The Film Experience™ was created by Nathaniel R. All material herein is written by our team. (This site is not for profit but for an expression of love for cinema & adjacent artforms.)
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Oscar Volley It's Back
Oscar Charts Updated!
Monday, March 8, 2021 at 9:47PM by Nathaniel R
As we did with the Documentary shorts finalists, we're reviewing the Oscar possibilities in Live Action short. Unfortunately this group is harder for audiences to see (at this writing) so we don't have screening links for all of them. We've been unable to track down Two Distant Strangers but let's discuss the other nine options, divvied up into four 'types'...
Friday, February 26, 2021 at 9:45PM by Christopher James
Tom Holland ditches the superhero cape for a much grittier turn in the Russo Brothers' new film, "Cherry."Cherry is five movies in one, and each one of them is bad in a different, unique way.
Joe and Anthony Russo’s ambitious new film for Apple TV+ has many different goals. Unfortunately, much like a juggler with too many balls in the air, every one of those goals falls to the ground, landing with a thud. Despite clear ambition and clearly talented people involved, nothing comes together in Cherry. What we’re left with is a misshapen, overlong mess where our lead Forrest Gumps his way through a variety of genres and ripped-from-the-headlines issues...
Friday, February 26, 2021 at 11:01AM by Christopher James
How can a remarkable life lead to an unremarkable film? On paper, The United States vs. Billie Holiday has so much going for it. Oscar nominee Lee Daniels is an inspired, live wire choice for director and Andra Day makes a fantastic acting debut. She more than rises to the inimitable challenge of playing a legend like Billie Holiday. Unfortunately, The United States vs. Billie Holiday falls into a common biopic trap. All of the information feels a mile wide and a foot deep. We breeze through so much of Billie’s life, but we never get a moment to digest what we’re seeing or piece together a central character. The movie moves quickly through all events in Holiday’s life, leaving the audience behind in the process...
Wednesday, February 24, 2021 at 1:30PM by Nathaniel R
Without theaters open the popular annual tradition of the nominees bundled together at movie theaters will probably have to wait, so we thought we'd discuss them before the Academy votes on nominations this year as they were blessedly easy to track down -- at least in the Doc Short category, all of which are available to stream. Herewith, a look at the ten films competing for those five slots, half of which are directed or co-directed by women.
They're grouped by emotional or thematic similarities. UPDATE: IF THEY WERE NOMINATED THAT'S MARKED BELOW...
Wednesday, February 17, 2021 at 10:11PM by Christopher James
Rosamund Pike cares a lot, not about her elderly wards, but about winning.Music and The Mauritanian weren’t the only movies that showed up at the Golden Globes without people having seen the film. Rosamund Pike nabbed a nomination in the Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy for the Netflix film I Care A Lot, which some critics saw during the Toronto International Film Festival. The Globes have long loved Rosamund Pike, even nominating her for A Private War in 2018. Is this latest nomination a case of the Globes being goofy, or is Pike awards worthy in this new black comedy?
The answer is yes and no on both fronts. Pike uses “Amazing Amy” ability to establish a horrifying, gleefully bloodthirsty businesswoman who fleeces the elderly. Unfortunately, she does so in a vehicle that points that talent in the exact wrong directions...