Tribeca Review: Parallel Stories in “The Freshly Cut Grass”

By Abe Friedtanzer 

Most films tend to focus on one or several protagonists or feature a true ensemble where there’s no lead. It’s rare to find a film with two main characters who have absolutely nothing to do with each other, or at least don’t appear within the same narrative. Yet The Freshly Cut Grass does just that, following two intellectuals who are both not overly satisfied with their lives and begin to see the allure of something that feels distinctly fresh and unlike what they’ve felt in a long time…

Click to read more ...

Red Carpet Lineup: Best Supporting Actress!

Annual Mandatory Beauty Posting / Polling  

We've already written up their performances and talked them up at length in the Supporting Actress Smackdown so now let's discuss the gowns. Are you a red latex fan or torn between pristine or shimmery white beaded structured gowns? Perhaps your taste runs more toward classic maroon frills and floof. Or wait... I know some of you thrill to a waffle cone/snake skin/avant garde/1940s/rockyhorror something or other, don'cha? Vote and discuss, plz. 

polls

Podcast: The Smackdown Companion

This month's 'Smackdown' panelists: Murtada Elfadl, Chris Feil, Ginny O'Keefe, Robin Write, and Nathaniel R

 

A new season of the Supporting Actress Smackdown is kicking off, with the first installment being this year's Oscar competition. You've already read our blurbs on the five nominated performances and now a more in-depth conversation about those actresses, their films, and a few random asides to other movies and actors. You've already met the panel and here's our conversation in full!

Index (1 hour)
00:01 Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz in The Favourite, Marina de Tavira in Roma
11:00 Regina King in If Beale Street Could Talk
17:30 Amy Adams in Vice and our traditional thought-game of switching the actors around into each other's roles to see what would happen. Plus who is supporting these supporting women?
29:00 Random chatter: Vice, Bohemian Rhapsody, Never Look Away, Green Book
36:00 Other supporting women of the year: Ann Dowd, Sakura Ando, Claire Foy
45:00 Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman and BP to Black Panther? 
56:00 Where you could read, listen to, and follow the panelists. 

Referenced in the Podcast
• Smackdown blurbs
• This Had Oscar Buzz
• Filmotomy's Marina de Tavira article
• Nathaniel's Rachel Weisz interview

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? 

Smackdown: Regina, Rachel, Marina, and More...

Smackdown 2018: Amy, Emma, Rachel, Marina, "and..." Regina King

Presenting Oscar's Chosen 'Supporting' Actresses of the Films of 2018.

Two warring ladies of the royal court, two desperate mothers, and an amoral ambitious politician's wife. That's the 'supporting' actress roll call for the 91st Oscars, though two of the characters are leading ladies. Still, we're here to talk performances, first and foremost. Who wowed us, whose take on their characters left us wanting, and are these actresses making the most of what's in their screenplays? [Sad Disclaimer: Unfortunately since we did not receive screeners this season (moving/address problems) we were unable to do the normal screentime count portion of the Smackdown though we're just as curious as you surely are about how the screentime in The Favourite actually measures up from actress-to-actress. We won't trust any report till we do our own because we've heard conflicting statements, so we will eventually do the count.]

THIS MONTH'S PANELISTS   

Here to talk about these five nominated turns are actress Ginny O'Keefe, blogger Robin Write (Filmotomy), two senior Film Experience contributors Murtada Elfadl, Chris Feil, and your host Nathaniel R.  The final collective panelist is the Readers (hey, that means you!!!) who took the time to send us their votes. Okay, let's go!

2018
SUPPORTING ACTRESS SMACKDOWN  

 

Click to read more ...

Would you rather?

You realize this weekly poll fun is just to share our fav instagrams of the week, right? Still, you should always confess in the comments!

"She got good at Instagram so fast"Would you rather...

...wait to get glammed-up w/ Glenn Close?
... head to Fashion Week w/ Lana Condor?
... admire art while bathing Russell Tovey?
...be completely over it w/ La Pfeiffer?
... play the "artiphon" w/ Neil Patrick Harris?
... celebrate Jennifer Aniston's bday w/ Kate & Gwynnie?
... celebrate Mexico alongside Salma, Marina & Yalitza? 
... kiss a bunny w/ Constance Wu?
... let Charo teach you disco ball therapy?
And for your final options a little 'Bohemian' party
... stay in bed with Ben Hardy and Joseph Mazello?
... or dance the night away with Mazello? 

Pictures are after the jump to help you decide...

Click to read more ...