Donald Sutherland (1935-2024)

by Cláudio Alves

THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE (2013) Francis Lawrence

Yesterday, Kiefer Sutherland came to social media with a devastating announcement. His father, who he rightfully described as "one of the most important actors in the history of film," had passed away. Donald Sutherland was 88, and he leaves behind an enviable legacy. His career is the stuff of legend, spanning nearly two hundred screen credits over six decades and many a landmark in American cinema. Moreover, his kindness and political activism earned him admiration as a human being, not just an artist.

Speaking only for myself, Donald Sutherland was one of my favorite thespians of the silver screen, a man of varied talents who could as effortlessly embody fatherly warmth as the darkest impulses within us all. His absence is inconceivable, yet one must contend with it. And what better way to do it than to celebrate his well-lived life? Let's start at the beginning…

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Bernard Hill (1944-2024)

by Cláudio Alves

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (2003) Peter Jackson

Today, sad news comes from England. Actor Bernard Hill has passed away at the age of 79, comforted by his family to the end. 

Among Oscar obsessives, Hill is best known for his appearances in Titanic and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. For James Cameron, he played the stalwart captain of the doomed ship, while Peter Jackson saw him embody Théoden, King of Rohan. Both roles share a touch of quiet authority, power laced with the deep sorrow of someone responsible for countless other lives. Hill's very presence seemed to project these qualities, making him a dream character actor, able to shape a movie's tonalities with little more than a glance, a shift of posture, a sigh. To this day, he's the only actor to star in two of the Academy's all-time champions, pictures with eleven Oscars each…

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Drag Race RuCap: Season Sixteen's “Grand Finale”

Nick Taylor and Cláudio Alves watch and recap RuPaul’s Drag Race season sixteen. This week, it’s time for the grand finale…

Look at those ponytails! Sasha Colby's impact is immeasurable.

CLÁUDIO: Better late than never, amirite? Well, even if I’m not, please pretend. 

Many days have passed since season sixteen drew to a close, with Taiwan goddess Nymphia Wind crowned America’s next drag superstar. It was a conclusion I wished for but wasn’t expecting, thinking Philly had the win secured up until those final minutes. After all, nothing in the season’s edit positioned the Banana Buddha as a threat, mostly ignoring her to the point she was invisible for a couple of episodes in the middle. On the other hand, Sapphira had winner energy from the go, a notion bolstered by the judges’ unvarying praise and four wins to her name. It’s easy to see why Miss Cristál’s stans feel a bit flabbergasted, though I wish some of them weren’t so quick to invalidate RuPaul’s chosen champion.

NICK: It’s still a shock! A pleasant one, but an odd one, and one I can understand folks feeling snaked by. As gaggy as Nymphia’s finale lip sync was - and I do think she won that battle - Sapphira gave a winning performance too! She was winning the whole episode, the whole season, until she didn’t. . . .

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Happy Birthday, Jessica Lange (& Nina Foch)

by Cláudio Alves

Like Mark said in his Veronica Cartwright tribute, this 4/20 is an essential date for actressexuals... among others. After all, we celebrate the horror queen's 75th birthday and that of Jessica Lange as well. Initially, I thought about writing about the star's upcoming adaptation of O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night, but that film seems trapped in some nebulous distribution limbo. By all accounts, production wrapped in late 2022 after a brief halt due to financing issues. Since then, there's been hardly any news, and Lange herself speculated it might not yet be finished in a Vulture interview. Let's hope we don't have another Blue Sky situation in our hands, though that farrago resulted in a Best Actress Oscar.

So, instead of dwelling on that mystery, why not remember The Film Experience's collective love for Jessica Lange? Going through the site, I came up with a selection of write-ups worth revisiting, plus some bonus Nina Foch to mark her centennial…

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Drag Race RuCap: “Reunited - LipSync LaLaPaRuZa Smackdown”

Nick Taylor and Cláudio Alves are watching and recapping RuPaul’s Drag Race season sixteen. This week, it’s time for episode fifteen…

This week, Megami pulls a Silky and a star is born.

CLÁUDIO: After weeks of complaining about the season’s declining quality, the Drag Race producers shut me right up. This spin on a reunion episode is the best of the year, a super-charged queer Super Bowl of lipsyncing that serves as a respite before next week’s finale. Most of the girls brought their A-game, fighting for their Ru-demption with everything they got, and even the losers seemed to have a good time. Well, most of them. More important, still, was how the hour felt formed around the arc of one particular queen, subverting folks’ expectations both among the audience and the contenders themselves. To paraphrase Mother Jinkx, anyone saying Megami isn’t a star after this episode is so full of shit the toilet’s jealous.

NICK: As far as sports analogies go, I feel more partial to Sapphira calling this the gay Kentucky Derby, though perhaps I was swept up by the fantasy her gigantic hat inspired. But this was a total joy from the first second to the last. Megami’s superstar ascendancy is a Rudemption for the history books, bolstered in every way by how tough the competition was. I loved this episode, and I hope we get this format again in future seasons. . . .

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