Five Reasons to Watch "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" Immediately

by Murtada Elfadl

A movie event of the highest order is a click away, at least for those of us in the US. 

#1 Portrait of a Lady on Fire is now streaming on Hulu. You can watch right this very second if you want.

#2 There’s a lot of choices on streaming but this gives you the chance to swoon as you watch. Gorgeously shot, Portrait is a romance between an artist (Noémie Merlant) and her subject (Adèle Haenel) set in late 18th century France, that smolders with heat and passion...

Click to read more ...

"An Officer and a Spy" and "Les Miserables" battle it out for the César

by Nathaniel R

France's Oscar parallel competition, the Césars, have finally announced their nominations for the film year. Roman Polanski's adaptation of Robert Harris's novel An Officer and a Spy leads the nominations. It's based on the Dreyfus affair and Emile Zola's "J'Accuse!" letter, both of which are also the topic of one of Oscar's earliest Best Picture winners The Life of Emile Zola (1937).  The drama leads the Césars with 12 nominations while the Oscar-nominated Les Miserables and the riveting queer romantic drama Portrait of a Lady on Fire were right behind with 10 nominations each. After the jump all the nominations and a few notes...

Click to read more ...

The Actresses of 2019

by Murtada Elfadl

This year’s nominees for best actress do not offer much variety. Not in scope and type of role, not in diversity, not in film genre, and certainly not in quality of film. Only two of the five nominated films - Little Women and Marriage Story - have been recognized by the Academy for best picture, and the same two were the only ones to receive a metacritic average above 70. So how did we end up here when there other options that would’ve made the category stronger? Let’s take a look at what the film year offered...

Click to read more ...