Doc Corner: Salomé Jashi’s 'Taming the Garden'

By Glenn Dunks

Streaming now on MUBI.

The notes for Taming the Garden reference Werner Herzog and it’s not hard to see why. The absurd relationship between man and nature is as pivotal to Georgian filmmaker Salomé Jashi’s quiet and observant documentary as it is to so many of Herzog’s.

But Jashi’s film is nonetheless one all its own, blending modesty and spectacle in ways that may have its audience questioning the crux of its narrative just as much as its subjects do. It is the bizarre story of one (unseen) billionaire's efforts to uproot seemingly half of Georgia for his own pet arboreal project. Full of mesmerising static shots as trees are lumbered through the landscape looking like the Ents from Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings movies and where the sight of a 30-metre high tree being shipped over the Black Sea attains a surreal grandeur that belies its otherwise restrained tone.

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Why can't the Oscars love themselves as much as we love the Oscars?

by Nathaniel R

"If you can't love yourself, how the hell you gonna love anybody else?" RuPaul's famous episode ending quote on RuPaul's Drag Race is profundity in silly soundbite form. "Amen!" How different might our current but lifelong Oscars obsession be if the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences took this fact to heart. How much more fun would the annual Oscar circus be if they just learned to love themselves again. For you see, the more they think poorly of themselves, the more we begin to question our own lifelong love for the event. Have we wasted decades of our lives obsessing over this annual holiday/event/ritual? If they no longer feel any love, perhaps we should consider a divorce?

As you may have heard the Oscars will not be airing 8 of their 23 categories LIVE this year, but instead do them an hour before the broadcast and then edit them into the evening...

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The Case for Kristen Stewart Winning the Oscar

By Ben Miller

Kristen Stewart for the Vanity Fair "Hollywood" Issue.

We still have over four weeks to go until the 2021 Oscars ceremony takes place, but the intrigue is beginning to ramp up. When Kristen Stewart’s portrayal of Princess Diana in Spencer was among the nominees, I immediately thought to myself…she could still win the Oscar because....

The Race is Wide-Open

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'The Godfather' returns for its 50th (and a Best Shot episode)

by Nathaniel R

If you haven't yet heard Francis Ford Coppola's classic epic The Godfather has been meticulously restored and is returning to theaters this weekend for its 40th anniversary. They even renamed a street "Francis Ford Coppola Ave" in Hollywood in its honor.

This is as good a time as any to tell you that we'll be doing the film for our Best Shot series. Here's the schedule...

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Winners of the 4th annual Meihodo Festival

by Nathaniel R

You may recall that in January we shared the news that Michael Douglas was the guest of honor at this year's "Meihodo International Youth Visual Media Festival". (That's quite a mouthful of a title to try to say. Perhaps they need an acronym or nickname?) But their core team this year actually had three Oscar winners on it, Douglas, Binoche, and composer Tan Dun. This year the festivalhad 2431 contestants from 110 countries. The winners (which were unfortunately awarded in crypto and NFTs -- agh stop the madness) are after the jump...

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