Posted on July 15, 2013
By John Gilpatrick
Directors
Nicolas Winding Refn movies are violent—almost too much so for my squeamish stomach. While I admire Nicolas Winding Refn movies, I’ve found myself watching the few I’ve seen through the tiny gaps between my fingers. Drive, unquestionably Nicolas Winding Refn’s most popular movie, is the most beautiful ugly film you’ve ever seen. The best shots […]
Posted on May 27, 2013
By John Gilpatrick
Film Festivals, Lists
10.) The Coens can do no wrong. Of course you knew that already, right? Wait, you didn’t?!? Well Inside Llewyn Davis was one of the best received films of the festival, and it took home the Competition’s Grand Prix award. So let me reiterate: The Coens can do no wrong. They are the best filmmakers […]
Posted on May 3, 2013
By John Gilpatrick
Lists
With my most-anticipated 2013 summer blockbusters countdown out of the way, it’s time to get to the good stuff. I can’t remember a year when my excitement for a crop of indie films has exceeded my excitement for Hollywood stuff by this much. Where I struggled to find ten big studio titles to list on […]
Posted on April 18, 2013
By John Gilpatrick
Film Festivals
Looking over the 2013 Cannes lineup, which was announced this morning, it’s hard to identify the “big story.” The Competition lineup contains a good mix of the expected and some pleasant surprises (Roman Polanski’s Venus in Furs being the most high-profile of those surprises). No stunning omissions or head-scratching inclusions. Just a rock-solid-sounding group of […]
Posted on March 3, 2013
By John Gilpatrick
Film Festivals, Lists
Now that the 66th annual Cannes International Film Festival (May 15-May 26, 2013) has its jury president (Lincoln director Steven Spielberg), speculation over what films will compete for the 2013 Palme d’Or has intensified. I’ve identified 30 titles that seem like plausible Cannes selections. It’s impossible to say whether any or all will be ready […]
Posted on January 1, 2013
By John Gilpatrick
Lists
Oh, to be where we were a year ago. Surveying the upcoming movie calendar on January 1, 2012 was like a second Christmas. Tarantino, PT Anderson, Wes Anderson, Spielberg (with Day-Lewis), Affleck, Soderbergh (times two), The Hobbit, Nolan’s follow-up to The Dark Knight, The Avengers, and the most loaded Cannes lineup in years. Sure, not […]