Oscar Narrows the Documentary Feature Field

Chris here, with more Oscar bake off lists. Today we have the 15 films advancing in the Documentary Feature race, many of which we have covered here at The Film Experience in Glenn's column Doc Corner. The eventual lineup could include two recent Honorary Oscar winners: Frederick Wiseman (Ex Libris: New York Public Library) and Agnès Varda (Faces Places, with JR), neither of who had ever been nominated in the category. Al Gore could be returning to the Oscars, as the follow-up to winning climate change doc An Inconvenient Truth has also advanced. Take a look at the rest of the list:

• Abacus: Small Enough to Jail
• Chasing Coral
• City of Ghosts
• Ex Libris: New York Public Library
• Faces Places
• Human Flow
• Icarus
• An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power
• Jane
• LA 92
• Last Man in Aleppo
• Long Strage Trip
• One of Us
• Strong Island
• Unrest

Some beloved players that missed the lineup include Kedi, Whose Streets?, Dawson City: Frozen Time, and Casting JonBenet to just name a few. Jane, featuring recently rediscovered footage from Jane Goodall's study of apes, might be the early frontrunner thanks to a few wins with NBR and Critics Choice. Oscar Chart here!

The New York Times' Great Performers' Shorts, Ranked

by Ilich Mejia

Every year, The New York Times Magazine picks their greatest performers of the year. This year's top ten each got to star in their own silent, "Horror Show" themed short. Italian-Canadian photographer Floria Sigismondi directed the group as characters that wouldn't be out of place in Beyoncé's haunted house. Hopefully next year, the magazine will branch out and recognize some of television's equally terrific performances. Check out the spooky standouts after the cut...

Click to read more ...

AFI Top Ten: No "Coco", Yes "Wonder Woman"

Consensus is a funny thing. And a boring one. But when mostly good art is honored you can't complain too much.  The American Film Insitute has announced its top ten of the year list which is identical to the Best Picture list offered up by the BFCA via the Critics Choice Awards. Well, as identical as it could be given one eligibility issue...

They are 

• The Big Sick
• Call Me By Your Name
• Dunkirk
• The Florida Project...

Click to read more ...

47 days til Oscar nominations and I'm feeling a bit morbid...

by Nathaniel R

Edith Piaf and Judy GarlandPerhaps it was those uninspired Critics Choice nominations? Perhaps it's no critical year-end love for La Pfeiffer in her comeback year? Perhaps it was my anti-depressant prescription running out with no health insurance to renew it with? Or, probably, it's the generally miserable state of the world in which things are so dire that we're watching a kleptocracy filled with proud sexual predators, treasonous pathological liars, greedy overlord billionaires, fact-averse idiots, and blatantly sociopathic racists amass power at a record pace, dooming future generations to have it much much worse than we even do now? Meanwhile the good people of the world stare in disbelief whilst fighting amongst themselves for any number of reasons but the largest, we suspect, is a feeling of impotence against the actual enemies.

But since I was feeling terrible all day whilst trying to come up with our habitual trivia fun with numbers as we countdown, I kept remembering that Judy Garland died when she was just 47. (I'm working my way to a non-morbid point after the hand-wringing...)

Click to read more ...

FYC: Christine Baranski in "A Bad Moms Christmas"

By Spencer Coile 

As this year's Oscar race heats up, two performances appear to be our Supporting Actress frontrunners: Allison Janney in I, Tonya and Laurie Metcalf in Lady Bird. These two veterans share more in common than scene-stealing roles in their respective films. They are each renowned television actresses (with 13 Emmy nominations and 10 wins between the two of them). With careers spanning decades and their biggest success arguably coming from TV, there is something deeply satisfying about seeing these two respected television actresses be paid their dues for film as well.

That said, there is another 2017 performance in the same vein that merits some discussion: Christine Baranski in A Bad Moms Christmas... 

Click to read more ...