by Cláudio Alves
The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King (2003) Peter Jackson
Today, sad news comes from England. Actor Bernard Hill has passed away at the age of 79, comforted by his family to the end.
Among Oscar obsessives, Hill is best known for his appearances in Titanic and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. For James Cameron, he played the stalwart captain of the doomed ship, while Peter Jackson saw him embody Théoden, King of Rohan. Both roles share a touch of quiet authority, power laced with the deep sorrow of someone responsible for countless other lives. Hill's very presence seemed to project these qualities, making him a dream character actor, able to shape a movie's tonalities with little more than a glance, a shift of posture, a sigh. To this day, he's the only actor to star in two of the Academy's all-time champions, pictures with eleven Oscars each…...
The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King (2003) Peter Jackson
Today, sad news comes from England. Actor Bernard Hill has passed away at the age of 79, comforted by his family to the end.
Among Oscar obsessives, Hill is best known for his appearances in Titanic and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. For James Cameron, he played the stalwart captain of the doomed ship, while Peter Jackson saw him embody Théoden, King of Rohan. Both roles share a touch of quiet authority, power laced with the deep sorrow of someone responsible for countless other lives. Hill's very presence seemed to project these qualities, making him a dream character actor, able to shape a movie's tonalities with little more than a glance, a shift of posture, a sigh. To this day, he's the only actor to star in two of the Academy's all-time champions, pictures with eleven Oscars each…...
- 5/6/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
You never forget your first, or so they say. In this case, it's one's first costume obsession. Mine, to be precise. It came to be in 1999 when I was five years old, and my dad took me to see Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Like many men of his generation, he was a fan of George Lucas's space fantasy, eager to share that love with his kid. It started with the original trilogy on VHS tapes and then came the movie event of the season. Though many hated the prequel, we two didn't share that feeling. Indeed, little Cláudio was besotted.
Sure, the lightsaber duels were memorable and the score was stirring, the CGI was out of this world and Ewan McGregor left such an impression I went as Obi-wan Kenobi to the following year's Carnival. But what most shook me was Queen Amidala,...
You never forget your first, or so they say. In this case, it's one's first costume obsession. Mine, to be precise. It came to be in 1999 when I was five years old, and my dad took me to see Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Like many men of his generation, he was a fan of George Lucas's space fantasy, eager to share that love with his kid. It started with the original trilogy on VHS tapes and then came the movie event of the season. Though many hated the prequel, we two didn't share that feeling. Indeed, little Cláudio was besotted.
Sure, the lightsaber duels were memorable and the score was stirring, the CGI was out of this world and Ewan McGregor left such an impression I went as Obi-wan Kenobi to the following year's Carnival. But what most shook me was Queen Amidala,...
- 5/5/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
As the 77th Cannes Film Festival approaches, more news emerges from Thierry Frémaux's office. The latest story concerns the Honorary Palme d'Or. While a rare plaudit in its genesis, the award has become a mainstay of the most recent festivals, with each edition involving multiple winners. Still, the number of trophies usually stops at two per year. Not so in 2024, when Cannes will give three Honorary Palmes d'Or. The first winner announced was George Lucas, who'll be 80 this month, and then came Studio Ghibli as the first awarded collective. Finally, we have Meryl Streep, who'll be a guest of honor at the Opening Ceremony and receive one of the highest honors in the film world…...
As the 77th Cannes Film Festival approaches, more news emerges from Thierry Frémaux's office. The latest story concerns the Honorary Palme d'Or. While a rare plaudit in its genesis, the award has become a mainstay of the most recent festivals, with each edition involving multiple winners. Still, the number of trophies usually stops at two per year. Not so in 2024, when Cannes will give three Honorary Palmes d'Or. The first winner announced was George Lucas, who'll be 80 this month, and then came Studio Ghibli as the first awarded collective. Finally, we have Meryl Streep, who'll be a guest of honor at the Opening Ceremony and receive one of the highest honors in the film world…...
- 5/4/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
The Merry Month of May is upon us, but first, there's still some April business to attend. Specifically, Penélope Cruz turned fifty last weekend and celebrated a big party that included such names as husband Javier Bardem, auteur par excellence Pedro Almodóvar, former scene partner Salma Hayek, and many more. Happy belated birthday to the Spanish star!
Here, at The Film Experience, the best way to mark such occasions is surrendering to list-mania, so let's consider this Oscar winner's extensive filmography and sing her praises. Excluding TV and with honorable mentions woven into the write-ups, here are my top ten favorite performances from Penélope Cruz…...
The Merry Month of May is upon us, but first, there's still some April business to attend. Specifically, Penélope Cruz turned fifty last weekend and celebrated a big party that included such names as husband Javier Bardem, auteur par excellence Pedro Almodóvar, former scene partner Salma Hayek, and many more. Happy belated birthday to the Spanish star!
Here, at The Film Experience, the best way to mark such occasions is surrendering to list-mania, so let's consider this Oscar winner's extensive filmography and sing her praises. Excluding TV and with honorable mentions woven into the write-ups, here are my top ten favorite performances from Penélope Cruz…...
- 5/2/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
Lily Gladstone is one of the eight jurors who have just been announced for the Cannes Main Competition. After success at last year's festival with Killers of the Flower Moon, the Oscar nominee feels like a logical choice. Indeed, most of the jury comprises artists who have found acclaim at the Croisette. There's a former Palme winner, a Jury Prize victor, the co-writer of a Palme d'Or recipient, stars of various pictures that have screened there, and more. All things considered, Greta Gerwig is probably the least familiar with Cannes red carpets and the screen of the Lumière. But after three solo directorial credits of such cultural prominence, it's easy to see why she's this year's Jury President.
Here's the complete Main Competition Jury for the 74th Cannes Film Festival...
Lily Gladstone is one of the eight jurors who have just been announced for the Cannes Main Competition. After success at last year's festival with Killers of the Flower Moon, the Oscar nominee feels like a logical choice. Indeed, most of the jury comprises artists who have found acclaim at the Croisette. There's a former Palme winner, a Jury Prize victor, the co-writer of a Palme d'Or recipient, stars of various pictures that have screened there, and more. All things considered, Greta Gerwig is probably the least familiar with Cannes red carpets and the screen of the Lumière. But after three solo directorial credits of such cultural prominence, it's easy to see why she's this year's Jury President.
Here's the complete Main Competition Jury for the 74th Cannes Film Festival...
- 4/30/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
Windows can be like prosceniums, framing lives in tableaus practically begging to be spied upon. As one roams through the streets, one can peer into countless little dramas, comedies and farces. It's all there, the vitality of existence through a thin pane of glass. Uberto Pasolini's Nowhere Special starts with windows, a parade of frames and reflections captured by Romanian cinematographer Marius Panduru – you might be familiar with his work in Radu Jude's films. It's a beautiful prelude, bursting with quiet curiosity, as if the camera is considering which story it'll follow. However, this particular tale isn't to be found within, but without. It's the experience of the man who keeps those proscenium portals crystal clear.
He's John, a single father earning a living as a window cleaner. He's also dying…...
Windows can be like prosceniums, framing lives in tableaus practically begging to be spied upon. As one roams through the streets, one can peer into countless little dramas, comedies and farces. It's all there, the vitality of existence through a thin pane of glass. Uberto Pasolini's Nowhere Special starts with windows, a parade of frames and reflections captured by Romanian cinematographer Marius Panduru – you might be familiar with his work in Radu Jude's films. It's a beautiful prelude, bursting with quiet curiosity, as if the camera is considering which story it'll follow. However, this particular tale isn't to be found within, but without. It's the experience of the man who keeps those proscenium portals crystal clear.
He's John, a single father earning a living as a window cleaner. He's also dying…...
- 4/27/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
Nick Taylor and Cláudio Alves watch and recap RuPaul’s Drag Race season sixteen. This week, it’s time for the grand finale…
Look at those ponytails! Sasha Colby's impact is immeasurable.
CLÁUDIO: Better late than never, amirite? Well, even if I’m not, please pretend.
Many days have passed since season sixteen drew to a close, with Taiwan goddess Nymphia Wind crowned America’s next drag superstar. It was a conclusion I wished for but wasn’t expecting, thinking Philly had the win secured up until those final minutes. After all, nothing in the season’s edit positioned the Banana Buddha as a threat, mostly ignoring her to the point she was invisible for a couple of episodes in the middle. On the other hand, Sapphira had winner energy from the go, a notion bolstered by the judges’ unvarying praise and four wins to her name. It’s easy...
Look at those ponytails! Sasha Colby's impact is immeasurable.
CLÁUDIO: Better late than never, amirite? Well, even if I’m not, please pretend.
Many days have passed since season sixteen drew to a close, with Taiwan goddess Nymphia Wind crowned America’s next drag superstar. It was a conclusion I wished for but wasn’t expecting, thinking Philly had the win secured up until those final minutes. After all, nothing in the season’s edit positioned the Banana Buddha as a threat, mostly ignoring her to the point she was invisible for a couple of episodes in the middle. On the other hand, Sapphira had winner energy from the go, a notion bolstered by the judges’ unvarying praise and four wins to her name. It’s easy...
- 4/26/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
American mainstream cinema has rarely felt as sexless as it does today. Even in the period between the 1934 implementation of the Hays Code and its demise, screens felt roused with desire. In some ways, the prohibition of overt sexuality supercharged movies with erotic potential, like a pot of boiling water that heats up faster once you put a lid on it. But nowadays, such qualities feel like artifacts of a bygone era. That's not to say movies suddenly lack objects of desire. Instead, as Rs Benedict put it in his essay on superhero films, "everyone is beautiful and no one is horny." But here comes Luca Guadagnino to the rescue, that lustful Italian whose films beckon a return to hedonistic cinema even when produced within Hollywood. Challengers is a prime example of that…...
American mainstream cinema has rarely felt as sexless as it does today. Even in the period between the 1934 implementation of the Hays Code and its demise, screens felt roused with desire. In some ways, the prohibition of overt sexuality supercharged movies with erotic potential, like a pot of boiling water that heats up faster once you put a lid on it. But nowadays, such qualities feel like artifacts of a bygone era. That's not to say movies suddenly lack objects of desire. Instead, as Rs Benedict put it in his essay on superhero films, "everyone is beautiful and no one is horny." But here comes Luca Guadagnino to the rescue, that lustful Italian whose films beckon a return to hedonistic cinema even when produced within Hollywood. Challengers is a prime example of that…...
- 4/26/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
As far as I'm concerned, Existenz has Oscar-worthy production design.
Over the years, David Cronenberg has unleashed unimaginable visions onto the big screen, stretching the limits of body horror along the way. In the week the underrated eXistenZ celebrates its 25th anniversary, I was reminded of one name that should be nearly as recognized as that of the Canadian director. After all, Cronenbergian wouldn't be the same without the contributions of Carol Spier, his hard-working production designer whose mind has birthed such sights as Videodrome's flesh-like walls and the ruined tomorrow in Crimes of the Future. This year, the duo's new collaboration, The Shrouds, will premiere at Cannes in the official competition. Maybe Spier could even take the festival's Technical Grand Prize. It'd be a nice change of pace since, despite her genius, the artist has rarely been recognized by awards voters.
With all this in mind,...
As far as I'm concerned, Existenz has Oscar-worthy production design.
Over the years, David Cronenberg has unleashed unimaginable visions onto the big screen, stretching the limits of body horror along the way. In the week the underrated eXistenZ celebrates its 25th anniversary, I was reminded of one name that should be nearly as recognized as that of the Canadian director. After all, Cronenbergian wouldn't be the same without the contributions of Carol Spier, his hard-working production designer whose mind has birthed such sights as Videodrome's flesh-like walls and the ruined tomorrow in Crimes of the Future. This year, the duo's new collaboration, The Shrouds, will premiere at Cannes in the official competition. Maybe Spier could even take the festival's Technical Grand Prize. It'd be a nice change of pace since, despite her genius, the artist has rarely been recognized by awards voters.
With all this in mind,...
- 4/26/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
This year, there was much talk about Lily Gladstone as one of the few Native Americans ever nominated at the Oscars. This focus on indigenous representation makes one's mind wander further into Academy history. After all, who was the first? Jocelyne Lagarde was her name, and today marks a century since her birth. The film that earned such honor was one of those 1960s overblown epics, the historical farrago of Hawaii by George Roy Hill, whose future work would stray away from such stodginess. Yet, to dismiss the piece as colonial apologia like some of its harsher critics do is unjust. The picture's much stranger than that, cruel and miserable, willing to see missionary work as the destroyer of paradise, a tragedy marred by the kind of spiritual bleakness no luscious island vista can conceal…...
This year, there was much talk about Lily Gladstone as one of the few Native Americans ever nominated at the Oscars. This focus on indigenous representation makes one's mind wander further into Academy history. After all, who was the first? Jocelyne Lagarde was her name, and today marks a century since her birth. The film that earned such honor was one of those 1960s overblown epics, the historical farrago of Hawaii by George Roy Hill, whose future work would stray away from such stodginess. Yet, to dismiss the piece as colonial apologia like some of its harsher critics do is unjust. The picture's much stranger than that, cruel and miserable, willing to see missionary work as the destroyer of paradise, a tragedy marred by the kind of spiritual bleakness no luscious island vista can conceal…...
- 4/25/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
Happy birthday, Dev Patel!
The erstwhile Skins actor turned hottest living Oscar nominee is 34 years old today and, as if to commemorate the occasion, Monkey Man just became available on PVOD. The India-set action movie is Patel's feature directorial debut, though he's more than just the guy calling the shots from the director's chair. The multi-hyphenated artist also produced and wrote the revenge flick. Oh, and he stars in it, too, doing most of his stunts, which resulted in a broken hand on the first days of shooting. Overall, it was a challenging project to bring to fruition, made more so when Netflix dropped Monkey Man in response to its political content. Thankfully, Jordan Peele came to the rescue, guaranteeing the film a theatrical release that, if nothing else, confirmed Dev Patel's promise as a bonafide movie star…...
Happy birthday, Dev Patel!
The erstwhile Skins actor turned hottest living Oscar nominee is 34 years old today and, as if to commemorate the occasion, Monkey Man just became available on PVOD. The India-set action movie is Patel's feature directorial debut, though he's more than just the guy calling the shots from the director's chair. The multi-hyphenated artist also produced and wrote the revenge flick. Oh, and he stars in it, too, doing most of his stunts, which resulted in a broken hand on the first days of shooting. Overall, it was a challenging project to bring to fruition, made more so when Netflix dropped Monkey Man in response to its political content. Thankfully, Jordan Peele came to the rescue, guaranteeing the film a theatrical release that, if nothing else, confirmed Dev Patel's promise as a bonafide movie star…...
- 4/23/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
There's no stopping A24, its ascension as distributor and studio one of the last decade's biggest success stories. Just this month, Civil War marked their most successful opening weekend, even expanding to IMAX. Speaking of those giant screens, A24 has been re-releasing some of their greatest hits in the format, starting with Ex Machina back on March 27th. Uncut Gems is coming May 22nd, while April's selection hits theaters tomorrow, beckoning audiences to relieve a movie nightmare like none other. It's Hereditary, Ari Aster's promising debut and one of the few theatrical experiences that caused me sleepless nights. Believe me, when you watch as many horror flicks as I do, that's rather special…...
There's no stopping A24, its ascension as distributor and studio one of the last decade's biggest success stories. Just this month, Civil War marked their most successful opening weekend, even expanding to IMAX. Speaking of those giant screens, A24 has been re-releasing some of their greatest hits in the format, starting with Ex Machina back on March 27th. Uncut Gems is coming May 22nd, while April's selection hits theaters tomorrow, beckoning audiences to relieve a movie nightmare like none other. It's Hereditary, Ari Aster's promising debut and one of the few theatrical experiences that caused me sleepless nights. Believe me, when you watch as many horror flicks as I do, that's rather special…...
- 4/23/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
Michel Hazanavicius joins the Official Competition with an animated film.
As expected, a few more titles have been added to this year's Cannes Film Festival lineup. In the Premiere section, Jessica Palud's Maria Schneider biopic joins a star-studded selection. One of this year's two Count of Monte-Cristo adaptations will screen Out of Competition, while a pair of buzzy documentaries will bow in the Special Screenings program. They are Oliver Stone's Lula and Lou Ye's An Unfinished Film. Other new titles in that section include Arnaud Desplechin's latest Paul Dedalus film and Nasty, directed by Tudor Giurgiu, Cristian Pascariu, and Tudor D. Popescu. But of course, the most important announcements concern the Main Competition, where three films complete the 22-title lineup…...
Michel Hazanavicius joins the Official Competition with an animated film.
As expected, a few more titles have been added to this year's Cannes Film Festival lineup. In the Premiere section, Jessica Palud's Maria Schneider biopic joins a star-studded selection. One of this year's two Count of Monte-Cristo adaptations will screen Out of Competition, while a pair of buzzy documentaries will bow in the Special Screenings program. They are Oliver Stone's Lula and Lou Ye's An Unfinished Film. Other new titles in that section include Arnaud Desplechin's latest Paul Dedalus film and Nasty, directed by Tudor Giurgiu, Cristian Pascariu, and Tudor D. Popescu. But of course, the most important announcements concern the Main Competition, where three films complete the 22-title lineup…...
- 4/23/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
Like Mark said in his Veronica Cartwright tribute, this 4/20 is an essential date for actressexuals... among others. After all, we celebrate the horror queen's 75th birthday and that of Jessica Lange as well. Initially, I thought about writing about the star's upcoming adaptation of O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night, but that film seems trapped in some nebulous distribution limbo. By all accounts, production wrapped in late 2022 after a brief halt due to financing issues. Since then, there's been hardly any news, and Lange herself speculated it might not yet be finished in a Vulture interview. Let's hope we don't have another Blue Sky situation in our hands, though that farrago resulted in a Best Actress Oscar.
So, instead of dwelling on that mystery, why not remember The Film Experience's collective love for Jessica Lange? Going through the site, I came up with a selection of write-ups worth revisiting,...
Like Mark said in his Veronica Cartwright tribute, this 4/20 is an essential date for actressexuals... among others. After all, we celebrate the horror queen's 75th birthday and that of Jessica Lange as well. Initially, I thought about writing about the star's upcoming adaptation of O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night, but that film seems trapped in some nebulous distribution limbo. By all accounts, production wrapped in late 2022 after a brief halt due to financing issues. Since then, there's been hardly any news, and Lange herself speculated it might not yet be finished in a Vulture interview. Let's hope we don't have another Blue Sky situation in our hands, though that farrago resulted in a Best Actress Oscar.
So, instead of dwelling on that mystery, why not remember The Film Experience's collective love for Jessica Lange? Going through the site, I came up with a selection of write-ups worth revisiting,...
- 4/21/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
For all its controversies, Alex Garland's Civil War has gifted us with more than just an (a)political provocation. The chosen format limits the film's considerations of conflict journalism, and its overall construction has flaws aplenty. Yet, in the picture's lead, Kirsten Dunst delivers another worthwhile turn as a disillusioned photographer. Exhaustion laces every gesture and actorly choice, and though Garland seems to abandon her for the film's final act, whenever the camera finds Dunst, she delivers. Whether portraying cynical apathy or shell-shocked grief, apprehensive over a younger colleague's fate or breaking down at the eleventh hour, the actress can weave straw into gold and elevate any material.
Considering her latest performance, I couldn't help but reminisce about Dunst's early days and how, thirty years ago, she became a star at just twelve years old…...
For all its controversies, Alex Garland's Civil War has gifted us with more than just an (a)political provocation. The chosen format limits the film's considerations of conflict journalism, and its overall construction has flaws aplenty. Yet, in the picture's lead, Kirsten Dunst delivers another worthwhile turn as a disillusioned photographer. Exhaustion laces every gesture and actorly choice, and though Garland seems to abandon her for the film's final act, whenever the camera finds Dunst, she delivers. Whether portraying cynical apathy or shell-shocked grief, apprehensive over a younger colleague's fate or breaking down at the eleventh hour, the actress can weave straw into gold and elevate any material.
Considering her latest performance, I couldn't help but reminisce about Dunst's early days and how, thirty years ago, she became a star at just twelve years old…...
- 4/20/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
This week, one of the best comedies ever made and a silent film masterpiece celebrates its centennial. It's none other than Sherlock Jr., Buster Keaton's 45-minute miracle of stunt work and cinematic considerations about cinema as materialized dream and broken escapism. A meta-movie for the ages, I consider it the old Stone Face's crowning achievement. Sure, The General is much more complex and Steamboat Bill, Jr. trumps it in sheer iconography. As for technical innovation, something like The Play House is probably Keaton's peak. However, there's something special about the 1924 lark, a simplicity that bolsters perfection, an ingenuity that rekindles my love for cinema whenever I set my eyes on it…...
This week, one of the best comedies ever made and a silent film masterpiece celebrates its centennial. It's none other than Sherlock Jr., Buster Keaton's 45-minute miracle of stunt work and cinematic considerations about cinema as materialized dream and broken escapism. A meta-movie for the ages, I consider it the old Stone Face's crowning achievement. Sure, The General is much more complex and Steamboat Bill, Jr. trumps it in sheer iconography. As for technical innovation, something like The Play House is probably Keaton's peak. However, there's something special about the 1924 lark, a simplicity that bolsters perfection, an ingenuity that rekindles my love for cinema whenever I set my eyes on it…...
- 4/18/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
NAUSICAÄ Of The Valley Of The Wind (1984) is the only Miyazaki film ever screened at Cannes.
In 1997, to mark the occasion of its 50th edition, the Cannes Film Festival awarded a special Palme des Palmes to Ingmar Bergman. Afterward, and since 2002, it has also attributed the Honorary Palme d'Or to film artists in honor of their esteemed careers. Until now, the prize has gone to directors, producers and actors such as Catherine Deneuve, Manoel de Oliveira, and Agnès Varda, among many others. This year, however, the festival will award its first Palme d'Or to animated cinema and a group rather than an individual. The honoree is Studio Ghibli, cofounded by Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki, and the dear departed Isao Takahata. This comes after The Boy and the Heron won the studio its second Oscar and breaks with American dominance over these Honorary awards in the past few years.
NAUSICAÄ Of The Valley Of The Wind (1984) is the only Miyazaki film ever screened at Cannes.
In 1997, to mark the occasion of its 50th edition, the Cannes Film Festival awarded a special Palme des Palmes to Ingmar Bergman. Afterward, and since 2002, it has also attributed the Honorary Palme d'Or to film artists in honor of their esteemed careers. Until now, the prize has gone to directors, producers and actors such as Catherine Deneuve, Manoel de Oliveira, and Agnès Varda, among many others. This year, however, the festival will award its first Palme d'Or to animated cinema and a group rather than an individual. The honoree is Studio Ghibli, cofounded by Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki, and the dear departed Isao Takahata. This comes after The Boy and the Heron won the studio its second Oscar and breaks with American dominance over these Honorary awards in the past few years.
- 4/17/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
What has Bohemian Rhapsody wrought?!
Over the past five years and across nearly a thousand write-ups for The Film Experiences, you might have denoted my slight distaste for biopics. To be fair, "slight" might be an understatement. I bring this up to admit my bias against these projects, often conventional to a fault and dripping with mercenary intent. But even if you're a fan of them, you must admit there's been a disproportionate influx of these productions in the past few years, especially in the context of dramas about musicians. It's likely a consequence of Bohemian Rhapsody's immense success at the box office and with awards groups, generating a thousand copycats that may not reach the depths of its ignobility but still plateau at a level of miserable mediocrity.
As Timothée Chalamet is hounded by paparazzi on the set of his Bob Dylan biopic, the Bohemian Rhapsody...
What has Bohemian Rhapsody wrought?!
Over the past five years and across nearly a thousand write-ups for The Film Experiences, you might have denoted my slight distaste for biopics. To be fair, "slight" might be an understatement. I bring this up to admit my bias against these projects, often conventional to a fault and dripping with mercenary intent. But even if you're a fan of them, you must admit there's been a disproportionate influx of these productions in the past few years, especially in the context of dramas about musicians. It's likely a consequence of Bohemian Rhapsody's immense success at the box office and with awards groups, generating a thousand copycats that may not reach the depths of its ignobility but still plateau at a level of miserable mediocrity.
As Timothée Chalamet is hounded by paparazzi on the set of his Bob Dylan biopic, the Bohemian Rhapsody...
- 4/16/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
Nick Taylor and Cláudio Alves are watching and recapping RuPaul’s Drag Race season sixteen. This week, it’s time for episode fifteen…
This week, Megami pulls a Silky and a star is born.
CLÁUDIO: After weeks of complaining about the season’s declining quality, the Drag Race producers shut me right up. This spin on a reunion episode is the best of the year, a super-charged queer Super Bowl of lipsyncing that serves as a respite before next week’s finale. Most of the girls brought their A-game, fighting for their Ru-demption with everything they got, and even the losers seemed to have a good time. Well, most of them. More important, still, was how the hour felt formed around the arc of one particular queen, subverting folks’ expectations both among the audience and the contenders themselves. To paraphrase Mother Jinkx, anyone saying Megami isn’t a star after this...
This week, Megami pulls a Silky and a star is born.
CLÁUDIO: After weeks of complaining about the season’s declining quality, the Drag Race producers shut me right up. This spin on a reunion episode is the best of the year, a super-charged queer Super Bowl of lipsyncing that serves as a respite before next week’s finale. Most of the girls brought their A-game, fighting for their Ru-demption with everything they got, and even the losers seemed to have a good time. Well, most of them. More important, still, was how the hour felt formed around the arc of one particular queen, subverting folks’ expectations both among the audience and the contenders themselves. To paraphrase Mother Jinkx, anyone saying Megami isn’t a star after this...
- 4/15/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
It's been a while since the Over & Overs series has shown up on The Film Experience's timeline, and it's as good a time as any to rectify that. Indeed, revisiting a beloved picture one has seen more times than one can count is the perfect idea for today's celebration. You see, a century ago, Stanley Donen was born in Columbia, South Carolina, the son of a dress shop manager and future movie lover. He'd also be a movie magician, capable of turning the screen into materialized joy, like an alchemist who used the camera to transform and transport his audiences. Though one finds several titles are worth appraising in his filmography, a single picture stands above all others, the musical to end all musicals. It's Singin' in the Rain, of course…...
It's been a while since the Over & Overs series has shown up on The Film Experience's timeline, and it's as good a time as any to rectify that. Indeed, revisiting a beloved picture one has seen more times than one can count is the perfect idea for today's celebration. You see, a century ago, Stanley Donen was born in Columbia, South Carolina, the son of a dress shop manager and future movie lover. He'd also be a movie magician, capable of turning the screen into materialized joy, like an alchemist who used the camera to transform and transport his audiences. Though one finds several titles are worth appraising in his filmography, a single picture stands above all others, the musical to end all musicals. It's Singin' in the Rain, of course…...
- 4/14/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
Starting yesterday, Strange Way of Life is streaming on Netflix. To commemorate the occasion, I thought about diving into the collaboration between Pedro Almodóvar and cinematographer José Luis Alcaine, a recurring creative partner since they filmed Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown back in the late 80s. Even though I had issues with the short film, its lensing wasn't one of them. Indeed, playing with Western iconography and Saint Laurent fashions, Strange Way of Life is as visually enchanting as one would expect from something bearing the Spanish auteur's signature. When everything else fails, Alcaine creates hyper-artificial frames, popping with bright colors and luster…...
Starting yesterday, Strange Way of Life is streaming on Netflix. To commemorate the occasion, I thought about diving into the collaboration between Pedro Almodóvar and cinematographer José Luis Alcaine, a recurring creative partner since they filmed Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown back in the late 80s. Even though I had issues with the short film, its lensing wasn't one of them. Indeed, playing with Western iconography and Saint Laurent fashions, Strange Way of Life is as visually enchanting as one would expect from something bearing the Spanish auteur's signature. When everything else fails, Alcaine creates hyper-artificial frames, popping with bright colors and luster…...
- 4/13/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
Appearing on 77 ballots, Spike Jonze's Her was the most voted film.
Two years ago, Sight & Sound released the results of their polls, voted by critics and filmmakers, on the best pictures ever made. Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles topped the former, causing various reactions that ranged from ecstatic to outraged. In total, the 2100 participants voted for 4366 unique titles. And yet, much great cinema was left without a single vote. In response, Ángel González devised another project for They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?, focusing on all those films the Sight & Sound voters ignored. A new list was devised based on the ballots of 839 critics and cinephiles. This time around, 4336 films received at least one vote - think of it as an alternative canon.
Nathaniel and I were among the lucky voters, with a few of our picks making the A-List of 1030 titles.
Appearing on 77 ballots, Spike Jonze's Her was the most voted film.
Two years ago, Sight & Sound released the results of their polls, voted by critics and filmmakers, on the best pictures ever made. Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles topped the former, causing various reactions that ranged from ecstatic to outraged. In total, the 2100 participants voted for 4366 unique titles. And yet, much great cinema was left without a single vote. In response, Ángel González devised another project for They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?, focusing on all those films the Sight & Sound voters ignored. A new list was devised based on the ballots of 839 critics and cinephiles. This time around, 4336 films received at least one vote - think of it as an alternative canon.
Nathaniel and I were among the lucky voters, with a few of our picks making the A-List of 1030 titles.
- 4/12/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
Early this morning, journalists congregated around Thierry Frémaux for the announcement of the 77th Cannes Film Festival Official Selection. The director shared titles from various sections, confirming some suspected rumors and setting the world of cinephilia abuzz. As ever, the main focus is on the Competition titles, as the next Palme d'Or may be among the films already announced. But of course, a project or two are usually added before the festivities start at the Croisette, so our champion may remain in mystery. Many predicted Audrey Diwan's Emmanuelle remake to be selected, for instance, but the Happening director was notoriously absent from today's dispatch.
In the past few years, The Film Experience has had two parallel coverages, and we hope to keep the tradition. There's Elisa Giudici on the ground, reviewing new films through her festival diary. And then there's my Cannes at Home project, focused...
Early this morning, journalists congregated around Thierry Frémaux for the announcement of the 77th Cannes Film Festival Official Selection. The director shared titles from various sections, confirming some suspected rumors and setting the world of cinephilia abuzz. As ever, the main focus is on the Competition titles, as the next Palme d'Or may be among the films already announced. But of course, a project or two are usually added before the festivities start at the Croisette, so our champion may remain in mystery. Many predicted Audrey Diwan's Emmanuelle remake to be selected, for instance, but the Happening director was notoriously absent from today's dispatch.
In the past few years, The Film Experience has had two parallel coverages, and we hope to keep the tradition. There's Elisa Giudici on the ground, reviewing new films through her festival diary. And then there's my Cannes at Home project, focused...
- 4/12/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
Nick Taylor and Cláudio Alves are watching and recapping RuPaul’s Drag Race season sixteen. This week, it’s time for episode fourteen…
Ronan Farrow has that All Stars glow-up.
CLÁUDIO: Just when we were starting to think the season had turned into a two-way race for the crown between Sapphira and Plane, here comes a new episode to shake things up. After years of top fours and a one-time fiver, RuPaul’s Drag Race has returned to a triadic finale, using this fourteenth chapter to boot its fourth-placer, fragilize one of the frontrunners’ bid, and bolster another contender’s narrative. A well-produced piece of television, this game-changer hour felt like a gift to Nymphia Wind fans everywhere, making it look like she might stand a chance after all. Considering her strange edit, I’m skeptical, but this episode gave me some much-needed hope. Were you similarly enthused, or is this season...
Ronan Farrow has that All Stars glow-up.
CLÁUDIO: Just when we were starting to think the season had turned into a two-way race for the crown between Sapphira and Plane, here comes a new episode to shake things up. After years of top fours and a one-time fiver, RuPaul’s Drag Race has returned to a triadic finale, using this fourteenth chapter to boot its fourth-placer, fragilize one of the frontrunners’ bid, and bolster another contender’s narrative. A well-produced piece of television, this game-changer hour felt like a gift to Nymphia Wind fans everywhere, making it look like she might stand a chance after all. Considering her strange edit, I’m skeptical, but this episode gave me some much-needed hope. Were you similarly enthused, or is this season...
- 4/10/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
How did you get into Almodóvar? For me, it was a matter of maternal influence. Ever since catching Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown during its 1989 Portuguese release, she's been a devotee to the Spanish director. Even as her movie-going habits diminished, a new Almodóvar was always a reason to go to the theater, attend local festivals, and purchase physical media for re-watches down the road. Through those latter ones, I became acquainted with the filmmaker in my teens, learning to love his melodramas as much as my mom did. Though, of course, as a queer man, mine was a different connection to Almodóvar's cinema of complicated women and melodrama, bright colors and hot men.
To celebrate All About My Mother's 25th anniversary today, I revisited the film with the person responsible for turning young Cláudio into a fellow fan…...
How did you get into Almodóvar? For me, it was a matter of maternal influence. Ever since catching Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown during its 1989 Portuguese release, she's been a devotee to the Spanish director. Even as her movie-going habits diminished, a new Almodóvar was always a reason to go to the theater, attend local festivals, and purchase physical media for re-watches down the road. Through those latter ones, I became acquainted with the filmmaker in my teens, learning to love his melodramas as much as my mom did. Though, of course, as a queer man, mine was a different connection to Almodóvar's cinema of complicated women and melodrama, bright colors and hot men.
To celebrate All About My Mother's 25th anniversary today, I revisited the film with the person responsible for turning young Cláudio into a fellow fan…...
- 4/9/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
This past weekend, Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation celebrated its 50th anniversary. Originally released in 1974, the film represents the peak of the paranoia thriller craze of that decade, encapsulating a cultural zeitgeist along with the creative zeal of New Hollywood. And yet, it's usually overshadowed by the director's other release that year – Best Picture winner The Godfather Part II. Thankfully, at The Film Experience, we've regularly showered praise on The Conversation, whether in Cannes at Home musings or Hit Me With Your Best Shot analysis. That said, one element remains under-discussed, a facet of this masterpiece so essential that, without it, the entire project would fall apart. It's Gene Hackman, of course…...
This past weekend, Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation celebrated its 50th anniversary. Originally released in 1974, the film represents the peak of the paranoia thriller craze of that decade, encapsulating a cultural zeitgeist along with the creative zeal of New Hollywood. And yet, it's usually overshadowed by the director's other release that year – Best Picture winner The Godfather Part II. Thankfully, at The Film Experience, we've regularly showered praise on The Conversation, whether in Cannes at Home musings or Hit Me With Your Best Shot analysis. That said, one element remains under-discussed, a facet of this masterpiece so essential that, without it, the entire project would fall apart. It's Gene Hackman, of course…...
- 4/8/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
Since 1939, Gone with the Wind has been re-released countless times in American theaters. This year, it's enjoying another of those on April 7th, 8th, and 10th to celebrate the picture's 85th anniversary. While defined by gross politics and a nostalgic view of the Confederacy that was already cause for contestation by some in the 1930s, it endures as a symbol of Old Hollywood craftsmanship at its peak. Indeed, it's difficult to think of a production that better exemplifies the sheer ambition of the studio system, its grandeur, and stunning spectacle. Technical ingenuity abounds, as does an eye for powerful imagery. It's so beautiful that some of its shots endure as cultural artifacts, even when divorced from their origin.
Today, I want to celebrate one aspect of its splendor near and dear to my heart – the costumes by Walter Plunkett. Specifically, I've given Scarlett O'Hara the same treatment Bella Baxter got,...
Since 1939, Gone with the Wind has been re-released countless times in American theaters. This year, it's enjoying another of those on April 7th, 8th, and 10th to celebrate the picture's 85th anniversary. While defined by gross politics and a nostalgic view of the Confederacy that was already cause for contestation by some in the 1930s, it endures as a symbol of Old Hollywood craftsmanship at its peak. Indeed, it's difficult to think of a production that better exemplifies the sheer ambition of the studio system, its grandeur, and stunning spectacle. Technical ingenuity abounds, as does an eye for powerful imagery. It's so beautiful that some of its shots endure as cultural artifacts, even when divorced from their origin.
Today, I want to celebrate one aspect of its splendor near and dear to my heart – the costumes by Walter Plunkett. Specifically, I've given Scarlett O'Hara the same treatment Bella Baxter got,...
- 4/7/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
Mary & George, Starz's new miniseries, premieres today, with a new episode every Friday for the next few weeks. Christopher James recently reviewed the historical drama, detailing its intersection of smut and scheming, all centered around its titular characters during King James I's reign. Hot new thing Nicholas Galitzine plays George Villiers under the camera's lustful gaze, but it's Julianne Moore's Mary who commands the screen as his mother. To honor one of The Film Experience's favorite goddesses on this occasion, I decided to do one of my actress-y top tens, focusing on the Oscar-winner's best performances across a career rich in excellence…...
Mary & George, Starz's new miniseries, premieres today, with a new episode every Friday for the next few weeks. Christopher James recently reviewed the historical drama, detailing its intersection of smut and scheming, all centered around its titular characters during King James I's reign. Hot new thing Nicholas Galitzine plays George Villiers under the camera's lustful gaze, but it's Julianne Moore's Mary who commands the screen as his mother. To honor one of The Film Experience's favorite goddesses on this occasion, I decided to do one of my actress-y top tens, focusing on the Oscar-winner's best performances across a career rich in excellence…...
- 4/6/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
Jonathan Glazer has scarcely left the news cycle since Oscar night. His speech against genocide caused much furor in Hollywood, where accusations of anti-semitism were promptly lobbied against the filmmaker. That said, today's topic isn't that media storm or the director's recent contributions to the Cinema for Gaza campaign. Instead, it's time to honor Glazer's third feature, which celebrates ten years since its US release. Loosely adapted from a Michel Farber novel, Under the Skin follows Scarlett Johansson as she roams the Scottish landscape in search of men. She's an alien creature whose conquests meet a nightmarish demise, and her film is one of last decade's most tremendous cinematic achievements.
I'd go so far as saying that any "best of the 2010s" list that doesn't include it is highly suspect. Indeed, Under the Skin secured its masterpiece status rather instantly in my eyes, its opening like...
Jonathan Glazer has scarcely left the news cycle since Oscar night. His speech against genocide caused much furor in Hollywood, where accusations of anti-semitism were promptly lobbied against the filmmaker. That said, today's topic isn't that media storm or the director's recent contributions to the Cinema for Gaza campaign. Instead, it's time to honor Glazer's third feature, which celebrates ten years since its US release. Loosely adapted from a Michel Farber novel, Under the Skin follows Scarlett Johansson as she roams the Scottish landscape in search of men. She's an alien creature whose conquests meet a nightmarish demise, and her film is one of last decade's most tremendous cinematic achievements.
I'd go so far as saying that any "best of the 2010s" list that doesn't include it is highly suspect. Indeed, Under the Skin secured its masterpiece status rather instantly in my eyes, its opening like...
- 4/5/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
I don't know about you, but I had a lot of fun ranking Hayao Miyazaki's feature filmography. So much so that I feel inspired to do the same with some other beloved auteur. The only issue is deciding which director to rank next. In those write-ups, a commenter suggested David Lynch, so he's on the list of candidates, but there are many more possibilities, storied careers full of fascinating films. Why not put it to a readers' vote and let you choose who you wish to read about? That's exactly what we're doing, and you have ten possibilities to choose from, all of which have works I love and a filmography small enough to be manageable…...
I don't know about you, but I had a lot of fun ranking Hayao Miyazaki's feature filmography. So much so that I feel inspired to do the same with some other beloved auteur. The only issue is deciding which director to rank next. In those write-ups, a commenter suggested David Lynch, so he's on the list of candidates, but there are many more possibilities, storied careers full of fascinating films. Why not put it to a readers' vote and let you choose who you wish to read about? That's exactly what we're doing, and you have ten possibilities to choose from, all of which have works I love and a filmography small enough to be manageable…...
- 4/4/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
Today marks the Marlon Brando centennial, and what better way to celebrate than to explore the actor's filmography? In my case, I decided to plunge into one of those iconic pictures that, for some reason, had never crossed my path till today. It's 1953's The Wild One, the prototypical biker film from which many more sprung forth, a crystallization of midcentury rebellion as understood by Hollywood's paramount moralist, Stanley Kramer. He produced it as one of his social issue flicks, taking inspiration from a Harper's Magazine story that was, in itself, based on a series of events that took place in Hollister, California, 1947. Brando plays Johnny Strabler, leader of the Black Rebels Motorcycle Club…...
Today marks the Marlon Brando centennial, and what better way to celebrate than to explore the actor's filmography? In my case, I decided to plunge into one of those iconic pictures that, for some reason, had never crossed my path till today. It's 1953's The Wild One, the prototypical biker film from which many more sprung forth, a crystallization of midcentury rebellion as understood by Hollywood's paramount moralist, Stanley Kramer. He produced it as one of his social issue flicks, taking inspiration from a Harper's Magazine story that was, in itself, based on a series of events that took place in Hollister, California, 1947. Brando plays Johnny Strabler, leader of the Black Rebels Motorcycle Club…...
- 4/4/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
Nick Taylor and Cláudio Alves are watching and recapping RuPaul’s Drag Race season sixteen. This week, it’s time for episode thirteen…
Like last week, thank heaven for the hunks.
CLÁUDIO: Like many a makeover challenge over the series’ herstory, the latest season 16 episode is rather lovely up until the judges deliver their critiques. After that, it’s the usual shit-show of inconsistent rulings and baffling decisions, a nonsense cocktail that sours everything that came before and leaves a bad taste in the mouth going forward. As if inverting its predecessor’s trajectory, this season seems intent on decreasing in quality as it reaches its final stretch, each episode a bit more disappointing than the one it follows. At least we have hot men to ogle, eye candy from start to finish, with a spoonful of potential fetish content to make things sweeter. That is the one saving grace of these past few chapters.
Like last week, thank heaven for the hunks.
CLÁUDIO: Like many a makeover challenge over the series’ herstory, the latest season 16 episode is rather lovely up until the judges deliver their critiques. After that, it’s the usual shit-show of inconsistent rulings and baffling decisions, a nonsense cocktail that sours everything that came before and leaves a bad taste in the mouth going forward. As if inverting its predecessor’s trajectory, this season seems intent on decreasing in quality as it reaches its final stretch, each episode a bit more disappointing than the one it follows. At least we have hot men to ogle, eye candy from start to finish, with a spoonful of potential fetish content to make things sweeter. That is the one saving grace of these past few chapters.
- 4/3/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
Fifty years ago today, the 46th Academy Awards took place in Los Angeles. It was a starry night, as Oscar nights often are, and The Sting would end the ceremony as its big winner. The Exorcist and The Way We Were also did well for themselves, illustrating a push-and-pull between modernity and tradition as the industry tried to reckon with the nascent Old Hollywood movement within its ranks. Indeed, that same year, an up-and-coming New York-based filmmaker had premiered his third feature to great acclaim. Amid its cast was an actor who'd become one of his most important collaborators, a creative partnership that lasts till today and has shaped a good part of American film history.
Mean Streets was also the first time Robert De Niro entered the Oscar conversation. Critics singled him out for his turn as Scorsese's Johnny Boy…...
Fifty years ago today, the 46th Academy Awards took place in Los Angeles. It was a starry night, as Oscar nights often are, and The Sting would end the ceremony as its big winner. The Exorcist and The Way We Were also did well for themselves, illustrating a push-and-pull between modernity and tradition as the industry tried to reckon with the nascent Old Hollywood movement within its ranks. Indeed, that same year, an up-and-coming New York-based filmmaker had premiered his third feature to great acclaim. Amid its cast was an actor who'd become one of his most important collaborators, a creative partnership that lasts till today and has shaped a good part of American film history.
Mean Streets was also the first time Robert De Niro entered the Oscar conversation. Critics singled him out for his turn as Scorsese's Johnny Boy…...
- 4/3/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
There are few things more enjoyable than watching Dakota Johnson take the piss out of one of her movies. It's even better when it's not simply done in the promo tour but within the flick itself. Some might find it disrespectful, but such are the privileges of our nepo baby extraordinaire. She's got enough bad reviews to satisfy those who dislike her approach and even some Razzie nominations to go with them. However, I'd argue Johnson's bizarre deliveries, the projections of disdain for bad scripts, might be a kind of secret weapon of hers. There comes a point where one starts to feel a kinship with the actress or even a sense that she's fixing rotten characterizations by simply not taking them too seriously…...
There are few things more enjoyable than watching Dakota Johnson take the piss out of one of her movies. It's even better when it's not simply done in the promo tour but within the flick itself. Some might find it disrespectful, but such are the privileges of our nepo baby extraordinaire. She's got enough bad reviews to satisfy those who dislike her approach and even some Razzie nominations to go with them. However, I'd argue Johnson's bizarre deliveries, the projections of disdain for bad scripts, might be a kind of secret weapon of hers. There comes a point where one starts to feel a kinship with the actress or even a sense that she's fixing rotten characterizations by simply not taking them too seriously…...
- 4/2/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
This Wednesday, April 3rd, a selection of theaters in the US will be selling tickets for Immaculate at the devilish price of $6.66. This promotion, devised by Neon in partnership with AMC, Regal, Marcus, and Harkins Theaters, is another ingenious step in the movie's pitch-perfect campaign. Horror is an easy sell, as the industry seems to re-discover every six months or so, but the Immaculate team has outdone themselves and surpassed most expectations. The Sydney Sweeney vehicle, which also counts with her as producer, has proven a word-of-mouth hit, slashing a bloody streak across the holy season that combines Easter, Ramadhan, Passover and the new Beyoncé release – thank you for the joke, Ramy Youssef…...
This Wednesday, April 3rd, a selection of theaters in the US will be selling tickets for Immaculate at the devilish price of $6.66. This promotion, devised by Neon in partnership with AMC, Regal, Marcus, and Harkins Theaters, is another ingenious step in the movie's pitch-perfect campaign. Horror is an easy sell, as the industry seems to re-discover every six months or so, but the Immaculate team has outdone themselves and surpassed most expectations. The Sydney Sweeney vehicle, which also counts with her as producer, has proven a word-of-mouth hit, slashing a bloody streak across the holy season that combines Easter, Ramadhan, Passover and the new Beyoncé release – thank you for the joke, Ramy Youssef…...
- 4/2/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
Nick Taylor and Cláudio Alves are watching and recapping RuPaul’s Drag Race season sixteen. This week, it’s time for episode twelve…
This Pit Crew hunk was the episode's real winner.
CLÁUDIO: After last week’s mirthless drag of an episode, there was nowhere to go but up. And surely, “Bathroom Hunties” is better than “Corporate Queens,” though that improvement has little to do with the producers whose challenge ideas are increasingly preposterous. This was a naked recycling of the Night Club to Hotel concept of All Stars 4 and 5, but why they would want to do a reprise of those messes is anybody’s guess. Thankfully, the queens are here to make this hour entertaining even if it kills them, powering through a poor premise and even poorer judging to deliver a fun bit of television. But do you know who’s also doing a good job of salvaging Drag Race Season 16? The Pit Crew,...
This Pit Crew hunk was the episode's real winner.
CLÁUDIO: After last week’s mirthless drag of an episode, there was nowhere to go but up. And surely, “Bathroom Hunties” is better than “Corporate Queens,” though that improvement has little to do with the producers whose challenge ideas are increasingly preposterous. This was a naked recycling of the Night Club to Hotel concept of All Stars 4 and 5, but why they would want to do a reprise of those messes is anybody’s guess. Thankfully, the queens are here to make this hour entertaining even if it kills them, powering through a poor premise and even poorer judging to deliver a fun bit of television. But do you know who’s also doing a good job of salvaging Drag Race Season 16? The Pit Crew,...
- 3/25/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
If you've ever seen the Never-Ending Man documentary, you'll be familiar with Hayao Miyazaki's complex relationship with new technologies, in animation and otherwise. The film's most famous quote relates to AI, which the Ghibli co-founder strongly feels is "an insult to life itself." However, there's more to it since Miyazaki has attempted and succeeded in combining the possibilities of CGI with traditional techniques. You can see this in the same non-fiction work as the director unsteadily creates Boro, the Caterpillar, one of those shorts exclusively screened at the Ghibli Park and Museum. Still, even as the result may dazzle, the process to get there is a barrage of frustrations for the old master.
Today's Miyazaki tryptic goes against hybridized approaches. Instead, it finds an embrace of hand-drawn animation in its purest form, divested of computerized witchcraft and the like…...
If you've ever seen the Never-Ending Man documentary, you'll be familiar with Hayao Miyazaki's complex relationship with new technologies, in animation and otherwise. The film's most famous quote relates to AI, which the Ghibli co-founder strongly feels is "an insult to life itself." However, there's more to it since Miyazaki has attempted and succeeded in combining the possibilities of CGI with traditional techniques. You can see this in the same non-fiction work as the director unsteadily creates Boro, the Caterpillar, one of those shorts exclusively screened at the Ghibli Park and Museum. Still, even as the result may dazzle, the process to get there is a barrage of frustrations for the old master.
Today's Miyazaki tryptic goes against hybridized approaches. Instead, it finds an embrace of hand-drawn animation in its purest form, divested of computerized witchcraft and the like…...
- 3/23/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
After its triumph on Oscar night, The Boy and the Heron is returning to cinemas all over the world. To commemorate this theatrical re-release and start closing my chapter of the 2023 film year, I took this opportunity to review Hayao Miyazaki's entire oeuvre. And so, we find ourselves standing before one of the greatest filmographies in the medium's history - animated or otherwise - ready to rank the master's twelve features. I'd love to share my thoughts on Miyazaki's shorts, but sadly, most of them are exclusively shown at the Ghibli Park and Museum. Maybe someday I'll be able to witness their beauty - one can dream.
From times when Studio Ghibli was naught but a dream to its twilight years, spanning half a dozen retirements and the loss of countless colleagues, Miyazaki's gift to cinema is a sprawling wonder. This shall be my personal ranking,...
After its triumph on Oscar night, The Boy and the Heron is returning to cinemas all over the world. To commemorate this theatrical re-release and start closing my chapter of the 2023 film year, I took this opportunity to review Hayao Miyazaki's entire oeuvre. And so, we find ourselves standing before one of the greatest filmographies in the medium's history - animated or otherwise - ready to rank the master's twelve features. I'd love to share my thoughts on Miyazaki's shorts, but sadly, most of them are exclusively shown at the Ghibli Park and Museum. Maybe someday I'll be able to witness their beauty - one can dream.
From times when Studio Ghibli was naught but a dream to its twilight years, spanning half a dozen retirements and the loss of countless colleagues, Miyazaki's gift to cinema is a sprawling wonder. This shall be my personal ranking,...
- 3/23/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
Nick Taylor and Cláudio Alves are following and recapping RuPaul’s Drag Race season sixteen. This week, it’s time for episode eleven…
But are you, Q? Are you really?
CLÁUDIO: It gives me no pleasure to say it, but there’s no denying what’s so self-evident - this was the season’s worst episode so far. “Corporate Queens” is already a dicey proposition based on its maxi-challenge format, which tries to recapture some of that Drag Con magic from season 10 while also declaring itself the season’s stand-up show. Make up your mind! Add to that a bevy of mediocre performances and nonsensical judging left and right. To make things worse, the behind-the-scenes team has explicitly forced the edit around one queen’s story, only to pull the rug from under her at the eleventh hour. While it provides a strong candidate for face crack of the century, it...
But are you, Q? Are you really?
CLÁUDIO: It gives me no pleasure to say it, but there’s no denying what’s so self-evident - this was the season’s worst episode so far. “Corporate Queens” is already a dicey proposition based on its maxi-challenge format, which tries to recapture some of that Drag Con magic from season 10 while also declaring itself the season’s stand-up show. Make up your mind! Add to that a bevy of mediocre performances and nonsensical judging left and right. To make things worse, the behind-the-scenes team has explicitly forced the edit around one queen’s story, only to pull the rug from under her at the eleventh hour. While it provides a strong candidate for face crack of the century, it...
- 3/20/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
Gerwig and Greenwood discuss Barbie in a behind-the-scenes video. | © Warner Bros.Last Sunday, Sarah Greenwood officially became the most nominated production designer without an Oscar, breaking her tie with Nathan Crowley for the "Diane Warren" distinction. This year, she was nominated for Barbie, another triumph among many in a career spanning 1980s BBC miniseries to 21st-century Hollywood blockbusters.
Though many of her best works rely on a sense of material realism, the Greta Gerwig feature aimed for a sort of "authentic artificiality" where denying reality is a sort of reality into itself. For Greenwood, midcentury Palm Springs was a source of real-world inspiration to combine with Mattel's history, adding a sense of internal logic to Barbieland. Moreover, the aesthetic was sustained by old-school techniques like hand-painted backdrops and a practical fake sea, visible wires holding everything together in the loopy transitions between worlds. She used scale as a tool for wonderment,...
Gerwig and Greenwood discuss Barbie in a behind-the-scenes video. | © Warner Bros.Last Sunday, Sarah Greenwood officially became the most nominated production designer without an Oscar, breaking her tie with Nathan Crowley for the "Diane Warren" distinction. This year, she was nominated for Barbie, another triumph among many in a career spanning 1980s BBC miniseries to 21st-century Hollywood blockbusters.
Though many of her best works rely on a sense of material realism, the Greta Gerwig feature aimed for a sort of "authentic artificiality" where denying reality is a sort of reality into itself. For Greenwood, midcentury Palm Springs was a source of real-world inspiration to combine with Mattel's history, adding a sense of internal logic to Barbieland. Moreover, the aesthetic was sustained by old-school techniques like hand-painted backdrops and a practical fake sea, visible wires holding everything together in the loopy transitions between worlds. She used scale as a tool for wonderment,...
- 3/18/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
The last time an Emma Stone movie won the Best Costume Design Oscar, I ranked her character's many looks. So, it seems appropriate to do the same this year. Once, there was Cruella, but now, one has Poor Things' Bella Baxter to consider.
Breaking the trend of repeat winners and legendary designers finally getting their due, Holly Waddington is a relative newcomer to the costume design big leagues, even though she has worked with names like Sandy Powell and Jacqueline Durran during her tenure in Angels Costume House. Training her craft in that famed establishment, the designer specialized in period costuming, though she's hardly a stickler for historical accuracy. Bored by exact recreation, the artist prefers to play with anachronism, making her a perfect fit for Yorgos Lanthimos' cinema. Indeed, she met the director through Tony McNamara after she costumes The Great's pilot, another take on...
The last time an Emma Stone movie won the Best Costume Design Oscar, I ranked her character's many looks. So, it seems appropriate to do the same this year. Once, there was Cruella, but now, one has Poor Things' Bella Baxter to consider.
Breaking the trend of repeat winners and legendary designers finally getting their due, Holly Waddington is a relative newcomer to the costume design big leagues, even though she has worked with names like Sandy Powell and Jacqueline Durran during her tenure in Angels Costume House. Training her craft in that famed establishment, the designer specialized in period costuming, though she's hardly a stickler for historical accuracy. Bored by exact recreation, the artist prefers to play with anachronism, making her a perfect fit for Yorgos Lanthimos' cinema. Indeed, she met the director through Tony McNamara after she costumes The Great's pilot, another take on...
- 3/15/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
Reactions vary among Oscar watchers, but I'm tired of Jimmy Kimmel. Comedy is subjective, but I've never warmed up to the late night host as an Academy Awards fixture. His humor comes with a taste of perceived superiority as if he's above the movies honored at the ceremony. To be fair, that's common across award shows everywhere, but we caught a glimpse of something better earlier this season. On January 9th, John Mulaney hosted the Governors Awards, killing it like nobody's business while exuding a sincere love for the medium. He even showed up at the Oscars to ramble about Field of Dreams in the night's best bit. Hopefully, AMPAS saw those appearances as auditions because the Oscars sorely need someone like John Mulaney to take on hosting duties…...
Reactions vary among Oscar watchers, but I'm tired of Jimmy Kimmel. Comedy is subjective, but I've never warmed up to the late night host as an Academy Awards fixture. His humor comes with a taste of perceived superiority as if he's above the movies honored at the ceremony. To be fair, that's common across award shows everywhere, but we caught a glimpse of something better earlier this season. On January 9th, John Mulaney hosted the Governors Awards, killing it like nobody's business while exuding a sincere love for the medium. He even showed up at the Oscars to ramble about Field of Dreams in the night's best bit. Hopefully, AMPAS saw those appearances as auditions because the Oscars sorely need someone like John Mulaney to take on hosting duties…...
- 3/14/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
Nick Taylor and Cláudio Alves are following and recapping RuPaul’s Drag Race season sixteen. This week, it’s time for episode ten…
Sapphira is our Lisan al Gaib. All others are false prophets.
CLÁUDIO: It’s been quite the week to grumble about robbed queens, but enough about the Oscars. In RuPaul’s Prison Experiment, there were no such robberies. Indeed, there isn’t even an elimination to discuss since Mother Reverend Charles blessed us with a non-elimination episode. I’m not sure how I feel about that last bit, but I can’t help but cheer as Sapphira cements her claim on the crown. As we’ve discussed off-record, this chapter feels like the moment when a winner comes into their own, the place where, in retrospect, the narrative solidified and their Golden Path came to be. God Empress Cristál has risen, while both the Banana Queen and...
Sapphira is our Lisan al Gaib. All others are false prophets.
CLÁUDIO: It’s been quite the week to grumble about robbed queens, but enough about the Oscars. In RuPaul’s Prison Experiment, there were no such robberies. Indeed, there isn’t even an elimination to discuss since Mother Reverend Charles blessed us with a non-elimination episode. I’m not sure how I feel about that last bit, but I can’t help but cheer as Sapphira cements her claim on the crown. As we’ve discussed off-record, this chapter feels like the moment when a winner comes into their own, the place where, in retrospect, the narrative solidified and their Golden Path came to be. God Empress Cristál has risen, while both the Banana Queen and...
- 3/14/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
The Zone Of Interest is the first non-English-language film to win the Best Sound Oscar.
Many consider the Oscars to be the highest honor any filmmaker can achieve. However, as an American institution, they've favored Hollywood fare over world cinema. In other words, for all their aspirations, AMPAS is fairly provincial in taste and the composition of their voting body. Strides are made every year to change that, but it'll take a long time before the Academy Awards shake off the "local" allegations. That said, when the voters expand their horizons, one should celebrate it. This year, they certainly looked past Anglophone American-centric cinema, honoring five different non-English-language features…...
The Zone Of Interest is the first non-English-language film to win the Best Sound Oscar.
Many consider the Oscars to be the highest honor any filmmaker can achieve. However, as an American institution, they've favored Hollywood fare over world cinema. In other words, for all their aspirations, AMPAS is fairly provincial in taste and the composition of their voting body. Strides are made every year to change that, but it'll take a long time before the Academy Awards shake off the "local" allegations. That said, when the voters expand their horizons, one should celebrate it. This year, they certainly looked past Anglophone American-centric cinema, honoring five different non-English-language features…...
- 3/13/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
The Film Independent Spirit Awards are almost here! While one waits away the hours before the ceremony starts retrieving a tradition from the Film Experience past feels like a good idea. So, here goes my ballot as a Spirit Awards voter, but only in the film categories since I'm much more unsure in the TV categories – evaluating only from submitted episodes of shows I don't watch feels tricky, especially when it doesn't look like folks submitted their best option. Even in film, many of the nominees were unfamiliar to me, making the voting process an experience marked by discovery.
There were a lot of beautiful surprises, resulting in a varied ballot. At least, I hope it reads that way, though my absolute favorite contender is easy to suss out…...
The Film Independent Spirit Awards are almost here! While one waits away the hours before the ceremony starts retrieving a tradition from the Film Experience past feels like a good idea. So, here goes my ballot as a Spirit Awards voter, but only in the film categories since I'm much more unsure in the TV categories – evaluating only from submitted episodes of shows I don't watch feels tricky, especially when it doesn't look like folks submitted their best option. Even in film, many of the nominees were unfamiliar to me, making the voting process an experience marked by discovery.
There were a lot of beautiful surprises, resulting in a varied ballot. At least, I hope it reads that way, though my absolute favorite contender is easy to suss out…...
- 2/25/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
The César Awards ceremony happens tomorrow, with Anatomy of a Fall poised for a sweep befitting its status as an Oscar darling. For some, its victory will taste like justice after what many have decried as a scandalous snub. After all, despite its acclaim, Justine Triet's film wasn't selected to represent France in the Best International Film race. Instead, the selection committee went with Trần Anh Hùng's The Taste of Things, which competed against Anatomy in Cannes, losing the Palme d'Or but nabbing the Best Director prize. The decision generated much press, with people decrying it as undue punishment toward Triet, who criticized Emmanuel Macron's government in her Palme acceptance speech.
However, this perceived indignity has led to its own backlash. Hùng's film has been belittled nonstop, including by Triet on social media. It all culminated with the César nominations, where France's Oscar submission...
The César Awards ceremony happens tomorrow, with Anatomy of a Fall poised for a sweep befitting its status as an Oscar darling. For some, its victory will taste like justice after what many have decried as a scandalous snub. After all, despite its acclaim, Justine Triet's film wasn't selected to represent France in the Best International Film race. Instead, the selection committee went with Trần Anh Hùng's The Taste of Things, which competed against Anatomy in Cannes, losing the Palme d'Or but nabbing the Best Director prize. The decision generated much press, with people decrying it as undue punishment toward Triet, who criticized Emmanuel Macron's government in her Palme acceptance speech.
However, this perceived indignity has led to its own backlash. Hùng's film has been belittled nonstop, including by Triet on social media. It all culminated with the César nominations, where France's Oscar submission...
- 2/22/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
Nick Taylor and Cláudio Alves are following and recapping RuPaul’s Drag Race season sixteen. This week, they’re joined by extra special guest Nathaniel Rogers…
The Sound Of Music sure looks... different.
Nathaniel: I’d love to waltz into the werq room in a stylish gown with a big soundbite but the truth is I’m sick so I’m bundled up in bed and preserving my voice. But [whisper voice] heyyyguirls. Excited to talk about these queens and this challenge. As a proud musical theater queen (sorry not sorry Dawn) I was excited for “The Sound of Rusic”. That said the Rusicals aren’t really the musical theater challenge people make them out to be. The Rusicals owe way more spiritually to Carol Burnett’s classic Gone With the Wind curtain dress sketch than musical theater...
The Sound Of Music sure looks... different.
Nathaniel: I’d love to waltz into the werq room in a stylish gown with a big soundbite but the truth is I’m sick so I’m bundled up in bed and preserving my voice. But [whisper voice] heyyyguirls. Excited to talk about these queens and this challenge. As a proud musical theater queen (sorry not sorry Dawn) I was excited for “The Sound of Rusic”. That said the Rusicals aren’t really the musical theater challenge people make them out to be. The Rusicals owe way more spiritually to Carol Burnett’s classic Gone With the Wind curtain dress sketch than musical theater...
- 2/20/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
Between Messi charming his way through the Nominees Luncheon and last Sunday's BAFTA victory in Best Original Screenplay, Anatomy of a Fall is entering the Oscar voting period with an upswing of exposure and widespread love. Justine Triet's Palme d'Or champion has proven a beguiling mystery, sustained by a performance that leaves the viewer drowning in ambiguity. According to Sandra Hüller, she was directed to play a writer accused of murdering her husband as if she were innocent, but the film never discloses whether Sandra did it or not.
Indeed, when perusing reviews, online reactions, or just conversations between cinephiles, nobody seems to agree. Some find it evident that she's guilty, while others believe there's no way her husband's death was murder…...
Between Messi charming his way through the Nominees Luncheon and last Sunday's BAFTA victory in Best Original Screenplay, Anatomy of a Fall is entering the Oscar voting period with an upswing of exposure and widespread love. Justine Triet's Palme d'Or champion has proven a beguiling mystery, sustained by a performance that leaves the viewer drowning in ambiguity. According to Sandra Hüller, she was directed to play a writer accused of murdering her husband as if she were innocent, but the film never discloses whether Sandra did it or not.
Indeed, when perusing reviews, online reactions, or just conversations between cinephiles, nobody seems to agree. Some find it evident that she's guilty, while others believe there's no way her husband's death was murder…...
- 2/20/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny earned John Williams his 54th Oscar nomination.
Last week, John Williams celebrated his 92nd birthday, so it seems proper to shine a light on the legendary composer before the month ends. After all, in January, he also became the oldest person ever to secure an Oscar nomination, as he got into the Best Original Score lineup with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. It was his 54th honor - he's won five Oscars as well - making him the most nominated living artist and runner-up for most nominated individual ever. That record is still held by Walt Disney, with 59.
In American Film History, there will never be a more iconic and influential composer than John Williams. If you don't believe it, join me as I go through his 54 nominations and offer my ranking…...
Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny earned John Williams his 54th Oscar nomination.
Last week, John Williams celebrated his 92nd birthday, so it seems proper to shine a light on the legendary composer before the month ends. After all, in January, he also became the oldest person ever to secure an Oscar nomination, as he got into the Best Original Score lineup with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. It was his 54th honor - he's won five Oscars as well - making him the most nominated living artist and runner-up for most nominated individual ever. That record is still held by Walt Disney, with 59.
In American Film History, there will never be a more iconic and influential composer than John Williams. If you don't believe it, join me as I go through his 54 nominations and offer my ranking…...
- 2/16/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
Though Margot Robbie isn't up for Best Actress, she's nominated in Best Picture with her husband, Tom Ackerley.
It's Valentine's Day, and love is in the air. To commemorate the occasion, let's consider this year's Academy Award nominations through the prism of romance, searching for couples among the contenders. Recognizing lovers together has been an Oscar tradition since the very start, from Lunt and Fontaine's matching Best Actor and Actress nomination in 1931 to last year's Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin. Even so, this season feels especially prone to honoring couples. I could find six of them while perusing the list, including in the Best Picture race. Though they're not represented in the star-studded acting categories, they still deserve acclaim and attention…...
Though Margot Robbie isn't up for Best Actress, she's nominated in Best Picture with her husband, Tom Ackerley.
It's Valentine's Day, and love is in the air. To commemorate the occasion, let's consider this year's Academy Award nominations through the prism of romance, searching for couples among the contenders. Recognizing lovers together has been an Oscar tradition since the very start, from Lunt and Fontaine's matching Best Actor and Actress nomination in 1931 to last year's Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin. Even so, this season feels especially prone to honoring couples. I could find six of them while perusing the list, including in the Best Picture race. Though they're not represented in the star-studded acting categories, they still deserve acclaim and attention…...
- 2/14/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
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