A Penélope Cruz Top Ten

by Cláudio Alves

The Merry Month of May is upon us, but first, there's still some April business to attend. Specifically, Penélope Cruz turned fifty last weekend and celebrated a big party that included such names as husband Javier Bardem, auteur par excellence Pedro Almodóvar, former scene partner Salma Hayek, and many more. Happy belated birthday to the Spanish star! 

Here, at The Film Experience, the best way to mark such occasions is surrendering to list-mania, so let's consider this Oscar winner's extensive filmography and sing her praises. Excluding TV and with honorable mentions woven into the write-ups, here are my top ten favorite performances from Penélope Cruz…

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Review: "Dune: Part Two" is more History than Story

by Cláudio Alves

Denis Villeneuve's second Dune movie isn't a sequel, not quite. As the full title implies, it's part two of one madman's attempt at transcribing Frank Herbert's seminal space opera on the big screen. And so, it starts almost at the exact point the 2021 film ended, with Timothée Chalamet's Paul Atreides seeking refuge among the Fremen after his Great House was dilacerated in a violent coup. The body of Jamis, the man Paul killed in ritual duel, is still fresh and carried by Stilgar's tribesmen as they guide the princeling and his mother, Lady Jessica, to the underground warren of Sietch Tabr. A prophecy is at stake, and enemy troops aren't nearly as deadly as the dangers waiting for them in the planet-sized desert.

Dread is everywhere, overwhelming, sticking in the throat until it feels like you're already being suffocated by the film before its epic imagery can get a chance to crush you. Villeneuve has done it again…

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What's next for this season's Oscar-nominated actors?

We already looked at what's next for 2021's most celebrated directors so let's turn our attention to the actors who received those coveted Oscar nominations. Whatever will they do for encores? Let's start with the winners...

WILL SMITH
Before his long-awaited Oscar win and that unfortunate slap, he'd already completed work on Antoine Fuqua's action film about a runaway slave called Emancipation (due at some point this year) and then Bad Boys 4 thereafter. Because he's a massive star he is attached, as an actor or producer, to another 40+ movies or television projects though obviously most of them won't get made. It's a miracle any projects get made really given how difficult it is for the stars, money, and scheduled to align in Hollywood on anything! People might need a break from Smith after this week of controversy and thinkpieces but they won't get a long one. 

TROY KOTSUR
The true test about whether CODA meant anything to Hollywood beyond a chance to feel proud of themselves  and inclusive while voting for it, is if they actually take deaf talent seriously thereafter. We hope they do...

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Oscar Volley: A deep dive into Best Actor

Team Experience is discussing the various Oscar categories. Here's Cláudio Alves, Michael Cusumano, and Elisa Giudici to discuss Best Actor.

ELISA GIUDICI: Last year, we thought this Oscar was locked by Chadwick Boseman's intense performance. Yet we were surprised by the outcome, with Anthony Hopkins winning the golden statuette. The Academy was so confident about Boseman’s victory they moved the Best Actor category after Best Picture, the traditional one that closes the ceremony… only to stare at an empty stage, because the winner Anthony Hopkins was at home, sleeping. In 2022, Will Smith is the frontrunner in the Best Actor category. The odds are clearly in his favor…

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Oscar Trivia: When the Academy Nominates Lovers Together

by Cláudio Alves

Love is in the air…at the Oscars. Both lead and supporting acting categories feature a nominated couple. Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem are on the hunt for their second statuette with Parallel Mothers and Being the Ricardos, respectively. Then, there are Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons, who played a married couple in the movie that finally earned them long-deserved Oscar nods. The Power of the Dog stars are the first real-life romantic partners to earn nominations for playing an on-screen couple since Michelle Williams and Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain – though, of course, the Burbanks have a better marriage than the doomed Del Mars. 

But how often do couples get nominated together at the Academy Awards? As it happens, much more often than you'd think...

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