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.)
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Tuesday, March 17, 2026 at 12:28PM By Ben Miller
It's been a few years, but we are finally back! The Oscars brought back acting clips for the Oscars and I'm here to rank them from 20 to 1. Let's get to it!
"If there's a straight line, you've got a problem."
20. Sean Penn, One Battle After Another
19. Michael B. Jordan, Sinners
18. Amy Madigan, Weapons
Friday, March 13, 2026 at 8:00PM In the Split Decision series, our writers pair up and face off on an Oscar-nominated movie one loves and the other doesn't. Tonight, LYNN LEE and NICK TAYLOR discuss Sinners.
NICK: Lynn, I think you’re one of the only people on this site - maybe in the entire world - whose opinion on Sinners I don’t know. The most nominated film in Oscar’s history deserves a volley before the big night! For my part, I think Ryan Coogler’s ambition is off the charts, and I genuinely can’t wait to see what he and his team are going to do with their blank check. The execution of that ambition, from plotting to formal execution, is very uneven to me, and I have a hard time reconciling what’s so exciting with what’s undernourished. But before I continue, please tell me what you think of Sinners!!
LYNN: Funny, I feel like I've been singing the praises of Sinners so much lately, I'm finding it difficult to avoid repeating myself! It was my #1 movie of 2025, and I think it deserved many, if not most, of its Oscar nominations...
Saturday, March 7, 2026 at 7:34PM by Nathaniel R
Elle Fanning, Conan O'Brien, Youn Yu Jung, and Delroy Lindo did NOT make the nominee list but I loved all four performances just the same.
Dearest readers, I apologize at how long it takes me to do all this but now is the time to finish the Film Bitch Awards. Should be done in the next couple of days! That's probably more exciting for me than for you but what of it?!? Be my Supporting friends and DISCUSS. Before we get to the nominations a quick look at the dozen performances I cherished most in Supporting from men and women...
Monday, March 2, 2026 at 10:30PM The Oscar Volleys continue. Today, NATHANIEL R and CLÁUDIO ALVES discuss the volatile Oscar race for Best Supporting Actor.
Andrew Scott in BLUE MOON | © Sony Pictures Classics
NATHANIEL: So Cláudio, it falls to you and me to discuss Best Supporting Actor, and I will try reeaaaaaaaaly hard not to bring up my broken-record pet peeve about this category because I know readers have heard it a million times. I don't want to talk about it anymore, so for the duration of this conversation, I'm going to pretend that all the actors are in roles perfectly sized for this particular category. And so we're here to discuss everything else... but not that!
Performance quality-wise, I think this is a good quintet - even if I'm still seriously angry that people wouldn't give Andrew Scott the time of day for Blue Moon since his performance is stronger than Hawke's AND he is giving you so much backstory and giving it so economically and with laser minimalist precision. Such a generous actor - he doesn't steal scenes so much as immerse you in them and what's going on between these characters. Anyway, I just love him, and I had to get that off my chest first. It's been a struggle.
So my opening question to you is struggle-themed. I'm curious who you think had the most difficult role to play here and why...
Wednesday, February 11, 2026 at 10:00PM by Nathaniel R
Elle Fanning made her acting debut opposite Sean Penn in I AM SAM (2001) - both are up for Supporting Oscars in March 2026
When we're looking at Oscar trivia we're often focused on individuals. Once that's done it's fun to widen the view a little and think about the year's twenty nominated thespians as a unit. So here are some connections and percentages of note...
