"An act of female imagination" is the phrase Sarah Polley uses to describe her film, Women Talking. I don't mean in interviews or press junkets, but in actual on-screen text. It's a curious statement if you don't know the context of the story. Between 2005 and 2009, in an ultraconservative Mennonite colony in Bolivia, dozens … Continue reading Guess What it’s About – Women Talking
Writer/director Alex Garland has received considerable praise during his career, as he's got a real talent for making his audience question what's going on right in front of them, while also making sure to never shy away from pure viscera. Not for shock value, mind you, but because it's germane to the story he's telling. … Continue reading We Really Do Suck Sometimes – Men
There are two bits of history up for grabs at this year's Oscars with regards to the Supporting Actress category. One is fairly straightforward, while the other requires a bit of help later in the ceremony. Only twice before have two actors won Oscars for playing the same character. The first is Don Vito Corleone. … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2022 – Supporting Actress
The moment has come at last. After a truncated year of eligibility, way too much hype for remakes, and for some reason a "documentary" about Billie Eilish, it is time to finally announce this year's nominees for the Academy Awards. I was up early (but not bright) at 5am Pacific Time to watch and react … Continue reading WAKE UP! IT’S TIME TO BLITZ! – 94th Academy Award Nominations
We're in the home stretch, folks. In five days, we will know where the Academy stands, and the Oscar nominations will be announced. Before that happens, however, we have one last entry into the Awards Season undercard, the most prestigious ceremony for our friends across the Pond, the BAFTAs. Now obviously, being more Anglo-centric than … Continue reading I Say, Good Show – 75th BAFTA Nominations
The calendar has finally turned over, and of course, because we just can't have nice things, the universe decided to take Betty White out at the last fucking minute. But anyway, the official book has closed on 2021, a year where we almost, kinda, sort of got back to something resembling normal, only for the … Continue reading The Best (and Worst) of 2021
The "Best Actress Showcase" film is a common thing during Awards Season, typically in the form of a story uniquely suited to a female lead character, and often cast and shot in a way that heavily features the top line actress in an attempt to garner some hardware at the expense of everything else. It's … Continue reading The Parent Trap – The Lost Daughter
Come on, how could I not preface the Independent Spirit Awards with a reference to quite possibly the greatest independent film of all time? The moment has come at last, and Awards Season is truly and officially underway with the first major announcement of nominees. Yes, technically the Golden Globe nods came out first with … Continue reading I’m 37?! – 37th Independent Spirit Nominees Announced
Part of the problem with a lot of spy thrillers is that the films lean much more into the action fantasy than the actual tradecraft of espionage, for fear that the actual nuts and bolts of an operation would come off as boring. A couple of films over the past decade plus have given it … Continue reading The Tale of the Moscow Mule – The Courier
Let's just state the plain and honest truth. 2020 was the shittiest year any of us have experienced. Everything closed, Donald Trump tried to lead an insurrection, and 1 out of every 1,000 Americans died from a virus that could have been mitigated - if not contained - if we had a competent government response … Continue reading The Best (and Worst) of 2020, Way After the Fact
I Actually Paid To See This 