Almost There: Marlene Dietrich in "Shanghai Express"

by Cláudio Alves

A cabaret performer and silent film actress during the Weimar years, Marlene Dietrich left Berlin at the dawn of the 1930s. She abandoned Germany, traveling to Hollywood with director Josef von Sternberg who'd go on to make Dietrich into Tinseltown's most glamorous star. The pair of creative partners and off-screen lovers shot seven films together, all of them classics whose sensuous allure and grotesque opulence make for some of the weirdest pictures to come out of Hollywood at the time. Theirs was a cinema of provocation, hedonistic spectacles that overwhelmed the senses even as they moved at a lethargic pace as if the films themselves are bodies recuperating in the aftermath of an orgasm. As an avowed fan of Marlene Dietrich, this septet represents some of my favorite flicks, their dreams of celluloid working as siren songs that never fail to seduce and enchant.

The Criterion Channel is now streaming these seven glistening gems, so it's a good time to explore a Sternberg-directed Dietrich performance that came palpably close to an Oscar nomination. Let's talk Lily in Shanghai Express…

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Streaming Revisit: Pauline Collins in "Shirley Valentine"

by Baby Clyde

These days Driving Miss Daisy’s multiple wins for the 1989 film year are seen as a low point in Oscar history. Not only that the film itself is often criticised for its naïve take on race relations, but especially because 32 years later movie goddess Michelle Pfeiffer is still without a Best Actress award. Whilst no one critizes Jessica Tandy’s performance the win is viewed as a career award for someone who’s film career didn’t warrant one. Combine this with Pfeiffer losing for what is probably her most legendary part and no one’s happy. Especially me as I don’t sign up to either of those interpretations!

In my eyes there is only one possible winner in this contentious race...

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Goodbye, Cicely Tyson (1924-2021)

by Cláudio Alves

Cicely Tyson, who died earlier this afternoon at the age of 96, was one of a kind. "Legend" doesn't even come close to describing her grandiose wonder, her legacy, her impact. No words I can scrounge up are enough to summarize the greatness of this model turned acting sensation, icon, pioneer. Her career spanned more than half a century and Tyson made sure to leave her mark on the big and on the small screen, on stage too, earning countless golden accolades, much-deserved acclaim, and the adoration of millions across generations.

She was an inspiration to many, a woman who made sure to immortalize and celebrate Black History in her roles and embody Black excellence in her exquisite craft. I still remember the first time I ever saw her…

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Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana

That's the first shot of Kristen Stewart as Diana in Pablo Larraín's next film Spencer, one of our presumed Oscar hopefuls for 2021 though the release plans aren't at all firm yet. Let's hope it goes better for Kristen than it did for Naomi Watts! (Not that it won't by default, but still). So we might be looking at our first Best Actress nominee of the new film ye -- No, we can't get into that yet; we're still in this season.

There's no word yet on who is playing Prince Charles but the film takes place over a single weekend (the best kind of biopic!) and we trust Larraín to make this totally interesting since his films (Jackie, No, Neruda) always are, even the ones that are totally filled with hard-to-watch hatefulness (Tony Manero, Ema, The Club). Larraín's films are always exquisitely put together and this one will be no exception with the cinematographer of Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Claire Mathon), two time Oscar winner Jacqueline Durran (Anna Karenina, Little Women) on costumes, and Oscar nominee Jonny Greenwood (Phantom Thread) on score duties. 

Best Actor & Best Actress: An Uncommon Pair

by Eurocheese

Chadwick & Viola at odds in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" -- but will they be even at the Oscars?

It’s been over 20 years since we last saw a film take home Best Actor and Best Actress on the same night. While these categories are both very competitive this season, there is a possibility that Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom could combine Boseman’s posthumous career-best performance with Davis’ flashy titular role to make it happen again.

But how often have we seen this combination in the past, and under what circumstances? Let’s take a look…

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