Pumping Jonathan Bailey

Gays supporting gays! You love to see it, especially when they're this hot and Jonny Bailey's popping a bicep like that -- the only good thing in the Wicked movies went to see Luke Evans and his headline-grabbing bulge in the new staging of Rocky Horror this weekend and we were all graced with this perfect moment captured. Huzzah. Anyway even though I could do a whole post for just that picture I have got something else on deck -- Deadline reported this morning that Mr. Bailey will be starring opposite one Natalie Portman in a movie called, ahem, Pumping Black. Is that an actual term that cyclists use? Because it's a movie about cyclists -- Jonny will be playing one who's aging out of the sport who gets taken under the nefarious wing of Portman's character, a doctor who "will stop at nothing" to win. So Pumping Black Swan, basically. Good lord -- I'm sorry, you can't put "pumping" in your movie title no matter what, but especially not with Jonathan Bailey there.  Am I really expected to spend the next, what, year, year and a half, no being sent into a tailspin whenever I think about these things together?? 

Charles Melton Three Times

I have chosen to believe that Charles Melton received career advice from his May December co-star Natalie Portman while making that Todd Haynes masterpiece and that's why he's become the "fashion brand ambassador" for several brands in the past couple of years -- not because I don't trust Charles to make his own choices, but it entertains me whenever I think about those ridiculous Natalie Portman perfume commercials for Dior and it makes me chuckle picturing her taking him aside and saying, "This. Do this." Anyway these new photos for Davidoff (thx Mac) are hot as fuck -- no surprise given it's a topless Charles Melton! I probably prefer the sweatier stachier Coach commercial he did just because I have my own personal fetishes but either way god he pretty. Hit the jump for them all...

Good Morning, World

You'd think I'd have realized earlier in this awards season that we'd need to go ahead and add a Charles Melton tag here to the site -- probably right around the time I saw May December on Opening Night of the NYFF and fell in love with it (my review) or perhaps when I wrote my second full-length piece on the movie (read that here)? Obviously Mr. Melton is  having a moment and I've posted about him plenty -- why I just got around to giving him his bery own MNPP Star Of Fame I can't answer. Anyway here he is on i-D magazine looking, you know, like his hot self. Read his chat here, if you feel so inclined. And hit the jump for the rest of the photos... 

Good Morning, World

Happy (?) Monday from naked Charles Melton in May December -- not the happiest of faces to greet the week with, we must admit! But everything else is making up for it. And I include amid that "everything else" a brand new big piece I wrote about May December for Mashable that landed over the weekend wherein I watched the 2000 TV movie All American Girl about the Mary Kay Letourneau affair (starring Penelope Ann Miller!) and compared it with what Todd Haynes is doing in his movie. Click here to read it. And happy Monday! Happyish anyway.

Raise Your Arm If You Love Cinema

Heads up -- or I suppose given that photo I should say arms up -- that two movies I reviewed awhile back are both making themselves more accessible today! First up and co-starring the armpit seen above there's Todd Haynes' triumphant tabloid satire May December, which is now on Netflix after a brief theatrical run -- that armpit belongs to the very good and very hot actor Charles Melton, who has been raking in awards for the performance in the film already, alongside Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman. Here is my review of that from NYFF.

And hitting theaters today (although I think it's a limited release) is Eileen, a Highsmithian lesbo romp starring Anne Hathaway and Thomasin Mackenzie that I saw at Sundance -- here is my review at The Film Experience, where I called it the movie that Carol couldn't be. More preciesly I've come to refer to it as of late as "The Pervert's Carol," which tickles me to no end. So along with the new Godzilla movie which I reviewed earlier there are three, count em three, great new movies to watch this weekend, so treat yourselves.

Haulin' Ass to the Holiday

Shortened day today as we head into the holiday -- MNPP will be closed up for new sexy business until Monday the 27th. It's kind of a slow week for new releases, weirdly -- usually Thanksgiving gets a heap for people to run from their relatives with? But all we've got is Ridley Scott's Napoleon (which I wrote a little about here) and Disney's animated Wish (which I haven't seen) and Dream Scenario with Nic Cage which I have seen and have not written about -- it's fine? It should have been far better, I had high hopes for it because its main idea is a great one. It just decides to lose itself in ideas I didn't find very interesting instead of the ones you do, given its concept. It's not terrible or anything though, and I say that as someone deeply skeptical of Cage. Perhaps youi'll dig it more. All of that said there are a couple of movies from last weekend that are still out that I do highly and deeply recommend -- my pervert lover Saltburn is expanding into a bunch more theaters so more of you will finally be able to see what the fuss about, which makes me happy given it's one of my favorites of the year. Here's my review if you missed it. Same with Todd Haynes' May December -- here's my review of that wonderful weird movie. 

Guess I'm not going to have time to fully review THANKSGIVING which is a shame so here's a brief one: GO FRIGGIN SEE IT, it's so much fun, an old-school slasher blast of hilarious and relentless nastiness that should play like gangbusters with an audience #ThanksgivingMovie pic.twitter.com/BX2EgWXtWB

— Jason Adams (@JAMNPP) November 17, 2023

And Eli Roth's Thanksgiving is still in theaters! As stated in the tweet seen above I never properly reviewed that but there are my thoughts -- I'm actually dying to see it a second time and so I might go over the holiday myself. And given what a goddamned hermit I've become that's really saying something. Oh and the new Hunger Games is still out and it's better than it has any right being -- here's my review of that. Other than that I have heaps upon heaps of awards screeners that've been piled up in my inbox so I'm hoping to catch up on things I haven't yet seen this year.. either that or I'll just watch Saltburn, All of Us Strangers, and Poor Things on a loop for five straight days, because all three of those arrived in my inbox yesterday and they're really all I want to watch anyway. But if y'all see something interesting, tell me about it in the comments as always!

Oh and now for one more thing of total self-interest (what's new) -- if you do any Black Friday shopping at Amazon why not do it through this link here, which tosses a few pennies our way? Consider it a tip for me keeping you in Paul Mescal Ass all year long! Or you can buy some of the rad shit I have for sale on eBay right now -- and I add things weekly to my store because I lack self-control and buy lots of things and then decide I don't want or need them and list them on eBay. It'll probably expand exponentially over the next few weeks too as awards merch comes in from the studios that I have no desire to own (I just got a box full of stuff from the movie Air and uhh yeah that's very clearly not my jam). So do continue to keep checking there. Or if you care to (i.e. if you love me) just donate to MNPP via PayPal, which you can do at that link or via the one in the right-hand column. It's the holidays! Love me some dammit!

Seriously though have a great holiday, everyone.

We'll see you next week!

Melton Your Mouth

I think that "old" photo of actor Charles Melton (it's probably five years old at most -- dude is only 32 now) will grab your attention long enough for me to point you in the direction of my review of May December, the Todd Haynes film that he stars in opposite some actresses named Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman. I saw the movie at NYFF last month and it rocked my face off; I saw it a second time last week and it rocked my just glued-back-on face off a second time. It's great complex weird stuff -- Haynes back in incredibly fine form. Speaking of "fine form"... that photo of Charles Melton. I mean really. How dare he?

The Melton Between Us

Love this new poster for Todd Haynes' May December (via)! The film is hitting theaters on Friday and then it's on Netflix on December 1st -- here is the trailer and here is my review of the movie from when it openbed the NYFF. I saw it a second time over the weekend (see below for some photos and video of Julianne Moore and Charles Melton getting to do their first Q&A for the film at MoMA now that the SAG strike is over) and it's a film that gets even richer and funnier and weirder with multiple viewings -- there are so many ways to read it, and this poster does an ace job of getting that across. I hope they release this poster, I want one!

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The Todd Haynes Review

That's right --it's a "two NYFF reviews" day from yours truly! Following up on my take on La Chimera which landed just a bit ago, now comes the time to tackle Todd Haynes -- here is my review of his melodrama comedy May December which stars Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman and Riverdale's own Charles Melton (seen above), which probably wouldn't work with anyone else directing it, given the wild shifts in tone, but which as far as I'm concerned totally does work thanks to Mr. Haynes himself. Thank goodness, since I haven't been a fan of his past couple of movies. The boy's still got it. Here is the May December trailer if you haven't watched it yet -- this hits theaters on November 17th.

One Two Mescal's Coming For You

There is a nice photo of Paul Mescal to tide y'all over -- I'm about to head off to another great big batch of NYFF screenings, including Mescal's other film showing at the fest Foe with Saoirse Ronan. I am seeing that tonight (I will include the trailer down below) and tomorrow I have the great big double whammy of Todd Haynes' May December (NYFF's Opening Night film) alongside Yorgos Lanthimos' Poor Things! And both of those movies are having press conferences since tomorrow is the official start of the fest, so I say you should follow me on Instagram if you don't already because I will most definitely be posting photos from those. I don't know who will be in attendance given the ongoing actor's strike, but Todd Haynes & Yorgos Lanthimos ain't chopped liver! Anyway that's where I will be all day tomorrow, meaning I won't be here blogging. But my first NYFF review will be landing at Pajiba tomorrow, so stay tuned for that. It's for a movie that also stars Paul Mescal, one that we were just talking about this morning! Imagine that. Anyway looking ahead -- next week is an even busier NYFF week of screenings, so expect posting to be even more sporadic. But reviews will be coming. That's something? Like, the thing I do that I legitimately care about? So stay tuned, and stuff. And have a good weekend!

It's a New NewFest!

This is a subject I've addressed on Twitter -- see the thread here -- but there is a documentary about the gay photographer George Platt Lynes (that's one of his typically gorgeous and homoerotic photos seen above) called Hidden Master that has been making the festival rounds this year that I had an itty bitty role in behind-the-scenes. (Really, an exceptionally small role -- but I am thanked in the credits!) Well the doc is finally officially playing my hometown, as today it was announced to be a part of this year's NewFest! It will screen one month from today on October 13th -- it will also be screening virtually -- and you can buy tickets at this link. I obviously can't give an unbiased opinion on the movie given my involvement, no matter how tiny it was, but I've seen the movie several times now and I really do think it's the bee's knees and recommend everybody give it a shot. And NewFest isn't the only place it's lined up -- check the film's website for more information.

Anyway this post isn't just about that film -- as I do every year for NewFest we need to take a look at everything they've got lined up for us this year, running from October 14th through 24th. It's one hell of a line-up -- maybe the biggest they've ever had since I've been going? Their Opening Night film is Rustin, Netflix's biopic of the civil rights leader starring Colman Domingo which I've posted about a ton. Their Centerpiece Film is Nyad, the awards-hopeful biopic of the famous swimming legend starring Anette Bening and Jodie Foster. And their Closing Night film is Andrew Haigh's All of Us Strangers with Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal, which I have posted even more about than any of the others for, you know, obvious reasons. 

They are also doing a tribute to Todd Haynes and screening his new movie May December starring Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman. They're showing Eileen, the weird slinky little thriller starring Ann Hathaway that I loved at Sundance. And they're screening some of (well I assume "some of" since it's a full-blown miniseries) Fellow Travelers, with Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey (see my post on the trailer for that here). And that's only the start -- I'm far too lazy to type out everything they're showing, so thankfully they have their own website and have done all of that work for me. Click here for the line-up and ticket info et cetera. And after the jump I'll drop the full press release...

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

... you can learn from:

Annihilation (2018)

Lena: Why did my husband volunteer for a suicide mission?

Dr Ventress: Is that what you think we're doing? Committing suicide?

Lena: You must have profiled him. You must have assessed him. He must have said something.

Dr Ventress: So you're asking me as a psychologist?

Lena: Yeah.

Dr Ventress: Then, as a psychologist, I think you're confusing suicide with self-destruction. Almost none of us commit suicide, and almost all of us self-destruct. In some way, in some part of our lives. We drink, or we smoke, we destabilize the good job... and a happy marriage. But these aren't decisions, they're... they're impulses. In fact, you're probably better equipped to explain this than I am.

Lena: What does that mean?

Dr Ventress: You're a biologist. Isn't the self-destruction coded into us? Programmed into each cell?

A happy 5 to Alex Garland's flawed I think but fascinating Annihilation, which is stuffed to the mutated gills with interesting ideas and visuals and performances -- I'm not entirely sure it all works, but it's more thrilling than 90% of the junk we're force-fed so I'll take it! I've watched the movie a few times over the past five years and there's always something new to glom onto. Although the bear, the goddamned nightmare bear -- that always works. Cocaine Bear wishes!

A Man For All Reasons

Although his role in Pearl was small I sure did like getting to stare at David Corenswet some alongside Mia Goth's tremendous work in that terrific Ti West entertainment, and yesterday came news that we'll be getting more opportunities of that sort, phew -- Deadline's reporting he'll star in a new FX series from producers Danny Strong (aka Buffy Nerd Jonathan Forever) and one Darren Aronofsky called The Answers, based on the 2018 book by Catherine Lacey (anybody read it) which they compare to The Handmaid's Tale. Here's the plot:

"... set in the near future, where a heartbroken young woman, Mary, joins an enigmatic experiment that promises to hack love, but after moving into an idyllic, secluded location with her fellow female participants, she and the other women start questioning what’s really happening in the experiment, and why they’ve all been tasked with dating the same mysterious man, Christopher Skye (Corenswet). Christopher Skye, a movie star, is a man of contradictions. When we first meet him, we are so taken with his talent, charisma, and raw power, we absolutely believe he is one of the world’s most eligible bachelors. However, the more we get to know Christopher, the more we see his wild neuroses and his deep despair. This is a man who, on the surface, has everything, but underneath feels empty."

Sounds like Sci-Fi The Bachelor, right? Well even though I am sure there's a traumatic twist I can think of far worse things than being forced to date David Corenswet. Far, far worse things. They better have really awful things up their sleeves is my point. I mean Oscar Isaac was really fucking evil in Ex Machina and they barely got me on the robot's side on that one, given how blisteringly hot he was while simultaneously being so evil. Hey don't glare at me -- I was irreparably scarred by childhood trauma, I'm allowed to have some sordid impulses dammit. And believe me I'm much more boring in practice than in theory.

Aaaanyway this isn't the only prestige series back on a recent bestselling book that Corenswet has lined up -- he's also co-starring opposite Natalie Portman no less in Lady in the Lake, an adaptation of Laura Lipman's 2019 novel about a housewife in 1960s Baltimore who tries to solve the murder of a woman that nobody's trying to solve. This series is being run by Alma Har'el, director of Honey Boy, and has already finished production. And then there's a romantic film called The Greatest Hits that David is starring in with actress Lucy Boynton, which I only bring up because the two of them were photographed romping on a beach in their underpants back in October and I forgot to post it! Goodness gracious! So hit the jump for a couple dozen photos of David Corenswet in soaking wet boxer briefs, if you please...

Mother May Natalie

What the hell was I doing last June when it was apparently announced that Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore were going to star in Todd Haynes' next movie? Just a little over a year ago Variety reported the film will be called May December and it will be about:

"... the story of a Hollywood actress (Portman) who travels to the picturesque coast of Maine to study the real-life woman (Moore) she’s set to play in a film. The woman in question was the subject of a tabloid scandal two decades prior, for marrying a man 23 years her junior. As Moore’s character and her husband prepare to send their twin girls off to college, the family dynamic begins to unravel under Portman’s outsider lens."

Sounds kind of like Haynes might be doing his spin on Persona right? Every auteur needs a Persona on their resume! Although in Todd's case I guess you could already call a couple of movies his Personas. But this one maybe more explicitly. We'll see. (Also I wonder what this means about his Peggy Lee biopic Fever with Michelle Williams???) But let's get back to what matters most, namely me -- I somehow missed this story a full year ago! I am guessing it was during Tribeca and I was distracted. And it only came to my attention today in Variety's big cover-story about Portman, which is mostly about the new Thor. On that note I wish actors would stop blaming their kids for doing superhero movies. "Oh my son loves superheroes, and it had nothing whatsoever to do with those millions of doubloons they dumped in my back yard. I love my family and I have integrity." Whatever, Natalie! These photos kick-ass though.

Today's Fanboy Delusion

 Today I'd rather be... 

... flicking off Thor's disguise.

And yes like Zeus I too would flick too hard.

The new Thor: Love and Thunder trailer popped up last night and I assume any of you who wanted to watch it have gone and watched it already -- I do hate it when they drop things at night! I am not an all-nights-and-weekends kinda blogger, man! I need my me-time, by which I mean my "floor watching X-Files" time. All blogging and no Scully makes Jason a dull, dull boy. Anyway here's the trailer if you also try to have some semblance of life in this 24-7 media-saturated hellscape:

Besides Chris Hemsworth's blurred out little booty the big reveal in this trailer is the movie's villain played by Christian Bale, who appears to be summoning up some "Pale Man" from Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth if you ask me...

... that was my first thought when watching it last night anyway -- looking at it now I see some of the Crawlers from The Descent and I guess maybe Hades from Disney's Hercules movie (although there I have to admit I have still never seen that Hercules). Anyway he's making for a pasty scrawny flip-side to Thor's Golden God, so visually this is all working for me. We will see on July 8th!

Thor the Four

There is the first poster for Thor: Love and Thunder, the... third Thor movie? The fourth? It's the fourth isn't it? Oh who the hell cares. I liked the last Taika one and I will probably like this one, it will surely be colorful and over-the-top and ridiculous, as a Thor movie should be and as that poster is most definitely selling. All of this leans into Chris Hemsworth's strong suits, which for some reason I went into an Ambien-fueled rant about on Twitter last night -- I don't know. I really need to lock my phone after I take my pill. I mean looking back at it now I agree with everything I said, but don't really see the need to have been so passionate about it. Drugs are weird, kids. In summation -- Thor 4, out in July! And here is the first teaser trailer:

Paul Mescal Down Under

What a happy day this day has turned out to be! America sent Donald Trump packing, and almost as importantly ballet dancer slash Natalie Portman's husband Benjamin Millepied filmed scenes of Normal People break-out Paul Mescal dancing on the beaches of Australia in just his underwear! I thought just one of those things would have been asking for too much from this world, but both? Both on the same day? Maybe we will make it through this after all, everybody.

Millepied (who's hotness himself) isn't a first-time director but he's pretty close to one, and yet he's still managed to gather a pretty hot cast for his movie adaptation of the opera Carmen here -- Mescal, In the Heights and Scream (excuse me 5cream) about-to-be breakout Melissa Barrera, Chris Hemsworth's wife Elsa Pataky, Almodóvar queen Rossy De Palma. Mescal replaced Jamie Dornan in the leading man role -- I told you when Dornan got cast but I hadn't heard about the switch until now. And what a way to be told! This is how all casting news should be delivered -- Paul Mescal in underwear. Even if Mescal's not involved. I want him and those world class gams of his to deliver all the news to me in his underwear. Hit the jump for more...

He Picked Me, Mommy

I've got a couple of big pieces that've gone up today that I must now share -- and I'm going to do it in separate posts because hey, more posts that way! First up! For The Film Experience I wrote about Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan here on its 10th anniversary... okay its 10th anniversary is actually on Thursday, but I wrote about it today. If you feel the need to wait until Thursday to read it when you've got your ceremonial swan costumes on for your already-scheduled Zoom celebrations I totally understand. Anyway I am specifically writing about Natalie Portman's terrific work in the movie, and I dropped the bait that she deserved her Oscar on purpose because I knew y'all would take it, haha. I mean I think she did deserve to win, I didn't make that part up. I just so rarely wander into Oscar conversations of my own free will and I know that's a take some people have issues with. Me I say viva Portman! She got her statue and then went and became an even riskier actress after it, making us all blessed.

In the Mood For Wong

I'm having a pretty freaked out day about the plague numbers here in my fair city, which are on the rise again (especially in my own neighborhood), so this terrific news here couldn't come at a better time to distract me from gloom -- Film at Lincoln Center has finally announced the dates for their big Wong Kar-Wai retrospective! I mean announced them a second time -- I first posted about this series way way way back in January, and then... well, speak of the plague. No! I am not speaking of the plague! This post is for happy thoughts! 

Ahem. Sooooo happy thoughts -- the series will open (virtually, of course) up on November 25th for the 20th anniversary of In the Mood For Love, which.... I mean I always want to say that ITMFL is WKW's undisputed masterpiece but I'm sure there are people who dispute that and love like I don't know 2046 more or something. I think those people are weird, but bless 'em, we love the weirdos. You can read the full details on films and dates at FLC's website here, but they follow Mood up with "Chungking Express, Happy Together, Fallen Angels, Ashes of Time Redux, Days of Being Wild, 2046, As Tears Go By, and a never-before-seen extended cut of The Hand." 

There are more than one of those that I have never seen -- specifically As Tears Go By, Ashes of Time Redux, and The Hand. Needless to say this is a thrill, but this would be a thrill even if I'd seen all of the films before, because Wong Kar-wai's movies are a fucking thrill one of a hundred times in. We're still waiting to hear what's happening with Criterion's boxed-set, which they teased also in January -- I assume they wanted to release it alongside this screening series, which was meant to be "a traveling roadshow" of sorts. All that remains a question mark, and with today's announcement of their February releases it would appear that won't be until March of 2021 at the soonest.

Be As Brutal As You Want, Brady

Actor turned director Brady Corbet is at it again, using his film nerd bonafides -- there's no one I've seen outside of the NYC critic's community attending film screenings here in New York more than him -- to sweep up a killer cast for his next movie. (thx Mac) His first directorial effort had Robert Pattinson, his second Natalie Portman, and now he's got (deep breath) Joel Edgerton and Sebastian Stan and Vanessa Kirby and Marion Cotillard and Mark Rylance and Stacy Martin and our boy seen above Alessandro Nivola to top it off. I mean can you even? It's called The Brutalist and here's how it's described:

"“The Brutalist” is described as “an epic saga and an unconventional love story” about a visionary artist and his wife who flee post-war Europe and come to America. And that’s when their lives are forever changed by a mysterious and wealthy new client. “Amidst a revamped cycle of populism and prejudice in the 21st Century, ‘The Brutalist’ is a film which celebrates the triumphs of the most daring and accomplished visionaries; our ancestors,” said Corbet. “It is the project which is so far the closest to my heart and family history. I so look forward to reuniting with many of our closest collaborators, as well as some exciting new ones, to realize what we all anticipate to be a vital and urgent motion picture.”"

I had mixed feelings about Vox Lux but not as mixed as many -- what I loved I really liked, and you totally get the sense that one of these times everything will click perfectly into place for Corbet and he'll knock one outta the park. And I would love for this to be the one, with this fucking cast. (And I'll add that I really hope that Brutalist Architecture is part of the focus here because I am a massive fan.)