Night By Nicky

Today ended up being a weird day as I had a screening in the morning and I'm still catching up on stuff from the brain-melting illness that melted my brain over the weekend -- hell I'm not even 100% yet from that, as my boyfriend will tell you via his excrutiating experience of being forced to listen to me hack and wheeze all night long. Good times, good times. Anyway I am making it up to you with 1) that photo of slutty blond Nicky Hoult, as we do love his blond era very much, and 2) a promise that tomorrow will be a more thorough posting experience. Heck I've already got two posts lined up to publish tomorrow morning! So for once I'm not lying. See? 2025 isn't just shit. It's a lot of shit, yes, but not just. I do what I can. 

Five Frames From ?

What movie is this?

Criterion Gives Birth This January

Put another checkmark in the "Fucking finally!" column because one of the great movies that hasn't gotten a proper release since the days of DVD is getting an upgrade on January 27th, 2026 -- yes obviously I speak of Jonathan Glazer's 2004 masterpiece Birth, as that enormous visage of Nicole Kidman's face with the word "Birth" scrawled across it probably let on already. (Sidenote: Birth is coming out on my mother's birthday? How fortuitous.) I'd have a hard nigh impossible time ranking Glazer's films because he's made nothing but masterpieces in his directing career -- one wants to call his a "brief" career since he's only directed four features, but those four features are spread across 25 years (beginning with Sexy Beast in 2000) and that's the opposite of brief. But depending on the day Birth might be my favorite of his. The next day it'll be Under the Skin and the day after that's it's The Zone of Interest, and so it goes. But this is triuphant news nonetheless -- a 4K disc, including a new doc on the movie's making -- now can we get Alexandre Desplat's now-legendary score released on vinyl please??? No, it's never enough. You get one thing, you need another, and then you die. And are reborn in a little boy to go stalk Nicole Kidman!

And as if Birth wasn't chilly enough -- Criterion is definitely leaning into the January-ness of January -- we'll also be getting Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man and John Huston's The Dead hitting 4k that month. I don't think I've seen either of these before? I may've seen the Huston ages and ages ago but I was certainly too young to get it and should revisit. As for Dead Man I'm hit-or-miss when it comes to Jarmusch and I'm not exactly crawling over broken glass to watch Johnny Depp movies these days, but I did really love Jarmusch's latest at NYFF so I can probably be convinced. Opinions on either?

Next up there's Jia Zhangke's tremendous latest Caught By the Tides, which I haven't seen since NYFF 2024 so it's been awhile, but it's a film that flits across my consciousness often -- Zhangke shot the film over 23 years (!!!) with actors Zhao Tao and Li Zhubin and watching them age in real time, watching China change around them -- it's an incredible experience. I suppose it must've been annoying for him when Richard Linklater beat him to the gimmick with Boyhood but I'm very much Team Zhangke on this one. It's an incredible accomplishment. And then there's the latest entry in Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project series, which honestly has long intimidated the hell out of me. I'll dive into them one day! 

And so we come to the months'f inal three releases (big batch!) -- the second more vital drop this month to my eye is their re-release of Edward Yang's Yi Yi in 4K, which I've talked about a few times since seeing it for the first time just a few months ago; an astonishing film, one of the greats. Then there's the 1985 film of Kiss of the Spider-Woman starring Raul Julia and an Oscar-winning turn from William Hurt. I should probably give this one another chance -- I remember not being nuts about it when I saw it in my 20s. And then to bring us home there's Errol Flynn's best movie says me, the enormously entertaining 1935 swashbuckler Captain Blood. Love this movie; Errol is Peak Errol here.The big sword fight on the rocks is unmissable classic cinema. 

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

 ... you can learn from:

Swan Song (2021)

Pat: In death Rita remembered that she had taste. 

Dee Dee: Taste or dementia? You decide.

A happy 81st birthday to the legend Udo Kier! This movie is so much sweet fun -- here is my review. I just saw Udo in a new movie at the NYFF a couple of weeks ago -- he re-teamed with his Baracau director Kleber Mendonça Filho  (seen together below) for a single scene in The Secret Agent, which... well we'll see if I review that movie still before I say too much about it. I will have more NYFF reviews coming. When I stop being sick. So stay tuned! And happy birthday Udo!

Five Frames From ?

What movie is this?

Josh O'Connor Sixteen Times

Well here's a pleasant enough task to easing me back into blogging duties -- Josh O'Connor is covering GQ this month! I can certainly stare at these pictures for a little bit. It's like a sort of medicine. Anyway it makes sense that he's getting a big spotlight right now, what with four movies out this fall -- don't ask my tired brain to name all of them but there's the new Knives Out (which by all accounts Josh is basically a co-lead with Daniel Craig in) and the new Kelly Reichardt movie The Mastermind. And then that one where he's a cowboy. I have no idea what the fourth one is. Anyway Josh wears leather pants, Josh wears plaid pants, Josh wears NO pants in the photos, so that's what we're really here to celebrate. Hit the jump for the photos...

Good Morning, World

Yes as our good friend actor Garrett Wareing put it there beside his thirsty thighs -- "Onward lol" -- wisdom from the mouths of babes, y'all. So yeah I've been sick as a dog, a very sick dog, for the past several days -- am I back to normal? No no I am not. I was up half the night hacking up my lungs even as I am technically "on the mend" -- I did feel well enough to finally come back to my office today but I'm not sure how much anyone there or here should expect from me. My brain is not right. I mean yes that's always been the case but it's not the right kind of not right right now. I have a constant high-pitched shrieking sound in my left ear for one, so that's fun. But I won't list all my miseries -- I've already inflicted enough self-indulgence on you this morning. I'll try to post some as the day goes along. Thanks to those of you who commented on the last post or sent me messages on Bluesky -- much appreciated. We're over the hump. Or was a wise poet once said, "Onward lol."

Thrust It, Joe Keery, Thrust It

Well I made it to the last day of NYFF before getting sick, so that's something! But sick indeed I am -- it's not Covid, or so two tests taken over the past day and a half have told me. It feels like the same thing I had last year around this time -- an extremely sore throat, is the gist of it. But seeing as how there's literally no symptom of illness I loathe more than a sore throat that's plenty. Anyway you really can't ask me to entertain you in this state, so this is it. Don't ask! I am giving you this gif of Joe Keery doing a pole dance in short shorts and that's all you're getting from me until Monday. Enjoy, and goodbye.

Today's Fanboy Delusion

Today I'd rather be...

... all swole with Jamie Dornan. (via)

Yeahhhh let's get an instant replay on that:

JFC, Jamie. Here's the full vid:

Quote of the Day

I think whenever there's an new movie from Luca Guadagnino coming out -- as there is this weekend with After the Hunt, reviewed right here by yours truly -- I end up doing about five "Quote of the Day" posts involving him, because he's not shy about giving interviews and saying things I enjoy hearing. Today he spoke to GQ (thx Mac) and there are several bits inside this single interview I could've shared -- he goes on about Showgirls being a masterpiece for god's sake! But I'm choosing the bit below where the interviewer asks him about something I very much wanted the answer to after seeing After the Hunt twice -- a framed poster of Pedro Almodovar's movie The Flower of My Secret is prominently displayed in one scene, and here's what he had to say about that:

"I think Alma loves that movie. I think Alma is a cosmopolitan. I think her and Frederick have been traveling the world a lot. You see that alongside the work of art that hangs in the apartment, that belongs to the heritage of the family of Frederick, there is a lot of contemporary international art that maybe Alma has bought around the world and bought. A very smart idea that Stefano developed in the set of the apartment. 

I think she loves that movie because I think she admires Pedro the filmmaker, but I think she really loved the character of Leocadia [in the movie]. I think Alma is drawn to Leocadia’s crisis. She is drawn to the idea that she also secrets herself. And at the same time, I think that she loves the form of that movie. In fact, she listens to the soundtrack. She plays Miles Davis' “Solea,” which is one of the pieces of music that is in that movie. And lastly, because every movie that I do is about the characters, but every character in the movie in a way reflects part of myself, I love that movie. And I love Pedro Almodovar. 

One of the great, great, great moments of my life was when we were at the premiere of Queer in Venice last year, and the movie finished and we had this beautiful reception from the audience in the theater. And I was so happy, and looking around and turning to say thank you to the people. And there, I saw Pedro, and that was amazing."

Five Frames From ?

What movie is this?

Good Morning, World

I stared at these pictures for awhile before I noticed the bracelet that he's modeling in them -- even in a hliriously bracelet-forward photo like the one above I had to actually see the headline of the article that shared the photos to realize there was a bracelet there. My brain was pretty much stuck in "Durrrrrr Elordi" mode. Anyway he was photographed by Sofia Coppola here, who already proved that she knew how to shoot the heck out of Jacob Elordi in the wonderful and totally underappreciated film Priscilla -- and there are several more photos too! And you can see them now if you hit the jump...

Good Night Oscar

Have you seen the photos of Oscar Isaac taken at the Los Angeles premiere for Guillermo Del Toro's Frankenstein last night? Here are two of them but he looks so handsome in every damn picture I recommend you search around (or just check my Bluesky where I posted more) -- they're worth losing yourself in! Kinda wild how he just keeps getting better looking -- I actually saw him coming out of a screening of Richard Linklater's new movie at NYFF last week and stood two feet from him and it ain't photoshop y'all. The man's a dream. Anyway let these photos hold you tight cuz I sure ain't gonna -- I'm off to see the new Yorgos Lanthimos picture! Yay me! Bye!

That's Right -- As Hell, I Said!

Y'all know how giddy I get when I get blurbed -- my great joy is also my great shame -- so consider it giddy-time! That's my Mashable review of Neon's forthcoming found-footage horror flick Shelby Oaks quoted there from the film's Instagram account -- I saw it at Fantasia Fest in Montreal last year and it rules. Here's the full review, although you might wanna see the movie first. It's one with a lot of tricks and turns up its tricky twisty sleeves. As it says above the movie is out on October 24th and I hope it makes for an All Hallows hit -- as I said I haven't seen it since last July but there are still a couple of scares that make the hairs on my arms stand on end when I think about them. I will definitely be re-watching it the second I can. And since I apparently hadn't posted this yet, here's the trailer for the movie below... although like I said, maybe just don't watch this. I will share it because we're all adults and we can make our own decisions -- I'll just hand you the rope to hang yourself with but I deny any and all blame!

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

 ... you can learn from:

The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)

Guy: Goodbye, beautiful.

Jill: Watch out for the melodrama.

I've always loved that line so much -- "Watch out for the melodrama." This is such a great film, one of Peter Weir's best (and fuck if that ain't saying something, given Peter Weir's career), and no I will never let what a racist piece of shit Mel Gibson turned out to be rob me of this movie's glory so don't ask. Can it really be that this movie doesn't have a blu-ray release? Or at least an American one? Much less a 4K???? Just an old DVD!!! This is criminal! Actually what I need is for Curzon to put out one of their big beautiful box-sets of Peter Weir's filmography like they have for Lars Von Trier and Michael Haneke. Prized possessions, those beauties. 

Anyway long story short -- it's Sigourney Weaver's 76th birthday today! And we love her more than chocolate milkshakes so we wish her a very happy day. I'm going to be seeing her next new movie in a couple of weeks, and it's not just any ol' "next new movie" -- it's Bryan Fuller's Dust Bunny! As I told you it's screening at the Brooklyn Horror Fest here in NYC and I'll be there. See? There are good things still in the world. I too was beginning to wonder...

Five Frames From ?

What movie is this?

File Under: Keery, Hotness

I just posted on Bluesky last night about how Joe Keery's music career, even as I remain entirely ignorant of the "music" portion of it, has been an enormous gift for those of us who like staring at Joe being hot. And then today, almost like a gift given straight to me, arrive these two photos of Joe (via) in an environment even sexier than a rock-and-roll auditorium -- a library! With an adorable puppy? Come on now! Somebody get me a medic -- I'm swooning right onto the floor. Quick, Joe -- mouth to mouth! Mouth to mouth!!!

Two By That Rascally Radu Jude

I like to think that my MNPP readers are cinematically astute ones and that y'all have heard of Romanian director Radu Jude and seen at least one of his movies. But if you haven't... hoo boy, have you got some treats ahead for you. Well they're treats if you're an adventurous movie-watcher, that is -- if you like your movies to go down smoothly he probably isn't the man for you. I only became familiar with him with 2021's Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn (here is my review) but since then I've very much gotten on-board with his cinema of aggression -- "provocation" doesn't even seem adequate, his movies are actively aggressive -- and so I had to review his two, yes TWO, movies that are screening at this year's NYFF -- click here to read my thoughts on both Kontinental '25 and his version of Dracula (!!!), which is truly something to behold. They both are, but Dracula is particularly unhinged. Kontinental '25 is the better Film film, if you know what I mean, but Dracula is something you'll never forget watching. Experiencing. Here's the (NSFW) trailer for it which only gets like 1/5th of its madness across:

Charlie Hunnam Seven Times

Feeling extremely blessed this morning by Charlie Hunnam's new photoshoot for GQ -- haven't been able to read the interview yet but here's the link! It's been slow-going since I'm so busy with film festivals right now but I did manage to finish the third episode of his Ed Gein series last night and I am digging the hell out of it -- I know Ryan Murphy shows have a tendency to blow their loads quick though so I won't say anything proper until I'm done. But three episodes in I am a big fan. (I've posted a lot about it on Bluesky.) Anyway for now we'll just enjoy these sexy sexy photos after the jump...

Good Morning, World

It's Hump Day and I don't even know where to start 
when it comes to Aaron Pierre with that.