Dystopias Large (Blade Runner 2049) and Small (The Florida Project) at the Box Office

by Nathaniel R

Weekend Box Office (October 6th-8th)
BLADE RUNNER 2049	BATTLE OF THE SEXES
1.🔺 BLADE RUNNER 2049  $31.5 on 4000+ screens new BEST OF | SHORT FILMS	6. AMERICAN MADE $8 on 3000+ screens (cum. $30.4)
2.🔺 THE MOUNTAIN BETWEEN US $10.1 on 3000+ screens new	7. LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE $6.7 on 3600+ screens (cum. $43.8)
3. IT $9.6  on 3600+ screens (cum. $304.9) REVIEW | 5 TAKEAWAYS	8.🔺 VICTORIA & ABDUL $4.1 on 732 screens (cum. $5.9) BEST ACTRESS
4. 🔺 MY LITTLE PONY  $8.8 on 2500+ new	9. FLATLINERS  $3.8 on 2500+ screens (cum. $12.3) TRAILER
5.  KINGSMAN: GOLDEN CIRCLE  $8.1 on 3400+ screens (cum. $79.9)  REVIEW OF THE ORIGINAL	10. 🔺 BATTLE OF THE SEXES $2.4 on 1800+ screens  (cum.$7.6) BEST OF... | TRAILER
🔺 = new or significant expansion numbers (in millions unless otherwise noted) from box office mojo

T'was a quieter weekend than forecasters predicted at the box office with the Blade Runner sequel having more trouble than expected (which wouldn't be trouble but for that $150 million budget -- hey, at least it's all on the screen!) The Mountain Between Us didn't turn into a towering counter-programming option but with a much much lower budget $35, it should be fine in the long run.

The week's most crowded theaters (albeit only 4 of them) belonged to A24's The Florida Project, which Chris reviewed and Jason shared a personal essay about here already. We highly recommend it. The film is off to a very solid platform start of $153,000. For context that's about 2½ times the first weekend of Sean Baker's previous awards worthy critical darling Tangerine , which also happened to be a supremely empathetic, wickedly funny, moving look at a marginalized community. We love Baker for his consistent great skill with first time actors and that singular but versatile niche. Much less popular but far more of a specialty audience only item was the debut of Agnes Varda's delightful new documentary Faces Places which Murtada reviewed.  

What did you see this weekend? Apart from Blade Runner 2049 (which, more soon) I had a theater weekend taking in "The Play That Goes Wrong" on Broadway and a very wacky very naked modern dance performance inspired by the films of Almodovar. No, really! 

Transparent S4 E4-6: A Widening Family Circle

by Chris Feil

E4 - "Cool Guy"

Maura wasted no time in discovering her father still alive in Israel to actually meet him, even if Allie led most of the confrontation. Upon meeting Moshe, it’s doubly infuriating that Maura has to do the labored explanation of her gender before Moshe even begins to explain himself for abandoning her. It’s two kinds of very personal injustice intertwining for something almost unspeakably painful - the kind of moment that Jeffrey Tambor has aced from the very beginning of Transparent.

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Difficult People S3 E9-10: LA, Ayahuasca, and Aimee Mann

Chris and Spencer wrap up their chat on this season of Difficult People!

In "Sweet Tea" we finally get the much teased Big Lebowski sequence and some major shakeups...

S: “Sweet Tea” is the episode of some big changes! We have Julie giving up acting to start a career in crafting, Billy being sick of New York, and Arthur quitting his job at PBS… although Arthur decides to return back to PBS.

C: This season’s been kind of fitful in trying to create long-game plot points, but this felt like it was actually developing something that could have lasting implications.

S: Julie referring to Etsy as a cult is one of the most relatable lines from Difficult People I have ever heard. But then she turns around and uses weed baggies as her own new product, the “dream baggie.” I’ll take 20.

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NYFF: The Florida Project

by Jason Adams

When I was eight years old my mother and I finally moved out of the room we had been renting since my parents had divorced into our own house. The house was so small the movers had to break our bed-frame in half to get it up the staircase, but it was ours. A house! A home. The day after we moved in the police showed up at our door and took my mother away - in order for us to get our own place she had stolen money from the laundromat she worked at. I went and lived with my grandmother for awhile after that.

I take films about poverty as a deeply serious business...

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C O N S I D E R -Fav Actresses of 2017, 3rd Qtr

With less than three months of the year to go - eep! -- it's time to do another tally of favorite performances -- this is how we keep track so we're not like Oscar voters who only vote on the last couple months of the year. Here are the 17 best female turns this past quarter according to your host, Nathaniel. Which movies were considered? Movies released between July and right now (October 6th) as well as unreleased movies (marked by an asterisk*) which were screened in that time frame but have no firm release date in the future. Previous 3rd quarter lists: Filmmaking and Male Acting

Disclaimer: Key actress-focused films I missed this past quarter were Home Again, Ingrid Goes West, and Lady Macbeth. If you've seen them give their MVPs a shout-out.

6 LEADING ACTRESSES

Dame Judi Dench as "Queen Victoria" in Victoria & Abdul
I love the idea of character sequels decades later rather than continuing story sequels (that's what TV is for!). The movie is no great shakes but it's quite fun to see her return to this signature character. 

Regina Hall as "Ryan Pierce" in Girls Trip 
A wonderfully nimble performance. She's got to provide the straight man to the comic bananas but to make that funny, too, while dexterously handling the script's somewhat heavy handed character arc.

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