By Michael Cusumano
Scene: Paris
Frances is a dancer by trade, but I think it’s fair to say that throughout Noah Baumbach’s Frances Ha her real art is poor decision making. In that regard, her impromptu trip to Paris is her masterpiece.
The spontaneous journey to France is the quintessential youthful indulgence. “Oh to be so young and free that I could drop everything and jet off to Europe.” Unfortunately for Frances, Baumbach’s films delight in subverting such self-consciously grand gestures. In Kicking and Screaming a character engages in the classic end-of-movie race to the airport only to find he can’t get a last minute ticket. When the cashier offers him a ticket for the following day he deflates and declines. The moment will have passed by then. Frances doesn’t merely run to the airport, she flies to the other side of the Atlantic. As such,...
Scene: Paris
Frances is a dancer by trade, but I think it’s fair to say that throughout Noah Baumbach’s Frances Ha her real art is poor decision making. In that regard, her impromptu trip to Paris is her masterpiece.
The spontaneous journey to France is the quintessential youthful indulgence. “Oh to be so young and free that I could drop everything and jet off to Europe.” Unfortunately for Frances, Baumbach’s films delight in subverting such self-consciously grand gestures. In Kicking and Screaming a character engages in the classic end-of-movie race to the airport only to find he can’t get a last minute ticket. When the cashier offers him a ticket for the following day he deflates and declines. The moment will have passed by then. Frances doesn’t merely run to the airport, she flies to the other side of the Atlantic. As such,...
- 9/29/2020
- by Michael C.
- FilmExperience
Hey folks. Michael Cusumano here. We had a great time at last week's trivia match and I though I would drop in and give you a sample. Last week we had rounds focused on Cate Blanchett and an audio round on Oscar nominated scores of the 2010's plus the general knowledge round we do every week. The round was one minute per question. Let me know how you would have done in the comments (No Googling. Duh.)
Every winning team gets to choose a round topic for next week's match, and I'm pleased to report 5/21 champs Team Peach chose Lgbt Movies/characters/actors nominated for Oscars for this Thursday's game.
So brush up on that topic if you want a chance at the crown!
To play in this week's game: The event is held every Thursday at 7:30 Pm Est on Zoom and runs approximately 2 hours. It’s $5 per person payable through Venmo or PayPal.
Every winning team gets to choose a round topic for next week's match, and I'm pleased to report 5/21 champs Team Peach chose Lgbt Movies/characters/actors nominated for Oscars for this Thursday's game.
So brush up on that topic if you want a chance at the crown!
To play in this week's game: The event is held every Thursday at 7:30 Pm Est on Zoom and runs approximately 2 hours. It’s $5 per person payable through Venmo or PayPal.
- 5/27/2020
- by Michael C.
- FilmExperience
Hey everyone. Michael Cusumano here. There is still time to sign up Thursday's Movie Trivia Night, sponsored by The Film Experience.
I thought I'd give you guys one more sample round, so here's Round 5 from this past Thursday's game: Name That Kiss There was one minute per slide for teams to settle on an answer. How would you have done? (Question #3 stumped the room.)
The 10 gifs are after the break along with information on how to join this Thursday's game... ...
I thought I'd give you guys one more sample round, so here's Round 5 from this past Thursday's game: Name That Kiss There was one minute per slide for teams to settle on an answer. How would you have done? (Question #3 stumped the room.)
The 10 gifs are after the break along with information on how to join this Thursday's game... ...
- 5/19/2020
- by Michael C.
- FilmExperience
Michael Cusumano here to celebrate a film that is so much more than just another "based on a true story" prestige pic. I have noticed that Bennett Miller’s Capote is often shoved into the biopic genre in a way that diminishes the film’s achievements.
Lesser biopics bask in the glow of reflected importance coming off their subjects. Significance through osmosis. They value the flush of recognition over insight, and the accumulation of incident over meaning. Capote on the other hand is crafted with a stark, unwavering discipline. It has more in common with a portrait of artistic self-destruction like Black Swan than with Walk Hard inspirations like Ray...
Lesser biopics bask in the glow of reflected importance coming off their subjects. Significance through osmosis. They value the flush of recognition over insight, and the accumulation of incident over meaning. Capote on the other hand is crafted with a stark, unwavering discipline. It has more in common with a portrait of artistic self-destruction like Black Swan than with Walk Hard inspirations like Ray...
- 5/19/2020
- by Michael C.
- FilmExperience
Hey, everyone. Michael Cusumano here with an exciting announcement. My company Whiskey Cat LLC recently launched a weekly Movie Trivia night on Zoom and The Film Experience has come aboard as a sponsor! It's 5 rounds with 50+ question with a variety of questions and games including audio and visual clues. Rest assured I am taking care to craft questions that The Film Experience audience will enjoy. Oscars and actresses will no doubt abound. Nathaniel will be writing one of the 5 rounds this week!
Here's an example of one ten minute round last week. Within that time limit, how many of these could you answer correctly (no googling allowed obviously)
How do you play? The event is held every Thursday at 7:30 Pm Est on Zoom and runs about 2 hours. It’s $5 per person payable through Venmo or PayPal. Send a team name along with the payment and I will reply with the Zoom information.
Here's an example of one ten minute round last week. Within that time limit, how many of these could you answer correctly (no googling allowed obviously)
How do you play? The event is held every Thursday at 7:30 Pm Est on Zoom and runs about 2 hours. It’s $5 per person payable through Venmo or PayPal. Send a team name along with the payment and I will reply with the Zoom information.
- 5/17/2020
- by Michael C.
- FilmExperience
In this series members of Team Experience share their feelings for movies they have watched multiple times and that they can never get enough of. Here's Michael Cusumano
I can’t remember what originally drew me to Anatomy of a Murder. I certainly never held strong feelings toward the courtroom genre in general or the films of Otto Preminger in particular. I do recall a youthful obsession with George C. Scott that might explain it; Dr. Strangelove and The Hustler both would both qualify as top contenders for this series.
Whatever path I took to Anatomy of a Murder, once discovered it was never far from my rotation. You would think courtroom movies would be ill-suited for repeat viewings since most are structured like mysteries where the truth is gradually forced out into the open. Once the secrets are spilled, what is left for the return visit? But therein lies...
I can’t remember what originally drew me to Anatomy of a Murder. I certainly never held strong feelings toward the courtroom genre in general or the films of Otto Preminger in particular. I do recall a youthful obsession with George C. Scott that might explain it; Dr. Strangelove and The Hustler both would both qualify as top contenders for this series.
Whatever path I took to Anatomy of a Murder, once discovered it was never far from my rotation. You would think courtroom movies would be ill-suited for repeat viewings since most are structured like mysteries where the truth is gradually forced out into the open. Once the secrets are spilled, what is left for the return visit? But therein lies...
- 5/13/2020
- by Michael C.
- FilmExperience
by Michael Cusumano
I become invested in the struggles of Sandra in Two Days, One Night in a way I rarely do with other protagonists.
The Dardenne’s unadorned style combined with the rawness of Marion Cotillard’s performance convince me completely of the reality of what’s unfolding, and I monitor Sandra like a friend for whom I am gravely concerned, inspecting every downward glance for hints of an impending crack up. When she teeters on the brink of a deep abyss after the film’s brutal first act, I can intuit that she is probably one more setback away from surrendering to her darkest impulses. The film doesn't need to say so...
I become invested in the struggles of Sandra in Two Days, One Night in a way I rarely do with other protagonists.
The Dardenne’s unadorned style combined with the rawness of Marion Cotillard’s performance convince me completely of the reality of what’s unfolding, and I monitor Sandra like a friend for whom I am gravely concerned, inspecting every downward glance for hints of an impending crack up. When she teeters on the brink of a deep abyss after the film’s brutal first act, I can intuit that she is probably one more setback away from surrendering to her darkest impulses. The film doesn't need to say so...
- 5/12/2020
- by Michael C.
- FilmExperience
Hey everyone. Michael Cusumano here. If you've got to be trapped inside, why not be trapped inside with thirty or so of the greatest British actors ever? 18-year-old mystery spoilers ahead!
Scene: The Murder of Willam McCordle
I don’t think you count yourself as having seen a Robert Altman film unless you’ve seen it three times, minimum. All great films expand on rewatch, but Altman movies transform, accumulating power as additional dimensions come into focus. In no film is this more apparent than his late-period masterwork, Gosford Park...
Scene: The Murder of Willam McCordle
I don’t think you count yourself as having seen a Robert Altman film unless you’ve seen it three times, minimum. All great films expand on rewatch, but Altman movies transform, accumulating power as additional dimensions come into focus. In no film is this more apparent than his late-period masterwork, Gosford Park...
- 5/5/2020
- by Michael C.
- FilmExperience
by Michael Cusumano
Scene: Scaling the Burj Khalifa
In the course of writing this column, I eventually got around to asking myself the inevitable question: “What is the 21st century scene I’ve watched the most times?”
I knew with certainty that the answer was the Burj Khalifa scene from Brad Bird’s Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, even if I couldn’t immediately account for the why. Of course you could simply say ”Why not?” It’s already firmly established in the pantheon of great action scenes. But it’s not like the past two decades have seen a dearth of great action filmmaking. Why not “Ship’s Mast” from Death Proof or the centerpiece car chase from Drive? What exactly is it about Tom Cruise pawing his way up the side of the world’s tallest building?...
Scene: Scaling the Burj Khalifa
In the course of writing this column, I eventually got around to asking myself the inevitable question: “What is the 21st century scene I’ve watched the most times?”
I knew with certainty that the answer was the Burj Khalifa scene from Brad Bird’s Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, even if I couldn’t immediately account for the why. Of course you could simply say ”Why not?” It’s already firmly established in the pantheon of great action scenes. But it’s not like the past two decades have seen a dearth of great action filmmaking. Why not “Ship’s Mast” from Death Proof or the centerpiece car chase from Drive? What exactly is it about Tom Cruise pawing his way up the side of the world’s tallest building?...
- 8/13/2019
- by Michael C.
- FilmExperience
The New Classics is a weekly series by Michael Cusumano, looking at great films of the 21st century through the lens of a single selected scene.
Scene: Emily takes charge
The lost pioneers in Kelly Reichardt’s Meek’s Cutoff travel with a bird in a cage dangling from the back of a covered wagon. It is a token of happier days, when nature was an ornament that decorated your home, not a force that drained the life from you with its punishing distances and barren terrain.
More than a sad joke, the little yellow parakeet also functions as a poignant symbol for the codes of society the pioneers carry with them into the wilderness, codes which become increasingly absurd in the context of their predicament. Lost, dying from thirst, and led by a guide who is either a charlatan or a mad man, the wagon train’s men still...
Scene: Emily takes charge
The lost pioneers in Kelly Reichardt’s Meek’s Cutoff travel with a bird in a cage dangling from the back of a covered wagon. It is a token of happier days, when nature was an ornament that decorated your home, not a force that drained the life from you with its punishing distances and barren terrain.
More than a sad joke, the little yellow parakeet also functions as a poignant symbol for the codes of society the pioneers carry with them into the wilderness, codes which become increasingly absurd in the context of their predicament. Lost, dying from thirst, and led by a guide who is either a charlatan or a mad man, the wagon train’s men still...
- 7/2/2019
- by Michael C.
- FilmExperience
Happy Pride Weekend!
We'll be luxuriating in queerness for the rest of the weekend before halfway mark ballots tomorrow night or possibly earlier. But here are a dozen highlights from the month that was if you'd like to catch up inbetween your own festivities
• Midyear top fives from Team Experience
• Gentleman Jack Deborah Lipp gets personal about that brilliant lead performance from Suranne Jones. Have you watched this great series yet?
• The House That Will Not Stand exciting new stage-to-screen project
• West Side Story Promo the first image
• Rocketman Nathaniel's rave
• Speed Turns 25 Lynn Lee looked back
• Soundtracking Chris Feil on Moulin Rouge!
• Wonder Woman 1984 gets a pyschedelic poster
• The New Classics Michael Cusumano revisits 20th Century Women
• The Prom Broadway's Tony nominated musical gets an all star film cast
Most Discussed
• Big Little Lies ranking the top ten MVPs/moments of each episode
• Smackdown 2001 Kate Winslet, Helen Mirren,...
We'll be luxuriating in queerness for the rest of the weekend before halfway mark ballots tomorrow night or possibly earlier. But here are a dozen highlights from the month that was if you'd like to catch up inbetween your own festivities
• Midyear top fives from Team Experience
• Gentleman Jack Deborah Lipp gets personal about that brilliant lead performance from Suranne Jones. Have you watched this great series yet?
• The House That Will Not Stand exciting new stage-to-screen project
• West Side Story Promo the first image
• Rocketman Nathaniel's rave
• Speed Turns 25 Lynn Lee looked back
• Soundtracking Chris Feil on Moulin Rouge!
• Wonder Woman 1984 gets a pyschedelic poster
• The New Classics Michael Cusumano revisits 20th Century Women
• The Prom Broadway's Tony nominated musical gets an all star film cast
Most Discussed
• Big Little Lies ranking the top ten MVPs/moments of each episode
• Smackdown 2001 Kate Winslet, Helen Mirren,...
- 6/29/2019
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Michael Cusumano here to look back on one of the few classics about the Iraq War on the 10th anniversary of its release.
Scene: The Daisy Chain Bomb
When Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker hit theaters in the Summer of 2009 it was sold as an all-thrills, zero-politics experience. Here, the ads promised, was a film that wasn’t going to go all Valley of Elah on you with ponderous anti-war messages. The trio of soldiers that make up the film’s central bomb disposal unit never discuss politics. They defuse the bombs, they don’t get to hung up on why they are there in the first place. At no point do any of them sigh during a low moment and wonder, “Man, I don’t even know what we’re doing here...”...
Scene: The Daisy Chain Bomb
When Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker hit theaters in the Summer of 2009 it was sold as an all-thrills, zero-politics experience. Here, the ads promised, was a film that wasn’t going to go all Valley of Elah on you with ponderous anti-war messages. The trio of soldiers that make up the film’s central bomb disposal unit never discuss politics. They defuse the bombs, they don’t get to hung up on why they are there in the first place. At no point do any of them sigh during a low moment and wonder, “Man, I don’t even know what we’re doing here...”...
- 6/25/2019
- by Michael C.
- FilmExperience
Michael Cusumano here to thank you for making this post part of your own personal Mike Mills film today. I'm honored.
image via "books in movies"
To watch a Mike Mills movie is to continually ask, “Why don’t more people make movies with this much freedom?”
His films deploy everything from news clips to rotating narrators to archival footage from a century ago. The screenplay will jump backwards in time, skimming through the characters’ biographies, or forwards to glimpse the details of their death. The focus can zoom in to the most granular details or out to encompass the entire cosmos. I doubt he will ever make a film that doesn’t include a shot of the stars. At least I hope he doesn’t...
image via "books in movies"
To watch a Mike Mills movie is to continually ask, “Why don’t more people make movies with this much freedom?”
His films deploy everything from news clips to rotating narrators to archival footage from a century ago. The screenplay will jump backwards in time, skimming through the characters’ biographies, or forwards to glimpse the details of their death. The focus can zoom in to the most granular details or out to encompass the entire cosmos. I doubt he will ever make a film that doesn’t include a shot of the stars. At least I hope he doesn’t...
- 6/18/2019
- by Michael C.
- FilmExperience
Michael Cusumano here to discuss a scene I find myself thinking about all the time.
Scene: Scott's meltdown
When you pause to consider how mundane the actual events of Mike Leigh’s films usually are, it’s funny to think how many moments from them lodge permanently in the memory. Barely a weekend goes by that I don’t see some kind of world-ending cataclysm portrayed in expansively budgeted detail and what does my brain return to over and over again? Lesley Manville in Another Year retreating to her glass of white wine or David Thewlis in Naked stalking a security guard through the dark to harangue him about the meaning of life.
The famous Mike Leigh technique of crafting screenplays from extensive improvisations yields scenes that unfold with the convinction of real life...
Scene: Scott's meltdown
When you pause to consider how mundane the actual events of Mike Leigh’s films usually are, it’s funny to think how many moments from them lodge permanently in the memory. Barely a weekend goes by that I don’t see some kind of world-ending cataclysm portrayed in expansively budgeted detail and what does my brain return to over and over again? Lesley Manville in Another Year retreating to her glass of white wine or David Thewlis in Naked stalking a security guard through the dark to harangue him about the meaning of life.
The famous Mike Leigh technique of crafting screenplays from extensive improvisations yields scenes that unfold with the convinction of real life...
- 6/4/2019
- by Michael C.
- FilmExperience
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