Soundtracking: "Shame"

by Chris Feil

There is reinvention of a golden standard and then there is what Shame does with “New York, New York”. Carey Mulligan’s Sissy interrupts the life her sex addict brother Brandon, played by Michael Fassbender, initiating his decent into rock bottom. But when he goes to see her perform in some anonymously upscale bar, her rendition of Frank Sinatra’s musical calling card similarly halts the film’s syncopated rhythms. Sparsely orchestrated, Sissy goes off-melody and off-tradition, singing an unexpectedly fragile version that McQueen uses to link the emotional brokenness between siblings. Decidedly not the triumph we are used to hearing in a Sinatra horn section...

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"Wildlife" Teaser and The Best Actress Race

by Nathaniel R

I think most of expected to be seeing a lot more of Carey Mulligan in Oscar races after her stunning debut in An Education nine years ago. Yes. nine. years. ago. Crazy how time flies at the cinema. Contrary to those star-is-born expectations she has not been back in the mix yet, despite numerous films since, many of them "prestige" titles: Inside Llewyn Davis, Shame, Suffragette, Mudbound, The Great Gatsby, Far From the Madding Crowd.

But from the looks of the Wildlife teaser plus early critical raves she finally has a bonafide star showcase again...

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Cannes Carpet #1: Cruz, Bingbing, Adjani, Moore and more...

by Nathaniel R

Chloe, Chiara, Fan Bingbing, and Carey

With Cannes two days strong now, let's survey the first round of fashions with 16 of the most memorable looks to date. Chloe Sevigny has moved past her fashion muse days but still brings the style while jurying one of the sidebars. It's sort of a starchy pleat with silver gift wrapping. (I don't know what I'm looking at exactly which is sometimes welcome!) Actress Chiara Mastroianni, child of not one but two bonafide legends (Mastroianni & Deneuve, don'cha know) appears to have stepped out of the 1980s directly into 2018. From a distance the dress is like a splatter painting on acid. And Fan Bingbing generally brings several trunks (or maybe trucks?) worth of fashion to Cannes. This Ali Karoui mint-green strapless number is the best of them so far...

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Smackdown Companion - The Shape of Phantom Billboards

NEW PODCAST! *Updated with correct podcast file*

For this week's podcast Nathaniel R presents a companion conversation to our Supporting Actress Smackdown (which we'll presume you've read already!). Joining him to discuss the Best Picture race and more generalized discussion about supporting actressing in 2017 are: Andrew Carden (Awards Connection / Gold Derby) Chris Feil (The Film Experience), Candice Frederick (Reel Talker), Erica Mann (NYC Film Chick), and Kevin P O'Keeffe (Into). 

Index (42 minutes)
00:01 Intros & Rewatches
02:30 Favs That Weren't Nominated
13:00 Mary J Blige and Carey Mulligan and Mudbound
17:00 Shape of Water, Get Out, or Three Billboards to Win?
31:00 Switching Roles Around: Octavia Spencer
37:30 Allison Janney and Julianne Nicholson and I Tonya
40:00 Lesley Manville, Laurie Metcalf and Goodbyes

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? 

Smackdown Companion 17

Random Realization

Carey Mulligan would have been a huge silent film star 100 years ago.