Thompson on Hollywood

Now and Then: In Two 'Steel Magnolias,' the Times Are Not A-Changin'

Reviews

The first thing one notices about "Steel Magnolias" (Herbert Ross, 1989) is the hair. Truvy's Beauty Shop overflows with tight-rolled pastel curlers and foot-high teases, held in place by enough hairspray to commit arson -- a style so far out of fashion it seems historical, as rococo as Marie Antoinette's bedsheets.

By Matt Brennan
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May 14, 2013 3:07 PM
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Now and Then: Olivier and the Bard

Reviews

"I can smile, and murder while I smile," confides that notorious noble, Richard, Duke of Gloucester (Laurence Olivier), "and frame my face to all occasions." For Olivier, pronouncing "frame" like "feign," it's an auspicious beginning. In Shakespeare's words, he finds his performer's credo.

By Matt Brennan
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April 26, 2013 3:03 PM
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Now and Then: 'Veep' and Why We Need Satire Right Now

Television

Satire and solemnity are tense bedfellows, and in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings -- after the flags of nations stiffened in the white smoke of the blast, after the dead began to be named, the wounded tallied, the innumerable stories of bravery recounted -- you might say the latter is the order of the day, and you would be right.

By Matt Brennan
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April 17, 2013 2:35 PM
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Now and Then: Cary Grant, The Man from Dream City, Revisited (CLIPS)

Features

My own fever dream of Cary Grant takes place between cities, sitting down for a Gibson with Eva Marie Saint on a moving train somewhere in Middle America. Headed "North by Northwest," he's at his sexiest then, temples just flecked with gray, tanned and almost ageless. He's not just the recipient of her advances: he's asking for it.

By Matt Brennan
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April 10, 2013 2:03 PM
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Now and Then: Why We Love GIFs, from Taylor Swift to Goats (VIDEO)

Reviews

Disclaimer: this will not be your usual romance. It involves Taylor Swift, a goat, and a lemon among its cast of thousands. It has no clear "meet cute," and may not reach a happy ending. In one sense at least, it has no beginning or ending at all. But somewhere along the way we fell in love with the GIF. This is one man's attempt to explain why.

By Matt Brennan
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April 2, 2013 3:49 PM
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Now and Then: Quentin Dupieux's 'Wrong' Exposes the Limits of Surrealism

Reviews

Drafthouse Films, the distributor of Quentin Dupieux's bizarre new film, "Wrong," describes the French director and electronic musician (stage name: Mr. Oizo) as "one of the world’s most fearless cinematic surrealists." The surreal does indeed seem to be Dupieux's preferred register, but this leads me to a trickier question. Should we care?

By Matt Brennan
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March 26, 2013 3:21 PM
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Now and Then: Hitchcock's Bad-Ass '40s Brunettes Were the Lead-Up to Those '50s Icy Blondes

Reviews

My favorite words in the movies come from the dusky, sultry opening minutes of "Rear Window" (1954), as Grace Kelly's New York socialite glides through L.B. Jefferies' (James Stewart) dim apartment, switching on the lights. "From top to bottom," she announces herself. "Lisa." Flick. "Carol." Flick. "Fremont." Flick.

By Matt Brennan
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March 19, 2013 2:54 PM
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Now and Then: What's the Matter with Film Critics?

Reviews

The only genuine surprise of Sunday night's Oscar telecast — varying levels of predictability, misogyny, and self-congratulations being par for the course these days — came during the "In Memoriam" montage, which by definition should be the least surprising moment of all.

By Matt Brennan
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February 27, 2013 12:44 PM
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Now and Then: In 'For Ellen,' the Many Faces of Paul Dano

Reviews

Put a quarter in the jukebox and the rocker Joby Taylor (Paul Dano) transforms. His loping gait diffuses into trance, a manic, writhing riff on his stage persona. It's a conversion experience of sorts, fittingly enough: "For Ellen" is a tale of many metamorphoses.

By Matt Brennan
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February 19, 2013 1:34 PM
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Now and Then: The Dardenne Brothers' Lost Boys

Reviews

From the first minutes of "The Kid with a Bike," marked by an energetic shot of its young protagonist, Cyril, careening through a field and climbing over a fence, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's latest is an exercise in kinesis. It's not just that Cyril's always running: he's running away.