The just-released Cannes ’19 poster has the late Agnes Varda shooting her first film, La Pointe Courte, sometime in the summer of ’54. Well done, Cannes.
Taylor Schilling Rules in Safe but Watchable ‘Family' [Review]
Sometimes a performance can carry a film and make it work despite an average screenplay. It takes a talented actor or actress to make this happen, but when it does, it becomes a testament to their ability to carry a film all by themselves, which is that rare thing that producers in this industry always look for.
Read moreBOX OFFICE: ‘ Shazam’ Remains at the Top
More to come ….
Actress Bibi Andersson (Persona, The Seventh Seal) has died age 83
Actress Bibi Andersson (Persona, The Seventh Seal) has died at the age of 83. Muse of late director Ingmar Bergman, for close to 4 decades, one cannot fathom the immensity of this loss. She represented a free-spirited hope and innocence that cannot be matched by any of today's actresses.
Read moreGoogle Labels Pro-life Movie ‘Unplanned' As Propaganda, Causing Backlash From the Right
I’m not anti-abortion, I believe a woman has the right to choose. It’s not something that needs to even be debated — However, I respect that the other side’s point of view is indeed based on religious and spiritual beliefs, I wouldn’t call myself an atheist but I do believe there is something out there greater than us that cannot be explained by a mere scripture written some thousands of years ago. And so, a society that follows the morals the bible gives us isn’t all that bad, because it presents us values that have become the go-to rules for a just and sustaining society. With the exception of a few bogus commandments, which I will not get into here, there is a moral and ethical code from the people that follow it that makes them good, earnest and slightly naive individuals — I don’t mind living in a society filled with these kinds of people.
Read moreOut-of-Compeition Films at Cannes 2019? ‘Rocketman' and ‘Toy Story 4' Lead the Pack
We’ve been endlessly speculating about the competition slots at Cannes, but what about all the other Out-Of Competition stuff? This is where we see major potential for the starry glitz and glamor most of the Americabn media was desperately clamoring for last year. I think we’ll get it this year.
“Rocketman,” the Elton John biopic is all but sealed as a sure-thing to premiere on the croissettE; Starring Aaron Edgerton, the film is coming off the immense success of “Bohemian Rhapsody” and is directed by Dexter Fletcher who took over directing duties for Bryan Singer in that film.
“Toy Story 4” is another film that could potentially be an Oscar contender come next year. Its presence for an OOC slot has been fervently rumored on. Pixar has had a history with Cannes over the years — “Inside Out” and “Up!” both premiered there.
Armando Iannucci’s “The Disappearance of David Copperfield” is also receiving a lot of Cannes traction. The director has been gaining steam these last few years as the creator of “Veep” and the director of political satires such as “In the Loop” and “The Death of Stalin.”
The upcoming Roger Ailes biopic “Fair and Balanced,” directed by Jay Roach and starring Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, and Margot Robbie could absolutely prove to be a major get for the fest. Its December release date seems suspect for it to debut at the fest next month but there is already Showtime series being released this summer that it would make sense Roach would want to premiere this film ahead of its competition.
JJ Abrams consulted with George Lucas to help craft ‘Episode IX'
There were rumors, months ago, that George Lucas had been consulted for Episode 9 to help make it a satisfying conclusion for all fans, including the ones that were turned off by “The Last Jedi,” and there were many of those.
That, my friends, is no longer a rumor. Director JJ Abrams has confirmed [via IGN] that he spoke to Lucas during the creative process and hinting that it was Lucas who came up with the idea to have Palpatine return in “The Rise of Skywalker.” Abrams claims that Lucas was the person who came up with the idea to put Palpatine in The Rise of Skywalker, but given that Abrams brought up Lucas while discussing the fallen Emperor, it may well have been him.
“This movie had a very, very specific challenge, which was to take eight films and give an ending to three trilogies, and so we had to look at, what is the bigger story? We had conversations amongst ourselves, we met with George Lucas before writing the script,” Abrams revealed. “These were things that were in real, not debate, but looking at the vastness of the story and trying to figure out, what is the way to conclude this? But it has to work on its own as a movie, it has to be its own thing, it has to be surprising and funny and you have to understand it.”
‘Her Smell' Is Absolute Movie Hell [Review]
Alex Ross Perry is a filmmaker that I’ve never fully warmed up to. His films tend to be both slight and pretentious. His latest film is titled “Her Smell” and it is no doubt an audience-test movie — a story about an unlikable character in the form of manic-crazy rock star Becky (played by Elizabeth Moss) who is the lead singer of a fictional all-female band named Something She. Since this film is set in the ‘90s, and these gals hail from Seattle, I presume the music they perform is grunge, although there are definitely punk remnants to it as well. This trio of gals all wear heavy mascara and eyeliner makeup and like to flick their tongues in demonic punk-rock fashion any chance they get, whether it be on-stage of off. I honestly was not down with this movie within the first 10 minutes, I just knew this wasn’t for me, but I stuck around, waiting for the film to gradually improve.
However, clocking in at 135 minutes, “Her Smell” should very much be qualified as an endurance-test for anyone except Alex Ross Perry’s most ardent of fans. The fact that you have to succumb to the camera and follow Becky’s point-of-view during the entirety of this film feels like hell because she’s nothing more than a mean-spirited individual who gets her endorphin rush not just from the drugs she injects, in what seems to be an hourly basis, but most especially from putting down anyone and everyone around her orbit; Some of her victims include her two bandmates (Agyness Deyn, Gayle Rankin), the opening act (Cara Delevigne, Dylan Gelula, Ashley Benson), her ex-husband (Dan Stevens), a record-label owner (Eric Stoltz) and her manager (Virginia Madsen). Rather than putting a stop to Becky’s mayhem, these individuals stick around, facilitating her bullying by not calling her out for a good portion of the film, that is until they are near the breaking point of their sanity. Coincidentally enough, that’s how we feel watching the movie.
Things do get better in the final few minutes, when Becky tries to find redemption and make amends for her grotesque behavior, especially when she decides to play a piano rendition of Bryan Adams’ ‘Heaven’ to her little baby girl. It’s a wonderfully humane and intimate moment in a film filled with vile degradation and mean-spiritedness. This is absolute movie hell. [D+]
‘Star Wars: Episode IX’ Teaser: ‘The Rise Of Skywalker’ Reveals Palpatine Was Behind it All
One of Luke's lines from the trailer - "No one is ever really gone". The screen then cuts to black and we get a tease for Palpatine. And the title is "Rise of Skywalker". Maybe this also means that Luke is "not gone" either …
Read moreWerner Herzog Thinks Film Schools Should Die
I have, countless times, mentioned on here that, when it comes to film school, you can easily create your own “film school” at home through the magic of the internet. Hell, I’m currently working on a screenplay that I plan to shoot on my iphone. Think about that, folks, the internet has all the answers you need. There are enough writings and videos to make you learn everything you need to learn. Also, I’ve long maintained the best film education is to just watch as many of the classics as you can.
In a three-year-old interview with The Verge, Werner Herzog claimed that today’s technology makes learning film at University a prehistoric thing:
“Because today it’s fairly easy; you can make a film with a very high caliber camera that’s not expensive anymore,” said the filmmaker. “You can record sound on your cell phone if you add a good microphone and you can edit your film on your laptop.”
Indie Thrived in the '90s
I sent a Wayback Machine capture of several best of the ’90s lists from top-tier critics to Hollywood-Elsewhere’s Jeffrey Wells, which prompted him to post his own list of top ‘90s flicks. This inspired me to come up with own list of films which, as is usual with these sort of things, is always subject to change depending on mood, year, month, time of day etc.
Read moreCannes 2019: Jay Roach's ‘Fair and Balanced' to Premiere Out of Competition? Iannucci as well?
Cineuropa has always been one of the more reliable European outlets for Cannes rumors. Today they posted their annual preview of the fest, which is set to take place May 14th through May 25th.
Yes, most of the Cineuropa article is comprised of rumors we’ve been reporting for a few weeks now, but there is surprisingly new intel to be found:
Jay Roach's Roger Ailes biopic "Fair and Balanced" is rumored to premiere out-of-competition.
Armando Iannucci's "The Personal History of David Copperfield” also seems to be headed towards an OOC slot.
A major find for American cinema will be director Danielle Lesowitz’ debut, "Port Authority," which is rumored to be part of the Un Certain Regard section of the fest.
Rumor has it that Pablo Larrain’s “Ema” will not make it to Cannes because…wait for it…Netflix is in the midst of finalizing a deal to buy it. Ouch.
I have also been told that the new Cristi Puiu is 199 minutes. Also, Marco Bellocchio’s new movie has major ‘Godfather’ vibes.
23 SOLID BETS for competition:
BACURAU | Kleber Mendonça Filho & Juliano Dornelles
PORTRAIT DE LA JEUNE FILLE EN FEU | Céline Sciamma
PAIN AND GLORY | Pedro Almodóvar
RADEGUND | Terrence Malick
OH MERCY | Arnaud Desplechin
ABOUT ENDLESSNESS | Roy Andersson
AHMED | Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
PARASITE | Bong Joon-ho
THE BEANPOLE | Kantemir Balagov
UNTITLED | Brillante Mendoza
IT MUST BE HEAVEN | Elia Suleiman
FRANKIE | Ira Sachs
THE DEAD DON´T DIE | Jim Jarmusch
MANOR HOUSE | Cristi Puiu
MATTHIAS & MAXIME | Xavier Dolan
FIRE NEXT TIME | Marti Diop
SATURDAY FICTION | Lou Ye
THE TRAITOR | Marco Bellochio
SIBYL | Justine Trite
SORRY WE MISSED YOU | Ken Loach
UNE FILLE FACILE | Rebecca Zlotowski
THE WHISTLERS | Corneliu Porumbuiu
ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD | Quentin Tarantino
RUMORED POSSIBILITIES:
GLORIA MUNDI | Robert Guédiguian
LA CORDILLÈRE DES SONGES | Patricio Guzmán
THE NEST | Sean Durkin
NOMADLAND | Chloe Zhao
WICKED GAMES | Ulrich Seidl
MIENTRAS DURE LA GUERRA | Alejandro Amenabar
WENDY | Benh Zeitlin
FIRST COW | Kelly Reichardt
THE LIGHTHOUSE| Robert Eggers
WAVES | Trey Edward Shults
COOK, FUCK, KILL | Mira Fornay
GUEST OF HONOR | Atom Egoyan
ETRE VIVANT ET LE SAVOIR | Alain Cavalier
C'EST EXTRA | Guillaume Nicloux
THE THOUSAND MILES | Sylvain Chomet
Director Neil Marshall Seems to be Disowning His Own ‘Hellboy' Reboot
As far as I’m concerned, Guillermo del Toro gave us as perfect an adaptation as you can get of underground comic “Hellboy” with 2008’s "Hellboy II: The Golden Army." He fought for Ron Perlman to be cast, he fought for the budget and he fought for creative control. There was just no way we could have a better Hellboy without Del Toro at the reign.
Perlman and, his "Hellboy" co-star, Selma Blair seem to be in agreement with my assessment; the pair even took to social media to indirectly criticize the reboot. Blair reacted by posting a photo of herself kissing a poster of Perlman’s Hellboy. “This man, Ron Perlman,” Blair wrote on Instagram. “Forever my Red. You are always the realest deal, a diamond.” Perlman, meanwhile, posted a reminder on his Instagram that the del Toro original can be streamed on Netflix right now.
Perlman and del Toro not being part of this reboot has been a source of controversy for many fans. This “Hellboy” reboot has “Stranger Things” actor David Harbour playing the titular character. Director Neil Marshall, who made the excellent horror film “The Descent,” is replacing del Toro.
The Wrap is even now reporting of production hell during the shoot of the film. That Harbour, and director Marshall consistently fought on-set. The report goes even further in insinuating that the studio undermined the filmmaker at every turn.
It all, supposedly, started when producers Lawrence Gordon and Lloyd Levin fired Marshall’s longtime collaborating cinematographer, Sam McCurdy. This firing was supposedly a warning shot at Marshall to let him know who was in charge … Then they gave permission to Ian McShane and Harbour to re-write their own scenes on set, ignoring Marshall.
“Hellboy” currently sits at 14% on RottenTomatoes and opens in theaters on Friday.
‘Hellboy' is a Grade-A Stinker [Review]
I mean, did you really believe that this latest incarnation of "Hellboy" would actually be better than the two excellent Guillermo del Toro films we got back in '04 and '08? Of course not.
Read moreWoody Allen's Delayed/Suspended ‘Rainy Day In New York' To Be Released in Mexico and Europe Later This Year
The always-insightful Robert Weide has a new Woody Allen defense titled “The Truth About Woody Allen (Part II)“, which was posted on 4.8.19. If you haven’t read Weide’s other knowledgeable, first-hand defenses of Allen I highly recommend them.
Read moreZoe Saldana Says Her Mom Keeps Confusing Her With Thandie Newton
I hate to admit it, but I have, just a few times, mistaken Zoe Saldana for her actress Thandie Newton, they do have similar facial features, but eventually I caught on with the differences, it’s now hard for me to not distinguish them apart. However, I do feel less shameful about that confusion today, because it was revealed that even Saldana’s own mother regularly confused her for Newton, that’s what the “Guardians of the Galaxy” star told James Corden when she visited “The Late Late Show” on Tuesday.
"My mom still thinks that I'm in “Westworld," she said, referring to the HBO series, which Newton stars in, "I'm like, 'Years ago you thought that I was in Traffic. Mom, you did not give birth to Thandie Newton.'"
No matter how many times Saldana repeatedly told her mother that she was not on “Westworld,” her mother still continued to confuse her for Newton "She was like, 'Well, your show is on HBO.' I'm like, 'Which one?' She's like, 'Westworld,'" adding,. "I said, 'When are you going to understand I'm not Thandie Newton?'"
The actress said that she met Newton a few years ago at the Golden Globes. "I hugged her and I kind of scared her because I didn't tell her why I was invading her space, I was just like, 'Oh my God. Please tell me that people confuse you with me.' She was like, 'Who are you?'"
Despite that awkward first meeting, Newton and Saldana are now friends. "We text now. We're friends," she said.
Mark Hamill: Leia, Luke and Han Deserved to Have A Scene Together in ‘The Force Awakens'
Mark Hamill is an automatic go-to for World of Reel. Whenever the guy opens his mouth we tend to cover the outrageously honest stuff he says. Interviewed during the THR podcast, complained that he didn’t like how he was introduced in the "The Force Awakens” and how he was, eventually, killed in “The Last Jedi.”
Read more‘Dogman’: One of the Year's Best Movies [Cannes Review]
Following two Cannes efforts both met politely, but a little meso meso by critics, the comedy “Reality” and the dark fantasy of “Tale Of Tales,” Italian filmmaker Matteo Garrone returns to the crime genre that launched his career in 2008 (“Gomorrah“) with the equally disturbing “Dogman.” Yet, instead of simply returning to the comfortable well that yielded his best notices, Garrone looks at the seed of violence through another lens; not the pervasive malignancy of mafia corruption, but a rather an unsettling, malevolent individual perpetrating his own brand of terror. A hyper-realistic urban tragedy “Dogman” is ferocious and in its own way, much more frightening than “Gomorrah.”
Read moreCannes 2019: Jarmusch Confirmed as Opener. Larrain's ‘Ema' Bought by Netflix. Tarantino Might Not Make it in Time.
We’re getting down to the final hours when it comes to the Cannes Film Festival. Speculating these past few months has been fun, but, when all is said and done, the official lineup announcement is set to happen on April 18th. However, a few breaking items for your convenience on this Wednesday afternoon.
Read moreJ.J. Abrams Says He Initially Turned Down ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’
I'm all for JJ Abrams returning to direct the ninth and final chapter of the Skywalker saga. But can we please point out the elephant in the room when it comes to the failure of this Disney-fied version of Star Wars? The fact that there was no apparent overarching planned story. Is it just me or does it look like there’s a brand new creative team in place for each chapter and they were given carte-blanche to do whatever they felt like doing with the story and characters? If I hadn’t known before watching it, I would have barely guessed that “The Last Jedi” was a sequel to “The Force Awakens.” Thematically, visually, dialogue-wise, it all felt uncorrelated. That, to me, will be the lasting legacy of this trilogy. Let’s hope Abrams can somehow find a way to bring it all back home.
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