Split Decision: "F1 The Movie"

In the Split Decision series, our writers pair up and face off on an Oscar-nominated movie one loves and the other doesn't. Or, in this case, both are "split" on. Today, BEN MILLER and NATHANIEL R discuss F1 The Movie...

F1 THE MOVIE - nominated for 4 Oscars including Best Picture

BEN: Of the Best Picture nominees, F1 is clearly the one that barely made the list.  We talked a bit about director Joseph Kosinski and his film during our Best Director discussion, but I'm curious where your thoughts on the film land.  

Personally, I feel like F1 is an entertaining carbon copy of Top Gun: Maverick, but with Formula One race cars instead of Navy fighter jets (in a good way).  It certainly did not sniff my top films of the year, but it felt like the Academy needed another mainstream hit to shut up the discourse machine for a few days.  On that front, I think they did a great job.  But, like I said, there is no world where F1 is one of the top ten films of the year, despite liking it.  It's too long and lazy at times, but I was never anything less than entertained.  I have a feeling you are not as high on it as I, and I'm pretty middling on it as it is...

Click to read more ...

Split Decision: “Train Dreams”

In the Split Decision series, two of our writers face off on an Oscar-nominated movie one loves and the other doesn't. Today, JUAN CARLOS OJANO and CLÁUDIO ALVES discuss Train Dreams...

JUAN CARLOS: So why don't you like Train Dreams?

CLÁUDIO: Seriously, that's how you start our convo?

I guess it's an appropriately blunt opening to argue over a blunt movie that wears the costume of subtlety and gentleness without quite pulling it off. Well, in my opinion, of course, since being the one organizing this series has made me well aware that everyone on the team likes Train Dreams. And, to be fair, the picture's grown on me to the point I'm actually rooting for it in the Best Cinematography race and wouldn't even be mad if it pulled off an unprecedented victory in Best Original Song. It's a picture full of great elements that ultimately falters under the weight of one or two major failures, some misbegotten choices that collapse the potential it might have had in different circumstances…

Click to read more ...

What's next for the recently Oscar-nominated: Pt 2- Actresses

With the 95th Academy Awards wrapped, it's time to look to the future. We already talked about what's next for last season's most honored directors so let's turn to our favourite subject: Actresses. What's in store for the recently nominated? Read on...

Click to read more ...

Oscar Volley: Supporting Actress confounds and divides

Team Experience is discussing the various Oscar categories. Here's Eurocheese, Mark Brinkerhoff, and Cláudio Alves on the volatile Best Supporting Actress race.

EUROCHEESE: Hello Gents - With the SAG awards throwing us a curveball, this might be the most exciting race this year! I have no idea who's taking the win. Before we get into it, any thoughts on these five nominees? 

MARK: Any thoughts? All the thoughts!

I honestly did not expect for this race to be as exciting and, dare I say, unpredictable as it appears to be now. A month ago, it seemed like Angela Bassett’s to lose, a long coronation to a storied—and underrewarded—career, and now…I don’t know what to make of it, following Kerry Condon’s win at BAFTA and Jamie Lee Curtis’ gobsmacking upset at SAG...

Click to read more ...

BAFTA goes its own way and shakes up the race

by Cláudio Alves

After it earned 14 out of 15 possible nominations, we should have known that All Quiet on the Western Front was a major threat as far as the BAFTAs were concerned. And yet, this seemed like The Banshees of Inisherin's time to shine. Well, the British Academy has announced their victors, and though they loved Martin McDonagh's latest, it couldn't defeat Edward Berger's Netflix juggernaut. The German Oscar submission won seven awards, including Best Film and Director. Banshees had to settle for four prizes, the same number of wins Elvis amassed. Beyond those three, no other title managed to take home more than one statuette, not even the the Oscar frontrunner Everything Everywhere All At Once.

But what does it all mean? Let's assess after the jump…

Click to read more ...