Hello, Gorgeous: Best Actress of 2019

A new series by Juan Carlos Ojano

The Best Actress shortlist in this particular year is noteworthy in that all of them appear at the very beginning of their films.  Three of the five are in the very first shot of their films. One is the first person we see in the film. Meanwhile, another film begins with a different actress (a younger version of the character), but is still the character of the nominated performer.

While not always indicative of how centered they are in the respective narrative of their films, it is nevertheless a striking gesture that informs how we were supposed to enter their stories. Even in two instances where there are other leads aside from the Best Actress nominee, the five films featuring these actresses position them as navigators of their own stories.

Are you ready? The year is 2019...

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Streaming Roulette, August: Exotica, Harriet, and Muppets Now

If you're new to the site this is how we share new streaming offerings for the month. We select a handful or two of titles and just randomly hit a place on the scroll bar to see what the film looks like - no cheating.  Ready? Let's play...

I CAN'T WATCH!!!

Muppets Now (2020) Season 1 on Disney Plus
Let's HOPE Kermit isn't being prophetic about the quality of his new show with this random shot/dialogue. Maybe because we grew up with them, we always give new Muppet content a chance. Will you?

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Film Bitch Awards - Heroes, Villains, Action, and More...

by Nathaniel R

We promised to finish up the 2019 Film Bitch Awards so we're doing that. Who talked us into so many categories? Oh that's right, no one but our own movie-loving madness. There's probably a cure for it but we're happy to stay addicted. 

HEROES, VILLAINS, DIVAS, and SEXPOTS
The character awards are now complete with honors for titular characters from Harriet and Diamantino and Joker and Us (just making sure you're not skimming but titular works there, too, right?) among other films like Synonyms, Toy Story 4, and Hustlers. As to the latter we realize that Jennifer Lopez factors quite heavily into all six of Hustlers nominations thus far but sometimes you ARE the movie, even if the movie itself is quite good. And, because sometimes moviegoing pleasure is perverse, we even found a way to "honor" Cats...

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Alternative Best Costume Design Ballots

by Cláudio Alves

The Best Costume Design category at the Oscars tends to be a place where one can find idiosyncratic choices. While it's true the Academy has a taste for the extravagant and period-looking, the Costume Branch is usually unafraid of celebrating films otherwise ignored. That's how we get such wonderful nods like those for Bright Star's Regency fashions, I Am Love's early aughts glamour, Jane Eyre 's Victorian severity, and Mirror Mirror's fairytale lunacy.

This year, for the first time in the category's history, all five nominees are Best Picture contenders. The arguable quality of the designs aside, this is a sad state of affairs that makes the usually cool Best Costume Design category look tediously similar to all the others. In an attempt to right the Academy's wrongs and offer a more varied look at 2019's achievements in film Costume Design, here's an alternative set of nominees, none of which were shortlisted by the Academy...

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Soundtracking: The 2019 Original Song Nominees

by Chris Feil

Right on schedule, the "why do we still have Best Original Song?" responses have arrived. While this year doesn't rank high among the greats in terms of quality, I, your resident Best Original Song obsessive, would argue that this year's crop of nominees is far from the worst. The most expected (or at least predicted) nominee left off the list was The Lion King's "Spirit", though we can all rest on the certainty that Beyoncé will one day be a nominee here. And then there is many folks saddest omission, Wild Rose's "Glasgow (No Place Like Home)", sadly from a small film that couldn't ultimately battle against bigger names and titles.

Let's break down the nominees and their potential to win...

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