TFE Does Halloween

The time has come… for you to block all the Kardashians on Instagram to prevent any self-harm you’ll be tempted to cause after seeing what percentage of your student loans they’re about to invest on a never-to-be-worn-again Halloween costume. We, at TFE, like to think of ourselves as better than the Kardashians—except for Kris, she is untouchable—so we have come up with a nice list of zeitgeist-friendly costumes that promise to be easy to assemble. Try to wear these at parties filthy with cinephiles, unless you want to be explaining yourself all night. We promise we’ll keep these cheap to assemble, except for the occasional requisite $600 lace-front.

Inspired by all the pop culture that's come out since last All Hallow's Eve, we've come up with a pretty specific list of costumes for you to avoid the store-bought. Check them out!

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Looking Ahead at Best Original Song

Chris here. What with Nathaniel's updated Oscar predictions and my regular Soundtracking duties, my mind has been on that ever pesky Best Original Song category. How will this year shake out for the sometimes maligned category?

Per usual we haven't had many obvious contenders, though I would argue that Beauty and the Beast's "How Does A Moment Last Forever" is one of the film's bright spots - can you just imagine Celine Dion taking the Oscar stage for the first time since Titanic. Perhaps our best chance at an Original Song behemoth like last year's La La Land and Moana were is The Greatest Showman, this season's original musical. But other questions and curiosities remain: what documentary song will surprise this year? Can credits song queen Sia finally land a nomination (she'll at least have one option with Wonder Woman)?

One contender I'm already hoping has some staying power is A Ghost Story's "I Get Overwhelmed" by Dark Rooms. The track flows fluidly in and out of Daniel Hart's score (naturally, he heads Dark Rooms), encompassing both the film's intimacy and cosmic expansiveness. Lyrically, the song carries meaning for Casey Affleck's songwriter and has a whole new context in the afterlife - so it carries the kind of narrative weight the Academy's songwriting branch has been seeking. But will it even make the eligibility long list?

Do you have any Original Song hopes already?

What Did You Watch This Weekend?

Blockbuster audiences flocked to Spider-Man: Homecoming this weekend to the tune of $117M (making it the second-highest opening for the character behind the largely reviled Spider-Man 3), while Sundance darling A Ghost Story had a strong limited debut in four theatres. Meanwhile, The Big Sick expanded further and continues to do gangbusters - it goes nationwide this coming week. Did you catch any of these three? Something else?

Have you started you mid-year catch up, like Spencer did with Gore Verbinski's A Cure For Wellness? I also recently caught up to Xavier Dolan's It's Only The End Of the World, which landed oh so quietly on US Netflix. Is there any hidden gem you've caught on any streaming platforms?

Tell us about your cinematic weekend!