Beauty vs Beast: To Catch a Hitch

Jason from MNPP here with this week's edition of "Beauty vs Beast" -- this Thursday will mark the birth of one of the greatest movie stars of all time, Mr. Cary Grant. His filmography of course reads like a dream with classics of all stripes under his belt, but it's his four collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock (Notorious, North By Northwest, Suspicion and To Catch a Thief) that I want to focus in on today because I want to force a question upon us, an unnecessary frivolous question that nevertheless nags at my frivolous brain - know who else starred in multiple masterpieces for Alfred Hitchcock? Jimmy Stewart, who made The Man Who Knew Too Much, Rear Window, Rope, and Vertigo. And I think you know where I am going with this now... Which is the better Hitchcock Star? Choose!

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PREVIOUSLY As with all things Three Billboards related last week's poll devoted to its two shitty cops played by Woody Harrelson & Sam Rockwell brought out some strong opinions, but only in the comments - the contest itself was won handily by Woody, who took 3/4s of the vote. Said Michael R, summing up my own feelings about Three Billboards:

"Write in vote : Lucas Hedges for Lady Bird. I love that performance so much!"

Soundtracking: "Call Me By Your Name"

by Chris Feil

Luca Guadagnino has become one of our top cinematic sensualists, making films built to be felt in the mind, body, and soul. Music is one of the key tools in his arsenal, particularly for how he uses rock music in ways that feel unburdened by music video tactics. Call Me By Your Name is no exception, with both classical and more electronic music highlighting the internal struggle of its protagonist Elio.

The film begins with a John Adams composition, projecting a similar personality to what Elio thinks is expected of him...

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Box Office: The Post Widens, Proud Mary Aims, Paddington Returns

by Nathaniel R

Weekend Box Office (Jan 12th-14th)
W I D E 800+ screens	L I M I T E D excluding prev. wide
1. Jumanji $27 on 3849 screens (cum. $283.1)	1.🔺 I Tonya $3.3 on 517 screens (cum. $10)  REVIEW
2. 🔺  The Post $18.6 on 2819 screens (cum. $23) REVIEW | OSCAR KICK-OFF	2.🔺 Phantom Thread $1.1 on 62 screens (cum. $2.2) HARRIET'S CAMEO
3. 🔺  The Commuter $13.4 on 2892 screens	3. 🔺  Call Me By... $715k on 174 screens (cum. $7.2) REVIEWISH | SCREENPLAY | SEX
4. Insidious: The Last Key $12.1 on 3150 screens (cum. $48.3)	4. Hostiles $276k on 42 screens (cum. $821k)
5. The Greatest Showman $11.8 on 2938 screens (cum. $94.5) REVIEW | ZAC	5.🔺 Condorita: La Pelicula $236k on 153 screens

Support for Steven Spielberg's inspirational newspaper drama The Post within awards season has been a hysterical rollercoaster. Pundits were all "it's winning everything" as the rollercoaster climbed to its peak. On the descent they're screaming "lost everything!" (GLOBES, CRITICS CHOICE) or "wasn't even nominated!" (SAG, BAFTA). But now that the public is on the ride with the press perhaps we begin to climb again towards another adrenaline rush. Whether the descent is thrilling or terrifying this time will depend on your feelings about The Post  and how many Oscar nominations it gets. Streep and Hanks and Spielberg all remain bankable so the film will do fine in theaters but will Academy voters bite after the whiplash we saw during the precursors? [More charts and thoughts are after the jump...]

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Harriet Sansom Harris in Phantom Thread

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I let out a whoop when I first glimpsed Harriet Sansom Harris in Phantom Thread. I didn’t know she was part of the cast, but there she was drunkenly climbing stairs to meet Daniel Day Lewis’ couturier Reynolds Woodcock, as his wealthy client Barbara Rose.

It’s a comic gem in miniature...

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"Paddington 2" Review

By Spencer Coile  

In theory, the first Paddington film, inspired by the Michael Bond books about a loveable bear who sports a red hat blue coat and has a penchant for marmalade, was a dangerous idea. Live-action modern tellings of classic children’s literature always runs the risk of flying off the rails – look no further than the 2003 disaster, The Cat in the Hat.

Cat in the Hat, Paddington fortunately was not. If anything, Paul King’s 2015 film provided a delightful, and importantly, timely tale about finding a place to call home. Appreciative audiences were struck with its whimsical but mature comparisons to immigration and acceptance of the Other. And luckily, fans of the first film will be pleased to know that Paddington 2 not only lives up to its predecessor, but improves upon it...

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