MCN Originals Archive for November, 2019
Review: Little Women (no spoilers)

I was just happy to be in the room with this family. I was happy to be bathed in their familial intimacies. I felt my heart break with their heartbreaks. And I was happy to feel clear in what each of the people represented and not to feel like the characters or the director was shoving the subtext down my throat like they were fattening my liver for pâté.
Read the full article » 1 Comment »20 Weeks To Oscar: Cinema, Trump, and Oscar

What smashed me hard across the face about 1917 was the simple earnestness about honor and, considering its time, manhood at a time when America is wallowing in a lack of honor and a dearth of what were once seen as the virtues of manhood.
1917 is just one of the 5 period movies that very specifically deal with the male engagement with power.
Read the full article » 1 Comment »Box Office First Look
I’m getting back into this habit… but a little uninspired so far.
Frozen 2 opened in the same slot as Frozen, although the first time around, it opened on a single screen. This time, it started wide, as has become the norm
Read the full article » 3 Comments »Do You Want To Build A Straw Man?
I like Mark Harris. I respect Mark Harris. I care what Mark Harris thinks.
Unfortunately, Mark Harris has become one of the media’s most aggressive spokeshammers for the “everything is a nail” coalition.
I read his most recent Vanity Fair piece, “Conventional Oscar Wisdom Has an Almost All-White Best-Actress Lineup—For No Reason” with real curiosity.
Read the full article » 3 Comments »Why You Should Be Afraid Of The End Of The Paramount Decree

hanges in the course of the last 70 years have put the studios in a better position to reinstate their cartel more than ever. Aside from Paramount, the other four surviving major theatrical distributors are owned by multinational conglomerates that do not rely on their theatrical business as their primary revenue source. Even Disney’s leading theatrical is dwarfed by other Disney divisions such as ABC, cable operations and theme parks.
Meanwhile, the exhibition business, which splintered in many directions after the Paramount Decree has consolidated dramatically. America has four chains that own almost half the total screens in the country. AMC (8,218 screens), Cinemark (4,566), Regal (7,308), and Marcus (1,098).
Read the full article » 3 Comments »Gurus o’ Gold: Actress, Actor, Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor (Nov 19, 2019)

Now The Gurus take on the four acting categories. Netflix represents about a third of the nominations. Two people of color slot in the Top 5s. A surprise in the Supporting Actress Five.
Read the full article » 2 Comments »Review: Frozen 2 (spoiler-free)

In a weird way, since the original started with the women’s childhoods, they made Frozen 2 into a prequel or origins story, even as it moves forward.
But the problem… the stakes are external, not internal. Arendelle needs to be saved… again. Elsa has to learn about her magic… again. Anna is adorable… again.
And the songs are… good. It’s like writing a sequel to Grease. Or writing a sequel to any great-song musical. Good. Luck.
Read the full article » 7 Comments »Gurus o’ Gold: Best Picture (Nov 18, 2019)

The season has started at least a dozen times by now. But today is the day that The Gurus are back. A first look at Best Picture today, with Best Actor & Best Actress coming tomorrow.
And guess what? The #1 slot on the chart belongs to… 2 movies.
Read the full article »Review: The Good Liar

I had great fun, from start to finish, trying to anticipate what was about to happen next and then being taken places that were unexpected. Are a few of the functional devices a little clanky? Absolutely. But I wasn’t judging the movie on that basis. For me, it was more like watching a Mission: Impossible film or episode. I didn’t have to believe that a guy in a rubber mask with a chip to adjust his voice passed without question for another person. I enjoyed the gag.
Read the full article »Can’t We All Just Not Agree?

We now have a group that postures itself as aggrieved by popular films they do not like and whine endlessly about how culture as we know it is under attack by these barbarians who, in disagreeing with their taste, allegedly want to narrow the cultural road to the broad tastes of the broadest group possible to the exclusion of all others.
Read the full article » 19 Comments »Review: Marriage Story (spoilers only in the broadest sense)

I feel like there is a giant hole in the middle of this work.
Why is this couple getting divorced?
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