Chris AFI Film Festival Diary #1 - Quiz Lady, Terrestrial Verses, The Bikeriders

By Chris James

Jodie Comer and Austin Butler star in Jeff Nichols' "The Bikeriders," which screened at the AFI Film Festival.

The Film Experience is back at the Hollywood and Highland complex for another film festival. The AFI Film Festival is back for another year. Throughout the weekend, the team is going to be sharing their reviews of some of the latest films to hit the festival circuit. The AFI Film Festival is often times the first time many Oscar hopefuls touch down on Los Angeles, in the same building that the Oscars are held no less. The festival also boasts an impressive number of international features, including 18 submissions for Best International Feature.

For this first dispatch, I've reviewed Jeff Nichols' The Bikeriders, the LA premiere of Quiz Lady and the Iranian film Terrestrial Verses. Read after the jump to find which films triumphed and which fumbled...

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Awards Season Catchup: The Bad Guys

By Abe Friedtanzer

One of this year’s most successful contenders for Best Animated Feature was released way back in April. It hasn't been as present on the awards circuit as its success and generally positive reviews would suggest. Whatever prizes it ultimately wins would only add to the fact that this family-friendly caper comedy, based on Aaron Blabey’s book series, is highly enjoyable and very much worth seeking out.

Wolf introduces audiences to his team of notorious thieves, who commit major heists and other crimes as regularly as possible. They do it partly for the big takes, but also for the specific joy from getting away with it...

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'Everything Everywhere All At Once' triumphs at the Saturn Awards in a strong year for Asian talent

by Nathaniel R

EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE won four prizes at the Saturn Awards

The 47th annual Saturn Awards, which are actually their 50th anniversary (it's confusing but mostly blame the pandemic) were held Tuesday night. Their calendar of eligibility runs summer to summer and they honor genre films and genre tv though they fudge a bit in some categories (kicking sci-fi fantasy and horror to the curb every once in a while for a drama or comedy or even musical they love). Though The Batman (2022) and Nightmare Alley (2021) led the nominations and both won a couple things, the night's big winner was A24's leggy hit and Oscar hopeful Everything Everywhere All At Once which took four prizes: Fantasy Feature, Lead Actress, Supporting Actor, and 4K Special Edition Release. On the TV side of the equation Better Call Saul was the top series with four prizes (three of which were for its actors)

It was a landmark year for Asian films and performers in general with RRR nabbing International Film (the fifth consecutive Asian film to win this prize after The Handmaiden, Baahubali 2, Burning, and Parasite), EEAAO's overall dominance, and six of the acting prizes going to actors of Asian descent (Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Ming-Na Wen, Awkwafina, Iman Vellani, and Jennifer Tilly). The list of winners and a few comments after the jump...

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2nd Annual "Gold List" Honoring Asian Achievements in Film

by Nathaniel R

Shang-Chi

Hello, awards fans. While we have often bemoaned the ever-increasing amounts of groups giving out "best" honors here at TFE, we do love to share and champion groups that have very specific focuses since the conversation could always do with broadening rather than the narrowing that more traditional awards do. So we're pleased to share the second annual "Gold List" a joint venture between Gold House and CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment) recognizing outstanding work by Asian filmmakers and actors. Shang-Chi and Drive My Car both took multiple prizes this year while The Green Knight played bridesmaid with multiple honorable mentions. The full list of winners and honorable mentions is after the jump... 

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Year in Review: 2021 Entertainers of the Year

by Team Experience

Olivia Colman photographed by Amelia Troubridge from The Guardian

In our final "Team Experience Year in Review" post before the 10th annual Team Experience Awards and Nathaniel's own Film Bitch Awards (both in January), we wanted to pay tribute to the stars who worked overtime to keep us smiling, crying, laughing, and altogether wide-eyed in 2021. We asked contributors to cite ten choices as "Entertainer of the Year". The catch was the celebrity in question had to have had more than one project during the year. Quantity and Quality.

Names that didn't quite make the list but are nevertheless worthy of our sincere gratitude include actors Olivia Colman (Landscapers, Mitchells vs the Machines, The Lost Daughter, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain), Bradley Cooper (Nightmare Alley, Licorice Pizza), Vicky Krieps (Old, Next Door, Bergman Island), and auteurs Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car, Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy), and Ridley Scott (House of Gucci, The Last Duel). Technically speaking both Jamie Dornan and Oscar Isaac  made the following list but since we already sufficiently highlighted them yesterday in "Thirst Traps of the Year" we've ceded their spots to others. Spread the wealth is always our motto...

"ENTERTAINERS OF THE YEAR"
(a dozen wonders in no particular order) 

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