As the Oscars draw ever-closer, and folks like me begin really digging into their ballots for this year, I decided to post one giant long list of all the films I’ve got in contention for each category, be they surefire nominees or honorable mentions worth recognizing. Picture’s off to keep some air of suspense, though…
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…
2020 Films Watched by Grade
Includes World and US releases. World releases will be denoted with ^ over the title. Films watched more than once will be denoted with * over the letter grade. My personal ballot for 2020 can be found here. Babyteeth: A-*Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets: A-David Byrne’s American Utopia: A-Days^: A-Dear Comrades!: A-Dick Johnson is Dead: A-First…
2020 Ballot, List Version
* – original nominee that subsequent became a runner-up^ – runner-up that was originally a nominee^^ – runner-up that was a nominee and then became a runner-up again” – film seen after original ballot was posted Picture Runners-Up: Martin Eden, David Byrne’s American Utopia, First Cow*, The Assistant, Zombi Child, Welcome to Chechnya, Bloody Nose…
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…
It's Just Like The Movies 