The PGA goes to 'CODA' but we still have a race and here's why...

by Nathaniel R

CODA is still riding high on that SAG wave but will cresting during Oscar voting give it the win? If it does a LOT of records will be broken. No film since the current slate of categories was in place (many decades now) has managed a Best Picture win with only 3 Oscar nominations. Most film with 12+ Oscar nominations (like The Power of the Dog has) have won more than three Oscars though sometimes they've lost Best Picture (examples include Mary Poppins, The Song of Bernadette, and La La Land) . No films without either a Directing or an Editing nomination (since all the current categories were in place), and CODA has neither has won Best Picture. Finally no film by a streaming company has won Best Picture though this last stat was bound to fall sooner or later and will next Sunday whether CODA or Power of the Dog wins. Unless of course something else entirely surprises. Winners are after the jump...

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Oscar Volley: Can anyone beat Jane Campion? Or, rather, who is in second place?

Team Experience is discussing the various Oscar categories. Here's Mark Brinkerhoff and Timothy Lyons to discuss Best Director

MARK BRINKERHOFF: There's only a few days left of Oscar voting. So, in the spirit of balloting, let’s settle something when in comes to one of this year’s presumably more predictable categories: Best Director. And the 2021 nominees are...

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'Belfast' and 'King Richard' win big at "Movies for Grownups" Awards

by Nathaniel R

Alan Cumming hosts the Movies For Grownups Award © PBS

The AARP 'Movies For Grownups' Awards aired as a special on PBS last night to celebrate their 20th anniversary. Alan Cumming hosted the audience-absent virtual awards with disturbing laugh and applause track.  You can watch it on the PBS site through April 15th. Belfast which had led their nominations won the top prize but they spread the wealth. The only film to win more than one prize was King Richard (Actor & Supporting Actress). You have to be 50+ to be eligible for their prizes which is why some of the biggest Oscar contenders are absent.

Winners and comments and a few pics from acceptance speeches are after the jump...

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Review: the relatable, surreal 'Turning Red'

by Lynn Lee

All images in this post are from Turning Red © Disney/Pixar

Here are some things I never thought I’d see in a Disney animated movie:

-unleashed adolescent female desire, front and center (here metaphorically represented by a red panda)

-matter-of-fact references to menstruation (even though it’s also metaphorically represented, or rather superseded, by the red panda)

-a boy band and Tamagotchis (remember those?) as major plot drivers...

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SXSW: Lily Gladstone in ‘The Unknown Country’

By Abe Friedtanzer

It’s a rare occasion when a film ends up being more interesting than it sounds. The official synopsis for The Unknown Country, which is screening in the Visions program at SXSW and includes “experimental” and “hybrid” in its list of genres, describes a “largely solitary journey with an unknown destination.” But that’s merely a comment on the geographical nature of the trip its protagonist, Tana (Lily Gladstone) is on, and this film does manage to successfully blend together a number of styles for an intoxicating and positively disorienting experience… 

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