Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Cannes Film Festival


THE WINNERS:

Palme d'Or
Entre Les Murs (The Class)

Grand Prix

Gomorra

Prize of the 61st Festival de Cannes
Catherine Deneuve, Un Conte de Noel
Clint Eastwood, The Changeling

Award for the Best Director

Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Three Monkeys

Jury Prize
Il Divo

Best Actor

Benicio Del Toro, Che

Best Actress
Sandra Corveloni, Linha de Passe

Award for the Best Screenplay
Lorna's Silence- The Dardenne Brothers

Camera D'Or (award to first time filmmakers)
Hunger- Steve McQueen

Camera D'Or Special Mention
Everybody Dies But Me
- Valeria Gai Guermanika

Ecumenical Jury Prize
Adoration- Atom Egoyan

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

The Changeling a Hit at Cannes

Clint Eastwood's latest film, The Changeling is getting good notices at Cannes, which prompts buzz that finally Eastwood may get a top award this year after taking five other films to Cannes before. Also there is talk that the title may be getting changed to "The Exchange."

Todd McCarthy of Variety states,

"A thematic companion piece to Mystic River but more complex and far-reaching, The Changeling impressively continues Clint Eastwood's great run of ambitious late-career pictures. Emotionally powerful and stylistically sure-handed, this true story-inspired drama begins small with the disappearance of a young boy, only to gradually fan out to become a comprehensive critique of the entire power structure of Los Angeles, circa 1928. Graced by a top-notch performance from Angelina Jolie the Univesal looks poised to do some serious business upon tentatively scheduled opening late in the year."


Cinematical says:

"Clint Eastwood's The Changeling (which may or may not be now known as The Exchange), is a riveting drama about a missing boy and the undying constancy of a mother's love. Angelina Jolie excels in a powerful performance as Christine Collins, whose nine-year-old son, Walter, disappeared in 1928. Five months later, police returned to her a boy they said was Walter; Christine alleged that the boy was not her son."

And also from Time.

Will all the good notice take note next Feburary at the Kodak Theater.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Blindness

Blindness, Fernando Mierelles hotly anticipated new film starring Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo opened the Cannes Film Festival and the early reviews are in-- and sadly now it looks like a bust.


Jeffery Wells from Hollywood Elsewhere says, "I'm sorry to be saying what I'm saying as I worshipped Meirelles' City of God and very much admired The Constant Gardener. But the truth is that Blindness is more than a bit of a flub."

Variety isn't much kinder stating, "The personal and mass chaos that would result if the human race lost its sense of vision is conveyed with diminished impact and an excess of stylish tics in Blindness, an intermittently harrowing but diluted take on Jose Saramago's shattering novel. Despite a characteristically strong performance by Julianne Moore as a lone figure who retains her eyesight, bearing sad but heroic witness to the horrors around her, Fernando Meirelles' slickly crafted drama rarely achieves the visceral force, tragic scope and human resonance of Saramago's prose. Despite marquee names, mixed reviews might yield fewer eyes than desired for this international co-production."

Only Emmanuel Levy seems to support the film, even if only slightly proclaiming, "
Blindness, Fernando Meirelles' new film, is an honorable and challenging but not great follow-up to his spectacular debut, City of God, and the highly accomplished The Constant Gardener, both superior films that were Oscar-nominated."

Too bad!
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