My Mom's Favorite Actress

by Cláudio Alves

If you've read my NYAD review from TIFF, you'll know that Jodie Foster gets my MVP honors despite the movie's construction as Annette Bening's latest Best Actress bid. Unencumbered by mannerisms or affectation, she's a relaxed presence that must bear the weight of the drama on her back once the titular character is made silent inscrutable by her swimming effort. That said, I should probably confess I've been inducted into the church of Jodie Foster from an early age, my movie love shaped by her presence since I can remember. Finding Foster to be the best part of a given film feels natural and just right. After all, she's my mother's favorite actress…

Click to read more ...

Emmys 2023: What if TV Movies had their own awards? (Key Stats + Personal Ballot)

by Juan Carlos Ojano

TV movies (now that mostly means streaming titles) have returned to favor amongst Emmy voters after a nadir of interest last season. All of the nominees for Outstanding Television Movie have received nominations outside that category - a stark difference from last season. This year, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (8 noms) and Prey (6) lead the pack, with Hocus Pocus 2 (3) and Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas and Fire Island (2 each) trailing behind. Even Boston Strangler got a single nom despite being absent in the Television Movie category. Frankly, this should have been the case for the past few years - especially beginning with the pandemic year/s - since this category has registered a steady uptick of eligible films.

Stats, graphs, and a personal ballot after the jump... 

Click to read more ...

TIFF '23: Bening swims for gold in "Nyad"

by Cláudio Alves 

Amid arthouse offerings and experimental fare, daring feats of international cinema and midnight madness, the traditional Oscar movie can have a hard time standing out. Still, coexistence is possible, and there's always that beautiful occurrence, once every blue moon, when a festival's boldest piece is its most likely to succeed with awards. I wish I could say Nyad was that movie, but Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi's narrative feature debut falls short of such lofty expectations. Yet, don't let this curmudgeon film critic's dissatisfaction dissuade you from predicting it in several categories. Sink or swim, Nyad is going for gold…

Click to read more ...

Poster and Clip from "Nyad"

by Nathaniel R

Netflix has released the poster and the first clip from Nyad, the true story of open water swimmer Diana Nyad's attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida at 60 years of age. The film is the first narrative feature from Oscar-winning documentarians Elisabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin and it's based on the memoir "Find a Way". The film hits theaters on October 20th for two weeks before landing on Netflix. As for myself, I'll see it on the big screen not just for the always amazing Annette Bening but also because the cinematographer is Oscar winner Claudio Miranda so maybe there are gorgeous images of the open water? 

See the poster and the clip after the jump...

Click to read more ...

Streaming: "Heartstopper" Delivers An Equally Strong Season Two

by Christopher James

Who’s ready to get emotional? Season one of Heartstopper won raves for bringing to life the acclaimed graphic novels, which present a coming-of-age queer love story between the nerdy and shy Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) and the sensitive jock Nick Nelson (Kit Connor). Alice Oseman’s tale does a wonderful job of capturing the butterflies and emotions of falling in love for the first time, while centering it within the anxieties of coming out and defining one’s sexuality. Though it's meant to appeal to a teen audience, Heartstopper excels at placing adults back in their teenage years, where every text and fleeting glance can feel like an earth-shattering event.

Season two has not lost any of the magic. In so many ways, it examines what happens after “happily ever after” in teen worlds. Charlie got the guy that he wanted, but anxieties and hangups don’t vanish after one triumph. The show’s lovely, delicate touch never gets in the way of tackling hard topics in a realistic manner. Thus, season two is just as deep, emotional and swoon-worthy as its predecessor...

Click to read more ...