Lunchtime Poll: When was the last time a movie or show gave you whiplash?

by Nathaniel R

- Tell me who you are!
- I'm the worst mistake you'll ever mistake.

Watching I Don't Care (reviewed by Christopher) was a whiplash experience. I was absolutely loving it until I suddenly wasn't. Thirty-six minutes into the movie Dean (Chris Messina) arrives into Marla's (Rosamund Pike) office, to start what is essentially act two of a three act. Two sharks begin speaking in human voices, their teeth gleaming imagining fleshy bites and blood in the water. It's a superb scene. A few minutes later another violent verbal duet with Dianne Wiest.  All three actors are on absolute fire with impeccably judged reaction shots, expressive body language, and nastily imaginative line-readings. I Care A Lot felt, in that ten minute stretch, like it was taking off into the stratosphere. This is an "A" grade pitch-black comedy! The movie throws everything at you thereafter -- incidents, twists, more verbal duels, violence, and a score so aggressively present you want to remind it that Rosamund Pike has top billing-- but it's a case of either too much or rapidly dimishing returns.  I was actively annoyed and disappointed for the entire third act. 

When was the last time this happened to you? Love and hate in almost equal measure while watching a movie?

Nathaniel's Ballot: Editing, Makeup, Visual Effects, Production Design

by Nathaniel Rogers

Rooting for LOVE AND MONSTERS to get a visual fx Oscar nomination. Such a pleasantly fun surprise as mainstream movies go! It would have been a big sleeper hit in a normal theatrical year

Oscar balloting begins in 11 days so we'd like to finish our own Film Bitch Awards by then. Or at least the Oscar parallel portion. So in an effort to speed that up here are four categories. My take on the best in film editing, makeup & hairstyling, visual effects, and production design. Within these four categories there are surprisingly no repeat nominees. 

Fascinating read --The Root on Ma Rainey's Hair and Makeup20 slots = 20 different films with honors for And Then We Danced, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Emma, The Father, First Cow, Hillbilly Elegy, I Carry You With Me, Love and Monsters, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Mank, The Midnight Sky, Mulan, News of the World, Nomadland, Palm Springs, Personal History of David Copperfield, Possessor, Promising Young Woman, Tenet, and Welcome to Chechnya.

This was not intentional. I didn't notice till after hitting "publish". But it's as good an example of any of how I approach awards each year. Though I do believe in "spreading the wealth" it happens organically, since I genuinely only try to think about that specific category when I "vote". Do you also agonize over your own "best of" choices? It's a niche affliction but I've met many other film fans who do!  

Showbiz History: Shirley & Bill, Julianne & Eddie, Slumdog & Oscars

6 random things that happened on this day, February 22nd in showbiz history...

1921 Fellini's muse Giulietta Masina (Nights of Cabiria, La Strada) is born in San Giorgia di Plano, Italy. But more on her tonight for her Centennial.

1935 The Little Colonel opens in theaters. The movie featured the first interracial dance in an American movie in the famous staircase tap dance scene between tiny Shirley Temple and trailblazing entertainer Bill Robinson. The innocuous scene was somehow controversial (the 1930s, natch) and was reportedly cut out of the movie when it played in the South...

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Will the Golden Globes Reward New Shows Again This Year?

by Christopher James 

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will host the Golden Globes, airing on NBC on Sunday, February 28th.It’s no secret that the Golden Globes love new TV shows. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is always hoping to crown a bright newcomer on the TV landscape. This doesn’t always translate to Emmys love (sorry The Affair and Brooklyn Nine-Nine), but it’s a great way to raise the profile of a show. 

Based on the nominations, the Golden Globes are once again skewing towards new shows. On the Drama side, both Lovecraft Country and Ratched are competing for their first seasons. Meanwhile, Comedy/Musical is stacked with new series, such as Emily in Paris, The Flight Attendant, The Great and Ted Lasso. Only Schitt’s Creek is not in its first season, though this is the first time it will be competing in the Comedy Series field at the Golden Globes. Schitt's Creek is also coming off Emmy domination for its final season.

So will the copious new series dominate the Golden Globes? Let’s look at the statistics...

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Makeup and Hairstylists nominations - Quite different than Oscar finalists!

by Nathaniel R

Borat Subsequent MovieFilm

Apologies that we missed this announcement but the Makeup and Hairstylist Guild announced their nominees this past week. It's an interesting peek at what the makeup professionals in the industry think since it's not super reflective of what the Academy's smaller makeup branch thinks given that FOUR of Oscar's ten finalists (The Glorias, One Night in Miami, Emma, and The Little Things) are nowhere to be found. Other films that makeup and hair artists clearly did like such as Mulan, Bill & Ted Face the Music, The Prom, Promising Young Woman, and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm somehow all missed Oscar's finals.

The categories with six nominees in the list after the jump are due to ties in voting...

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