Would you rather?

We haven't looked at Instagram in ages. Let's play the game. Would you rather...

...go to the movies with Glen Powell?
...hike Topanga with Richard Madden?
...california dream' with Jennifer Tilly?
...get ready for summer with Beanie Feldstein?
...wrangle puppies with Olivia Newton-John?
...kiss a pig with Miles Heizer?
...get a headcast with Harry Shum Jr?
...read a new novel with Natalie Portman?
...or travel incognito with Octavia Spencer?

The photos are after the jump to help you decide...

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The Beautiful Dryness of "1917"

by Lynn Lee

[This article contains spoilers]

“One of the best war films ever made.”

That’s not a critic’s blurb – that’s how my father described 1917 to me the other day. The fact that he and my mother loved the film didn’t surprise me, given that I was the one who recommended it to them.  What did surprise me was how much they loved it.  It’s not that they haven’t seen many war movies – to the contrary, my childhood and adolescence included a healthy dose of them, from early black and white greats like Grand Illusion to sweeping Hollywood epics like Lawrence of Arabia.  Over the years my parents have continued to add films as varied as Das Boot, Gallipoli, Saving Private Ryan, and Master and Commander to their favorites.

So what was it about 1917 they deemed worthy to stand with the classics? My dad cited the cinematography, of course, and the vivid realization of the WWI battlefields and trenches, but he also extolled the “delicacy” and “dryness” of the story.  And I think he was on to something there...

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1917: Acting an Epic

by Cláudio Alves

Sam Mendes may be winning prizes left and right for his World War I epic, but a big element of the production has been ignored by awards bodies. As it happens with many epics, the actors of 1917 are forgotten amid their picture's celebration. It's difficult to consider the human element of a spectacle that calls so much attention to the craft of its construction, its beauty, and savagery. Instead of chewing on the scenery, these actors are consumed by it and fully digested.

As we start approaching the finish line of this Oscar race, one question looms over the Best Picture category. Can 1917 overcome its actorly lacunas and defeat Parasite in all its SAG-crowned glory? On the other hand, are those perceived lacunas a reality or a byproduct of the epic scale...

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Team Experience: One last agonized cry for the snubbees this Emmy nomination day!

As is our habit, we polled Team Experience this morning to see which Emmy snub yanked them straight to mourning this morning. Here are their answers. Please share your own in the comments, won't you? Misery loves company!

CHRIS FEIL: MJ Rodriguez in POSE. While we can hope that Billy Porter's immensely deserved nomination can represent the entire ensemble with a win, it still leaves Pose's exquisite female cast members unrewarded including the most deserving: Mj Rodriguez's resilient and compassionate house mother Blanca. It's infuriating that the show's directing and writing went unrecognized due to the Game of Thrones glut, but to have denied the season's emotional epicenter is just about unconscionable. Hers is the work that most embodies the multifaceted show and all of its triumphs and power.

DEBORAH LIPP: Gentleman Jack got crowded out, why? Emilia Clark over Suranne Jones is not supportable. FOUR nominations for Game of Thrones over Sophie Rundle in supporting actress is not supportable. Game of Thrones' worst season over this breakthrough new series is NOT! SUPPORTABLE!

lots more weeping after the jump...

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Review: "Rocketman" blasts off

This review was originally published in Nathaniel's column at Towleroad

Pop stardom is a notoriously fickle thing. For every “legacy” artist out there, there are thousands of one-hit wonders, and hundreds of sort-of famous B listers. One imagines that anyone in the center of the hurricane of New Fame imagines it will last forever. If you find yourself engineering your own biopic in your golden years, congratulations, it did. Which brings us to Reginald Dwight… better known as Elton John.

In the first frames of Rocketman, Elton John (Taron Egerton) strolls into focus, cheekily dressed as a horned devil to confront his own demons in a therapy session framing device...

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