Better Luck Next Time, Nathan Crowley

by Cláudio Alves

If Sarah Greenwood wins the Oscar for Barbie, Nathan Crowley will officially become the most nominated production designer without a single win. You may be familiar with his name from many Christopher Nolan pictures since he's worked on most of them. But most is not all, and this past year, the British production designer was absent from the Oppenheimer credits. Ruth De Jong did that job and is now up for an Oscar thanks to it. Crowley, however, was less fortunate. Instead of the blockbuster biopic, he was busy re-imagining the wondrous world of Roald Dahl for Wonka – new on PVOD if you want a taste of Chalamet…

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European Film Awards: Festival Darlings score big in the Craft Categories

Cláudio Alves

Last month, the European Film Academy announced their nominations in the above-the-line categories, with The Zone of Interest and Fallen Leaves in the lead. Now, it was a time for the winners of their craft prizes, also known as the Excellence Awards. These honors are decided by a jury of eight from a pool of selected titles, and this year, there was some double-dipping afoot. Both The Promised Land and Society of the Snow scored two prizes, while the remaining awards were divided among pictures that premiered in competition at Cannes – Anatomy of a Fall, The Zone of Interest, La Chimera, and Club Zero…

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You got to love that "Master Gardener" wallpaper

by Cláudio Alves

If you've read my thoughts on Decision to Leave, you might have realized I'm obsessed with wallpaper as set design. Indeed, one of these days, I might do a Top Ten best wall coverings in Park Chan-wook's filmography, for he remains the king of wallpaper cinema. Not that the Korean master is the only cineaste to dip their toes into these pools of scenographic goodness. Recently, one can think of the nauseating renovations in Zone of Interest, the autumnal florals in Killers of the Flower Moon, Priscilla's pretty pastels, and Cobweb's domestic nightmare.

Still, in 2023, one film utilized wallpaper like no other – Paul Schrader's Master Gardener, with sets designed by Ashley Fenton…

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Yes No Maybe So: "Poor Things"

by Cláudio Alves

Vasilis Marmatakis has done it again. Yorgos Lanthimos' preferred poster designer always knocks them out of the park, and his latest creation's no different, hitting that sweet spot between beauty and unease. Poor Things looks impossibly enticing, mixing the lushness of period stylings with bodily discombobulations that hint at the mysteries of Emma Stone's character. She'll be Bella in this adaptation of Alasdair Gray's 1992 novel, a resurrected young woman who pursues personal freedom beyond the will of Dr. Baxter, the scientist who brought her corpse back to life. The original text has been described as funny, cerebral, and dirty, making it sound like the perfect playground for Lanthimos and his particular brand of off-kilter cinema.

Along with this new poster, Searchlight Pictures also released the theatrical trailer for the movie, whose American release is scheduled for September 8th. Considering that date, one wonders if the work might be headed to the Venice Film Festival. While waiting for confirmation, let's delve into the trailer and give it the customary 'Yes No Maybe So' treatment…

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The haunting beauty of "Kwaidan"

by Cláudio Alves

This month, in the Criterion Channel, there's a spotlight on Kwaidan, the Masaki Kobayashi classic that became the first significant example of Japanese horror to reach international audiences. You can find critic Grady Hendrix exploring the 1964 anthology on the streaming service, but that's far from the only reason you should check it out. Kwaidan collects four ghost stories that, together, form cinematic poetry of ravishing beauty. No wonder Kobayashi's film has entranced The Film Experience for years. Dancin' Dan once wrote about Kwaidan for the Oscar Horrors series, Nathaniel and Juan Carlos discussed it in podcast form, and I highlighted its costuming for an idealized Oscar ballot. 

Still, it's never a wrong time to re-consider Kwaidan, to get lost anew in its visual splendor...

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