Cannes 2011

[Russ]

Is there already a thread for this? If so, plz merge.

At least this year's poster is a winner.

http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/6553/cannes30x22.jpg

[Ezee E]

Lovely poster.

I thought you were going to announce the movies. What a letdown. :)

[Spinal]

I thought you were going to announce what hot Euro babes were going to be on the jury. What a letdown.

[Eleven]

I always thought Faye Dunaway was nothing but a pretty face and a pair of legs, and now I have proof.

[Russ]

DeNiro's the jury head, right? What a letdown...

[j/k]

And Eleven, you better emoticon a smiley the next time you decide to badmouth Ms. Dunaway! :evil:



:D

[Eleven]

And Eleven, you better emoticon a smiley the next time you decide to badmouth Ms. Dunaway! :evil:



:D

But WHAT a pretty face and pair of legs! :P

[Watashi]

Any expectations on what films might be there? We know Tree of Life and Melancholia will be there (though ToL is out-of-competition).

[Raiders]

Guesses:

Malick's Tree of Life
Trier's Melancholia
Koreeda's I Wish
Lanthimos' Alps
Maddin's Keyhole (out of competition)
Dardennes' The Kid With a Bike
Sokurov's Faust
Ramsay's We Need to Talk About Kevin
Some Asian cult filmmakers I am unfamiliar with but soitgoes loves

[Ezee E]

Some Woody Allen movie.

I'll say a "20 minute sneak preview" of Scorsese's.

[soitgoes...]

Guesses:

Malick's Tree of Life
Trier's Melancholia
Koreeda's I Wish
Lanthimos' Alps
Maddin's Keyhole (out of competition)
Dardennes' The Kid With a Bike
Sokurov's Faust
Ramsay's We Need to Talk About Kevin
Also maybe Tarr's The Turin Horse and/or Dumont's L'empire



Some Asian cult filmmakers I am unfamiliar with but soitgoes lovesThis is my most anticipated. :)

[ledfloyd]

i didn't know there was a new ramsay on the way. about time.

[B-side]

(though ToL is out-of-competition).

I've not ready any confirmations of this.

[Boner M]

I hope De Niro's jury pulls a Burton; ie, confounds expectations by giving the top prize to another tough-sell weirdo choice.

[Ezee E]

Don't know why Tree of Life wouldn't be in competition, but it opens a week or two later anyways.

[Stay Puft]

Don't know why Tree of Life wouldn't be in competition, but it opens a week or two later anyways.

Some film critics were talking about this on twitter, apparently it might be ineligible for competition because it's opening early in a foreign market or something.

Incidentally, I just saw the trailer for it on the big screen (in front of Certified Copy) and was awestruck. I've got the hype now.

[MadMan]

I always thought Faye Dunaway was nothing but a pretty face and a pair of legs, and now I have proof.:|

Chinatown and Bonnie and Clyde says otherwise!

[Eleven]

Honestly, is nobody looking at the poster and understanding my joke?

[Raiders]

Honestly, is nobody looking at the poster and understanding my joke?

I can't even see the poster and I figured out you were joking.

[Ezee E]

Some film critics were talking about this on twitter, apparently it might be ineligible for competition because it's opening early in a foreign market or something.

Incidentally, I just saw the trailer for it on the big screen (in front of Certified Copy) and was awestruck. I've got the hype now.
Zodiac was in competition a few years ago, and was released two months earlier.

[Qrazy]

Honestly, is nobody looking at the poster and understanding my joke?

I repped you already.

[Bosco B Thug]

Honestly, is nobody looking at the poster and understanding my joke? Oh wow, I'm slow. I got that you probably were joking about devaluing Faye Dunaway, but turns out I did need to give the poster another look. Funny. :)

[Eleven]

I repped you already.

For which I'm appreciative. If I could have added you to some kind of reverse ignore list on which you wouldn't see a very specific post of mine, I would have. In any case, just read this instead of my last post:


Honestly, is nobody (except for that altruistic, devilishly handsome cinephile Qrazy, who deigned to up my rep, and thus my self-esteem, a few crucial, life-saving points) looking at the poster and understanding my joke (which would have been much clearer and more hilarious had Qrazy made it)?

[Qrazy]

For which I'm appreciative. If I could have added you to some kind of reverse ignore list on which you wouldn't see a very specific post of mine, I would have. In any case, just read this instead of my last post:

It's almost better than rep. It's almost better than rep.

*single tear springs to eye*

[MadMan]

I blame my misreading of the joke on being sleepy after lunch, or something.....

[Stay Puft]

Zodiac was in competition a few years ago, and was released two months earlier.

But in its own country, which is apparently all good with Cannes.

[Spaceman Spiff]

I don't get the joke.

::feels stupid::

Cracking poster, mind.

[B-side]

I don't get the joke.

::feels stupid::

Cracking poster, mind.

Her clothes blend with the background, so you can only really make out her face and legs.

[Boner M]

Also maybe Tarr's The Turin Horse
Already premiered at Berlin 2 months back.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Her clothes blend with the background, so you can only really make out her face and legs.

Oh my god, I hate myself.

[B-side]

Oh my god, I hate myself.

That makes two of us.

:pritch:

[ledfloyd]

COMPETITION
Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris.
Pedro Almodóvar's The Skin I Inhabit.
Bertrand Bonello's L'Apollonide: Souvenirs de la maison close.
Alain Cavalier's Pater.
Joseph Cedar's Footnote.
Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Once Upon a Time in Anatolia.
Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's Le gamin au vélo (The Kid with a Bike).
Aki Kaurismäki's Le Havre.
Naomi Kawase's Hanezu no Tsuki.
Julie Leigh's Sleeping Beauty.
Maïwenn's Polisse.
Terrence Malick's Tree of Life (image above).
Radu Mihaileanu's La source des femmes.
Takashi Miike's Ishimei (Hari-Kiri: Death of a Samurai).
Nanni Moretti's Habemus Papam (We Have a Pope).
Lynn Ramsey's We Need to Talk About Kevin.
Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive.
Markus Schleinzer's Michael.
Paolo Sorrentino's This Must Be the Place.
Lars von Trier's Melancholia.


UN CERTAIN REGARD
Bakur Bakuradze's The Hunter.
Andreas Dresen's Halt auf freier Strecke.
Bruno Dumont's Hors Satan.
Sean Durkin's Martha Marcy May Marlene.
Marco Dutra and Juliana Rojas's Trabalhar cansa (Travailler fatigue).
Robert Guédiguian's Les neiges du Kilimandjaro.
Oliver Hermanus's Skoonheid.
Hong Sang-soo's The Day He Arrives.
Cristián Jiménez's Bonsái.
Eric Khoo's Tatsumi.
Kim Ki-duk's Arirang.
Nadine Labaki's Et maintenant on va où?
Catalin Mitulescu's Loverboy.
Na Hong-jin's Yellow Sea.
Gerardo Naranjo's Miss Bala.
Pierre Schoeller's L'exercice de l'Etat.
Ivan Sen's Toomelah.
Joachim Trier's Oslo, August 31st.
Gus Van Sant's Restless opens the program on May 12.


OUT OF COMPETITION
Frederikke Aspöck's Labrador.
Chan Peter Ho-Sun's Wu Xia.
Xavier Durringer's La conquête.
Jodie Foster's The Beaver.
Michel Hazanavicius's The Artist.
Rob Marshall's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
Jennifer Yuh's Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom.

[soitgoes...]

Meh.

[soitgoes...]

Interesting that Dumont's title changed. Also excited that Trier (the other one) has a new film coming out. No Koreeda, Lanthimos or Sokurov.

Also Allen's film is out of competition.

[Raiders]

Meh.

Really? Would have liked to see Koreeda and Lanthimos on there, but it's a pretty intriguing line-up to me.

And wait, Hong Sang-soo has another freakin' film?

[Boner M]

Wow, that's the least promising comp lineup I've seen in aaaages. Not swooning for any of those directors; Malick aside. Dardennes & Kaurismaki have their best behind them, I think. Only Dumont jumps out from UCR. Why do Sorrentino & Moretti keep appearing in one comp lineup after another? Who still likes these people?

Hoping for surprises.

[Raiders]

Wow, that's the least promising comp lineup I've seen in aaaages. Not swooning for any of those directors; Malick aside. Dardennes & Kaurismaki have their best behind them, I think. Only Dumont jumps out from UCR. Why do Sorrentino & Moretti keep appearing in one comp lineup after another? Who still likes these people?

Hoping for surprises.

With the exception of Sokurov, Koreeda and Lanthimos, what could they have had? They can't invent films to compete.

I still think it's a good line-up. Many films I am interested to see.

[Boner M]

Oh wait, I didn't realise Lynne Ramsay was there. That's a plus.

[Boner M]

With the exception of Sokurov, Koreeda and Lanthimos, what could they have had? They can't invent films to compete.

I still think it's a good line-up. Many films I am interested to see.
...

Worst. Lineup. Ever.

[elixir]

Most excited for the Dardennes and the Malick, though I'm quite unfamiliar with a large number of these directors.

[Boner M]

Guess I should retract my words. This Sleeping Beauty film looks mighty impressive (http://sleepingbeautyfilm.com.au/video.html). Although the premise and presence of Emily Browning gives it a high-toned Sucker Punch vibe. Nice to see an Australian film in comp, in any case.

EDIT: Trailer's decidedly NSFW.

[baby doll]

I haven't seen any of those.

[Derek]

I haven't seen any of those.

Yeah, but those films I haven't seen and haven't heard anything about sure seem pretty shitty.

Rabble rabble rabble rabble rabble.

[Boner M]

http://cdn.pwnage.ro/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/fuck-everything.jpg

[Derek]

:lol:

That guy's great.

[Qrazy]

Make a new film every five seconds why don't you, Miike.

[baby doll]

Yeah, but those films I haven't seen and haven't heard anything about sure seem pretty shitty.

Rabble rabble rabble rabble rabble.If I do have one qualm with this line-up of movies that I haven't seen and know little about, which I expect to be a mix of awesomeness and disappointments (like every Cannes lineup), it's the (very unsurprising) absence of movies not from the US, Western Europe, or Japan in the main competition, the only exceptions being the films by Ceylan and Sorrentino (both Cannes regulars), and Radu Mihaileanu (because it just wouldn't be Cannes without at least one Romanian film). On the other hand, the lineup for Un Certain Regard looks like it might have a few surprises in store.

[Ezee E]

Always thought Allen had something against his movies being in competition.

And... DRIVE!

I'm going to look at the premises before I judge movies by people I haven't heard of... Nobody heard or was excited about Lanthimos last year... You guys are weird.

[balmakboor]

:|

Chinatown and Bonnie and Clyde says otherwise!

So does Network.

[soitgoes...]

Always thought Allen had something against his movies being in competition.
It isn't this year. It's the opening film out of competition. Leds list is wrong.

[soitgoes...]

Really? Would have liked to see Koreeda and Lanthimos on there, but it's a pretty intriguing line-up to me.

And wait, Hong Sang-soo has another freakin' film?
Nah, I was being sarcastic. It isn't as great as I was hoping a couple months ago, but it has some pretty strong directors. Really excited for Dumont's film.

Can someone tell me how the films are selected to be either in Competition, in Un Certain Regard or Out of Competition?

[dreamdead]

Hong Sang-soo has gone from being the next Eric Rohmer to the next Woody Allen, since they both put out a film a year, and often recycle themes. That said, I still find myself drawn to Hong's films.

Very excited for Joachim Trier as well; Reprise was so close to excellent that I'd love for him to truly raise himself to the next level.

Is Malick the heads-on favorite going into it? Hmm. Bong Joon-ho is the head judge, I'll be curious what catches his eyes. Maybe Malick should insert a dropkicking Brad Pitt somewhere...

[ledfloyd]

Is Malick the heads-on favorite going into it? Hmm. Bong Joon-ho is the head judge, I'll be curious what catches his eyes. Maybe Malick should insert a dropkicking Brad Pitt somewhere...
deniro is the head judge. bong is doing the camera d'or for best first filmmaker.

it looks like a weaker field than recent years but we still have new films from malick, hong sang-soo, dumont, and ramsey. not to mention almodovar, von trier, miike, ceylan, kaurismaki, ki-duk, van sant and joachim trier. it's hard to be really disappointed and there should be some surprises.

[Watashi]

I'm predicting Gosling to win Best Actor.

[Ezee E]

Has Almodovar won a Director or Palme D'or yet? Might be his time.

[Raiders]

Has Almodovar won a Director or Palme D'or yet? Might be his time.

Yeah, he won Director for All About My Mother. No Palme D'or yet.

[Lucky]

What won last year?

[Boner M]

What won last year?

http://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000147/2010

Awesome choices, all.

[Ezee E]

Tree of Life it is then... Ha.

[origami_mustache]

The submission thing is such a scam. Nice try to the 1,700+ no names directors :P

[ledfloyd]

The submission thing is such a scam. Nice try to the 1,700+ no names directors :P
julia leigh? markus schleinzer?

[B-side]

Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris.
Pedro Almodóvar's The Skin I Inhabit.
Alain Cavalier's Pater.
Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Once Upon a Time in Anatolia.
Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's Le gamin au vélo (The Kid with a Bike).
Aki Kaurismäki's Le Havre.
Terrence Malick's Tree of Life.
Lynn Ramsey's We Need to Talk About Kevin.
Lars von Trier's Melancholia.
Bruno Dumont's Hors Satan.
Hong Sang-soo's The Day He Arrives.
Kim Ki-duk's Arirang.
Joachim Trier's Oslo, August 31st.
Rob Marshall's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Wanna see all these. Not familiar with, or don't care about, the others.

[origami_mustache]

These are the director's I am interested in. Don't really know anything about any of the films other than Tree of Life and Melancholia.

Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris.
Pedro Almodóvar's The Skin I Inhabit.
Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's Le gamin au vélo (The Kid with a Bike).
Aki Kaurismäki's Le Havre.
Naomi Kawase's Hanezu no Tsuki.
Terrence Malick's Tree of Life
Takashi Miike's Ishimei (Hari-Kiri: Death of a Samurai).
Lynn Ramsey's We Need to Talk About Kevin.
Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive.
Lars von Trier's Melancholia.
Hong Sang-soo's The Day He Arrives.
Eric Khoo's Tatsumi.
Kim Ki-duk's Arirang.
Gus Van Sant's Restless

[origami_mustache]

julia leigh? markus schleinzer?

Obviously there are some new filmmakers who know what they are doing and have something to offer, but I know people who submit some really shitty stuff with absolutely no chance. They rush to get it finished in time and pay the submission fee. I just don't understand how some of these amateur filmmakers can be so delusional.

[B-side]

These are the director's I am interested in. Don't really know anything about any of the films other than Tree of Life and Melancholia.

Naomi Kawase's Hanezu no Tsuki.
Eric Khoo's Tatsumi.


Recommendations for these two?

[origami_mustache]

Recommendations for these two?

Shara is the only film I've seen from Naomi Kawase and I enjoyed it and want to see more from her especially considering she's a Japanese female director which isn't too common.

I've seen two films from Khoo. 12 Storeys and No Day Off both of which were mediocre. Can't say I'd recommend them unless you're interested in cinema from Singapore.

[B-side]

Shara is the only film I've seen from Naomi Kawase and I enjoyed it and want to see more from her especially considering she's a Japanese female director which isn't too common.

I've seen two films from Khoo. 12 Storeys and No Day Off both of which were mediocre. Can't say I'd recommend them unless you're interested in cinema from Singapore.

I knew I remembered the name Kawase from somewhere. I'm assuming you saw Shara due to it being a free leech on KG?

Thanks.

[Stay Puft]

I forgot Kim Ki-duk even existed.

[Boner M]

I forgot Kim Ki-duk even existed.
Tony Rayns seemed directly responsible for Kim's plummeting stock.

[Stay Puft]

Rayns always hated him as I remember. But the guy (Kim) hasn't even done anything in the last three years.

[origami_mustache]

I knew I remembered the name Kawase from somewhere. I'm assuming you saw Shara due to it being a free leech on KG?

Thanks.

My gf was interested and suggested we watch it. She got it from KG, but I don't know if it was during free leech.

[soitgoes...]

Breath was so awful I didn't even bother with Dream. Unless his new one gets good reviews, I probably won't bother with it either.

[Boner M]

Rayns always hated him as I remember.
True, but the Film Comment piece he wrote ('04, I think) was particularly detrimental to Kim's stature.

[dmk]

I remember when everyone liked Kim Ki-duk and I was like why?

I usually find the Directors' Fortnight section during the festival a lot more satisfying, but I'm not sure when that line-up is announced. I think there are something like two-dozen completed yet-to-be-screened films which Cannes decided to ignore, those bastards, which I'm looking forward to, but I also feel (as with last year) that Venice will get all the interesting titles. Which is a shame also because stuff from non-Cannes festivals rarely screen in festivals here until a whole year after. I also don't really want Tree of Life to win the Palme, because Palme-winning films are always delayed here until March the year after for some reason.

[Ezee E]

I remember when everyone liked Kim Ki-duk and I was like why?

I usually find the Directors' Fortnight section during the festival a lot more satisfying, but I'm not sure when that line-up is announced. I think there are something like two-dozen completed yet-to-be-screened films which Cannes decided to ignore, those bastards, which I'm looking forward to, but I also feel (as with last year) that Venice will get all the interesting titles. Which is a shame also because stuff from non-Cannes festivals rarely screen in festivals here until a whole year after. I also don't really want Tree of Life to win the Palme, because Palme-winning films are always delayed here until March the year after for some reason.
Well, Tree of Life is getting a wide release a week after the festival no matter what. So if you don't get it then, you'll probably never get it.

[Philosophe_rouge]

Breath was so awful I didn't even bother with Dream. Unless his new one gets good reviews, I probably won't bother with it either.

Dream was awful

[Eleven]

Is Breath or Dream at least pretty to look at? I'm looking for something pretty and terrible, or even pretty and pretty terrible.

[Qrazy]

I remember when everyone liked Kim Ki-duk and I was like why?


Because he has a solid aesthetic and likes to play with the structure of film. Even if he makes nothing but shit for the rest of his life Spring Summer and 3-iron will still be good and a number of his other work somewhat interesting. I enjoyed Time and The Isle is pretty interesting. Bad Guy is a horrible piece of crap thematically but it's still aesthetically compelling. So I guess he's 4 for 5 with me.

[Sycophant]

I haven't seen anything since Time (which I liked). Three Iron and SSFWS are great films. Address Unknown really got under my skin, and I need to revisit Samaritan Girl to decide how I feel about it, but my initial impressions were good.

[Pop Trash]

True, but the Film Comment piece he wrote ('04, I think) was particularly detrimental to Kim's stature.

I remember that piece. It seemed particularly mean spirited, especially since at the time he basically made a few waves with Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring. It seemed weird to have a hit piece on a South Korean director, who nobody outside of film nerds really care about.

[Derek]

I remember that piece. It seemed particularly mean spirited, especially since at the time he basically made a few waves with Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring. It seemed weird to have a hit piece on a South Korean director, who nobody outside of film nerds really care about.

Do many non-film nerds read Film Comment?

[Qrazy]

Do many non-film nerds read Film Comment?

I'll go one further and assure you that even many film nerds don't read it or give a shit about anything Rayns has to say.

---

Trial on the Road (German, 1971) ***

Thoughts?

[origami_mustache]

I didn't even think 3-Iron was good, but I am a fan of Address Unknown despite it's flaws.

[baby doll]

Hong Sang-soo has gone from being the next Eric Rohmer to the next Woody Allen, since they both put out a film a year, and often recycle themes. That said, I still find myself drawn to Hong's films.And you're saying Rohmer wasn't a profilic director who recycled ideas?

[eternity]

The submission thing is such a scam. Nice try to the 1,700+ no names directors :P
When you're submitting, you're really trying to just get yourself in to the festival. Once your name gets kicked around there, then you'll hopefully get into competition.

[baby doll]

The submission thing is such a scam. Nice try to the 1,700+ no names directors :PAnd that's why they have the Director's Fortnight.

[origami_mustache]

And that's why they have the Director's Fortnight.

Which in the last several years screened films from Frederick Wiseman, Francis Ford, Coppola Lisandro Alonso, Bruce Conner, Jean-Marie Straub, and Pedro Costa to name a few.

[baby doll]

Which in the last several years screened films from Frederick Wiseman, Francis Ford, Coppola Lisandro Alonso, Bruce Conner, Jean-Marie Straub, and Pedro Costa to name a few.Well, what are the chances of Alsonso, Conner, Straub, or Wiseman ever getting a slot in the main competition? Costa did once, with Colossal Youth, which was scorned by the mainstream press. In any case, they program a mix of stuff, both from seasoned vets as well as nubies like Serge Bozon, Felix van Groenineg, and Pablo Larrain.

[origami_mustache]

Well, what are the chances of Alsonso, Conner, Straub, or Wiseman ever getting a slot in the main competition? Costa did once, with Colossal Youth, which was scorned by the mainstream press. In any case, they program a mix of stuff, both from seasoned vets as well as nubies like Serge Bozon, Felix van Groenineg, and Pablo Larrain.

I love the programming. I'm not complaining. I don't think there is any better film festival. I just think it's funny how much garbage gets submitted.

[transmogrifier]

I didn't even think 3-Iron was good, but I am a fan of Address Unknown despite it's flaws.

Address Unknown is one of the worst films I have ever seen in my life.

[origami_mustache]

Address Unknown is one of the worst films I have ever seen in my life.

Sure it's heavy handed and the American acting is especially atrocious, but I still think it's far and away his best that I've seen and an important Korean film that addresses concerns about national their national identity as well as the trauma and social injustices caused from their history and the U.S. occupation. Typically Korean cinema is ridiculously melodramatic as the country has a rich history of melodramatic movies and television and Ki-duk's films are no exception and anything but subtle.

[transmogrifier]

....film that addresses concerns about national their national identity as well as the trauma and social injustices caused from their history and the U.S. occupation .

Oh, no doubt it does all those things, but it does it in such a miserable, idiotic, poorly-acted, ridiculously sensationalized, braindead manner that it fails miserably. Next time, write an essay, Kim.

SSFWAS, Samaria, 3-Iron, Time and The Isle are all leagues better than this piece of trash. The Coast Guard and Bad Guy are Address Unknown-esque. Unfortunately for Kim, his three worst films were the first three of his I saw, so I find it hard to really care about him as an auteur.

[Boner M]

Cuppla more titles (http://mubi.com/notebook/posts/3155) announced for Critics' Week. I've seen Snowtown and it's very good indeed; highly recommended for those who thought Animal Kingdom was a missed opportunity. (Excellent trailer (http://twitchfilm.com/news/2011/04/extraordinary-new-trailer-for-snowtown.php) here)

[dmk]

I've seen Snowtown and it's very good indeed
Woah. Watching the trailer I swore it was made to cash-in on Animal Kingdom's success. You know, like ¡Tintorera! post-Jaws and Romancing the Stone post-Indiana Jones. In other words: a loving rip-off.

Saying that, doesn't it usually take like five years for an Australian film to get made? I'll keep an open mind.

Directors' Fortnight line-up is released in 2.5 hours.

[Boner M]

Director's Fortnight (http://mubi.com/notebook/posts/3161) + Jury announced:

Martina GUSMAN (actrice et productrice, Argentine)
Nansun SHI (productrice, Chine)
Uma THURMAN (actrice, scénariste, productrice, USA)
Linn ULLMANN (critique et écrivaine, Norvège)
Olivier ASSAYAS (réalisateur, France)
Jude LAW (acteur, Angleterre)
Mahamat Saleh HAROUN (réalisateur, Tchad)
Johnnie TO (réalisateur, producteur, Chine/Hong-Kong)

[Boner M]

Still from Lynne Ramsay's We Need to Talk About Kevin.

http://www.independent.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00599/Untitled-3_599647a.jpg

[Ezee E]

I'd like Tilda Swinton to do more fun roles like in Burn After Reading.

[Spinal]

She looks like she really, really needs to talk about Kevin.

[Rowland]

Ohhh, finally a new Ramsay film, and with Swinton no less!

[Qrazy]

Grocery stores are passé. It's a locale whose metaphoric content has been mined to death. Bring on the garden center metaphors.

[Ezee E]

I wonder if she feels like everyone else because all she sees is tomato soup.

[baby doll]

I'd like Tilda Swinton to do more fun roles like in Burn After Reading.Lynne Ramsay is fun personified.

[NickGlass]

Grocery stores are passé. It's a locale whose metaphoric content has been mined to death. Bring on the garden center metaphors.

Watch your tongue! I have a soft spot for all supermarket scenes--whether in film, television, music, or literature.

[Qrazy]

There aren't enough supermarket scenes where the person is like... Holy Shit, look at all this food, I'm actually very happy to be here because there is a surplus of food I can now eat... maybe in a few post-apocalyptic films but that's about it.

[Ezee E]

Maybe they should go to Whole Foods or something. I never had a bad time in there. Although $19.99/lb prosciutto may depress because it's so damn good, but not affordable.

[NickGlass]

Movies with good supermarket scenes: Little Giants, The Hurt Locker, Punch-Drunk Love, 28 Days Later, The Big Lebowski...

I could go on.

[elixir]

Movies with good supermarket scenes: Little Giants, The Hurt Locker, Punch-Drunk Love, 28 Days Later, The Big Lebowski...

I could go on.

The best one I've seen is The Long Goodbye.

[origami_mustache]

Tout va bien = best supermarket scene.

[Spinal]

Raising Arizona

[eternity]

There aren't enough supermarket scenes where the person is like... Holy Shit, look at all this food, I'm actually very happy to be here because there is a surplus of food I can now eat... maybe in a few post-apocalyptic films but that's about it.Jungle 2 Jungle

[Qrazy]

Jungle 2 Jungle

Good. There's way too many of these scenes... 'Oh woe is me, supermarkets are too large and alienating and there are too many things to choose from.'

[Ezee E]

Ah yes, Little Giants.

[Derek]

Need more black-and-white Russian supermarket scenes like "Oh woe is me, look at all these potatoes, seriously do we need 75 different types of vodka. Oh wait, it's cold as fuck, better pick up the ingredients to make more cabbage soup."

[Ezee E]

Need more black-and-white Russian supermarket scenes like "Oh woe is me, look at all these potatoes, seriously do we need 75 different types of vodka. Oh wait, it's cold as fuck, better pick up the ingredients to make more cabbage soup."
A toilet paper just needs to be thrown as a football and it's perfect.

Maybe it can be a hockey puck instead.

[Boner M]

2 min clip (http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/mediaPlayer/10934.html) from Refn's Drive.

[Ezee E]

2 min clip (http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/mediaPlayer/10934.html) from Refn's Drive.
Loving it.

[Dukefrukem]

Bill Murray plays FDR in Hyde Park on Hudson. Need to see this.

[Qrazy]

Need more black-and-white Russian supermarket scenes like "Oh woe is me, look at all these potatoes, seriously do we need 75 different types of vodka. Oh wait, it's cold as fuck, better pick up the ingredients to make more cabbage soup."

Um no? That's exactly my point. There's already way too many of those scenes.

[eternity]

http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/mediaPlayer/10934.html

Drive looks like a force to be reckoned with.

[Ezee E]

http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/mediaPlayer/10934.html

Drive looks like a force to be reckoned with.
5 posts above. But yes. Also... duh.

[Derek]

Um no? That's exactly my point. There's already way too many of those scenes.

I know, but my point was that they'd be better if they were in black-and-white Russian films.

[Dukefrukem]

http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/mediaPlayer/10934.html

Drive looks like a force to be reckoned with.

:eek:

[B-side]

2 min clip (http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/mediaPlayer/10934.html) from Refn's Drive.

Oooh. I liked that.

[Ezee E]

Have you guys looked up the synopsis' of these movies? Sounds like a lot of potential.

[Boner M]

Anyone following? Midnight in Paris is getting surprisingly decent buzz considering that ghastly trailer. Sleeping Beauty is getting encouragingly polarised reactions that generally commending the boldness/audacity/etc. Glad that it's showing at the Sydney fest next month.

@cameron_tiff: SLEEPING BEAUTY is the first must-see of #Cannes 2011. Lars Von Trier, meet Julia Leigh. And watch your back.

Aaron Hillis: SLEEPING BEAUTY: a/k/a Fucker Punch, or "My vagina is not a temple." I'm never having sex again. Baffling but never boring, and who knew a novelist had formal visual chops and could rock the tableaux? Rich characterization of self-confidence through self-negation which turns into shaggy-dog possibilities on its belle du comatose setup. Needs digestion, but I dig it. Emily B. a Best Actress contender.

Guy Lodge: (B+) Cool, kinky breadcrumb trail leads to a rangier exploration of human contact; each frame seems assembled with tweezers... Startling breakthrough for Emily Browning, not just for obvious reasons of "bravery", but for the wit she brings to surgical-steel material... Suspect SLEEPING BEAUTY will have fierce detractors. Cannes to be commended on putting something this fresh and untested in Competition... Among other virtues, SLEEPING BEAUTY has a line I do not expect to hear in any other movie: "Make sure your lipstick matches your labia."

D'Angelo: Sleeping Beauty (Leigh): 49. Very well made, but so psychologically abstract that I never connected with it on any level but the formal.

Variety: Leigh's arty (not to be confused with artistic) treatment of such provocative subject matter derives from her own 2008 Black List-blessed screenplay, though the film's frustratingly elliptical style and lack of character insight give it a distinctly first-draft feel. Racy subject and ample nudity should land this Jane Campion-endorsed production some decent fest exposure before rubbing ratings boards wrong around the world.

Sounds like a quintessential Spinal film!

[Stay Puft]

Gah, I've been so busy lately I forgot this was starting today. Thanks for the reminder; time to go to the official site and consume as much streaming media as possible, just as in previous years (why am I addicted to this stuff I have no idea).

[Spinal]

Sounds like a quintessential Spinal film!

Totally! I love lack of character insight!

[Boner M]

Totally! I love lack of character insight!
So glad you've come around.

[dmk]

Guy Lodge and Variety are the worst things to happen to cinema since 3D.

I really like Glenn Heath and his blog though, so his tweets are the only reactions I pay any notice to:

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN (B+/A-): The violent splatter of so many things: paint, jelly, emotion, terror, and mother/son dynamics.

Get out of my head SLEEPING BEAUTY!

[Boner M]

Guy Lodge and Variety are the worst things to happen to cinema since 3D.
What? Guy Lodge is a great festival drive-by reviewer, he just writes for a shitty site. Don't lump him in w/ Variety.

[dmk]

What? Guy Lodge is a great festival drive-by reviewer, he just writes for a shitty site. Don't lump him in w/ Variety.
I hate him. His 2010 Venice coverage is thoroughly miserable. Well sure, he’s no fucking Andrew Schenker or (shudder) David Nusair, both with most likely a case of brain-damage, but that tweet you quoted reads like an appeal for a job application at Variety. The only thing missing is “might draw the eyes of euro arthouse distribs lookin’ for hot numbar”.

[Boner M]

(shudder) David Nusair
Oh god that guy's the worst. His reviews are so badly written they give me brain damage, and that isn't even mentioning his complete lack of insight and godawful taste.

His penchant (http://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&safe=off&biw=1280&bih=664&q=+site:reelfilm.com+%22david+ nusair%22+exacerbate&sa=X&ei=au7LTafZOcLorAeR_ImJBA&ved=0CAIQqAQwBA&fp=48bcd2318a90b7fb) for the word 'exacerbate' to make his reviews seem smarter is totally hilarious.

[eternity]

I once made a joke at Guy Lodge's expense on my website.

He then commented and wasn't too happy about it. I then caved and said I was just trolling because I lack the testicular fortitude to take on people who have established themselves in an occupational clique I'd love to be a part of, but I wasn't.

[dmk]

His penchant (http://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&safe=off&biw=1280&bih=664&q=+site:reelfilm.com+%22david+ nusair%22+exacerbate&sa=X&ei=au7LTafZOcLorAeR_ImJBA&ved=0CAIQqAQwBA&fp=48bcd2318a90b7fb) for the word 'exacerbate' to make his reviews seem smarter is totally hilarious.
That is funnier than his fondness for “piece of work (http://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&safe=off&biw=1280&bih=664&q=site:reelfilm.com+%22david+n usair%22+%22piece+of+work%22&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&fp=639c19fc9b827b1)”. A record 36 Google Pages. I gotta give him credit for being reliable though: I'm sure to love anything he hates.

Vimukthi Jayasundara's CHATRAK screened yesterday, but I couldn't find any reactions. Then I find out it screened in a 74-seat theatrette. Next week I guess. His previous film was remarkable and had the most walk-outs out of any session at MIFF last year.

[Boner M]

That is funnier than his fondness for “piece of work (http://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&safe=off&biw=1280&bih=664&q=site:reelfilm.com+%22david+n usair%22+%22piece+of+work%22&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&fp=639c19fc9b827b1)”. A record 36 Google Pages. I gotta give him credit for being reliable though: I'm sure to love anything he hates.
"Deliberate pace" get 15 pages of results. (http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&safe=off&biw=1280&bih=664&q=+site:reelfilm.com+%22david+ nusair%22+%22deliberate+pace%2 2&sa=X&ei=COHMTbDiHIXtrAfm9uykDA&ved=0CAIQqAQwAw) "Egregiously deliberate pace" comprises 22 of those results.

[Boner M]

Nusair on Pierrot le fou:


Experimental to the point of inanity, Pierrot le fou surely marks the nadir of Jean-Luc Godard's long and prolific career - as Godard continually and consistently eschews things like character development and plot in favor of nonsensical elements that only grow more abstract as the movie progresses. The film - which follows Jean-Paul Belmondo's Ferdinand as he abandons his family and takes up with a young babysitter (Anna Karina's Marianne) - adopts a smug tone almost immediately, as Ferdinand and his wife attend a party where several guests are speaking in ad slogans. Godard likewise peppers Pierrot le fou with similarly "clever" bits of satire that are, more often than not, entirely needless and eye-rollingly obvious, with the movie's various problems exacerbated by the filmmaker's penchant for non-linear storytelling (ie Ferdinand and Marianne are inexplicably surrounded by a dead body and a cache of guns moments after their first encounter; did we miss a reel somewhere?) And while there are a few admittedly interesting and well-conceived scenes here and there - including a fascinating moment in which Ferdinand and Marianne steal a car from an auto body shop - Pierrot le fou is ultimately nothing more than an infuriatingly vague and utterly pointless piece of work (one that has clearly lost any relevance it may have once had; at the film's sparsely-attended press screening, one critic walked out midway through and another fell asleep).

[Rowland]

I'm always embarrassed when I find myself disliking a film that most of my trusted sources dug, only to discover that Nusair is in my corner. He's a critical hack second to few, but I do get a kick out of reading his crap sometimes.

89 results for "infuse" by the by.

[Boner M]

I'm always embarrassed when I find myself disliking a film that most of my trusted sources dug, only to discover that Nusair is in my corner.
It must certainly exacerbate your frustration.

[Derek]

Nusair on Pierrot le fou:

So...he'd fit right in here at MatchCut?

[Qrazy]

He's certainly right that the film is obnoxiously smug although his problems with the non-linearity are stupid.

[Derek]

He's certainly right that the film is obnoxiously smug although his problems with the non-linearity are stupid.

Thanks, I was waiting for you to prove my point, Q. :)

[Pop Trash]

No big surprise, but Mike D'Angelo has 'meh'd everything so far (including new Woody, Sleeping Beauty, and new Van Sant). He liked We Need to Talk About Kevin the most, but even that he said was flawed.

[Boner M]

No big surprise, but Mike D'Angelo has 'meh'd everything so far (including new Woody, Sleeping Beauty, and new Van Sant). He liked We Need to Talk About Kevin the most, but even that he said was flawed.
He just gave Kim's Arirang a 7/100!!


Hate a kick a man when he's down, but this is insufferable. 100 mins. of Kim whining to himself about "director's block."

[Qrazy]

Who makes a documentary about themselves anyway.

[Derek]

Nice. I'm always up for some Kim-bashing, even if like Mike D, I liked Time a lot.

[Stay Puft]

Hell, the Arirang clip/trailer on the Cannes website is insufferable.

[balmakboor]

Who makes a documentary about themselves anyway.

Tarnation and Sherman's March are good and great such docs respectively.

[Boner M]

Tarnation is pretty terrible. Sherman's March is excellent.

[Boner M]

Variety on Arirang


Like many barroom bores, he's not shy about crowing over his own talent, little in evidence here, although supporters know he's capable of greatness. One example of his former glory is "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter … and Spring," his international breakthrough, which, in one of "Arirang's" most piteous scenes, Kim watches tearfully on DVD, a shadow of the former self seen in "Spring," climbing a mountain while dragging a concrete anchor behind him.

Holy lolz.

[Pop Trash]

Holy lolz.

GD dude: try therapy.

[Raiders]

Tarnation is pretty terrible.

So very, very wrong.


Sherman's March is excellent.

So very, very right.

[Bosco B Thug]

Tarnation is pretty terrible. I'm of the impression that Tarnation is very well-regarded. Be meeker in your unpopular opinion!

Anyway, it's awfully manipulative and pathetically-driven (in the literary theory sense of "pathetic"), but it is audaciously so, and I sense that's all part of the point. I ultimately appreciated the film, though the indolent student in me resents it a bit - I watched it in a class and was customarily dozing off when one of its screechy freak-out moments happened, and I literally had a heart attack.

[ledfloyd]

alan zweig has made some good documentaries that are more or less about what a sad sack he is.

[Boner M]

So far, Gerardo Naranjo's Miss Bala is getting the best reviews (http://mubi.com/notebook/posts/3284) of the fest from my vantage point. As someone who saw lots of promise in Naranjo's flawed but strangely riveting drama/mex, I feel vindicated.

[Ezee E]

The Artist trailer (http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en/mediaPlayer/11135.html)

with John Goodman and James Cromwell.

One of my more anticipated out of the group. Miss Bala sounds great.

[Boner M]

Dardennes' The Kid With a Bike is getting good ink (http://mubi.com/notebook/posts/3289), probably the best of all the comp. titles along with ...Kevin, but I've also read a few that say it's fairly slight (Guy Lodge, D'Angelo, Aaron Hillis) and autopilot-ish. Still excited, esp. since some said the same thing about The Son upon its release.

[elixir]

Dardennes' The Kid With a Bike is getting good ink (http://mubi.com/notebook/posts/3289), probably the best of all the comp. titles along with ...Kevin, but I've also read a few that say it's fairly slight (Guy Lodge, D'Angelo, Aaron Hillis) and autopilot-ish. Still excited, esp. since some said the same thing about The Son upon its release.

Yeah, I've been reading the same things about the film. But I found this excerpt from a review at the House Next Door ensured that I will still highly anticipate this:
Famous auteurs occasionally cruise through material so smoothly we misjudge potentially complex efforts as minor. I fear Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardennes new film, The Kid with a Bike, will be seen as such a film and get overlooked due to its short running time, concisely linear storyline, and almost perfectly aligned mosaic of fatherly failures.

[soitgoes...]

I love this series of tweets:


gemko Mike D'Angelo
Once again, very well made in the approved festival style, but I understand now exactly how detractors of FUNNY GAMES felt.
14 May

gemko Mike D'Angelo
Michael (Schleinzer): 32. Evil is banal. The end. No, wait, let me sadistically fuck with you for a few minutes. Okay, *now* the end.
14 May

gemko Mike D'Angelo
WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH EVERYONE IN AUSTRIA. SERIOUSLY.
14 May

[Boner M]

Reports on Tree of Life comin' in a few hours. Also Dumont's Hors Satan, but whatevs.

[Pop Trash]

I WANNA DIP MY BALLS IN TREE OF LIFE!!!

[soitgoes...]

I've seen three Dumont films, and all three are at least as good if not better than the four Malick films I've seen. Just sayin'.

[Boner M]

I've seen three Dumont films, and all three are at least as good if not better than the four Malick films I've seen. Just sayin'.
I love Life of Jesus and find merit in his other 4, but STFU.

[soitgoes...]

I love Life of Jesus and find merit in his other 4, but STFU.

Sorry for having an opinion. Continue on with "your" thread.

[B-side]

Sorry for having an opinion. Continue on with "your" thread.

You should be sorry. I was sorry I had to read it.

:D

But for realzies, I can't believe I haven't watched Humanity, Flandres or Hadewijch yet. Soon. Loved the other two.

[Ezee E]

So far it doesn't seem like there's anything to be really excited about, except for The Artist which seems to good reviews across the board, only with the warning of it's a silent film.

Best Director possibly?

When's Drive premiere?

[B-side]

So far it doesn't seem like there's anything to be really excited about.

:|

Numerous films are getting raves.

[Boner M]

Sorry for having an opinion. Continue on with "your" thread.
;);););););););););););):D;);) ;);):D;):D

That better?

[soitgoes...]

;);););););););););););):D;);) ;);):D;):D

That better?The two yellow guys holding hands dancing would've done the trick. All the blue guys winking with the green guys and their goofy grins make me think that they know something about me, and they aren't going to let me in on their secret. Fuckers.

[baby doll]

Just a prediction: Tree of Life will get wildly mixed reviews, and win a prize (probably direction or best actor, in deferrence to the movie's star power), but it won't win the Palme d'Or.

[Boner M]

Tree of Life reception has been predictable so far. Masterpiece! Wank! etc.

Todd McCarthy's review (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/tree-life-cannes-review-188564?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thr%2Frev iews%2Fallreviews+%28The+Holly wood+Reporter+-+All+Reviews%29) seems the most measured and considerate so far.

[Boner M]

Ehh, better to stop reading these reviews. Not doing me any good.

[ledfloyd]

jeff wells though tree of life was an 'airy fairy' 'wank' and he's not sure if he'll buy the bluray.

[Boner M]

...and he's not sure if he'll buy the bluray.
Gold.

[ledfloyd]

Gold.
seriously, is that what passes for a criticism these days?

[Boner M]

seriously, is that what passes for a criticism these days?
All those Oscar prognosticator/insiders can go to hell. Wells, Anne Thompson, Kris Tapley, Sasha Stone, Tom O'Neil... any of 'em deserve to be in Cannes as much as the ebola virus.

[Boner M]

Gah, Stephanie Zacharek (http://www.movieline.com/2011/05/cannes-review-tree-of-life-is-all-about-life-but-does-malick-care-much-for-people.php?page=1) is a migraine when it comes to anything grandiose. Pauline Kael, what hath thou wrought?


But strong visuals don’t necessarily equal strong visual storytelling. If Malick could tell a story mostly with pictures — and faces — why would he need so many voice-overs?

Aaaand that's the last review I'll read. Promise.

[balmakboor]

jeff wells though tree of life was an 'airy fairy' 'wank' and he's not sure if he'll buy the bluray.

I grew up with a Jeff Wells who was mentally challenged. Must be the same guy.

[balmakboor]

Btw, what did you guys expect? These reviews -- of a film that took a guy 40 years to make -- were posted something like 2 hours after the reviewer finished watching the movie for the first time. Those I've read so far can't even agree on the audience response. Some say mostly applause drowning out a smattering of boos. Others say walkouts during the final 15 minutes, loud jeers, and a smattering of applause.

I think I'll just wait a while to read what critics are saying about it -- like 10 to 20 years.

[Ezee E]

I still kind of find it amazing that people would boo at a movie.

[Spinal]

I still kind of find it amazing that people would boo at a movie.

Particularly when those who worked on it are likely to be there. Yeah, that's fairly obnoxious.

[balmakboor]

Particularly when those who worked on it are likely to be there. Yeah, that's fairly obnoxious.

It's the people who worked on it that they're booing. Seems silly to boo a film.

[Raiders]

Seems no sillier to me to boo a film than to applaud a film, which is to say I find both silly. It seems nobody else finds it strange to applaud though, which seems the same idea to me, showing vocal and physical approval or disapproval for what you are sitting through. If the filmmakers are in attendance, it at least makes more sense (they can see and hear your reaction), but it does still strike me as silly and obnoxious.

[Spinal]

If you like a film and want to show your appreciation to those in attendance, applause seems reasonable.

If you don't like the film, silence seems to me a much more tactful option and makes you seem like less of a horse's ass.

It's about recognizing that you are in attendance at a very important, emotional event for people who have worked very hard and having basic respect.

I also don't boo at weddings, although there's some where I've wanted to.

[Sven]

If the filmmakers are in attendance, it at least makes more sense (they can see and hear your reaction), but it does still strike me as silly and obnoxious.

But if the filmmakers are there, it becomes a demonstration... an exposition. In that case, gestures indicating approval/disapproval are usually not only welcome, but encouraged. If you liked it, why not applaud the people that made it since they're sitting right there? That's what it's about.

[Raiders]

If you like a film and want to show your appreciation to those in attendance, applause seems reasonable.

It strikes me as strange to want to make sure your fellow audience members other than those in your group, who had nothing to do with the film, know how you felt.


If you don't like the film, silence seems to me a much more tactful option and makes you seem like less of a horse's ass.

I agree.


It's about recognizing that you are in attendance at a very important, emotional event for people who have worked very hard and having basic respect.

But what if half the audience is applauding, how am I to join in and signify my dislike? Silence seems ineffective if the positives get to make noise.


I also don't boo at weddings, although there's some where I've wanted to.

:lol: That's a great idea.

[Qrazy]

I think there are probably some situations where booing is a reasonable response. I mean there's disliking a film and then you might as well remain silent. But then there's absolutely loathing everything about a film and having a chance to express that to the makers. Think of one of your most loathed films, wouldn't you ever just like to express that you hated everything about the experience? A Michael Bay film perhaps?

[Pop Trash]

Headline from MTV News:

Director Terrence Malick's first film in more than 20 years is getting widely mixed reactions after its Cannes premiere.

Shame The New World and The Thin Red Line don't exist anymore. I rather liked them.

[Spinal]

It strikes me as strange to want to make sure your fellow audience members other than those in your group, who had nothing to do with the film, know how you felt.



Just to be clear, I agree with you here. I only meant that if I'm watching the premiere of a Werner Herzog film and Herzog is there, then I understand the impulse to stand and applaud.

[Spinal]

I think there are probably some situations where booing is a reasonable response. I mean there's disliking a film and then you might as well remain silent. But then there's absolutely loathing everything about a film and having a chance to express that to the makers. Think of one of your most loathed films, wouldn't you ever just like to express that you hated everything about the experience? A Michael Bay film perhaps?

I think if it's merely bad artistry, then I'm still going to stay silent. If the film has harmful political ideology, then I might change my tune.

[Watashi]

Jesus, boner. Who cares who is allowed into Cannes or not? I like Sasha Stone. Most of the great classic movies (Citizen Kane/Blade Runner/The Thing) got mixed/negative reviews on their release. Hell, didn't Inglourious Basterds get mixed reviews last year?

I'm sure people who love Malick films will love Tree of Life, while those who can't stand him, will likely find the same problems in here.

[Watashi]

The only time I've ever heard booing was opening night of Marie Antoinette. I didn't like the film, but booing at a blank screen is pretty stupid.

Cannes is pretty much the only film festival where audiences are extremely vocal about their reaction afterwards. Remember that Clerks 2 got a 15 minute standing ovation afterwards? Yeah, I don't understand why Cannes is considered *the* film festival to debut your new film. I much rather go to TIFF.

[transmogrifier]

Yeah, I'm finding the vitriol on this thread about who is "allowed" to go to Cannes and comment on films quite remarkably snobby and less than endearing. And getting angry about the reviews of films you haven't even seen yet....

Just weird.

[ledfloyd]

And getting angry about the reviews of films you haven't even seen yet....

Just weird.
i agree with you in theory but when your negative review is 'i don't think i'll be getting the bluray' or that a film is too 'airy fairy' i think the derision is deserved.

[Ezee E]

Boner's just jealous that he can't go.

[Derek]

Really guys? Complaining about shitty critics blabbing on mindlessly about films they'd otherwise have no interest in seeing because they're too "artsy fartsy" is now out of bounds?

http://www.johnnygoodtimes.com/archives/boos.bmp

[soitgoes...]

Fwiw Dumont's film seems to be getting panned.

[Boner M]

Jesus, boner. Who cares who is allowed into Cannes or not?
Boooo.

[Derek]

Headline from MTV News:

Director Terrence Malick's first film in more than 20 years is getting widely mixed reactions after its Cannes premiere.

Shame The New World and The Thin Red Line don't exist anymore. I rather liked them.

http://blog.newsok.com/staticblog/files/2008/12/ben-lyons.jpg

OMG THOSE MOOVIES ARE SO OLD THEY MITEASWELL CAME OUT 20 YEARS AGO. PLUS TERENCE MOWLICK IS SO OLD HIS BEARD IS GREY LIKE SHAWN CONNERY WHO IS ALSO OLD BUT IN THOSE REALLY GOOD SILENT MOVIES ABOUT THE FAMOUS ASSASSIN 007 BOND. BUT I DIDN'T REALLY GET THIS TREE OF LIFE MOOVIE, LIKE AREN'T ALL TREES ALIVE MR. MOWLICK? I GO TO CHAIR A TEA EVENTS TO SAVE THE TREES AND I'M NOT SAVING DEAD TREES DUMDUMHEAD. BUT THIS MOOVIE ALSO MADE NO SENSE AND PEOPLE WERE TALKING WHEN THERE WERE PICTURES OF NO PEOPLE SO OBVIOUSLY THE SOUND GUY SCREWED UP BIG TIME. BUT THERE WAS A DINOSAUR THAT LOOKED REALLY COOL AND STUFF IN SPACE BUT THE SPACE STUFF COULDA BEEN COOLER IF THEIR WERE MORE BANG-SHWWWEEEER-SCHWWOOOOP-SMASH AND LAZERS AND STUFF.

THIS HAS BEEN ME REPORTING FROM CANS. BYE!

[Spinal]

Dumont is banned from my life until he, I don't know, cures cancer or something.

[Spinal]

THE SPACE STUFF COULDA BEEN COOLER IF THEIR WERE MORE BANG-SHWWWEEEER-SCHWWOOOOP-SMASH

A fair point.

[transmogrifier]

i agree with you in theory but when your negative review is 'i don't think i'll be getting the bluray' or that a film is too 'airy fairy' i think the derision is deserved.

Have you actually read what he wrote, or just one quote handpicked by someone who doesn't like him?

Because, just between you and me, Wells wrote a hell of a lot more about the film than what you find objectionable there.

[Boner M]

i agree with you in theory but when your negative review is 'i don't think i'll be getting the bluray' or that a film is too 'airy fairy' i think the derision is deserved.
Not only that, but Zacharek made the exact same criticisms in her review that she did prior to seeing it, in this video (http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/video/2011/may/16/finding-terrence-malick-cannes-2011-video).

And C'mon trans, you can get annoyed at a review's tone/tenor regardless if you've seen the film in question.

[transmogrifier]

Not only that, but Zacharek made the exact same criticisms in her review that she did prior to seeing it, in this video (http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/video/2011/may/16/finding-terrence-malick-cannes-2011-video). C'mon trans; you can get annoyed at a reviews tone/tenor regardless if you've seen the film in question.

Where was all the vitriol for the reactions to, say, Midnight in Paris? Seems to me, you're just having the standard fanboy overreaction to one of your favourite directors not being deified by all and everyone.

[transmogrifier]

Not only that, but Zacharek made the exact same criticisms in her review that she did prior to seeing it, in this video (http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/video/2011/may/16/finding-terrence-malick-cannes-2011-video).


Hey, boner, Transformers 3 is coming out. Any ideas about how it's likely to turn out, given the director?

Oh no, wait, don't tell me, because it will invalidate your opinion once you see it and you agree with your own predictions based on your experience of the directors previous film. OMG!!

[Boner M]

Seems to me, you're just having the standard fanboy overreaction to one of your favourite directors not being deified by all and everyone.
Yeah, taking exception to one review constitutes a 'fanboy overreaction'.

[ledfloyd]

i just think jeff wells is a dunce. and i haven't had any problems with any other reviews because... i haven't really read reviews for any other films. i've read plenty of negative reviews of tree i didn't have any problems with. i actually kind of liked zacharek's review. also hoberman's.

[Spinal]

All of this is merely a prelude to Wednesday.

[Boner M]

Hey Spinal.

I don't think Lars von Trier is a serious artist.

HE JUST MAKES CRAZY MOVIES TO PROVOKE Y'ALL!! ARSTY 4 DA SAKE OF ARSTY!!!!

[Russ]

Flaming Creatures (Smith, 1963) ***
http://209.85.48.10/2898/7/emo/fresh.gif

[Qrazy]

Hey Spinal.

I don't think Lars von Trier is a serious artist.

HE JUST MAKES CRAZY MOVIES TO PROVOKE Y'ALL!! ARSTY 4 DA SAKE OF ARSTY!!!!

I watched Riget this year. That was crappy for the sake of awful.

[Russ]

I watched Riget this year. That was crappy for the sake of awful.
I hate you.

Well, maybe a little..

[Boner M]

I also don't boo at weddings, although there's some where I've wanted to.
Just read this and glanced at your av. Day made.

[Boner M]

Fwiw Dumont's film seems to be getting panned.
Variety makes it sound awesome. (http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117945244/)


Another "WTF?" film from Gallic writer-director Bruno Dumont ("L'Humanite"), "Outside Satan" will leave plenty of viewers scratching their heads, with some of them thinking the pic's titular evil is the auteur himself. Maddening, pretentious, hypnotic and transcendent in roughly equal measure, Dumont's minimalist study of an oddball poacher and the farm girl who keeps him company contains only a dozen "dramatic" events, but they all register indelibly, such is the director's talent for making the minor appear momentous -- and maybe religious. Word-of-mouth about the pic's grisly violence and unsolvable mysteries should make "Satan" a must-see among artfilm aficionados.

[Boner M]

Hors satan is a great title, btw.

[transmogrifier]

i just think jeff wells is a dunce. and i haven't had any problems with any other reviews because... i haven't really read reviews for any other films. i've read plenty of negative reviews of tree i didn't have any problems with. i actually kind of liked zacharek's review. also hoberman's.

But Wells goes into a lot more detail than you slam him for in your post. Hardly a fair representation. You may not agree with him, but all you have done is pick out a couple of sentences in isolation that seem shallow and tried to imply that was all he wrote about it.

I like Wells and his method of writing about movies. He is dickish about some stuff in terms of accepted behaviour (e.g. spoilers and his pet peeves about weight and looks etc), but he can write, and explain his point of view well. I mean tell me you accurately reflected this opinion in your cheap editing:



I was standing in the right-rear section of the orchestra when The Tree of Life ended and didn't even hear the booing, which reportedly came from the upper balcony. In any event I think it's beastly to boo a film as hauntingly beautiful and immensely ambitious and spiritually directed as this one, and which is so dazzling and transporting during its first half-hour to 40 minutes.

I understand the frustration, mind, because The Tree of Life does lose itself in its own impressionistic quicksand after the first half-hour. It begins to drown, sink, swallow itself. The center cannot hold. But it's entirely worth seeing (and praising) for the portions that clearly and unmistakably deliver. I'm especially referring to what people will soon be calling the 2001/Douglas Trumbull section. Who in the big-budget realm is even trying to make pure art films like this except Malick?

But over time he's been given, I feel, a bit too much freedom and time to do whatever he damn well pleases. There's a part of me that would dearly love to see Malick suffer under a brutal Harry Cohn-like taskmaster producer because as unhappy as that would make him personally, he'd make tougher and more rigorous films.

Malick's staunchly non-linear, 136-minute poem about beauty and Godliness suppressed and the unfortunate legacy of brutal paternal parenting in the 1950s is a sad and beautiful...wank? The ultimate refutation of narrative? An often captivating but rudderless impressionistic exercise?

Yes, I know I twittered the last passage only minutes after emerging from the theatre, but it came out well and on-target so there.

I understand why distributors and exhibitors were apoplectic about this thing last year. It's not going to sell a lot of popcorn. Or tickets, for that matter. But fuck those guys. The Tree of Life is, of course, essential viewing if you care at all about movies that aspire to more than showing us Johnny Depp mugging and rolling his eyes and pocketing another paycheck.
You know what? I'm just going to re-run and in some instances re-write my tweets and possibly elaborate here and there:


Tweet #1: "Terrence Malick made The Tree of Life in this free-flowing, free-associative way because he could, because he doesn't have Bert and Harold Schneider riding his ass in post, and because God told him to...like it or lump it." That's pretty much on the money. I adore hundred of things that Malick captured in The Thin Red Line and The New World, but there was more discipline in Days of Heaven because (I've read) of Bert and Harold, and Badlands was just as tight.

Tweet #2: "Terrence Malick needs a trainer, a tough collaborator, a friend with a stick. No such luck.This movie is the fault of his many enablers."

Tweet #3: "The first half-hour of The Tree of Life is magnificent. But then it begins to dissipate because the center cannot hold. Airy fairy.

Tweet #4: "The Tree of Life should have been shorter. It's the first ten minutes of The Thin Red Line -- meditative, jungle-leafy, reptile in water -- only set in 1950s suburban Texas" -- the film was primarily shot in Smithville (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithville,_Texas), about 40 miles southest of Austin -- "rather than an island in the South Pacific."

Tweet #5: "Shorter Tree of Life: Life sure could be symphonically, heart-stoppingly beautiful if it wasn't for my hard-ass, totally frustrated, spirit-suffocating dad" -- i.e., Brad Pitt's character. Imagine The Tree of Life without those tree shots, those kick-the-can moments, Jessica Chastain's looks of disdain for Brad Pitt, etc." I can't. But there are an awful of those tree shots. Scores. This must be acknowledged because I think it's overdone.

Tweet #5: "Don't get me wrong -- The Tree of Life is, at times, transcendent poetry. I'm glad I saw it, but I'm not sure if I'll buy/get the Bluray."

If nothing else The Tree of Life is one prolonged Emanuel Lubezski orgasm. Every shot is captivating, sublime, amazing, heavenly.

Pitt plays the villain, all right, and delicate, red-haired Jessica Chastain plays his tender, spirited, angel-like wife. Their taxed and tormented son Jack is played an adolescent by Hunter McCracken, and as an adult by Sean Penn (who's barely in the film, and has maybe five or six lines).
There's a young blonde kid who plays McCracken's younger brother, and who resembles Brad Pitt quite unmistakably. It's almost like he's Pitt's actual son, which is all but unheard of in movies. There's one rule that Hollywood casting agents seem to go by when casting families, and that's to never, ever allow for the faintest resemblance between on-screen parents and children. On this point alone The Tree of Life deserves high praise.

Agree or disagree with the opinion, and of course it is unedited and unfiltered, but he's thought it through and written it well.

But here's how YOU summarized the above:


jeff wells though tree of life was an 'airy fairy' 'wank' and he's not sure if he'll buy the bluray.

[Boner M]

Screw Wells, Sicinski's where it's @.


THE TREE OF LIFE (Malick 11) [9] The 1st hr or so is as close to a vernacular Dorsky film as we're going to get in this life. I was troubled for a lot of the narrative 2nd movement that it just couldn't support the weight that was being laid upon it. But I believe that's the point - we need to see ourselves as partaking of the "cosmic" or the "archetypal" (or at least as having genuine meaning) when we are truly tiny blips. We narrativize our lives because we have to, but whether it is God or the random chaos of the universe, that Thing cannot possibly care about us. In fact, I feel stupid right now, because this film cannot and should not care about what I am typing. [blip]

/fanboy review selection

[transmogrifier]

Yeah, taking exception to one review constitutes a 'fanboy overreaction'.


All those Oscar prognosticator/insiders can go to hell. Wells, Anne Thompson, Kris Tapley, Sasha Stone, Tom O'Neil... any of 'em deserve to be in Cannes as much as the ebola virus.

As I said, weird.

[Boner M]

As I said, weird.
I was talking about in general. Wells aside, none of those aforementioned names have reviewed the film.

[transmogrifier]

Screw Wells, Sicinski's where it's @.


Give me Wells any day. I agree with Sicinski roughly 3% of the time. And Wells is a better writer - both in terms of the rhythm of his writing and in explaining where a film works or doesn't (for him).

Sicinski is probably smarter, but I don't want to know Hawkings view on The Pineapple Express neither.

[Boner M]

Seeing as this discussion is becoming considerably less fun than root canal, I'll just say that Wells and Sicinski have vastly different sensibilities and it is futile to compare one against the other so lets move onto more pressing matters.

[Rowland]

I like reading Sicinski a lot, but I don't look to him as much of a gauge for how I may respond to any given film. But yeah, that 9 score is pretty exciting, coming from a dude who rarely gives narrative cinema more than a 7.

[Boner M]

I like reading Sicinski a lot, but I don't look to him as much of a gauge for how I may respond to any given film. But yeah, that 9 score is pretty exciting, coming from a dude who rarely gives narrative cinema more than a 7.
Neither, but he always makes me rethink my positions. And I owe much of my dalliances with the avant-garde to him, so major props.

[transmogrifier]

I'm not a fan of avant-garde. I'm a cinema of the narrative man all the way.

[origami_mustache]

It's unbelievable that audiences at Cannes still boo films. Even if the films are awful, it's pretty immature and classless to openly boo an artist's work in any situation, and even more embarrassing and inappropriate from "critics" and "intellectuals" at an event like Cannes.

[Boner M]

Booers gonna boo.

[origami_mustache]

I just realized I missed the whole booing conversation.

[transmogrifier]

I just realized I missed the whole booing conversation.

Boo!

[Boner M]

The tip to avoid being booed is for filmmakers to change their surnames to 'Boo' so it sounds like the booers are cheering their names.

[origami_mustache]

They weren't saying boo...they were saying boo-urns.

[Boner M]

They weren't saying boo...they were saying boo-urns.
In this regard, it's disappointing that Uncle Boonmee wasn't booed last year.

[Rowland]

They weren't saying boo...they were saying boo-urns.I wanted to make this joke, but it seemed too obvious. :P

[origami_mustache]

someone had to do it.

[Watashi]

Did they boo Pirates 4?

[Winston*]

Did they boo Pirates 4?

Because of the ghosts?

[Spinal]

In Soviet Russia, film festival boos YOU.

[Watashi]

More reactions for Tree of Life are starting to trickle in. Schager loved it and Matt Zoller Seitz described it as "Indescribable and magnificent. Conventional critical strategies are inadequate to grapple with it. Joycean and Proustian with dollops of Ray Bradbury. Tons to savor no matter who you are, but it will hit Texans especially hard." Even Harry Knowles's extreme rave was very well-written.

[baby doll]

Most of the great classic movies (Citizen Kane/Blade Runner/The Thing) got mixed/negative reviews on their release. Hell, didn't Inglourious Basterds get mixed reviews last year?I don't know if that's true. First of all, I don't consider The Thing or Inglourious Basterds to be great classic films, much less on par with Citizen Kane (the former is surprisingly good given the story, but Howard Hawks made far better films: Only Angels Have Wings, His Girl Friday, and Rio Bravo being my three favorites; as for the latter... come on, be serious now). Likewise, although Blade Runner is a great movie, I wouldn't put it quite in the same company as Welles' film.

But as to the larger issue of all classic films getting mixed reviews on first release, one can point to Chaplin's The Gold Rush on the one hand, as a film that received across the board rave reviews, and Renoir's La Règle du jeu on the other, as a film that was violently attacked. Also, there are movies like Enter the Void that get wildly mixed reactions without being great films.

[Boner M]

The Thing
He's talking about Carpenter's.

Also Wats I should've noted before that I'm just posting general coverage - trying to stay away from ToL reviews not because negative reactions hurt my feelings but because I want to keep the experience fresh.

[baby doll]

He's talking about Carpenter's.I haven't seen that one, simply because I've never been very interested in it.

[Boner M]

I haven't seen that one, simply because I've never been very interested in it.
Surprise.

[Spinal]

But it has Wilford Brimley undergoing a complete transformation to play a non-diabetic.

Yes, this is a recycled joke.

[Qrazy]

He's talking about Carpenter's.


He realizes this, but acknowledging that fact hinders his ability to pointlessly flex his cinematic muscle.

[Rowland]

I assumed while reading it that he was intentionally making a point of ignoring the existence of the Carpenter film as a means of putting it down and mocking the very suggestion by Wats that it deserved mention. That would have been kinda clever, in a dickish way.

[ledfloyd]

Agree or disagree with the opinion, and of course it is unedited and unfiltered, but he's thought it through and written it well.

But here's how YOU summarized the above:
in my defense i had only read his tweets, which appear there in edited form and he appears to have removed the one about bill pohlad having no balls. but yes, i did pull out a few particularly boneheaded remarks to point out what a buffoon he is. unfair? probably.


i really appreciate matt zoller seitz's insights into malick's films (indeed, his writing convinced me the new world was a great film) but he's such a devout fan that it's hard to take his liking the tree of life with more than a grain of salt.

[Boner M]

D'Angelo aside, everyone's lovin' the new Kaurismaki; 'crowdpleaser's been thrown around a lot. I think it could win the Palm if the jury decides ToL might be too controversial a choice.

[baby doll]

D'Angelo aside, everyone's lovin' the new Kaurismaki; 'crowdpleaser's been thrown around a lot. I think it could win the Palm if the jury decides ToL might be too controversial a choice.You never know with these juries. Who would've guessed that a jury headed by Wong Kar-wai would go for The Wind That Shakes the Barley, or that any group of reasonably intelligent people anywhere would go for Fahrenheit 9/11? (I'd like to think that Tilda Swinton was vehemently opposed to it, and wanted to give the Palme to Tropical Malady instead.) My guess is, with De Niro heading the jury, it'll be the most artsy-fartsy, least macho movie in the official lineup.

[Boner M]

My guess is, with De Niro heading the jury, it'll be the most artsy-fartsy, least macho movie in the official lineup.
Good point. Palm is Kawase's to lose.

[Boner M]

Jeff Wells: "Nothing puts me to sleep faster than Asian cinema."

[balmakboor]

Jeff Wells: "Nothing puts me to sleep faster than Asian cinema."

No, not the same guy. The Jeff Wells I knew growing up was a lot brighter than this.

[Pop Trash]

Ya'll need to stop your jibber jabbering and go see Bridesmaids.

[Derek]

Jeff Wells: "Nothing puts me to sleep faster than Asian cinema."

Starting to see why trans likes this guy...