Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Good Morning, World


Swallowed director Carter Smith sent out this photo (click to embiggen) of his lead actor Cooper Koch last week as part of his weekly "All the Dead Boys" newsletter, and as a reminder that Swallowed is getting the fancy blu-ray treatment via Vinegar Syndrome -- buy it here! Mine just shipped out yesterday, which was what reminded me to share this photo of the Monsters star taken at an earlier but no less unshy date. Here is my review of Swallowed -- terrific flick, that. And a good one to add to your Halloween watch schedule if you're in the mood for some creepy queer body-horror goodness. If you don't have the blu-ray it is rent-able on Prime right now. So no excuses! Happy Hump Day.

Tuesday, October 29, 2024

Happy Birthday, Winona


We love Winona forever, amen.

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

 ... you can learn from:

Being John Malkovich (1999)

Craig: There is truth, and there are lies, and 
art always tells the truth. Even when it's lying.

Happy 25 to one of the many many 1999 masterpieces, and one of Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman's many masterpieces. Doesn't that single line from the film feel like a nice distillation of Charlie Kaufman's ethos? He's always uncovering the deepest truths about humanity through artifice and deception, boxes within boxes, pulling back the telescopic lens on us again and again until he spirals our brains into something like Herzog's ecstatic truth. And this movie is where our journey with that genius began (no The Dana Carvey Show does not count) and I haven't regretted a single second since. Anyway did you see the news that Jonze had apparently been working on a big sci-fi series for Netflix that's just been shelved? Boo, I say -- we need Spike back already! It's been ages and ages. Come back to us! On camera, too -- I like to look at you.



Five Frames From ?





What movie is this?

Queer The Trailer Is Here, It's Queer


She's here and she's lovely! The trailer for Luca Gudagnino's Queer arrived this morning -- why do they always have to drop while I'm in the middle of my work commute? -- and you can watch it below. If this is your first time here this is Luca's adaptation of William S. Burroughs' novel starring Daniel Craig as a Burroughs stand-in during his time in Mexico and South America, swooning over a hot but semi-indifferent boy played by Drew Starkey. 

I reviewed the movie right here when it screened at NYFF earlier this month -- I was a fan. Of course I was a fan. What can I say at this point? Luca and I work on very similar wave-lengths. Here's a bit of what I said about the film:

"Queer is a bold act of kindness from one queer to another, excavating an unexpected and impossible love story out from one of our most enigmatic homosexual touchstones. It is a rare gem, haunting and strange, a romance of shivering ache and heartbreak closer to Guadagnino’s Suspiria or Bones and All than the flushed skin and peach fuzz of I Am Love and Call Me By Your Name that Luca-in-lover-mode is known for. It’s dazzling and dirty and sad, like a haunting dream we find ourselves fighting to not wake up from so as to not have to stare at the empty, featureless room that surrounds us."

The trailer kind of splits the difference between the two Lucas and I suppose that's apt -- when I saw him talk about the movie (see some video here) he insisted this was a love story, just for two people out of sync, and that's very true. 

It's weirder than that implies though, especially its last act which I love and understood in my bones but which has thrown a lot of people off. Anyway you'll see soon enough. Here's the trailer:

Queer is out on November 27th!



Good Morning, Franz Rogowski


Oh happy day -- as Andrea Arnold's wonderful new film Bird is about to hit theaters (my review hereAnother Man magazine has gifted us with a gratuitous photoshoot of our beloved Franz Rogowski for the ages! Not that Franz has ever been a shy one -- outside of all the many many times he's disrobed in his movies he's posted photos of great gratuity on his Instagram and he's given us several other photoshoots of note. He's a generous giver and I feel given to. You should definitely read the interview that goes with these pictures...

... because on that front I learned Franz was raised by parents in a menage a la Passages, that he refuses to identify sexually, and that he got kicked out of clown school. And every single one of those things make sense when it comes to him, right? The writer of the piece is show-offy with how intimate the interview is, mentioning Franz flirting with him during yoga and "applying some pressure to my glute" and then how they went and showered afterwards... not that I wouldn't mention these things too! I am just jealous. So very jealous. But we've at least got these pictures to show for it, even if Franz didn't touch our glutes. (Yet.) Hit the jump for them all... 

Monday, October 28, 2024

Mason Gooding Wants Your Sex


Another batch of names have been added to the cast of Gregg Araki's upcoming movie I Want Your Sex, and one of them is Scream hunk and MNPP fave Mason Gooding! Yes I cannot wait for Araki's lens to frame this slab of man -- Gregg will know how to do it. This is the movie that stars Olivia Wilde and Cooper Hoffman as a May-December pairing whose entire calendar goes outta whack due to the power of their passion. I just came up with that plot description myself, I really should work in PR. Here is the way Deadline puts it:

"A provocative film blithely exploring desire, domination, and fantasy, I Want Your Sex asks, how far is too far? When fresh-faced Elliot (Hoffman) lands an exciting job for renowned artist, icon and provocateur Erika Tracy (Wilde), his fantasies come true as Erika taps him to become her sexual muse. But Elliot soon finds himself out of his depth as Erika takes him on a journey more profound than he ever could have imagined, into a world of sex, obsession, power, betrayal and murder."

Also joining the cast are Johnny Knoxville, Daveed Diggs, Charlie XCX, Margaret Cho, and Chase Sui Wonders from Bodies Bodies Bodies, which is such an Araki-esque movie I'm just now realizing? Ooh why isn't Gregg working with Rachel Sennott??? My brain just exploded. They would be amazing together. Get to work on the next one right now, Gregg! Mason can come too!


RIP Paul Morrissey

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Kit Harington Eleven Times


Kit Harington has been very good to us in 2024 -- better to people who were able to go to London and see him on stage in Slave Play obviously -- and he keeps on keeping on with the hotness parade via this new photoshoot for ICON magazine. There could be fewer clothes but there could always be fewer clothes -- what matters is how much he makes us think sinful throughts through said clothes and my brain is popping off. Hit the jump for the full shoot...

Who Wore It Best?


I am ashamed to admit I didn't think of this myself first, nor in a timely fashion (i.e. when The Iron Claw came out last year), so go thank this person on Twitter for realizing that Zac Efron wears the same yellow mesh tank top in that movie that Lena Dunham wore in a memorable scene on Girls. Anyway I'm pretty sure I have a clue which way this poll will go (pretty sure!) but how could I not ask:


Let's All Go To The Land of Nod


Exciting news this morning as Kyle Edward Ball, the writer-director of Skinamarink an MNPP-approved fave, has announced his new movie! There's not a lot of specific news to share except it's going to be called The Land of Nod and -- in a huge step up from the itty bitty indie cred of Skinamarink -- it will be for A24! (And Elijah Wood as well with his production company SpectreVision.) Here is my review of Skinamarink from way back in the day -- I was one of the first critics to review it and I became somewhat obnoxiously relentless in my pushing of it even though I knew it wasn't for everybody, and uhhh a lot of people sure said so. It's not often you see something that feels so fresh though, something which taps into something so primal in you, and Skinamarink did that for me tenfold. I was lulled into a trance and found the ultimate experience deeply terrifying. Anyway no idea what Ball will go for this time out (although he has spoken about projects he was working on before, read that here) -- all we have info-wise right now is that title The Land of Nod, which is a Biblical reference; via Wiki:

"The Land of Nod is a place mentioned in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible, located "on the east of Eden", where Cain was exiled by God after Cain had murdered his brother Abel. According to Genesis 4:16: 

"And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden." 

... Nod is said to be outside of the presence or face of God. Origen defined Nod as the land of trembling and wrote that it symbolized the condition of all who forsake God. Early commentators treated it as the opposite of Eden (worse still than the land of exile for the rest of humanity). In the English tradition Nod was sometimes described as a desert inhabited only by ferocious beasts or monsters. Others interpreted Nod as dark or even underground—away from the face of God. Augustine described unconverted Jews as dwellers in the land of Nod, which he defined as commotion and "carnal disquietude".

A fertile reference, that! I remember the phrase from my childhood spent in Sunday School but a lot of the further inferences go beyond my kiddie-learning. You could go pretty much anywhere from there, but to be honest just some of those descriptions -- the opposite of Eden, a place with its face turned away from God -- give me goosebumps, even though I'm an long-time atheist now. Anyway one imagines this will be very different from Skinamarink -- there's not going to be a need for that film's no-budget aesthetic this time out obviously! But I have a feeling Ball will use what he learned there and maintain some of his voice, even into a bigger production. His voice felt so assured to me already -- I want more! Cannot wait! Also of import (since we're here) -- Ball is a queer filmmaker, which gives Skinamarink an even more interesting underbelly once you know that; can't wait to see how that sorts itself out in his future work. 


Five Frames From ?





What movie is this?

Queer Yourself Up Two More Times


A24 dropped two more posters for Luca Guadagnino's Queer this morning -- the first one came on Friday, see it here -- and like that first one they're all taken from important shots or moments included in the movie. Well the one below is definitely a reworking of a shot in the movie but that necklace is an important visual and more than the other two hints at the film's strangeness. I think it is good if they let everybody know they should not be expecting Call Me By Your Name, as I said in Friday's post on the first poster. Aaaanyway they also say the trailer is dropping tomorrow so stay tuned as I will surely be talking about that. (Ya think?) Queer is out at Thanksgiving. 


Good Morning, World


French actor Arnaud Valois was kind enough to throw a sack over our head and take us on vacation with him this weekend (well via his Insta anyway) -- any guesses where he is via the photos? He didn't label the location. It looks like Palm Springs to me but I say that as a person who's never been to Palm Springs, so WTF do I know? (Don't answer that.) I suppose it could actually be somewhere in France. They have palm trees in France right? (No I have never been to France either.) (Well I've been in the Paris airport, but that doesn't count.) Anyway. Hello. Happy Monday. 


Friday, October 25, 2024

A Very Special Message From Russell Tovey


Do what the man says.

Rest In Peas, Veal, Cream Sauce, Et Cetera


Today marks the 31st anniversary of the death of my hero, the legend Vincent Price, and y'all know what that means -- my annual Vincent Price Dinner is happening this weekend! Stewed and brewed from the dusty, blood-scrawled pages of Price's legendary cookbook Treasures of Great Recipes, we've been having a select group of special people over every October for several years now and dining like Vincent did -- he did us a solid by kicking the proverbial bucket (I say that with love!) right before Halloween so it makes for a perfect grown-up way to have a Halloween party. Cocktails, heavy meats, and spooky thoughts, oh my! Anyway those are my weekend plans -- y'all have a good one and celebrate Vincent in whatever way you see fit! And if I have any good photos to post I will post them on the Insta per usual... 

Tahar Rahim Three Times





Five Frames From ?





What movie is this?

Good Morning, Queer


Good morning from the first official poster for Luca Guadagnino's Queer! A24 shared it on social media this morning along with the word that the first trailer for the movie will be coming our way next week -- I figured it'd be coming soon since the movie is out in one month and two days. Anyway that is quite the striking image and it's taken right from the film (or a variation of it is in the film anyway) -- We'd assumed that would be the font they'd be using for the film's title already because you might recall I saw Luca & Daniel & Drew & Co do a Q&A with the film a few weeks back... well if you don't recall I will share those photos and videos again below because they're always worth looking at. But anyway that font was on the big screen behind them, and it's also the font used in the movie itself. And yes it is very Call Me By Your Name right?

This movie is very much in dialogue with CMBYN -- as I mention in my review of the movie (right here) there are several hilariously aggressive pans out of the windows during the film's sex scenes which are very clearly a good natured fuck you to the people who complained about those in CMBYN. That said I'm not sure making people think they're seeing another CMBYN is a good idea because this movie is very very different, with different intentions and a very different tone. I mean I love it, a lot, but it's a different movie altogether. Anyway you'll all see soon enough. Oh and if you missed it a new photo from the movie dropped a couple of days ago as well. Here are those Q&A photos and videos I mentioned:

Thursday, October 24, 2024

This is Magaro News


Score one for awesomeness today -- director Kelly Reichardt is re-teaming with her First Cow and Showing Up actor John Magaro for her next one! I'm surprised I didn't do a post on this movie when the news broke that it was going to also star Josh O'Connor -- I think that came when I was firmly enconsed in NYFF happenings and doings -- but we're here now doing it and that's what really matters. Tge movie is called The Mastermind and it's about an art-heist and it will also star Licorice Pizza's terrific Alana Haim -- I wasn't sure if she was going to keep acting after that (since she's originally a musician -- but I'm glad she's keeping it up! She's good at it. Anyway we're always seated for Kelly Reichardt and even more we've yet to be disappointed in so doing, and with this cast -- shut the front door et cetera. This plot, genre-tinted as it is, is giving me memories of Night Moves, her excellent 2013 eco-thriller of sorts with Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning, and Peter Sarsgaard. God I love Night Moves! So underrated, that one.