Emmy Category Analysis: Fantasy Costumes

by Cláudio Alves

From 2015 to 2017, fantasy and sci-fi costumes were awarded alongside period stylings at the Emmys. Then, in 2018, they got their own category. Unlike the category for contemporary costumes, this one's fond of repeats. At least, it was fond of Game of Thrones, which won the race thrice. For the past two years, though, this has been a category where the TV Academy honors big superhero productions. Watchmen and Wandavision are our most recent winners, and either Loki or Moon Knight could continue the trend. That being said, the biggest boon to a show's chances in this race seems to be its overall popularity across the board, in which case, What We Do in The Shadows might have a chance…

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Emmy Category Analysis: Contemporary Costumes

by Cláudio Alves

Unlike at the Oscars, contemporary costume design is regularly recognized by the Emmys. That's what happens when you have over one hundred categories, including separate prizes for costumes, depending on the type of narrative. This specific award has only existed since 2015, and so far, no show has won it twice, making for a nice reprieve from the TV Academy's usual allergy to spreading the wealth. Indeed, none of this year's nominees is a previous victor, though half of them have competed before. 

Usually, new programs have an advantage but never discount the power of a sweep – Schitt's Creek won on its second try as part of its final season's Emmy dominance. In other words, as with other categories, The White Lotus is well positioned to take home the gold…

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The Best Costumes of 1997

by Cláudio Alves

Before we say goodbye to 1997 and move on to 1951, let's indulge in what has become a Smackdown tradition. After Nathaniel and his panelist do their Supporting Actress analysis and podcast discussion, it's time for some costume-related musings. Like most of the categories in that year's Oscars, the Best Costume Design race was won by Titanic, which shouldn't be surprising. Not only was the movie a sweeper, but its wardrobe has achieved iconic status in the decades since its original release. Deborah Lynn Scott makes for a just victor, not only because of her work's iconographic power but also because it works within the picture's purview of history and romance…

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Klute, pt 3: Fresh Produce, Real Tears, and a Sick Confession

In the first third of Klute (1971) we met the two fascinating central characters, a smart angry prostitute/actress Bree Daniels (Jane Fonda) and a hard-to-read detective John Klute (Donald Sutherland) investigating the disappearance of a man who might have been her client. In the middle of the picture, a volatile romance between the two blossoms just as the speculative danger becomes real. 

part 3 by Mark Brinkerhoff

01:17:20 As we left part two of this retrospective, the body of another of Bree's friends was found. Klute is putting the pieces together and it doesn't look great for Bree, the only one of the three prostitutes involved with the mystery man who is still alive. Boy does the suspense really ratchet up towards the end! So we'll keep this final installment briefer in appreciation of quickening heartbeats...

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Top Five Reasons to see "Mothering Sunday"

by Cláudio Alves

Adapted by Alice Birch from Graham Swift's novel, Mothering Sunday depicts a day in the life of a young maid in 1920s England. She's been having an affair with a rich boy before he leaves to be married off, plans are made for an afternoon of farewell sex. Throughout, the trauma of World War I haunts the nation, ghosts looming over the living who try to conceal their brokenness through social pageantry. It's all told as remembrance, a writer looking back at her youth, trying to articulate a momentous episode on the page. Cut to non-linear smithereens, the film's prone to disrupt stately historical drama with wet carnality. Flashes of lustful memory often barge their way into unrelated scenes, like rainwater flooding a basement's every nook and cranny...

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