Nicole Kidman Tribute: Paddington (2014)

by Nick Taylor

I’m going to tell you a secret: I think the first Paddington movie is better than its more critically-adored sequel. Not in every way is this one better: There’s a couple instances of harsh overlighting that take out some shots at the knees, like a key character emerging from a phone booth as a one-sided meet-cute. You could also say that both films - but maybe especially this one - are leaning into Wes Anderson-type confectionaries, especially with the score. But Paddington’s got a lot of buoyant, colorful entertainment to recommend it, and I can’t help but feel Nicole Kidman’s delightful, icy villainess has been overlooked as one of this series’ most notable achievements, alongside the children’s-book palette, Hugh Grant’s more lauded performance in Paddington 2, and fumbling the bag on Sally Hawkins for the upcoming trip to Peru...

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Tweetweek

We're usually fans of spreading the wealth, but we can't disagree on this one...

Kirsten Dunst could be cast in every movie and still not be in nearly enough movies pic.twitter.com/1gJe6lgwDo

— It's Turkey Time, Gobble Gobble (@Nico_Lang) December 5, 2021

The most relatable part in WEST SIDE STORY is during the Quintet when Anita sings about how excited she is to get absolutely railed that night

— Jorge Molina (@colormejorge) December 4, 2021

Imagine seeing critics group winners and getting upset that it doesn’t push an Oscar narrative.

— Brian Formo (@BrianFormo) December 3, 2021

We're going to be seeing a lot of the latter probably! It's such a weird part of the awards circus.

More curated tweets for amusement and discussion after the jump including a killer Rami Malek impression, Adam Driver ubiquity, and Thomasin McKenzie's voice...

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Thankful for... Ben Miller!

This year for our "thankful for" column we're doing things differently. I'm interviewing the team so you can get to know them better. First up, BEN MILLER.

Ben joined Team Experience in the summer of 2017. He lives in Texas with his wife and kids. Like most of us here at TFE he's into Oscars and the related niche trivia fascinations that come with that. In the few years he's been at TFE he's revealed impeccable taste in actresses, caught up with classics he'd missed like Cabaret and reviewed a lot of TV including the final season of Game of Thrones. And though he called his own piece on connecting with his son through WALL•E "corny,"  I personally love his family man perspective. Sometimes sentiment is earned! 

OUR THANKSGIVING QUESTIONNAIRE FOLLOWS...

Okay, Ben, when did you first fall in love with the movies?

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Nicecore-palooza

by Cláudio Alves

Upon the US release of Paddington 2 in 2018, film critic David Ehrlich wrote about a new age of optimistic movies. He called this phenomenon, nice core. They were films that emerged in the era of Trump and Brexit, little rays of celluloid sunshine that celebrated the power of kindness and the wonder of humanity from filmmakers living in an increasingly cruel world. If you're looking for formalistic vanguard or challenging experiences, you won't find it in this type of cinema, though that doesn't have to be necessarily bad. Art of modest ambition whose main purpose is comfort shouldn't be undervalued.

One could almost say that, when ironic detachment becomes standard, the exaltation of sincere cinema can be a radical gesture…

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Can You Ever Retweet Me?

Tweets!

The dog in Widows is named Olivia. The real, credited name of the dog in Game Night is Olivia. Is it... is it the same dog? pic.twitter.com/zU787tQhwG

— kateyrich (@kateyrich) November 16, 2018

 A semi-weekly curated collection of tweets for your seconds-long amusement. After the jump Julianne Moore, Tom Hardy, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez memes, Widows, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Gone Girl, Fantastic Beasts 2, Beetlejuice and more...

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