AFI 100 Years… 100 Movies: An Overdue Update

by Juan Carlos Ojano

CITIZEN KANE (1941) was the top-placer in both editions.

I ended my 2025 by watching the remaining films from the AFI 100 Years… 100 Movies, both from the 1997 and the 2007 editions. From the egregiously racist The Birth of a Nation (1915) to the broodingly dark Blade Runner (1982), it was fulfilling to finally finish these films, an endeavor that I started back when I was in high school and just finished now in my 30s.

So this reminded me that AFI was supposed to do the 100 Movies list every ten years, but they only revisited it once, with 2017 marking its supposed update but crickets from the institute. While it is probably a longshot, 2027 marks another chance for the AFI to release an updated version of the list. For the 2007 version, the most recent films they considered were three films from 2005: Brokeback Mountain, Crash, and Good Night, and Good Luck.

 So with 2025 now over, let’s do an exercise: which films from 2006 to 2025 would most likely be considered to be added to an updated list should it happen soon? Let’s go…

Click to read more ...

Some thoughts on David Fincher's 60th birthday

Today, The Academy tweeted this image of David Fincher's filmography and asked which three you'd choose to watch in a marathon.

But even before they did we were thinking about David Fincher...

Click to read more ...

Showbiz History: Liberace's funeral, "The" Facebook, and Lewis Tan's big test

8 random things that happened on this day, February 4th, in showbiz history

1932 Josef Von Sternberg's Shanghai Express starring Marlene Dietrich and Anna Mae Wong has its world premiere in Los Angeles. The Chinese media was already upset about it before the premiere. It will open in theaters a week later...

Click to read more ...

Aaron Sorkin at the Oscars

by Cláudio Alves

With The Trial of the Chicago 7 streaming on Netflix, one of the season's strongest awards contenders is now widely available. Even in times of pandemic and one of the weirdest Oscar races ever, it feels like a safe bet to rely on AMPAS to shower the movie with gold. The Academy is known to love an inspirational true story and Sorkin's sophomore directorial effort fits the bill. Some would argue it does this too emphatically, choosing formulaic drama over probing political critique and structuring the narrative around Tom Hayden's redemption to the detriment of the other historical figures.

Whatever faults the movie has, such matters are unlikely to undermine what already feels like a sterling awards narrative. This is a picture of political repression and revolutionary ideals that reflects and comments on our present time. Its themes are as urgent as ever. Furthermore, the Academy has long shown they are keen on Sorkin's brand of self-righteous garrulousness, and almost all of his movies have received Oscar nominations. With that in mind, let's reminisce about the filmography of Aaron Sorkin and its presence at the Academy Awards…

Click to read more ...

Almost There: Andrew Garfield in "The Social Network"

by Cláudio Alves

Aaron Sorkin and David Fincher are back on Oscar's radar. Sorkin's sophomore directorial effort, Trial of the Chicago 7, is set to premiere on Netflix later this week while Fincher's movie about the making of Citizen Kane, Mank, is scheduled for a December release, also on Netflix. Looking back at the last time both these men were in the awards conversation brings us to 2010 when The Social Network was the critics' favorite going into Oscar night. The drama about the creation of Facebook was the David that fought against the Goliath of Weinstein's The Kings Speech. Unlike the biblical tale, however, the giant won this battle.

The signs of trouble and pending defeat were obvious for most pundits. After all, despite the film getting eight nominations, one of its stand-out performers and expected honorees failed to make the cut. Andrew Garfield had earned great support from the precursors and reviews to match, making his absence from the Best Supporting Actor lineup a shocking snub…

Click to read more ...