CANNES, France - The 74th Cannes Festival opened with a very unusual film on Tuesday, one that is slated to compete for the Palme D’Or, the top prize which this year will be given out by a jury headed by Spike Lee: “Annette,” by one Alex Christophe Dupont, otherwise known as Leos Carax (full disclosure: I haven’t read any of the press material for the film, on purpose, I wanted to soak up in the ... more >
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CANNES FESTIVAL: “Annette,” rhapsodic rock opera meets children’s tale, was a welcome distraction in this new darkened covid world—I’m all over it
Film is shown in competition
Desplechin’s underwhelming “Ismael’s Ghosts” opens up CANNES FILM FESTIVAL
A messy film
Charlotte Gainsbourg, Marion Cotillard and Mathieu Amalric
Directed by Arnaud Desplechins
I was disappointed that “Ismael’s Ghosts” hadn't turned out to be the near-perfect film that “My Golden Days,” which screened at the Cannes Festival last year, was. Arnaud Desplechin’s new film, which opened this year's festival (Cannes celebrates seventy this year) is sketchy and brutal, chaotic and annoyingly camp. On the good side the characters speak impressive, theatrical-like lines, like in ... more >
Allied, the good, and the bad
A decent idea of a film, lacking a payoff
Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Oh, what, you want to talk about “Allied,” the film? Where’s the fun in that? Wouldn’t you rather talk about Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Marion Cotillard? Popcorn, please! Look in the mirror and be honest with yourself. Would you really rather go in-depth on the art direction? Twice Brad Pitt has made espionage movies about a spy married to a woman who might be an enemy out to betray him. ... more >
CANNES FESTIVAL DAYS 4 AND 5, “American honey,” “Mal de Pierres” and “Paterson”
Three films from DAY 4 and 5
CANNES, France - “American Honey,” which I consider to be the best film out of this still-young Cannes Festival, played here last night. The Andrea Arnold-directed road movie stars newcomer Sasha Lane and Shia Labeouf and Riley Keough (Elvis’s granddaughter) and follows a crew of twentysomethings from all over the country (from Texas to Nebraska) who circle the mid-west selling magazine ... more >
This MACBETH is crazy
Film was a part of the last Cannes Festival
Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard
Directed by Justin Kurzel
The storyline of "MacBeth" can be resumed to the following: Macbeth is a man obsessed by ambition. Done! Scotland is in the throes of civil war, the background goes, and the survival of King Duncan's reign depends on one last battle with the loyal Macbeth commanding his troops. DID YOU KNOW? There are 420 different screen adaptations of the works of Shakespeare, including ones made by Akira ... more >
A painful WORKPLACE QUANDARY gets highlighted in the new Dardenne bros. film
Metascore 92/100
[Les Films du Fleuve, Archipel 35, BIM Distribuzione]
Directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
"Two days, one night" centers on Sandra (Marion Cotillard), a factory employee who's just returned to work after recovering from an illness. Upon realizing that the company can run with one less employee, management tells Sandra she is to be let go while the remaining employees will receive a bonus each. Talk about a dilemna. In this tenderly-observed and suspenseful drama the action is essential. ... more >
The Dark Knight Rises
Disguised as entertainment it feel like a foreboding prophecy
Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway and Marion Cotillard
Directed by Christopher Nolan
UPDATE - Our thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims of the Denver theater shooting. We were saddened by this tragic event. If “Inception“ found Christopher Nolan debating whether to surrender, Tarkovsky-like, the real world for the deepest levels of imagination, “The Dark Knight” Rises finds him already having taken the plunge. Where would you rather be as a musclebound ... more >