Streaming Roulette, August: Serenity, Red Sea Diving Resort, and two major 1981 classics

As is our practice we've selected a handful of titles and frozen the films at utterly random moments without cheating (whatever comes up comes up!). It's our way of previewing new titles streaming each month. So what should you queue up for AUGUST 2019 ?(★ means we recommend catching them.) Please do let us know if you're dying to discuss any of the films and maybe we'll write about one or two of 'em  You rarely tell us but we'll try if you do.

[COUGHING]

Jackie Brown (1997) ★  on Netflix
Is De Niro coughing to distract you from Once Upon a Time ...  in Hollywood for a minute? He's got a new trailer out and that would like a little attention, too. On the couch is Bridget Fonda giving what is easily one of her top two performances (the other one is in a little seen 80s movie called Scandal). We should probably see this particular Quentin Tarantino flick again. Beyond Fonda's perpetually baked surfer girl I don't personally remember much about it except for that  Rashomon inspired scene in the mall, and Pam Grier and Robert Forster being a fine match in the two central roles.

[HEAVY BREATHING]

Body Heat (1981) ★  on HBO
Nice wedding ring shot. That ain't her husband...

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Team Experience: Happy, annoyed, and thirsty Emmy reactions

What's your favourite season, Catherine?We've already heard from Team Experience on the Emmy omissions that most pained them. Now that we've all had the opportunity to sleep on it, here are three final questions about the nominations for the 71st annual Emmys which will be held on.

1. Which Emmy nomination was your favourite?

2. Which Emmy nomination most confused / annoyed you?

3. What category is so sexy it made you quiver under your bodice? 

Enjoy their brief answers and provide your own after the jump, won'cha...

Which Emmy nomination was your favourite?

CHRIS FEIL: Sian Clifford for Fleabag. With most folks predicting the also sensational Olivia Colman, I feared that the show might be more of a critical fave than an Emmy to earn multiple slots in one category. But I'm thrilled that Emmy agrees that Clifford's hilarious crisis is an essential ingredient to the show and an ultimately moving one as well. The way she throws away her monumental, restorative line "The only person I'd run through an airport for is you"? Perfection.

ABE FRIED-TANZER: Kumail Nanjiani for The Twilight Zone. The comedian perfectly encapsulates the tone of this anthology reboot and his nomination serves as the best summary of its balance of creepiness and wonder...

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CONSIDER - Actresses of 2019, First Half

Here's our penultimate 'halfway mark, year in review' post for you. The 19 performances by actresses we treasured most at the movies thus far this year. 

We hope you'll sound off on these and share your own favourites in the comments... and we hope this list serves as a reminder to Oscar and Globe and SAG voters to keep lists of things that impress you all year so that at the end of the year you aren't just voting for the 5 things you just saw. Before we begin I should note that I sadly missed the three following female-led films and will catch up with them when given the chance later in the year: Her Smell, Little, and The Souvenir. Okay here we go...

7 LEADING ACTRESSES
(Jan 1st - June 28th releases)  

Jessie Buckley as "Rose-Lynn" in Wild Rose
Yes, the movie basically hands her the "star-making" reviews on a platter. It's ALL about watching her sing and emote. But the performance has lovely nuances, lived-in feeling, and own-worst-enemy fire. And that voice. Good god.  

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Emmy FYC: Best Actress in a Drama Series

Team Experience is sharing FYCs as the Television Academy votes on Emmy nominations (voting closes on June 24th). Here's J.B...

Last year's winner Claire Foy can't repeat (as Emmy likes to do) because she didn't have a TV show this year.I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the Emmy category of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.  As someone who worships at the altar of dramatic actresses, it’s my favorite category, and therefore necessarily the one that causes me the greatest anguish. Sometimes, this category shocks and delights (as it did in 2014, when Lizzy Caplan was nominated for her wonderful work on Masters of Sex, or 2016, when Tatianna Maslany took home the trophy for her dynamic performance in Orphan Black). But more often, as of late, anyway, I’ve been left wounded by egregious snubs and unwelcome surprises on nomination morning and Emmy night.

For example, I like Claire Danes, but did she really need a SECOND Emmy for her performance on Homeland, at the expense of Elisabeth Moss, who somehow never won for her iconic role on Mad Men? If Moss had won for Mad Men perhaps voters could have skipped her in turn for Claire Foy in The Crown, thus clearing the way for Keri Russell in 2018, whose turn as Elizabeth Jennings in The Americans is maybe the greatest dramatic performance of the decade. Keri’s loss, in particular, I still haven’t fully recovered from.

So, to any Emmy voters out there who have realized the error of their ways and are looking to make amend: You CAN’T! You’ve made bad choices, the consequences of which we all will have to live with! Know that. BUT, if you are looking to get on the right side of history this year, start by considering the following four names on your ballot for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series...

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50 Appropriate Ways to Celebrate Cate Blanchett on Her Birthday

by Nathaniel R

Blanchett last week at a Louis Vitton fashion showFuture screen giant and supreme actress Cate Blanchett was born in Ivanhoe Australia a half century ago on this very day. Happy 50th birthday, goddess!

Last year at this time we were enjoying the two time Oscar winner in Cannes every day as she led the most stylish jury ever assembled but this year in May we have no Cate Blanchett to enjoy! It's a weird lull in Blanchett-mania so perhaps she's celebrating her birthday somewhere private today? Or maybe she's in Cannes again? We'll see.

Her next picture, Richard Linklater's Where'd You Go Bernadette arrives in theaters in August but until that time, let's celebrate all the Blanchettian goodness we can. She's given us so much over the years, with her sharp celebrity wit, fashion savvy, and (above all else) her inspired screen performances. So herewith...

50 Appropriate Ways to Celebrate Cate Blanchett This Week
Try them and report back on your success!

01 Kneel before your queen.

02 Channel her by being intimidatingly perfect.

03 Wear something fabulous today but dont let it wear you; you ARE the red carpet. 

04 If you're not in the mood for beautiful dress, consider a stylish suit.

05 Describe someone you're crushing on as "flung out of space" and see how they react...

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