Leaderboard

I don't know, when I was an actor I used to always hear about people bad-mouthing summer stock theatre as lesser than 'real' professional work, but in auditioning for those things (and then later when I was a dramaturg, sitting watching people audition), people are cut-throat and hardcore about the opportunity. I, for one, never got a summer stock gig, and not for lack of trying. They're tough to get. It's not as though there are theatres crying out for actors: if you're working summer stock, you may not be on Broadway, but at least you're working. There are literally countless actors who would kill to have that gig in Ohio, and she's making the best of it. The fact that she's back in Ohio is almost certainly because in casting it's easiest to bring back people who you know can do the job, so most summer stock companies are at least half returners. In the Shakespeare company I worked at for years we used to only have 3-4 new cast members each year, and we'd bring veterans back provided they didn't have a better gig to go to. So, I see Ohio as Cathy's 'in' to showbiz, where she would have had an opportunity to play roles she couldn't get otherwise (she plays Maria in Sound of Music, seemingly, and definitely Anita in West Side Story: not sure what she'd do in Porgy and Bess though!), and she's gone back because there were no better offers. This is, sadly, the life of an actor, and it is completely meaningless about how hard you try.

I'm all for it, definitely! That makes sense. One thing I've begun watching is this Pioneers of African American Cinema collection on Netflix, which is a series of around 10-15 old films by black directors in the 30s or so. It's a nice starting point for this. If anyone has some better non-mainstream recs for this I'd appreciate that too

I know we're already 6 days into a short month, BUT.... I was wondering what everyone would think about doing films by Black directors for February, given that it's Black History Month, and we're already doing a Spike Lee film for Musical Mondays

I don't really know much of anything about African cinema but Ousmane Sembene is from Senegal. Djibril Diop Mambéty is also Senegalese. He directed Touki Bouki which I thought was okay.

I really wish Barry Jenkins's Medicine for Melancholy was still on Netflix. It's a gem! Although Moonlight is now on Amazon Prime.

Cool I will check those out! Also interested in international directors -- what are the good movies from Africa perhaps that I should try? I'll poke around Amazon Prime and Netflix tonight and see what I can list. My focus on Unspooled has me sort of feeling like I'm missing out on cool stuff from other countries.

Kind of a mainstream recommendation because it's kind of recognized as the first American film directed by a black man (but I think the reality is it's the only one the survived) is Within Our Gates by Oscar Micheaux. I don't think it's in the Netflix collection. An excellent movie I saw last year was Black Girl by Ousmane Sembene. I haven't seen anything else by him but his reputation is pretty great.

Isn't it nice? Isn't it neat? It certainly is now that my erection's complete

100% here for the Jathy portmanteau. #fuckyouteamCamie

I found nothing humorous about that scene. It was unfunny, uncomfortable to watch and gross. Leo didn’t want to be touched by that police officer. Someone in a position of authority feeling up someone and making sexual comments - so gross. That actor should be ashamed for taking that part.

I was trying to figure out why the actor who played Anthony (the foot guy) looked so familiar - he played Jason in Mean Girls, the High school Student who asked Lindsay Lohan if she likes her 'muffin buttered' - Mean Girls was filmed in the Toronto area, so this maybe this is a continuation of that character? Also, i found a BlogTO article about the movie I thought might be of interest. https://www.blogto.com/film/2018/08/little-italy-movie-toronto/

I think this was the not being “equal” post I was referring to. No, I get all that. I’m not saying he’s a saint. I’m saying that the trajectory of their careers has made it difficult for each of them to see where the other one is coming from. Yes, he was harsh as fuck during that conversation. My point is that I doubt we’re seeing the first time they’ve had this fight. This is the culmination of maybe a couple of years of self-centeredness (him) and quiet resentment (her). I see his point of view regarding the parties because these are industry events that people are putting on specifically to promote him and his work. In that situation, it is literally all about him - which is mentioned. It would be weird if he ignored all the people there to honor him and just hang out with his wife. These aren’t just “let’s get drunk and dance” affairs. I think he tells her at one point, they only last about two hours. It’s like, yeah, I get that it sucks for you, but I’d really like you to be there. Also, there’s nothing to say she HAS to sit at the bar, drink, and “wait for someone to talk to her” (her words). She could use that time to network for herself. The publishing world isn’t so far afield from acting that she can’t get out there and “meet someone who knows someone.” For someone to succeed as he does is ludicrously rare, but it does offer her an almost as rare opportunity. There’s nothing keeping her from exploiting his success for her own benefit except for her own insecurities. As far as the cheating stuff...of course I don’t have an excuse for it. Not for acting on it anyway. He’s absolutely wrong to do it - which he readily admits. I disagree that he would have always done it regardless of success, otherwise he wouldn’t be begging her to go to all these parties with him. I think we can all agree that it’s probably much easier to cheat if your SO isn’t 10 feet away from you. He’d just Be like, “Cool, enjoy your night!” As CakeBug said a couple of pages ago, starting the movie with Anna Kendrick weeping and saying how badly she’s hurting already predisposes the audience to side with her. And the temptation song doesn’t do him any favors. Personally, I would prefer that number be removed as I don’t think it really adds anything more than further convince the audience that he’s a sleazebag which...is kind of whatever. I think the reveal would have been far more shocking if that song wasn’t there. Otherwise, you just get the impression of “he’s a dick and he’s always been a dick” and I don’t really feel the drama or tragedy in that. Ultimately, as I said earlier, the central issue, for me anyway, and what I feel like the intention is, “Whatever your level of success, it sucks if your SO doesn’t support you.” Should he have gone to her Ohio plays? Absolutely. Yes. Should she have gone to his parties? Absolutely. Yes. Whether you’re up for a Pulitzer Peace Prize or wining a local hot dog eating contest, does it hurt like ass when your SO doesn’t seem to be supporting your success because they’re wrapped up in their own bullshit? Yesolutely! And I say “seem” because that’s how each of them feel. If you were to ask either of them, they would probably both tell you that they were nothing but supportive while the other one was only ever thinking of themselves. Again, I think the problem is partly due to the fact that the Musical goes out of its way to introduce Jamie as the villain, but I think we are also predisposed to minimalize people’s emotional distress if we view them as “successful.” How many times do we here celebrities bitch about something or other and we dismiss it as “Whatever, you’re a millionaire.” Just because he’s a successful author, doesn’t mean Jamie’s sense of abandonment hurts any less than Cathy’s.

look out for their cronies

The only laughs this film received.

Thanks so much to the hosts for emphasizing that McMurphy is his own villain. I got through an AP English course in which we also watched Cool Hand Luke and I don’t recall anyone noticing that these anti-heroes are just jerks. As a female (specifically in education) who is responsible for normal people, including young and male people, I can no longer enjoy the many, many works of art centered on demonizing women in authority without recognizing that I’m about to spend another work shift caring for people who think I’m EXACTLY that evil woman every time I tell them not to talk while I’m talking, draw on their desks or pull their dicks out. There was something in the discussion about the movie being much more sympathetic to the Nurse’s POV than the book. Now I when I see any antihero taking down a mean lady baddy, I can’t help imagining this director/writer/producer getting caught doodling or something he felt was a sign of unrecognised genius and then vowing revenge. I also can’t help thinking about (mostly) males in film abusing others, but neither can anyone else. Still love movies and some men, in spite of the poisoning of the memories. ***Glass.(using the mean lady abusing sick antiheroes connection) If you watch Glass as a nod to OFOtCN or an adaptation of “The Three Christs of Ypsilanti,” does that make it more fun? *can you gauge misogyny by opinions on the woman being killed in Jurassic World? It ranges from “B had it coming for not doing her job” to “That wasn’t her job, she didn’t deserve to die and we definitely didn’t need to see down her shirt as she was slowly tortured on two levels of the almost-dinosaur food-chain."

The fact that you haven't reviewed this movie both concerns me and is a source of relief. Concerned, because it's perfect for your show. Relieved, because you haven't had to go through this. This movie IS a "Jacob's Ladder Scenario." It's going to be a rough one.

I looped the Little Italy double take that Jason wanted on the episode. What do you guys think?

Okay, so I have a lot to say about this movie, much of which comes down to the bizarro geography all over Toronto. To answer June and Paul's incredulity: yes, Little Italy is a real place in Toronto, and while it's not as famous as the New York version, arguably the wide streets and family neighbourhoods you can get here in Toronto would potentially make for a charming local story. Potentially, I said, since this movie is a hot mess. Toronto is a city made up of little cultural neighbourhoods, and along with our three separate Chinatowns, we have a Polish district on Roncesvalles, a thriving Greektown on the Danforth, a wonderful Indian Bazaar on Gerrard (which features in the movie, briefly), amongst many others. There is even a one-block long Maltese District: Toronto has been called for good reason the most multicultural city in the world. The problem is, NONE of this movie was actually shot in Little Italy. The feuding pizza shops are actually east of Little Italy, nearer to Kensington Market (at College and Robert), in a couple of abandoned storefronts. The 'Taste of Little Italy' festival (which is a real festival on College Street each year) is actually shot in the Distillery District in the east side of the city, which is distinctive for its cobblestoned streets. The banner that reads 'Welcome to Little Italy': Yeah, that doesn't exist. In fact, that's not Toronto at all. That's the Little Italy street sign FROM Mulberry Street, NEW YORK CITY. No wonder June was confused! WHY would you show the New York sign while setting up Toronto? WHY? This, however, IS our Little Italy. Enjoy!

Did anyone else see that the photo of Danny Aiello that Emma Roberts puts face down before her and Hayden Christensen bone down is Danny Aielo's IMDB photo? I love that they couldn't be bothered to find any other old picture of him.

Hayden has a history of being in movies where the younger version of his character has way more chemistry with the younger version of the female lead than his version of the character does with the adult version of the female lead.

I know they talked about how they thought the two leads appeared to possibly be siblings. However, they didn't mention how, by the end of the movie, their grandparents are married. Which makes them step-cousins? Or something? I don't know. It's weird that they're in a relationship and their grandparents are married.

Let alone it's a direct rip off of this famous clip of Ramsay!

Can we talk about how the only decent joke in the movie was almost a direct quote from Gordon Ramsey? They just changed it from idiot sandwich to moron sandwich (unless that’s what they call it in Canada like subs and hoagies).

I'm guessing the people who care already got their email, but the criterion channel is launching April 8th. https://www.criterionchannel.com I haven't seen anything about TCM's/Filmstruck's library launching yet. No idea on its situation at the moment.

Sorry for the repetition, but as I find more clarity, I wanted to bump. This seems to cover us for awhile! 1/31 - One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest 2/7 - 2018 Rewind - Blockbusters 2/14 - 2018 Rewind - Critic’s picks 2/21 - 2018 Rewind - Listener’s picks 2/25 - BONUS Oscar recap episode 2/28 - The Graduate 3/7 - Saving Private Ryan 3/14 - A Night At The Opera