The Film Experience™ was created by Nathaniel R. All material herein is written by our team. (This site is not for profit but for an expression of love for cinema & adjacent artforms.)
The 29th European Film Awards were held in Wroclaw Poland today and they went all in for the very popular German father/daughter comedy Toni Erdmann with five major prizes. It was also a huge night for women with wins in Direction, Screenplay, Cinematography, Costume Design and more! Super high profile titles like Isabelle Huppert & Paul Verhoeven's Elle and Pedro Almodóvar's Julieta went home empty handed, though.
I meant to follow up February's very popular Meryl Streep Reader Ranking with another participatory countdown that's turned over to you! But I've been slow about it. Here's a perfect opportunity. Let's do everyone's favorite spy, James Bond. Deborah has been listing her favorites as we count down to Daniel Craig's third outing as 007, Skyfall on November 9th.
The official James Bond films as a reminder...
Dr. No (1962) Connery
From Russia With Love (1963) Connery
Goldfinger (1964) Connery
Thunderball (1965) Connery
You Only Live Twice (1967) Connery
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) Lazenby
Diamonds Are Forever (1971) Connery
Live and Let Die (1973) Moore
The Man With the Golden Gun (1974) Moore
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) Moore
Moonraker (1979) Moore
For Your Eyes Only (1981) Moore
Octopussy (1983) Moore
A View To a Kill (1985) Moore
The Living Daylights (1987) Dalton
License to Kill (1989) Dalton
Goldeneye (1995) Brosnan
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) Brosnan
The World is Not Enough (1999) Brosnan
Die Another Day (2002) Brosnan
Casino Royale (2006) Craig
Quantum of Solace (2008) Craig
Confession: I have a soft spot for Octopussy (1983) which most people think is terrible, because it's the first Bond I ever saw.How to play along:
Send me a ranked list of every James Bond film you've seen by November 1st with "BOND RANK" in the subject line. Your list could be as short as 3 films or as long as 22 -- I'll take any size list but the lists are weighted to prioritize the readers who've seen the most (just like we did with Streep). If you need help remembering which film is which here's a handy compendium.
Bonus Points: If you include a list of your 7 favorite Bond Girls in the e-mail, I'll add more weight to your film rankings if you do.
Feel free to include soundbytes. I might publish them if they're relevant to the final rank.
Feel free to include links to something you've written about the franchise if you have a blog. I might link them if it's relevant to the final writeup.
Depending on your enthusiasm we'll know how Bond crazy we should get in early November when Skyfall premieres.
Salon on the reinvention of Brad Pitt. Good history piece / career overview Vulture Best Pictures as infographics Pajiba "interviews" Amanda Seyfried about her latest hacktress movie Gone. NPR Monkey See smart provocative piece on the politics of Warrior (2011) New York 100 pictures of Meryl Streep through the years. She ages backwards in this gallery IMDb a gallery of your acting nominees in and out of character
My New Plaid Pants has my favorite "which is hotter?" of all time featuring (American Psycho) Low Resolution's top ten films of 2011. Not your average top 10 list. Some Came Running objects to the frequent comparisons of Singin' in the Rain and The Artist Sunset Gun, now married to Guy Maddin -- is this the first time a film critic has married a director? trivia experts? -- explains his latest project, seances if you will to remake lost silent films. Booby Finger How To Watch The Oscars a very snarky guide if you're into that sorta thing
Film Festivals Are Infinite With Skyfall just around the corner I find myself thinking of 007 James Bond quite often and then Pierce Brosnan popped up in my inbox. Have you ever heard of Cinemagic? It's a film festival / workshop type thing for young people interested in filmmaking. (I'm reasonably confident that someone starts a new film festival every day of each year in the 21st century; they are infinite). It's Irish born but it's been expanding and Pierce Brosnan is a celebrity supporter.
Should I revisit all the Bond films this year. I'm torn on how to honor the 50th anniversary.
Our Apologies To 50% of the World's Population Between the still pervasive global problems of sexist, patriarchal and theocratic governments and cultures and religions that love to treat women like shit, and the latest hypocrisies of the ever sick-making US Republican party ("we believe in small government except when it comes to war-making and your personal morality so hold still while we insert this probe into your vagina without your consent!") women just can't catch a break lately. So why not share this video from IndieWire's Women in Hollywood blog about the female directed movies Oscar didn't love.
It's interesting how many quality female-helmed films there were this past year and I absolutely support the notion that we need more female directors. But I also think it's worth being realistic and saying that none of these films would have won Oscar attention even if their directors had penises. Not that kind of movie(s).
Sally Kirkland when Cher wins. Love ya, SallyWhat you still need more Oscarable links? Jesus! 24 Frames interesting bit about Alfre Woodard's activism within AMPAS Vulture Best Pictures as infographics In Contention Guy defends The Artist ... and has money on it. Gawker on Netflix user reviews of Best Pictures Slate Acceptance Speeches! Yes, I linked / wrote it but wheeee interactive
Finally...fourfour has a "how they lost" an animated gif wall of Oscar name-reading and the instant smiling that follows. I don't know what caused it but I kind of think nominees are better at hiding their feelings in today's Oscar world which makes it less fun.
Naturally I love this gif wall though my favorite isn't listed. So here it is again for you because it's my preferred method of self-flagellation.
I love you Kathleen!
I'm aware that this post is extremely scattered but it's the day before the Oscars. I'm all over the place with anxiety!
In this edition of Yes, No, Maybe Sowe take a look at Sarah Jessica Parker's newest film: I Don't Know How She Does It. Based on the eponymous book by Allison Pearson, the film centers on the life of Kate Reddy (SJP) a working mom who earns the living in her household. Greg Kinnear plays her husband.
The book is often compared to Bridget Jones's Diary and like it, became a sensation in England. For the film adaptation, the action was moved from London to the States and as your ears will make clear, SJP has no British accent.
But anyway before we say anymore about the trailer, you have to see it first:
YES. SJP narrating while we see the city! Even for a second or two, it just makes you think about Sex and the City, no? And that is never a bad thing. However I couldn't help but wonder: will she ever fully get out of Carrie Bradshaw mode? Though I adore her and think she's seriously underrated but her roles land as different versions of Carrie: bitchy Carrie (The Family Stone), slightly sluttier Carrie (Failure to Launch), indie Carrie (Smart People); you get the point. Someone better put her in a period movie right away! Try new things, SJP>
Also...Christina Hendricks! She's in it for like a second. Will someone please give her a movie now?
NO. Pierce Brosnan doing "comedy". Last time he was funny was when he played James Bond and that's the kind of funny he should be doing.
Also, let's all agree on how much the title sucks. Right? It's such a weird thing to say, but I couldn't see myself buying a ticket for a movie with that title if it didn't star SJP. And, as someone who has to suffer through preposterous movie title translations, I'm already expecting something particularly corny for this one.
MAYBE SO. When everything pointed to yet another forgettable comedy, I realized the director is Douglas McGrath (did you notice how the actors don't even get credited in the trailer, weird huh?) McGrath has a rather slim filmography but all of his movies have had some value. He proved he has a talent for romantic comedies with the delicious Emma and the surprisingly enjoyable Nicholas Nickleby. His take on Capote (Infamous) wasn't half bad either. One can arguably say he was one of the first directors who set out to prove that Sandra Bullock could act (her Harper Lee is just as affecting as Catherine Keener's). McGrath also co-wrote Bullets on Broadway with Woody Allen. The man is talented so maybe this movie will be better than what the confusing trailer suggests.
So, are you a Yes? No? Maybe So? Will SJP ever stop being just Carrie? Do you like Douglas McGrath's other movies? Are the memories of Brosnan's vocals in Mamma Mia still haunting your deepest nightmares?
Have you ever seen the British gangster drama The Long Good Friday (1980)? I had never heard of it until a few years ago. It starred Helen Mirren and Bob Hoskins before I knew who they were and was released well before I started seeing R rated movies that only adults would like. I was wildly in love with the TV show Remington Steele (1982-1987) as a kid but back then I never considered whether actors had existed before I knew who they were (unless they were older actors and clearly MOVIE STARS like Liz Taylor & Jane Fonda and those types.) Pierce Brosnan existed before Remington Steele!!! Who knew?
26 year old's Pierce Brosnan's film debut "The Long Good Friday"
But there he is pre-Remington Steele, pre James Bond, pre Mamma Mia!. This is his big screen debut and he is billed as "1st Irishman" He has two scenes and no lines. He doesn't even utter a sound in the movie. (A mute Pierce Brosnan! Why didn't the makers of Mamma Mia! think of that?). But you don't need vocal chords when you look like this.
The Long Good Friday is a pretty tense crime movie all told and it uses that out-of-fashion tactic of keeping you in the dark about what's going on for at least one reel (today's movies love exposition too much to do this frequently anymore). The first 20 minutes are very disorienting as there's virtually no dialogue for half of that and we see a theft, a gay bar pickup, three murders, a funeral, an old woman spitting in the face of a young man and a yacht party thrown by Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren all of which have little context or connective tissue that we can make sense of.
But the man who lifted the money in the first scene, Colin (Paul Freeman) goes swimming whilst young Pierce keeps leering at him. To complete the cruising bait, Pierce heads for a literal April Shower, it being Good Friday and all. More after the jump.)
Saturday, December 10, 2016 at 8:01PM 
Maren Ade was the belle of the EFA ball
