Review: Isabelle Fuhrman Is Back and Bigger Than Ever In The Camp Blast Of "Orphan: First Kill"

by Jason Adams

Like how The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was really about Vietnam, they say horror movies reflect the big anxieties of their times. And the Orphan franchise -- which I can giddily now call a "franchise" thanks to the gleefully ridiculous sequel Orphan: First Kill hitting Paramount+ this weekend -- is like a dollop of arsenic foamed across the surface of our collective pumpkin-spice latte fetish. In other words, it's a poison dart tossed straight at Big Mommy Blog to puncture the heart of the Social Media Wellness Cult. The diabolical Esther (played to utter perfection by Isabelle Fuhrman again) is a sweet-faced and ribbon-laced Trojan Horse sneaked onto your curated feed and set to blow up your pretty pictures from the inside out. She's Bo Burnham's "White Woman's Instagram" song plucked by ice pick across harp string.

But first, let's step back. (And yes this review will spoil the big surprise of the original film -- it's been thirteen years after all.) The first Orphan came out in 2009 and into the home of Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard...

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Doc Corner: Bowie and 'Moonage Daydream' at Melbourne International Film Festival

By Glenn Dunks

Moonage Daydream is unlike any other Brett Morgen film. If you expected the same stately warmth that imbued Jane or even a tragic rock and roll epitaph like Cobain: Montage of Heck, then you would be wrong. This is evident immediately into its 140-minute runtime, beginning as it does with not just any David Bowie song, but the (incredible, it must be noted) Pet Shop Boys remix of “Hallo Spaceboy” from 1996. I love a bit of trolling the rock crowd, so I was instantly on board. The mere inclusion of this song—to say nothing of the kaleidoscopic, tie-dyed montage that accompanies it—keyed me in that Morgen wasn’t just going to do what a Bowie fan may expect from a biography documentary.

These high-octane opening minutes don’t exactly let up, either. Moonage Daydream is a work of documentary that is almost as exhausting as it is exhilarating.

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Emmy Category Analysis: Contemporary Costumes

by Cláudio Alves

Unlike at the Oscars, contemporary costume design is regularly recognized by the Emmys. That's what happens when you have over one hundred categories, including separate prizes for costumes, depending on the type of narrative. This specific award has only existed since 2015, and so far, no show has won it twice, making for a nice reprieve from the TV Academy's usual allergy to spreading the wealth. Indeed, none of this year's nominees is a previous victor, though half of them have competed before. 

Usually, new programs have an advantage but never discount the power of a sweep – Schitt's Creek won on its second try as part of its final season's Emmy dominance. In other words, as with other categories, The White Lotus is well positioned to take home the gold…

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"The Batman" leads the 2022 Saturn Award Nominations

by Nathaniel R

Nominations have been announced for the 50th annual Saturn Awards, which honor genre films and television. This year's nomination leader is The Batman (2022) though Nightmare Alley (2021) also showed up in a lot of places. While the Saturns have often made questionable choices in the past their expanded nominee lists these days -- divvying things up into even more subdivisions and then giving each category six or seven nomines prevent us from really having much to say about them since they nominate everything now, case in point the first category after the jump... 

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"Heartstopper" and "Yellowjackets" take the Dorian Awards

by Nathaniel R

The 14th annual Dorian Award TV winners have been announced. Mike White's anthology series The White Lotus and Showtime's unnerving but supremely watchable Yellowjackets picked up the most prizes (2 each) while Netflix's high school romance Heartstopper was named the best LGBTQ show. GALECA, the organization behind the Dorian Awards, is comprised of 360 LGBTQ+ entertainment journalists across the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK. (As you know a few members of Team Experience are in this organization.)

After the jump the winners for the TV season (the film nominations run on the calendar year like the Oscars and will be announced in January)...

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