Interview: Sadie Sink on Her Powerhouse Performance in ‘The Whale’

By Abe Friedtanzer

Despite early buzz from fall festivals, The Whale has not turned out to be a slam-dunk awards season player. After being shut out by the Independent Spirit Awards, star Brendan Fraser has earned nominations from most other awards bodies, with supporting actress Hong Chau and playwright/screenwriter Samuel D. Hunter also picking up bids along the way. There are those who say that the film and Fraser’s performance are manipulative and highly overrated, but I’m firmly in the opposite camp;  I think The Whale is the best film of 2022.

Fraser and Chau aren’t the only ones who turn in tremendous performances. As Ellie, the daughter of Fraser’s Charlie, Sadie Sink bursts in with anger to confront a father who has never been there for her but, at this moment, seems deeply interested in her happiness. Sink was already the best thing about season four of Stranger Things, and it’s wonderful to see her deliver so well in a role like this...

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Best International Film Reviews: Lebanon, Montenegro, and Morocco

by Cláudio Alves

We're just a few days away from the Academy's announcement of the shortlists in various categories, including Best International Film. And yet, our travels through the 93 submissions for the 95th Academy Awards continue unabated. This time, let's look toward the Mediterranean, a great sea whose coastline encompasses three continents. Sadly, only one of those is guaranteed representation in the shortlist, AMPAS' European bias forever hurting whatever diversifying objectives the institution might have. Here, however, such biases will be put aside, with one film from each continent composing this Mediterranean face-off. Consider a Lebanese memory box, a Montenegrin elegy, and a Moroccan caftan…

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"Bardo" is a Gorgeously Shot Mixed Bag

by Eurocheese

Alejandro González Iñárritu’s latest film, Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, is a film overflowing with powerful images, half-told stories and vignettes that delve into very personal material. The film is not always coherent, and not everything works, but it is a mixed bag that offers enough rewards to make it worth a recommendation. The viewer’s mileage will vary, and as one might expect based on the early review, it will definitely not be for everyone. 

Bardo sets its tone right off the bat with multiple disorienting sequences out of context, letting the audience know that accessibility will not be a top priority. One consistent throughline  though, is its visual splendor. Netflix has been delivering some of the most beautiful imagery onscreens this year (Glass Onion and Pinocchio jump to mind), and this film bathes us in oceanic blues and city lights. It also highlights the beauty of Mexico while simultaneously focusing on its shortcomings, an internal struggle for the protagonist, whose national identity is among his many crises. If you’re going to have an emotional breakdown, why not do it while you’re surrounded by lush landscapes?

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Doc Corner: A to Z of the Longlist (Part 1)

By Glenn Dunks

I have been inconsistent with Doc Corner this year. Various reasons including (finally) a year outside of lockdowns, day jobs, and — as of recently — a need to prioritize movies so that I could submit my Golden Globes ballot. Now that that is done, back to normal. For now, a bit of catch-up. Using the recently announced list of 144 eligible docs, let's look at a few titles The Film Experience has missed full reviews on. Beginning on the rooftops of New Delhi, to a humble balcony in Poland, and a village high in the Vietnamese mountains—All That Breaths, The Balcony Movie and Children of the Mist...

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Chicago, Phoenix, and Boston online critics agree...

by Nathaniel R

We've reached the portion of film critics awards season where the groupthink is really kicking in despite a plethora of options avaiable to voters. I don't blame the critics groups so much as the process. Critics groups tend to be a lot more interesting if they all vote in a room together on winners (where they can discuss) than they do when they name nominations and do simple vote counts... you're bound to end up less adventurous with the second system. There is shockingly little variation in the winners from Chicago, Boston (Online) and Phoenix. The three latest groups to announce have the exact same winners for Picture (Banshees) Director (EEAAO), Actress (Blanchett), Supporting Actor (Ke Huy Quan), Screenplay (Banshees), Score (Babylon), and Animated Feature (Pinocchio). There is no single category in which all three groups have a different winner....

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