Emmys Review: Animated Program

by Christopher James

It’s the old guard versus the “new” wave of Netflix animation. I use “new” in quotes because there’s nothing “new” about Bojack Horseman or Big Mouth, except that the Emmys finally noticed them just last year. Can they win on their second try at the Emmys?

All three of their challengers have won before. Rick and Morty won its sole bid for Outstanding Animated Program in 2018. Meanwhile, Bob’s Burgers has consistently earned nominations for every year since its second season, winning in 2014 and 2017. And never count out the most senior show in a lineup. The Simpsons won this category last year, its first win since 2008. In total, the legendary comedy has been nominated twenty-seven times in this category, winning twelve of those competitions.

Since this is a tight race, it may come down to episode submission. Let’s take a look at the field:

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1938's Best Picture Nominees Ranked

by Nathaniel R

A behind-the-scenes factoid: We've been recording the Smackdowns much earlier than we've been publishing them this year. That's because we figured with everyone social distancing or locked down at home this past summer it would be easier to corral guests for the panels. That was true. They're all recorded now and though the pace has been brutal that also gave me a personal headstart on 1938 (your votes are due by this coming Sunday morning, September 13th!) and since it was a year I was weak on I thought: why not watch ALL the Oscar nominated movies from the year since there were fewer categories? It seemed doable with a three month headstart but I'd forgotten that Oscar hadn't yet come to the conclusion that five was the perfect number and there were up to 11 nominations in some categories! Alas, I didn't complete the assignment but I did manage to watch or rewatch 21 movies. My goal is to hit 30 key films from this year before a tentative "retro film bitch awards" which we've always wanted to do for the older years for fun. Should we? Does that sound fun to you?

BEST PICTURE NOMINEES OF 1938, RANKED
All but one are available to rent at various platforms. If currently streaming for free somewhere, though, we've mentioned that...

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Tenet finally opens. What did you see this week?

As expected Tenet was a major draw at the US box office for the holiday weekend, posting the best numbers of any film since the pandemic began. Still, it's obviously a far cry from what it would have made in a normal year when theaters didn't have to limit seating and there were far more of them open globally. 

US Estimates Holiday Weekend (Sept 4th-7th)
01 Tenet $20.2  (Global cumulative gross $146.2)
02 The New Mutants $3.6  (Global cum. $19.9)
03 Unhinged $2.2  (Global cum. $23.6)
04 Bill & Ted Face the Music $809k (Global cum. $2.4)
05 Spongebob: Sponge on the Move $470k  (US only cum. $3.4)
06 Personal History of David Copperfield $430k  (Global cum. $11.0)

NYC still isn't playing movies (the nearest theater playing Tenet, for example, is an hour and a half away by train) so the big new movie for us this week was I'm Thinking of Ending Things on Netflix (more on which later if we can figure out what to say about it!). What did you see this week? 

Emmy Review: Supporting Actress, Limited Series / Movie

By Juan Carlos Ojano

Leading up to the nominations, much of the discussion surrounding this category is about how many and who among the Mrs. America stars would get in. It says a lot when Emmy favorite Sarah Paulson and previous nominees Elizabeth Banks and Rose Byrne could not even score a nomination, despite prominent roles in the show. Outside of that limited series Patti LuPone, Rosie O’Donnell, Cherry Jones, and Winona Ryder were just some of the names floated leading up to the nominations announcement that didn't . Without any further ado, let’s review the performances that were nominated... 

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Review: "Away" on Netflix

by new contributor Christopher James

What role does space play in our current world? Today, getting on a plane during COVID almost feels as risky as embarking on a mission to Mars. 

Netflix’s new bright, shiny and expensive looking drama, Away, tries to contextualize space travel in its pilot episode. At a press conference, a reporter asks the Atlas crew, “Why should we care more about Mars than our own planet.” Hilary Swank’s commanding officer, Emma Green, delivers an impassioned speech on how much the US spends on the military and war. Wouldn’t it be better if we repurpose these tools for “discovery, not destruction.” This sets the stage for an exciting space mission where traveling to Mars could possibly save us from ourselves. Unfortunately, Away dodges this interesting, if thornier, premise as if it were a meteor heading straight for its shift. Rather than take a risk, it heads into safer territory, being a digestible family drama...

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