#we’ve seen game movies do a really great job at rolling with the source material

[luteofthunder]

I wasted so much time on this LMAO

Minecraft had such a good fandom in 12-14, there were so many great animations and AMVs flying around. I wish Dig Build Live (joint account of Slamacow, Bootstrap Buckaroo, and Captainsparklez) would rise again.

Honorary Mentions:

CraftedMovie (for those of you who know Grian from Hermitcraft, this channel is where some of his roots are, he would build the sets and act if needed. The background music they used were all so bouncy and fun)

Bootstrap Buckaroo was a literal professional animator that would lend a hand and make the character models and rigs for the Captainsparklez music videos around Fallen Kingdom and later

Weed lion- idk if he wiped his archive but he mostly animated for/with Team Crafted (SkydoesMinecraft’s group)

Ceeraanoo- animated ‘Screw the Nether’, ‘Moonquest’, ‘How Do I Craft This Again?’, and a few others for The Yogscast.

W Labs std- honestly I JUST discovered these guys while strolling down memory lane listening to Minecraft music parodies for this post and I already love their animation style!

[theonceoverthinker]

SpongeBob SquarePants - The Musical: A Small Memorial

Last night, as often happens, a Broadway show closed. While I wasn’t able to see it’s final performance (Though I was filled in for the details thanks to the incredible @crazy-noonoohead​), I did get to see it once, and it absolutely charmed the entire way through. I’m honestly going to miss it.

That show was SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical.

I know. The jokes have all been said and done. It’s a Nickelodeon show that got a stage adaptation and it doesn’t offer even the pretense of pretending its not for kids. It’s essentially most of what makes up animated movie trailers today. But beyond the jokes, SpongeBob is one of the most aesthetically pleasing, unique, and fun shows out there and I want to give it the respect and honor it deserves here, because believe it or not, it has quite a few elements worthy of said respect and honor.

Now for reference before we begin, I have seen SpongeBob on Broadway live one time, I’ve listened to the cast recording well over twenty times at this point, and I have engaged in my fair share of bootlegs via YouTube.

SET DESIGN

To start, let’s talk about SpongeBob’s greatest accomplishment: Its set design. The set design is effectively delivered on in three ways, and let’s just say that the Tony it got for Set Design could not have been more deserved. 

First, on either side of the stage of the show were two intricate mechanisms. If you’ve ever played the board game Mouse Trap, then just think about that in orange and you’ve got an idea of what they were like. One of the mechanisms went off during each act, and what it did was provide more than just a regular set piece: It provided a mystery and an adventure. Not only was it so much fun seeing the mechanisms go off, but the anticipation for them had me so excited. They were unique and gave off this feeling of both peril and comedy. 

Second, the set design of the climax of the show (Spoiler alert if you wanted to either read about this somewhere else or hit up a bootleg). Ethan Slater (SpongeBob’s actor) is such a badass. In the climax of the show, he is put in a harness and while singing a powerful song (A character-defining reprise, at that!), needs to basically climb up, through, and around this big and intricate orange spider web. It’s some of the coolest staging I’ve ever seen and while I never saw Spiderman, I also never heard of a single instance of danger with this action so I feel comfortable saying that this is Spiderman done right!

Finally, I want to talk about something pretty simple: The houses. I’m going to lump these things together because the how of what they do here is pretty similar, but incredibly impressive. The houses and establishments like The Krusty Krab here are the only thing done via CGI and the pragmatic effects help to enhance it by never allowing the audience to feel confused about where they are or overcrowded by the larger than life characters. 

If you want to continue and read my thoughts on the costume design, music, story, and cultural impact (However personal), please join me below the cut.

COSTUME DESIGN

There are a LOT of characters to talk about in this adaptation and I think they were all designed fabulously. However, for the purposes of keeping this a little brief, let’s talk about the most impressive one to me: Plankton.

Assuming you’ve watched SpongeBob on TV, you know that Plankton is a really small character, and that presents a problem when adapting the TV show to Broadway. How do you adapt Plankton? His size (Or lack thereof) is such an important quality to his character and to not acknowledge that would dilute who he is. While one could simply make him a puppet, none of the other characters are puppets and to make him one would take away all of his menace, something that he would need, even as a primarily comedy-focused antagonist. Additionally, it would severely limit the capabilities of Plankton to perform in musical numbers, especially in his rap number. But the creators did something really smart. In the opening number of the show, while all of the main characters were scaled against their oceanic counterparts, Plankton had a physical puppet counterpart shown in addition to his human actor, a puppet that was abandoned shortly after his introductory scene. That did the job of showing Plankton’s size in a way that the audience would burn into their memory while also allowing the actor to use his entire range of motion. It’s honestly such a smart move.

MUSIC

SpongeBob on Broadway is a collaborative musical. Most every song is original to the show AND was made a different artist. This list includes The Plain White Tees, Panic! at the Disco, David Bowie, John Legend, They Might Be Giants, and Sara Bareilles (But boy is it longer than just that). And here’s what impresses me so much: It’s so cohesive. That’s not to say there aren’t different genres. There are a couple of ballads, a rap, a few ensemble pieces, a rock and roll number, a sea shanty, and a tap number (With multiple legs thanks to Gavin Lee’s incredible talent!!!!). But it retains a flow to it that carries through the entire show. At no point does the SpongeBob musical feel disjointed and given all of that talent working on it, I can’t help but be surprised, even now. Like, how does that work? The music here has no right being this solid and cohesive! Well, I can only assume that the above talents really talked to one another to make sure that no work felt out of place, and honestly, I can’t help but adore that respect for how seriously this was taken from all of them to make sure that there was consistency throughout each and every one of the pieces in regards to the world of SpongeBob and in terms of a full musical.

My favorite piece is “Bikini Bottom Day.” In addition to being visually great, it has this nice buildup as the pieces of Bikini Bottom come together. It starts off with this very faithful-to-the-source-material ukulele and builds to encompass the orchestra, building up the beauty of Bikini Bottom and all of its people as it relates to SpongeBob itself. Everyone’s characterizations are perfectly on display here and the first beats of the characters’ arcs come into play. The motif which is revisited in the Act 1 finale and the finale of the show itself is just nice and optimistic, inviting everyone to think more like SpongeBob, and damnit, when I hear it, I feel like SpongeBob!

STORY

I think the story here is so important, and more important than most might give it credit for. While not overly serious, it does deliver a story that’s deviously more than it seems and in a way that is palatable by its target demographic: children.

SpongeBob on Broadway is about the SpongeBob characters facing the possibility of the end of the world in the face of an erupting volcano, and their various reactions to that. SpongeBob works on combatting the eruption, many of the townspeople try to run, those less committed to running focus on blaming someone for the issue (Sandy, as Plankton puts the value of being the sole land animal in an underwater town), a subset of fish seek wisdom from Patrick, Pearl and Squidward focus on completing their Bucket Lists, and Mr. Krabs and Plankton focus their efforts on profiting off of the panicking masses (Granted for Plankton, it’s in a much more evil way that involves mass manipulation and attempted murder). And throughout this story, there are various ticking countdowns, the aforementioned mechanisms throwing big balls of magma onto the stage, and even the intermission says that it will be the “last intermission...ever.” And that’s all before talking about the two numbers about the possibility of facing the end: “No Control” and “Best Day Ever,” the former of which is one of the most panicked and hopeless numbers I’ve ever heard.

Now, that’s a pretty really-real baseline story with some harsh elements, and honestly, it could’ve gotten pretty dark. But what I like is that it never really did. While not afraid to handle these storylines and aspects and tackle them fully, the show never lost sight of the fact that it’s a SpongeBob musical and being that requires a consistency of a comedic tone as well as an understanding that it’s a musical for children. There are at least five jokes per scene and the show itself ends with a parade of bubbles, a zany band performance, and strings of party paper that falls from the sky! It’s fucking bonkers! And that tonal balance is what makes it so good -- not all time classic-great, but certainly more than enough to merit its own existence. 

And that brings us to...

CULTURE

Whenever I see someone picking on SpongeBob on Broadway, even from its inception, I’ve always hated it. I get that SpongeBob on Broadways was somewhat of an absurd notion, but then again, so was The Lion King or Avenue Q, an adult-themed show about puppets, and both of those offered something unique visually as well as through elements like staging, storytelling, and costumes. And in terms of animated adaptations, we’ve had again all but two of the Disney Broadway adaptations. So why did SpongeBob get mocked?

And I’m sure some edgelord reading this is groaning about that the fact that SpongeBob on Broadway is a musical for kids and that I’m unapologetically defending its right to be exactly that, but honestly, fuck that noise. Being for kids does not mean that a musical cannot be great or even tough upon hard subject matter. I mean, look at how some of the more recent Disney animated movies have taken upon harsher subject matter if you need proof of that. What it means is that there needs to be an understanding in the delivery of a message so that one can understand it from an early age without needing to sacrifice storytelling to deliver it. It’s not dumbing down theatre, it’s opening up the door for new people to come in. And there’s no reason why that’s a bad thing. Broadway, like every other medium, thrives off of variety. Just like how there are deep movies like “Citizen Kane,” comedies like “Crazy Rich Asians,” silly films like “Despicable Me,” and superhero movies like “The Avengers” (And blendings of the different genres like “The Dark Knight��), so can there be such a tonal diversity among the shows on Broadway. Hamilton and Phantom are great musicals, but they aren’t and shouldn’t be the only types out there and I like that there’s more out there for kids. 

Broadway in its current state, while making changes to foster grander availability, is still a very overpriced and hard to access medium. It’s based on location and even for someone like me who lives in New York, it’s an endeavor that costs at least $50-$60 (That’s assuming I (1) win a digital lottery or have a friend do rush (thanks again @crazy-noonoohead​), (2) don’t take a subway or cab, and (3) don’t eat on the trip, and very rarely do those things all happen simultaneously). To be willing to do that, you need to have some serious love or interest in the show, and because of that high bar that people already have to meet in order to just get in the door, it’s not especially approachable to new people. And that’s where shows like SpongeBob come in. Little kids and families go to see the show and come out with so much more. Shows like SpongeBob open doors for lifelong interests in the mastery of theatre and I hope that in the future, when a non-Disney show like this is announced, we remain more optimistic about its potential rather than turning it into a punchline.

While I can’t say it’s for certain intentional, I can’t help but related the song “Not a Simple Sponge” to the public’s outcry towards the show. The chorus invites Mr. Krabs, Squidward, and (by extension) the audience to give SpongeBob a chance to “give me [him] adventure, be a contender, and more” after earlier calling him “just a simple sponge.” I can’t help but see the similarities between SpongeBob’s doubters and the public itself for dismissing the idea of SpongeBob going on a grand staged adventure, as if to say “No, you can’t tell us this story.” But by the end, through the careful delivery of themes (”Everything gets better if you keep on trying”), SpongeBob proves that indeed his is more than a simple sponge and worthy of his claim to The Great White Way.

LET’S WRAP THIS UP

SpongeBob was something that crept up on me. I figured I’d like it well enough, but that it would be something that would follow me, take up about half of my Spotify history, and be something that moved me to make a fairly long post about it? Well, that caught me as a surprise! Hell, I still have a piece of the tissue paper that fell on me during the end of the show and it’s still something I’m going to try to hold on for my remaining days. I probably would’ve attempted for the finale performance alongside my friend had it not been for a car accident that currently leaves me unable to walk. Even still, I’m grateful for the chance to experience this show.

What I’m saying is, SpongeBob on Broadway is “not a simple sponge” and I sincerely wish that it had run longer (With all due respect, I was bored with the Mean Girls bootleg I found in roughly twenty minutes and I was hoping my big yellow friend would stick it out at least until after that closed). For something that was odds are less than half a risk to Viacom, it tried so much harder than anyone expected to and created a memorable show. While I don’t expect a revival anytime soon, it’s going to join some of my mid-tier favorites that Broadway has to offer, along the lines of Legally Blonde and Young Frankenstein. And maybe one day, it will get the respect and love that it truly deserves.

If you’ve never checked out SpongeBob, and by some miracle you’re able to track down a working bootleg or even if you just rock out to the cast recording and a Wikipedia article on the plot, I suggest downing an hour or two and letting the wonders of a “Bikini Bottom Day” consume you.

[aion-rsa]

Best Movies Coming to Netflix in August 2021

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As quickly as the summer movie season of 2021 seemed to come upon us, it’s already about to begin its long, languid slide through the dog days of August into fall. That’s not to say that theaters won’t still have plenty of interesting fare to encounter, with films like The Suicide Squad, Free Guy, Respect, Candyman and The Night House all on deck. Hopefully the other hideous sequel happening at the moment — Pandemic 2: The Delta Variant — won’t set any of these potential hits back.

In the spirit of keeping August entertaining, Netflix is rolling out a slew of new streaming additions as well, including an underrated Spielberg gem, fantastic teen comedies both old and new, a couple of stoner classics and perhaps the finest film from the canon of one of the modern era’s most revered directors. We’ve rounded up our recommendations below, and hope you stay cool and healthy whatever you’re watching!

Universal

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Beethoven (1992)

August 1

Hollywood in the 1990s was a glorious and furry era when studio executives never met a family movie that couldn’t be improved with the addition of at least one animal character. Beethoven is one of the most successful examples of this winning formula. Directed by Brian Levant from a script co-written by John Hughes himself (alongside Mystic Pizza co-writer Amy Holden Jones), Beethoven is basically the story of how a husband and father, Charles Grodin’s George Newton, feels threatened by the attention his family gives their new dog, a St. Bernard named Beethoven.

George eventually works through some of his issues and accepts the charming Beethoven into the family, a process that comes to a head when Beethoven is dog-napped into an animal experiment scheme run by evil veterinarian Dr. Herman Varnick. (Honestly, the plot isn’t dissimilar to the story in cinematic masterpiece Paddington.) The deep supporting cast includes Bonnie Hunt, David Duchovny, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Oliver Platt, Stanley Tucci, and Everybody Loves Raymond‘s Patricia Heaton. The film’s sequel, Beethoven Second, will also be available on Netflix starting on August 1st.

Dreamworks

Catch Me If You Can (2002)

August 1

As one of Steven Spielberg’s most charming and laid-back efforts, Catch Me If You Can is a breezy and star-studded entertainment. The story is loosely based on the real grifts of conman Frank Abagnale Jr., who beginning as a teenager was able to pass himself off as a pilot, lawyer, doctor, and many other things. But really, this is a cat-and-mouse chase movie between a still baby-faced Leonardo DiCaprio as Abagnale and Tom Hanks as the FBI stiff who hunted him down. It’s all good stuff, with the movie enjoying a light touch and fresh take on Spielberg’s favorite subject matter: fathers and sons.

Warner Bros. Pictures

Deep Blue Sea (1999)

August 1

A shockingly entertaining B-movie about a bunch of genetically engineered super-sharks which break out and take over a testing facility, this is horror silliness at its best with great turns from Samuel L Jackson, Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows and LL Cool J. Partially shot on sets built around the same water tanks used for Titanic, with animatronic and CGI sharks, Deep Blue Sea is action-packed, schlocky fun from director Renny Harlin (Cliffhanger).  

STX Entertainment

The Edge of Seventeen (2016)

August 1

A bit like Lady Bird before there was a Lady Bird, Kelly Fremon Craig’s Edge of Seventeen is an underrated gem that stars a teenage Hailee Steinfeld as a young woman stumbling through an especially awkward time in her life. Steinfeld is terrific in her best performance since True Grit, playing Nadine as a bundle of insecurities, yet still nobody’s victim. Also of special value is Craig’s hilarious and authentic script, which captures the specificity of growing up in the social media age while being near-universal in its accessibility and empathy for a wide ensemble which also includes Kyra Sedgwick, Haley Lu Richardson, and Woody Harrelson.

Paramount

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

August 1

Just in time for the dog days of summer comes one of the best summer movies ever. Relying on charm and sharp characterization instead of special effects for its spectacle, John Hughes’ Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is a truly great teen comedy that follows the easygoing bon vivant (or secret sociopath?) of a high school’s senior class when he decides to take the day off in the best fashion: by faking he’s sick and then guilting his BFF into giving him the keys to his dad’s Ferrari.

Read more

TV

Should Netflix’s Pokémon Live-Action Series Explore the Franchise’s Dark Side?

By Matthew Byrd

TV

Never Have I Ever Season 2 Review: This Netflix Teen Comedy Deserves to Run and Run

By Louisa Mellor

It’s silly yet curiously honest stuff about the pressures of young adult life, at least in 1980s suburban America, and a beguiling showcase for an ensemble that includes Matthew Broderick in his coolest role, as well as Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jennifer Grey, and a seriously stoned Charlie Sheen. If you haven’t seen it yet, you’re due.

Warner Bros. Pictures

Inception (2010)

August 1 Still Christopher Nolan’s most complete and satisfying film to date (yes, even more so than The Dark Knight), Inception is a cerebral sci-fi set of stacking dolls combined with a rollicking James Bond adventure that all happens to be mostly situated inside one guy’s head. Leonardo DiCaprio leads a team of professional thieves who steal things from people’s minds — only this time they’re hired to implant an idea, even if they have to dive deep into the mark’s subconscious to do it.

Mind-bending imagery and several jaw-dropping action sequences are wrapped around a surprisingly emotional core, with only the usual unwieldy exposition there to remind you that there are some things Nolan may never get right.

Lionsgate

The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)

August 1 Based on a novel by crime writer Michael Connelly, this gripping, suspenseful 2011 drama arguably kicked off “the McConaissance,” a shift from rom-coms to more serious roles by Matthew McConaughey that launched a new, largely acclaimed phase of his career.

McConaughey is formidable as attorney Mickey Haller, a slick lawyer who works out of his Lincoln Town Car and undergoes a crisis of conscience as his new case starts to feel disturbingly like an old one. In addition to McConaughey stepping up his game, this Brad Furman-directed thriller is the kind of character-driven, literate melodrama we don’t see much on the big screen anymore — although we see plenty of them these days on, of course, Netflix.

Paramount Classics

The Machinist (2004)

August 1 Director Brad Anderson followed up his cult classic 2001 horror effort Session 9 with this surreal, Kafka-esque psychological thriller. Christian Bale plays Trevor Reznik, whose inability to sleep leads him to cause an accident at his industrial job that costs a co-worker (Michael Ironside) his arm. Already physically and mentally deteriorating, Reznik begins an even deeper descent as he tries to unravel what’s happening to him and why. Bale is intense and viscerally shocking as the emaciated Reznik, with his riveting performance anchoring an atmospheric, visually striking film that is sometimes an exercise in style over substance.

New Line Cinema

Magnolia (1999)

August 1

Boogie Nights pushed director Paul Thomas Anderson into the spotlight, but it was his massive, sprawling jigsaw puzzle Magnolia that made him into a superstar filmmaker. Following multiple narratives and numerous characters all finally brought together by a climactic storm of frogs, this is high art packed with standout moments.

Read more

Movies

Top Gun: Maverick Footage Shows Tom Cruise in Real Jet Behind the Scenes

By David Crow

Movies

Best Modern Horror Movies

By Don Kaye

Tom Cruise is electric as a toxic motivation speaker, Julianne Moore is brittle and tragic as a trophy wife who has grown to love her dying husband, while the burgeoning relationship between Melora Walters’ addict and John C. Reilly’s cop added sweetness and hope to a tale of messed up people and damaged families. Epic.

Sony PIctures

Pineapple Express (2008)

August 1 After its trailer introduced everyone to M.I.A.’s amazing “Paper Planes,” Pineapple Express’s work was already done. It didn’t even have to produce a satisfyingly funny movie on top of that. Thankfully the filmmaking team of Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and David Gordon Green decided to give us one anyway, because Pineapple Express is the ideal of the little-seen-or-attempted stoner action comedy.

Rogen stars as process server and marijuana enthusiast Dale Denton, while James Franco portrays his annoying drug dealer Saul Silver. When the pair witness a murder, they are forced to flee hitmen, a pair of corrupt cops, and worst of all, Danny McBride. The Rogen/Goldberg comedy catalog has very few misses and this one is particularly excellent.

Universal Pictures

Seabiscuit (2003)

August 1

No one would ever accuse Gary Ross’ Seabiscuit of being subtle. With its voice-of-god narration by Ken Burns fave David McCoullough, which helpfully spells out the themes of the movie every few scenes, and its achingly sentimental score and dialogue, Seabiscuit is a Cinderella story which all but asserts its titular race horse ended the Great Depression. Yet Ross captures some of the simple American grandeur of Laura Hillenbrand’s non-fiction source material book, as well as the beauty of this true story where a horse that everyone counted out as worthless was nursed by three men into becoming one of the greatest racing animals of all-time.

It’s the type of feel-good yarn that won people over in the 1930s and which is still winning now. When coupled with a handful of strong performances, including from Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper, Tobey Maguire, and a seriously underrated Elizabeth Banks, you have a crowd-pleaser that actually pleases.

Paramount Pictures

Team America: World Police (2004)

August 1 Roger Ebert’s one-star review of Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s Team America: World Police sums up the film’s nonsensical political stance nicely. “I wasn’t offended by the movie’s content so much as by its nihilism,” the great film critic wrote.

Rog was right to criticize Team America’s incomprehensible worldview. Nearly 20 years later, its seeming position that Alec Baldwin and Kim Jong-Il are equally bad hasn’t aged that well (despite Mr. Baldwin’s best efforts). But it’s hard to argue that the South Park creators’ nihilism doesn’t lead to some great comedy. The novelty of Thunderbirds-style puppets saving the world amid graphic sex acts and voluminous barfing never quite wears off.

The post Best Movies Coming to Netflix in August 2021 appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[gretagerwigarchive]

THR Panel: 6 Breakthrough Performers on Difficult Directors and Working Without a Script

A conversation with Barkhad Abdi ("Captain Phillips"), Adele Exarchopoulos ("Blue Is the Warmest Color"), Greta Gerwig ("Frances Ha"), Kathryn Hahn ("Afternoon Delight"), David Oyelowo ("The Butler") and Olivia Wilde ("Drinking Buddies").

source to watch the interview: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/thr-panel-6-breakthrough-performers-660661

How did you get your start in the business? GERWIG: I kind of always wanted to be an actor. I wanted to go to a BFA program, but my mom wasn’t so keen on it, so I went to Barnard College and just did regular liberal arts. But while I was there I realized how hard it was to be an actor. [I decided] I really wanted to be part of theater or film or television, just storytelling with actors, and I didn’t care what job I was going to do, I just wanted to be a part of it. So I was writing and stage-managing. I had done a tiny part in a Joe Swanberg movie called L.O.L. I didn’t even do a part; the guy I was dating at the time used my voicemail messages in the movie. (Laughs.) So I really was not hired to act. But then I went to South by Southwest because it fell on my spring break, and I met Ti West and Mark Duplass and Andrew Bujalski and all these people who were so amazing and I was such a fan of their films. And Joe asked me, “Do you want to come live in Chicago and make a movie and live in a house?” And I said, “Yes.” I still had day jobs, and I was applying and getting rejected from graduate schools. And then, eventually, someone paid me to act on a regular basis. OYELOWO: In terms of Nigeria [where Oyelowo's father is from], generally, or certainly my dad’s generation, the idea of the arts is just so alien. It’s [all about] academia. [My father] had three sons: He wanted a doctor, a lawyer and an engineer. So I came in and said I wanted to be an actor and he just kind of laughed. And then, as it became more and more serious, the panic kind of set in of the reality of it. But I got a scholarship to go to the London Academy, and that was my in! [Imitating his father] “Oh, a scholar? We can tell everybody back in Nigeria you are a scholar.” So that was the way I whittled my way through that. EXARCHOPOULOS: When I was 8 I got a lot of energy, so my parents say, “You have to put this on something.” And I was like, “Maybe I should [take] improvisation class.” And one day I got the chance that, at 12, a casting director came and it started from there. I realized how much I wanted to be involved in it. And the deal with my parents was, “If you had pretty good marks at school, you can make a movie.” WILDE: I was a casting assistant, so I’ve brought coffee to almost everyone I’ve now worked with. (Laughs.) But I started out slowly and did TV and did movies, some big, some small. And it’s funny, I was telling Kathryn just now that I’ve been working for 12 years professionally, but I feel like I just started. That’s a weird thing that can happen in this business. You can have a lot of experience and then do something you’re really proud of and say, “OK, now I feel like I can call myself an actor and I’m doing what I want to do.”

Barkhad, Captain Phillips is your first movie. Your journey to the movies has probably taken you further than anyone here. ABDI: I was born in Mogadishu, Somalia, and by the age of 6 years old the civil war started, so we were stuck in that city for about a year. And after that, my mom found a way to get us out of Somalia and we went to Yemen. I started a new life there and lived in Yemen for about seven years. And then we found the lottery visa to the U.S., and we came to Minneapolis. One day, the auditioning call came on the local TV channel, so I went there for the audition. It was a huge crowd of people. I met some friends there. We created a group of four and we practiced. We finally got called to L.A. and we got the part.

Kathryn, you went to the Yale School of Drama. Were you envisioning a future as a theater actor or were you hoping for film? HAHN: I didn’t get to Yale until much, much later than most. I started when I was 27, which is kind of late in the game. I grew up in Cleveland -- we’re both Midwesterners [gesturing to Abdi] and I always, always wanted to do it. I did a children’s television show in Cleveland called Hickory Hideout, on which I talked to two squirrel puppets, Nutso and Shirley Squirrely. I later worked at the Williamstown Theater Festival forever and ever -- tore down sets and made no money at all -- and then accrued more debt with Yale. (Laughs.) So yeah, it took a really long time, but I feel the same way as Olivia,I feel weirdly brand-new, even though I’ve been doing it my whole life, really.

David, before The Butler you had worked with Lee Daniels on The Paperboy. How did you two connect? OYELOWO: He was going to do a film called Selma -- this was in 2010 -- and he had cast me as Martin Luther King, and we spent maybe a year-and-a-half trying to get that film off the ground. And in that time, when, for whatever reason, it just wasn’t coming together, he sent me the script of The Butler. And to be honest, I did not want to like this script at all because I was like, “No, no, no, we are doing Selma! I’ve been studying Martin Luther King, and that’s what we’re doing.” (Laughs.) And then he sent me this script and it just blew my head off. The Butler was really tough to get off the ground -- it’s a big hit now, but no one wanted to make it -- so, in the meantime, we went off and made The Paperboy.

Kathryn, Jill Soloway had never written or directed a feature film before Afternoon Delight. Did you have any doubts that she could do it? HAHN: I trusted her voice and her gut. It’s such a specific script. It’s just such an amazing picture of a time in our culture, and this weird little subculture of Silver Lake right now and these new parents. And, oh, I just begged, borrowed, and stole. I just trusted her, I really did.

Adele, what was your first encounter with Blue director Abdellatif Kechiche like? EXARCHOPOULOS: I was 18. And it was really not cool because he doesn’t speak a lot; he really just observes you, asks you to eat something because he loves watching people eat, so, you’re like, “OK ...” After this meeting, I was like, “I’m not going to [get] it.” And they told me, “Abdellatif wants you to come again.” During two months he was testing me and also he was making me participate with the casting. I was playing the role of Lea Seydoux, but she was already picked. But I wasn’t asking nothing because it was too weird to ask. And one day he told me, “You’re free. It’s you.”

Now a slightly less circuitous way to a part would be to write it yourself. Greta, you had previously worked with Noah Baumbach on Greenberg and then you two co-wrote Frances Ha. GERWIG: I had been acting a lot, but I hadn’t been finishing anything I was writing and I sent him all this material -- of just scenes, snippets of scenes or moments of things I thought belonged in a movie -- and he thought they were interesting and good, and we started writing it. It was a year of writing, off and on. I don’t know that I thought that we would ever make it into a film. I’ve had plenty of projects where I’ve written whole scripts with people and, you know, it doesn’t happen. Once the script was done, I almost wasn’t thinking about acting in it. I’m glad I did, but I had a moment of feeling like I wasn’t sure that I wanted to, because I was so proud of it and I didn’t want to, like, mess it up or anything. But I messed it up so good! (Laughs.)

One of the things with which Greta is very associated is the Mumblecore era. And a big part of that was Joe Swanberg. Olivia, what was it like making Drinking Buddies with Joe? WILDE: We had an outline that for a while Joe wouldn’t show me. He kept saying, “Once you get here, we’ll figure it out based on who you guys are and what your relationship to each other is.” And this [sort of thing] had never come my way before because I don’t think anyone would’ve thought I was capable of it; I’m not sure what made Joe think that I could, but I’m so glad he did. Because I was familiar with Joe’s work and had seen Hannah Takes the Stairs and L.O.L., I was like, “Oh, we’re all going to live in a house, and no one’s going to get paid, and we’re going to eat together and live together and that sounds so fun and we’ll just like, roll out of bed and shoot a scene, or whatever happens, happens!” I’d say the biggest challenge was learning to really trust myself to say something that was not funny or smart or relevant and have it be totally fine. GERWIG: When we made Hannah Takes the Stairs, and we all lived in a house together, there was this list by the door of things we needed, like, “eggs, milk” -- and then finally someone put “script.” (Laughs.) WILDE: I was panicking that we didn’t have a script. And then I heard that there was a secret script on set that Joe had and I was like, “There’s a script? We’ve got to find the script!” The funny thing is, people who know me watch the movie and they’re like, “Oh, it’s you! You’re just you!” And people who don’t know me are like, “You’re a great actor.” (Laughs.) But you being you is actually harder than it sounds.

Kathryn, a lot of people saw Anchorman and Step Brothers and began to think of you suddenly as a comedienne. WILDE: My fiance [former SNL castmember Jason Sudeikis] calls her the Meryl Streep of comedy. HAHN: Costumes, fake noses, fanny packs. (Laughs.)

But I would imagine it felt nice to be given the opportunity to do something different … HAHN: I really didn’t come out here and start in this world of cameras until I was like 30. And it was always a small part in a big, huge studio machine. So I spent most of my 30s feeling like a guest on somebody else’s set. When I did that small part in Anchorman, that really cracked something open for me as an actor, not just in comedy. There was something so anarchic about it, something lawless and just so rock and roll about the way [co-writer/director Adam McKay] approaches comedy. There’s something about the comedy world. I can’t believe I’m invited to that party in any way. But there is something in [Afternoon Delight] that I always knew was in there. It was different. It revealed itself to be a little darker than we anticipated.

David, in The Butler you play someone who ages from 17 to 68. Was that daunting? OYELOWO: No, it was the opposite, actually. I think initially Lee had conceived it as maybe two or even three actors doing it. I said to Lee, “Look, I want you to trust me with this. I think I can do it.” And he went, “Oh, OK? OK.” To the point whereby we were in New Orleans and we were doing camera tests to see if I could pass for 17 and all of that. And at the end of a day of camera tests, he goes, “David, you are lucky!” I said, “What? What?” “Because I had cast the young version of you and he is -- I have got to go and make a phone call!” (Laughs.) It always takes me out for a moment when you go from a young version of someone to another actor playing them. And I just felt if we could do without it, then let’s give it a go.

What is Lee like as a director? OYELOWO: He is not a respecter of persons at all. I mean, there were so many huge stars in that film and he was like, “You are effing up my movie! You better get it right!” He will take you to the monitor and go, “David, look at this: Fake! Genius! Oh my God, if you do that again in my movie, I will ...” But he is as hard on himself as he is on his actors.

Greta, why was it important for Frances Ha to be a black-and-white movie? GERWIG: I didn’t really know how limiting black-and-white was until we were trying to sell it. But shooting in black-and-white was sort of part of the spirit of the whole thing when we were writing it. I think Orson Welles said, “Black-and-white is an actor’s best friend. It makes you look like everything you’re doing is important.” And I was thinking about [La Strada and Nights of Cabiria star] Giulietta Masina, and her clown-face, and it’s so big. I feel like black-and-white responds to almost a clownishness that you can’t get away with in color film.

Adele, with Blue a lot of attention has been paid to the fact that there’s a lot of sex in the movie. Was that something that gave you any pause? EXARCHOPOULOS: Not really because I knew that he wanted to make a love story between two girls, but just as a love story -- something common. He told me, “I want to treat the sex scene like the other ones, like the food scene, like the school scene.” We laughed a lot during this sex scene because it was the first scene we were making together. So, introduce yourself naked, it helps, because there was no, like, shaking hands. You’re just naked and vulnerable. I think it was easier for me, because for me it was supposed to be my first relationship with a girl, a sex relation, and she was supposed to drive the act. So I was just like, let her do!

And that scene, which lasts six or seven minutes, took 10 days to shoot, right? EXARCHOPOULOS: But [not] 10 days [straight]; just some days, “OK, today is the sex scene.” We wanted to show how a sexuality can evolve. People pay a lot of attention for this sex scene, and I don’t understand why because this is just sex. You’ve got the impression during this scene that you are in the bedroom of two girls who love each other, and I can understand that sometime it’s kind of real because you’re really seeing two people eat each other, and it’s also about skin. But it’s like this.

Barkhad, you get the part in Captain Phillips, and you know Phillips is going to be played Tom Hanks. How was the first meeting? ABDI: When we first got there, we did some training and we were all excited to meet Tom. That was the main reason that I went to audition to begin with. So when we finished the training, it was like, “OK, now I want to see Tom.” And Paul [Greengrass] was like, “You guys are not seeing Tom until the first scene you actually see in the film.”

Where you raid the ship. ABDI: He said he doesn’t want us to be intimidated by Tom, so the first time in the movie we see each other, that’s [going to be] the first time we [the Somali actors] are seeing him. Looking back at it now, it was a great idea. We just had to forget about Tom and focus on the scene.

Adele, prior to this May, the Cannes Film Festival had never awarded its Palme d’Or to anyone but a film's director, but this year a Steven Spielberg-led jury gave it to you and Lea Seydoux as well as Kechiche. What has life been like for you since then? EXARCHOPOULOS: Sometimes I’m on the subway and I’m like, “What?!” (Laughs.) It’s strange to come from shadow to light in one year, everything changes. People change with you. You’re under lights and it makes you more fragile because you feel that people are going to judge you so much after your next movie. And I think it’s too bad because it’s important to fail, too, and to make a small movie, a big movie, a movie that’s not going to be seen. And so that’s strange. But the Cannes Festival was huge for the three of us.

Barkhad, what has it been like for you, like Adele, being thrown into the deep end? ABDI: Well, it feels good. (Laughs.) People recognize me on the street now. And as far as people back home, everybody’s shocked by it and I’m just trying to take it slow. I have an agent now and I’m trying to pursue this and see where I can go.

[bresmoviereviews-blog]

All 19 Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies, Ranked

If you’re a massive comic book fan like me, the surprise announcement of a cinematic universe based on Marvel characters back in 2008 had you elated. Now, 10 years later, after the release of Avengers: Infinity War, we all need a refreshing look back on how far we’ve come by re-visiting all 19 (!) Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.

Eighteen: Iron Man 2 -- ‘Is that Mickey Rourke?’ was my only thought throughout this whole movie. Rourke as Whiplash makes you question what direction the production wanted to go in. It’s a muddled storyline, but the charm of the MCU saves it from being a complete flop.

Seventeen: The Incredible Hulk -- They literally wanted to erase this one from history. Edward Norton is criminally underwritten as Bruce Banner, being able to showcase his immense talent and range by doing nothing but make silent, weird faces throughout the movie. The Hulk has so much potential, we’ve seen him shine with the Avengers and Thor, that I think it’s time that we revisit a solo Hulk movie.

Sixteen: Doctor Strange -- Marvel has perfected their movie-making process in the past couple years, fixing what used to be their generic storylines into further-developed ideas, but that wasn’t the case with this Benedict Cumberbatch-starring blockbuster. The Sorcerer Supreme has such an immense realm of powers that it’s almost hard to capture, but I think that’s where this movie goes above and beyond. The visuals are amazing, but the story doesn’t have much substance outside of it.

Fifteen: Thor: The Dark World -- I think this movie is the best showcase of the overused thread for comic book movies (a problem that especially plagues Marvel) with a bland and forgettable villain and little to no substance weighing the film down. However, the cast has such fun chemistry together that it keeps this movie from falling further down the list.

Fourteen: Ant-Man -- I’ll be honest, I was really hoping Edgar Wright was going to direct this movie as planned. Instead, I was left wondering what could have been. Paul Rudd gets utilized to the best of his abilities and Evangeline Lilly really saves her character from being just another love interest, however, I just wish that we could have gotten that trademark Wright quirky feel, it really could have taken this movie to another level. Fingers crossed that Ant-Man and the Wasp fares better treatment.

Thirteen: Thor -- This one really gets a bad rep. I still feel that new, innocent feeling of when the MCU was first introduced when I rewatch it, and I would recommend you do, too. The acting is incredible, especially the relationships between Anthony Hopkins’ Odin, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, and Tom Hiddleston’s Loki. It borders on Shakespearean, however, and it doesn’t always fit into the traditional summer blockbuster picture. They opened the mold just wide enough for this movie to fit inside, and I think it really works, bringing a new concept into a franchise that could have easily run into the ground by that time.

Twelve: Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 -- Last summer’s sequel to the surprise smash hit that was the original Guardians, Vol. 2 has the same basic story as before, but the newly introduced stuff isn’t as enjoyable (how do you waste Kurt Russell, of all people?). The third act especially gets muddled, and the source material is a little out-there for casual fans to catch on to. We’ll see what James Gunn comes up with for Vol. 3, I guess.

Eleven: Thor: Ragnarok -- Taika Waititi’s inventive, bubbly spirit is everywhere in this movie, and considering how the last two Thor movies were received, it was a welcome addition to a franchise bursting with possibility. Who knew that Thor had such sharp comedy chops?

Ten: Iron Man 3 -- This movie is so much heavier than what was advertised. A superhero struggling with PTSD? Yes, please! It makes for a much more interesting story than usual, especially for Marvel’s first three-quel. Considering they still touch on the ideas introduced in this movie, I would definitely suggest a re-watch.

Nine: Avengers: Age of Ultron -- Another underrated movie, Ultron flew under the radar for most. It was a little underwhelming as a sequel compared to The Avengers, but it still has great comedy and introduced the gut-punching emotional moments we’ve all come to know as a part of the MCU. The storyline definitely peaks interest, but it can sometimes get buried underneath the subplots that are treated as equal (especially when they can get a little problematic). Nonetheless, a worthy addition to the Marvel canon.

Eight: Guardians of the Galaxy -- The first trek into space, Guardians blew everyone’s expectations out of the water. What was expected to be a subtle sidekick movie to the main Avengers flicks, instead delivered a fun, musical ride alongside the team that no one knew existed. An amazing feat, especially considering James Gunn didn’t have many directing credits to his name before signing his contract.

Seven: Captain America: The First Avenger -- Another one of my favorites, this movie introduced the Star-Spangled man with a plan, a fan-favorite throughout history. It could have easily been a kitschy patriotic tale, but instead had some surprising gravitas to it with the addition of pal Bucky Barnes and solemn setting of World War II. It also gave us the best love interest in the Marvel universe, with Hayley Atwell’s Agent Peggy Carter (I definitely recommend seeing her spin-off TV series if you haven’t). An all-around crowd pleaser.

Six: Iron Man -- The first movie in the than-unannounced cinematic universe, this movie hit the motherload in charisma with star Robert Downey, Jr. as Iron Man and Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane. The world-building is nuanced, as it had to be, but the surprise post-credits scene (another soon-to-be staple of MCU films) had hardcore comic fans rolling in theater aisles with excitement. A great kickoff to an unforgettable franchise.

Five: Captain America: Civil War -- A more somber option, Civil War brought together all of your favorite heroes (and then some more) to duke it out over their philosophical principles regarding their jobs. It might sound a little heavy for the MCU, but it culminates in a 15-minute fight scene, so nothing too far from normal. The only reason it isn’t higher on the list is because the source material, Mark Millar’s 2006 series, is treated with such hard-hitting tonal brutality that doesn’t translate so well to the screen adaptation. For such a great comic series, the movie becomes underwhelming and doesn’t have any real consequences. It’s still a winner in my book, though.

Four: Spiderman: Homecoming -- After being introduced in Civil War, Spider-Man set out on his own solo (sort of) adventure in this 2017 blockbuster. Starring newcomer Tom Holland, this was the first Spider-Man film to employ an actual teenaged actor, and it shows. Peter Parker discovering his abilities within the pressure of a much-larger MCU world made for a charismatic, heartwarming portrayal of a relatable character.

Three: Black Panther -- The box-office smash of February, Chadwick Boseman wore his claws with such ferocity and style that it was hard to remember that this was a Marvel movie. Add to that a scene-stealing supporting cast, an amazing soundtrack, and the power of representation, you’ve got the recipe for a classic.

Two: Captain America: The Winter Soldier -- This movie changed the game at a time when the superhero formula was growing tired. A sleek spy thriller brought a fresh take to the first Avenger, especially considering the weight that this movie carried in terms of world-building. There’s a reason directors Joe and Anthony Russo keep getting asked back.

Honorable Mention: Avengers: Infinity War (SPOILER ALERT!) -- The most recent MCU movie, I really, desperately need you to go see this without any context before you read on. Okay, if you have seen this one, you understand why I was nothing but a sobbing, stressed-out mess throughout the whole two hours and 40 minute run time. They promised us heartbreak, and boy, did they deliver. All of your favorite characters are dead (it was only a matter of time, I guess). I can’t wait to see how they continue the story in the subsequent Avengers movie and the coming standalone films.

One: The Avengers -- There was a time where I was able to quote this movie word-for-word from beginning to end (no joke) from watching it so many times. This movie had so much going for it, it would have been so much easier to make a mediocre movie that satisfied fans’ lowest expectations and nothing more. Instead, we got this, the culmination of four years of carefully escalating storytelling and meticulous character building. This was the first time we got to see Marvel’s gift in ensemble pieces, somehow being able to establish every character equally, introduce new ones, and create coherent stories that keep our interest. I still don’t know how they’re able to pull all of this off, but I’ll keep rushing to the theater as long as they’re still doing it.