Double Oh Arty

I just happened to be looking at that picture of Daredevil villain and Downton fop Arty Froushan this morning -- "just happened" -- and it struck me: why not Arty for James Bond? He was born in the U.S. but was raised by his British mother in London -- they want someone younger and he's only 33. We need to be putting Arty's name (and everything else) into the conversation! They just started officially casting last week (although I have my doubts that they haven't been having conversations with actors and their own team at Amazon behind the scenes for months) and who knows where they're going with the franchise but I think all roads should lead to Arty. I have just decided it right now. Nothing else will make me happy. And you won't like me when I'm angry, Jeff Bezos! (Also fuck you, Jeff Bezos.) Anyway 007 or not I have now posted that photo above so my mission is accomplished. (Ooh an Ethan Hunt reboot! I know who'd be perfect for that!)

Callum Turner Two Times

Shame on me for missing these photos of the dreamboat Callum Turner in Vanity Fair a couple of weeks back -- in my defense I thought that everything I'd been seeing in that issue, which included a slew of current H'wood heartthrobs, looked like shit. Just terrible photography all around. These Callum shots must've dropped after I'd already given up on the issue -- my bad. Anyway what do y'all think about the Janes Bond rumors that have attached themselves to Callum? ("Attached themselves to" most likely meaning "his people have floated the rumor everywhere they can.") Since I didn't watch any 007 movies until Daniel Craig was hired (and then I went back and watched a couple of the older ones after that) I can't say I have a huge attachment to the franchise or the character -- I'd rather see five more Atomic Blonde movies, personally. But I'm also of the mind that Callum is hot as fuck so sure, give him a franchise where he can play the sexy hero in nice clothes and perhaps a blue speedo. I cannot find holes in that logic. (I wouldn't be angry if they gave him that slutty blond hair he had in George Clooney's Boys in the Boat movie either.)

Daryl McCormack Twelve Times

I re-watched the third Knives Out movie Wake Up Dead Man for the second time a few nights ago and I'm probably not writing up a long review of it but as I've said a couple times on social media (as well as the last time that I posted several Daryl photos right here) it's wonderful and my favorite of the franchise to date. That lands on Netflix on Friday so y'all will actually really be able to see it for yourselves after Netflix gave it one of their supposed "theatrical releases" (such bullshit). A single complaint: I suppose it's not a spoiler to say that he and Josh O'Connor never make out in it, and that blows. Opportunity lost, Rian! But if you close your eyes right now I bet you can picture them making out and for that you are welcome. Anyway let's celebrate the really good movie by sharing this recent photoshoot of the ever handsome Daryl in The Financial Times of all places; it's all after the jump...

Get Stuffed By Josh O'Connor

Okay well my office just announced we're closing early for the holiday so today's ending quicker than I anticipated -- two quick notes before I run out the door for the long weekend . One y'all should go see the third Knives Out movie Wake Up Dead Man if it's playing anywhere near you because it is easily my favorite of the trilogy-to-date. I liked the previous two a lot but I unabashedly love WUDM. I'd like to say it's not just because it's really a stealth Josh O'Connor movie but this is my website and I don't have to lie. Nothing against Daniel Craig obviously but I think it's smart to make Benoit Blanc more of a supporting player, and Josh carries this movie with great humor and grace. The mystery is fun too, although I don't think it's much of a surprise who dun it -- I feel like the casting kind of gives up the game. But I can't wait to watch it again. 

As for the second note o' mine before heading out -- I'm a broken record on this, it's true, but I'm not going to not remind y'all right before the biggest shopping days of the year that if you're doing any shopping on Amazon use this link and it sends a few pennies MNPP's way. Or you can donate through the PayPal link in the right-hand column, or you can buy some of my shit on eBay too! I'm planning on doing some house-cleaning over the long weekend so more stuff will definitely be popping up on there. And I guess that's it. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving if you celebrate! And if you don't just eat a great big pile of food until you want to die and pretend you do. Bye!

Good Morning, Dead Man

Hello and happy Monday -- when I posted about noted dreamy Irishman and actor Daryl McCormack being cast in Tom Ford's next movie (along with a bevy of hotties) last week I said to myself (and also Bluesky), "Hmm why don't I post more Daryl McCormack?" I think the dude caught all our eyes and other parts and then some with his star-making turn opposite Emma Thompson in Good Luck to You, Leo Grande a couple of years ago -- then when he popped up in the latest Knives Out movie Wake Up Dead Man, which as an aside just got a new trailer this very morning...

... and I really realized I best get on it. Thankfully today we've got a photoshoot of him to share and do just that -- he's in the new issue of Hero magazine (I haven't read it yet but his chat is with his WUDM co-star Cailee Spaeny) looking typically handsome as hell. As for WUDM (which yes obviously given what I just said I have seen) that is very much Josh O'Connor's movie (as much if not more than it is Daniel Craig's movie, if you can believe it) but what we get of Daryl is good. That's out in "select theaters" on Thanksgiving (yeah you know what Netflix means when they say "select theaters" by now right) and then on the streamer December 12th. And without giving away my review of it let's just say it's probably my favorite of the franchise to date. I digress! Let's show you all of them Daryl pics after the jump...

Finally Queer in My Hands!

It's sexy boy Drew Starkey's birthday today, the fact of which knocked off a series of comments and clicks by your truly leading me to yesterday's tweet semi-announcement from Sony Music Soundtrack's socials that Trent Reznor & Atticus' Ross' criminally under-appreciated score for Luca Guadagnino's film Queer will really for real be getting a vinyl release! Huzzah! All the info we have thus far are these two cropped images -- presumably from the vinyl's sleeve -- and the small sum-total of what they said, which was "no use fighting it. QUEER vinyl news coming this week 👀" Not sure if this means it will be coming via Sony, or Milan Records (who released the Challengers score), or the Nine Inch Nails website, or A24's own shop -- it could be any or several or all of these locations! But as surely as I'll google gifs of Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey making out at least once a week I'll surely say something more about this news once we have more about this news to say. 

ETA of course five minutes after I write up this post they go and announce more news and pictures from the vinyl -- it still doesn't say where we'll be able to buy it but Sony says the Queer soundtrack is finally going on pre-sale on this Thursday, November 6th. You can see a few more photos on Instagram.  

Double Oh Whatever

I'm in no way sharing that image of director Denis Villenueve with Jake Gyllenhaal on the set of their magnificent 2013 film Enemy to imply that Denis should make his former boyfriend Jake his James Bond now that he's been revealed to be directing the first film in the rebooted franchise for Amazon. Although I do find it strange that they hired a French-Canadian to direct this very British franchise I still think they'll get a British person to play the lead. I mean... they have to, right? Anyway if they're announcing a director I feel as if a leading man announcement can't be that far behind so we should probably know soon. And a lot of signs are indeed pointing toward Aaron Taylor-Johnson again. Whatever. I don't have much of a dog in this fight because I'm by no stretch of any person's imagination the world's biggest 007 fan. I enjoyed the Daniel Craig movies because Daniel Craig. I hadn't even seen another Bond movie until Craig was cast! Since then I have gone back and watched the Sean Connery ones and a couple scattered other random ones. They're fine! They're fun. Dr. No is probably a masterpiece but otherwise whatever. All of that said, to circle us around to the start -- Jake could make a great Bond villain. I feel as if the real future of Bond villains is billionaire nerds (and/or perhaps Russians) and that's in Jake's wheelhouse. Just sayin! I'd love for Denis & Jake to work together again. He's been so distracted by Timmy lately...

Quote of the Day

“We had a lot of sex... And then I kissed Daniel and he was so easy with it. And then I was easy with it and we were really easy with each other’s bodies and I thought, oh, it’s just that... God, I built this up and, and we had to lie naked on under the sheet for an hour every night. And it was easy.... He was the perfect [James] Bond because he’s the only person I’ve ever met who is or maybe more comfortable naked than he is dressed. He’s very easy in his body... I used to drag him to showers to make him shave because I got a stubble rash off him,... We used to pinch each others bits under the sheets to make each other laugh.” 

I've posted a couple pictures before -- right here ... oh and here as well -- of Jason Isaacs and Daniel Craig performing with each other in the original British stage production of Angels in America, but these quotes from Jason Isaacs reminiscing about the experience (via) on a recent podcast are too wonderful not to share. This is turning out to be a fairly horny Monday morning huh? I guess we're all looking for expressions of life, reasons to keep going, in dark days. Keep it coming!

A Queer Coming Home

As of this second the only place that has it for pre-order is Amazon UK and there very well might -- hell, it will -- change soon. But I am impatient. And so here, click here, and you can pre-order Luca Guadagnino's film Queer on 4K thanks to the fine folks at MUBI for a release on April 28th. This is the first and only physical media release news we've gotten for the film which was released by A24 here in the US -- we'll have to wait and see if they're going to give us a proper edition here in the States and if they do announce that then you can go cancel your Amazon orders like I plan to. For now, prepare in advance, I say! The UK disc is region-free so it'll play fine here if you have a 4K player. Anyway here is my review of the film, which ended up at #2 on my list of the movies of 2024. I love its weird ass more every time I watch it. 

Run Daniel Craig Run

Yes that might be a picture of Daniel Craig there but if you've come around here anticipating a post from me about James Bond being sold off to Amazon you're outta the luck because I couldn't give a shit -- I famously never saw a single 007 movie until Craig suited up and while I saw all and enjoyed most of those, and even went back and saw a couple handfuls of the earlier films over that time, I still would be fine if the character was dropped off a cliff now. Who the fuck cares? Tell new stories dammit. Bond is picked-clean Boomer leftovers and if you change the character too much you'll satisfy nobody. (And if you return the character to its actual origins you'll only please the cretins.) So let's movie on. 

Okay I said this wasn't a post about that and yet here I am rambling on. At least the more I ramble the more photos of Daniel you get to fill up the space -- be happy about my rambling then! No I'm here to touch on the other Danny-boy news -- namely that he has yanked himself violently out of Luca Guadagnino's clutches, and he will not star in Luca's supposed DC superhero movie (I still cannot believe this will be a thing) Sgt. Rock. The two of course collaborated last year on (my beloved) Queer -- Deadline says no reason's been given for the departure but I hope Daniel doesn't hate Luca now because he didn't get an Oscar nomination. That's where my petty mind goes anyway. But maybe he just saw the writing on the wall that this project seems to be a bit of nonsense. I mean I love that Luca wants to challenge himself but yeesh what an idea. Not that I want Luca to turn his sights toward that nonsensical American Psycho remake either! Deadline says there are other actors (including Jeremy Allen White) in the running to step into Daniel's combat boots. Whatever. Make your money, Luca. I don't want him in the poor house like Brady Corbet!

The 20 Best Movies of 2024

I have thought about dropping my year-end favorites list on Oscar Nom Day several times in the past, but timing-wise it just hasn't worked out before -- this year looks to be an exception, however! My reasons for thinking it's a good idea are 1) as stated in my earlier requisite post acknowledging that those nominations happened I just don't care about them and I don't want to spend all day reading people's brain-numbing statistics and theories all of which rob me of a will to live. So this gives me something else to focus on. Also today is the first day of Sundance and while I might not be there in person this year (sigh) I will be reviewing movies virtually, and I'm going to be very busy starting to do that almost immediately. So if I don't do this today it'll be a couple more weeks. 

Also -- I've had the list of movies on a spreadsheet for weeks now, and every other day I go onto the doc and I move them around a little bit depending on my mood, and... I could just keep doing that forever, or I could just say enough! And organize them into their final form, waffling be damned. That said 2024 turned out to be an especially amorphous year with no single frontrunner slam-dunk -- any of my top five on any given day could've been my number one. Which isn't to say I think 2024 was a bad year for movies -- quite the opposite! There's a lot of love spreading around here. But let's just stop our yammering and get to the goods. Here at last are...

My 20 Favorite Movies of 2024

20. Strange Darling (review)

19. Femme (review)

18. I Saw the T.V. Glow (review)

17. I'm Still Here

16. Love Lies Bleeding (review) 

15. Janet Planet

14. A Different Man (review)

13. Flow

12. The End (review)

11. National Anthem (review)

10. Kinds of Kindness (review)

9. Rumours (review)

8. Red Rooms (review)

7. Bird (review)

6. The Substance (review)

5. Challengers (review)

4. Nosferatu (review)

3. Hard Truths (review)

2. Queer (review)

1. Evil Does Not Exist 

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And here are ten runners-up: The Vourdalak, Babygirl, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, Hundreds of Beavers, Blitz, Trap, The Brutalist, Memoir of a Snail, Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World, and Oddity.

Okay -- that's that! Onward and onward!

 Let's get 2025 rolling...

Good Morning, World

I'll try to not post gifs from Queer every single morning from now until eternity now that the movie is available online, but I make no promises! (See also: yesterday.) Tumblr is overwhelmed with them right now and I am not a strong man. Anyway happy Hump Day!

Good Morning, Queer

Well what are you waiting for? Luca Guadagnino's phenomonal William S. Burroughs adaptation Queer is available to rent and buy ditigally today -- so go do that here! I know the reaction has been mixed towards the film but I personally am anything but -- it''s one of my top three films of 2024; indeed I haven't been able to write that list because my top three keep shifting every time I re-watch them and this one is very much in that mix. Here is my review. 

I admit it's not an easy film to warm to and its wavelength is very odd but if you're on it then baby, to the moon. If you need a "key" to unlock it, for me it reads pretty straightforward as being a film about an impossible disconnect between two people, and everything is in service of amplifying that. Anyway also this:

If I hear one more person say “a movie should work on its own, without you needing you do research to understand or appreciate it” - no maybe you should remember how to be intellectually curious like when you a kid and didn’t get a grown up reference and be delighted by new things to learn!

— Jason Adams (@jamnpp.bsky.social) January 11, 2025 at 3:12 PM

Today's Fanboy Delusion

 Today I'd rather be...

... man-spreading with Paul Mescal.

I've pointed out before that W Magazine seems to alternate their "Performances of the Year" photoshoots by the year between classy boring images and then really psychotic garbage -- well we're in a classy year as the above photo of Paul proves... not that he isn't giving me dirty thoughts all the same. Such is his power! I do find it weird that all of the men are over-dressed in full suits while 95% of the women are in their underwear though. And this is coming from a gay photographer! WTF Judas. Anyway a good place to find links to all their shoots for this issue is this link via their Instagram -- I gathered up the classy ass images of Paul, Daniel Craig, and Colman Domingo though, as those ones naturally interested me the most. So hit the jump for those...

Quote of the Day

There is a chat with director Luca Guadagnino and writer Justin Kuritzkes in Dazed magazine right now (thx Mac) about their latest colaboration Queer (the William S. Burroughs adaptation out in theaters now that I reviewed right here) and besides it containing several images from that film's set that I adore -- that one of him in a Carrie t-shirt above is going straight onto my mood board -- it's also got several bits of information I really enjoyed reading. Luca talks about why there's so much Nirvana in the film, and he also admits that Twin Peaks was an influence on it (but refuses to elaborate further). But it's the bit at the end that has nothing to do with Queer that has me the most excited -- and if you've seen my hemming and hawing then you know it's not about his possible American Psycho remake. 

No it's about An Even Bigger Splash, his long-gestating longer cut of his already divine 2015 film A Bigger Splash, which stars Tilda Swinton, Matthias Schoenaerts, Dakota Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes. Luca has been mentioning this was a thing on his mind for awhile, and bless this interviewer for getting a very brief but important update:

 "Yes, for sure. 100 per cent. We’re finalising it."

Supposedly this cut has a full seventy more minutes! I don't know whether this is a good idea or not either, but Luca always proves my doubts wrong so you'd think I'd have learned my lesson at this point. And even if it does prove to be too much of a good thing -- am I going to complain about seventy more minutes of a movie where the godline Matthias Schoenaerts runs around in itty bitty shorts looking like a fucking sculpture? I don't think so. In summation here is a new photo that dropped online this week from the set of Luca's other 2024 film Challengers, with him in a spot where so many of us would love to be -- half-straddled by Mike Faist in his tennis gear: