Nathaniel in Venice: "Atlantide" and "The Lost Daughter"

Nathaniel reporting from Venice. Day 2

"Atlantide" is a stunner. And better yet, Venice specific!

My second day of the fest was a day of high highs and low lows. The high (other than the movies) was that it was a full social day. That doesn't always happen at festivals but it is like a shot of energy for extroverts like myself. The fun began meeting two Spanish journalists on the ferry to the Lido who introduced themselves since they read The Film Experience. We had a great conversation about the new Almodóvar and they totally sold me on the idea of the San Sebastian Film Festival -- new goal! Then between films a quick drink with longtime friend Boyd van Hoeij (who you've heard on the podcast a couple of times) and then a late night very Italian dinner with our own Elisa Giudici. She's been our Italian correspondent at TFE for a year now (kicking it off with last year's Venice summary) but this was our first time actually meeting in person. She's such a delight in person, as personable and fun as her writing. I'm really quite chuffed to be sharing this Venice experience with her.

The low was very low realizing that this full day of screenings wasn't going to be the norm...

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Almost There: Shirley MacLaine in "Madame Sousatzka"

by Cláudio Alves

The Venice Film Festival is upon us and, this year, The Film Experience has two writers attending – Nathaniel and Elisa. For those at home, though, it might help satiate some of the FOMO to look back at the festival's long history. Indeed, these next two Almost There write-ups will focus on actors who won the Volpi Cup, managed to capture some Oscar buzz, but still failed to catch the Academy's attention. Today's example is exciting, for it comes from a rare tie. In 1988, the jury presided by Sergio Leone decided to award two performers with the Best Actress prize, an ex-aequo honor. They were Isabelle Huppert for her breathtaking tour de force in Chabrol's Story of Women and, our present subject of analysis, Shirley MacLaine in John Schlesinger's Madame Sousatzka…

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"Spencer" Teaser. Kristen Stewart for the gold?

by Nathaniel R

It never fails. Every time something exciting happens, like a Power of the Dog teaser, there's something immediately on its heels giving you barely any time to process. Spread the wealth studios, meter out that cinephilia bait, we beg you. Here's the Spencer teaser starring Kristen Stewart...

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Almost There: Melanie Griffith in "Something Wild"

by Cláudio Alves

The 59th Academy Awards showcased a rare variety of genres in its acting honors. Usually, AMPAS restricts itself to prestige dramas, but they were atypically adventurous in 1986. Best Actress alone featured a sci-fi action epic, nostalgic time-travel fantasy, a black comedy on themes of suicide and murder, trashy neo-noir, and, of course, the respectable adaptation of a dramatic play. It's a pity that, amid all this, there wasn't space for some lighthearted romantic comedy. No matter how popular it is, it seems that genre always has some difficulty getting into the awards conversation. As for the 1986 crop of romcoms, none feels more like an "Almost There" case than Jonathan Demme's Something Wild. While arguments could be made for all its principal players, we shall focus on the picture's beguiling leading lady, Melanie Griffith…

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Posterized: Jennifer Hudson

by Nathaniel R

With Respect, the Aretha Franklin biopic, hitting theaters today let's talk Jennifer Hudson's movie career. Well, her TV and Broadway career, too, since she's primarily a singer even when moonlighting as an actress. She's made more movies than you probably think.

How many of her performances have you seen? The posters are after the jump...

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