If they had to announce the Oscar nominees right now...

...which 2013 releases (thus far) do you think would be the Best Picture nominees? And which sure thing nominees right now won't have a prayer come January? True, it's only June 26th and we've 204 days left until nominations are announced for realz but play along would'ya? Because speculative fantasy is fun.

Would blockbusters or indies rule the noms if the year ended today?

P.S. We'll review the year's first half next week. Woohoo.

May. It's a Wrap.

Maybe we ended with a whimper but May was a pretty great month here at TFE with lots of bangs for your buck... not that you are spending bucks (though we always welcome subscriptions -- see sidebar -- to keep us afloat). I know because I had a way more difficult time selecting entries for this "Best of the Month" post than usual. And that's not even including regular series like Monologues, Tuesday Top Ten, or the seasonal May Flowers postings (thank you especially on two of those three to new TFE contributors Andrew & Andrew (no relation: that's Andrew Kendall and Abstew in the bylines). And then of course we also found time to do the first Oscar predictions for the upcoming race - Always fun to argue about!

So herewith ten highlights from the month...

Those Who Have Gone "Before" five reasons why the Before trilogy is masterful
Q&A discussion of disappointing actresses and mixed-up hunks 
Team Experience: Oscar's Greatest Losers in which we investigated the greatest Best Actress nominated performances that didn't win Oscars 
Summertime & The Talented Mr Ripley -- two straight weeks in Italy -- marked the peak of popularity for 'Hit Me With Your Best Shot' this season. Are you trying to tell us something about your next vacation? 
Cannes Closing Ceremony thoughts on the orgasmic finale to the fest
RIP Smash the musical series we rooted for but were crushed by 

Q&A discussion of disappointing actresses and mixed-up hunks 
I Dreamed of Gatsby Baz Luhrmann sucks Moulin Rouge! dry
The Only Post You Will Ever Need on the August: Osage County Teaser Poster - done
The "Punk" Met Gala with fashion-joke girl genius, Courtney Enlow Hall
Burning Questions what's the greatest quality divide is between Movie and Soundtrack?

P.S. And just in case you haven't been voting in the spontaneous silliness of our polls, please humor me. It gives me lolz to see your votes and comments. And - please to note - that on the last serious poll "which book becoming a movie should I read?" Twelve Years a Slave and Labor Day triumphed so we'll be reading those and discussing sometime soon. Care to join us?

P.P.S. Coming in June. I've actually no idea though the blog might be dark for a week (more details to come). Any suggestions?

April. It's a Wrap

I hope April was a good month for you. On the other hand, if you, like me, weren't having a 'firing on all cylinders' month, you probably missed some goodies. Herewith ten highlights from the month... I mean, besides Reader Spotlight and Best Shot which are always highlights. 

Ryan, Tilda, and T-Rex were the stars of the month here at The Film Experience

Jury Duty my stint at the Nashville International Film Festival and the prizes we gave
Can a Bad Sequel Diminish a Classic? Michael asks Burning Questions with flair 
Surprise Podcast Joe, Nick and I discussed The Place Beyond the Pines and 1990s flicks
Jude in the Snow I think the highlight of this year's noncommittal April Showers (sorry) was Andrew's piece on Anna Karenina, don't you?
The Oscar That Got Away Judy Garland's immortal star turn in A Star is Born was commemorated with a Best Shot episode

Top Ten Non-Nominated Supporting Actresses (1980s) this was a fun list to make. Perhaps I'll do more
Jurassic Park Featuring Tilda Swinton Yes, Jurassic Park makes me think of Tilda Swinton. Don't judge 
Watching You Watching... I asked readers to confess the last three movies they saw, no editing. So fun to read the comments. If only you'd comment this much all the time ;)
Language Barrier? with the release of Kon-Tiki, Tim wonders if we can ever really see a foreign film as it's meant to be seen
Best New Directors of the 21st Century a big discussable Team Experience countdown

Coming in May - Are you ready for summer?
Yes, I'll try to wrap up some loose ends (cough. I know I know) plus we'll look at Iron Man Three, The Great Gatsby (costumes and all), Before Midnight, Benedict Cumberbatch Into Darkness, Cannes films and fashions, Frances Ha and more. We're also trying a little something different this month with two guiding Stars: look out for a handful of Hepburn (Katharine) soon and a tall cool drink of Paul Newman at month's end. If you like those theme weeks maybe we'll try more of them.

March. It's a Wrap

Well that went by quickly. We're just pretending the month isn't over when it comes to Reader Spotlights / Reader Appreciation Month. But I hope you're as excited for Spring as I am.

Tilda. She's found another place to sleep.

Highlights
Pocahontas Quiz come roll in all the riches all around us
Tilda in a Box I watched the goddess sleep. I couldn't take photos so I drew it
Vintage 1983 I chose a random year for this survey of its crop 
In Old Chicago a look back at an odd Oscar legend and the accompanying film
Vanya & Sonia & Sasha & Spike Sigourney's Weaver's sublime silliness on stage 

She Jane? That Jessica Chastain Tarzan rumor. And her competitive set?
The Wonderful Best Shots of Oz this season of Hit Me With Your Best Shot sure kicked up a dust storm as we left Kansas for the Emerald City for a few days
Horizontal Lovelies there weren't many comments -- do you prefer your stars vertical? -- but I had great fun making it 
Top Ten 1950s these list-attacks were good fun 

Most Discussed
Stars Without Competitive Oscars a top ten list through nomination stat lens 

Coming in April
The First Oscar Predictions of the new year, Oblivion, Jurassic Park, A Star is Born, the Nashville Film Festival, Kon-Tiki, Big Anniversaries for two Oscar battles:  Lawrence of Arabia vs To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Last Emperor vs. Moonstruck, "Mad Men at the Movies" (television's very best show returns) and more...

February. It's a Wrap

Obviously we are quite consumed with Oscar-Mania each February. You can see an index of the big night here along with the final podcast of the season. But what else did we talk about? If you're new to the Film Experience, look around. Here's ten mostly off-Oscar posting highlights from the month that was...

Which Character? do you play when you play Clue? 
The First Image... from Nymphomaniac  
Posterized The Steven Soderbergh Experience 
Interview Alexandre Desplat on Argo & Zero Dark Thirty 

Showboat part of the Warner Bros Box Set of 20 Musicals
Interview Rich Moore on his long journey with Wreck-It Ralph
Amour my first CNN talking head gig

Argo & Silver Linings Playbook - two second viewings 
Small Talk with Nosferatu. Awkward!
The Film Bitch Awards (13th annual!) in all the Oscar type categories 

Coming Soon: MARCH is reader appreciation month. Stay tuned for: contests, interviews, the return of Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Quentin Tarantino week, new releases and more...