Movies

BARBIE AND TAYLOR SWIFT ARE BREAKING RECORDS RIGHT AND LEFT

The summer of 2023 has revealed the power of women. Females are dominating the movie world AND the music world. Greta Gerwig’s Barbie had the biggest opening weekend of all time for a film that was not a sequal. The third weekend is expected to bring in a worldwide total of a billion dollars! At the same time, Taylor Swift concerts and albums are smashing records. She’s the first living artist in 60 years to chart 4 albums in the top 10 at once on the Billboard chart. In ONE day she sold over two million tour tickets and held the top 10 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for her Midnights album. Keep in mind, Beyonce’s tour is also raking in the bucks. It’s high time the power of women both as performers and consumers is recognized…

Barbie PhotoCredit: Warner Bros

Taylor Photo Credit: BACKGRID-USA

 

 

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TO GUY RITCHIE, IT’S STILL A MAN’S WORLD

It’s been awhile since we’ve seen an all-male movie made BY men FOR men, but Guy Ritchie is still promoting machismo. Of course, we were initially intrigued by The Gentlemen because of the attractive male cast and Ritchie’s amusing fast way of cutting his scenes- no wasted time. Too bad the men all had scraggly facial hair and Hugh Grant even managed to look like a worn-out Al Pacino. The plot is all about incredibly egotistical and greedy men attempting to outsmart each other. It’s funny, but reeks of testosterone. The actors have such thick cockney accents that it’s difficult to understand anything except the startling abundance of profanity. (More than we’ve ever heard in any film) Stomach churning violence abounds and when Michelle Dockery’s little used character appears, she acts just like a man. So maybe this film is your cup of tea, or maybe not…

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“LIKE A BOSS” WRITERS KNOW NOTHING ABOUT WOMEN

The new comedy Like a Boss starts out with an arresting premise: female college buddies start a creative cosmetic business that prospers. Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne are the owners and Jennifer Coolidge and Billy Porter are employees –sounds like FUN, right? Hopes for fun are dashed by the dreadful script. Women would LOVE to identify and root for these characters and the stellar actors try their BEST, but the brainless script is downright embarrassing. The plot meanders, the dialog is raunchy and trite, and will somebody please tell these male writers that when female friends get together they don’t talk about vaginas all night! Salma Hayek REALLY overacts- even the music is lame. We pity the cast that has to go around promoting this well-intentioned but awful, movie.

Photo: Paramount

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BRAD PITT HAS REDEEMED HIMSELF!

Brad Pitt looks truly grateful and happy at the premier of his new astronaut film Ad Astra at the Venice Film Festival, where he’s the toast of the town. Brad got great reviews for the film and his role in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood already has Oscar buzz. After a few years of being humiliated by his nasty divorce, he has quietly worked his way back into the hearts of Hollywood. Meanwhile his ex Angelina Jolie continues to be photographed EVERYWHERE with her kids – from Petco to South Korea where she dropped off Maddox at school.

Photo Credit: BACKGRID-USA

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BLINDED BY THE LIGHT: A SWEET TRIP BACK TO THE 80’S

If YOU loved Bohemian Rhapsody, you will most likely also love Blinded by the Light. It’s a relatively small budget film but the vision of being in high school in a London suburb in the 80’s is intoxicating. The fashion (everything from Bananarama oversize jackets to skinheads) the hairstyles (from big and frizzy to Flock of Seagulls wings) – THIS is a beautifully imagined lower middle class teen “musical/drama” of the period. It’s based on a true story and addresses the cultural and political issues of the day, while maintaining a joyous musical story. You will walk out of this movie HAPPY – don’t miss it!

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AUSTIN BUTLER: BUT CAN HE SNEER LIKE ELVIS?

We were disappointed that Aaron Taylor-Johnson didn’t land the Elvis role in Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming film, but we realized that Aaron MIGHT not be much of a singer, so Austin Butler could be the logical choice. Austin, 27, DOES have the right hair for the role (did you know Elvis was born a blonde?) Hard to believe, but Austin and Vanessa Hudgens have been together since 2011. Come to think of it, she would be a really cute Priscilla Presley. No doubt Austin is busy practicing how to curl his lip like Elvis.

Above, Austin Butler and Vanessa Hudgens talk to a fan from their limo window

Photo Credit: BACKGRID-USA

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ROCKETMAN REVEALS ELTON JOHN TO BE AN AWFUL HUMAN BEING, BUT SEE IT ANYWAY

Through the years we enjoyed a few of Elton John’s songs, but never thought about him one way or the other. Elton was known to be litigious and never seemed to have much of a sense of humor about himself. But Rocketman changed everything. The movie is totally fun and very entertaining – obviously destined to become a Broadway musical. But we can never look at Elton the same way again – he was revealed to be a person of such despicable character. Despite his monumental success, he blamed his parents for his chronic unhappiness and through the years was ill-tempered, shockingly self indulgent in every way, with a total disregard for others, and little or no gratitude. Yet he whined incessantly that he couldn’t find love! Finally, Elton couldn’t stop patting himself on the back for joining AA! We exited Rocketman with a very negative opinion of Elton John – ironically, he admitted it was accurate.
Photo: Paramount

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PET SEMATARY : SOMETIMES DEAD IS BETTER

We feel a little sorry for Jason Clarke (center) because he has to make so many public appearances promoting his new movie Pet Sematary and it’s NOT easy it’s to find good things to say about it! We would describe the film in one word: GRUESOME. It starts out with a pleasant and likeable family that moves to a small town in the Northeast – just as we are starting to like them, horrible things happen. Huge trucks roar by, animals and people are slaughtered, followed by funerals and resurrections. The characters we liked are “not the same” to put MILDLY, and we would not recommend this film to anyone prone to depression or anxiety. (Stay away, Britney Spears!) Of course, we know there are guys out there who will devour every lurid moment of it…

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RUTH BADER GINSBERG IS THAT RARE FIND: A LIKEABLE AND PURPOSEFUL LAWYER

The movie On the Basis of Sex should be REQUIRED viewing for ALL men and young women. Mature women lived through this era and will WANT to see the Ruth Bader Ginsberg story. Felicity Jones plays Ruth as a brilliant young student in law school when women were treated like second class citizens. Women had to work twice as hard as men, and still had difficulty getting a job. This film reminds people who need reminding how far we still have to go when it comes to equality for the sexes. It’s also a tribute to the courage and common sense of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. She is one of the very few lawyers we’ve ever admired…

Above, Armie Hammer and Felicity Jones at a NY screening

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DID CHARLIZE THERON GET A NEW NOSE TO PLAY MEGYN KELLY?

Megyn Kelly has to be THRILLED about the new (untitled) Roger Ailes movie being filmed now – first of all because the gorgeous Charlize Theron (above) is playing Megyn – what could be more flattering than THAT! Megyn was one of the heroic women who took a stand against the arrogant chairman of Fox network and accused him of sexual abuse, which led to his downfall. The movie has an amazing cast – Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, Allison Janney, and Kate McKinnon. Charlize looks so much Megyn on the set that we wonder if makeup people duplicated Megyn’s strange nose…

Photo Credit: BACKGRID-USA

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