Cinema and Popcorn

AFTERSUN It is a character study. More than a movie, it is a memory put on celluloid and it feels deeply personal. In fact, Aftersun is not a movie to watch, it is a movie to inhabit, because it plays in its own form, in its own voice, without any worries about what audiences might think. It is also beautiful thanks to a beautifully crafted cinematography work by Gregory Oke that assures you always feel you are scoping a very private moment from one (or both) leading characters here. As for the acting, Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio are both tremendous! Mescal proves he is one of the best actors of his generation here - his is an amazing sensibility and self-awareness that allow him to be this emotionally naked and raw on-screen. He embodies the tragedy and the inner sadness and chaos of Calum and deliver it in cinematic magic form! As for Frankie Corio, she delivers one of the best child-performances you'll ever see in years - she is able to match Mescal in what I would call "...

The first precursor awards have hit the Oscar race and there are as many good surprises as some shocking/unexpected picks, like every year. On this post we will just present the awards noms/wins, only with a brief analisys about each one of them. Have a look: NEW YORK FILM CRITICS CIRCLE (NYFCC) The NYFCC Awards are the oldest critics prize and maybe the most prestigious one in the US and worldwide, so winning here can give a big Oscar boost to any contender. Although the NYFCC Award are quite inconsistent in terms of translation to the Oscar nominations morning, winning here puts everyone on the map. So, it was quite surprising seeing Rajamouli winning Best Director here for RRR - but it started a "trend" at critics prizes for sure. I think Keke Palmer's win is quite an inspiring and out-of-the-box pick, but I don't think it will translate to real Oscar chances, unlike all the other acting winners here. TÁR also got a big boost - it sure is a tailor-made movie for ...

BEST DIRECTOR Steven Spielberg is back in the Oscar race for the second year in a row... and now he's eyeing his 9th Academy Award nomination for Best Director! A 2 time winner already, Spielberg has met critical acclaim once again thanks to The Fabelmans , which is a tale of his own childhood and pursue of cinematic dreams - and considering it won the People's Choice Award at TIFF, The Fabelmans is both a critics darling and a crowd-pleaser! The Academy loves when directors put their own memories on the big screen (Cuarón won Best Director for Roma and Branagh won Best Original Screenplay for Belfast , recently) and Spielberg's career has been asking for a 3rd Best Director win lately! Then, there's Sarah Polley with one of the most acclaimed movies of the Fall film festival circuit: Women Talking . Critics highlight her sensivity while handling the heavy dramatic material about a group of women who deals with sexual assault by the community's men (it's far...