Streaming Diaries: "1899", "Friend of the Family" and more

by Nathaniel R

I didn't see you there.

I had a short-lived second round with COVID over Thanksgiving week (all better now, "negative", and out and about). While sick the hot ginger tea was flowing and the streaming entertainment was constant. The great f***-over moment of the timing of all this (first world problem incoming!) was that the FYC screeners went to my old address and the new Apple TV that could download the studio FYC streaming apps didn't arrive until after the holiday. This means I did not have access to Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio so naturally that's the movie I felt like watching at every moment. But you should know (if you don't already from social media) that Netflix is really pouring money into that Oscar campaign; they sent a massive box of stuff!

Okay, we'll do a few of these streaming diaries posts to catch up and they'll be very random as to what's discussed from Oscar bait to trashy TV...

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EFA Nominations: 'Close', 'Holy Spider', and 'Triangle of Sadness' rule

by Nathaniel R

The 35th Annual European Film Awards have announced their nominations (drawn from the previous longlist announced in the summer). Two International Feature Film Oscar contenders Close (Belgium) and Holy Spider (Denmark) lead the nominations alongside Ruben Östlund's English-language satire Triangle of Sadness.  Each received four nominations. Full nominations list and commentary follows (NOW UPDATED WITH WINNERS MARKED BY STARS)...

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What's next for this season's Oscar nominated actresses?

by Nathaniel R

Promotional image from The Good Nurse © Netflix

We already looked at what's next for 2021's most celebrated directors and actors so let's turn our attention to the actresses (our favourite topic on the regular). Whatever will they do for encores? Let's start with the winners...

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"Introducing" The film debuts of your Best Actress nominees

by Nathaniel R

Nicole Kidman's first dramatic closeup in a movie. Her mother has just told her no in Bush Christmas (1983)This season's best actress race is a quintet of considerable fame. We have three previous Oscar winners (Nicole Kidman, Olivia Colman, Penélope Cruz), a multiple nominee (Jessica Chastain) and a first timer though she's been globally famous for over a decade (Kristen Stewart). All five are in demand and oft-celebrated. We thought it would be fun to look at their very first movies long before superstardom happened which was the impetus for this four part "introducing" series (you've already witnessed Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress).

How were these now acclaimed actresses introduced to audiences? Let's take them in chronological order of their official debuts after the jump...

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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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