Best Editing: The Art of Disorientation

by Cláudio Alves

There seem to be two big schools of thought regarding what good film editing is. On the one hand, classic Hollywood precepts indicate a preference for the invisible, cutting so organically enmeshed with the rhythms of the story one barely notices its mechanisms. On the other hand, there's a showier style, editing that calls attention to itself and demands applause, especially in the realm of action cinema. In either case, an unwritten rule posits clarity of information and storytelling as a defining tenet. Editing should facilitate the movie-watching process by allowing the audience to follow along with the narrative or thesis, its emotional beats, spatial awareness, and chronology. Nonetheless, two of this year's biggest contenders in the race for the Best Editing Oscar do the exact opposite, choosing to engage with the art of editing as a tool of disorientation rather than clarification, chaos instead of order…

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Will Regina King be nominated for Best Director? It'd be a first in more than one way.

by Eurocheese

All Oscar season, I’ve heard a comment that didn’t sit quite right with me. When discussing Regina King’s Oscar chances for a Best Director nomination, the belief was that because she is a well-known actress, her nomination was more likely. Is that true, when we look at previous Best Director nominees? My knee jerk reaction has been 'tell that to Ben Affleck and Bradley Cooper', two of the most surprising Oscar snubs in the category over the last decade. Does Best Director typically resist award winning actors? And would King be an unusual choice for a nominee? My answer to both questions is yes, and before you object, I brought receipts.

There have certainly been acclaimed actors (mostly white males, of course) that have crossed from the acting world to become acclaimed directors. Examples typically fall into a few specific categories...

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FYC: "Pinocchio" for Best Makeup & Hairstyling

by Cláudio Alves

Carlo Collodi's 1883 novel The Adventures of Pinocchio has been adapted countless times to the big screen, from the time of the silent shorts to today's world of streaming services and opulent CGI. However, it should be noted that, throughout the majority of film history, the most famous adaptations of this literary nightmare have been rather unfaithful to its source material, its sharper edges indiscriminately sanded off. A tale of cruel moralism full of ghoulish characters, Pinocchio's story is often mellowed until its hellish visions are more enchanting than terrifying. 

When it was time for Matteo Garrone to shoot his version of the narrative, the Italian director went back to Collodi's original tone…

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Minari: A tale of two (or more) grandmas

By Lynn Lee 

This is a story about grandmothers.

Having finally seen Minari, I’d originally intended to write about its place in the evolution of Asian American film over the last 20 years.  Or about Steven Yeun becoming the new face of Asian American masculinity in Hollywood.  But I couldn’t stop thinking about the Korean grandmother, Soon-ja, played by Youn Yuh-jung, because she reminded me so much of my own late grandmother.  Youn’s vibrant, hugely endearing performance—still Minari’s best shot at an Oscar acting nomination—and the cultural specificity of her character struck a chord of recognition that reverberated right to and through my core...

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FYC: " Húsavík" for Best Original Song

by Cláudio Alves

2020 was a horrible year in many regards. Too many to count if we're being honest. Still, I'd like to highlight that, as a Eurovision Song Contest fan, it was especially disheartening to see the show be canceled due to the COVID-19 crisis. It's obvious why it couldn't happen, but, if there ever was a year that needed the cheering effect of that joyful camp explosion, 2020 was that year. Thankfully, both for me and my Eurovision-loving family, Netflix had an Easter Egg-filled delight to assuage the pain…

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