#director Brittany snow

[dailybrittanysnowpics]

Something about her in a hat 🌹❤️

[godzillachloe]

Even an earthquake can't stop her from being cute

[sensiblethingtodo]

I've been really lucky that Kendrick is a good friend of mine and I was in the edit when she was prepping her movie, and we really kind of went back and forth on things that we were doing or if she needed, you know, she doesn't need any of my advice, so it's not necessarily about that, but it was quite of sort of like picking each other's brains on a couple things, which was cool. - Brittany Snow I spoke to Brittany Snow on the phone, and she, in a very role-reversal way of our relationship, gave me the most casual pep talk, which was literally in a very flat voice: "You'll get on set, and you'll know what to do." And it was just like, "Yeah, okay." That's usually how I find myself talking to her, and I think I was expecting this flowery, long pep talk, and she so cut to the chase that I was like, "Okay, damn girl. I'll just figure it out, I guess." - Anna Kendrick

[143bc]

Directors Club 🌹❤️

[becabeale143]

New Directors Club 🌹❤️

[uncloseted]

Was Chloe from Pitch Perfect canonically gay? 👀

Sort of. Within the actual movie, there’s a lot to suggest that she’s attracted to women, but it’s never made canon. The most explicit it gets is when she says, “You know Beca, we’re really close, but I think this trip is going to really let us discover everything about each other. You know, one of my biggest regrets is that I didn’t do enough experimenting in college.”

However, Rebel Wilson claims that there was a Beca-Chloe kiss filmed for the movie, but it’s not in the final cut of the movie or in the deleted scenes on the DVD, and during the Pitch Perfect 2 Director's Commentary, it's mentioned that Chloe and Beca have crushes on each other. Plus, Anna Kendrick has said that, "There’s a specific fandom that ships Beca and Chloe, my and Brittany Snow’s characters from Pitch Perfect, so I feel like it would be a real betrayal to not choose Brittany. I mean, our characters are pretty much in a lesbian relationship. As far as we’re concerned, they’re secretly in love." So I think at least one of the writers, the director, and Anna Kendrick intended Chloe to be interpreted as queer, but that something else prevented them from including it in the movie.

So I think if that counts as canon or not depends on whether you feel like Word of God/Word of Saint Paul is canon or whether you feel like the only canon is what’s in the actual movie.

[bodybybane]

‘He’s Just The Sweetest Man’: Brittany Snow Shares Friendship With Dave Bautista That Led To Key Role In Her Directorial Debut Parachute https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/just-sweetest-man-brittany-snow-220600347.html

[chlobeale]

Parachute Movie | Director BRITTANY ANNE SNOW + actors Courtney Eaton and Thomas Mann.

[dweemeister]

Best Live Action Short Film Nominees for the 96th Academy Awards (2024, listed in order of appearance in the shorts package)

This blog, since 2013, has been the site of my write-ups to the Oscar-nominated short film packages – a personal tradition for myself and for this blog. This omnibus write-up goes with my thanks to the Regency South Coast Village in Santa Ana, California for providing all three Oscar-nominated short film packages.

If you are an American or Canadian resident interested in supporting the short film filmmakers in theaters (and you should, as very few of those who work in short films are as affluent as your big-name directors and actors), check your local participating theaters here.

Without further ado, here are the nominees for the Best Live Action Short Film at this year’s Oscars. The write-up for this year's Documentary Short nominees is complete; expect the write-ups for Animated Short soon. Films predominantly in a language other than English are listed with their nation(s) of origin.

The After (2023)

From Netflix, Misan Harriman’s The After is perfectly adequate during its opening minutes as business father Dayo (David Oyelowo) plays along with his daughter, Laura (Amelie Dokubo), as they travel to meet her mother, Amanda (Jessica Plummer). Everything following those first few minutes is, charitably, a filmmaking disaster. Once a black-clad attacker stabs Emily and tosses her off a bridge. Though Dayo and a few other bystanders have successfully restrained the murderer, Amanda, in dismay, throws herself off and commits suicide. Fast-forward a year later and we see that Dayo has left his previous jobs and now works as a rideshare or taxi driver in London. In between ferrying passengers to and from their destinations, he listens to the final voicemail from Amanda, gazes longingly at a family photo, and reminisces about the past.

The After lost almost all of my goodwill after the horrifically staged murder scene (from which the film never recovers). Grief – how one processes it, the stages it takes, how it affects our relationships with others, and any residual trauma – is en vogue in modern short filmmaking. Way too many films touching upon this subject have little to add – cinematically, thematically – for the audience; the most worthwhile films in this subset will filter grief through a specific cultural lens. The After accomplishes neither, despite Harriman’s claims that his screenplay, co-written with John Julius Schwabach, took the Black Lives Matter movement and the isolation of COVID-19’s height as inspiration (the murderer is not a police officer nor is there an implied racial animus; there are no signs of the pandemic here). The final scene, involving a family that Dayo is transporting to their posh home, is unbelievable tripe – contributing nothing to this dreadful exploration of grief. The placement of Birdy and Rhodes’ “Let It All Go” is sheer musical tastelessness. All that remains is David Oyelowo’s performance and, no matter how much he splays out his body in sadness, this film needs more than that to save itself. It might not even have a prayer.

My rating: 4/10

Red, White and Blue (2023)

Going into Nazrin Choudhury’s Red, White and Blue, I suspected, with a title like that, that there was some political bent to the film. I may have detected its messaging later than I would like to admit, but that is not where my significant reservations towards this film lie. Somewhere in present-day Arkansas, single mother Rachel (Brittany Snow) works at a diner afternoons and evenings. She often has her two children, older sister Maddy (Juliet Donenfeld) and younger brother Jake (Redding Munsell), over after school so she can watch over them while she works. After a generous tip from a customer, Rachel (whose fridge magnets hold layers of unpaid bills) forms a plan to take Maddy on a short road trip northwards, leaving her brother temporarily in the care of a family friend. It seems strange that she is only taking one of her children on this trip, but – in a shocking plot twist – we learn that Maddy (who, if this short takes place in its release year, is ten years old) needs an abortion.

In 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, found that having an abortion is not a constitutional right, overturning years of precedent in Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992). Effectively, this turned abortion regulation over to the states. Arkansas was among those states that made abortion illegal. The outrage stemming from Dobbs v. Jackson was Choudhury’s impetus to write and direct Red, White and Blue. Politics and cinema have intertwined ever since Vitagraph Studios filmed a series of propaganda shorts in support of the Spanish-American War in 1898. But Red, White and Blue commits the age-old mistake by prioritizing its messaging over cinematic craft. Dull lighting and camerawork, merely satisfactory performances, and a lengthy driving-musical montage that does little for characterization or narrative make for an awkward, stilted viewing experience. Its reveal is an extreme situation that could have been just as powerful if Choudhury instead used a more pedestrian example.

My rating: 6/10

Knight of Fortune (2022, Denmark)

Also known in its native Danish as Ridder Lykke, Lasse Lyskjær Noer’s film is rich with Scandinavian humor. In other words, absurd situations amid dark or tragic moments – your enjoyment may vary. The film, available via The New Yorker for American, Canadian, and Mexican audiences, features the elderly Karl (Swedish actor Leif Andrée), who has has just arrived at the morgue to see the body of his late wife. He purposefully delays opening the casket to view his wife’s body by attempting to fix a flickering light nearby and using the restroom. In the restroom, he encounters his next-stall neighbor, Torben (Jens Jørn Spottag), also there for his respective decedent wife. Karl continues to avoid seeing his wife’s body by accompanying Torben into the room where his respective wife’s body lies. If the shenanigans regarding the broken light and the bathroom stalls were not already an indication, this is no conventional narrative about grief (yet another nominee about grief!) as Knight of Fortune further plunges into the absurd. Andrée and Spottag – neither of whom have had significant credits in films distributed beyond Central Europe – are both fantastic here, imbuing the relationship between Karl and Torben with pathos despite the peculiar situation.

Noer, who also wrote the screenplay during a time of personal loss, reminds audiences that grief takes numerous forms, and refuses to pass judgment on any of the grieving characters. The humor is never at the characters’ expense either. What makes Knight of Fortune valuable is its depiction of a grieving man who will do much to postpone his final goodbyes and permitting the audience to laugh (as laughter, strange as it may sound, has a place in grieving). Andrée’s performance and Noer’s direction and tonally controlled writing allow the audience to empathize easily with the protagonist’s plight, amid the unfamiliar and cold glare of the morgue’s flat lighting and its eerie quiet.

My rating: 8/10

Invincible (2022, Canada)

Vincent René-Lortie’s Invincible qualified for the Academy Awards by winning Best Live Action Short at the 2022 Chicago International Children’s Film Festival. Despite CICFF’s moniker, this is not a short appropriate for younger children. Here, we follow fourteen-year-old Marc-Antoine Bernier (also known as just “Marc”; Léokim Beaumier-Lépine in a terrific lead performance), as he has just spent a weekend with his family on an idyllic leave from a juvenile detention and rehabilitation center. Now, back within the center’s gates, Marc has made a critical decision. Before that fateful moment, René-Lortie allows us glimpses of Marc's life at the juvenile detention center: Marc’s attempt to cause havoc to his cell’s fire-extinguishing sprinkler system, a class in which the students share the poems they have composed, and the joys of swimming in the outdoor pool. Soon after, Marc-Antoine escapes. While on the run, he steals a car and commits suicide.

At the top of the end credits, René-Lortie reveals that this film is a tribute to his late friend, Marc-Antoine Bernier, and Invincible is a retelling of his friend’s last hours. According to interviews, René-Lortie and the Bernier family are unsure whether or not Marc’s death was an accident or a suicide. Whatever the case, Marc was clearly troubled.

René-Lortie uses a 4:3 aspect ratio to “entrap” our protagonist in the frame, but, disappointingly, he does little else with the Academy ratio. In yet another missed opportunity in an otherwise fine film, René-Lortie fails to submerge the viewer into Marc’s psychology (René-Lortie is absolutely not framing his friend as unknowable), which makes some of Marc’s actions less understandable in the moment. Nevertheless, René-Lortie deserves plaudits for this sensitive tribute to his absent friend.

My rating: 7/10

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)

Since it has been some time since I last reviewed a Wes Anderson movie, I must admit a bias: I am an Anderson skeptic. Not a popular position to take, but the aesthetic rigidity of Anderson’s movies has only served to take me out of his movies emotionally. One of Anderson’s principal aesthetic influences, director Yasujirô Ozu, also made films that were just as aesthetically rigid. But Ozu’s style, with an unmoving camera and naturalistic acting, never interferes or undermines the emotions he tries to evoke.

Not so with Anderson, as evidenced in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, a 39-minute Netflix production based on Roald Dahl’s short story of the same name. With partial narration from Ralph Fiennes playing Roald Dahl, Henry Sugar (Benedict Cumberbatch) happens upon a book recounting a Dr. Chatterjee’s (Dev Patel) observations of Imdad Khan (Ben Kingsley), who can see things without using his eyes. Inspired by this account, Henry, a serial gambler, decides to learn from Imdad’s meditations and, after almost four years, learns how to read playing cards just by examining their backsides. Eventually, Henry, realizing he has not much time to live, donates his considerable blackjack winnings to children’s hospitals and orphanages.

What I appreciate most about Henry Sugar is its dedication to presenting itself as set-bound. Anderson’s 4:3 screen aspect ratio and off-Technicolor palette combines with stagehands immaculately wheeling parts of the set on- and off-camera for when the story requires it. This takes immaculate blocking and a keen eye for movement – something Anderson clearly has in spades. However, where some are claiming Henry Sugar to be the cinema’s response to audiobooks, I must digress. Henry Sugar adapts the entire Roald Dahl text, and it often seems as if Anderson is intentionally having his actors rush through the material in order to keep the film under the forty-minute limit that defines a short film. There is little to no room for thespian interpretation and inflection as they enunciate the text. For me, this is only slightly better than reading Dahl’s text in a monotone voice. If the production design was not so impressive, this would be an otherwise insufferable experience.

My rating: 7.5/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found in the “Ratings system” page on my blog. Half-points are always rounded down.

From previous years: 85th Academy Awards (2013) 87th (2015) 88th (2016) 89th (2017) 90th (2018) 91st (2019) 92nd (2020) 93rd (2021) 94th (2022) 95th (2023)

For more of my reviews tagged “My Movie Odyssey”, check out the tag of the same name on my blog.

[movies-to-add-to-your-tbw]

Title: Pitch Perfect

Rating: PG-13

Director: Jason Moore

Cast: Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Rebel Wilson, Skylar Astin, Ester Dean, Hana Mae Lee, Alexis Knapp, Ben Platt, Adam DeVine, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Kelley Jakle, Shelley Regner, Caroline Fourmy, Wanetah Walmsley

Release year: 2012

Genres: comedy, romance, music

Blurb: College student Beca knows she does not want to be part of a clique, but that’s exactly where she finds herself after arriving at her new school. Thrust in among mean girls, nice girls, and just plain weird girls, Beca finds that the only thing they have in common is how well they sing together. She takes the women of the group out of their comfort zone of traditional arrangements and into a world of amazing harmonic combinations in a fight to the top of college music competitions.

[quotes121sworld]

Brittany Snow, Elisabeth Shue and Nick Jonas attend the premiere of The Good Half at the Tribeca Festival

The stars of new comedy-drama film The Good Half walked the red carpet for the world premiere on day two of the Tribeca Festival in New York City.brittany snow, Nick Jonas and Elisabeth Shue were among the cast members who showcased their fashion savvy while slipping into promotional mode for filmmaker Robert Schwartzman's latest production.Directed by Schwartzman from a screenplay by Brett Ryland, The Good Half focuses on Renn Wheeland (Jonas), an emotionally distant writer who returns to his hometown of Cleveland to attend his beloved mother's funeral after years of missing his mother sister (Snow) and avoided his father (Matt Walsh) and stepfather (David Arquette), according to Tribeca Festival website. During his time at home, Renn forges new relationships, including a "charming and energetic stranger" (Alexandra Shipp), while healing old relationships and learning that he can no longer avoid conflict in his life.Shue's husband Davis Guggenheim and cast members David Arquette and Matt Walsh also attended the promotional event.As photographers snapped down the red carpet, Snow, 37, showed off her womanly curves in a sequined navy blue dress.The eye-catching dress featured a plunging, off-the-shoulder design that showed off her cleavage and a slit at the left that allowed the actress to show off her legs in an instant.The former John Tucker Must Die star also wore a pair of strappy heels that slung around her ankles and had her dark tresses coiffed long and straight, just past her shoulders, with a center parting. Jonas, 30, looked stylish in a gray double-breasted suit, complete with extra fabric that hung a few inches below the front of the blazer.The Jonas Brothers star opted for an extra casual touch, completing his ensemble with a white tee and matching trainers.Shue, 59, opted for a more casual look in blue jeans with a white blouse, brown leather jacket and matching brown leather boots.The Melrose Place graduate's blonde locks were styled long with a healthy dose of volume and a center part.At one point, Shue's husband Davis Guggenheim joined her on the red carpet for a photo shoot together.The 59-year-old writer, director and producer looked handsome in a black suit, burgundy shirt and black shoes as he snuggled up next to his wife.

Eye-catcher: The eye-catching model from Snow was characterized by a deep and off-the-shoulder design

Leggy: Snow's dress also had a slit down the left side, allowing her to show off her legs at all times

STARRING: The Good Half focuses on Renn Wheeland (Jonas), an emotionally distant writer who returns to his hometown of Cleveland to attend the funeral of his beloved mother after years of caring for his sister (Snow), father (Matt Walsh) and avoided his stepfather. Father (David Arquette)

Family matters: Jonas, who plays the male lead of Renn, would also pose with co-star David Arquette, who plays his stepfather in the film

Man in Black: Arquette, 51, attended the world premiere in an all-black ensemble

Team pose: Jonas, Shue and Arquette also posed with director Robert SchwartzmanArquette, 51, struck a few poses both alone and alongside the film's lead Jonas, dressed in an all-black ensemble.The scream star also joined Jonas, Shue and Schwartzman on the red carpet for a photo or two.Schwartzman, best known for directing the films Dreamland (2016), The Unicorn (2018) and The Argument (2020), looked stylish in a classic black suit with a tie and a white shirt.Walsh, 58, went for a contrast in the fashion department by wearing black trousers with a white jacket and shirt and black leather shoes.The actor and comedian is best known for his roles in Bad Santa (2003), The Hangover (2009) and as The Daily Show correspondent with Jon Stewart (2001-2002).

On-Screen Family: Shue plays Jonas' beloved mother in The Good Half.

Article: Shue and shared the red carpet spotlight with her husband Davis Guggenheim

TV Man: Guggenheim is a writer, director and producer whose Hollywood credits include NYPD Blue, ER, 24, Deadwood and the documentary An Inconvenient Truth

Cast member: Matt Walsh, 58, went for a contrast in the fashion department by wearing black pants with a white jacket and shirt and black leather shoes

Promo mode: In the run-up to the world premiere, Jonas promoted the film on his Instagram page

Family support: Jonas' wife Priyanka Chopra joined the conversation about the premiere of "The Good Half" on Instagram.Ahead of the world premiere of The Good Half, Jonas used his Instagram page to promote the film's premiere screenings.“My new film The Good Half has its world premiere on June 8th with three screenings at the @tribeca Film Festival. I'm thrilled to be alongside this incredible cast! "@brittanysnow @alexandrashipppp @davidarquette @mrmattwalsh Elisabeth Shue," he shared in the caption.The actor and musician's wife, Priyanka Chopra, chimed in, commenting, "Let's go."Founded in 2002 by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff, the Tribeca Festival (formerly the Tribeca Film Festival) presents a diverse selection of films, episodes, lectures, music, games, art, and immersive programming each spring in New York City.This run of the festival started on June 7th and will last until June 18th. Read the full article

[dailybrittanysnowpics]

[godzillachloe]

[143bc]

Stand up! 🌹❤️

[justapillowpetpanda]

SCREAMBOX: Frogman, Coherence & More in June!

SCREAMBOX has revealed the new films joining the horror streaming service in June, including Frogman, Coherence, and We Need to Talk About Kevin.

SCREAMBOX Adding New Titles This June

The croaks are no hoax! Frogman hops onto SCREAMBOX exclusively on June 7. The ribbiting found footage curio explores the local legend of an amphibious cryptid.

Coherence will rearrange your brain on SCREAMBOX June 14. A group of friends experience a disturbing chain of reality-bending events when a comet passes in the surreal sci-fi thriller. A sequel to the 2013 cult classic was recently announced.

From the master of horror John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing), The Ward haunts SCREAMBOX on June 14. Amber Heard (Aquaman), Mamie Gummer (The Good Wife), Danielle Panabaker (Friday the 13th), Jared Harris (Mad Men), and Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria) star.

Nothing can prepare you for We Need to Talk About Kevin on SCREAMBOX June 21. From director Lynne Ramsay (You Were Never Really Here), the grim psychological thriller stars Tilda Swinton (Doctor Strange) and John C. Reilly (Kong: Skull Island). Other June highlights include: 96 Minutes, a crime thriller starring Brittany Snow (X) and Christian Serratos (The Walking Dead); spellbinding '60s horror tribute The Love Witch; Broadcast Signal Intrusion, a psychological thriller with Harry Shum Jr. (Crazy Rich Asians) and Chris Sullivan (This Is Us); haunted house documentary Haunters: The Art of the Scare; and UK supernatural series Bedlam featuring Theo James (Divergent) and Gemma Chan (The Eternals).

Sundays (6-8 PM EST) - BrittNic's Horror Corner

Read the full article