Indie Spirit Revue: "Good One"

by Nick Taylor

Good One is maybe my favorite film of the seven "Firsts" nominated at the Indie Spirits. India Donaldson's story of high school senior Sam (Lily Collias) going on an annual weekend camping trip in the Catskills with her dad, Chris (James LeGros), and his friend Matt (Danny McCarthy) could not be simpler to summarize. Yet, the wrinkles and intrigue she's put into this premise - both men are in their 50's, Chris is on his second marriage with a new baby at home while Matt is currently working through divorce proceedings - are thoughtfully integrated. We briefly meet friends and family of the soon-to-be-departed, and off we go…

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MONSTRO BEST ACTRESS - Vote Daily!

by Nathaniel R

THE SUBSTANCE

We’re updating all Oscar charts this weekend (if we can manage) and of course we start by spotlighting Best Actress, the category we live for as actressexuals. As is silly tradition, we like to mush all the contenders together and see what we’ve got. A unique caveat: it feels a little weird to play this game in a year where one of the nominees comes from a movie that does create a creature, “Monstro Elisasue”, by fusing women together. ANYWAY… If you stitch all of this season’s Best Actresses together your Bride of Frankenstein beauty is a 47 year old raven-haired American actress (with family ties to the UK and Brazil) enjoying her first ever nomination. Read on for more craziness...

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Paul Newman @ 100: "Sometimes a Great Notion"

By Ben Miller

Whatever your feelings of Paul Newman as an actor, movie star, matinee idol or philanthropist, his directorial achievements are never high up on the list. Who's to say why he only directed five feature films in his distinguished career? In the case of Sometimes a Great Notion, it was out of necessity.

While signing on as star and producer of the adaptation of the Ken Kesey novel, original director Richard A. Colla left due to the classic "artistic differences" clash. Whether it was Newman or someone higher up, Newman attempted to recruit longtime collaborator George Roy Hill, who declined. With no other options, Newman took on the job himself...

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Team Experience Oscar Prediction: Final Scores

by Cláudio Alves

No one predicted I'M STILL HERE in Best Picture. | © Sony Pictures Classics

We're still reeling from this morning's Oscar nominations announcement but it's time to check predictions and assess the numbers. Like last year, various members of the Team Experience put forward their best guesses. While the point of this exercise is to see how different folks see the race, it's also a little competition of sorts, with a pundit ranking at the end. Overall, our collection of writers did better than last year, averaging a 75% success rate when excluding those tricky short film categories. These predictions also help us grasp what the day's big surprises truly were, both in terms of shocking selections or notorious snubs. Without further ado, here's the final score…

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Some Positive Thoughts on Our Oscar Nominees...

by Eric Blume

EMILIA PÉREZ | © Netflix

Each Oscar nomination morning, there’s always that moment of sadness or anger over our favorites being left out of the race.  It’s part of the fun of the awards season really…righteous indignation feels damn good!  And I’m sure, for all of you, this year was no exception.  There’s always something to gripe about on how the Academy did someone dirty, or how they’re sheep about following the trends, etc.

BUT, let’s have some fun and look at some of the positive things about this year’s nominees…

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