FYC: "Pain and Glory" for Best Cinematography

by Cláudio Alves

Pedro Almodóvar might be known for his brilliant reds, but his latest and most autobiographical film starts in blue. Submerged in blue, as it happens. In the bottom of a swimming pool tiled in shades of cyan, we find our blue-clad protagonist, underwater, pensive as he is enveloped by diluted chlorine and the memories of a distant past. They are remembrances of maternal warmth and white linens drying in the sun, shots so beautiful they seem more real than the present life for which they are prologue. Color theory has its limitations, of course, and Almodóvar's brush is guided more by emotion than by dogmatic rules. José Luis Alcaine's photography follows the same logic…

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38 Days til Oscar. 38 Year-Old Oscar Winners

As we countdown to Oscar we'll try and do daily trivia for you for curiousity, infotainment and merriment. Since today's magic number is 38 and no one has ever been nominated for exactly 38 Oscars, let's talk about actors who won when they were 38 years old. There are only 12 of them. Have any favourite performances from this list?

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Marriage Story: A Personal Reflection

by Cláudio Alves

This awards season has been a curious one. Thanks to Netflix, a handful of heavy contenders were made widely available when, in other years, you'd expect them to be stuck in limited release until late January. Oscar obsessives and film enthusiasts around the world were able to enter a conversation that's usually exclusive to critics and cinephiles from New York and LA. This democratization of film discussion is wonderful, but along with it came some of the internet's worst impulses. I'm talking about memes.

Specifically, I'm talking about the meme-ification of Marriage Story's climactic fight, a moment that made me relieve some of the worst parts of my life…

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Gone but Not Forgotten

We've been remiss of lately marking the passing of showbiz greats and with Oscar night fast approaching and with it another "in memoriam" people we've lost are suddenly in mind. (This time of year is always a major challenge to keep up with given the mania of awards season.) Here are five stars, four of whom became famous right around the same time as each other, that passed away in December.

Let this small remembrance make amends for our lateness in paying tribute...

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A Golden Globes Surprise

by Murtada Elfadl

The Golden Globes are always good for a surprise. Aaron Taylor Johnson winning best supporting actor for Nocturnal Animals (2016). Amy Adams winning for Big Eyes (2014) when everyone expected Emily Blunt to win because she was in a musical; Into the Woods (2014). Just last year Glenn Close winning over Lady Gaga changed the best actress race. 

But perhaps the biggest and happiest surprise was Isabelle Huppert winning best actress in a drama for Elle (2016). That year everyone thought the competition was between Emma Stone for La La Land and Natalie Portman in Jackie. And there they were in separate categories at the Globes and were each expected to win...

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