Kelvin Harrison Jr. Seven Times

The year or so ahead for the great Kelvin Harrison Jr. looks like a big one -- he's got a role in the next Hunger Games movie, he's starring in a new biopic of Jean-Michael Basquiat (from the director of Luce!), he's in Michael Gondry's upcoming musical about Pharrell Williams life, and -- best of all to me -- he's in the new movie from the Zellner Brothers, the filmmakers behind the glorious weirdnesses of Kumiko the Treasure Hunter, Damsel, and Sasquatch Sunset! That one is called Alpha Gang...

... and it's got an over-the-top killer cast including Cate Blanchett, Dave Bautista, Doona Bae, Riley Keough, Chris Pine, Lily-Rose Depp, and Léa Seydoux, and it's described thus: "Alien invaders, in the form of a 1950's biker gang, are sent on a mission to conquer Earth." SIGN ME THE EFF UP, YO. It's playing TIFF so y'all who pay attention to what's playing TIFF probably already knew about this, but it came as news to me as I checked out Kelvin's IMDb page after remembering I had this photoshoot of him (via) sitting on my computer waiting to be posted. Which has now been accomplished! Checked one teensy thing off the ten mile long list. Hit the jump for them all... 

Good Morning, Kelvin

A good Monday to one and all, which we will christen with this very fine new photoshoot of actor Kelvin Harrison Jr. for Numero Netherlands magazine -- I didn't know that he was voicing Lil' Scar (who goes by the name "Taka" pre-scar) in Barry Jenkins' forthcoming The Lion King prequel Mufasa, which isn't quite enough to make me excited for Mufasa; if Barry Jenkins directing it isn't enough to make me excited nothing would be. (Did y'all see Barry basically saying, "Get me the hell out of here already" in an interview last week? LOL cash that check and run, my man!) But hopefully that translates into Baryr making a real movie with Kelvin because I think he's a wonderful actor and they could probably make flesh-and-blood magic with one another. Anyway speaking of flesh (you saw that one coming right) this photoshoot has some and we're rather pleased with that fact so hit the jump and feel the Kelvin...

Good Morning, World

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Yes that Fantastic Man magazine cover is of the actor and ear-holder Josh O'Connor serving up his best "Early Man" Realness, and double-yes it also says it was photographed by one Luca Guadagnino! (Josh and Luca are making that tennis movie together right now, you might recall.) In fact here let me re-copy all of the type in case some of you don't have Instagram and can't see of what I speak, it's all worth sharing:

"After months in production, its big premiere is about to arrive! The 35th edition of Fantastic Man is a blockbuster issue directed by the Italian filmmaker, LUCA GUADAGNINO. A feature-length volume devoted to LUCA’s obsessions – movies ripe for a remake, bodies to like, people to love, featuring a collection of conversations with amazing actors, artists, musicians, as well as individuals the director calls family and friends. On the front cover, werewolf JOSH O’CONNOR is seen in his full hairy transformation, photographed in Rome at the end of February 2022."

Magazines have really figured out how to make me, personally, buy magazines again. Other names dropped on that cover image: Julianne Moore, Taylor Russell, Chloe Sevigny, Kelvin Harrison Jr, Luca Marinelli (!!!!), and Kyle Maclachlan!

Kelvin Harrison Jr Two Times

(pics via) Weird how little I have said about Cyrano here, given I love the director (Joe Wright of Hanna and Anna Karenina) and I love the cast (Kelvin alongside Peter Dinklage and Swallow's own Haley Bennett) and I love the band The National who did the music for the musical (well the Dressner Brothers, two-fifths of the band, did anyway). Also there's the fact that I have seen the movie and it's not bad! Okay not the world's ringiest endorsement to be sure, but it is a musical and, Tick Tick Boom (my review) and the West Side Story (my review) aside, I am still me when it comes to musicals. I didn't love it like I did those two I just mentioned, but the Dressners' score is gorgeous, and Harrison comes off especially well, with a lovely voice. I know the film's wide release has gotten messed up again because of Omicron (Bennett has been particularly upset about this on her Insta, bless her) but as of now it's still supposed to come out on the 28th. Watch the trailer here. ETA just seeing today's news that Harrison is playing Jean-Michel Basquiat in the new biopic called Samo Lives -- he will be great! He is literally always great.

Good Morning, World

It's only been two years since Waves and Luce came out but am I crazy and actor Kelvin Harrison Jr. has really grown up a lot in those two years? I don't just mean the muscles -- he had some muscles two years ago in those movies -- I more mean facially; there are times when he's practically unrecognizable to me these days. Including in a few of these pictures he posted on his Insta last night from when he was getting dressed for the Gotham Awards earlier this week. Growing up is weird y'all. (Then again the past two years have been A Lot.) Not that he doesn't look mighty fine! Oh no not that. Clearly. And I'm excited for all the projects he's got lined up -- he's playing BB King in Baz Luhrmann's Elvis movie, and I haven't seen Cyrano yet (I had to skip my screening) but I've heard only excellent things. Hit the jump for more...

Twinks In Space: The Trailer

I think you'll all forgive me for forgetting this movie was happening since I posted my original "Twinks In Space" post announcing this movie in April of 2019 and, uhh, some stuff's happened since April 2019. But one of those things was the actual shooting and the editing and all that jazz of the movie itself... which is technically called Voyagers but come on, there's still time to change that title to Twinks in Space -- you know you wanna! 

The main twinks in this case are Tye Sheridan and the original Dunkirk-branded twink Fionn Whitehead -- supposedly the great Kelvin Harrison Jr. is in there somewhere too (not to mention the ever-welcome non-twink Colin Farrell) but apologies to them I was too distracted by the sexual electricity between Tye & Fionn...

... and so I had eyes for nothing else. The film was originally described as "Lord of the Flies in Space" and yeah, that's what it looks like alright. Watch the teaser here:

This was written and directed by the same guy who made that movie that ahd Bradley Cooper taking a smart pills and getting smart... with dire consequences... which makes all of that liquid medication in the trailer snap into place. Drugs is bad! Voyagers is being released "in theaters" on April 9th. And I made a few more gifs, after the jump...

Pantys 19: The Gratuities

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Well it wouldn't be MNPP without some ogling of the menfolk, now would it? We've already taken stock of our favorite male and our favorite female performers of the year, but what about their butts? Butts, bits, in betweens. What's the movies without sex? Even David Cronenberg knows that. That said some years I've gone way overboard with listing the year's Gratuities -- I mean look how I went all out in 2010 and in 2011 -- but this year I'm keeping it, like the rest of this year's Pantys, somewhat under control. My 13 faves (I couldn't narrow it down to 10, I just couldn't) and then 10 runners-up. It's still a lot of naked guys, y'all. And let's get on 'em!

My 13 Favorite Gratuities of 2019

Aaron Taylor-Johnson, A Million Little Pieces

-- see more here --

Juan Barberini and Ramon Pujol,

End of the Century

Tom Mercier, Synonyms

Robert Pattinson, The Lighthouse

Jack Reynor, Midsommar

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There is life before seeing this picture of Chris Evans & Alessandro Nivola & Michiel Huisman on the set of Red Sea Diving Resort, and there is life after, and I never want to go back to that horrible Before place ever ever again (pic via https://t.co/QbwjXcQNW2) pic.twitter.com/TpFxcQhv8w

— Jason Adams (@JAMNPP) September 30, 2019

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Chris Evans, Michiel Huisman and 

Alessandro Nivola, Red Sea Diving Resort

-- see more here -- 

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Felix Maritaud, Sauvage / Wild

Naoki Kobayashi, Earthquake Bird

-- see more here --

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Andrew Garfield, Under the Silver Lake

-- see more here --

Jake Gyllenhaal, Velvet Buzzsaw

-- more here and here --

César Vicente, Pain and Glory

Kelvin Harrison Jr, Waves

Florian David Fitz and Matthias Schweighöfer, 

100 Things -- see lots more here --

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10 Runners-up

Taron Egerton & Richard Madden, Rocketman

Christopher Abbott, Piercing 

Matthias Schoenaerts, The Mustang

CM Punk, Girl on the Third Floor

Zac Efron, Extremely Wicked...
Shia LaBeouf, Peanut Butter Falcon

Carloto Cotta, Diamantino

Juan Pablo Olyslager, Temblores

Matthew McConaughey, Serenity

Vincent Lacoste and Pierre Deladonchamps, Sorry Angel

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What were some of your faves in 2019?

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Pantys '19: Performers, Part One -- Actors

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Every so often for my Golden Trousers awards I do something I call "Actor to Actor" where I write small scenes up of interaction between one of my favorite actors of the year and one of my favorite actresses of the year. Well I am not doing that this year. This year I'm just going to post my 10 favorites, with 10 runners-up. Keeping it simple! And so here, in no particular order and beginning with the men...

My 10 Favorite Actors of 2019

Willem Dafoe, The Lighthouse

Jonathan Majors, The Last Black Man in San Francisco

Tom Mercier, Synonyms

Franz Rogowski, Transit

Géza Röhrig, To Dust

Matthias Schoenaerts, The Mustang

Jonas Dassler, The Golden Glove

Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory

Matthew Rhys, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Robert Pattinson, The Lighthouse

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Ten Runners Up

Asier Etxeandia, Pain and Glory

Kelvin Harrison Jr, Luce

Taron Egerton, Rocketman

Song Kang-ho, Parasite

Jack Reynor, Midsommar

Robert De Niro, The Irishman

Shia LaBeouf, Honey Boy

Jimmie Fails, The Last Black Man in San Francisco

Felix Maritaud, Sauvage/Wild

Aldis Hodge, Clemency

What were your fave male performances of 2019?
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Kelvin Harrison Jr Eleven Times

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Actor Kelvin Harrison Jr. gave two of the best performances in the movies in 2019 with his movies Luce and Waves, and so naturally I am going to take the opportunity afforded by his brand new interview with the website Who What Wear, which is where these photos also come from, to quote what he had to say about the co-star of his forthcoming movie The High Note, Dakota Johnson:

"She just has this wind in her hair, very girl next door, but also like, don't mess with me, but let's get to work. Boss energy. When she walks in, she has a presence that she commands."

Damn straight she does! Queens, all.

Hit the jump for the rest of this shoot...

Good Morning, Gratuitous Kelvin Harrison Jr.

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Well, let's give this a whirl! In case you missed it I've been laid up sick like for the past two days; well I am marginally better today -- better enough to get off the couch and come to my office anyway, and when I'm in front of a computer what else am I gonna do but entertain you folks? Dance monkey et cetera. I don't know what sort of insight or wit or "generosity of spirit" you should plan on receiving, given I'm propped up and then just barely by a heady cocktail of [fill in the blank]-afeds, but... yeah we'll give it a whirl. Anyway I'd prepped this batch of pictures of Kelvin here before I got sick but then never got around to posting them, so bright shining light they serve me well now, when words aren't quite. Hit the jump for a couple dozen of a young man who totally should've been nominated for an Oscar this year, two even...