Category: Film
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Why the Nicole Kidman AMC ad matters
If you’ve been to a movie at AMC in the last two years, you’ve seen their now-legendary in-house ad starring Nicole Kidman where she walks into a theater extolling the magic of movies, moviegoing, and AMC. It’s sincere, borderline saccharine, and immediately after its debut in September 2021 became a lightning rod for hot takes…
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Somehow I interviewed Glenn Frankel
One of the great things about running an online magazine like Cinema Sugar is that I can just decide that I want to try to interview someone, and then watch as that dream miraculously becomes reality. That happened recently in conjunction with Westerns Month. I remembered that I’d read two excellent books about westerns by…
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Media of the moment
An ongoing series Reality. Riveting recreation of the arrest of whistleblower Reality Winner, played by Sydney Sweeney. This was my first encounter of Sweeney and was thoroughly impressed. Just released on (HBO) Max. Queer Eye season 7. A quality hang as usual. Ted Lasso season 3. Hard to top season 1 but have enjoyed watching…
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How ‘Hairspray’ and ‘Once’ made me love musicals
Originally published at Cinema Sugar Josh, you’re in a musical. That’s how musicals work. When you’re too emotional to talk, you sing. When you’re too emotional to sing, you dance.” — Melissa, Schmigadoon I went through a phase as an adolescent when I didn’t get musicals. Not only that: I actively resented them. They’re cheesy…
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The Church of ‘Bull Durham’
Really enjoyed reading Ron Shelton’s The Church of Baseball: The Making of Bull Durham, which I followed up with a rewatch of Bull Durham. He has such a wry, matter-of-fact style and perspective on his careers, most notably minor-league baseball player and movie writer-director. Some quotes… On being an athlete with intellectual curiosities: Around this…
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RIP Marcus Theaters policy trailer
You know the part of movie theater previews when they show what’s basically an in-house ad for the host theater chain, along with housekeeping items like silence your phone, no talking, etc.? I’ve learned these are called policy trailers and that many of them are available online. I was curious if I’d be able to…
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Ratatouille
Rewatching Ratatouille recently made me think of a line from the Guardians of the Galaxy Honest Trailer, which portrays Marvel as so dominant and drunk on its own power—and its fans so eager—that a weird movie with a trash-talking raccoon and monosyllabic tree can be a smash success. Their tongue-in-cheek name for the studio: “F—…
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The Lion King
It’s hard for me to watch The Lion King objectively as an adult when it’s so deeply ingrained into my being, having been released when I was 7 years old and subjected to countless subsequent rewatches in our family VCR—not to mention inspiring my own adult creative endeavors. But rewatching it now—with my 4-year-old son…
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Jack would NOT have fit on the door in ‘Titanic’
I’m sorry, but it’s true. I say that in spite of the apparently real investigation into this internet-famous debate by National Geographic and James Cameron himself: All the evidence you need is from the scene itself: When Jack tries to get on the door, it almost capsizes. Putting two grown, soaking-wet adults on it amidst…