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Wednesday
Dec182019

50th Anniversary: "Anne of the Thousand Days"

Anne of a Thousand Days (1969) was released 50 years ago today.

by Cláudio Alves

Even before her famous death, Anne Boleyn had become a legend. I don't say this to aggrandize the historical figure, but to explain that the second wife of Henry VIII had transformed into something not quite human. Legends aren't people so much as abstractions of them, told and retold, morphed by cultural shifts and the interest of those who tell them. 

With the birth of cinema, Anne Boleyn would come to be one of the stalwarts of the historical drama on the big screen. Unfortunately, the cycles of empty mythologizing wouldn't end with the advent of new technology. As a character, Anne Boleyn is more often than not a symbol. She's a monstrous harpy or she's a martyred victim, she's a seductress who brought disgrace upon herself or she's an icon who died at the hands of a perfidious tyrant. Even on the rare instance when she gets to be protagonist, rather than a supporting player in another's tale, she's not allowed to be a person with a full characterization. For what it's worth, 1969's Anne of the Thousand Days, at least, tries to do right by Anne Boleyn.

I'm unsure if this is the filmmaker's doing or the singular feat of Geneviève Bujold...

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Wednesday
Dec182019

Soundtracking: The 2019 Oscar Original Song Bake-Off

by Chris Feil

One of the biggest headlines among the Monday release of Oscar's shortlists among nine categories was a popstar omission from the season's splashiest musical. Yes, it turns out Taylor Swift will have to wait to lift up to Oscar's Heaviside Layer as "Beautiful Ghosts" (the original track she cowrote with Andrew Lloyd Webber from Cats) was left off the list of songs that will advance towards hopeful nominations. But perhaps "Ghosts" is a strong reminder that these days doesn't clear the runway for popstars or new songs for preexisting musicals as easily as we might expect.

But among the lineup of hopefuls are films huge and small, expected names and a few genuine surprises - and it may be a more competitive field than originally expected. Let's run down the fifteen songs that did make the lineup and their chances at a nomination...

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Tuesday
Dec172019

Renee Zellweger Will Be A Worthy Oscar Winner

by Murtada Elfadl

When a performance becomes an undeniable front runner for awards, sometimes the chatter becomes all about that and we lose a sense of why it became a juggernaut in the first place. January promises to be full of trips to podiums at awards shows for Renee Zellweger as Judy. However before we start analyzing the speeches, let’s take a look back at the the performance itself. A merging of three aspects, Zellweger’s performance is deserving of accolades...

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Tuesday
Dec172019

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Season 3 

By Spencer Coile

Look out, world! Midge Maisel is growing up! At least, season 3 of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel would like you to believe that. Balancing an impending divorce and a cross-country comedy tour, our plucky heroine (Rachel Brosnahan) is back for another season. With her manager Susie (Alex Borstein) in tow, not to mention her disapproving parents (Tony Shalhoub and Marin Hinkle) breathing down her neck, Midge definitely has something to prove. But to whom? 

Known for her rat-a-tat tight dialogue and snappy performances, Amy Sherman-Palladino has cornered the market on a very particular style of sitcom; one that is simultaneously cozy and overstuffed. Packed to the brim with supporting characters and elaborate set pieces, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is bursting at the seams with potential - for growth, for progress. But like any series that had a stellar first season and a somewhat middling second, season three has to make a choice: change with the times or remain stagnant… 

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Tuesday
Dec172019

Review: A Hidden Life

by Cláudio Alves

Though I'm an atheist, I've long been fascinated with stories of faith and spirituality. When it comes to cinema, this is especially true. It's difficult to not be drawn to Bergman's reveries about a cruel God, Dreyer's religious ardor or Bresson's catholic severity. They move and engage, they challenge and inspire, even when the viewer doesn't believe in the cosmic orders they take for granted. Terrence Malick is a good name to add to that list. After all, the Philosophy professor turned filmmaker has dedicated much of his career to the transmutation of the soul into film. He creates spiritual odysseys out of light and color, intuitive editing and ephemerous scripts, star-studded casts and beautiful cinematography.

His style is so specific it's become prone to parody and his self-important themes can feel alienating. A Hidden Life exemplifies all of this to the extreme and, in some ways, it seems to announce itself as the ultimate Terrence Malick project…

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