Monday, May 2, 2016 at 7:08AM 
Hit Me With Your Best Shot takes on Death Becomes Her (1992) tomorrow night. You know you would like to talk...about... Madeline Ashton. If you're playing along send us your links when you publish your favorite shot to your blog or social media account.
Sunday, May 1, 2016 at 7:00PM No, not that civil war. Movies weren't invented yet.
Next weekend Hollywood is steering completely clear of Captain America: Civil War on four trillion screens. Nobody's even trying to counterprogram but just conceding Disney/Marvel's complete dominion over pop culture. Unless of course you are talking arthouse where the sexiest quartet imaginable will be f***ing around in A Bigger Splash. So before Civil War destroys the box office whilst simultaneously ushering in summer movie season and embarrassing its weird thematic twin predecessor Dawn of Justice, here's a look at where the box office for the year stands in four categories along with links to reviews if we did them (though we've been doing a ton more reviews of late the biggest hits seem to have eluded us in most categories).
How many of these pictures have you seen and what did you take in this weekend? I went to Keanu which rustled up just 9 million this weekend. I was sad to feel shruggy about it since I love kittens and Key & Peele but you can only tell the same few jokes so many times...
TOP TEN OF 2016 THUS FAR
01 Deadpool $361+ Reviewish
02 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice $325+ Review
03 Zootopia $323+ Reviewish
04 The Jungle Book $252+
05 Kung Fu Panda 3 $142+
06 Ride Along 2 $90+
07 10 Cloverfield Lane $71+
08 Divergent Series: Allegiant $65+
09 London Has Fallen $65+
10 Miracles From Heaven $59+
TOP TEN (NON-FRANCHISE)
01 Zootopia $323+ Reviewish
02 Miracles From Heaven $59+
03 The Boss $56+ Review
04 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi $52+
05 How to Be Single $46+
06 Risen $36+
07 The Boy $35+
08 Dirty Grandpa $35+
09 Gods of Egypt $31+ Reviewish
10 Hail, Caesar! $30+ A Secret Musical?
TOP TEN FOREIGN FILMS
01 The Mermaid $3.2 (China)
02 Ip Man 3 $2.6 on (Hong Kong)
03 Kapoor & Sons - Since 1921 $2.6 (India)
04 Compadres $2.3 (Mexico)
05 Busco Novio Para Mi Mujer $1.7 (Mexico)
06 Fan $1.6 (India)
07 Neerja $1.5 (India)
08 Embrace of Serpent $1.2 (Colombia) Review | Interview
09 Wazir $1.1 (India)
10 Ki & Ka $.8 (India)
TOP TEN DOCUMENTARIES
01 Where to Invade Next $3.8 Glenn's Review, Manuel's Review
02 Patterns of Evidence: The Exodus $.9
03 City of Gold $.5
04 The First Monday in May $.3 Interview
05 Francophonia $.1
06 Vaxed: From Cover Up to Conspiracy $.1
07 Requiem for the American Dream $.1
08 Colliding Dreams $.06 (Colombia)
09 Trapped $.06 Review
10 Los Sures $.06
Sunday, May 1, 2016 at 11:15AM The next Best Actress race hasn't remotely started so we're at the "anything goes" stage. Sally Field is the only player thus far who feels like a distinct if long shot possibility. With a Golden Globe Comedy nod highly likely for Hello My Name is Doris she'll be discussed again at year's end reminding people of her endearing star turn in the sleeper hit. But what to make of the Best Actress race. Most or all of the contenders are yet to come and there are no sure things.
Sure, Viola Davis looks good on paper to repeat her Tony win in 2010 for Fences as the long suffering wife of a trash collector who was once a promising ball player. But there are some "what ifs" involved. Denzel Washington hasn't yet proved he's special as a director and when the revival in which they starred on Broadway hit not everyone agreed on her category placement with some theater awards deeming her "featured" (the stage's term for "supporting") rather than lead like the Tonys. And then there's the not small matter of whether the Fences will be ready in time for a release and a big Oscar push. If Viola doesn't dominate, will we have an Overdue Narrative this year or a Fresh Blood moment in Best Actress?
Consider: La Pfeiffer (3 nominations... deserved many more. Waiting to win since 1988); The Bening (4 nominations... waiting to win since 1990); Amy Adams (5 generous nominations. Waiting to win since 2005); Viola Davis (2 nominations... waiting to win since 2008). With Jessica Tandy, Hilary Swank, Rachel Weisz, and Meryl Streep winning their rightful Oscars there's ample opportunity for a "make up" year in Best Actress.
But then again not every leading race sees a "career win" like Julianne Moore's or Leonardo DiCaprio's recently. Do you think 2016 will be an old guard year like that or a new blood situation (Negga? Pike?)? Or will it be somewhere inbetween (Emily Blunt...waiting so long for a first nomination? Jessica Chastain, twice nominated thus far?). Check the Best Actress chart and make a call in the comments.
Saturday, April 30, 2016 at 9:26PM 
It's finally complete - the first predictions of the new film year, affectionally dubbed "April Foolish Predictions" by yours truly, just under the wire before May begins. I've opted to go for a year with a lot of new blood in various categories but the supporting categories have no sure things so it's like throwing darts blindly... possibly not even towards a wall... in those categories.
Enjoy fresh charts on ACTRESS, ACTOR, SUPPORTING ACTRESS, and SUPPORTING ACTOR as well as the General Prediction Chart for a summary.
Report back!
Saturday, April 30, 2016 at 12:01PM We're mixing up the month-end ICYMI post to hopefully make it more enticing/interesting with random awards and different categories like so...
5 Most Discussed Posts
Current Stars Who Deserve an Oscar Nod - they've earned momentum
Q&A -Animals & late 80s/early 90s films
Posterized: Tom Hiddleston - where to post-Loki?
Posterized: Melissa McCarthy - she's having quite a career
Pfeiffer & Aronofsky - yup, they'll be working together
5 Favorite Posts
Bob's Burgers & The Birds - Hitchcock references for the win
The Furniture: The Force Awakens - that myth-making forest!
Witness - So pleasurable to revisit this for the Best Shot roundup
Please Switch Off Your Phone - the actresses are actressing, for chrissakes
April Showers Blue Valentine - oh I need to see this again
Best of Nathaniel's Random April Watching
Best Old Thing: Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood (1957)
Best New Thing: The Fits (2016)
Best Actor: Ben Whishaw in The Crucible on Broadway
Best Actress: Geraldine Page in The Beguiled (1971)
Best Supporting Actor: Idris Elba in The Jungle Book
Best Supporting Actress: Jane Krakowski, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt S2
Best Miniature Thing: Katya Zamolodchikova's I'm Not A Doctor
Best TV Episode: Drag Race S8.E8 "RuPaul Book Ball" (with Untucked)
Best Cameo: Scott Gill's penis in John Barrowman's live chat
Cutest: Keanu in all the commercials for Keanu
Sexiest: Tom Hiddleston in High-Rise (runner up: Tyler Hoechlin, Everybody Wants Some !!)
Funniest: Titus Andromedon, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt S2
Spookiest: Lady Asaji Washizu and The Silent Chamber in Throne of Blood
Congratulations are in Order!
Jose was quoted in the ads for the fashion documentary The First Monday in May after his interview here! How about that?
Ongoing conversations
Tribeca - Manuel & Jason celebrated the highs / warned us of the lows
Actor Month -Viggo, Willem, Matthias, Andrew, and many more
April Showers - Gone Girl, Sicario, Margaret, Law of Desire, Carrie, Pee Wee's Big Holiday
April Downers
If we hadn't lost Chus Lampreave, and Ronit Elkabetz and had to say Farewell to Prince it would have been much much better month. But sometimes it snows in April. (Runners Up: The steep steep quality decline for "The Flash" of late which is so much mopier and with the slowest storyline --Zoom & Earth 2-- imaginable for a show about super-speedsters. And, of course, that Snatch Game episode of RPDR.)
How was your April?
P.S. Yes, yes, I'm finishing up the April Foolish charts today. Only the acting categories remain.
