Almost There: Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"

by Cláudio Alves

History repeats itself, especially when it comes to the Academy Awards. Throughout its 92 years, very few Asian actors have been recognized, even when their films were otherwise embraced. This year, the victim of the insidious trend was Parasite, which won the SAG for Best Ensemble but couldn't muster enough support for a single acting nomination at the Oscars. Thinking back to the last non-English speaking Asian production to score a Best Picture nomination, we see the same phenomenon.

In 2000, Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon conquered a remarkable 10 nominations, including for Picture and Director but none of the nods were for acting. In the end, the blockbuster won four of its categories. Despite the acting branch's oversight, Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi received many nominations elsewhere, including the BAFTAs. The younger actress even conquered the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress…

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Review: Last Christmas

by Chris Feil

A sure signal of the coming holiday season at the movies is the arrival of unpretentious lighter fare like Last Christmas. This year’s offering falls in line with the easy charms of such previous entries as The Holiday and Almost Christmas, but also arrives with a somewhat affably strange lump of ingredients. Inspired by the Wham! song and packed with a slew of George Michael songs, the Paul Feig-directed film is co-written by Emma Thompson (with Bryony Kimmings and Greg Wise) and offers up timely context within a classic romcom structure. It’s a sugar high of a movie that remains grounded in some substance, not exactly tidy but satisfyingly more than meets the eye.

Emilia Clarke plays the disillusioned would-be singer and Yugoslavian immigrant Kate, couch-hopping between friends that she quickly burns out with carelessness and working in a Christmas-themed giftshop. She avoids her family, particularly her domineering mother (also played by Thompson), and is increasingly testing the patience of her demanding but doting boss (Michelle Yeoh). Kate’s self-destructiveness comes after a serious illness has left her not with renewed gratitude, but with a diminished sense of self she has internalized into constant misbehavior. But her main challenger in the struggle comes when a charming man on a bike named Tom (Henry Golding) wanders in and out of her life.

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Would you rather?

OMG. Did you hear that Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster are doing The Music Man on Broadway together for the 2020 season? Aaaaahhhhh how perfect. Anyway, since Hugh is on the brain (and seems to be getting younger !?!), it's time for another round of our celebrity-fantasy quick decision poll time ago (an excuse to share our fav instagram posts on the regular essentially). So, would you rather

... go falconing with Hugh?
... get your beard did with Rune Temte (Captain Marvel) in Oslo?
... reenact Lady & Tramp with Justin Theroux?
... reminisce about Natural Born Killers with Juliette Lewis?
... ice skate with Jonathan Van Ness?
... have a drink with Russell Tovey & Andrew Scott?  
... ride camels with Sandy Powell?
... chopper to an island for fine snail delicacies with Michelle Yeoh?
... dunk your hair in the pool with Tracee Ellis Ross? 

Pictures are after the jump to help you decide.

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20 More Oscar Lewks

We couldn't leave Oscar week without a final red carpet posting. Herewith 20 more gowns (well, looks... a few women wore pants) to gawk out... from the non-nominees this time and with a few comments thrown in. Who was your Favourite?

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Red Carpet Lineup: The 20 Best BAFTA Looks

"Great gowns. Beautiful gowns
          -Aretha Franklin

Let's talk BAFTA glamour, the last major movie awards show prior to the Oscars. Who turned it out? We picked these 20, in roughly ascending order, as the best looks. What'cha think?

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