A Quick Word on AppleTV's "Disclaimer"

by Eric Blume

We at The Film Experience couldn't let an opportunity go by to post about the new AppleTV series Disclaimer since it stars two-time Oscar winner Cate Blachett, Oscar winner Kevin Kline, and Oscar nominees Lesley Manville, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Kodi Smit-McPhee.  Plus, it's written and dirtected by mutli-Oscar winner Alfonso Cuarón (who's won Oscars for Directing, Editing, and Cinemtography).

That's a highly-pedigreed project, and this group of artists have created a probing, sometimes bizarre, curious, and difficult piece of television.  There is no way to have any deep discussion about this project until you've seen it all the way through.  So I won't divulge the turns and ambitions of Disclaimer too much, but if you haven't seen it at all, stop reading now...even a cursory dive into the show requires a few reveals...

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Gotham Awards: "No Other Land"

by Nick Taylor

As part of The Film Experience’s coverage of this year’s Gotham Awards, I’ll be reviewing a handful of nomination films. Some of you may remember No Other Land from Cláudio Alves’s impassioned review from TIFF a month and a half ago. I hope you’ve been able to see it since then. If you haven’t, I hope you’re able to in the future. It's one of six films recognized by the Gothams for Best Documentary, and as per usual with this awards body, this could very well be another season where they have one of the year's strongest Doc lineups. Let my coverage of this be another endorsement for No Other Land as a staggering feat, “important” in every way a documentary like this could be, as well as a remarkably sturdy piece of filmmaking...

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Review: "Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat" is Essential Viewing

by Cláudio Alves

One of the year's best and most essential documentaries is finally in theaters! Johan Grimonprez's Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat is 50% history lesson, 50% jazz concerto, and 100% political essay if you can believe it, a mad dash rollercoaster of a documentary that brings together a litany of ideas under the same cinematic roof, illuminating their connective tissue like few films before it. The entire thing might run for two and a half hours, but you'll hardly notice the time passing since there's no opportunity for passive, apathetic spectatorship. Instead, the filmmakers demand full attention and a modicum of curiosity, trusting the viewer to keep up with Rik Chaubet's miraculous cutting as Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat approaches midcentury decolonization movements through a musical prism…

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AFI Fest: “The Fire Inside” Packs a Surprising Punch

by Eurocheese

I have to admit that on the last day of AFI Fest, I was not particularly excited to see a boxing film. Oscar seems to have an affinity for the topic, but sports films in general don't resonate with me. Shame on me for underestimating Barry Jenkins as a screenwriter and for not having higher hopes for cinematographer Rachel Morrison’s directorial debut. The Fire Inside, much like its protagonist, proves itself again and again: It’s a compelling, smart drama with a scope that stretches far beyond the game.

The film is based on the true story of Claressa Shields who overcame obstacles all her life in Flint, Michigan on her way to becoming an Olympian...

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Halloween Treats: A Sample of 2024 Horror

by Cláudio Alves

There's no better way to celebrate the spookiest holiday of them all than by indulging in the perverse pleasures of horror cinema. But what to watch? While classics are reliable, keeping up with the latest gems is fun, too. Every year, new delights are added to the nightmare canon, and 2024 is no different, with many scary movies among the best releases of the past few months. With that in mind, let's dive into the horror pool and see what precious gems we discover hiding in its depths - ones already available to stream at home, alone in the dark. For brevity's sake, I focused on English-language fright fests and films not yet reviewed at The Film Experience, starting with I Saw the TV Glow…

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