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“It defied everything that you thought about them”; the Cheech Marin “CHAMPIONS” interview

Mush, you filthy huskies
Starring Woody Harrelson, Kaitlin Olson and Matt Cook
Directed by Bobby Farrelly

Cheech Marin loves sports, both in movies and real life. In 1996 he paired up with Kevin Costner for the golf romp “Tin Cup,” and in the weeks to come he will be seen in “The Long Game,” a real-life tale about a young Chicano golf team in Del Rio, Texas, in the fifties. Meantime, Marin is co-starring with Woody Harrelson in “Champions,” a touching basketball comedy in which Harrelson plays a ... more >

CANNES FESTIVAL: Ruben Östlund makes his return to the Croisette with “Triangle of sadness,” biting satire about our times

Film is competing for the Palme D'Or
Woody Harrelson, Harris Dickinson and Charlbi Dean
Directed by Ruben Östlund

CANNES, France -- “Triangle of Sadness” is a comedy about fashion, trends, social media influencers, how to set yourself apart but not too much, the enduring power of social hierarchies, the #metoo and virtue-signaling maelstroms. The pitch for “Triangle of Sadness” goes like this: the film starts in the fashion world, then the action moves to a cruise ship to finally end on a deserted island, ... more >

WHEN LESS IS MORE: Talking with John Lee Hancock, director of “THE HIGHWAYMEN”

The Texas-born filmmaker previously directed "The Blind Side" (2009), "The Rookie" (2002) and "Saving Mr. Banks" (2013)
"The Highwaymen" stars Kevin Costner, Woody Harrelson and Kathy Bates

We all remember the slow-motion ballet of bullets that closed Arthur Penn’s 1967 “Bonnie and Clyde,” with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway’s gangster-lovers meeting their violent demise on a rural Louisiana highway. It remains one of the most grippingly awful endings to a film, and as you watch it, it feels like it goes on forever. In reality it was just sixteen seconds. More than a ... more >

Seven Psychopaths

Wacky and wonderful criminal world
Colin Farrell, Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell
Directed by Martin McDonagh

For his follow-up to “In Bruges” director Martin McDonagh has assembled a cast touched upon by the eccentric-comedy gods. Everything about “Seven Psychopaths” defies convention and logic, an asset that adds to the outright lunacy on display. I loved how over-the-top it is, both in its bloody violence (people set afire, heads sawed off, a sequence so dementedly funny I wouldn’t want to ruin it) and ... more >

Transsiberian

In case you missed it
Woody Harrelson, Emily Mortimer and Ben Kingsley
Directed by Brad Anderson

Notice how we waste perfectly good time sitting through overhyped, predictable, often gooey stuff—Little Miss Sunshine anyone?—and miss out real gems that come and go so quietly they might be on tiptoe? One such movie is the 2008 Transsiberian, an edge-of-your-seat taut thriller that channels Hitchcock like nobody’s business. Good from start to finish, even managing to avoid the usually absurd ... more >