More Category Confusion: LEAD or SUPPORTING?

by Cláudio Alves

Category confusion is always a hot topic in the Film Experience comment section. It's been debated across this awards season, from regional critics honors to the major precursors, from the smallest indie flick to some of the year's biggest blockbuster offerings. So. It's only logical for the LEAD or SUPPORTING polls to make a return. Last time, the lot included Killers of the Flower Moon, Passages, Barbie, and much more. Now, let's redirect our collective attention to newer releases, including the much-discussed May December. Are Charles Melton and Julianne Moore co-leads alongside Natalie Portman? Let's discuss…

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Emmy Category Analysis: Supporting Actor in a Limited Series

By Nathaniel R

While Abe and Chris have done a fine job staying objective in their analysis, I must confess upfront that this particular category has me too emotionally invested. In doing so, it's causing anxiety! The future winner, very deserving, feels clear. And yet, is this wishful thinking? There's no precursors to look to assuage the fears that we're making up the "frontrunner" business in our heads. Unlike the Oscars which are preceded by countless precursors aimed (unfortunately) at predicting or influencing the outcome) the Emmys come to us mostly fresh each year... apart from repeating themselves (though that is rarely a problem in the limited series category. Before we get to the punditry and the reason for the anxiety let's recap the nominees... 

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Review: Isabelle Fuhrman Is Back and Bigger Than Ever In The Camp Blast Of "Orphan: First Kill"

by Jason Adams

Like how The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was really about Vietnam, they say horror movies reflect the big anxieties of their times. And the Orphan franchise -- which I can giddily now call a "franchise" thanks to the gleefully ridiculous sequel Orphan: First Kill hitting Paramount+ this weekend -- is like a dollop of arsenic foamed across the surface of our collective pumpkin-spice latte fetish. In other words, it's a poison dart tossed straight at Big Mommy Blog to puncture the heart of the Social Media Wellness Cult. The diabolical Esther (played to utter perfection by Isabelle Fuhrman again) is a sweet-faced and ribbon-laced Trojan Horse sneaked onto your curated feed and set to blow up your pretty pictures from the inside out. She's Bo Burnham's "White Woman's Instagram" song plucked by ice pick across harp string.

But first, let's step back. (And yes this review will spoil the big surprise of the original film -- it's been thirteen years after all.) The first Orphan came out in 2009 and into the home of Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard...

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Not Without My Lost Daughter

by Jason Adams

Variety has just announced that Maggie Gyllenhaal will be making her directorial debut with an adaptation of Elena Ferrante's bestselling book The Lost Daughter, and it will star Olivia Colman, Dakota Johnson, Mr. Maggie Gyllenhaal aka Peter Sarsgaard, and the Wild Rose herself Jessie Buckley...

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10th Anniversary: “An Education”

By Cláudio Alves

An Education tells the story of Jenny Mellor, an English schoolgirl who, in 1961, falls into the trap of an older man’s affections. In the process, she almost squanders away her dreams of Oxford, thinking she’s trading a hopelessly boring life for one of excitement. After all, if the years slaving over books are the best of one’s life, why bother? 

One of the loveliest aspects of the film is how it refuses to offer easy answers to its dilemmas. Throughout, we see many women who chose different paths and, thanks to director Lone Scherfig and screenwriter Nick Hornby, all of them are humanized and sympathetic. There are no villains in An Education, no one is wrong or completely right. These are people and not mere plot points or narrative mechanisms. We can imagine all of them living their lives, being the protagonists of their stories.

It’s not surprising that An Education has lived on as an actors’ showcase above all else. Many of its performers would go on to greater fame, though the star has arguably not yet reached these heights again...

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