Xavier Dolan’s new film seemed like the event so far at Cannes judging by the longest press queue since the beginning of the festival, as well as the hustlers offering hugs in exchange for a screening invitation. Unfortunately, it seems destined to join the ample list of other highly anticipated big-name entries that didn’t quite …
Macbeth Directed by Justin Kurzel Written by Todd Louiso, Michael Lesslie and Jacob Koskoff (Based on the play by Shakespeare) U.K., France, U.S., 2015 There have been countless adaptations of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet, but with the exception of Roman Polanski’s 1971 film, Macbeth has largely gone ignored by cinema. Justin Kurzel, fresh …
Two Days, One Night, itself the winner of 40 international awards, is just the latest to follow this exceptional trend. It’s a film utterly unique in so many ways, yet perfectly consistent with the Dardenne filmography.
Unless you’re talking about Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters or Toy Story 3, it’s usually not a good sign to hear of a sequel to a long retired franchise, least of all from a new, upstart director (just ask Jurassic World). This week however a director started a project that might even be an improvement on the …
‘It’s Only the End of the World’ will begin shooting in May following his Cannes Jury stint.
This column is a few days late this week, but then this was a particularly busy few days. The first three of the actual awards precursors finally arrived this week, including the New York Film Critics Circle, the National Board of Review and the Gotham Independent Film Awards. What’s the verdict? This is still anyone’s …
Paolo Virzi, the veteran Italian director of the new film Human Capital, got his coffee, and upon sitting down at our small table at the JW Marriott Suite, peaked over my shoulder, proceeded to guess the first question I was about to ask and then lovingly pinched my cheek in jest like a warm Italian …
The end of Sandra’s (Marion Cotillard) journey does not matter, it is the journey that does. And though that sounds entirely conventional, even cliché, it might be the brilliance of Belgian auteurs Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne; their ability to get away with plot points that would seem at home in the most Hollywood, middlebrow fare comes off as resonant, enthralling, and emotionally realistic. Thus, in Two Days, One Night, the Dardennes prove their relevancy and potency as directors once again.
Sandra (Marion Cotillard) spends the majority of Two Days, One Night knocking on the doors of her co-workers and modestly pleading with them to decline a significant pay bonus so that she can save her job and her family. Some are instantly receptive to her request while others blow her off and even resort to violence. It’s an episodic structure that is executed with measured precision and tension from master Belgian auteurs and critical darlings Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (The Kid with a Bike, L’Enfant). Acting as the antithesis of the hardworking, stubborn, and desperate titular character from the directing duo’s immaculate Rosetta (1999), Sandra’s glowing and unwavering empathy towards those who stand in opposition to her is the crux of her character and the streamlined grace that runs through this humbled marvel of a film.
The Immigrant Written by Richard Menello and James Gray Directed by James Gray USA, 2014 Coming to America in the early 1920’s was supposed to signify a new start and generate fresh cultural experiences for Polish sisters Ewa Cybulski (Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard, “La Vie en Rose”) and Magda (Angela Sarafyan) in co-writer/director James Gray’s elegant, …
As Alfonso Cuaron’s mega-hit Gravity continues to rack up praise and big box office dollars, it’s a good time to take a critical look at the weakest aspect of the film, which is the lead acting performance of Sandra Bullock. It’s widely known that Cuaron’s first choice, Angelina Jolie, fell through and there were reported …
The most unsettling element of Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion (which is, by any metric, a deeply discomfiting film) is its plausibility. The film has a clinical approach that underlines how possible its central crisis is and how powerless we would be to stop it. The film has a global scope and an all-star cast, but what resonates most is the idea that this could happen. Anywhere. Anytime. To any one of us.
The Immigrant, set in the dusty landscape of 1920s Manhattan, focuses on young Polish immigrant Ewa (Marion Cotillard). She’s separated from her sick sister at Ellis Island. After being denied from her uncle and struggling to raise money for her sister’s medical bills, Ewa finds herself at the doorstep of shady burlesque manager Bruno Weiss (Joaquin Phoenix), who grows fond of her innocence.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Dir. Ben Stiller) The trailer for Ben Stiller’s newest directorial effort is life-affirming, anthemic, and seems like a heartstring-puller in the best possible way. Trailers are often misleading. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is occasionally satisfying white-guy wish fulfillment, as if Network’s Howard Beale were in a 2-hour, beautifully …
Now that we are nearing the big awards of the season, it is time to revisit the nominations and predictions for the 2013 BAFTAs. Part 2 will cover the following categories: (see part one here) Best Film Best British Film Leading Actor Leading Actress Best Supporting Actor Best Supporting Actress Best Director The EE BAFTA …
For better or worse, films don’t exist in a vacuum. If literature derives from itself, and, according to Marshall McLuhan, the content in any new medium is always the same as in the old, then films don’t exactly have a wealth of opportunities to be original. You can always compare a film to one that …
The Dark Knight Rises Directed by Christopher Nolan Written by Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan USA, 2012 Christopher Nolan doesn’t half-ass things. Unlike a lot of summer-movie directors, he knows how to deliver a true spectacle. His dedication to telling a complete story about one of pop culture’s most beloved superheroes is remarkable. This determination …
*This Post Contains Spoilers* Her first and only feature, Lucile Hadzihalilovic’s 2004 film Innocence, adapting the German novella Mine-Haha, is one of the most elegant explorations of the social construction of female gender ever committed to film. Contrasting sharply with husband and occasional collaborator Gaspar Noe’s urban staccato style, Innocence is full of gentle camera …
Christopher Nolan has been trying to keep production on The Dark Knight Rises as secret as possible, but sooner or later things do get leaked out. THR Confirms that Oscar-winning actress Marion Cotillard is in talks to star in the film, but nothing has been confirmed yet since the actress, who is pregnant and due …
Public Enemies Directed by Michael Mann Michael Mann (Heat, Collateral) brings his usual directorial flair to the well-worn story of John Dillinger and his dogged pursuers – but not much else. Shot in bracing digital with a weight and sense of gravity desperately missing from similar genre efforts as of late, Enemies nevertheless winds up …