5 Off My Head: Siri Says 2019

We are indeed still filling in the final few gaps in my "Siri Says" series -- this is where I ask my phone to give me a number between 1 and 100 and then I take that number and I pick my five favorite movies from the year that corresponds. Thing is we left the "Siri" part in the dust awhile back when the remaining numbers got down below fifteen, because waiting for Siri to say a number that hadn't been used before took ages. So now I have the remaining years written on slips of paper and I choose one at random, and yet I still use Siri in the title? Sue me for fraud if you must! Anyway today I chose the number "19" and since there's no chance in all of the depths of hell that I'd have anything to say about the movies of 1919 -- my apologies to Yankee Doodle in Berlin! -- I will be regaling us with my five favorite films from three years ago. (Here is a list of 2019 movies if you need a refresher -- a lot has happened since then!)

And yes I have already posted by five favorite movies of 2019 on the site -- indeed I listed my Top 25 that year! So this will only be interesting if anything has changed, and (drumroll please) I am sorry to tell you the list of movies in my top five has not changed. But wait! The movies themselves have maybe not changed, but (drumroll please) the order of them has a little! Chaos! Sanctus! Dominus! Sanctus! Dominus! Dogs sleeping with cats et cetera! Okay maybe not but whatcha gonna do, we got a space to fill. And I do think it's a little interesting to see what's shifted in three years time's estimation. No? Well without further dreadful ado I give you...

My 5 Favorite Movies of 2019

5. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

(dir. Marielle Heller)

-- released on November 22nd 2019 --

4. Midsommar

(dir. Ari Aster)

-- released on July 3rd 2019 --

3. The Last Black Man in San Francisco

(dir. Joe Talbot)

-- released on June 7th 2019 --

2. Portrait of a Lady on Fire

(dir. Céline Sciamma)

-- released on December 6th 2019 --

1. The Lighthouse

(dir. Robert Eggers)

-- released on November 1st 2019 --

----------------------------------------

Runners-up: In Fabric (dir. Peter Strickland), Sorry Angel (dir. Christophe Honoré), Little Women (dir. Greta Gerwig), Knife+Heart (dir. Yan Gonzalez), End of the Century (dir. Lucio Castro), Peterloo (dir. Mike Leigh)...

... The Nightingale (dir. Jennifer Kent), Pain and Glory (dir. Pedro Almodóvar), Invisible Life (dir. Karim Ainouz), Transit (dir. Christian Petzold), Us (dir. Jordan Peele), Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (dir. Quentin Tarantino)

What are your favorite movies of 2019?

Tom Mercier Eight Times

The above image of our We Are Who We Are and Synonyms fave Tom Mercier is the cover image for what I am assuming is the latest issue of King Kong magazine (no I have never heard of King Kong magazine either) -- I am assuming it's new because I'm pretty sure I'd have caught this blessed image before today were it not! Anyway I'm glad I did my due diligent digging because I was going to just post the images I got off of Tom Mercier's own Instagram as well as the Insta of the shoot's photographer, and if I'd done that I wouldn't have seen that image above. My compulsive behavior sometimes bears fine ass fruit! Hit the jump for what I believe is the entire photoshoot, as far as I can tell anyway...

Happy 100, Rory Calhoun

It's the 100th anniversary of the actor Rory Calhoun today -- Rory was best known for playing cowboys in his early career (he did eighty episodes of The Texan) and you can see why above; he looked the part. Which was supposedly in part because he was the part -- the story goes that he was a lumberjack and a "cowpuncher" before moving to Hollywood. Was that true or was it part of the myth that the infamous beefake-hunting super-agent Henry Willson promoted? I don't know but it sounds like something Willson would've fed to all of the press to make Rory seem as super masc as possible, all while Rory was out back fucking Guy Madison in the parking lot. I previously wrote about that legendary rumor, along with lots of Rory (and Guy) photos, at this link. There's also even better an incredibly gay bathing scene...

... starring the two of them in the movie Massacre River that I giffed the hell out of right here. Don't miss that one! I've still only seen Rory in a couple of movies -- How to Marry a Millionaire of course, and then his movie with Jacques Tourneur called Way of a Gaucho (which yes had him playing Mexican); then there was his sword-and-sandal epic The Colossus of Rhodes with Sergio Leone in 1961 (he looks fab in a toga) and then toward the end of his career (and the first thing I ever saw him in) was the horror flick Motel Hell.  That might be it? Still I dig him. (It's the Guy Madison thing.) (Of course it's the Guy Madison thing.) If you have seen him in anything else and recommend tell me in the comments! And I'll share a trio of snaps of Rory rocking a speedo (while holding a shovel for some bizarre reason) after the jump...

The Lyonne King

I wrote about the new queer classic All About Evil over at Mashable late last week -- read it here! The 2010 film starring Natasha Lyonne, Mink Stole, Cassandra "Elvira" Peterson, and Thomas Dekker, was sort of lost in cults-ville for the past decade after a small release went nowhere -- director Joshua Grannell (aka the drag queen Peaches Christ) stuck with it and a decade on got the movie a fancy blu-ray thanks to Severin (buy it here!) and a streaming premiere on Shudder too. So now we all can enjoy! Also yes I may have happily written about this fun movie instead of eviscerating Peacock's godawful queer-slasher They/Them -- I will leave that to you decide. (Don't watch They/Them though -- it is terrible.) 

Have We Got a Treat For You

Very important news broke on the world widest of webs yesterday -- Peter Strickland's marvelous 2022 film Flux Gourmet will be getting a blu-ray! One never knows these days when it comes to physical media -- some movies fall through the cracks and are never heard from again. Although I do think Strickland's cult-y enough at this point that we don't need to worry about that happening to any of his. Anyway the disc hits on October 18th and you can pre-order it right here. The price on the disc has already dropped by several dollars since I shared that link on Twitter last night so I wouldn't be surprised to see it fall even further come October. 

Immediately one of the greatest things I own & my birthday present to myself this year — an apparently rare vinyl boxed-set of director Peter Strickland’s really-for-real SONIC CATERING BAND music (as fictionalized in his most recent and amazing film FLUX GOURMET) pic.twitter.com/0J8VJW5TJp

— Jason Adams (@JAMNPP) July 26, 2022

Flux is one of my favorite movies of the year so far and I have already written about it twice -- here is my review for Pajiba, and then over at Mashable you can read some further words from me on the movie's implosion of flatulence humor, because yes, that's a thing I wrote about. Don't you poo poo me!

Five Frames From ?

What movie is this?

Good Morning, World

Happy Monday, one and all and horses and Adam Drivers and everybody, just everybody. Like the orange cat sagely said I too hate Mondays so let's let me ease into this thing delicately by sharing these three new photos of Adam Driver for Burberry that dropped (via) last week -- these join the previously posted images from this campaign that we saw like last year? Five years ago? I have no concept of time. All I know is it's a Monday today and I hate those! Hit the jump for the other two photos...

The Man of Many Bodies

Extremely grateful that this pair of Lee Pace snaps from that new Mr. Porter shoot I posted on Tuesday slipped past my attention then, just so I have them to share here now right before the weekend and they can sit on top of the site until Monday. Lee Pace, if you ask me, should definitely always be on top. (Yeah, you're welcome for that.) But especially since his buzzy horror movie Bodies Bodies Bodies is hitting theaters tomorrow -- here is the trailer in case you're unawares. I have reviewed BBB and I will share said review with y'all once it goes up at Pajiba some time in the next 24 hours (expect this post to be updated) but for now, just stare at Lee some. It's okay. He really, really doesn't mind. ETA I promised an update and here it is -- here is my review of Bodies Bodies Bodies at this link. Read responsibly!

There You Are, Rodrigo Santoro

(via) Talk about somebody

we don't see nearly enough of.

(These pics are apparently from 2006
around the time he co-starred in 300.)

Polo Morín Ten Times

So have any of you read Casey McQuiston’s best-selling novel Red, White and Royal Blue? That's how I keep seeing it described, as a big hit, but I hadn't heard of it until news of a movie-adaptation broke and they cast two hot pieces in the leads -- Nicholas Galitzine will play the British prince (and he's an actor I have posted about here on MNPP before, indeed enough that he's got his own tag here on the site!) while Taylor Zakhar Perez will play the son of the U.S. president that falls in love with him. But then -- and I admit this will sound hella snobby -- this isn't exactly the kind of book I have my ear to the ground for. Looks like a frothy airport read, a beach blanket read, and I just don't read that stuff -- might explain why I'm such a miserable SOB all of the time! Maybe I should spare more time for guilty pleasure garbage and a little less for wallowing in the depressive antics of the German New Wave, I don't know. Wait what were we talking about?

Oh right we were talking about cute boys making out and stuff. And Polo Morín, who I've just become familiar with today thanks to this sweaty summery photoshoot for Attitude Magazine, is a very cute boy indeed. Those eyes! In the movie Polo apparently plays a journalist ex of the President's son -- I'm guessing he's responsible for revealing their relationship? Anyway I recommend also following him on Instagram -- judging by its content I think we are probably creating a little bit of a monster, ego-wise, but I'm old enough not to care. Let the youth be narcissistic monsters, what else have we left them? Anyway I guess I'll keep track of RW&RB now that I've been forced to post about it, so y'all let me know if you care. And hit the jump for some reasons to...

5 Off My Head: The Great and Powerful Greta

Today we wish actor writer director extraordinaire Greta Gerwig a happy 39th birthday! If I was a smart person -- big if -- I'd hold off on doing this post for another twelve months and ring in her 40th with this... not to mention that'll be just a couple of weeks after her seemingly inexplicable Barbie movie comes out! But I feel like, you know, it's that thing where you don't know if the world will be around in a year? Yeah that thing. So I will do this now. What is "this" you ask? it's a list of my five favorite film performances by Greta, that's what. It's been too long since she's graced us with her wondrous screen presence -- six full fucking years, that's how long! The only movie she's been in since 20th Century Women was Wes Anderson's Isle of Dogs and that was just voice-work. Of course that is thankfully all about to change with Noah Baumbach's adaptation of White Noise out this fall...

... which, speaking of, NYFF just announced that movie is opening their fest on September 30th! And that there above is the first photo of her and Adam Driver (plus Killing of a Sacred Deer star Raffey Cassidy alongside I am guessing Alessandro Nivola's son Sam behind her? And maybe that's the other Nivola child May behind Greta? I love that Alessandro and his two kids all have roles in this movie.) (But where's Alessandro? I wanna see Alessandro!) Anyway that's a big thing to look forward to coming right at us. Until then we take stock of Greta Past, with...

My 5 Favorite Greta Gerwig Performances

Frances, Frances Ha

"I'm so embarrassed. I'm not a real person yet."

Brooke, Mistress America

"I don't give a shit because I'm not

a friend of Tennessee Williams!"

Florence, Greenberg

"I was thinking this morning that I've been

out of college now for as long as I was in, and

nobody cares if I get up in the morning."

Megan, The House of the Devil

"We're just dropping you out here

in the middle of where ever..."

Abbie, 20th Century Women

"Whatever you think your life is going to be like,

just know, it's not gonna be anything like that."

Runners-up: Damsels in Distress, Wiener-dog,

Baghead, Hannah Takes the Stairs

-----------------------------------------------

What are your favorite Greta Gerwig roles?

Five Frames From ?

What movie is this?

Do Right By Me, Banshees

The first poster and trailer for Martin McDonagh's The Banshees of Inisherin starring Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell -- and yes warm memories of In Bruges should be washing over your entire mind and body right this moment -- has arrived this morning, and good god I love it. I've made so secret of the fact that ever since In Bruges -- one of my absolute favorite movies -- I've disliked to outright loathed everything that McDonagh has done, and been very very very depressed about that fact. Will this be a Lucy-Football situation, and McDonagh's once again weaponized Colin Farrell's eyebrows to make me think we're in for a treat...

... only for it turn out to be another sack of bullshit like Seven Psychopaths and Three Billboards? I sure hope not! What I am really secretly hoping that maybe some of his girlfriend's brilliance -- one Phoebe Waller-Bridge, if you're unaware -- rubbed off on him, which is to say he let her do a pass on the script. I know to some (including probably Phoebe, because she's nice like that) that sounds like sacrilege, as McDonagh is a prize-winning playwright, Oscar nominee, blah blah blergh. My belief in him has really been worn down in the fourteen years since Bruges. But this feels like such an explicit callback to that movie that I can't help but feel he feels that too? Get that Bruges magic back, baby!

The Banshees of Inisherin is out on October 21st.

Pics of the Day

This morning Vanity Fair has shared with us the first photos from Welcome to Chippendales, Kumail Nanjiani's series about the dude who got that male-stripper thing rolling back in the 1970s and 80s, and then also that whole murder thing that happened that got covered by the tabloids and turned into a TV movie and such. VF has some photos of Kumail in character but they're really boring photos of him wearing ugly suits so you can click over for those -- I only stole the juicy ones. Murray Bartlett seen up top was cast back in January as the (doomed) choreographer, and I guess he's found his niche. Dead gays! I wonder if they'll kill him on Physical? He can have a full trifecta. Also on the show is Dan Stevens in an insanely flamboyant role I spoke about when he was cast -- they haven't given us any photos of him yet, I guess they're saving them. Anyway this show was previously called Immigrant but I guess they took my advice on changing that title because good grief was that title never gonna work! Welcome to Chippendales is a little clunky but at least it's not making the male stripper television program sound like a dour sepia-toned James Gray movie about cholera rats.

Good Morning, World

Luke Evans has the right idea, I think.

Today's Mood

Same, Tahar Rahim, same. At about four this afternoon my brain just trailed off and it ain't never done come back. Oh well! In the legendary, iconic words of Miss Nomi Malone, "Shit happens." I got what I needed to get done today done before that, so I'm 100% free, I give myself permission, to go stare at butts and other gay ass stuff now. So that's what I am gonna do dammit! Bye until tomorrow....

Hey remember when this happened pic.twitter.com/yOnWl7J1o9

— Jason Adams (@JAMNPP) August 3, 2022

Which is Hotter?

Today we wish a happy 48th birthday to the great Aussie director Justin Kurzel, who's batting a nearly perfect score from where I stand. I say "nearly" because his big foray into Hollywood, his Assassin's Creed adaptation, didn't work at all, save valiant efforts by all involved. But look at the other movies under his belt from the past eleven years -- Snowtown! Macbeth! True History of the Kelly Gang! Nitram! (I still haven't seen his segment in the anthology film The Turning.) 

Those are all terrific movies with a strong directorial voice and vision -- he has already fulfilled the promise of when Snowtown knocked me out in 2011 and then some extra left over. There sure aren't many male directors doing a better job dissecting toxic masculinity in our current moment...

... and that he does it, at least partially anyway, by shooting all of his leading men like I would shoot all of the hot leading men that he keeps hiring? And then even more, you add on the fact that he is married to the queen Essie Davis? We got ourselves a king here!

He's also got a pile of killer projects on the immediate horizon lined up -- his sci-fi flick Morning with Benedict Cumberbatch and Laura Dern! (That one is already filmed.) His limited series Shantaram with Charlie Hunnam! (I believe that's also been filmed, at least partially.) And then there's Ruin, his WWII flick with Margot Robbie and Matthias Schoenaerts -- there hasn't been an update on this one in awhile so it might not be happening, but let's will it to be! Justin Kurzel filming Matthias is a thing I definitely need in this life. Anyway in Kurzel's honor -- and to fill a distinct lack of Michael Fassbender posting recently -- let's do ourselves a poll...

online polls