A Star Is Born: Kirsten Dunst in 1994

by Cláudio Alves

For all its controversies, Alex Garland's Civil War has gifted us with more than just an (a)political provocation. The chosen format limits the film's considerations of conflict journalism, and its overall construction has flaws aplenty. Yet, in the picture's lead, Kirsten Dunst delivers another worthwhile turn as a disillusioned photographer. Exhaustion laces every gesture and actorly choice, and though Garland seems to abandon her for the film's final act, whenever the camera finds Dunst, she delivers. Whether portraying cynical apathy or shell-shocked grief, apprehensive over a younger colleague's fate or breaking down at the eleventh hour, the actress can weave straw into gold and elevate any material.

Considering her latest performance, I couldn't help but reminisce about Dunst's early days and how, thirty years ago, she became a star at just twelve years old…

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Immaculate: How to Sell Horror 101

by Cláudio Alves

This Wednesday, April 3rd, a selection of theaters in the US will be selling tickets for Immaculate at the devilish price of $6.66. This promotion, devised by NEON in partnership with AMC, Regal, Marcus, and Harkins Theaters, is another ingenious step in the movie's pitch-perfect campaign. Horror is an easy sell, as the industry seems to re-discover every six months or so, but the Immaculate team has outdone themselves and surpassed most expectations. The Sydney Sweeney vehicle, which also counts with her as producer, has proven a word-of-mouth hit, slashing a bloody streak across the holy season that combines Easter, Ramadhan, Passover and the new Beyoncé release – thank you for the joke, Ramy Youssef…

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Best International Film: Pakistan's "In Flames" & India's "2018"

by Cláudio Alves

Considering the Academy's general disinclination to honor horror cinema, it's always surprising when the genre pops up amid Best International Film submissions. This year, Pakistan is one of the brave countries that didn't let genre bias stop them from selecting a scary movie for the Oscar race. Zarrar Kahn's In Flames is the lucky flick, a Canadian-produced meditation on grief, trauma, and poisonous patriarchy bound to unnerve viewers. Neighboring nation India didn't dip their toes into nightmare cinema but sent a disaster picture that's horrifying in its own way. Juan Anthany Joseph's 2018 dramatizes a real-life catastrophe that befell the state of Kerala…

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The Saturn Awards will also celebrate the year of "Barbenheimer"

by Nathaniel R

The 51st Annual Saturn Awards will take place on February 4th this year in Los Angeles. Universal has reason to celebrate as the nomination leader with films like Oppenheimer, Renfield, and M3GAN in the mix. While Paramount is not far behind with titles like Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Dungeons and Dragons. The Saturn awards have been honoring genre film and television for decades and they once had that all to themselves but in the 21st century mainstream awards bodies like the Oscars and the Emmys aren't as afraid of genre entertainment as they once were so a few of the honorees each year are also awards player in the more mainstream ceremonies.

The Saturn Awards don't run with a full calendar year so there's always a mix of last year's titles and this year's. Avatar The Way of Water, released in 2022, is the nomination leader this time with 12 citations (a record) while 2023's atypical summer blockbuster Oppenheimer is just behind with 11 nods. Given its zeitgeist appeal, Barbie also competes in a few categories..

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Viola Davis should try Horror

by Cláudio Alves

Coming into its second week in theaters, the new Hunger Games movie keeps doing solid numbers. The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is a not-so-surprising success, reinforcing the franchise's popularity and audience's taste for fancy-dressed dystopia. What's more surprising, perhaps, is the relatively positive critical consensus. Though few herald the Francis Lawrence flick as best-of-the-year material, it's also not counted amid 2023's many busted blockbusters. The cast has been especially praised, including Viola Davis, who is expanding her repertoire to include one mad-eyed, crazy-haired villain in red. 

As Gamemaker Volumnia Gaul, she's the story's primary antagonist, an embodiment of its universe's power structures, bloodthirsty and ruthless. Seeing Davis triumph in the role makes one wonder how she'd do in more genre fare. Horror, for example…

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