Tuesday, November 22, 2016 at 9:00PM Let’s face it: this is a difficult year for many of us to be thankful – at least if we’re focusing on the news (and how could we not?). 2016 has taken so much and so many from the world, it’s hard not to greet Thanksgiving with the kind of benediction Wendy (Christina Ricci) delivered in The Ice Storm...
Tuesday, November 22, 2016 at 3:30PM Greetings from Chris, lovely readers! This Thanksgiving, I'm grateful for our faithful readers, our feisty team, and our relentlessly kind and passionate leader Nathaniel. In my estimation, this has been a great enough year to just be thankful for such a bevy of riches - but here's a few of the things earning my gratitude:
... the many unsung ensembles hosting their own feasts but especially Don't Think Twice, Little Men, and Love and Friendship.
... André Holland smoking in Moonlight. It's the hottest sex scene of the year and it's between camera and actor. May we all find someone that looks at us the way that the camera looks at Holland...
Thursday, November 26, 2015 at 10:45PM You've heard from a few members of our team of their quick lists of gratitude so naturally your host and obsessive ringleader, Nathaniel, must chime in. As you read this I'm surely already stuffing myself but this year I've planned ahead with a big diet and exercize program to commence on November 30th.
I'm thankful for...
..."rug" in Room, steering wheels in Mad Max Fury Road, the train sets in Carol and Ant-Man, and Gerda's evolving portraits of Lili in The Danish Girl
... Grandma's bonobos fixation
... Sarah Paulson's ability to elevate every single project she's in whether said project is awesome (Carol) or, let's say, "challenged" (AHS: Hotel and AHS in general for that matter)
... the way 2015's hottest topics kept reminding us of Cate Blanchett's Blue Jasmine speech in 2014
...a tight squeeze, with shimmering bosom, in Paolo Sorrentino's Youth
... bits and pieces of Magic Mike XXL but oddly not the parts involving bits and pieces. [Ahem]
...the rise of continuous shots. Hello Victoria ! Can we keep getting one of these movies every year?
...communal meals in Brooklyn. And speaking of communal meals -- that time Katey, Nick, Joe and I were all in the same room (first time ever) and then that time I met her awesomeness Teo Bugbee for lunch and we retreated, without warning, into the weird pockets of our brains that are completely infected with Isabelle Adjani madness. (After we were done talking about drooling on Carol that is.)
... Tilda Swinton's tan in Trainwreck, Michael Keaton's self-assessment in Spotlight, and Juliette Binoche's laughter in Clouds of Sils Maria
...the beautiful commitment to ugly psychology in UnREAL
... Patton Oswalt's memoir "Silver Screen Fiend"
...the shot of Jack's feet tentatively touching the sterile hospital floor in Room
... *unfolds dread acceptance speech list of names that probably won't mean anything to readers but means a lot to me* Nicolette, Tony, Lisa, Lea, Chris, Gena, Courtney, Amy, Benjamin, Melanie, Denise, Rob, Matt, Thomas, Joey, Cory, Thelma, Todd, Dan, Ed, Kay, Matt, Tim, Jenn & Alan, Vern & Evi, Deborah & Roberta, multiple Williams & Davids & Ryans & Johns & Andrews and many others I'm forgetting right this second who either work in showbiz and make my job more pleasant from their outreach and kindness or don't work in the movies at all but make my life more pleasant and joyful in one way or several others.
... the absurd jump in quality (when the show was already excellent) in S2 of The Leftovers.
... three superb actors we've loved for years that were kind enough to guest blog right here at The Film Experience in 2015 for an entire day: Ann Dowd, Cara Seymour, and David Dastmalchian. Humbled and blessed to have them.
And, finally, a toast to imaginary friends within the movies -- Bing Bong (Inside Out), Lucky the Dog (Room), and Larry & Barry (Mad Max Fury Road) -- since every character we love in a movie serves the same function for us!
We'll end with a reminder of our deep gratitude to all you readers (international and domestic) -- especially those that donate, subscribe, comment, and share their favorite articles -- and to Team Experience who do so much to keep this blog popping daily when I'm exhausted, overwhelmed, offline, travelling, or even when I'm doing just fine and they're just sharing their love for movies in articles and or comments. Community means so much to The Film Experience because what is the obsession with movies other than the thrill of sharing stories together in the dark?
Nathaniel (c'est moi) posing with Natalie (Portman)! Nathaniel R, the creator and owner of The Film Experience, is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association. He is the film columnist for Towleroad, a renowned Oscar pundit (Gurus of Gold), and his writing has appeared in both online publications (Vanity Fair, Slate) and print magazines (Esquire, Winq). Nathaniel has served on international festival juries and appeared as an on-air Oscar pundit for CNNi, Sky News London and more. Michelle Pfeiffer on a piano top (1989) altered his life's trajectory, and Julianne Moore high on coke and mommy issues (1997) and Nicole Kidman descending from the rafters (2001) at the Moulin Rouge sealed his fate as the hopelessly movie-mad Actressexual you see before you. [Follow Nathaniel on Twitter | See all Nathaniel's Articles
Thursday, November 26, 2015 at 1:00PM HAPPY THANKSGIVING. Guys,It's really happening! The happiest news of this holiday is that the elusive movie goddess Michelle Pfeiffer actually went before cameras again for her first feature film since The Family. The superstar was spotted, with dark hair (no bueno Michelle. You're the blonde!), and extremely colorful ensemble on the set of the intriguing sounding Killer Films production Beat-up Little Seagull.
In other just started production news something called Doctor Strange (sp?) also started shooting this week. Anyone heard of it ;)
Wednesday, November 25, 2015 at 6:00PM Kieran, here wishing all TFE readers a very Happy Thanksgiving. Being part of Team Experience these past few months has been a sheer joy. I’m thankful for a place to share my writing where the discussions are always interesting, thoughtful and fun. Thanks to our gracious host, Nathaniel for providing this space.
I'm thankful for
...Shameless and more specifically Emmy Rossum on Shameless. After her breakthrough in 2004’s Phantom of the Opera, it seemed that Rossum found herself underutilized and underserved in a lot of films. After that rocky slate of film roles, seeing her cast against type on Shameless and doing some of the best, criminally ignored work on television today is absolutely thrilling.
