2014 Oscars: Don’t Forget About Us
Films released in the first two thirds of a given year are automatically at a disadvantage when it comes to possible Oscar nominations. There are exceptions, of course—Beasts of the Southern Wild, Midnight in Paris, Winter’s Bone, for example—but the nature of campaigning rewards those films that don’t have to remain in voters’ minds very […]
The Bling Ring Review
RATING: (3 STARS) The Bling Ring is director Sofia Coppola‘s most satisfying and thematically precise film since 2003’s Lost in Translation. Her eye for style, subtly irreverent tone, and tendency to dissect the matters of Hollywood’s most privileged all find a glass-slipper-like fit in this story, based on a real events, of a group of […]
Sofia Coppola Movies
Sofia Coppola movies are prickly little buggers. She has a style that’s off-putting to some, and the subjects she tackles are sometimes criticized for their flippancy or shallowness. But Sofia Coppola makes Sofia Coppola movies, so if you aren’t on board with her yet, you might as well stop here and find a new director […]
10 Things We Learned from Cannes 2013
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 […]
The 2013 Cannes Lineup
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 […]
Projecting the Cannes 2013 Lineup
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 […]
Somewhere Review
RATING: (1 STAR) Somewhere is a very inaccurate title for Sofia Coppola’s latest film for it begins nowhere, goes nowhere, and ends nowhere. I’d love to sit down with the director and ask her why she felt this was a necessary film to make because after sitting through nearly two hours of just nothingness, I […]
The Godfather: Part III Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) I recently read an article calling The Godfather: Part III the “most reviled sequel of all-time.” It’s a debatable point, but I honestly can’t understand why. While imperfect on its own, it’s a very good addition to director Francis Ford Coppola’s transcendent crime saga. It brings the focus onto its tragic main […]
