Atlanta Film Critics Circle loves the multiverse

by Nathaniel R

The Atlanta Film Critics have announced their winners for the 2022 film year with Everything Everywhere All At Once the big takeaway with 3 prizes (Film, Director, Supporting Actor). They agreed with the venerable NYFCC on 3 of the 4 performance awards though it's far too soon into the season to know if we have "critical sweeps" on our hands with Cate Blanchett, Colin Farrell, or Ke Huy Quan. The AFCC winners are after the jump...

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Oscar Volleys: The Worldbuilding of Production Design

Team Experience will be discussing each Oscar category as we head into the precursors. Here's Eurocheese and Nick Taylor... 

AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER

EUROCHEESE: Hi Nick! We have an exciting group of larger-than-life worlds to conquer for Production Design, but maybe it would be best to start with the elephant in the room: Despite some mixed reviews on Babylon, I have to imagine if nothing else it will make its coked-up presence known here, as homage to Hollywood's glory days. Then we have two blockbuster sequels to previous Best Production Design winners, with Black Panther Wakanda Forever and Avatar The Way of Water both asking similar questions: will the branch be excited enough for an encore nomination? I'm actually leaning towards no, now that we've seen the CGI-heavy worlds. Both might make more sense in other craft categories.  I'm curious to hear your thoughts though...

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Oscar Volleys: Best Costume Design is all about opulence - you own everything.

Team Experience will be discussing each Oscar category as we head into the precursors. Here's Cláudio Alves and Elisa Giudici with a conversation on Best Costume Design... 

"Babylon" | © Paramount Pictures

CLÁUDIO: Just as we're starting this conversation, I see my TL full of early reactions to Babylon, which was screened at long last. It still feels too soon to predict how the movie will do, whether critically or in the awards race, but it'll be polarizing. Some love it, some hate it, and the same singular elements have been recipients of both praise and loathing. With all this in mind, we can consider Babylon's chances in the Best Costume Design category. Honestly, at this point in the season, it feels like one of only two locks in the race…

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Thanksgiving was Unkind to the Box Office

By Ben Miller

Thanksgiving weekend can usually be counted on for a big box office, but that was certainly not the case this year.  The entire box office managed just $92.9 million for the three-day weekend.  That's the lowest Thanksgiving box office weekend since 1994 (not counting 2020, obviously).  Black Panther: Wakanda Forever cruised to another easy box office win, dropping a mere 31% in it's third week of release.  The two new releases of Disney's Strange World and the war film Devotion both landed with relative thuds.  The marketing on both has been dubious at best...

Weekend Box Office (actuals) November 25th-27th 🔺 = new or expanding /  ★ = Recommended
WIDE (OVER 800 SCREENS)	LIMITED / PLATFORM
BLACK PANTHER WAKANDA FOREVER	GLASS ONION
1 BLACK PANTHER WAKANDA FOREVER $45.6 (cum. $367.5)	1 🔺★ GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY $9.4 *NEW* 696 screens

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Review: "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" Ups the Ante to Glorious Results

by Christopher James

Sometimes, bigger is actually better.

Over Thanksgiving weekend in 2019, Knives Out became a sleeper hit, delivering a perfectly fun and witty whodunnit perfect for all generations. The Netflix sequel, Glass Onion, ups the ante in every way possible. The set is bigger, the cast is starrier, the cameos are plentiful. Despite the excess on screen, none of the magic of the original is lost. In fact, Glass Onion improves on the original, taking a character we know and love and thrusting him into a funnier and more zany mystery. The heart is still there so sign me up for plenty more chapters of Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) solving elaborate mysteries.

For those concerned, never fear. No major spoilers are ahead. The latest Benoit Blanc tale, which just opened in cinemas, deserves to be seen with as fresh of eyes as possible...

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