Review: Red Sparrow

by Eric Blume

The Russian Tourism Board won’t likely be sponsoring the film Red Sparrow, the new spy movie from Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence.  Other than featuring some very chic ushankas on a very attractive cast, this film makes Russians look very nasty, just like we’ve always imagined them to be for the movies.  Lawrence’s conception of the country illustrates his wonderfully corny, often thrilling, mysterious, and silly/serious approach into old-fashioned espionage that we don’t see much of nowadays.

Lawrence starts his film where he should:  firmly on the face of his leading lady, Jennifer Lawrence, sporting a bangs-heavy brown wig.  She’s a famous ballet dancer in Moscow, and the director steals a bit of the feverish tone of Black Swan in her early scenes.  The plot unravels in a series of crosses, double-crosses, and reverses that include her involvement with a US spy played by Joel Edgerton...

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Final Oscar Predictions

A shorter version of this article was originally shared on Towleroad

With the 90th Academy Awards coming tomorrow another tradition must precede it:  predicting the Oscar winners! If you're a frequent reader of The Film Experience, you've probably been following this race for an entire year and now it's about to end. Those who only follow in the last month have a lot of catching up to do (I have a friend here in NYC doing that Best Picture marathon -- all nine movies).  If you'd like to keep up more emphatically next year please sign up for our mailing list as we will begin weekly newsletters shortly after the Oscars with exclusive content.

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But this season's race ends Sunday night. Hopefully without a snafu on the epic scale of last year’s Envelope Gate when La La Land was read out as Best Picture when Moonlight had actually won. Can you believe that Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway are returning for a do over? (Or do you think that news is smoke and mirrors to hide another surprise in store?)

I am sad to share that there’s a possibility that all of the best “Best Pictures” (Get Out, Lady Bird, and Call Me By Your Name) go home empty-handed but what else is new? Not to be pessimistic but Oscar night is often a come down from the multiple-winners joy of nomination morning. Or to quote the great Stephen McKinley Henderson in Lady Bird...

The high probability of wins you don't like is why you should always attend or throw a fun Oscar party and try not to take it too seriously. Enjoy the gowns and the speeches and celebrate every film and celebrity you love as they're paraded before you on Hollywood's High Holy Night. 

Let’s call each individual Oscar race after the jump. Links will take you to the Oscar chart in question...

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"BPM" takes the César

by Nathaniel R

Nahuel Perez Biscayart (pictured in BPM and AU REVOIR LA HAUT) can't get out sick beds!

So much awardage being crammed in before the Oscars. In addition to the Spirits, the French César Awards were just held where, as expected, BPM took six trophies including Best Film and Best Male Newcomer for its terrific leading man, the Argentine born actor Nahuel Pérez Biscayart. BPM apparently had tough competition, though, from Albert Dupontel's Au revoir Là-Haut (the English title will maybe be See You Up There) which also stars Biscayart! He's having quite a year...

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RPDR All Stars 3: E6 - Fuck My Drag Race, Right?

by Chris Feil

Last week on RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, we were teased that the Handmaid’s revenge twist was finally upon us. Unfortunately this week proved all that build up to the queens returning only brought more of this season’s weak impulses: ignoring the talent and personal stories in favor of going whole hog on dramatics. It’s the rare episode where every queen does well, and yet that goes unacknowledged. It feels so far away from the show we all fell in love with.

For the return, both batches of queens are tasked with auditioning for Ru’s new Spice Girls-inspired Kitty Girls with original songs, characters, and choreography. Before the queens could get into the challenge, they unpacked all of their grievances around the workroom table...

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Spirit Award Winners

by Nathaniel R

Get Out won Feature and Director at the Spirit Awards (but no other prizes)

The headline prizes
BEST FEATURE "Get Out"
BEST FEMALE LEAD Frances McDormand “Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri”
BEST MALE LEAD Timothée Chalamet “Call Me by Your Name”
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE Allison Janney “I, Tonya”
BEST SUPPORTING MALE Sam Rockwell “Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri”
BEST DIRECTOR Jordan Peele “Get Out”
BEST SCREENPLAY Greta Gerwig “Lady Bird”

It says a lot about the intrinsic problems of awards season and rampant conformity that even at the Spirits they aren't willing to budge from the Oscar frontrunners, except when they're forced to (Gary Oldman wasn't eligible here so we happily get one big Timothée win)...

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