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.)
Surprise! The following podcast was lost after a recent move but has been recovered. This podcast was recorded over the Christmas break but the SAG part at least is hyper relevant to this weekend with the Screen Actors Guild Awards hitting tomorrow.
Nathaniel welcomes a particularly grouchy Nick Davis and new guest Teo Bugbee who had just pulled an all nighter to see Star Wars The Last Jedi. We discuss what the hell Laura Dern and Benicio del Toro are doing in it before moving on to SAG's "Outstanding Ensemble" nominees (and other ensemble films we like, too).
You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you?
If you dwell too much on the negatives on Oscar Nomination Morning it can be so deflating that the rest of the season (just one month to go) can feel agonizing. Nevertheless we owe the movies and actors that enrich our lives a proper send off here now that Oscar has closed this particular chapter on them. But never fear. The Academy Awards are a fun time from a anecdotal calendar perspective and important in a history chapter kind of way but they're never ever ever the full book on the movies.
Here are achievements in film from Carol, Creed, Inside Out, and more that we here at TFE have no intention of saying goodbye to in reality, though we'll have to set them aside in a particular kind of way this month...
Benicio del Toro in Sicario While Sicario received some recognition in the technical categories, it didn’t end up making the cut for any of the majors, including the acting awards. That’s a particular shame in the case of Benicio del Toro, who quietly managed to steal the movie from his excellent co-stars but couldn’t quite nab a supporting actor nod from Oscar. His character starts out as a taciturn, enigmatic presence, content to keep a low profile and deflect questions about why he’s there. But as the movie unfolds, he starts to assume increasing authority and gradually morphs into an ominous, even terrifying figure of retribution. It’s arguably somewhat lazy writing that he’s driven by personal revenge, yet del Toro, to his credit, doesn’t use this tried-and-true motivation as an excuse to chew scenery. Instead, he delivers a remarkably controlled and powerful portrayal of a formerly moral man who’s corrupted by his single-minded pursuit—and knows it. -Lynn Lee
Inside Out When the Academy decided to open up the Best Picture category, it was thought that more diversity would be represented. While there have been a few interesting choices since the decision, it is usually just more middle of the road prestige pics. That a genre film like Mad Max Fury Road was able to make it in today should be celebrated....
Chris here. Available this week on DVD/Blu-ray is Denis Villeneuve's Sicario, a controlled descent into the cartel battles being waged between the Mexican and American borders. Like the ongoing war on drugs, Villeneuve's film presents a complex landscape of violence wherein rulebooks have been forsaken - and on both sides. It's a masterful piece of filmmaking (recently nominated by the PGA,ADG, and WGA), and Villeneuve has assembled an intimidating group of craftspeople working harmoniously to create a living hell.
Front and center is Emily Blunt's idealistic and by-the-book agent Kate Macer, straining composure and grasping for opportunity while in over her head. Blunt is ferociously present and flummoxed, giving as much subtlety and nuance as she has in her broader roles like The Devil Wears Prada. She's so believably rattled that you're reaching for fistfuls of cigarettes along with her. It's a performance that deserves to be right in the thick of the Best Actress conversation, even in such a deep field as this. While many have claimed her to be far too passive, her lack of control is just another element of Villeneuve's all-pervasive synthesis.
Lenny Amy Poehler interviews her teen fan, the Tony nominated Sydney Lucas who was so brilliant in Fun Home: The Musical (she just left the show *cries*) AV Club in terrifying news: Disney is fast-tracking a Cruella de Vil picture from the 50 Shades screenwriter called simpley Cruella The Guardian interviews Benicio del Toro on Sicario and music as part of his acting process
Playbill Broadway and music giants are uniting on December 3rd in NYC for a Centennial tribute to Frank Sinatra: slated to appear are Bernadette Peters, Sutton Foster, Sting, and Christina Aguilera. More names TBA Comics Alliance & Superhero Hype celebrate the best Cosplay at New York Comic Con this weekend - that Marvel Girl is something else. Straight outta the X-Men pages I tell ya. Boy Culture cuteness - Carol Channing with teddy bear Pajiba yes, Natalie Dormer is aware that people think Kermit the Frog's new pig girlfriend Denise looks like her Detroit News my hometown paper interview Tippi Hedren (The Birds, Marnie) for some reason so check that out Awards Daily Sasha on Aaron Sorkin and the art of the symbol in Steve Jobs Variety MTV's adaptation of Terry Brooks "The Shannara Chronicles" is coming in January. I read a couple of those books a million years ago and none of this even sounds/looks vaguely familiar. But maybe I just don't remember it? Variety ...and BBC is doing "The Last Kingdom" because YA fused with fantasy is hot right now after the cultural dominance of Hunger Games / Game of Thrones the past handful of years.
Eliza Dushku, Gabrielle Union, and Kiki are still sexy. And cute. and popular to boot. Okay maybe less popular (sigh) but still awesome. And to quote our friend Joe Reid:
Congratulations to Jesse Bradford, Nobel Prize winner in the field of Could Get It
Video Du Jour I'm sorry but Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman on the same couch being embarrassed about their childhood names? The Graham Norton Show is always a delight for actressexuals. Please someone gif the part w/ Meryl's glasses askew or any of Nicole's dorky grimaces.
And, because, a bonus video: Julianne Moore cracking us up doing Taylor Swift lyrics on "the Late Late Show"
Always the years. Always the love. Always The Hours Ladies.
Saturday, January 20, 2018 at 10:30AM 
Surprise! The following podcast was lost after a recent move but has been recovered. This podcast was recorded over the Christmas break but the SAG part at least is hyper relevant to this weekend with the Screen Actors Guild Awards hitting tomorrow. 
