Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk going to @TheNYFF

This is very exciting news. Especially that NYFF organizers have found a theater that would accommodate the film's technological advancements. This adds to the list of world premieres the NYFF already have which includes Mike Mills’ 20th Century Women, Ava Duvernay’s The 13th and James Gray’s The Lost City of Z.

Ang Lee’s film is the most hotly anticipated of the Oscar year after Martin Scorsese’s Silence. With the exception of Scorsese, there is no other Hollywood director releasing a fall film this year with a better filmography: Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Life of Pi, The Ice Storm and Sense and Sensibility are all top-notch, high-grade visual and depth-filled wonders.

The NY Times article can be found HERE

“The New York Film Festival said on Monday that it would host the world premiere of Mr. Lee’s film on Oct. 14 in a theater — a relatively small one, with just 300 seats — rigged with projectors capable of playing the film in 3-D, 4K ultra-high-definition and at the extremely fast speed of 120 frames a second. No film has ever been shown publicly that way before, according to the festival and Sony Pictures, which will release “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” nationally on Nov. 11.“

“Kent Jones, the event’s director, said in a statement that Mr. Lee’s film “moved me deeply — in the grandest way, as a story of America in the years after the invasion of Iraq, and on the most intimate person-to-person wavelength.”In a phone interview, Mr. Jones said: “We are used to seeing 3-D used to focus on spectacle. This is precisely the opposite. It’s all about the faces, the smallest emotional shifts.”

The question of Scorsese's 195 minute Silence. Is it getting released this year?

Kristopher Tapley 
✔@kristapley
By the way, anyone want to guess how long "Silence" is right now?

Dani Mantilla @danielmmantilla 
@kristapley 195 minutes


Kris Tapley mentioned the other day on Twitter that Scorsese`s Silence, still my most anticipated movie of the year, is going to clock in at 195 minutes. Making it the lengthiest Scorsese movie ever. That is if you don`t count the Bob Dylan and George Harrison docs. That is a lot to chew on. I`m fine with that. I`m ready. This is the film we`ve been waiting for all year: A meditative epic set in Japan that actually means something to its director. I hear it has shades of Kundun. which I didn`t really think highly of, but I`m willing to bet such a simple generalization will come to be untrue.



For the time being there is no release date on the film and that has me worried. If Paramount really wanted to release the damn thing they would have already had a tentative date in place. The film is not even featured in Entertainment Weekly's Fall Movie Preview. No mention of it. Nada. Nothing. Bad news dude. They're usually on the ball with these things so they might have made a few calls, asked around and realized that something isn't right with Silence for 2016.

Principal photography was completed in May of 2015. So you are telling me that its been more than 16 months since the damn thing concluded shooting? If released in December, it would be more than 20 months. You cannot wait until 2017 to release this thing. You cant release it 2 years after shooting. I am not blaming Paramount for this. Scorsese is supposedly still in the editing room with Thelma until October then, he was quoted as saying, it all depends on what Paramount wants to do with the film afterwards in terms of release date.

Is this the Telluride lineup?

I was sent, from a usually reliable source, a list of the films that will be appearing at the Telluride Film Festival at the end of the month. I emailed a contact I knew from the Telluride Film Fest to confirm if this is more or less the lineup. No answer back as of yet, but you can rest assured that 95% of these films are going to be selected based on the TIFF and Venice lineups alone.


Arrival, Denis Villeneuve
Bleed For This, Ben Younger
The B-Side, Errol Morris
Defying the Nazis, Ken Burns
Fire at Sea, Gianfranco Rosi
Frantz, Francois Ozon
Graduation, Cristi Mungiu
Into the Inferno, Werner Herzog
Journey Through French Cinema, Bertrand Tavernier
La La Land, Damian Chazelle
Manchester By The Sea, Kenneth Lonergan
Maudie, Aisling Walsh
Moonlight, Barry Jenkins
Neruda, Pablo Larrain
Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer, Joseph Cedar
The Red Turtle, Michael Dudok De Witt
Toni Erdmann, Maren Ade
Una, Benedict Andrews
Wakefield, Robin Swicord
Things to Come, Mia Hanse Love

I`m surprised that Clint Eastwood's Sully has such a low-key release date that almost makes it impossible to get into TIFF or Venice, but Telluride could have been a possibility. Martin Scorsese's Silence, James Ponsoldt's The Circle and Stephen Gaghan's Gold are more likely NYFF secret screenings although we don't even know if the Scorsese will even come out this year. EW's Fall Movie Preview issue does NOT include Silence it in its pages, which says a lot. Not even a TBD.

EDIT: Looks like Michael Patterson, who has a telluride blog, has the exact same LIST

"We're going to end up in the Hudson"


How can any true movie fan can not be looking forward to "Sully"? It's Clint Eastwood and Tom Hanks. Eastwood is coming off his most successful movie ever "American Sniper," before that he was stuck in a painfully in bad streak ("Hereafter," "Jersey Boys," "J. Edgar," "Invictus"). This could be another return to form for the 86 year-old director who had a fantastic streak going in the 2000s with "Mystic River," "Million Dollar Baby," "Letters From Iwo Jima," "Gran Torino," "Changeling." Clint is still the man, but there is something off about "Sully,"

Here is what I wrote on 7.1.16


"The story of American pilot "Sully" Sullenberger, who landed the troubled US Airways Flight 1549 full of passengers on the Hudson River on January 15, 2009, is well known and was one of those feel-good stories that really just made you happy that something good actually happened in the world. Sully is a hero, he saved many lives on that day, but is it enough to make a feature-length movie out of it? Well, I think, judging by the trailer, that Eastwood's focus will very much be on the aftermath investigation and the backlash that occurred on Sullenberger. Supposedly, and I don't know if the film actually touches on this, Sullenberger's pension benefits were terminated just a month after the event and his salary cut by more than 40 percent. Supposedly airlines were hiring less experienced, but cheaper pilots and were cutting down on the Sully types. Now THAT could definitely make for an interesting movie if Eastwood can delve into this part of the aftermath"

German-style free styling?

Image result for MORRIS FROM AMERICA

"The screenplay award at Sundance went to Chad Hartigan’s funny and touching film about a African-American teenager growing up in, of all places, Germany with his dad, indelibly played by Craig Robinson who also took the acting prize at the closing ceremonies. First-time director Hartigan’s bittersweet coming of age tale is filled with stylish flourishes and a keen sense of comedic timing. Robinson is a revelation, but so is newcomer Markees Christmas as the hip-hop loving titular nerd with a special place in his heart for German girls. Who can blame him? The culture clash makes for a one of kind film that was the the leading contender for the big award and might have won it if it weren’t for Nate Parker’s film." B

Can Nate Parker be forgiven?





First things first. Here are a few thoughts I had when I saw Nate Parker's "The Birth of A Nation" this past January:


"Recounting the story of Nat Turner, an African American Slave that lead a rebellion in 1831 to free African-Americans in Virgina. There’s blood soaked, sweat induced, passion in every frame of Nate Parker’s flawed film. You can never discount this kind of brazingly ferocious filmmaking, even when it’s by a first-time filmmaker still learning his narrative steps. The aptly titled film is bound to cause a stir when it gets released later this year, choosing the title of D.W Griffith’s grand, but very racist, 1915 masterpiece is a sign that the times might be in fact changing. Winning the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award is a sign that this movie is about to take Hollywood by storm. It was made to piss people off and get them out of their seats shouting, what more could you ask for in a movie?"

"Grand Jury Prize and the Dramatic Audience Prize consolidating a week’s worth of standing ovations in Park City for his ambitious, but flawed The Birth Of A Nation. At the premiere of the film Parker said he wished the film would become an “agent of change,” a kind of cumulative rebuttal to the #Oscarssowhite movement. It seems like that is already the case. One simple Google search of Birth Of A Nation reveals that Griffith’s seminal film has finally been sidelined by the most unexpected of contenders, a film written, directed, acted and produced by a 36 year old African-American journeyman that is finally getting his due and taking the industry by storm at the right place and at the right time."



I will say that had I been inclined to have the space and time to write a lengthier review of the film you would know what I meant by "flawed film." It did not deserve the Grand Jury Prize, sorry, it just didn't. Nevertheless I wasn't really slamming Parker or the film, whatsoever. I thought a film like this one could be very important to bring to the forefront of the mainstream. It's not necessarily the execution that matters here, but the idea behind it. We've already seen cops getting killed now by Black Panther-esque groups. Parker's vision is undeniably relevant. People are pissed off and not gonna take it anymore.

This was an incredible set-up for Parker to get heralded and championed with awards. HOWEVER, things have come to the forefront recently: a past case involving rape charges. Parker and, then wrestling teammate Jean MiGianni Celestin, were accused of raping a fellow Penn State student while she was intoxicated and unconscious. It doesn't stop there, they both started harassing her after she pressed charges on them. If you read the court orders and records of calls that are online you will see a helpless victimized girl, that just wanted to get an education, harassed both physically and mentally to the brink of near-suicide.

And that is whenI decided to right this. The Parker case was well-known, I even asked Hollywood Elsewhere's Jefferey Welles about it back in January to which he just shrugged it off and said the case is closed. He was right, the case was closed, but recently we found out the victim committed suicide, after two failed attempts, three years ago. Ok, here we go. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize how implicated Parker is to this. Can we, the public, actually forgive him for what he has done? That's none of our business. What is more important is if the victim's family should forgive him and, in a rather vague, but fascinating statement, they seemed to have definitely not forgiven Celestin and Parker.

There's also the matter of separating personal life from art. People seem to do that with Woody Allen or Roman Polanski, not that these are completely similar circumstances.. I am not one of the people that celebrated "The Birth of a Nation" back at Sundance, I thought it was a misguided, but respectable effort. I liked the idea of a movie like this opening up debate when it ccame out, but it's not a very good movie. With that said I can easily separate Mr. Parker art with his personal life, but I do think both of them are lacking in judgement.


Where have all the rock albums gone?


Now that I've had time to ponder the Nate Parker case I will post something about it tomorrow.

In the meantime I was chatting with a buddy of mine today, mostly about Jack White and how much of a god this man is, but in all seriousness it led me to ponder where he and Meg's "Elephant" ranks with the best rock albums of the aughts.

Arcade Fire "Funeral," Green Day "American Idiot," The White Stripes "Elephant," Bob Dylan "Love and Theft," The Strokes "This Is It," Eminem "The Marshall Matters LP," Radiohead "Kid A," Wilco "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot," Bruce Springsteen "The Rising," and "Magic," U2 "All That You Can't Leave Behind"

Yep this is pretty much the soundtrack of my life in the 2000s, although if I ever had the chance I'd listen to Top 40 radio. One thing that is interesting about this list compared to the ongoing one happening for this current decade is the lack of a clear, concise genre:

"My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy," "The Suburbs," "Brothers," "21," "Wrecking Ball," "Yeezus," "Random Access Memories," "Modern Vampires of the City," "Beyonce," "1989" and "Lost in the Dream."

This post has been brought you by the geek inside me.

"Norman" and "Wakefield" might be headed to Telluride

The Toronto Film Festival just announced a bunch of intriguing new titles today. They have actually made the fest this year into a must-see. two of these are quite possibly going to Telluride, there's a new Malick, a boxing saga based on the real Rocky and much, much more.


 NORMAN: THE MODERATE RISE AND TRAGIC FALL OF A NEW YORK FIXER
As per TIFF: "Richard Gere headlines a marvellous cast (including Michael Sheen, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Steve Buscemi, Hank Azaria and Isaach De Bankolé) in this richly detailed drama from Oscar-nominated writer-director Joseph Cedar (Footnote), about a veteran "fixer" in NYC’s Jewish community who gets in over his head when he sets out to impress the visiting Israeli foreign minister." This is from Joseph Cedar who directed the Israeli critical hit "Footnote." Looking very much forward to this. Also the "international premiere" tag makes it seem like it could go to Telluride.

 RE(ASSIGNMENT)
As per TIFF: "This jaw-droppingly audacious revenge thriller from the great Walter Hill (The Warriors, 48 Hours) stars Michelle Rodriguez as a lowlife killer put through full male-to-female gender reassignment surgery by a score-settling surgeon (Sigourney Weaver)." This sounds amazing. Hill is also a vastly underrated filmmaker. 

 THE BLEEDER
Phillip Falardeau's film, about the real-life boxer who inspired the Rocky films and starring Watts, Liev Schreiber and Elisabeth Moss, is set to premiere at Venice. Falardeau is a decent filmmaker that has the ability to make a great. I know a few people that worked in this movie and they wholly abide by it, let's see if their confidence is justified.

 IN DUBIOUS BATTLE
the labour conflict-migrant worker film. Directed and starring James Franco and with a top-notch cast which inclues Vincent D'Onofrio, Selena Gomez, Ed Harris, Sam Shepard, Robert Duvall and Bryan Cranston.

 VOYAGE OF TIME 
I've been waiting for Terrence Malick's film since its first details bled into the mainstream in 2011. I was crossing my fingers for a Cannes world premiere, but that's fine we are getting it at Toronto and my expectations, despite his lats few films being duds, are sky high. The version coming to TIFF is not the 40 minute Brad Pitt narrated version, but the 35mm feature-length edition that will be narrated by Cate Blanchett.

 THE PROMISE
As per TIFF.NET: "Michael, a humble Armenian apothecary, leaves his village to study medicine in cosmopolitan Constantinople. Chris, an American photojournalist who has come to the country to partly cover the geopolitics, is in a relationship with the talented Ana, a Paris- educated, Armenian artist. When Michael meets Ana, their shared heritage sparks an attraction that explodes into a romantic rivalry between the two men. After the Turks join the war on the German side, the Ottoman Empire turns violently against its own ethnic minorities. Despite their conflicts, everyone must find a way to survive — even as monumental events envelope their lives. Starring Oscar Isaac, Charlotte Le Bon, and Christian Bale."

 WAKEFIELD
Another "International premiere". Telluride will be getting this as well unless there is some small-scale North American film festival that I don't know of which is about to screen this title before TIFF. Don't bet on it. As per TIFF: "Howard Wakefield’s nervous breakdown leads him to hide from his life, and his family, in his garage attic. While his prolonged absence allows him to ponder the deeper questions around his life, he comes to realize that it may not be simple to cross the driveway and go home again. Starring Bryan Cranston and Jennifer Garner.

Laying out all his cards?


Something about this new trailer for Denis Villeneuve's latest magnum opus "Arrival" has us wondering if Villeneuve's film should be taken at face value or if there is something more mysterious lurking beneath the surface. I mean we know the aliens are not your typical Spielbergian crawler, but, at the same time, there is definitely a "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" vibe going on here. I'll give the film the benefit of the doubt for the time being because it got chosen for Telluride, Toronto and Venice. Not many films can claim that this season.



What's he trying to reach here is a little tougher than the "Sicario" and "Prisoners" schools of dread. I don't think the Spielberg influence is a far fetched idea. I am crossing my fingers for some kind of downer ending happening here as well so as to stray away from Spielberg's knack for sentimentality. I've been a fan of Villeneuve's since he mad ethe French canadian downer "Maelstrom" back in 2000, I don't think he has it in him to resort to any happy ending. He doesn't abide by happy endings. Never had, never will.

The cinematography does look tremendous. That helicopter shot with the glowing city looming in the background with clouds slyly still is astounding. Bradford Young is the cinematographer and I couldn't be happier. He's an up and coming talent that will likely turn heads. I'll bet that when this baby screens at TIFF on 9.13 people will be turning heads about Young's visual eye, which I caught a glimpse of in three magnificent indies: "Pariah," "A Most Violent Year" and "Ain't Them Bodies A Saint."

A second look at @ThePlaylist and their "best of" Stephen Frears

With the release of "Florence Foster Jenkins," light, free-spirited, British-humored, but slight film, Stephen Frears continues to defy genre expectations in his career. It is time to figure out if this guy is an auteur or just an opportunistic professionally talented contract man.  The Playlist have published their picks for the best movies of Frears' career, click HERE, and, man, this guy's made a lot of great movies. The problem is does he have an auteuristic touch that bleeds through in them? I don't think he does. Are there any similar, noteworthy touches between, say, "High Fidelity" and "The Queen"? Not really. That doesn't detract from the fact that he is a very good filmmaker that seems to be doing a good job with every screenplay that comes his way. It's an eclectic filmography with what The Playlist's Jessica Kiang calls "a flexible aesthetic." That's a apt description.


Best of Stephen Frears (1-5) (1) The Grifters (2) Dirty Pretty Things (3) High Fidelity (4) The Queen (5) My Beautiful Laundrette

Nothing he's done touches these five films. It seems like Kiang omitted "The Queen," which I totally understand in the scheme of things. It's not necessarily a film that has aged like fine wine, but Helen Mirren's Oscar-winning performance is astounding and the fascinating cat and mouse game between the Queen and Princess Diana is an absurd, but truthful example of the royal monarchical system. I have seen some of the other films that top Kiang's list such as "The Hit" and "Prick Up Your Ears," but I don't really think they merit mention with the five that I've listed, which are essential and undeniably great films.

Zemeckis' "Allied" is a question mark

IMDB has this:

 "While on a mission to kill a German official in 1942 Africa, two assassins (Brad Pitt, Marion Cotillard) fall in love, get married and then discover that one is a double agent that the other must eliminate."

 All of which basically doesn't really get explained i this teaser trailer. Zemeckis is a technical wizard, if he can find a sharp screenplay for his visual gifts he could truly make a good movie. The problem is this: "The Polar Express,", "Beowulf," "A Christmas Carol," ""The Walk" and "Flight." Those are his last 5 movies. I'll give you this, "Flight" is not bad, but not that memorable. "The Walk" was technically well made, especially in its second half. But really this is not the Zemeckis we knew back in the 80s and 90s with "Back to the Future," "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," "Forrest Gump" and, yes, even "Cast Away" specifically when Hanks was stranded alone.  Just sheer exuberant storytelling that he concocted so brilliantly in the 80s with Spielberg and on his own in the 90s. 

 Steven Knight wrote the screenplay. That's what I'm really excited about. Knight is responsible for some downbeat thrillers such "Eastern Promises," "Dirty Pretty Things," and "Locke." Knight is also responsible for "Peaky Blinders," which definitely has its effervescent following.  Zemeckis having a writer of this caliber will compliment his visual wonder, but will that be enough?

"Blood Father" and "Gleason"



I finally caught "Gleason" the other day and, boy, was it ever a tough watch. ALS has not really been tackled that much as far as film goes, but if there ever was a film that could define and give cinematic language to the disease it's this documentary about former NFL-er Steve Gleason who was diagnosed with ALS in 2011 and not too long after found out he was going to be a father. It just so happens that he was filming himself the entire time, from the moment he found out about the diagnosis to the way his body disintegrates into nothingness over the next 4 years of his life. The slow and painful way he loses his motor functions is heartbreaking, but so is the way director Jay Tweel manages to edit and make a coherent movie out of Gleason's personal video journals for his newborn son. His wife Michel turns out to be the heart and soul of the picture, battling her way through the demons that haunt her and the life she never expected she'd have to live as caretaker of Steve's This is a movie that is more important and revelatory than any ice-bucket challenge ever could be. [B+]




I will also add that "Blood Father" is another gem starring Mel Gibson. I was a big fan of "Get the Gringo" and this new film from Jean-Francois Richet, director of "Mesrine," is damn good and takes full advantage of Gibson's vulnerable public persona. Safe for a hacked finale, this is expertly crafted B-movie heaven. Mel plays John an ex-convict that that ends up having to defend his estranged daughter (Erin Moriarty) who has a bounty on her head after shooting her convict beau (Diego Luna). Good thing daddy knows people. I already mentioned how Gibson has directed another move due out this fall called "Hacksaw Ridge," but "Blood Father" is something to cherish, it's the kind of feature I hope can help Gibson's career and remind American audiences about how charismatic and just damn likeable an actor he can be. [B]

In case you missed my review, here are three movies coming out this week

Sausage Party [B-]
Pete's Dragon [B-]
Hell or High Water [B+]

Denis Villeneuve's "Arrival" has, err, arrived


I'm from Montreal. An unabashed supporter of Denis Villeneuve's since 2000 and his incredible darkly tragic tale, narrated by a fish no less, "Maelstrom." His talent only got better. "Polytechnique" was about a tragic college shooting in Quebec which had some of the same haunting qualities that definied Gus Van Sant's "Elephant." He followed that up with "Incendies" his best film. His last film in French in fact. That is because Hollywood came knocking and gave him a surprising amount of "creative freedom" or as they call in L.A. "leverage." There was "Prisoners" which had Villeneuve's imprint all over its gloomy exterior, too bad the screenplay wasn't up to his standards, but nevertheless a profoundly interesting depiction of regret and loss. That same year he debut at TIFF "Enemy" which was better than it had any right to be, he turned the screws on its screenplay by, wisely, imitating Cronenberg. Last year was "Sicario" which, in my books, was almost a home run. Now here comes Arrival." It will be at Telluride, it will be at Venice and it will be at TIFF. The three majors have chosen it. A good sign. The trailer barely reveals the details and I like it just like that. Bring it on. Its premiere is supposedly set the first weekend of TIFF, which means between September 11th and 14th. Telluride and Venice will have it screen a week or so before that.

Sundance and Cannes Top 10s

Fall film festivals are about to kickstart another season of frenzy. Chances are if you live in a big city there's a film fest about to happen between September and November. December is Hollywood contenders time. Here are the standouts from both Sundance and Cannes that might/will surely make it to your fest.



(1) "Manchester by the Sea" (2) "Indignation"(3) "Little Men" (4) "The Eyes of My Mother" (5) "Certain Women" (6) "Newtown" (7) "Lo and Behold" (8) "Weiner" (9) "Wild" (10) "White Girl"


(1) "Paterson" (2) "American Honey" (3) "Aquarius" (4) "Elle" (5) "Personal Shopper" (6) "Hell or High Water" (7) "Toni Erdmann" (8) "Loving" (9) "The Salesman" (10) "I, Daniel Blake" (10) Ma' Rosa


54th New York Film Festival lineup revealed

A few points:
Cannes retreads: The Unknown Girl is supposedly a different version than the one shown at Cannes. The Dardennes have edited the film since its May croissette premiere. What I saw back then was a refined, greatest hits type of film from the brothers instead of something fresh and incisive. Same thing goes for Pedro Almosovar's Julieta which which had a lukewarm reception no only at Cannes, but also in his nativ country of Spain where the film was released earlier in the year. As for I,  Daniel Blake, which won the Palme D'or! It has powerful moments infused with mediocre scenes as well. Would I recommend it? You bet I would. Is it Palme worthy? Of course not.
Kent Jones has stated that more surprises would be revealed, which probably means surprise screenings. Scorsese or Ang Lee perhaps.
Notice Barry Jenkins and Moonlight, which is looking more and more like n under-the-radar contender with bows at TIFF and Teluride as well. 
Mean Girls meets disaster flick with comic book writer/artist Dash Shaw’s feature-length animation, My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea, starring the voices of Lena Dunham, Maya Rudolph, Susan Sarandon, Jason Schwartzman and Reggie Watts will also be at TIFF.

Alison Maclean and The Rehearsal. Her first film since Jesus Son back in, wait for it, 1999. Berlin favorities Fire at Sea, Son of Joseph and Things to Come have made the cut.


In BOLD are what Ive already seen:
Opening Night: The 13th, directed by Ava DuVernay
Centerpiece: 20th Century Women, directed by Mike Mills
Closing Night: The Lost City of Z, directed by James Gray
Aquarius, directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho
Certain Women, directed by Kelly Reichardt
Elle, directed by Paul Verhoeven
Fire at Sea (Fuocoammare), directed by Gianfranco Rosi
Graduation (Bacalaureat), directed by Cristian Mungiu
Hermia and Helena, directed by Matías Piñeiro
I, Daniel Blake, directed by Ken Loach
Julieta, directed by Pedro Almodóvar
Manchester by the Sea, directed by Kenneth Lonergan
Moonlight, directed by Barry Jenkins
My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea, directed by Dash Shaw
Neruda, directed by Pablo Larraín
Paterson, directed by Jim Jarmusch
Personal Shopper, directed by Olivier Assayas
The Rehearsal, directed by Alison Maclean
Sieranevada, directed by Cristi Puiu
Son of Joseph (Le fils de Joseph), directed by Eugène Green
Staying Vertical (Rester vertical), directed by Alain Guiraudie
Things to Come (L’Avenir), directed by Mia Hansen-Løve
Toni Erdmann, directed by Maren Ade
The Unknown Girl, directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
Yourself and Yours, directed by Hong Sangsoo

Why is Christopher Nolan's "Dunkirk" so abnormally intriguing?

So this past Friday we finally caught a glimpse of Christopher Nolan's much anticipated next project "Dunkirk". The fact that Nolan has basically been delving into science fiction/fantasy for the better part of, what, 10 years now ("Batman Begins,""The Prestige,""The Dark Knight," "Inception," "The Dark Knight Rises,""Interstellar") makes "Dunkirk" even more intriguing. This is the first time Nolan has dealt with the "war movie" genre and the first movie where he deals with reality since "Insomnia" back in 2002. We all know he's a great technical filmmaker, sometimes his ideas spin out of control, but there always is that fascinating nature with Nolan about how meticulous and precise his craft is. Like Kubrick. Yes, I need to mention Kubrick because, well, I have a theory that Nolan does aspire to be a Kubrickian figure in cinematic history. Right now he has the talent to make something very special. He just needs the right script. Problem is he writes his own. No knock on his writing abilities, but I do find that his directing abilities far exceed his writing.


"Memento," the film that made his name, was a decently written screenplay that relied heavily on its groundbreaking structure. A masterpiece no less, but one, just like many of his others, that feels like Nolan only scratched the surface thematically. 



As you can tell from this new trailer the only actual footage we see is a navy boat about to get bombed, or will it miss them? That such a slight "teaser" could provoke the grandiose, positive reaction it received on the web is a testament to Nolan and the legion of followers he has.  From those couple of seconds there is tension and virtuosity. Nolan is, in fact, a master of suspense, but let's hope that his screenplay for "Dunkirk" is also a game-changer. It is a film about the WWII Dunkirk withdrawal. Another film that tackled the historic event? Joe Wright's "Atonement" which has the legendary one-take that captured soldiers at Dunkirk and the mayhem. Breathtaking.



@dontbreathe "Don't Breathe" Scariest movie of the year?



There are people out there that believe Fede Alvarez' remake of "Evil Dead" is better than the original. It's better conceived, that's for sure. More professionally shot, no doubt overall better? Debatable, but definitely not a ludicrous claim. The original 1981 film is a cult classic, but that doesn't mean it's a great movie. Alvarez tried his best to maintain the B-Movie horrors, but expertly direct the whole thing. Good on him.



Alvarez is back with "Don't Breathe" which is already being described as the scariest movie of the year. It's a tightly knit and terrifying treat to watch three thieves trying to break into a blind war veteran's home to steal a cool million dollars in cash. Not only does the plan fail, but it turns out the blind war vet is quite capable of taking care of himself. It makes for a claustrophobic film. 80% of the film takes places in the man's Detroit home. A labyrinthine thriller that reminded of this year's other genre-exercise Jeremy Saulnier's "Green Room" in terms of hard-edged technical prowess.

I wouldn't say that Alvarez' horror film is as masterfully executed as Saulnier's grim B-movie, but damn it if it doesn't come close for almost 2/3 of the movie, more specifically when the film turns to the house invasion. It really turns the screws on the suspense, action and scares. It's quite literally a nirvana for old-school horror movie fans. Don't miss it.

"Suicide Squad" is another bust because the director, yet again, had no creative freedom.

Having finally seen it, I have to say, it's another letdown from, not just the DC movie universe, but summer movie season 2016 as a whole. It sucks. I know. Will this be a lesson for Hollywood execs hell-bent of remaking, sequeling, rebooting EVERYTHING? I think we need another season like this before we start pushing the panic button, but people are keeping a close eye.




"Suicide Squad" is another nail in the coffin for DC, but this time it's not Zach Snyder as the scapegoat to blame. David Ayer directed this one and he's shown good chops in the past, most notably on the underrated WW2 Brad Pitt flick "Fury." There have been reports of ongoing friction between Ayer and Warner Bros. over final cut. Are we surprised? Of course not. Making a superior movie is a business first and, always, foremost. From sources I've spoken to, Ayer wanted a finished project that was going to be an R rating. That's what we wanted as well. This is "Suicide Squad," these are scum of the earth villains, why are not getting the goods?

At the end of the day isn't that what it comes down to? Creative freedom? I haven't caught Zach Snyder's "Ultimate Cut" of "Batman v Superman," but I've been told it's far superior to the theatrical version. Maybe Ayer can do the same and give us a director's cut on DVD. Mattel, on the other hand, seem to have it going on in terms of what they want their movies to be about. They've also given creative freedom to such projects as "Deadpool" and "Guardians of the Galaxy." HUGE hits that were not your typical Marvel superhero movie. I'm concerned about DC's lack of imagination, energy and overall fondness for reinvention. That will be their downfall.

Best Animated films of the 21st Century?

You're going to be seeing a lot of "Best of the 21st Century lists" coming up in August because the BBC will be unveiling the poll they conducted with hundreds of film critics worldwide. It will stir up debate no doubt, but here's my take on it, but genre by genre. I first did Comedy. Now here is Animation:



(1) "Spirited Away" (2) "WALL-E" (3) "Up" (4) "The Fantastic Mr. Fox" (5) "Ratatouille" (6) "Toy Story 3" (7) "The Triplets of Belleville" (8) "Waking Life" (9) "Finding Nemo"(10) "Waltz With Bashir" (11) "The Incredibles" (12) "Shrek

So where is the medium heading? I believe that hand drawn is dead, I'm crushed, but that's the reality with the advance of technology. Pixar is king at the moment, but their consistent insistence at making sequels is slightly tarnishing their reputation. They have stated that the last of their sequel-bonanza will be in 2019 with what swans to be a sequel to "The Incredible."

We shall see where this all leads to in the years to come, but the way animation has been used in regards to inventively make it a tool for various different genres, including Documrntary, proves that it might play a more dominant role in the years to come, especially in the prestige front. It was s taboo genre for years with the academy, but now it has finally broken through it and seems to be racking up the respect as a genuine cinematic art form.