AFI World Premiere: "tick, tick... BOOM!"

by Nathaniel R

Tiny gasps and squeals gave way to shrieking and thunderous applause at the world premiere of Lin-Manuel Miranda's directorial debut tick, tick... Boom last night at the AFI Festival. And that was just from one of the numbers. We shan't spoil the surprises but let's just say that if you're a musical theater nut, you won't have a single greater high at the movies this year than during its "Sunday" setpiece. That song by Rent's gone-too-soon composer, Jonathan Larson, is a personalized silly riff on Stephen Sondheim's transcendent song of the same name from Sunday in the Park with George. 

For those who are unfamiliar with "tick, tick... BOOM!" in its original form, it was a rock monologue that Jonathan Larson wrote and performed a few times in the early 90s...

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Spencer: Dressing an Icon

by Cláudio Alves

Spencer is proving itself a divisive picture. Even among The Film Experience team, some hate it, and some love it. Still, reading through plenty of negative reviews, one can find some elements capable of surviving the criticism, joining the two factions of the discourse around Spencer. So far, the costumes seem to be earning quasi-unanimous praise. Two-time Academy Award winner Jacqueline Durran is a beloved artist, capable of facing the challenge of dressing an icon with obstinate virtuosity. Evoking the ghost of Princess Diana, or rather a stylistic impression of her, the designer has created one of the most ravishing wardrobes of the cinematic year, a masterpiece of sartorial indulgence that befits the movie's melodramatic verve…

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TV Review: The Shrink Next Door (Apple TV+)

By: Christopher James

Paul Rudd gets inside Will Ferrell's head and life in Apple TV+'s "The Shrink Next Door."

It’s impossible to resist Paul Rudd, People’s 2021 Sexiest Man Alive. Rudd’s charm has aged as gracefully as his skin, which makes him great casting for the titular role in Apple TV+’s The Shrink Next Door. Co-starring comedy giant Will Ferrell, at first glance it would appear Apple has the makings of an enjoyable watercooler miniseries. Unfortunately, the strong relationship between the actors never pays off with a satisfying or cohesive final product. Don’t come in expecting an Anchorman reunion. This shrink has much more sinister tricks in store.

There have been many stories of therapists overstepping their boundaries with patients. Based on a true story (and the Wondery & Bloomberg podcast of the same name), The Shrink Next Door explores a particularly toxic doctor-patient relationship....

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Happy 25th, Tye Sheridan!

by Nathaniel R

Happy 25th birthday to Tye Sheridan today. He first won critics, audience, and Hollywood's attention as a child star in The Tree of Life (2011) and Mud (2012). Ten years on now he's shown staying power but has Hollywood noticed that he's grown up? Though the media had a brief flirtation with presenting him as a 'sexy' leading man a few years back when Ready Player One (2018) hit the screens, Hollywood is mercilessly competitive; the late 20something through 30something years are often when movie stars are made and Sheridan's particular vintage (1996) is unusually robust with actors like Paul Mescal, Tom Holland, Lucas Hedges, Harris Dickinson, Mason Gooding, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Tony Revolori, Jacob Latimore (and more) already in play. And that's not even counting the actors just a year or two younger or older OR those actors who have yet to emerge since a lot of the biggest stars in history aren't famous at the young age of 25: Brad Pitt broke out at 28. George Clooney didn't start headlining movies until he was 35. Viggo Mortensen was low profile until 39.

Still 2021 has been busy for Sheridan even if his profile is lower than some of his already-established peers...

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What's the average length of a Best Picture?

by Nathaniel R

This is Lawrence of Arabia... not Dune

It's 136 days until the Oscars and 136 is a golden number. It's the average length, in minutes, of a Best Picture Oscar winner. When we first calculated this number over a decade ago 138 was the average but in the past 10 years or so, running times of actual winners have been shaved a bit. Here are the running times of all winnners from longest to shortest. You'll see that the majority of winners are over 2 hours long which has caused no end of padding in "serious" movies but alas, not enough padding for tender buttocks watching interminable movies.

Here are the running times of all winnners from longest to shortest as well as this year's contenders from longest to shortest...

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