Nathaniel's Assorted Wonders (Top Ten Preamble)

by Nathaniel R

THE WONDERFUL STORY OF HENRY SUGAR © Netflix

PART 1 - In real life I am exceedingly punctual. The same is not true of my online listing life. But one of my goals for 2024 is rethinking and clarifying my lifelong need to talk about the movies. So stayed tuned but please follow on Substackd and Letterboxd and Instagram while I sort that out. I am hoping to return to writing, twice weekly. That's the goal. I've accepted that I'll never be able to do the daily churn again that kept the site lively. Bless Cláudio and the rest of the team who have filled in some of my gaps. The world has moved on (social media has replaced incessant blogging and consumption of blogging). Plus I also burned out trying to produce that much. But enough navel-gazing for the moment!

The next week at the site is dedicated to wrapping up my own long-running awards (now in their *gulp* 24th year) and talking about Oscar night (which is about to happen), so here are brief thoughts on some favourite film things of the year which I hope you'll use along with awards themselves as a 'recommended' guide when you're looking for something to watch...

Click to read more ...

Nathaniel's Ballot - Best Actress and Best Actor

by Nathaniel R

Natalie Portman in "May December" © Netflix

Time is up. Argh! We previously talked supporting actors, supporting actresses, and limited roles. Herewith the MOVIE STAR categories in the Film Bitch Awards. We saw surprisingly eye to eye with Oscar voters this year on the men if not quite the women. The 24 actors in this post are not, of course, the only praise-worthy performances this year. People will be angry that two of the actual Oscar nominees don't make my top dozen but I have to answer to my own opinion, else why have personal awards? What follows is a list of twelve performances each for Best Actress and Best Actor that resonated most with yours truly. Though, as per usual, Best Actress was far more competitive and five plus strong female performances were left on the cutting room floor.

After the jump the semi-finalists, finalists, and nominees in both categories...

Click to read more ...

Film Bitch Awards Awards Rush: Limited Roles, Ensemble Acting, and More!

by Nathaniel R

Kerry O'Malley in "The Killer" © Netflix

In the interest of wrapping up before Oscar night (or at least getting, say, 80% there) please note that there are multiple new categories posted at the 24th annual Film Bitch Awards. Tonight, let's talk the "extra" acting categories of which we have Limited Performances (for people with very short screen time --usually one or two scenes only), Breakthrough Performers, a special Body of Work award and much more.  I have such fun thinking about these categories all year as I watch movies that I fear I missed my calling to be a casting director. Maybe in the next life...

Click to read more ...

Best Supporting Actor Ballot, Theirs and Mine.

by Nathaniel R

OPPENHEIMER

Last time we discussed TFE's second favourite category (Best Supporting Actress)... or is it actually our favourite category given how often we speak of it? (hmmm).  Now it's time for the male half. Historically Best Supporting Actor, is dullest acting category at the Oscars. It's not just that the roles aren't always as interesting as those the women get to play, but that Oscar chooses so weakly.

Once again this season it's a category that feels a little thin with an obvious future winner who definitely has fine moments but doesn't exactly do anything with his role that dozens of other solid actors wouldn't have. You can guess that RDJ is not on my own ballot! Nevertheless, let's discuss Oscar's choices and my own dozen favourites from 2023 (and your favourites in the comments)... 

Click to read more ...

FB Awards: Movie Posters of the Year

by Nathaniel R

It's that time again! I'm going to do the Film Bitch Awards a little differently this year and give them each their own article... all 40ish categories. At least that's the plan over the next month but we'll see. First up, movie posters of the year. The state of movie posters in general is dire, many often looking more like an AI generated collage of faces with sizes proportioned by legal contracts and no consideration of visual appeal. But, gripes aside, there are always bright spots. Honorable mentions to this list include the upside down "don't get lost" teaser for Saltburn,  the retro-painted poster  of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and Oppenheimer 's literally explosive biography. 

Herewith 12 favourite movie posters of the year in not very particular order...

Click to read more ...