11 Off My Head: Shudder's 1/2 Halloween Sale!

I'm sure without doing a search that I posted this ancient photoshoot of Ryan Kwanten when it dropped back in the day at Bello magazine, but seeing as how the sexy ass True Blood star isn't photographed the way he still oughta be photographed these days I'm going with that golden oldie above for our purposes today. And our purposes today are this -- to point you in the direction of Amazon where the horror streaming service Shudder is having a big blow-out sale called "Halfway to Halloween" on a bunch of their movies on blu-ray and DVD! You love to see a streamer embracing physical media like this, don't you? Those fine folks know that just because you have one of their movies sitting on your shelf doesn't mean you're necessarily going to get up off the couch to put it in when you can also access it via the button on your remote control. It's the "Why not both?" meme come to life! Buy physical media and pay for streamers -- at least the good ones like Shudder anyway. 

But back to the sale -- Ryan Kwanten is the star of the Lovecraftian horror movie Glorious which is a part of Shudder's sale -- you can get that blu for $9.49 right now! That movie, directed by Rebekah McKendry, is a hell of a lot of fun -- see a fun post I did about it right here. Other highlights from this sale... actually you know what? Let's do a list.

10 More Movies I Recommend From Shudder's Sale

The Beach House - buy it here -- my review here!

The Djinn -- buy it here -- my review here!

Scare Me -- buy it here! 

Hunted -- buy it here -- my review here!

Deadstream -- buy it here -- my review here!

Satan's Slaves -- buy it here!

Prevenge -- buy it here - my review here!

Caveat -- buy it here!

Violation -- buy it here -- my review here!

Anything For Jackson -- buy it here!

-----------------------

These selections trot us all over the globe and hit every single tone and sub-genre of horror that you can imagine -- Shudder is the bee's knees, and it probably has a horror movie about bee's knees while it's at it. It's one of the best bangs for your buck streaming-wise that I've come across, so go support them and why not scare your pants off while you're at it?

Hi Ho Solo

Finally some news on Solo, the "drag queen romance" starring MNPP faves Théodore Pellerin and Felix Maritaud that I have been posting on for two entire years now -- in February of 2022 I stumbled on some pictures from the movie's set (it was called Drag back then) and I have been (im)patiently awaiting the final product ever since. Even as it screened at fests (it won Best Canadian Feature at TIFF) for other less attentive people, I have waited. And finally my time has come! Solo is hitting NYC on May 24th and L.A. the week after (and then presumably inward toward the middle parts of the country from there), and we've got a trailer! Watch:

Trench Coats & Tighty-Whities

Happy Criterion Announcement Day! Every 15th of the month (or thereabouts) our pals at Criterion announce their slate of releases for an upcoming month -- today's are for July of 2024 (my birthday month, holla) and let's kick them off with their drop of Jean-Pierre Melville's 1967 classic Le Samurai starring Alain Delon, in 4K baby! Delon plays a iconically trench-coated hitman who's too cool for school in this -- the set, loaded with Criterion's typical swath of extras, drops on June 9th, pre-order it at the link above. (In related news there is an Alain Delon series happening at Film Forum right now through this week, so if you're in NYC go see this gorgeous man on the big screen stat!)

Next up -- in bold red! -- we have the two-some of Glauber Rocha's Black God White Devil from 1967, an "existential western" out of Brazil, and Chen Kaige's 1993 classic Farewell My Concubine, which won the Palm D'Or at Cannes that year and features a gorgeous performance from the legend Leslie Cheung. This'll be in 4K too -- it's such a deeply gorgeous movie, I cannot wait to see this remaster!

There is a lot this month! Next up is Sam Peckinpah's Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid starring James Coburn and Kri Kristofferson from 1973 -- this one is also coming in 4K and it looks loaded as hell with four discs of material, including two cuts of the film. I have never seen this -- I guess a big selling point is the music is by Bob Dylan? And he's in the movie too? I think young hot Kristofferson is my main selling point tbh. And then we have last year's Perfect Days from the great Wim Wneders -- also in 4K. Criterion tripling down on 4K for everything, it seems. I liked this movie but maybe didn't love it like a lot of people seemed to -- that said there's no disputing that Koji Yakusho as the genial bathroom cleaner the movie follows gives a lovely subdued performance. 

And finally, last but hardly least, there is the great 1983 pop classic Risky Business starring one Mr. Tom Cruise  -- and as seen down below they chose the perfect cover, too. I might have to add this to my list of "Hottest Criterion Covers" that I did last month with that Querelle announcement! There's no denying the power of Cruise's gams in thoise tighty0-whities -- they made him a star. That said this movie is a far richer and more emotionally curious than you think it's going to be given the super-80s plot, and Rebecca De Mornay as the call-girl who comes Tom of age has always been my main takeaway from this film. She's fantastic. Well her and that killer Tangerine Dream score. This one lands on July 23rd. Also in 4K!

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

 ... you can learn from:

Professor Marston & the Wonder Women (2017)

Josette: You don't even deny 

that these images are overtly sexual. 

William Marston: An erotic component is necessary. How else is submission supposed to be pleasurable? I am teaching readers to submit to a loving authority, and that submission is pleasurable. Young boys must learn this most of all if they are to grow up respecting powerful women. 

Josette: What is powerful about a woman 

running around in a bathing suit?

A happy 45 to Luke Evans today.

This is such an underrated movie.

Five Frames From ?

What movie is this?

Good Morning, World

Gavin Leatherwood from Sabrina (see above) and KJ Apa from Riverdale (see below) were both trying to make us feel funny in our downstairs places this past weekend on their respective Instas, and... well quite frankly they both succeeded. May the legacy of hot dudes formerly of teen shows trying to keep our attention by baiting us with homoerotica live long and forever prosper! (And happy Monday, everybody.)

Just think of the Riverdale that could have been pic.twitter.com/xlWG37l8KK

— Jason Adams (@JAMNPP) April 15, 2024

Masters of War

Inside of my review of Alex Garland's new movie Civil War it didn't really feel like the right place to go on about how sexy Wagner Moura is in the movie, so let me do it right here -- hubba hubba y'all. He's always struck me as a truly transformative actor who doesn't often rely on the sexy, but when he wants to be our man Wagner can bring it and he brings it to Civil War a hefty amount. Garland shoots the hell out of the strange and surprising planes of his face and I just wanted to slide down them like a disgruntled wall climber. Anyway that said yes indeed I reviewed Civil War today and you can read my thoughts over at Pajiba. The movie is a thrilling watch that I nevertheless wish had been a little more bold and courageous about its specifics. In the interest of both sides (which is what the film wants) I did read a very fine piece on the film right here that argues the movie doesn't need to be specific, but I still don't entirely buy that argument, nor have I ever bought the argument that journalists should strain for total objectivity. As a person who's had the foundations of my life politicized I have just never felt the roominess to make that case and it will always feel like a cop-out to me. Yes war is hell, but we're in it! So somebody better check and see who the fucking devils are poking us in the ass with their pitchforks. But anyway the movie's still a thrill and I do recommend seeing it; I hope that comes across in my review, mixed though it might be. Here is the trailer if you missed it when I posted it before: 

Today's Fanboy Delusion

Today I'd rather be...

... putting some color to Russell's titties. (via)

Sasquatch Sunset in 150 Words or Less

You will believe in Sasquatch! You will see in Sasquatch! You will hear and you will most definitely smell in Sasquatch too! From esteemed weirdos David and Nathan Zellner (see also Damsel and Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter -- no seriously see both of those movies, they absolutely own) -- comes Sasquatch Sunset, a weirdly deeply moving and fluid-filled imagining of what the final days of the Bigfoot people would look like, if the Bigfoot people were real and also Riley Keough and Jesse Eisenberg in elaborately convincing Bigfoot people costumes and make-up. Commiting to its bit so fully that you can't help but believe that that's an actual sasquatch fingering its sasquatch pussy right in front of you, this movie is totally deranged and I love it like it was a new limb that had sprouted up suddenly out of my body. Sasquatch is sublime, sick, and cinema itself. 

Five Frames From ?

What movie is this?

Since no one was able to guess this one yesterday 

I will now add five more frames:

Can you guess the movie now?

Good Morning, Gratuitous Zach Tinker

You can thank Playgirl magazine for this post -- not because Days of Our Lives actor Zach Tinker is featured in the latest issue, which is devoted to Days of Our Lives actors -- but because he isn't. I think he's not on the show anymore? That would probably explain why he isn't featured in it. I wouldn't know since I haven't watched a soap opera since they canceled Passions (you bastards)... well unless you count the hour I spent watching Days of Our Lives this past weekend when I was at my grandmother's house in upstate New York waiting for the eclipse to happen. Weird coincidence! 

Anyway you can probably tell I'm spinning my wheels because I don't really have anything to say about Mr. Tinker since I have never seen him in anything,  He was brought to my attention for his not being in Playgirl -- specfiically because he's way hotter than any of the guys that did end up in the magazine. And I have to agree. Whole-heartedly. (I am slightly infatuated.) So consider this post your Zach Tinker issue of Playgirl. I recommend following him on Instagram by the way, where he gleefully offered up much of the content that follows himself. Now hit the jump for your quite extensive gallery of Tinker-centric hotness...

Christian Cooke One Time

I haven't had the opportunity to see Christian Cooke in anything in too long a time (and yes that means I still haven't watched the western series That Dirty Black Bag that he co-starred in with my boy Dominic Cooper a couple of years ago, shame on me) but that will clearly change soon, as he's just co-starred in the gay policeman drama Plainclothes opposite Russell Tovey and Tom Blythe. I told you about this previously (of course I did) a few weeks back -- the entire movie has shot already, which I know because it shot in Syracuse near where I grew up and so I kept tabs on that in case its shoot overlapped with my trip upstate for the eclipse (it did not). Anyway the photo above (via, click to embiggen, thx Mac) is an excellent reminder that Christian Cooke should always, always be in front of me (or behind me, I am not picky) and I am real glad we'll be rendezvousing again shortly. Bring it on, Plainclothes! And in related news:

Obsessed with Russell Tovey trying to tag Luca Guadagnino in Insta stories showing off his bulge pants at the Challengers premiere pic.twitter.com/FA0I8SJpwQ

— Jason Adams (@JAMNPP) April 11, 2024

The Kings of Kindness

That there is the first official poster for Yorgos Lanthimos' Kinds of Kindness, designed by the great Vasilis Marmatakis who's done most of Yorgos' previous posters -- and like with all the other ones I'm gonna end up buying this beauty too! Anyway along with that they dropped a new teaser for the movie, you can watch it down below. I have not watched it myself -- I watched the first teaser about five thousand times and now I am done watching things until I am watching the movie on June 21st. In similar news no I haven't watched the trailer for Ti West's MaXXXine yet and I don't think I shall! I decided I will watch it after I watch the movie in full. I don't need trailers for these movies -- I just need these movies dammit! 

Pic of the Day

I'm not paying much attention to today's Cannes 2024 fest title drop because what do I care, I am not going and the thought of people going and seeing movies there when I am not annoys me -- I was an only child and I can be indescribably petty, it's all true! It's the same reason I'm ignoring CinemaCon news -- ooh people got to watch footage from Robert Eggers' Nosferatu did they? Well lucky fuckin' them. Nyah nyah nyahhh. All of that said obviously this, the first official photo of Barry Keoghan in Andrea Arnold's next movie Bird -- which co-stars no less than Franz Rogowski! -- caught my eye when Indiewire posted it on their Insta just now. Obviously. (See my previous post here.) Talk about a duo of actors birthed to be in an Andrea Arnold movie! Of course this movie will rule and nobody will know what to do with it because Andrea Arnold will keep being too singular and outré for the establishment (by which I mean awards bodies I suppose), but I can't wait. I mean I will have to wait, unlike those assholes who go to Cannes. God, we hate them.

Jake & Hank Coming Together

In the original version of the Road House photo above Jake's love interest (played by Daniela Melchior) is on his left side (see it here), but some enterprising soul on the internet went and photoshopped her out (no it wasn't me) and yes, I will totally share that. I am not above sharing that. I am not above much to be honest, but definitely nothing having to do with Jake. Anyway I needed a Jake photo because we have Jake News (insert beeping breaking news sound effect here) today! His movie with Guy Ritchie and Henry Cavill...

... that I told you about very nearly an entire year ago has a title and it has a release date. The title is In the Grey, and the release date isn't until January 17th 2025. SIGH so far away. Here is how it is being described:

"It's set to follow a group who operates in the middle of criminality and the law with Cavill, Gyllenhaal, and González joining forces in the search for billions of dollars in stolen cash."

So a crime caper, right in Ritchie's wheelhouse then. (And I remain on a weird-for-me Ritchie high right now thanks to his show The Gentleman kicking ass and thanks to Henry Golding acting real gay on the PR beat for Ritchie's upcoming movie The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.) In the Grey (that "e" is gonna bug me for a full year, sigh) also stars Eiza González (who Jake starred opposite in Michael Bay's Ambulance) and our great Saltburn overlord Rosamund Pike. In summation:

Henry finally found a suit that fits him
(and yes I include the vpl in my definition of fits) pic.twitter.com/yOm2Sed5QT

— Jason Adams (@JAMNPP) April 10, 2024

Today's Mood

Good Morning, Teo

A happy 43 to Past Lives actor Teo Yoo today -- I don't want to understate how incredible I thought his performance in that incredible movie was, but beyond matters of skill I just completely fell in love with him in that movie (although that is a skill, too).  And across last year's awards season, where he should have been nominated for everything. So anyway I'm praying that Hollywood took notice and will put him in some things, is my point. Although I have my doubts they have anything as rich as that role was in store for him -- he'll no doubt have to wade through endless Dr. Scientist roles like most other Asian actors in Hollywood have before him. Somebody write Teo a good role, please! This is a leading man dammit! I have to admit that I took no note of him in Park Chan-wook's wonderful Decision To Leave two years back, though -- I will have to re-watch it now with my newfound love and see if there's anything there. But we have something here! I gathered up a few fine photos of Teo for our birthday morning enjoyment, so hit the jump and enjoy the Teo...