A Quick Word on AppleTV's "Disclaimer"

by Eric Blume

We at The Film Experience couldn't let an opportunity go by to post about the new AppleTV series Disclaimer since it stars two-time Oscar winner Cate Blachett, Oscar winner Kevin Kline, and Oscar nominees Lesley Manville, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Kodi Smit-McPhee.  Plus, it's written and dirtected by mutli-Oscar winner Alfonso Cuarón (who's won Oscars for Directing, Editing, and Cinemtography).

That's a highly-pedigreed project, and this group of artists have created a probing, sometimes bizarre, curious, and difficult piece of television.  There is no way to have any deep discussion about this project until you've seen it all the way through.  So I won't divulge the turns and ambitions of Disclaimer too much, but if you haven't seen it at all, stop reading now...even a cursory dive into the show requires a few reveals...

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Venice 2024: Series Better Than Movies #1 - Disclaimer

by Elisa Giudici

Alfonso Cuarón, behind the scenes of DISCLAIMER | © Apple TV+

From the moment the Venice lineup was announced, it was clear that this year, the festival was betting heavily on TV. The impression was that the quality was high enough to justify their inclusion and the commitment to watch long episodes, even at the expense of film screenings. Early viewings have confirmed this prediction. In these diaries from the Lido, I can already tell you that at least two series will make headlines. The first one is:

DISCLAIMER by Alfonso Cuarón

When it comes to TV series, Alfonso Cuarón proves to be the dream director for a platform like Apple TV+…

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Review: "Fancy Dance" is a showcase for Lily Gladstone

by Cláudio Alves

Four years ago, Erica Tremblay's Little Chief provided a fascinating sketch in little more than ten minutes. Through smart writing and direction, not to mention Lily Gladstone's performance in the lead, the short conveys a complex sociopolitical milieu while also insinuating a whole lot about its characters' situation. Their lives stretch beyond the narrative frame, and we can grasp them even if their particularities elude the viewer. As a cineaste's calling card, Little Chief is a tremendous little thing, far from innovative yet promising great features in its maker's future. And so it is, and so has happened, with Fancy Dance fulfilling that pledge.

Not that this feature debut is exclusively a proof of Tremblay's potential. It's much more, including one hell of a showcase for Lily Gladstone...

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On Gladstone and Scorsese's Mollie Kyle

by Cláudio Alves

Oscar voting opens today, and, for once, some of my favorites are poised to thrive on the nomination ballot. Because of that, it might seem overkill to write FYC pieces, those love letters by another name. Even so, as it's a time for advocacy, I shall articulate why some of the year's best cinematic achievements deserve to be recognized as such. Today, I find myself inspired to make the case for Lily Gladstone, a virtual lock for a Best Actress nomination who might win it all. And to think some said going lead would ruin her Oscar hopes. 

As Mollie Kyle in Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon, she breathes life into a dark chapter of American history. Gladstone illuminates the tragedy of a woman and people betrayed, forsaken by individuals who claimed to love them and systems who exploited them under the guise of protection, brutalized by greed and white supremacy…

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Review: The Afterparty Offers Up More Creative Genres in Season Two

by Christopher James

How often can one person stumble into a murder? This question plagues the comedy Only Murders In The Building, though it has the conceit of a murder podcast to justify it. Season one of The Afterparty has a similar problem to solve but it won many fans thanks to its multi-genre Rashomon style while capitalizing on the murder mystery craze of the moment between The White Lotus and Knives Out. Still, the modular design of the show - changing tone every episode - kept it from being a runaway success like its fellow murder mystery projects.

Season two presents a brand new mystery, but the same episode structure. Does it work better the second time around?

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