Hiya! Dreams of doing a gigantic write-up in time for the Oscars have again (again) been deferred. I wanted to do more, but it just didn’t pull together. It sucks! The dream will stay alive, especially if work is slow enough for me to find the time, but the important thing is that we’re living…
Category: review
An ode to the unpublished
As some of y’all may know, I published a write-up of my entire year-end ballot way back in 2017, accompanied by a separate list I’ve modified as my lineups have changed since the cinematic year came to a close. Every year since, I ‘ve put out a list but have been trying to do another…
1986 Supporting Actress Smackdown
Friends, I have had an absolutely wonderful time touring through 1986. The films nominated for Supporting Actress? Almost uniformly great, with one glaring exception that’s fully balanced out by the sheer perfection of the lineup’s best entry. The other films I’ve watched this month? Pretty fucking great, with outstanding work across a fantastically wide sample…
1998 Supporting Actress Smackdown
Generally speaking, it’d be hard to bounce off of the 1946 Supporting Actress lineup and not land with a better vintage. 1998’s group benefited from choosing five movies with a pretty significant range in tone and genre. Good or bad, the variety alone automatically makes it harder for a uniform experience. The fact that Primary…
1946 Supporting Actress Smackdown
I, for one, have had a very nice time getting to write more companion pieces for the Supporting Actress Smackdown. And I’ve greatly enjoyed reading what this month’s panelists had to say about the five nominated actresses, all hailing from fairly dubious projects. Still, I thought it’d be fun to throw in my own opinions…
Supporting Actress Smackdown 2020 Companion Masterpost
Well, we made it. This season of the Supporting Actress Smackdown at The Film Experience is over. I’m ending this extended run with twenty-six articles under my belt, which, holy shit, that’s half a year’s worth of supporting actressing. I am, to say the least, very proud of what I wrote, both because this was…
Sorry We Missed You (19, B)
Like On a Magical Night, I missed this because (if I remember correctly) it only played at CIFF over the weekend that I had to flee the state for personal reasons Friday-thru-Sunday. I can’t say what made me so eager to see this – I know Ken Loach’s reputation well but have only seen his…
Ghost Tropic (19, A-)
Likely the film I was most interested in watching after I missed it at CIFF, in no small part due to Nick Davis’ write-up of it as part of his towering Best of the Decade feature. As soon as it became available to rent online I spent a weekend in its company. Our protagonist is…
On a Magical Night (19, B?)
I mean, how could I not watch this? Chriophe Honoré’s previous film Sorry Angel has lingered with me since I first saw it nearly two years ago, and the premise of On a Magical Night sounded like a good time. Also: Hi Sebastién! Here, college professor Maria (Chiara Mastroianni) must reckon with her history of…
1947 Supporting Actress Smackdown
The Nominees Ethel Barrymore, The Paradine Case – Yes, it’s weird Barrymore is the only nominee of this very amazing film. Hitchcock’s visual ideas are probably as much to do with her impact as her own acting choices, and I wish she had a scene with Ann Todd at some point during the trial given…
It's Just Like The Movies 