The Film Experience™ was created by Nathaniel R. All material herein is written by our team. (This site is not for profit but for an expression of love for cinema & adjacent artforms.)
Normally the press release soundbytes involving celebrities being thankful for their nominations are as dull and even more flavorless as an trophy winner reading names from a piece of paper in monotone. It's usually along the lines of "this film is special to us and I am so genuinely grateful. Thank you" So it's worth noting any reactions that display even a little bit of personality or say something more specific. Here are our favorites this year after the jump...
Ten years ago Brokeback Mountain arrived with truly bracing power.
10 years later Brokeback Mountain has lost none of its power
It was the rarest of things: an honest to god "instant classic". The phrase is overused but once in a while hyperbole proves true. The Oscars were stingy with it (just three prizes) but ten years on the film is as sturdy and majestically irreducible as the mountains that haunt the protagonists. When you're watching it you're breathing rarified air - not from the high altitudes of Wyoming but further on up, think cinematic heaven. The invaluable Ang Lee won his first Best Director Oscar for the film and it's easy to see why given the sensitivity of the performances (early career peaks from four promising ascendant stars), the classicism of the filmmaking, and his unshakeable hand as he sutures the neo western to the romantic tragedy with the thread of American masculinity.
I asked our contributors if they had a favorite scene they'd like to share with us and here were their responses.
It's so tough to keep up with other movie stuffs during precursor week. So here are several news items, essays, montages to help up catch us all up. Ready. Set. Go...
NEWS i09 One sorcerer supreme is not enough for Doctor Strange star Benedict Cumberbatch. He's also signed on to play Jasper Maskelyne, a Nazi-fighter War Magician The Wrap Universal's Mummy reboot will swap the gender of the monster. Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: Secret Service) will star Film Stage George Clooney's next directing job is the noir Suburbicon. He's lining up an all star cast and Julianne Moore just joined
Playbill Lee Daniels creating a girl band tv series for Queen Latifah (Empire was such a succcess that there are lot of music industry series about to hit or in development) /Film Ang Lee's Thrilla in Manila, a boxing drama is said to be eyeing Ray Fisher as Muhammad Ali and David Oyelowo as Joe Frazier Guardian looks like it's Idris Elba vs Matthew McConaughey for the upcoming adaptation of Stephen King's Dark Tower
OF INTEREST Film School Rejects has a curious but interesting take on why people need to stop naming Mad Max Fury Road "Best" of the year Film School Rejects on the Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation commentary track Viv & Larry interview with illustrator Alejandro Mogollo Diez who specialize in movie icons MNPP Rob Kazinsky's new tv show has been renamed... but will it help? People really aren't into the Frankenstein myth that much as evidenced at box office Pajiba's review of Joy is getting a lot of traction for its skewering of David O. Russell as a mansplainer of feminism. I suppose I should write about this movie. It's not great but I don't think it's getting a fair shake Comics Alliance Frank Miller is not into Netflix's Daredevil choices
LIST MANIA / AWARDAGE Washington DC Film Critics award Spotlight best pic but give multiple prizes to Room, Mad Max: Fury Road, and The Revenant African American Film Critics Assn give Straight Outta Compton Pic, Ensemble, and Supporting Actor (Jason Mitchell - weirdly ignored by NAACP). Creed wins three prizes including Breakthrough for Michael B Jordan... um, he broke through years ago people! Vulture & Slate both do best TV shows of 2015: Jessica Jones, Mad Men, Jane the Virgin etc The New York Times best theater of 2015: Hamilton, The King and I, Lupita Nyong'o etc
TODAY'S VIEWS If you haven't yet seen these give them a spin. It's David Ehrlich's Top 25 Films of the Year (his editing skills are absurd but so is having Tangerine way down at #24), Channing Tatum saying 8 Hateful things to a kitten "you know what sucks about you, dude. You don't have thumbs" You know what sucks about you, Chan. You're not in nearly enough of The Hateful Eight to make that 182 minu--- oops, embargo.
The shiny round fun began at 8:00 AM for the Globes annual film and television party with the nominees split, sometimes ungracefully, into Comedy/Musical and Drama categories. Except those pesky supporting actors! They have to share everything because who needs character actors (see also rampant category fraud every year plus SAG's unfortunate Ensemble rules) . America Ferrerra, Angela Bassett, Chloe Moretz and Dennis Quaid were on hand to read the nominations aloud.
Ready? Clicking on any of the names or titles will take you to previous articles about them. We are happy to report that director Todd Haynes' latest masterpiece (dude is a genius if you haven't heard) Carol led the nominations with 5 in total.
We're hoping against all hope at TFE HQ that Tangerine will somehow place in the Golden Globe Comedy or Musical categories in the morning. Not only because it's hugely deserving but because wouldn't that be a kick to see Sean Baker, Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor at the Globes? It would take a (good) miracle but we're due one after the (bad) miracles of SAG Nomination Morning, don'cha think? Great movies are their own awards though. So even if it never gets nominated for or wins another prize, cherish it. It's streaming on Netflix so if you haven't yet seen it, invite friends over (comedies are better with a crowd), serve donuts, turn out the lights and be amazed. You WILL have a good time.
The night before the Globe nominations what are you dreaming of and what are YOU predicting. I'll share mine after the jump -- because they're bound to be wrong and who wants that on the main page! -- for you completists...
Thursday, December 10, 2015 at 3:33PM 
