re: Isabelle Huppert's e-mails

by Nick Davis

Why did I hack into Isabelle Huppert's e-mails?  I mean, I do feel bad about it, and I didn't even swipe that much.  But if forced to state my reasons:

1. On a long Friday night, I was innocently taking a writing break from some essay revisions, only to discover that everybody is still all about digging into everybody's emails.  So, right there, I can plead temporary insanity... though I admit it made me curious if there's anyone whose e-mails I would illicitly want to read.

2. During the same writing break, I was confronted with the info that Nathaniel and Jessica Chastain, who are now on bestie/hugging terms, had spent the day cooing to each other about Isabelle Huppert, as sensible people do.  And then I thought: well, there's someone whose e-mails are probably pretty interesting...

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Have You Caught Up to Amazon's "Fleabag"

Chris here. Of all of the season's new series, one that you certainly haven't been hearing enough about is Amazon's Fleabag. Debuting quietly around the time of the third season of Amazon's flagship Transparent, Fleabag deserves so much more than getting lost in the shuffle. Written by and starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the show is a scabrously funny and sad take on a London woman's coping through grief, sex, and being "a bad feminist". If all that sounds too familiar, you may not be prepared for the freshness and frankness of Waller-Bridge's voice.

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Oscar: 145 Documentaries to Compete

Glenn here. Despite writing about (at least) one documentary a week since March, it feels like we've barely made a dint in covering the mammoth list of 145 titles that will be competing for the five coveted nominations in Best Documentary Feature category at the upcoming Oscars. Collectively, The Film Experience has reviewed 30 of the list, and we hope to cover a bunch more as we get closer to nominations.

There are a lot of noteworthy titles on this list so even making it to the 15-strong shortlist will be tough. And it's worth remembering that big titles are left off and smaller little-known titles get elevated every year. I have never heard of quite a few of these - and many others only have/had qualifying runs with releases planned for 2017 so it's impossible to really gauge some of them. What big titles will be left off? Will the recent scandals help or hinder Weiner, the year's most zeitgeisty doc hit. Will too many films about race cancel out one of the bigger titles? Will Herzog and Alex Gibney give the race some behind-the-scenes star power?

If I had to take a complete stab in the dark guess of what those 15 titles would be based on what I have seen, what we know of this branch, and the buzz on certain titles, I would probably go with the following:

Audrey & Daisy - Fire at Sea - Gleason - Hooligan Sparrow
I Am Not Your Negro - Into the Inferno - The Ivory Game - Life Animated
Newtown - O.J. Made in America - 13th - Tower - Trapped - Weiner - Zero Days

The only real big names missing seem to be ones we already suspected wouldn't be on the list like Andrew Dominik's One More Time with Feeling, Sergei Loznitsa's found footage doc The Event, Chantal Akerman's swansong No Home Movie, Morgan Spurlock's Rats, the duelling queer festival hits Strike a Pose and Kiki and Albert Maysles' final project, In Transit. Although if someone can explain the absence of Gillian Armstrong's Women He's Undressed that would be nice. And I bemoan the loss of one of my absolutely favourite docs of the year, Here Come the Videofreex, a tiny analogue-doc about the early days of underground political news reporting. I do see, however, that O.J.: Made in America is indeed on the list, but whether the branch chooses to recognise an eight-hour made-for-television episodic documentary remains to be seen. My thoughts on this are known, but we'll wait and see if the branch take the bait before examining it much further.

For now you can read the full list after the break (with links to reviews).

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Oscar Horrors: The Makeup of "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (1992)

Boo! It's "Oscar Horrors". Each evening we look back on a horror-connected nomination until Halloween. Here's Chris Feil on Bram Stoker's Dracula's makeup...

Bram Stoker's Dracula is as drenched in blood as it is in design excess. Nearly 25 years on, the film is surely one of Francis Ford Coppola's strangest in his filmography. Opulent while utilizing practical effects, the film is smartly-made eye candy that flashes both its brain and budget. Imagine a lavish and gruesome horror film for adults being dropped on today's audiences during the holiday/awards months - stranger yet, imagine it being a hit and nabbing some Oscars too, including for it's makeup design.

Part of the film's goal is establishing a vision somewhat closer to that gothic romance of Bram Stoker's original novel, including that of the titular monster...

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Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Season 2

by Dancin' Dan

Everyone's favorite TV musical comedy is back! Our new team member Jorge Molina recently surveyed 10 key musical numbers from the first season and since several members of The Film Experience are BIG fans, we'll be writing about it each week, sharing the duty pleasure. 

Since we're one week behind, I'll use Nathaniel's patented "Ranking The Crazy" system for the first two episodes. Let's dive right in, shall we?

S2.E1: "Where is Josh's Friend?"
After the events of last season's finale, Josh and Rebecca shack up, but the more Rebecca gets into it, the more wary Josh becomes. Meanwhile, no one has seen Greg in a month, and Paula makes a big decision.

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