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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.)

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Sunday
Jan072018

Poker with Molly & Wrestling with Brie -- onward to the Globes!

by Nathaniel R

A silly and serious Globes preamble. We won't be live-blogging the Globes tonight though we'll do as much as possible tomorrow for a recap so until then one serious thought and two silly ones. We're heading into an unusual season when Hollywood is in a very serious mood due to the sexual harassment scandals. Awards shows aren't all that well-equipped to be serious as their format is inherently celebratory and "fun". That comes partially from the practice of comedians as hosts but it's there in the basic DNA since each awards night is a long and glitzy  'you get a prize and you get a prize and you get a prize' parade of the rich and beautiful and famous. In times when Hollywood curtails the glamour to address a serious crisis (like a new war for example or the lack of gender parity in Hollywood) it can come across as merely glum. It's as if the entertainment industry has crises of identity whenever they think people don't want escapist diversions but direct addresses to their ills.

Our theory is that people actually want both (which is why we try to balance the fun and the serious here in film conversations) and the celebrities that are best equipped to actually deal with tonight's mood are probably the celebrities who are inherently "fun" but can also turn deadly serious without feeling like a buzzkill. Or, in other words: Meryl Streep. Rescue us Meryl.

One area we know will be atypical (at least) is the red carpet...

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Sunday
Jan072018

Box Office: Jumanji, Tonya, and the Oscar waiting game

by Nathaniel R

Weekend Box Office (Jan 5th-7th)
W I D E
800+ screens
L I M I T E D
excluding prev. wide
1. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle  $36 (cum. $244.3)
1.๐Ÿ”บ I Tonya $2.4 on 242 screens (cum. $5.2)  REVIEW | GLOBE SURPRISE? 
2. ๐Ÿ”บ  Insidious The Last Key $29.2 (cum. $212.1)  2.๐Ÿ”บ The Post $1.7 on 36 screens (cum. $3.8) REVIEW | OSCAR KICK-OFF PODCAST
3. The Last Jedi $23.5 (cum. $572.5) LYNN'S REVIEW | NATHANIEL'S TAKE
3. Call Me By... $758k on 117 screens (cum. $6) REVIEWISHSCREENPLAY | SEX
4. The Greatest Showman $13.8 (cum. $75.9) REVIEW | ZAC ATTACK | ZENDAYA 4.๐Ÿ”บ Hostiles $310k on 46 screens (cum. $435k)
5. Pitch Perfect 3 $10.2 (cum. $85.9) REVIEW
5.๐Ÿ”บ Along with the Gods $280k on 35 screens ($1.1)

 

One thing that we're always forcefully reminded of each holiday season -- since we tend to forget -- is that the whole world is not, in point of fact, thinking about Oscar buzz. Each year countless films casually ring up rather large box office returns without generating any "heat" in award season and some not even being part of that game. Insidious for example had the weekend to itself in terms of new wide releases and was rewarded for it. The Greatest Showman, is another one that isn't really banking on Oscar love. The musical's global gross has already doubled its budget (though given the P&A expenditures it's probably got some ways to go before a profit still)...

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Sunday
Jan072018

Happy Golden Globe Sunday, Everyone! 

By Spencer Coile 

It's like Christmas is here once again! Finish your predictions, enjoy the festivities, and celebrate your favorites. We hope you all love tonight as profoundly as Laurie Metcalf and Saorise Ronan love each other. 

Sunday
Jan072018

Tweetweek. Calm Before Globes Storm

In this weekend's very short tweet roundup: Jessica Chastain, Michelle Pfeiffer, Lady Bird, Noah Baumbach, and much more... 

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Saturday
Jan062018

Globe Predictions Anyone?

by Nathaniel R

A few days back David Poland asked the Gurus of Gold to predict the Globes and I became obsessed with the notion that I, Tonya would be the surprise heavyweight. I was pretty much alone in that with nearly the entire group thinking Lady Bird's got this in the bag (a couple of people think Get Out). I think my I Tonya prediction was more a product of my fear since the wildly positive response to the movie surprised me and sent me back for a second viewing which only strengthened my resolve that it's a) not good and b) highly problematic...

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