Review: the sprawling staccato "Eternals"

by Nathaniel R

Why am I here? What is my purpose? Who am I… really? These are essential questions in life and if you stop to think about it, they’re also the backbone of practically every superhero origin story. A hero discovers their gift. Grapples with how to use it and what kind of person they are and what kind of hero they can be.  With great power comes great responsibility. Etcetera. The reaction to Marvel’s Eternals suggests that it’s the first “spiritual” or “existential” superhero film which is, quite frankly, the opposite of the truth. 

Where did this impression come from? Perhaps it’s only that most superhero films asks these questions in a less “I’m asking these questions!” kind of way. Or, even when they're obvious about the questions, they quickly jump back into the action setpieces. Eternals wants to be more of a sober meditation but it can’t reconcile the weightiness of contemplation with the weightlessness of frequent CGI action setpieces...

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"Nitram" leads the AACTA Nominations

by Travis Cragg

Controversial character study Nitram, which you'll remember took the Best Actor prize at Cannes, leads the pack for this year’s Australian Academy Cinema Television Arts (AACTA) awards with 15 nominations. The nominations were drawn from a list of 33 official submissions, and they honour Australian film (and television and digital entertainment) performances and technical achievements. 

The complete list of nominees, plus trivia and a couple of opinions, is after the jump…

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Will black-and-white dominate Best Cinematography?

by Cláudio Alves

I don't know about you, but I love how démodé film styles are slowly making a comeback. Black-and-white cinematography and Academy aspect ratio, for instance, have become something of a fad. I'd love for it to persist until the techniques go beyond boutique indie distributors and prestige awards bait, returning, at long last, to the forefront of mainstream moviemaking. Sure, it's a bit of a pipe dream, but one can hope. At the very least, AMPAS is enamored by the trend. Their last Best Cinematography winner, Mank, was in silvery monochrome and, for the past three years, there's been at least one black-and-white film nominated in the category. Considering the prominent contenders of the season, this year will surely prolong the tendency.

Indeed, we might even have a majority of black-and-white movies in the Best Cinematography lineup. Don't believe it? Check this out… 

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Would you rather?

(Our intermittent excuse to share instagrams we liked)
Would you rather?

• Hit the hot tub with Dolly Parton?
• Eat pasta (correctly) with Jessica Chastain?
• Have a slice with Lee Pace?
• Take a break with Gal Gadot & Kristen Wiig?
• Reenact the "Waterfalls" video with Laverne Cox and Peppermint?
• Pick pumpkins with Hugh Dancy?

Pictures are after the jump to help you decide...

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Review: For all its artful presentation, "Spencer" is a misfire

by Nathaniel R

A woman driving alone stops at a diner along the road to ask directions. She’s lost which is as common a problem as it gets. In any usual circumstance this would go unnoticed by other patrons but this is not a usual circumstance and this woman is far from common, and no Commoner at that. The whole room stops to gawk at her. This clever gambit early in Spencer sets Princess Diana (Kristen Stewart) immediately apart from humanity. A elegant but sterile aerial shot from the gifted cinematographer Claire Mathon (Portrait of a Lady on Fire) futher isolates her when she reaches that destination. She’s just a tiny figure about to be swallowed up in an imposing estate (Sandringham House, to be exact).

While the opening scenes of Spencer are promising and mobile, and the craft of the filmmaking as rich as you’d expect from the Chilean master Pablo Larraín, Spencer stops abruptly in its tracks at the estate...

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