really want something smooth and daily next December/January with the medals handed out before the Oscars. I can dream. I'll wrap up with gold silver and bronze medals Monday or Tuesday but for now...

Best Sex Scenes, Best Kiss, Openings, Endings, Title Sequences, & Best Scenes...
Featuring achievements from 127 Hours, Black Swan, Somewhere, Mother, The Kids Are All Right, I Am Love and many more... all of which are now available on DVD. If you live in a city that doesn't get the movies on time, are you finally all caught up on your 2010 viewing? Was Blue Valentine your lone holdout?

Enjoy and please comment. But don't fall in love with married lesbians.

April. It's a Wrap.

2011 is speeding by. A third over already? Here are some highlights from the month that was in case you missed anything. My biggest regret is that my contribution to the Beauty & The Beast party didn't pan out as planned. I have a new copy of the DVD sitting here so... soon.  But it was still super exciting to see your turn out for that episode of Hit Me With Your Best Shot. I hope everyone clicked around and read all the Belle magic.

Distant Relatives Robert closed out the first season of his new series with Toy Story and... Ingmar Bergman?
Angelina Jolie's Power Cleanse Kurt on Lara Croft's hair flip & gratuitous goddess power.
Remembering Sidney Lumet 43 Features, 5 Oscar Noms, 1 Fine Career.
Melanie Lynskey Memoir The actress chimed in with her own mini memoir and "best shot" for the great 90s flick Heavenly Creatures.
Overheard: On Marisa Tomei the things people say...

Take Three: Shelley Duvall Craig paid homage to the inimitable star in The Shining, Three Women and Portrait of a Lady.
One Angry Man. Trying to get the Personal Canon going again with the 70s classic Network.
10 Word Reviews I finally realized 7 was not enough. On Potiche, Mildred Pierce and more.
Sally Field as Mary Todd Are we excited for Steven Spielberg's Lincoln?
Nathaniel in Nashville Y'all barely commented but sometimes I blog to entertain myself. With drawrings! ;)

Most Popular: April Fool Oscar Predix. Always Oscar for y'all
Most Commented On: Best Actress & Best Picture. Next chart update coming on May 8th.

Coming in May:
Tony Nomination Discussion, TOP GUN, THOR, Tim Roth, George Clooney, ERASERHEAD (this Wednesday - hit me schedule), Vincent Price Centennial, TARZAN THE APE MAN, Cannes Film Festival Tidbits, More "Reader Spotlights", THE RESCUERS, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, THE TREE OF LIFE, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS and more...

Do any of you have birthdays in May? ;)