Podcast: Ben is Back, Beale Street, Vice, and those pesky SAG nods

Nathaniel R and Murtada Elfadl welcome special guest Alfred Soto to talk new films & SAG fallout

Index (61 minutes)
00:01 SAG nomination leftover feelings
05:00 None of us liked Vice and the reviews are mixed. We still think it's an awards contender so we discuss the question of latebreakers in each awards season. 
11:45 Randomness: Ethan Hawke, Bohemian Rhapsody, and the Florida Film Critics Circle
20:40 Ben is Back starring Lucas Hedges (with sidebars of Boy Erased and Beautiful Boy)
33:40 If Beale Street Could Talk
45:00 Reader Q: A fine element of a buzzy movie that's not being talked up
49:17 Reader Q: Is Best Actress actually set already?
51:00 Reader Q: If there wasn't Category Fraud this year what would be happening in Supporting Actress?
53:30 Reader Q: Reassign an Oscar win - what's the cascading effect?
59:40 Wrap up

Further Reading / References
• Murtada's If Beale Street Review
• Nathaniel's If Beale Street Quick Take
• Alfred's controversial review of Roma
• Alfred's Florida Film Critics ballot
• Best Actress Race 

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? 

Beale St, Ben is Back, Vice

The Sad Relatable Story of "Boy Erased"

Please welcome guest columnist Eurocheese, who you probably know from the comments section. We realized we hadn't reviewed Boy Erased in full and he wanted to share his own story and how the film affected him. Here's Eurocheese... - Editor

Fifteen years ago, I came out to my conservative religious parents as a gay man. One of their first suggestions was that I voluntarily send myself to a gay conversion camp. Fortunately, I had accepted myself by that time and refused to go. What would have happened if I had been outed sooner, or if I still thought I could somehow change? I have seen several films addressing these so-called conversion camps, but never one that felt more in line with my personal story than Boy Erased...

Click to read more ...

Review: Ben is Back

by Eric Blume

In writer-director Peter Hedges’ new film Ben is Back, Julia Roberts and Lucas Hedges perform a heart-rending duet.  They’re so locked into their characters, with their lived-in emotions so close to the skin, that they make the film soar.

Young Ben (Hedges) returns home for Christmas, 77 days clean from sober living from his drug addiction, to the joy and hope of his mom (Roberts), and the skepticism of his family.  While the plot is straightforward, Peter Hedges takes the peace out of the domestic setting in the second half of the film, where he has his two main characters on the road facing various elements from Ben’s past...

Click to read more ...

The Hedges

Lucas Hedges, Susan Bruce, and Peter and Simon Hedges

The Hedges were out in force in NYC last night for a special screening of Ben Is Back starring Lucas Hedges and written and directed by his dad Peter Hedges (Pieces of April, Dan in Real Life). The movie opens in limited release on December 7th. [More pics of the event at Just Jared]

(Woof at Lucas's older brother. Pity he's not an actor! But he is in the industry: he's an assistant director, recently worked on the great Jewish lesbian drama Disobedience and currently working on the new Les Misérables miniseries)

Podcast: Bohemian Rhapsody and the Best Actor Race

Nathaniel R, Murtada Elfadl and Chris Feil talk new films and the Oscar race

Index (65 minutes)
00:01 Bryan Singer's Bohemian Rhapsody, homophobic storytelling, and cat reaction shots
10:25 Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury, the limits and strengths of the performance
14:08 The Best Actor race: Bradley, Ethan, Viggo, Willem, and Rami? Plus floundering campaigns for First Man and The Front Runner and the default possibilities of Vice? 
35:00 Lucas Hedges in both Ben is Back and Boy Erased
37:30 Boy Erased in general, Nicole & Russell's fine parental performances, and a bit of The Miseducation of Cameron Post on the side 
50:30 Recent DVDs: Mamma Mia 2, Leave No Trace, Skate Kitchen, and Sorry to Bother You
55:55 Return trips to both A Star is Born and BlacKkKlansman
01:02:00 Can You Ever Forgive Me? afterglow and Wildlife fade?

References / Further Reading
• Nathaniel's review of Bohemian Rhapsody
• Best Actor Chart 
• Murtada on Carey Mulligan
• Jorge's Mamma Mia obsession

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? 

Bohemian Erased