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Vintage Image of the Day

Film Threat Releases Annual "Frigid 50" List

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 17:32:00 EST

Filed under: Awards, Celebrities and Controversy, Box Office, Quentin Tarantino, Vintage Image of the Day, Lists, Nicole Kidman

Film Threat Releases Annual "Frigid 50" List

Once again, Film Threat has released its annual list of the Coldest People in Hollywood -- the ones whose careers are in the most trouble according to them. Strangely, the actress I would have thought was the natural contender for #1, Nicole Kidman, only makes #6. Of course, if The Golden Compass is a huge hit, it'll reverse a string of box-office misfortunes. Film Threat's advise is for Kidman to seek a job on George Miller's projected Mad Max 4. Hilary Swank, star of a robust contender for worst of '07, is advised to choose her work with more care ("She may have grown up eating sawdust in Gooberville, Washington, or wherever, but it's no longer necessary to accept every script that comes her way"). And there's no arguments here with choices Eli Roth (#8), scandal plagued actress Vanessa Hudgens (above), and Jennifer Lopez ("there doesn't seem to be any measure that can stop her from making more bad movies."). Certainly, Natalie Portman (#41) deserves a remembrance for her dual role in Goya's Ghosts, not even mentioned in the citation.

Naturally, this list offers more bones to pick than a washtub-sized bucket of KFC. Jessicas Alba and Biel share #12 (hey, Jessica Biel can act, you ruffians!); Eddie Murphy (#16) who is still quite A-list, is derided for Norbit, a popular hit that had a few defenders. Quentin Tarantino (#22) is hardly out of the game, despite the mixed feelings people had about Death Proof, and Ray Liotta (#29) has a wicked cameo in a Top Five movie right now. Lindsay Lohan charts at #51 on a list of 50. Guys, where was Eddie Izzard on this list: Across the Universe and Romance and Cigarettes within months of each other! Film Threat's number 1 pick isn't even an actor, though I doubt if anyone feels like returning his phone calls right now. In the meantime, bad-film fans can wait breathlessly for the Golden Raspberry awards coming up later this year.

Vintage Image of the Day: Oscar Nominee Marky Mark

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 13:31:00 EST

Filed under: Vintage Image of the Day, Oscar Watch

Vintage Image of the Day: Oscar Nominee Marky Mark

It was inevitable: the now-distinguished actor Mark Wahlberg is nominated for an Oscar and early, embarrassing photos of the former Funky Bunch rapper come out of the woodwork. It was so difficult to choose the right photo, too, but I had a lot of help from MarkWahlbergFan.com, a site with hundreds of photos throughout Wahlberg's career. I was very tempted to share a photo from Wahlberg's 1993 exercise video, Form ... Focus ... Fitness, the Marky Mark Workout, but none of those pictures showed his cute little baby face. The photo from Renaissance Man of Marky Mark in the shower, the Calvin Klein ads -- it was a tough choice. I finally decided on the above autographed photo from the early 1990s, although I couldn't determine the exact year.

The photo contrasts nicely with Wahlberg's recent career -- for one thing, he seems to make better fashion choices these days. I used to think he was a wooden pretty-boy who didn't belong in films, but I've been convinced otherwise (thanks in part to Cinematical's former East Coast Editor, Martha Fischer, who has always advised me on finding good photos of Wahlberg). I didn't like him at all in The Italian Job, but that may have been the exception rather than the rule. Invincible was worth seeing only for Wahlberg's performance as Vince Papale. Many people are rooting for him to land the Best Supporting Oscar on Sunday for his performance as Dignam, the cop with a nasty sense of humor, in The Departed. Film blogger That Little Round-Headed Boy has a special Wahlberg-related dream for Oscar night -- go take a look.

Vintage Image of the Day: Meryl Streep in Manhattan

Mon, 19 Feb 2007 17:02:00 EST

Filed under: Comedy, Vintage Image of the Day, Oscar Watch

Vintage Image of the Day: Meryl Streep in Manhattan

I started watching movies in earnest at about the same time that Meryl Streep was well known for playing a variety of dramatic characters in serious films. I had little interest in heavyweight prestige films like Out of Africa, Sophie's Choice or Silkwood; my favorite Streep role was one of her earliest, as Woody Allen's ex-wife in the 1979 film Manhattan. Not only did she give us a peek at her masterful comic timing, but as you can see above, she actually looked and sounded like the contemporary Meryl Streep, with no foreign accent or heavy costuming. We weren't supposed to like her character in Manhattan, who left Allen for another woman and then wrote a nasty tell-all book about their failed marriage, but somehow Streep managed to inject the role with a little sympathy. Besides, she was a much better grounded and less flaky person than the character played by Diane Keaton. I haven't seen Manhattan in years, since it played at a local repertory theater and I realized that I loved the way it looked, and the soundtrack, but the characters and storyline were borderline repellant. I can only stand so much New York neurosis, and at least Annie Hall is funnier.

Over the years, Meryl Streep has finally brought her comic talents out in a number of movies, and while she's nearly always great, the movies are uneven. As a fan of Nora Ephron's book Heartburn, I was terribly disappointed in the movie adaptation. The same is true of She-Devil, where Streep is the sole wonderful element in a lame adaptation of Fay Weldon's book. Defending Your Life ... slight but fun. Death Becomes Her ... more disappointment. Fortunately, in recent years Streep has appeared in some very good comedies, like Adaptation and the movie for which she is Oscar-nominated for Best Actress, The Devil Wears Prada. Streep has won two Oscars, but both are for dramatic roles, in Kramer vs. Kramer and Sophie's Choice. I'd like to see her win an Academy Award someday for one of her comic performances, although I suspect this may not be the year.