Fargo: Kindness in an Unkind World

by Cláudio Alves

With Frances McDormand back in the Oscar conversation thanks to Chloe Zhao's Nomadland, I'm reminded of some discussions I had when Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri was making its way through the festival circuit. On first viewing, I was more charmed by the movie than many of my friends and colleagues (subsequent re-watches killed that initial goodwill), finding myself defending some of the picture's elements to its impassioned detractors. Three years later, there's still a critique of Frances McDormand's second Oscar-winning performance that infuriates me, even though I'm no big fan of her turn as Mildred Hayes. 

According to people whose opinions I respect, McDormand was doing the same thing she always does. More alarmingly, I was told that the actress was just repeating her first Oscar-winning performance in Fargo. Whatever one may think about this thespian's pair of Academy Award-winning works, they are different, diametrically opposed even. In many ways, Mildred is the antithesis of Marge Gunderson…

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Another AFI Wrap: I Carry You With Me, One Night in Miami, etc.

by Christopher James

The gay romantic drama "I Carry You With Me"

AFI Fest has always been one of my favorite times of the year. As an LA-based critic, it’s my chance to catch up on all the big movies that premiered at Venice, TIFF, NYFF and Telluride. Some of my personal favorite memories from attending the festival the last five years include watching Roma at the legendary Egyptian Theater and attending an afterparty for Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool with Annette Bening and Jamie Bell in attendance. With the pandemic, a lot of the pomp and circumstance has been taken out of the film festival. That absence has been replaced by greater accessibility to some of the great films chosen for the festival. No more rushing across Hollywood Boulevard to get in line for a third film in a day. All the bingeing can be done from the comfort of my couch. Many film festivals have found a positive way to adapt to the pandemic.

Chris’ 'Jury-of-One' Top Five AFI Fest 2020 Films...

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Showbiz History: Gattaca, Trog, and the King and Queen of Pop

Five random things that happened on this day, October 24th, in showbiz history

50th anniversary today for TROG

1941 Spooks Run Wild, starring Bela Lugosi and part of the film franchise "East Side Kids" opens in theaters.

1970 50TH ANNIVERSARY. Trog, infamous Joan Crawford's last film, hits theaters...

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Chadwick Boseman Oscar Chart Switcheroo

I got my time comin' to me.

You've surely heard that Chadwick Boseman's people have made the (correct) decision to place him in the Best Actor category for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Less category fraud makes the world a better place. And usually campaigns err on the side of fraud to make things easier for the big stars, so we couldn't applaud them more for it. While it's true that this considered a "featured" role on Broadway, so was Ma Rainey herself (so clearly Broadway sometimes has its own issues with "categories") and they're the two obvious big characters of the show. So we've updated both the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor chart as a result. We still think the late beloved actor is likely to win (though it's so early, we must remind) only now that posthumous honor will be in the correct category. People who've seen the film think he's special in it. 

Chadwick Boseman will almost certainly win the Oscar for Best Actor, now that Netflix has officially decided to campaign him as a lead performer for MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM. He’s so good in his final film performance that it feels undeniable.

— Kyle Buchanan (@kylebuchanan) October 21, 2020

Abe’s AFI Fest Wrap

By Abe Friedtanzer

This was my first year covering AFI Fest, and also my first time covering a virtual festival during the festival itself. It was a positive experience on both fronts, and the viewing platform I used – the AFI Fest app for Roku – worked pretty well and including plenty of interesting conversations with talent.

AFI announced the following winners:

Audience Award - Narrative Feature WOLFWALKERS (DIR Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart)
Audience Award - Documentary Feature 76 DAYS (DIR Hao Wu, Weixi Chen, Anonymous)
Audience Award - Short Film LONELY BLUE NIGHT (DIR Johnson Cheng)
Grand Jury Prize – Animation TIGER AND OX (호랑이와 소) (DIR Seunghee Kim)
Grand Jury Prize – Live Action PILLARS (DIR Haley Elizabeth Anderson)
Special Mention - BLACK GOAT (DIR Yi Tang)
Special Mention  MAALBEEK (DIR Ismaël Joffroy Chandoutis)
Special Mention UMBILICAL (DIR Danski Tang)

I personally had the chance to screen 17 films, which represent a third of the features shown. I also saw 6 of the other films at Sundance, but it hardly seems fair to include some of my favorites, like Nine Days and Farewell Amor, in this piece since I already cited them in my Sundance wrap. Without further ado, I submit my choices for the best of this year’s AFI Fest...

Abe’s 'Jury-of-One' Top Five AFI Fest 2020 Films 

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