Review: The Midnight Sky

by Tony Ruggio

The Midnight Sky is a mild return to form for director George Cloonney. It’s simultaneously a greatest-hits album of science fiction filmmaking of the last ten years and a beautiful, melancholic story about regret. In the midst of a global pandemic, with more proof arriving every year of what danger might await us in our planet’s future (or even right now), we’re all more aware than ever of what terrible things are possible in this world. Somehow, decades of apocalyptic cinema did not prepare us.

Clooney is Augustine Lofthouse, a scientist who has spent his life finding habitable planets at the expense of his personal life, pushing away those closest to him to devote his life to saving our future...

Click to read more ...

Happy Holidays from the Film Experience

May your smiles today be as bright at Natalie Wood's this whole holiday week, in whichever way you celebrate. Thank you for reading us all year round and for loving the movies and actresses and the Oscars alongside us. And a super duper thanks and a wish for as much abundance as you can receive to those who subscribe and pay for a cup of coffee for us each month since it's hard times this year at The Film Experience HQ.

xo - Nathaniel and team. 

Beauty Break: Born on Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS. Listen, we can't do an "on this day in showbiz history" post for Christmas because approximately a trillion movies have opened on Christmas day over the years. It's traditionally the biggest moviegoing day of any year... or at least it was before COVID made movie theaters unavailable or scary. But what we can do is celebrate movie and tv stars who were gifts to their parents on Christmas day because there aren't too many of them. We were only going to highlight 5 legends but we ended up including 20 showbiz people because we are insane. Please enjoy the pretty people after the jump...

Click to read more ...

Review: Sylvie's Love

by Matt St Clair

We're happily beginning to see a broader variety of black-centered period dramas. Although Sylvie’s Love does touch upon the racism of the 1950s, it's more concerned with showcasing romance than trauma. This light holiday viewing serves up an old-fashioned “one that got away” story that thrives on the simplicity of the romance genre. 

During the first act of Sylvie’s Love, the song “Fools Falls in Love” by The Drifters sets the tone for the entire picture. A song about the problem with falling in love too fast perfectly captures the conflict that Sylvie (Tessa Thompson), an aspiring TV producer, and saxophonist Robert (Nnamdi Asomugha) face after an encounter at a record store owned by Sylvie's father where she works...

Click to read more ...

Oscar Chart Updates: Costume Design

by Nathaniel R

The costume design branch loves Michael O'Connor's film work. Could Ammonite bring him his fourth nomination?

Let us know ask our crystal ball about the robust possibilities in the Costume Design race at the Oscar. This contest don't feel quite as wide open as Best Supporting Actor or as Best-Picture-related-simple as Adapted Screenplay or as 'what the hell will they choose?' unusual as Visual Effects and Makeup. But it does present several interesting options for a nominated quintet.

Oscar's three favourite living costume designers (Atwood, Canonero, Powell) aren't around this year -- well, Sandy Powell is but does anyone think the Academy will watch The Glorias? -- so where will the Academy's costume branch look?

Click to read more ...