Greatest Movies of the 21st Century. Did you join in the fun?

by Nathaniel R

The talk this week in US cinephile circles has been the New York Times interactive "10 Best Movies of the 21st Century". 2025 is a good time for it. Here was my ballot, done on a whim, because how else to do it really? We all know that there are more than 10 "Best" movies in any given quarter century!  Sometimes there are more than 10 "Bests" in a single film year. Nevertheless it was fun to watch friends and strangers sound off this week...

Click to read more ...

Ten reasons to celebrate Pride Month with "Latin Blood"

by Cláudio Alves

LATIN BLOOD: THE BALLAD OF NEY MATOGROSSO | © Netflix

Last Thursday, Americans celebrated Juneteenth, but south of the Equator, Latin America's largest nation was in a cinephile mood. It was Brazilian Cinema Day, marking 127 years since Affonso Segreto shot what is considered the earliest cinematic depiction of Brazil in film history. A century and change after cameras first glimpsed the Guanabara Bay, the country's having a moment on the world stage. In the space of a few months, we saw such titles as I'm Still Here, The Blue Trail, and The Secret Agent win big at the Oscars, Berlinale, and Cannes. However, within Brazilian borders, other success stories have flourished, largely overlooked by international onlookers. Consider Vitória with Fernanda Montenegro delivering a staggering star turn at 95, and today's subject, the word-of-mouth box office phenomenon that is Homem com H.

Known as Latin Blood: The Ballad of Ney Matogrosso in English-language markets, the music biopic arrived on Netflix June 17th. And, since that streaming giant is doing nothing to promote it, let me enumerate ten reasons why you need to add Esmir Filho's latest to your Pride Month watchlist…

Click to read more ...

Oscar's Director Hierachy 2024 Edition

by Nathaniel

Spielberg & Scorsese just keep moving up Oscar's hall of fame

Since we did this with the Actresses and Actors, why not the Directors? Martin Scorsese added to his incredible record this season and Steven Spielberg did the same just last year, nudging Billy Wilder into fourth place. The Most Hallowed Directors Quartet is far more "current" than the Actor or Actress throne rooms as a result...

Click to read more ...

200 Oldest Living Screen Stars

by Nathaniel R

Your assignment should you choose to accept it is this:  Choose a few of these fine talents this year and investigate the riches of their filmographies while they're still walking the Earth.  Here's the list...

200 OLDEST LIVING SCREEN STARS

101 years old

Janie Paige in "Silk Stockings"

01 Janis Paige (9/16/22)
This singing stage and screen actress made big impressions in Silk Stockings and Please Don't Eat the Daisies in the late 50s early 60s but her breakthrough stage role went to Doris Day on film (The Pajama Game). She later moved to TV soaps where she worked through the early 1990s...

Click to read more ...

Oscar Trivia: The Beloved Losers Camp gets a new member!

by Nathaniel R

KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON marks a third time for Scorsese to reach a particular Oscar stat

Most die-hard movie fans can tell you who the "all time biggest losers" are in Oscar history though they'll usually cite actors (Peter O'Toole, Glenn Close, etcetera) rather than films. The film list is interesting because usually when Oscar really loves a movie they'll find a way to give it at least one Oscar. Yet sometimes they really love you only on the first ballot but are over you when it comes time to pick winners. In the past ten years this list of "losers" had grown. Please take the term "loser" in good fun as being nominated for tons of Oscars is still a rarity in the grand scheme of Hollywood releases. 

After the jump all of the films with 8 nominations or more that won nothing on Oscar night... 

Click to read more ...