Almost There: Melanie Griffith in "Something Wild"

by Cláudio Alves

The 59th Academy Awards showcased a rare variety of genres in its acting honors. Usually, AMPAS restricts itself to prestige dramas, but they were atypically adventurous in 1986. Best Actress alone featured a sci-fi action epic, nostalgic time-travel fantasy, a black comedy on themes of suicide and murder, trashy neo-noir, and, of course, the respectable adaptation of a dramatic play. It's a pity that, amid all this, there wasn't space for some lighthearted romantic comedy. No matter how popular it is, it seems that genre always has some difficulty getting into the awards conversation. As for the 1986 crop of romcoms, none feels more like an "Almost There" case than Jonathan Demme's Something Wild. While arguments could be made for all its principal players, we shall focus on the picture's beguiling leading lady, Melanie Griffith…

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Yes No Maybe So: Spider-Man No Way Home

Hello, Peter! The internet has gone stark raving mad dissecting the first trailer for Spider-Man No Way Home, for easter eggs. We're less interested in trying to figure it out (we like to be surprised!) and more in what it's promising us. The familiar Tom Holland/Zendaya chemistry, mystical mayhem courtesy of Doctor Strange, and an attempt to relive the glory days of Sam Raimi's original Spidey trilogy (2002-2007).

We're in but let's do the Yes No Maybe So™ as we watch the trailer together after the jump...

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Gay Best Friend: Bernstein (Antonio Fargas) in "Next Stop Greenwich Village" (1976)

 A series by Christopher James looking at the 'Gay Best Friend' trope

Look past the early "Chris" Walken appearance, Bernstein (Antonio Fargas - center) is the subject of this week's Gay Best Friend column.

Flying the nest can be simultaneously liberating and horrifying. On one hand, you have all this freedom to do what you want, when you want. Unfortunately, you have to learn how to take care of yourself and be self-sufficient. For those with tight knit families or over-involved parents, the horrifying can outweigh the liberating.

Next Stop, Greenwich Village laser focuses on the growing pains in this transition. The year is 1953. Larry Lapinski (Lenny Baker) leaves his parents’ home in Brooklyn to chase his dreams of stardom. His Mother, Fay (Shelley Winters), is utterly distraught and inconsolable. The umbilical cord is only hurt, not severed though. Larry's mother bursts in to his new life at the most inopportune times.  This column isn’t about Shelley Winters though, as much as it should be. Larry makes a variety of friends in Greenwich Village, one of which is Bernstein, played by Antonio Fargas, our gay best friend of the week...

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Category Analysis: Was It Kathryn Hahn All Along in Limited Supporting Actress?

Team Experience takes a look at the episode submissions for Emmy categories. 

Who will win Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie?

By: Christopher James

It was Agatha All Along! Or was it?

There are several high profile performances nominated this year in the Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie category. Pairs of Hamilton and Mare of Easttown women fill up a majority of the lineup. Additionally, character actress extraordinaire Kathryn Hahn finally got a major chance to shine in Disney+’s hit WandaVision. Rounding it out is a surprise nominee - Moses Ingram - from last fall’s water cooler hit The Queen’s Gambit. It’ll be a real race for the win. Let’s take a look at the nominees...

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Jean Harlow on Criterion

by Cláudio Alves

During the past years, the Criterion Channel has highlighted the careers of many Old Hollywood stars. After Carole Lombard, Mae West, Joan Crawford, Jean Arthur, Rita Hayworth, and many more, it's time to celebrate Jean Harlow. In this case, the selection of titles entices because of how encompassing it is. The Criterion Channel presents 14 films, every feature the starlet did while on contract with MGM, from 1932 to her untimely death in 1937. By watching these works, one can get a good sense of Harlow's meteoric rise, how her persona evolved, how it changed to accommodate personal and physical transformations, a transfiguration of industry ideals and popular tastes. Furthermore, the movies showcase other great stars and the work of such vital 1930s screenwriters as Anita Loos and Dorothy Parker. It's a perfect treasure trove of Old Hollywood moviemaking, history, and scandal…

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