Mike Mills Doesn't Live Here Anymore

Earlier today what I am still calling a "rumor" broke that Criterion will be releasing Alexander Payne's first and still best movie the 1996 abortion satire Citizen Ruth on 4K soon -- I thought that might come officially with their announcement for July's releases, which I knew would be landing today since it's the 15th of the month... but no. It did not. Maybe next month. We do have the slate of their July releases though and there's no reason to be disappointed -- this is a slam dunk of a month! Starting with a box-set that I literally squealed at the sight of -- on July 28th they're dropping "I'll Remind You of Everything: The Films of Mike Mills", a three-film 4K set that includes Beginners, 20th Century Women, and C'mon C'mon, which are as far as I'm concerned every single one masterpieces. (Here is my review of the latter.) None more than 20th Century Women, which is truly one of the greatest films of... well it feels like the millennium is the marker we're measuring things by now and it's that, but as far as I'm concerned it's one of the greatest films of all time, period. When I think about how Annette Bening wasn't even nominated for Best Actress, much less didn't deservedly win for the greatest performance of her career, I get hives. So let's move on...

... which is easy enough given this slate! How about a double-feature of Martin Scorsese's 1974 masterpiece Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore starring Ellen Burstyn (aka the finest tipped spear through the argument that Marty doesn't know what to do with women characters) alongside Paul Newman's greatest performance in 1963's Hud from director Martin Ritt? I somehow only saw Hud for the first time in the past decade and it's a stunner of a film. Stunning to look at -- and I don't just mean Paul Newman in those jeans...

... although I don't not mean that either -- and stunning emotionally. Newman and Patricia Neal are just absolute fire in this. And of course both of these will be the first time these classics will be on 4K -- if I stopped there July would already be a month for the record books from Criterion. But I ain't! I ain't stopping there. They've also got Neil Jordan's The Crying Game hitting 4K for the first time on July 14th! This movie really got done dirty by the press and comedians at the time, with its focus on  Jaye Davidson's genitals -- this movie is so much richer than the way its title has become synonymous with unexpected trans revelations. It's truly a great film. 

Now we come to the one film of their July's releases that I haven't seen -- Nagisa Oshima's Cruel Story of Youth from 1960, which stars Miyuki Kuwano & Yusuke Kawazu as a pair of sexy teenage criminals on the run... and yes it sounds very Bonnie & Clyde slash Badlands coded, although it came out first, one should note. Criterion's description of it as a film "bursting with vivid color, this visually scintillating, furiously nihilistic film howls with rage" sold me. 1960s era Japanese films that are described as colorful always end up being my bag -- the pop look of these films is very much my wavelength. Anybody seen this one? Moving along to the last two titles -- Hlynur Pálmason's 2025 feature The Love That Remains is getting its disc debut (I saw it last year and it is very good!) while David Lynch's masterpiece (how many times have I used that word in this post??) The Elephant Man, the blu-ray of which has been out of print for awhile now and going for enormous prices, is getting the 4K upgrade treatment on July 7th. Much needed! WHAT A MONTH!

NYFF Make My Dreams Come True

Just a couple of weeks ago I shared the poster and a teaser trailer for Park Chan-wook's new movie No Other Choice starring his ol' pal Byung-hun Lee and I said therein, and I quote, "This movie's premiering at Venice  and I am keeping all of my assorted limbs knotted up in hope that it'll head to NYFF from there." Well unknot me cuz it came true! NYFF just announced their Main Slate this morning for their 2025 edition and Master Park's movie is up in its business -- as are several other movies I am champing at me bit to gnaw right into. So why not a list? Not counting the Opening Night film (which is Luca Guadagnino's After the Hunt and so obviously my jam) here are the 10 movies out of the Main Slate that I'm the most anticipating...

My 10 Most Anitipcated NYFF63 Main Slate Movies

No Other Choice -- dir. Park Chan-wook

There's really nothing I can shriek in enthusiasm about this movie that I haven't been shrieking since it was announced. Park Chan-wook is a god, period, the end.

Jay Kelly -- dir. Noah Baumbach

Normally I try to steer clear of George Clooney vehicles but I tend to love Baumbach movies whatever he throws at me and most importantly he got his gal pal Greta Gerwig acting again. Gerwig seals the deal every time. Plus Patrick WIlson, Laura Dern, Riley Keough, Jim Broadbent, Emily Mortimer, Billy Crudup and Isla Fisher! Also Emily Mortimer co-wrote this! 

The Mastermind -- dir. Kelly Reichardt

Not only is it the never-steers-me-wrong Reichardt behind the camera and not only does the movie star Josh O'Connor but the movie stars Josh o'Connor looking like the raffish lit professor everybody, including the other teachers and parents, are all trying to fuck.

The Secret Agent -- dir. Kleber Mendonça Filho 

Wagner Moura is one of the greatest (and come on, look at the picture, sexiest) on the world stage right now, and his teaming up withthe genius behind Bacurau is white hot shit. Plus Moura won Best Actor at Cannes and Mendonça Filho won Best Director so hopes are obviously big.

Sentimental Value -- dir. Joachim Trier

And speaking of Cannes this follow-up from the director and star of the masterpiece The Worst Person in the World won the Grand Prix at that fest. I will follow these two anywhere, together or seperately, but together tastes best!

Peter Hujar's Day -- dir. Ira Sachs

It's Ben fucking Whishaw playing Peter fucking Hujar -- you think I'm not all over this? Anyway I was extremely annoyed I couldn't see it at Sundance so I'm happy to have been given this second shot, even if I wasted months -- months!!! -- of my life without it. I won't hold it against you, Ben!

Miroirs No. 3 -- Christian Petzold

Since 2012 Christian Petzold has made five straight up masterpieces in a row with Barbara, Phoenix, Transit, Undine, and Afire -- I'm hoping he hasn't broken that streak by daring to make a movie with a title that has more than a single word in it, but I think we might be in safe hands. I mean he's reunited with actress Paula Beer yet again. We're gonna be fine.

The Fence -- dir. Claire Denis

I tend to swing wildly on my opinion of Denis movies, but the main thrust seems to be I like her more recent work while her earlier, typically more lauded works have left me cold. I'm such a maverick! Anyway Denis regular Isaach De Bankolé is her leading man this time, which is always a good sign, but this also co-stars Matt Dillon and Tom Blyth? Mkay.

Rose of Nevada -- dir. Mark Jenkin

Yeah yeah okay it stars Callum Turner and George MacKay

as fisherman, obviously it was gonna make my list. 

That's literally all I know or need to know. Fish me good, fellas!

Landmarks -- dir. Lucrecia Martel

Since The Headless Woman in 2008 

I've been a Lucretia ride-or-die-for-lifer.

Not even reading what this is about. Sign me up.

--------------------------------------

Runners-up:  It Was Just an Accident (dir. Jafar Panahi), A House of Dynamite (dir. Kathryn Bigelow), Resurrection (dir. Bi Gan), Romería (dir. Carla Simón), Kontinental ’25 (dir. Radu Jude), If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (dir. Mary Bronstein), Duse (dir. Pietro Marcello)

Just a footnote on the concept of "Runners-up" here -- I literally could have listed every single other movie that didn't make my top ten. The only reason there are runners-up at all is I limited myself to a list of ten. As happens with every NYFF there are titles that come out of nowhere to slam me onto the floor in the best of way, and sometimes the ones I'm most excited about don't totally land. Usually though I always leave NYFF happy, because as I've said before they might not get all of the big exciting world premieres but year after year they do an incredible job curating the movies from around the globe that are the most worth seeing. I love my hometown fest! Click here to buy passes -- general tickets go on sale on September 18th (and earlier for FLC members). The fest runs from September 26 through October 13, 2025. 

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

 ... you can learn from:

20th Century Women (2016)

Julie: The way they look at me, the way they all get a little desperate at some point. The little sounds they make. And their bodies. You don’t know exactly how they’re gonna look, or smell, or feel or whatever until you do it.

I have no idea why this specific speech from Mike Mills' masterpiece 20th Century Women popped into my head during my subway commute this morning but it's not the first time a patch of dialogue from this movie has just spontaneously wandered into my mind -- what a script! What a movie. I love how it's a film explicitly about how the teenage boy Jamie soaks up all these different women's perspectives like a sponge but it still manages to feel like every one of them exist outside of him -- they are all remain rich and complicated and unwieldy and they are never defined by him. A perfect movie about the importance of shutting the fuck up and listening. 

Pic of the Day

It's that annual time of year, when all of us who don't get to go to Cannes get very annoyed about all of the people who do get to go to Cannes -- at least this year I will get some pain assuaged by getting to see photos of the Three Gs together. Gerwig, Green, and Gladstone, oh my! Greta is president of the jury this year, while Eva Green and Lily Gladstone are joining her as members alongside some other people, who cares, I only care about these three. Queens, all! I demand Greta scrap her dumb Narnia movie and make a sexy thriller starring Lily and Eva as lover-assassins next!

I know it doesn't work this way but I really like the image of Greta Gerwig being handed a flip-book of people and her smacking her finger down on the Eva Green and Lily Gladstone pages

— Jason Adams (@JAMNPP) April 29, 2024

All of Us Winners

As I posted a few weeks back I was extremely happy with our film nominations for the Dorians, aka the awards that my critics group GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Critics hand out every year -- we did good then and I am happy to report that we did good again with our winners. Much better than a lot of critics groups have! And I don't just say that because we handed three major prizes to my favorite movie of 2023, Andrew Haigh's All of Us Strangers... although I don't not say it because of that either. Strangers won both our "Film of the Year" award and our "LGBTQ Film of the Year" award, plus the award for "Best LGBTQ  Screenplay" to Haigh, as well it damn should. But I'm happy with the rest of our prizes -- I mean, Lily Gladstone and Charles Melton as our (lead and supporting) acting winners? 

Can you beat that? (In related news I'm extremely annoyed that this awards season doesn't seem to have offered the two of them a chance to take a photo together for me to use here -- I would like to see that. They would look gorgeous together. Somebody get a photo of them together for us please.) I'm not even annoyed that Greta Gerwig won for Best Director for Barbie, even though I'm not a fan of Barbie, because it's a nice fuck you to the Oscars and I will never pass one of those up. Anyway good on us this year! Hit the jump for the entire press release and winners list...

Ryan Gosling Eight Times

I haven't read it yet but plastic-boy and Oscar nominee Ryan Gosling is on the cover of this week's Variety talking Barbie, one assumes -- I am sure he has something sweet to say about Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie missing out on directing and acting nominations, as well he should. I caught the photos before the article thanks to photographer Greg Williams on Instagram though, so that's where my head is at. Same as it ever was! Hit the jump for all the Gosling technicolor goodness...

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

... you can learn from:

Beau is Afraid (2023)

Beau: I accidentally drank mouthwash Friday night. 

You can't get stomach cancer that way? 

Therapist: Not from one time.

Beau: I drank a mouthful a couple of weeks ago too.

Therapist: I'm sure it's fine.

A happy 74th birthday to Stephen McKinley Henderson today! I had to look him up on Wikipedia to make sure that he hasn't been hiding in plain sight all along and it was me being a fool for not having taken notice of him before Lady Bird in 2017 -- it seems as if he started getting attention for doing a couple of August Wilson plays on Broadway over the past two decades. So it makes sense that I've only been familiar with him for a few years now, then. 

Anyway it's been a pleasure, over the past six years, every time he's popped up in anything. And nowhere more than his turn in Ari Aster's latest film (reviewed here) -- since that movie's such a ride I can't really talk about my favorite parts of his performance without spoiling it and I'm not at all convinced that all of you have seen it yet; just know that SMH is very very very funny in it, and I hope he keeps getting these chances like that to shine. Happy birthday to him!

Quote of the Day

“I have particular things I will never see. I will never see any ‘Star Wars’ films, because I resent that I know so much about them and the characters. Why is all that in my head when I’ve never actually seen one, you know? Why do I know about R2-D2 and Darth Vader and all these things when I’ve never even seen any ‘Star Wars’ film? ... I’ve never seen ‘Gone with the Wind’ and I never will, just because I feel like it’s forced on me and it’s some kind of corny thing. ... But I watch all kinds of stuff. On a plane recently I watched ‘Cruella.’ I love the ‘Naked Gun’ movies because they’re so stupid. I’m sort of amazed by the ‘John Wick’ movies, just by how many people he can kill. I haven’t seen the ‘Twilight’ movies. ... These are very subjective, just kind of stubborn things on my part. I don’t like mass things being shoved on me, but I will go see them. Like ‘The Terminator’ is a masterpiece of cinema. It’s a big action movie, essentially. So I don’t really differentiate. ...

But I have to tell you one thing I hate — and you can just do a little test yourself: watch any recent action-oriented movie and look for any shot that’s more than three seconds long. I find that really insulting and shit filmmaking: like they have to keep it moving every three seconds. And that’s the longest they’ll leave a shot on! And then cut. One second, cut! Two seconds, cut! Three seconds, cut! Man, I get a headache. I just turn it off. I’m like, Come on, man, go to film school! Watch something! Go read a book! Look at a painting! Look at something. This is nonsense. I can’t stand that."

I just went ahead and plopped down the entirety of what director Jim Jarmusch said to Believer mag about where he stands with regards to Pop Culture because -- my god, am I Jim Jarmusch? I mean I'm not the world's biggest Jarmusch fan -- my favorite movie of his is probably everybody else's least favorite, his zombie comedy The Dead Don't Die -- but he and I as people seem to have an awful lot in common. Not that I haven't seen the Star Wars movies -- I have, and more than once -- but I one thousand percent get where he's coming from. Indeed it's a lot of what I was getting at when I wrote about Barbie last week. That movie itself is fine, it's fine, but I actively resent that it's what an artist like Greta Gerwig is forced to work with by the system, and its bonanza box-office success -- while I can recognize the good stuff (A woman dominated product breaking box office records! It's not a superhero movie!) -- just depresses me. So let people sneer at things, is my point. Snobbery is sometimes good! The democratization of culture has good things about it, but the idea that everybody has to appreciate the same things and hate the same other things is exhausting. 

Valley of the Doll

Okay so I lied last week -- I never updated Wednesday's post with a link to my review of Greta Gerwig's Barbie. So here, here it is, here is my review of Greta Gerwig's Barbie. I had mixed feelings which I made pretty clear, and they remain mixed even here in the wake of Barbie-mania -- did I ever think I would feel mixed feelings about Greta Gerwig helming a massive blockbuster and breaking a bunch of box office records? Well if I had had the wherewithal to even consider such a thing a possibility back when I fell in love with Frances Ha then yes, I think even then I would've known the concessions that would've come with such a feat, and seen such mixed feelings were ahead. Still there are far far far worse movies in the world and I don't be grudge anybody loving Barbie. There is fun to be had within it, and anyway who the fuck cares -- I'm just one person and it wasn't really for me and the news that Mattel has plans for everything from Polly Pocket to a fucking Uno movie now just fills me with preemptive exhaustion, what can I say? Obviously more, since here's a Twitter thread from just this morning:

These past couple weeks of Greta Gerwig keep reminding me of the San Diego passage in FRANCES HA - how under the black + white mumblecore city girl quirk Frances was really a suburban girl who goes to church and gets along with her parents

— Jason Adams (@JAMNPP) July 26, 2023

Pink Fantasia Ahoy

The weekend of the cinematic summer has arrived, as Greta Gerwig's Barbie movie and Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer movie -- the great Barbenheiming, as foretold in the old books -- stand imminent. My review of Barbie will be popping up at Pajiba tomorrow I believe, and I will update this post with a link when it has. As for Oppenheimer I have seen it but I haven't figured out what or where or if I am saying something. But stay tuned! I might! And won't that be a thrill for everybody? Until then, as I foretold y'all last week, tomorrow I am leaving for the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, aka the maple syrupy land of Xavier Dolan and, like, mimes? I don't know. Follow me on my socials (probably especially my Instagram) if you want to keep stalkerish track of my every move -- I might post stuff while I'm away since it's technically a "work" trip, but I also might not since I am a lazy piece of shit. I mean I will have several reviews from Fantasia going up over the next couple of weeks, but we'll get to that once we're there. For now y'all just go see some movies this weekend, and support the fine artists who have worked hard to entertain and terrify you. And I will be officially back here in a week!

Zane Phillips Six Times

This neon bleached photoshoot of Fire Island and Glamorous hunka beef slash actor Zane Phillips seems perfectly timed to the current Barbie moment -- he would've made a perfect Ken right? Maybe even a little too perfect -- there wouldn't have been any of the comic dissonance that Greta Gerwig seemed to be going for with her slightly-off castings of the role. He just really is a Ken doll, period! Anyway the costuming and lighting is giving me some hard flashbacks to my college days circa Y2K -- I saw this exact dude at every rave I went to in 1999. (This dude never saw me though, never knew I was alive, which is why I am the rage-fueled succubus who stands before you today.) Hit the jump for the photos...

He's a Barbie Boy

The internet is coming for me hard today! (Word choice.) I just spent an hour making gifs out of Lee Pace's naked Foundation fight scene, and here suddenly the second I'm done there's a "Just Ken" trailer cut for Barbie, chockfull of Ryan Gosling and the other assorted Kens (Simu!) from Greta Gerwig's film being hot and gay-ish. 

(thx Mac) Well I'm sorry I don't have it in me to spend another hour giffing today so you'll just have to make do with watching the video. The movie's out in a week and a half, you can go watch the movie on the big screen and see...

... all of the sights writ two stories tall, baby!

For now, just enlarge this and pretend:

Barbie drops on July 21st! be there or be... just be there.

Who Wore It Best?

Apparently this outfit has something to do with Beyoncé's clothing brand, but seeing as how I could give a flying fuck about Beyoncé or her clothing brand (gay gasp) I am instead choosing to focus on the "Greta Gerwig's Barbie" connection -- perennial hot-piece Mark Ronson did a song for the soundtrack and Simu Liu is playing one of the many Kens in the movie, which premiered in los Angeles yesterday to generally, from what I saw, positive notices. And they both made appearances in this outfit, so I must (as predicted in my Twitter thread on the subject) now ask...

online polls

Pic of the Day

New pic of Ryan Gosling as Ken in
Greta Gerwig's Barbie movie dropped.

Oh and my pants, there went my pants,

 they also seem to have dropped.

Good Morning, Rodeo Ken

Are these cowboy photos of Ryan Gosling camp? I feel like they might be -- they're so aggressively butch, but simultaneously with so many highlights and lowlights and so, so much cleavage. And with him spending the entire interview justifying his role as "Ken" in the Barbie movie... I feel like this has to be considered camp. Camp can be sexy, and these are sexy camp. I'll brook no argument -- I have decided. Campiest thing of the week, y'all. Hit the jump for the whole shoot...

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

... you can learn from:

Frances Ha (2012)

Frances: Sometimes it's good to do

what you're supposed to do

when you're supposed to do it.

Like how about wishing Frances Ha a happy 10th anniversary on its 10th anniversary? Yes, let's do that. Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig's master-work Frances Ha premiered at Telluride in 2012 but didn't make its way into proper theaters until the following May of 2013, exactly ten years ago today! I know there are people who find this movie insufferable but I am not one of them -- this is one of my favorites, an absolute comfort watch, and I've seen it a dozen times if not twice as many. If I were to make a list of the greatest films since the turn of the millennium this would be high high high up. I already loved Greta before this -- I'd been a fan since her small not-the-babysitter turn in Ti West's The House of the Devil -- but this one cemented the deal. I would and I have followed her anywhere after this. I mean I'm now a person who is excited about a goddamned Barbie movie, like wtf?

Ryan Gosling Six Times

I shared the new Barbie poster with you yesterday but not the latest trailer, so here -- you can watch the trailer right here. I haven't watched it myself, as I'm saving my mind and body and spirit for July 21st when it hits theaters (or whenever they schedule the press screening before that, more likely). But I have seen enough memes going around to get the poppy gist! Anyway these new photos of Ryan here (via) feel like they're bridging the gap between Ken and The Driver from Drive sort of right? Like The Driver got the beach-swept special at the salon in between hit jobs. And if that doesn't make you hit the jump nothing will...

Hey Look It's the Barbie Poster

That sure is the Barbie poster! Greta Gerwig's Barbie movie, which is a thing, is hitting theaters on July 21st. There are also an enormous pile of character posters floating around as well and you can see them here but come on, this is all we care about: 

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

... you can learn from:

Little Women (2019)

Amy: Well I believe we have some power over who we

love, it isn't something that just happens to a person.

Laurie: I think the poets might disagree.

Amy: Well. I'm not a poet, I'm just a woman. And as a woman I have no way to make money, not enough to earn a living and support my family. Even if I had my own money, which I don't, it would belong to my husband the minute we were married. If we had children they would belong to him, not me. They would be his property. So don't sit there and tell me that marriage isn't an economic proposition, because it is. It may not be for you but it most certainly is for me.

Happy 27 to Florence Pugh today!

I'm a Barbie Girl

The teaser trailer for Greta Gerwig's inexplicable Barbie movie is here and y'all, it's a delight. I'm trying to remember the last time I saw a quality 2001 spoof and I feel like it's been awhile, so this delighted me. But I'll shut up before I give away too much -- just watch the damn thing:

Fun, right? I am of course a Greta Gerwig stan from way back and never truly doubted my girl, even though I think we all, even the most stalwart of us, were like, "... huh?" This tease doesn't tell us what the story is that she and Noah Baumbach came up with but it's so funny and the glimpses we see are so colorful and camp (little girls sleeping on prehistoric rocks is camp, don't come at me with your Sontagian definitions) that, of course. Of course they knew what they were doing. This is out on July 21st! Bring it on, baby doll! Thoughts from you people?