BAFTA predictions? Why not!

by Nathaniel R

Rather famously the BAFTAs did a gigantic overhaul of their nomination process to insure gender parity and diversity in their nominations. Many of the individual category nominations were decided by tiny juries. But for the winners the whole voting body will vote. Given that the nominations themselves were impossible to foresee perhaps the winners will be too? So lets just try our hand at divining what might come to pass.

FILM

• The Father
• The Mauritanian
• Nomadland
• Promising Young Woman
• The Trial of the Chicago 7

WILL WIN: This is actually a tough call. BAFTA has disagreed with Oscar more than we commonly think for the top category...

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Links: Multiple Sherlock Holmes, Change in Oscar Venue, and more...

• Crime Reads an amazing piece ranking the 100 best, strangest, and worst portrayals of Sherlock Holmes. I LOL'ed several times. 
• Deadline icymi the Visual Effects Society awards were held. The Midnight Sky, The Mandalorian, Project Power, Lovecraft Country, and Soul were all winners
• Variety on the absence of Latinos at the Oscars. Rosie Perez speaks out about never being asked back. And she's not even talking about being nominated again.

“Not even to sit in the audience, not to present, nothing—and I’m a member. I love the Academy Awards. I cheer on my peers, but it hurts. It’s like when your home team doesn’t ask you to come back into the stadium after you got up to bat and hit the home run.”

More after the jump including Los Angeles streets during Oscar week, Youn Yuh-jung, Queer as Folk, and more...

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Review: "Thunder Force" (Netflix)

by Christopher James

Longtime friends McCarthy and Spencer in "Thunder Force."Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer are already acting superheroes. Over their long careers, they’ve stolen scenes from the best, been nominated for Oscars (with Spencer winning in 2011), and headlined comedy, drama and horror films. There’s nothing these women can’t do… until now. Thunder Force is their kryptonite. There’s no superpower in their arsenal that can save this comedy, which is completely devoid of laughs. 

Thunder Force takes place in a world much like our own. The main difference: mysterious intergalactic rays touched down in the 80s and gave a few bad apples superpowers. These super individuals, called Miscreants, use their powers to terrorize everyone in sight. If only bad guys are given powers, how are the good guys ever going to prevail?

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Crowe and Koala

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Best International Feature: The Man Who Sold His Skin

by Cláudio Alves

For the past few months, I've been trying to watch as many Best International Feature submissions as I possibly can. For The Film Experience, I reviewed 33 of those titles, including nine of the 15 shortlisted films, with most of the remaining finalists being taken care of by other writers. Still, one feature remained unreviewed on Oscar nomination morning, and, as luck would have it, that very same production nabbed a somewhat surprising nod. I wish I could say I was happy about The Man Who Sold His Skin's triumph, but Tunisia's seventh ever submission and first nominee proved to be a disappointment…

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