Movies I've Seen, Film Fests, Bits and Bobs
The Little Stranger
Film adaptation of the gothic horror novel by Sarah Waters of the same name, "The Little Stranger" is like taking a leisurely (pronounced "leshure", obviously) stroll through the estate on "Downton Abbey" except the house is haunted.
This films meanders so much that it felt as if the screenwriter Lucinda Coxon ("The Danish Girl") forgot the plot and turned it into a film about post-war life before realizing, "Oh, wait. We have to do this supernatural bit!"
It's 1948 and the timeless Domhnall Gleeson plays Dr. Faraday, a young doctor who is called out to the estate of the Ayres family to tend to their helper Betty (Liv Hall). Happy to take the house visit as he has been enchanted with the estate since he was a child, Dr. Faraday is even more thrilled to become a confidante to the family which includes the war shocked Roderick (Will Poulter), his sister Caroline (Ruth Wilson), and their mother Angela (Charlotte Rampling).
Before long the Ayres begin to experience unexplained happenings in the house. Is it supernatural or a collective hysteria?
Wilson was wonderful as the dutiful Caroline. She gave a lot of color to the character. Gleeson was great but I grew to dislike his character and it is because he sold it so well. Faraday is someone who is so envious of the Ayres that he worms his way into the family and becomes to act as if he is deserving of what they have. This aspect of his personality ties into the film as a whole but coming off of HBO’s “Succession” where Matthew McFayden plays a similar typed character and the character I hated most on the show, I was really aggravated by Farady. But good on Gleeson who made me hate him because I love my tall, ginger boo.
And they finally found someone taller than Domhnall
Kin
In the mid aughts there were a few teen/tween sci-fi films such as "Chronicles", "The Last Mimzy", "Earth to Echo" and "Super 8". While "Kin" is not as cuddly as those other films, I think it's a great film for tweens as it has a sense of wonder yet is firmly rooted in the real world travails that kids deal with.
Fourteen year old Eli (Myles Truitt, "Proud Mary"), has had a hard go at it. Orphaned and adopted by the stern, honorable Hal (Dennis Quaid), the two don't communicate, merely co-exists after the death of the only mother Eli has none. Their household woes only grows after the reappearance of Hal's son Jimmy (Jack Reynor, CBS Access' "Strange Angel") after doing a six year bid in jail.
When Jimmy past catches up with him in the form of the crimelord who he owes money, Taylor (James Franco), Jimmy takes Eli out of town to keep them safe. Eli leaves with a bag of clothing and a space gun that he found in an abandoned building-a gun that is being sought after by two space hunters.
Just like with “The Little Stranger” I did not like Jack Reynor’s character. I think the screenwriters boxed him in with implausible motivations and reactions and gave him no regard for the consequences of his actions so it left me feeling like he was a sociopath. Luckily, to balance his erroneous ways they have Milly played by Zoe Kravitz. A stripper with a heart of gold she is the voice of reason and balanced figure that Eli needs.
The film only achieves greatness in its last ten minutes and it is set up for a sequel and if it doesn’t get one I will be disappointed because the catalyst those last few minutes kicks the film into another direction and it builds on the story.
-Zoe will next be seen in the sequel to “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”. She joined her costars, which includes her ex-boyfriend Ezra Miller at Comic Con in support of the film.
Also at Comic Con was her stepdad Jason Momoa promoting “Aquaman” for the 70th years.
With his “Aquaman” ohana
And real life ohana
Jason also had time to catch up with his “Justice League” costar Ezra who cosplayed as a sexy, sultry Toadette from Super Mario Bros.
Peppermint
I didn't have high hopes for "Peppermint" because the trailer looks like some cheesy Luc Besson film and the title is ridiculous. There's an angel motif on the poster--couldn't they call it "Avenging Angel"? Yes, that was a title of a series of 80s film about a hooker who turned vigilante, but it's been forever. No one would think this was a reimagining of "Avenging Angel"...Although that would've been great had this character's backstory been that she was a prostitute turned Suzy Homemaker.
But anyway, a rare solid film from Eurotrash director (and I'm talking about the films he make, not him as an individual) Pierre Morel (The Transporter, From Paris With Love).
Jennifer Garner goes back to her "Alias" a**kicking ways in this satisfying revenge flick.
Riley North (Garner) and husband Chris John Hephner (Chicago Med) are trying to make do in order to build a better life for themselves and their daughter Carly (Better Things), living in the shadows of tony soccer and Girl Scout moms.
When Chris and Carly are killed in a drive by, and their killers get off scout free thanks to a web of corruption, Riley becomes an AVENGING ANGEL WHICH SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE TITLE to take down the keepers of justice who failed her and the men behind the hit.
Written by he with the porn name Chad St. John (the excellent B-movie "London Has Fallen"), "Peppermint" is as trim as Garner's body sometimes to the detriment of storytelling. It goes from Riley's life being destroyed to her become Linda Hamilton in "Terminator 2" with no explanation of how she decided to take matters into her own hands. In a way it's good to not be spoon-fed, but it's a big leap from being a woman whose big worry was maintaining a work and home life to becoming a killing machine.
With a career in rom-coms after her time on "Alias" (the terrible "Elektra" aside, it's easy to forget that Garner is very believable as a formidable, killer --no need to bulk up or gain muscle, she just lowers the register of her voice. And although her "Alias" stunt double was employed, she did the majority of her hand-to-hand fight scenes and it tells.
In our society where justice constantly fails people or people don't get the type of justice they want, it's wholly enjoyable to see a film where someone pays back the hurt that was inflicted in them. Great escapism.
The film also stars Annie Ilonzeh (Arrow) as Agent Inman, the Fed working with L.A police detectives Carmichael (John Gallagher) and Moises (John Ortiz).
Also, randomly appearing is All American Rejects frontman cum actor Tyson Ritter as a homeless man residing on Skid Row. It was the premiere and Tyson was the first actor I saw and he only stood out because I've been catching up on AMC's "Preacher" where he plays Jesus who is called Humperdoo because he's slow like Sloth in "The Goonies" and only thing he says is "Humperdoo". Of course I love Tyson because as someone who appeared on SV with The All American Rejects he is, to me, a SV Alum. He's an alum twice over because he's married to Elena Satine who played Mrs. Wet and Ready Bro, Mera.
The first actor I saw that night was Dermont Mulroney. And I don't know if he was there to support someone and just walk the red carpet, but he didn't go inside. He and his wife/whoever he was with, left before the film began. A few kids were outside selling candy for school and he bought some. "Okay, two for $6. I have a ten, can you break this? How about this, you take this and give me that and you can keep this." And he's going through all of this dealing with the money and I'm listening keenly because when I was 14 I worked in a corner store and I was trained that whenever people start getting complicated with change to be careful because they could be trying to scam you. While I knew Mulroney was good for the money, I still reflexively listened to make sure he wasn't scamming these kids because I've not trusted him since he played druggie Sean on "Shameless".
Garner plays a strong woman and she is one in real life because on top of handling the publicity tour for this and being a mom to three kids, she staged an intervention for ex-husband Ben Affleck and got him on his way to rehab. While I'm sure she has love for him as the father of her children, I think it was that status that made her get involved. I don't know if his friends tried to help or if his parents did, but the fact that she answered the call and knew enough was enough --to reach out her hand to a man who cheated on her in order for him to reclaim his life.
This is Affleck's third jaunt to rehab and I hope this sticks. I hope he gets real with himself and find the cause of his use when he knows he has a family history of alcoholism. Is it pressure because his films have underperformed ("Live By Night" that he co-wrote and directed bombed, so he was asked to stepped down from directing the standalone "Batman" film; a film in which rumors have been swirling that he would be replaced).
Papillon
The second film adaptation (the first being the 1973 film starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman) of the the 1969 semi-autobiographical recountings of Henri Charriere.
Petty crook Henri Charriere (Charlie Hunnam) or "Papi" as he is called by his friends in reference to the tattooed butterfly (papillon) on his chest, is framed for murder and sent up for a life sentence of hard labor in French Guiana.
On his first day he meets white collar criminal the wealthy forger/embezzler Louis Dega (Rami Malek). Sure that his wife is working on an appeal that would free him from prison, Dega refuses Papi's proposal of protection in exchange for Dega underwriting Papi's planned escape. But once it sets in that the conditions and every lurking dangers of fellow prisoners, Dega agrees.
What follows is a "My Bodyguard" type relationship where Papi - all the while securing a flight plan to freedom - continuously puts his life on the to protect Dega because while a crook, he is a principled one.
It's a fair movie. I've never seen the highly regarded original co-written by Dalton Trumbo, so I can't compare the two. What makes the film less than stellar is that for the cruel conditions that Papi has to endure, this film feels incredibly low stakes. I feel it's because at no time does Hunnam's Papi allow you to think he doesn't have this all cinched up. I like Charlie Hunnam a lot. I think he really wants to prove that he's more than a pretty face and he's more than his body (he cut back considerably on his muscle for this role so he looks closer to his "Queer as Folk" days). But Hunnam can't immerse himself into a character. I saw so much of Hunnam in Papi -all swagger, and confidence. There was never a time where you feel that he has reached bottom. Because of this, ultimately, it felt less like a overwrought drama and more like "Ocean's Eleven" and Papi was Danny Ocean and though it looks like his plan will fail, we all know he got this.
Malek plays the same nebbish, off-kilter character and he excels at it, and instead of being a crutch he leans on too much, it works for Dega.
Again, because I hadn't seen the original there were moments where I wondered, "Are Papi and Dega supposed to be sub-textually gay??" I Googled it and there were people who said this film was less gay than the original. Did they actually make out in the first one? This film practically the Beecher/Keller storyline in "Oz" except that no one got branded by a Nazi.
And yes, it's terrible to think that men can't form close bonds, where this intimacy isn't fraternal and not at all steeped in a sexual attraction, but there were a few times in the film where people would refer to Dega as Papi's boyfriend and I really felt that the writers wanted audiences to think there was truth to that.
Rounding out the cast is Michael Socha ("Once Upon a Time"), Roland Møller(Skyscraper) and Eve Hewson (Robin Hood) and Hunnam’s “Sons of Anarchy” costar Tommy Flanagan makes an appearance.
The Happytime Murders
It is time for Melissa McCarthy to stop doing comedy and recalibrate a bit to see exactly if she knows what constitutes as funny anymore. Because this film isn't it. Neither were her last few films, "Life of the Party" and "The Boss".
Set in a world where puppets are second class citizens, Phil Phillips (voiced by Bill Barretta) saw his police career dreams disappear and becomes a Private Investigator.
When one of the stars of the sitcom The Happytime Gang is killed --Phillips is paired up with his former partner Detective Connie Edwards (McCarthy)
to uncover the identity of the killer seemingly targeting the stars of the show.
Unlike Trey Parker and Matt Stone's "Team America: World Police" where they actually wrote a funny script to bolster the premise, "The Happytime Murders" rests on the premise: puppets cursing and having sex. That's the film. That's it. Every line is just a string of obscenities that replaces actual jokes because puppets cursing is supposed to be the ultimate in guffaws I guess. It gets pretty tiring after five minutes. It's like the Eddie Murphy bit in "Raw" where he recounts taking offense to Bill Cosby's criticism of his Murphy's entire bit is being vulgar. "
Barretta who is a Muppet show veteran and voices P.I Phillips is quite good at the gumshoe bit. He really plays it straight which just makes this film even more frustrating because it could have been a more adult version of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit".
As usual the balm comes in the form of Maya Rudolph who plays Phil's assistant, the devoted and enamored Bubbles.
Think any dame in an old gumshoe drama and that's Bubbles. Rudolph makes the crumbs she's given into a meal and brings some genuine laughs to a cruddy film.
It also features Elizabeth Banks and Joel McHale who is exactly having the type of career he deserves.
Searching
The hashtag #StarringJohnCho that started out as a semiserious call to arms has gained traction. Cho has been a working actor for a very long time but in the past year he has gained lead roles in S2 of Fox's "The Exorcist" (the first Asian American lead in a horror genre show), the thriller "Gemini" costarring Zoe Kravitz and Jemima Kirke, and now he is the lead of the first Asian American led cast of a Hollywood thriller with "Searching".
This inventive thriller is shot Point of View style and replicates how our daily lives are spent on the phone and on the computer.
Cho stars as widower David Kim who is struggling with relating to his 16-year old daughter Margot (Michelle La) in the face of his grief.
When Margot doesn't return home after a study session and misses school, David, with the help of Detective Rosemary Vick (Debra Messing), tries to unravel the online life that Margot's been living. The more he digs the more he realizes he doesn't really know his daughter as well as he believed he did.
It's a taut thriller that really conveys how enmeshed our day to day is with the virtual world and just how easy it is to be unaware of what your loved ones are doing in that world. The production's ability to get clearance to use the familiar sights and sounds from online: the Microsoft chimes, Youtube, Instagram, Gmail adds to the authentic feel of the film.
Bodyguard
New series on BBC One starring the beloved "Game of Thrones" Fail!King of the North Richard Madden and Keeley Hawes (The Durrells in Corfu).
A contemporary political thriller which has already garnered a second series renewal, stars Madden as David Budd (which is an awful character name), a police sergeant who, while off duty, thwarts a terroristic attack. He is promoted to serve as a protection officer for Home Secretary Julia Montague (Hawes).
Highly capable with honed skills in which he is able to anticipate a threat, the audience soon realizes that Budd (ugh, that name) isn't as together as he seems. Budd, is a war vet and is suffering from PTSD and he holds animosity towards the politicians who send he and others like him to war and/or who partake in global actions that bring terrorism to the citizenry of the UK. Politicians like his charge Montague.
Is Budd a trustworthy guardian or is he getting close in order to exact his own revenge against those he feels ruined his life?
Riveting first three episodes. Pluses: Madden, a Scot, uses his real accent.
Minuses: Madden, a ginger, does not have his natural hair color, nor does he have facial hair.
At his full sexy power
Color for a new role that makes him look like a vampire
Pluses: Hawes is great as Home Secretary Montague, an ambitious woman who you can easily see putting morality aside in order to gain power and to further her party's propaganda; but who also seems to struggle with how easy some things can be justified.
It seems like yesterday that Timothee Chalamet was doing the awards circuit giving self-deprecating speeches. It seems as but a minute has passed since Gary Oldman was whining about how he should get an Oscar for "The Darkest Hour" because Chalamet was young and had a chance for another. It was as if it's been a blink of an eye since Frances McDormand played cool just as she is and withheld from whoring for campaigning for awards. It may seem as if no time has passed but here we are, once again, embarking on Awards season. So soon, you say considering the Oscars won't be held until February 24, 19th? Well, the first screener has already gone out (the Ruth Bader Ginsburg documentary "RBG") and the big film festivals that dictate what may be under consideration are underway or soon to be. These fests includes:
The Venice Film Festival
Currently underway this titan of film fests selected Damien Chazelle's follow-up to "LaLaLand" with his Neil Armstrong/Space flight epic "First Man". Ryan Gosling stars as Armstrong.
Also featured is the directorial debut of Bradley Cooper with a remake of "The Star is Born" starring Stefani Germanotta/Lady Gaga.
This remake has been in works for years, originally with Clint Eastwood attached as director and Beyonce Knowles as the lead.
Yoroos Lanthimos who seems to churn out a film a year reunites with his "The Lobster" stars, Olivia Colman and Rachel Weisz with "The Favourite" also starring Emma Stone.
After winning accolades (and an Oscar statuette) director Alfonso Cuaron returns with "Roma" which is already receiving raves. The film -to be released by Amazon - is getting an extended theatrical run which is not the usual form for Amazon. Cuaron's friend and colleague director Guillermo Del Toro is the jury president this year and he has pre-emptively assured the press that he will remain unbiased despite their friendship.
Anther Netflix film is The Coen Bros' "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" starring; "Vox Lux" directed by actor Brady Corbett (Mysterious Skin, Funny Games) and starring Natalie Portman; a reimaging of Dario Argento's horror classic "Suspiria" directed by "Call Me By Your Name"s Luca Guadgnino, starring his "A Bigger Splash" stars Dakota Johnson and Tilda Swinton.
So far “The Favourite”, “First Man”, “Roma” and “A Star is Born” have won raves. “Suspiria” is being branded divisive (a few boos, walkouts and reportedly someone vomited) and that it could be “Mother” 2.0.
“Boy Erased” is getting acclaim for the performances, but some critics said that Joel Edgerton’s script and direction is weak. Also receiving weak reception is The Coen Bros. the “Ballad of Buster Scruggs”. I think that could be a tone thing as it was initially supposed to be a six episode series for Netflix but the Bros. decided to combine them together in one story.
Nicole Kidman is getting accolades for “Destroyer” directed by Karyn Kusama (the sublime, “The Invitation”). Melissa McCarthy is also winning raves for “Can You Ever Forgive Me”.
I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed seeing Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga at Venice. I’m not about homewrecking, buuuuuuut relationships don’t always lasts and if Bcoop and Irina Shayk do split I’m just saying, Stefani and Bradley Germanotta-Cooper sounds lovely.
Irina, you already know
*Even Gaga’s man Christian Carino is back there looking up at the sky thinking, “Shiiiit”.
Her little monsters are not wrong for once!
Telluride Film Festival
Also screening Damien Chazelle's "First Man" and Yorgos Lanthimos' "The Favourite" alongside actor Joel Edgerton's latest writing/directing turn with the gay conversion film "Boy Erased" starring Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea) and Edgerton's fellow Aussie's Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe and singer Troy Sivain.
Marielle Heller's (The Diary of a Teenage Girl) biography about disgraced author turned literary forger Lee Israel "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" The film stars Melissa McCarthy as Lee Israel and Richard E. Grant as her best friend/co-conspirator Jack Hock.
David Lowery's (Ain't Them Bodies Saints, Ghost Story" "The Old Man and the Gun". The film will be Robert Redford's last film and also stars Sissy Spacek and Casey Affleck.
The true story of an 80s teenage drug dealer, "White Boy Rick" starring Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Jason Leigh and the debut of Richie Merritt as Rick. The film is directed by Yann Demange (Diary of a Call Girl).
Jason Reitman's (Men, Women and Children) "Front Runner" starring Hugh Jackman as failed presidential candidate Gary Hart and focuses on the scandal that brought down his campaign. the film also stars Vera Farmiga and Reitman's "Men, Women and Children" star Kaitlyn Dever.
New York Film Festival
Alongside "Roma", "The Favourite", "If Beale Street Could Talk", "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs",
is Alex Ross Perry's "Her Smell" about a punk rocker struggling with sobriety. The film stars Elisabeth Moss, Cara Delevingne, Ashley Benson (Delevingne's rumored girlfriend), Dan Stevens and Eric Stoltz.
Julian Schnabel's "At Eternity's Gate" about Vincent Van Gogh's time in Arles. Starring Willem Dafoe, Rupert Friend, Oscar Isaac and Mads Mikklesen.
Paul Dano's directorial debut "Wildlife" which focuses on a young boy (Ed Oxenbould, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day) who witnesses the disintegration of his parents' (Jake Gyllenhall and Carey Mulligan) marriage.
L.A Film Fest
The Tiffany Haddish/Ike Barinholtz starrer "The Oath". The film was written and directed by Barinholtz.
Rupert Everett's "The Happy Prince" which as been out in the UK for some time now.
Toronto Film Festival
While there are films that are featured at other fests (First Man, A Star is Born, and Front Runner), TIFF offers a more diverse and less stuffy lineup with director Steve McQueen's follow-up to "12 Years a Slave", "Widows".
Adapted from the ITV series, the film stars Viola Davis, Broadway star Cynthia Erivo, Michelle Rodriguez and Elizabeth DeBicki as women avenging the murders of their husbands.
George Tillman Jr's, "The Hate U Give", actor Melanie Laurent's "Galveston" starring Ben Foster as a dying hitman who returns to his hometown. The film also stars Elle Fanning and Lili Reinhardt (Riverdale).
Dan Fogelman, creator of "This is Us" offers his directorial debut with "Life Itself", which is another "This is Us" but with more diversity. It stars Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, Mandy Patinkin, Annette Bening and Antonio Banderas.
"The Kindergarten Teacher" starring Maggie Gyllenhaal as a kindergarten teacher who believes one of her students is a prodigy. The film also stars Rosa Salazar (Hunger Games: The Death Cure), and Gael Garcia Bernal.
"The Public", written and directed by Emilio Estevez who continues to make films that no one besides his family sees. It's about a standoff in a library between the homeless and the cops. It stars Estevez, Christian Slater, Taylor Schilling, Gabrielle Union and Michael K. Williams.
Sir Trevor Nunn's (Great Performances - KING LEAR) "Red Joan" starring Dame Judi Dench as Joan Stanley, KGB's longest serving British spy. The film also stars Sophie Cookson (Kingsman: The Golden Circle), Stephen Campbell Moore (The History Boys)
Lucas Hedges figures if he won't get an Oscar nod for "Boy Erased", dammit, he's going to try for one with "Ben is Back" starring as the titular Ben who returns home from rehab to his wary family front by mother, Holly (Julia Roberts). The film was written and directed by Hedges' father Peter (Dan in Real Life)
Barry Jenkins' follow-up to "Moonlight", "If Beale Street Could Talk" based on the James Baldwin novel of the same name. The film follows Tish Rivers as she tries to get her fiance Alonzo (Stephan James, "Race") cleared of a crime. The film also stars Regina King, Colman Domingo (Fear the Walking Dead", and Aujanue Ellis (Quantico).
Opening night film will be David Mackenzie's "Outlaw King" about 14th Century Scot Robert the Bruce defeated the English Army. This film reunites Mackenzie with his "Hell or High Water" star Chris Pine as the "Outlaw King". The film also stars Florence Pugh (Lady MacBeth), Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Stephan Dillane.
Closing night will be "Jeremiah Terminator Leroy", the account of the literary hoax that was JT Leroy. The film stars Kristen Stewart, Laura Dern and the very pregnant Diane Kruger.
The father is Norman Reedus, whose son Mingus just graduated high school
Timothee Chalamet's trying to snag another nomination with the biographical "Beautiful Boy" which was adapted from the autobiography of David Sheff detailing his son Nic’s battle with drug addiction.
Chalamet also has lined up yet another “Little Women” and “Dune” and has just wrapped Netflix’s “The King” playing Henry V.
Chalamet went underground while he was in England and, later, Budapest filming so fans could only rely on odd fan sightings to see if he indeed would get the bowl cut that was the signature style of King Hal. Only when the film wrapped did fans get confirmation when someone tweeted images taking while filming and of the film from the wrap party and someone from the production posted a picture with Timothee.
Bonus Robert Pattinson looking like a ugly!Legolas.
Timothee is going toe-to-toe with his "Call Me By Your Name" costar Armie Hammer at TIFF with Hammer's "Hotel Mumbai". “Hotel Mumbai” is the true story of the 2008 terrorist attack on the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. The film stars Dev Patel, Jason Isaacs and Nazanin Boniadi (Starz' Counterpart). "Hotel Mumbai" was one of the very few films that managed to escape the clutches of creditors in The Weinstein Company's sale. However, once the filmmakers were able to extract it, they had a hard time finding a distributor and the worry was that they would miss their target release date of November which would coincide with the 10th anniversary of the attack. Unless something pushes it up after its screening, the film is slated for a summer 2019 release.
Armie also has another project at TIFF: the short film “Home Shopper” directed by his “Hotel Mumbai” costar Dev Patel.
No word on if Armie will stay for “Home Shopper” as he was only given a few days off from his play “Straight White Men” which is wrapping up its run.
People have been tweeting their encounters with Armie at the stage door of SWM. There’s been plenty of peaches given, autographs given which people have used to get tattoos
fans still asking him about Timothee.
Even BFI is nostalgic for the pair
While Armie related a story of he and Timothee FaceTiming, fans were still jonesing from a tangible Armie and Timothee interaction, but barring that people have now jumped on the Armie Hammer and Josh Charles Friendship Train.
And to make things worse for Timothee, while he’s across the pond French-Canadian wunderkind director Xavier Dolan is commenting on every single IG post Armie makes; the latest one was a comment on a IG vid of Armie boxing.
Timothee have people coming for Armie from all sides: Ava DuVernay gassing him up
SWM costar hinting at the size of Armie’s wang
It’s funny because years ago a guy posted how he saw Armie’s penis at the urinal and said that it was the size of a bottle of Pepsi Max
And Luca declaring his love.
But Timothee needs to see how Armie is hitting up other men.
If Armie would only tell people what he took away from filming CMBYN instead of being cagey and saying it’s personal and nobody’s business we won’t think he had his own sexual awakening
Impressed by Amy Adams’ husband
-Diane Kruger is having a baby, Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz recently had a baby girl (second daughter for Craig, Weisz has a son with Darren Aronofsky; Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy had their second son; model Chad White is a new father!
Chad, who went Twitter silent some time ago, made the surprise post on IG. He never discussed having a girlfriend, there was a woman over a year or more ago who he would sometimes have in pictures with him but nothing PDA-y. When he announced the birth he didn’t mention a mother, and haven’t answered anyone’s comments on whether or not he used a surrogate. He mentioned having to “sort his crazy feelings” so maybe it was a whoops baby.
-Vincent Cassel tied the knot to 21- year old model Tina Kunakey
They’re really cute together
-I want those crazy kids Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga to get together, I also want Kate Beckinsale and Michael Sheen to get back together. Sheen and his girlfriend of four years Sarah Silverman broke up in early 2018 and Beckinsale and her husband of 12 years Len Wiseman divorced last year. At the time of his break up with Sheen his intent was to move back to the U.K and get more involved in politics since he and Beckinsale’s daughter was heading off to college. But he still comes to L.A and spends time with Beckinsale for things like birthday yoga!
With daughter Lily
Or to dress up in Kate’s cat costume
-:cue Rizzo from “Grease”s voice “Some people are so touchy.” Fans of singer Shawn Mendes were up in arms because Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy joked around about his crush on Mendes when they met at the Much Music Awards and people felt that he was either insinuating that Mendes was gay - a rumor that has dogged him or he was outing Mendes who some fans think is gay, but is in the closet. Their anger is that they feel that if Mendes is gay Kenworthy is forcing him to come out when he’s not ready to, and others just feel that he’s embarrassing him.
the tweets that stirred fans up
-Upthread I mentioned the JT Leroy film being released, and it couldn't come at a better time for the studio as it ties in to the current meshugaas which is going on with Asia Argento. Argento was friends with "JT LeRoy" and adapted "his" roman a clef "The Heart is Above All a Deceiful Thing" into a film. It is this film and the relationship she forged with Jimmy Bennett (Orphan, No Ordinary Family) who played her son at a young age (Dylan and Cole Sprouse played him as slightly older) that is the heart to the statuatory rape Bennett allegations levied at Argento.
I say "allegations" but she is guilty as hell!
By her own account
For those who have a life and haven't been following this story - Asia Argento was featured in the Ronan Farrow Pulitzer Prize winning article that exposed and confirmed Harvey Weinstein's history of assault and harassment. Argento revealed that she had been raped by Weinstein and later entered into a consensual relationship with him.
She became one of the most visible faces of the #MeToo movement alongside another Weinstein victim Rose McGowan.
Several weeks ago the New York Times revealed that they had received an email from an untraceable, secured account. That email had legal documents that stated that Argento and Bennett had sex when he visited her at a California hotel. He was 17 at the time the email also had a picture of the two of them presumably post-sex where you see their exposed torsos. Bennett's lawyer sent Argento an intent to sue if she didn't pay Bennett 3.5 million dollars for the sexual battery he suffered at her hands.
Immediately after the story's release, a man who claimed to be the ex-boyfriend of Bennett's ex-girlfriend expressed his doubts that Bennett was emotionally compromised by the interaction as Bennett allegedly boasted to everyone about sleeping with her.
The man -who deleted his tweets after receiving criticism for them - said that Bennett extorted Argento because his parents stole all of his money, which forced Bennett to begin stealing and grifting, causing distrust of him in their circle.
The next day Argento's fellow #MeToo colleagues McGowan and Rosanna Arquette defended her with McGowan asking people to "be gentle" and Arquette alleging that this was a set up by Weinstein.
Argento released her own statement denying the allegation of statutory rape and that she only paid him to help someone in need.
The very next day a series of texts from Argento to a friend was released by TMZ. These tweets revealed that Argento did sleep with Bennett, that she did not know he wasn't 18, and that her late boyfriend Anthony Bourdain paid Bennett off to settle this for Argento once and for all.
Everyone assumed McGowan was the leaker and began to attack her. McGowan then distanced herself from Argento. Soon afterwards McGowan's partner non-binary model RainDove began defending McGowan, stating that it wasn't she who leaked the texts but another friend of theirs that they have now cut out of their lives. RainDove tweeted that they would reveal everything on that Friday.
When Friday came and RainDove had not tweeted anything, they updated their followers by explaining that RainDove's lawyer had advised them to hold off as there were potential legal ramifications.
RainDove would reply to followers individually and in these tweets they revealed that they turned the texts over to the police, as they realized Argento did not seem to appreciate the wrongness of her act and that she was acting in the same manner Weinstein had.
RainDove then posted another tweet from Argento to them.
While RainDove changed their story and posited that someone in the police department leaked the texts, and that Jimmy leaked the picture
actor Alice Evans (who rejected Weinstein advances years ago and speculated that her rejection led to lost opportunities for she and her then boyfriend/now husband Ioan Gruffudd ("Fantastic Four", "Horatio Hornblower") tweeted her disbelief over RainDove's innocence. Evans believed RainDove leaked the texts to TMZ.
RainDove eventually released their own statement of events and how they offered up their assistance to Asia and Rose to hear the entire situation out as RainDove has a history in conflict resolution. RainDove says that they warned McGowan that no matter what they would still turn the texts over to police, but wanted to offer Argento some guidance on how to proceed in order to go on a path of "rehabilitation and betterment." When Argento lied to the press about not having sex with Bennett, RainDove leaked the texts.
RainDove also stated that Argento had been receiving nudes from Bennett since he was 12, which according to the texts RainDove leaked was untrue - he began sending them after their encounter in 2013. Two days after releasing their statement, RainDove acknowledged their error and that Bennett was not 12, but of course no one went back for the correction so people who already hated her because of Anthony Bourdain’s suicide, or hated her because of the statutory rape, they hated her even more and began saying she was sexually abusing her own son.
Adding to the craziness, conspiracy theorists think that Asia and Bennett are in cahoots. She was still “liking” his IG posts as recent as July, which is months and months since he sued her, he was following her on social media up to a week after the story broke. People think she talked him into suing her so she could get money from Bourdain and they would share it.
As of right now Asia has lost out on her X-Factor gig in Italy. Since they have already filmed portions she will appear in the first few episodes, but she is no longer a judge. It's rumored that her ex-husband Michael will be given her spot.