Berlinale's best suprise is both a debut and an Ethan Hawke showcase

by Elisa Giudici

Ethan Hawke in THE WEIGHT, which premiered at Sundance and now hits Berlin.

The most galvanizing film of this year’s Berlinale didn’t screen in competition, having opened at Sundance last month. It’s a debut  directed by an Irish editor few outside industry circles could have named a month ago. After The Weight, that anonymity will surely be temporary. Padraic McKinley (previously known for cutting mid-tier commercial fare) announces himself here with a thriller of such muscular clarity that it easily eclipses many of the films vying for the Golden Bear...

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Oscar Volley: Is an upset possible in "Best Editing"?

It’s that time again! Lynn Lee and Eurocheese discuss the Oscar race for Best Editing.

the Best Editing nominees

LYNN: Happy peak Oscar season, Eurocheese! Excited to discuss the editing category with you. Overall, this is a strong if relatively unsurprising lineup. I, for one, am absolutely delighted Sentimental Value made it in – that final scene in itself deserves all of the awards. And I can see the merits in the other selections, even if the Academy once again went with all Best Picture nominees (yawn). But then it’s been almost a decade since they included any non-BP nominees. So I will just sit in the corner and shed my own quiet tear for the unsung A House of Dynamite, which deserved more awards love in general but in this category in particular. At least the BAFTAs recognized that!

What are your thoughts on the nominees? And do you think the winner will also win Best Picture (for the fourth year in a row)?

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Alex Skarsgård first born son, 6'4" and a bundle of fun ♫

It's so freaking catchy, doncha think? 

Berlinale #2: "Everybody Digs Bill" and more...

by Elisa Giudici

Leyla Bouzid returns with A VOIX BASSE (IN A WHISPER)

Three more movies from Berlinale include a queer drama from Tunisia's Leyla Bouzid, a music bio about Bill Evans, and a docu-fiction hybrid film from Alain Gomis...

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Oscar Volley: Best Costume Design is all about aliens, monsters and demon twinks

Our Oscar volleys continue with the site’s weekly RuCappers, Cláudio Alves and Nick Taylor, tackling Best Costume Design…

Never trust a twink in oversized clothes and Coke bottle glasses with a hungry gaze.

CLÁUDIO: Hello, hello, hello, it's time to discuss my favorite Oscar category - Best Costume Design! And to keep the tradition going from these volley's last few seasons, why don't we start by describing a sartorial mélange of all nominees? Imagine me coming to you in Varang's war headdress and Marty Mauser's Coke bottle glasses. I'm also in a plus-sized cut of Smoke's azure-leaning ensemble, but instead of a 1930s suit jacket, I'm donning the powder-blue doublet from Hamlet's first staging. For extra accessories, let's go with the anachronistic Tiffany beetle jewelry with which Mia Goth adorns herself in Frankenstein.

What about you, dear Nick? What are you wearing, diva?

NICK: For this year’s runway, I’m seizing on the crimson death currents uniting these films…

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