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Film

A Beginner’s Guide to Gangster Movies

By Jason Bailey on

Later this month, Warner Brothers is releasing The Ultimate Gangsters Collection: Classics, which gathers four of the finest films from the Golden Age of the Gangster movie in crisp, new Blu-ray editions. These days, when we think of the gangster picture, we tend to focus on modern favorites like The Godfather and GoodFellas, but those films are descended from a rich heritage of tough, smart, timely pictures from the 1930s and 1940s. As you can see from this month’s ever so helpful Beginner’s Guide, the influence of those films has resonated for decades, from Cagney and Bogart to DeNiro and Pacino. … Read More

Pop Culture

Merry Photos of Pop Culture Icons and Their Christmas Trees

By Emily Temple on

If you need a little inspiration for your holiday conifer, or just like peeking into the homes of the rich and famous (we know we do), we’ve put together a little peek at the Christmas trees of a few of our favorite pop culture icons, from F. Scott Fitzgerald to Snooki. Yes, we are equally interested in both of them. Check them out after the jump, and have a bright and shiny… Read More

Film

Gift Guide: The Best Gifts for Movie Geeks

By Jason Bailey on

Happy Black Friday! Yes, yes, we know, we’re just encouraging that capitalist pigs and so on by participating, etc., but still — might as well get started on your Christmas shopping, right? And we’re here to help, particularly if you’ve got a movie geek to buy for (and we know how hard we can be to buy for). Thus, we’ve plucked out the ten gifts (with links!) most likely to please the film fan on your list, which they’ll drool thankfully over before making up an excuse to duck out of the holiday festivities and catch the first showing of Django Unchained. Check them out after the jump, and add your own gift ideas in the comments. … Read More

Film

Our All-Time Favorite Actor/Director Movie Teams

By Jason Bailey on

Dark Shadows opens this week, whether we like it or not, but it does give us cause to pause for numerical consideration. No, we’re not talking about the amount of time since Tim Burton’s last film that was based on an original idea — that would be seven years, since Corpse Bride. Before that, you have to go clear back to 1990′s Edward Scissorhands, which was also (coincidentally enough) his first time working with Dark Shadows star Johnny Depp. Dark Shadows marks their eighth collaboration, which got us thinking about some of our favorite (and most productive, with a minimum of four pairings) actor/director teams. After the jump, we’ve compiled a dozen of the best from movie history; add your own in the comments, won’t you? … Read More

Film

The Worst Acting Snubs in Oscars History

By Jason Bailey on

Now that we’ve all had the chance to let last week’s Oscar nominations sink in, the general consensus of complaint (and that’s always what they boil down to) appears to have settled on the acting nominations — specifically, the rather shocking number of brilliant performances that were snubbed outright, against expectations. Tilda Swinton, for example, was presumed a shoo-in; same goes for Albert Brooks and, to a lesser degree, Charlize Theron and Kirsten Dunst. We won’t rehash everyone who got shafted; the point is, it happened, as it seems to every year. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has a long and storied history of shutting out great performances; after the jump, we’ve assembled ten iconic acting turns that we were stunned to discover weren’t even nominated for the Oscar. … Read More

Film

Opposites Attract: Odd Couples on Film

By Alison Nastasi on

That bittersweet, neurotic, and utterly charming look at love — Annie Hall — arrives on Blu-ray today. Woody Allen’s 1977 film is one most of us can identify with, especially when it comes to all the anticipation, insecurities, and uncertainties of a new relationship. Although Allen’s self-conscious, irksome nebbish Alvy Singer shares some qualities with Diane Keaton’s titular character, the divide between them eventually grows too wide to persist. We wanted to examine other odd couples on film, with an eye toward the pairings that made it work. Check out our picks past the break, and share your opposites in love votes below. … Read More

Film

Who Played It Better: 10 Literary Roles Filled by Multiple Actors

By Jason Bailey on

Now that the ever-so-eagerly anticipated David Fincher adaptation of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is out in theaters, fans of Stieg Larsson’s trilogy have had the chance to see how Fincher’s take stacks up — not just against the books, but against the previous Swedish film version, and more specifically in the representation of iconic heroine Lisbeth Salander. The role was played in the original films by Noomi Rapace (currently appearing in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows); for the American films, Rooney Mara takes over.

Who’s better in the role? It’s a tricky question — and one that comes up every time multiple actors take their turns playing a beloved literary character. The critics have weighed in on who plays Lisbeth better, but after the jump, we’ll take a look at ten previous cases of “different actor, same role.” … Read More

Film

Iconic Movie Roles Impossible to Remake

By Alison Nastasi on

There’s been talk about a possible updating of Mary Harron’s American Psycho — based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis — for some time now. Word has arrived that Lionsgate is actually pushing forward with a remake of the twisted classic. The studio has brought on screenwriting unknown Noble Jones to update the story about yuppie psychotic, Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), who slaughters his way through the 1980s. The studio will be hard-pressed to find another actor that can fill Bale’s (very expensive) shoes for the now famous role that became the symbol of cultural narcissism, materialism, and greed. Bale’s performance embodies everything Ellis set forth in his novel so perfectly, we think it will be impossible to top. What other iconic movie roles can never be remade? Click through to check out our picks, and leave yours in the comments below. … Read More

Film

The Most Memorable Off-Screen Couples On-Screen

By Alison Nastasi on

Diane Keaton just published her new memoir, Then Again, which talks about her early relationship with director Woody Allen. The couple fell in love during the Broadway run for his Play It Again, Sam and broke up soon after, but their filmic twosome lasted through 1993′s Manhattan Murder Mystery. Their greatest collaboration, however, remains Annie Hall, which Allen insists is not autobiographical, but the real-life similarities are certainly obvious. Genuine to the core, Annie Hall is one of the greatest screen love stories ever told and certainly one of Allen’s best films.

“Most people assumed Annie Hall was the story of our relationship. My last name is Hall. Woody and I did share a significant romance, according to me, anyway. I did want to be a singer. I was insecure, and I did grope for words,” Keaton recently told Vogue magazine. “After 35 years, does anybody care? What matters is Woody’s body of work. Annie Hall was his first love story. Love was the glue that held those witty vignettes together.”

What other off-screen couples made memorable partners on-screen? Past the break we pick a few of our favorites. Share yours with us below. … Read More

Film

Open Thread: Is Playing Yourself Still Acting?

By Jason Bailey on

Last week we had one of our periodic Flavorwire editorial meetings, and the conversation turned to Zooey Deschanel. Contrary to whatever direction you might presume we’d lean on her, there were a wide variety of opinions in the room, from indifferent to stubbornly affectionate (yours truly) to exhausted (“I’m about up to here with her”). While everyone basically agrees that her new show New Girl is nothing to write home about, there is a divergence as to why — some say it’s ill-conceived and mediocre, while others place the blame squarely on Ms. Deschanel. When I heard the phrase “She always just plays herself,” my ears perked up. Here’s a favorite topic that I’d not had the chance to engage in for a while: the question of persona vs. versatility in acting. … Read More