Today's Mood

Okay this photo of Matthias Schoenaerts and his doggy in a lake (via) isn't actually "Today's Mood" -- it would make a lot more sense categorized as one of our aspirational "Fanboy Delusion" posts -- but I'm willing it to be my mood since I could really use its vibes after such a shit week. I am drinking in its luxurious calmness in hopes it will choke down the swill and bile that's been spraying out. Grant me your serenity, Matthias!

This Week's Three Review Round-up

Since it's Friday and this week's new movies are actually out in the theaters today let's glance back at the week that was in movie reviews by yours truly, since three of them dropped earlier this week and you might've missed them. First and foremost there's the long awaited gay romance The History of Sound starring Paul Mescal and Josh O'Connor from Moffie and Living director Oliver Hermanus -- read my review right here. I think it's a beautiful film, well worth your time.

Is that a gigantic microphone, Dev Patel, or are you just happy to see me? Next up there's Rabbit Trap, an eerie folk horror about a pair of married musicians who stumble through a faerie circle and into a trippy nightmare -- click here to read my review of that sublte slow-burner. I found it kind of funny nad strange that I ended up writing about two movies about people going into the woods with sound recording eqipment this week! Not every day that happens.

And finally there's the third and finaly Downton Abbey movie -- read my thoughts right here. All obviously very different films, but each of them good in their own way -- a good weekend at the movies! Go see them all! And I suppose I'll use this opprtunity to remind y'all that I begin my deep dive into NYFF press screenings next week (with both NewFest and Brooklyn Horror immediately following) so it's going to be real sporadic around here, post-wise. So cling this  three review bounty to your bosoms as a raft to carry you through these turbulent times!

Five Frames From ?

What movie is this?

Good Morning, World

What do you say we tear this Friday a new one.

Watch the whole video here. Thanks, Alan.

Paul Mescal & Josh O'Connor: A Love Story

Well if only I'd waited an hour or so to post about my History of Sound review, then I'd have had these photos that Mubi shared today to go with it -- not that that's gonna quit me from double-posting of course! These are from the same photoshoot that went into making that gorgoues poster we shared with you back in the day (an excellent reminder to my self that I need to go see if I can find a copy of that poster to buy right this second) -- hit the jump for six more beauties of this same sort...

Garrett Wareing Eleven Times

As I said on Bluesky yesterday (also involving a hot picture of Garrett's treasure trail) I'm a bit peeved I wasn't able to get to an early screening of The Long Walk (i.e. didn't get an invite) which is out in theaters tomorrow -- I very much want to see the Stephen King (aka Richard Bachman) adaptation, having been a fan of that darker-than-dark story since my teenage years, and a fan of Garrett Wareing since well several months ago when I first saw him without his clothes on. Oh well! It's not like this wasn't a busy week what with three reviews written by your truly having also dropped. I'll try to go see it this weekend if I can muster the energy to deal with real crowds (never a given any more) and if not make we'll due with this new photoshoot of Garrett (via) until the movie hits digital. Hit the jump for the entire shoot...

The History of Sound is Here

As we have been with everything The History of Sound related since it was first announced we were obviously all over the above photo the minute it made its way online, which was before the movie even started filming. But now that the movie is hitting theaters tomorrow and the critical reception has been generally cool toward the film I'm re-posting it right now because I probably won't get another chance through awards-season -- I don't forsee this movie getting much love in the months ahead. Which is a real shame if you ask me because I love the film and think it's doing some really lovely and important stuff, all of which I dive into in my review at Pajiba, which you can go read right now. I think the movie is doing something different than what people expected from it, and I hope that it'll be seen for what it is -- a deeply lovely and heartbroken tribute to the stories untold -- down the road. I'd say it's close in mood and tone to something of Terrence Davies -- abstract and intellectual. If that helps. Anyway I very much like the film and I hope you do too.  (I'm also pretty proud of the piece I wrote, so I hope you like it.)

Good Morning, World

Hey if you're looking for a trainer, Karl Glusman, look no further. 

I don't know much about working out 

or nutrition but I'll sure test your endurance!

Newfest Is Calling From inside The House

Yesterday when I shared the line-up for the Brooklyn Horror Fest here in NYC I mentioned that the next several weeks are about to get psycho-nuts on me with that fest, NYFF and NewFest all barreling toward me -- well here we are less than 24 hours later and NewFest has dropped their line-up, proving my point. But thre's no saying no to any of these fests as they cover all sides of me -- fancy-man movie-lover with NYFF, horror hound with BHFF, and fag supreme at NewFest. I am a rich tapestry! Anyway you can check all of NewFest's line-up right here but as I did for BHFF I'm gonna narrow it down, simplify simplify simplify, and give you the titles I personally got ants in my pants about.

5 NewFest Movies To Get My Gay On

Night Stage -- Per usual you'll always get me at "queer erotic thriller." And the last time I saw one was Femme and that worked out great! This one from Brazil is about a rising politician with a penchant for public sex. TELL ME MORE.

The Chronology of Water -- Written and directed by Kristen Stewart! This premiered at Cannes and I didn't hear much about it but then I tend to ignore Cannes as much as possible. It stars the great Imogen Poots (who I just saw in person last night at that Hedda screening) in the true-story of a swimmer who fell in love with literature. Yes, books! It's crazy! (The movie also co-stars Tom Sturridge, yum.)

Blue Film -- I mentioned this movie on Bluesky a couple of weeks ago when I first read about it as it screened in Edinburgh; by all accounts a deeply provocative film about a camboy spending the night with an older man (Reed Birney) with pedophilic fantasies this movie sounds legit dangerous in a way movies (and art) should be more often. Can't wait for this.

Only Good Things -- Another Brazilian movie! Bless the Brazilians. This one's from Dry Wind director Daniel Nolasco, which is all I really needed to know -- Dry Wind was terrific (and very very sexy). This one's a love story set in the 1980s. (And looks very very sexy.) 

Fucktoys -- The only one of these movies that I've posted here at MNPP about already, when back in March I shared the teaser trailer for it because it co-stars François Arnaud looking like that above. It debuted at SXSW then and everything I read about it made it sound very up my alley. John Waters gets name-checked by its director (and lead actor) Annapurna Sriram a lot! 

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NewFest 2025 runs from October 9th through 21st, both here in person in NYC and also online! So make sure you check their website to see what you can see on this here World Wide Web if you're outta town. And there were many many other titles announced today so make sure you check the whole line-up, top to proverbial bottom. You can buy badges right now; individual tickets go on sale September 15th. 

Pics of the Day

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A post shared by Jason Adams (@jasonaadams)

As the caption says I went to a screening of Hedda, Nia DaCosta's forthcoming adaptation of Ibsen's play "Hedda Gabler" starring Tessa Thompson in the titular role, last night, and there are some photos from the Q&A and after-party that followed the screening. As a long-time Hoss-head I was most ecstatic to be in the same room with Nina Hoss, legend -- when I looked over and saw her and Steve Buscemi (!!!!) chatting it up excitedly right beside me I almost fell on the floor. I couldn't hear them but one can only assume she was doing his "just total fuckin' silence" monologue from Fargo. Anyway Hedda is out on October 22nd in theaters and then hits Prime a week later -- here's the trailer:

Five Frames From ?

What movie is this?

Over the Dev and Through the Woods

Do you guys think Dev Patel will ever trim his hair and shave off his beard again? I kind of feel like the answer is no -- I think the last time he tried it was for that Life of David Copperfield and nobody saw that. And it wasn't really until he unveiled This Look that the world swooned -- it really suits him, is my point. That said he's now in incredible shape -- as witnessed in his directorial debut Monkey Man (he let his camera luxuriate over his own muscles in that, it was great) as well as this weekend's new folk horror movie Rabbit Trap, which is what we're actually here to talk about. So maybe he'll feel less like the scrawny kid from Slumdog Millionaire if he does shave his face clean again, is my point. Anyway we love Dev and we loved Rabbit Trap, you can read my review over at Pajiba. It is exactly what it promises to be on the box but does so with gorgeous visuals, ace sound design, and three terrific central performances. It's a very small movie and it's not the sort of horror that will make you jump off your chair but it will seep a damp cold into your bones and we love that. Here's the trailer if you need more of a feel:

Good Morning, World

Another gift for those of us who couldn't make it to TIFF this year (like those photos of beskirted James McAvoy & Friends that I shared on Monday) is the trailer for a short film called Disc that screened there that stars the great Jim Cummings... and if I had to guess judging by said trailer it stars the great Jim Cummings in just tighty-whities for the entire thing? Now that's cinema, baby. It about a "hookup gone wrong" and there are some good reviews for the short around if you google them. For our main concerns however just hit the jump for several more gifs and said trailer...

The Lights Are Much Brighter There...

Several reviews from yours truly are going to be dropping this week (if not today), starting right here and right now with my take on the third and supposedly final Downton Abbey movie, The Grand Finale. Click here to read my thoughts! I've been surprisingly kind to this franchise over the years, given its wealth-obsessed soapiness is not my usual beat, but I take it the same way that people during the Great Depression must have approached Busby Berkeley musicals -- a lavish distraction. And chauffeur-stud Allen Leech is my Dick Powell, I guess! As I say in my review this final film is extremely For The Fans, but it does have the good sense of gifting us with Arty Froushan's delightful turn as Noel Coward plus half-naked Alessandro Nivola. Of course I had a good time!

My review of the new Downton Abbey movie won't drop til next week but let it be known that Arty Froushan as Noel Coward is now my North Star

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— Jason Adams (@jamnpp.bsky.social) September 4, 2025 at 11:03 AM

Happy Jurassic Jonny Day!

We're ignoring the recent news that Jonathan Bailey is taking some time off from acting to go work on his charity -- yes okay it's an amazing cause and an amazing act of selflessness and it will also make you commenters who kept accusing him of being over-exposed happy no doubt, but we prefer him directly in front of us at all times, personally. So we're ignoring it and directing everyone's attention to the fact that his Jurassic World movie is hitting blu-ray today! It's the best one since the movies were called Jurassic Park -- you can read my review of it right here -- so you should 100% grab yourselves a copy. Click here and you can make that happen! The internet is magic like that. And speaking of magic hit the jump for a couple more photos of Jonny being his gorgeous self...

5 Off My Head - Brooklyn Horror 2025 Time!

Starting next week we'll be entering the annual "very quiet round these parts" portion of the calendar as I plunge head-first into the fall film fests -- first it's the New York Film Festival, then there's the autumnal edition of NewFest, and then kicking off on October 16th there's the Brooklyn Horror Fest, which I've been covering since year one. This is year ten! By the time Halloween comes I'm always completely blown out but it's worth it every time so I keep it up anyway, despite the years of my life I've no doubt lost to cinematic exhaustion. Anyway today BHFF announced their new line-up and you can see the entire thing right here, but I'm going to zero in on a few titles (five specifically) that I'm most excited about seeing. A few of the movies they're showing I've already seen at earlier fests this year (Tina "daughter of Geroge" Romero's queer zombie flick Queens of the Dead is a hell of a lot of fun) -- in fact one of them I've even reviewed! You can read my thoughts on the brilliantly surreal head-trip Buffet Infinity right here. But let's get to the rest!

5 Brooklyn Horror Tiles to Devour

Dust Bunny -- Obviously! Duh! This kiddy horror flick from Pushing Daisies and Hannibal genius Bryan Fuller screened at TIFF yesterday and they also dropped the trailer (right here) -- it stars Mads Mikkelsen and Sigourney Weaver and I haven't shut up about it for a very long time. And it looks like this will be my first opportunity to see it before it hits theaters on December 5th!

Boorman and the Devil -- This documentary about the making of John Boorman's disastrously-received Exorcist sequel just premiered at Venice last week and got a really good reception. Also the queer horror community being as small as it is we here at MNPP know some people who worked on this (including director David Kitteredge) and we've been hearing about its making for what feels like forever! Put it in my eyeballs!

This is Not a Test -- Although the official page for this (the Opening Night) movie on BHFF's website doesn't mention its queerness, Variety's article on the line-up does -- either way we dug director Adam MacDonald's former feature Pyewacket a lot and we're always on board a high-school-set zombie movie. 

Tinsman Road -- A new found-footage horror film from homosexual director Robbie Banfitch, director of the found-footage freak-out The Outwaters. I was slightly mixed on that one (although it has some excellent scares and atmopshere) but we support our people! Meaning "gays" but also "found footage horror movie lovers."

Violence -- Looking forward to this one mainly because it stars Rohan Campbell, who was done dirty by David Gordon Green's Halloween Ends. He was good in a terrible role, and we're giving him a second chance. Does it hurt that he's hot as hell? Of course not. We are but human.

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There are a heap more movies worth seeing so make sure you scan the entire line-up at the link, and if you're in NYC between October 16th and 25th then you owe it to yourself to celebrate the Hallow-season with some of these frights! Badges are on sale right now; individual tickets go on sale this Friday at Noon!

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

... you can learn from:

Take This Waltz (2011)

Margot: Sometimes I'm... walking along the street and a shaft of sunlight falls in a certain way across the pavement and I just wanna cry. And then a second later, it's over. I decide because I'm an adult, to not succumb to the momentary melancholy.

A happy birthday to the great Michelle Williams today. I've been thinking this movie's demanding a re-watch -- I haven't seen it since it came out. I also need to watch MW's series Dying For Sex though -- have any of you watched that yet? I've only heard brilliant things but then, it's Michelle Williams. All there are are brilliant things. 

Glen Powell Ten Times

Glen Powell is on the cover of the new issue of GQ rocking a lot of blown-up muscle body-suits for some reason and I'm just going to lay it all out here -- I find those things deeply disturbing. For some reason they unnerve me. So I won't be sharing those images. If you need to see him looking like he skinned Arnold Schwarzenegger alive and is wearing the skin-suit then feel free to click the above link -- me I'm editing the photos down to the acceptable "Glen being regular old hot" assortment. Hit the jump for just those...

Five Frames From ?

What movie is this?

Good Morning, World

Kudos to Cheyenne Jackson for allowing us free entry into his summer fun-time (via) -- I feel like I'm practically there! Of course it helps if you open that image up, make it very large on your computer screen, and then press your nose against it. Just don't let your co-workers see you -- they might have questions. Anyway it's Tuesday morning which is probably the worst morning of all the mornings (yes it's somehow even worse than Monday) so those buns are a real ray of sunshine today. Thank you, Cheyenne. Hit the jump for more gratuity from Mr. Jackson if yo nasty...