L’amico di famiglia (The Family Friend), the new movie written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino opens in italian cinemas November 10. Presented, to mixed reviews, at the last Cannes Film Festival it is the follow-up to Sorrentino’s brilliant Le conseguenze dell’amore (you can read about it here and here).

L’amico di famiglia is an Italo-French co-production. Fandango, Indigo Film and Medusa Film are co-producing with Babe Films and Studio Canal (in collaboration with CANAL+).

Synopsis:
Geremia de’ Geremei is 70. A usurer, ugly, filthy, rich and tight-fisted, cynical and ironic. He has a sick and obsessional relation with everything: his mother, his father, money, women. Life itself. That’s why he thinks he’s lonely. But in fact he is not alone. They’re all like him. We are all like him.

The Dude abides ...

Extended Trailer (streaming Windows Media - not subtitled and in awful quality)

Official Website (where you can download the pressbook in english and french)

Good news on the Idiocracy release.  It seems that Mike Judge’s latest is being given a limited release after all.  Despite previous rumours that the film was finished but in limbo indefinitely (here), Box Office Mojo is indicating that there are 125 screens in North America reserved for it comes Sept. 1 (the original scheduled release date).  The Austin Chronicle sheds a bit more light on where:  “Austin, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, and Toronto, a spokesperson for 20th Century Fox said.”

Luke Wilson plays an average-guy soldier who participates in an army experiment where he is cryogenically frozen for 1000 years. When he wakes up he finds himself in a world so dumbed down that he is hailed as a genius.

The concept is ripe for satire of Bush America even if it does sounds a little smug.  Wiith Judge at the helm I have little doubt that this could be a fun ride.  Fox doesn’t think so (despite the fact that Judge & company made a boatload of cash for the studio with the DVD for Office Space) from their treatment of the film, but at least some folks will be able to catch it in some theaters before the film is dumped onto DVD.

Raise your hand if you know what it’s like to be a single Korean-Chinese mother living at the edge of society.

Cui (Liu Lianji) is raising her playful son the best she can. She dutifully tries to teach him the Korean alphabet and speaks to him in Korean. She tricycles around a rather desolate Chinese town offering kimchi for sale. She is cordial to the gaggle of prostitutes who live next door.

She is 32 years old and subject to the vagaries of the local patrol, who can take away her business at any time because she lacks a permit. She is subject to the vagaries of her own feelings of inadequacy and loneliness. Most of all, she is subject to the vagaries of men—a Korean customer, a policeman, a neighbor—who are either married or about to be, and who find that this single mother of uncommon ancestry is irresistible.

Continue Reading "LAFF Report: Grain in Ear (Mang Zhong) Review"...

Not only is Kevin Smith’s 12-years-after-the-fact sequel being shown “Out of Competition” at Cannes, but MGM (??? - I thought this movie was cheap enough for the Weinsteins exclusively, but MGM has a piece of the pie, go figure) has decided to move the films release from its previous August date to July 21st.  That is just a little less of a wait to see if Smith is actually going to achieve something with this sequel, or spiral down into insignificance.  Things sure look weird in colour.

[Source:  FreezeDriedMovies]

FOR TRAILER, SEE THE BOTTOM OF THIS ARTICLE

There’s a downloadable trailer for Thomas Clay’s The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael on the subsite of the South by Southwest Film Conference & Festival (SXSW Film). The movie is scheduled to be screened at SXSW Film on March 11th at 9:45 p.m., March 12th at 1:15 p.m., and March 15th at 11:00 a.m.. As was previously reported here on Twitch, it premièred at the 44th International Critics’ Week (44e Semaine Internationale de la Critique) - a parallel section of the Cannes Film Festival (Festival de Cannes) - on May 15th of last year.

The screenplay for The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael was written by Clay and Joseph Lang. The movie stars Dan Spencer as Robert Carmichael, Ryan Winsley as Joe, Charles Mnene as Ben, Danny Dyer as Larry Haydn, Lesley Manville as Sarah Carmichael, Miranda Wilson as Monica Abbott, Michael Howe as Jonathan Abbott, and Ami Instone as Marie.

Here’s a brief description of The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael from the Fangoria article “Eating Out of Cannes”: “Thomas Clay’s THE GREAT ECSTASY OF ROBERT CARMICHAEL is really a disaffected youth picture, but it ends with the most gratuitously offensive bloodbath in years. People literally ran for the exits when the title character sexually violates a pregnant woman with a broken bottle and then rapes her with a sword. Clearly, the Cannes crowd hadn’t seen Lucio Fulci’s NEW YORK RIPPER! Clay’s use of Iraq War footage over the end credits to glibly politicize this moment caused just as much upset as the graphic imagery. Even Tartan Films boss Hamish McAlpine balked at this one!”

Below is a description of The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael from the website of international sales agent Wild Bunch Sales Limited.

Continue Reading "Trailer for Thomas Clay’s THE GREAT ECSTASY OF ROBERT CARMICHAEL, starring Dan Spencer, Ryan Winsley"...

FOR TRAILER, SEE THE BOTTOM OF THIS ARTICLE

Shinji Aoyama’s Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? (Eri Eri rema sabakutani) is scheduled to be screened at the 24th Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film (BIFFF) in Belgium on March 20th at 8:30 p.m. (20.30) and March 21st at 10:30 p.m. (22.30). The movie premièred at the Cannes Film Festival, in the section Un Certain Regard, on May 18th of last year. Phantom Film K.K. (K.K. Fantomu Firumu) released it theatrically in Japan on January 28th.

Continue Reading "BIFFF: Shinji Aoyama’s ELI, ELI, LEMA SABACHTHANI?, starring Tadanobu Asano, Aoi Miyazaki, Masaya Na"...

There are eleven stills from Thomas Clay’s The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael on the website of international sales agent Wild Bunch Sales Limited.

The screenplay for The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael was written by Clay and Joseph Lang. The movie stars Dan Spencer as Robert Carmichael, Ryan Winsley as Joe, Charles Mnene as Ben, Danny Dyer as Larry Haydn, Lesley Manville as Sarah Carmichael, Miranda Wilson as Monica Abbott, Michael Howe as Jonathan Abbott, and Ami Instone as Marie.

The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael premièred at the 44th International Critics’ Week (44e Semaine Internationale de la Critique) - a parallel section of the Cannes Film Festival (Festival de Cannes) - on May 15th of last year, and has been screened at a number of other European film festivals, including the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) in Scotland and the Raindance Film Festival in London, England.

Here’s a brief description of The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael from the Fangoria article “Eating Out of Cannes”: “Thomas Clay’s THE GREAT ECSTASY OF ROBERT CARMICHAEL is really a disaffected youth picture, but it ends with the most gratuitously offensive bloodbath in years. People literally ran for the exits when the title character sexually violates a pregnant woman with a broken bottle and then rapes her with a sword. Clearly, the Cannes crowd hadn’t seen Lucio Fulci’s NEW YORK RIPPER! Clay’s use of Iraq War footage over the end credits to glibly politicize this moment caused just as much upset as the graphic imagery. Even Tartan Films boss Hamish McAlpine balked at this one!”

Below is a description of The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael from the Wild Bunch website.

In a small English coastal town, three teenage boys are drawn into a world of temptation and violence. Bored, troubled, excluded, unable to accept or even to recognise moral boundaries, the boys’ actions move inexorably towards a shocking act that will horrify their sleepy community and expose its deepest, hidden fears.

Brutal, poetic and explosive, infused with a dark and ironic wit, THE GREAT ECSTASY OF ROBERT CARMICHAEL issues a fierce challenge to the moral and political complacency of our times and heralds the arrival of a remarkable new British cinematic talent.

25-year-old director Thomas Clay’s extraordinary film features the beautiful and stately camerawork of acclaimed DP Yorgos Arvanitis (ETERNITY AND A DAY, A MA SOEUR!) and startlingly assured performances from newcomers Dan Spencer, Ryan Winsley and Charles Mnene, alongside established acting talents Danny Dyer (HUMAN TRAFFIC, THE FOOTBALL FACTORY) and Lesley Manville (VERA DRAKE, ALL OR NOTHING).

Boudu Film: The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael official subsite
Variety: Review of The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael
Wild Bunch: The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael stills gallery (8 JPEGs - enable cookies & double-click on link)
Wild Bunch: The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael still #09 (504 KB JPEG - not in the gallery; variation of still #01)
Wild Bunch: The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael still #10 (472 KB JPEG - not in the gallery; variation of still #02)
Wild Bunch: The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael still #11 (448 KB JPEG - not in the gallery; variation of still #03)

In competition at Cannes this year, Hou’s film ‘Three Times’ seems to have caused a little controversy. Going to catch this one then, I think. Certainly buying ‘Cafe Lumiere’ when that arrives on R1 USA DVD on December 27th 2005, because I am taking every chance of a decent film with Tadanobu Asano in these days. Got a feeling Shu Qi will attract a lot of people to this one though, and of course Hsien has a good reputation as a Director too. Apart from it being set in three different points in time, or constructed from segments based in different years, I don’t know much yet. Been digging out some coverage, reviews and so on then. Sharing below.

‘Three Times’ Quicktime Trailer from the Cannes 2005 coverage.

‘Three Times’ Cannes 2005 Page.
TIFF page with synopsis and other information.
Reverseshot review, Slant magazine review, Love HK Film review.

Lots of other stuff out there too… oh, and the Yesasia listing.

Tommy Lee Jones has staked out West Texas in the same way that John Ford claimed Monument Valley as his own. As a bonus, he brings Barry Pepper along for a bumpy ride.

Even if you didn’t know beforehand that Jones was born and raised in West Texas, you’d know it by this picture’s innate knowledge of the people and landscapes. THREE BURIALS pulls you into an arid, rocky country dominated by big skies and empty spaces. Jones plays a grizzled cowboy named Pete Perkins who runs a cattle ranch for an unseen off-site businessman and is known for treating his workers fairly.

Melquiades Estrada (Julio Cesar Cedillo) rides up on a horse one day looking for work. He doesn’t hide the fact that he’s arrived illegally, but Perkins doesn’t much care about borders and gives Melquiades a job.

Continue Reading "AFI FEST Report: The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada Review"...

An all-star European cast, a timely anti-war message, and a true story combined to create a picture that’s a big box office success in France and is poised to smash records in Germany.

“C-o-n-v-e-n-t-i-o-n-a-l” is the conclusion I drew from that description. Maybe even “b-o-r-i-n-g.” As in, a traditional movie told in a traditional way about a traditional topic. Indeed, MERRY CHRISTMAS unfolds in a straightforward manner, taking its own sweet time to get to its turning point, which revolves around a guy singing a Christmas carol. (I kid you not.) So how did this movie dig its nails into my heart and yank out a reaction?

Continue Reading "AFI FEST Report: Merry Christmas (Joyeux Noël) Review"...

Already been issued in some places on DVD, including a dodgy edition in the UK, Hou Hsiao-Hsiens’ ‘Coffee Jikou’ aka ‘Cafe Lumiere’ is due an American disc late December ‘05, early ‘06. Seems we missed a trailer for ‘Three Times’, his latest which was shown at Cannes, so I’ve also included a trailer for that here - you just need to select the size you want on the page I’ve put a link aiming at. There’s also the old Japanese site for ‘Cafe Lumiere’ for that trailer too. For now, tuning into this one as it makes its release in America because it’s another gentle Tadanobu Asano role. That’s the R1 artwork on the left.

‘Three Times’ Quicktime Trailer from Cannes 2005. Brief interview on ‘Three Times’ also.

‘Cafe Lumiere / Coffee Jikou’ Trailer at the Official Site (Japanese).

‘Millenium Mambo’ Review at Twitch, and Todds’ old ‘Cafe Lumiere’ one too - there should be loads on this and other Hsiao-Hsien movies online elsewhere too.

The official website for Shinji Aoyama’s Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? (Eri Eri rema sabakutani) is now online, although at present it’s just a home page. The movie premièred at the Cannes Film Festival, in the section Un Certain Regard, on May 18th of this year. Phantom Film K.K. (K.K. Fantomu Firumu) is set to release it theatrically in Japan early next year.

The screenplay for Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? was written by Aoyama. The movie’s principal cast is as follows (listed order corresponds to website order): Tadanobu Asano, Aoi Miyazaki, Masaya Nakahara, Yasutaka Tsutsui, Masahiro Toda, Shingo Tsurumi, Erika, Yûsuke Kawazu (Kawadu Yûsuke), and Mariko Okada.

Below is a synopsis for Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? from this page for the movie on the website of international sales agent Wild Bunch Sales Limited.

My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? - MATTHEW 27:46

AD 2015. The world’s major cities are decimated by a terrible plague, a highly contagious virus that fills those it infects first with unbearable dread, then with overwhelming despair. A fatal disease, without cure. The Lemming Syndrome.

In an isolated country mansion, two musicians - Mizui and Asuhara - live in seclusion, devoting themselves to the creation of pure sound far from the trappings of fame and success they knew in the corrupt and dangerous city. They are visited by an ageing plutocrat, his desperately sick daughter and a detective, who believes that in the music made by Mizui and Asuhara lies the seed of hope that the old man’s daughter can be saved.

In the vast, changeless stillness of nature, the musicians begin to play…

Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? official website
Cannes Film Festival: Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?
Variety: Review of Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?

Five minutes into Caché you are still looking at the same unobtrusive city street in a upscale treed neighborhood. The credits crawl across the screen one letter at a time. Why does this feel ominous and forboding, when nothing is actually happening yet? Well that is because you are in the latest Michael Haneke (The Piano Teacher, Time of the Wolf) film, and that is what Haneke does best.

Continue Reading "TIFF Report: Caché Review"...

The French trailer for the Darennes Brothers’ L’Enfant - this year’s Palme D’Or winner at Cannes - has turned up online. My French isn’t good enough to really track the dialogue properly but it certainly looks solid, which you’d expect considering the pedigree ...

Trailer (downloadable Quicktime)

In a surprising move, at least for a country that never cared about protecting fellow viewers from spoilers, a group of 1,400 netizens wrote a petition to ask news reporters and film critics to avoid spoiling Park Chan-Wook’s new film 친절한 금자씨 (Sympathy For Lady Vengeance) ahead of its July 29 release. Even if Director Park said at the movie’s premiere that “Lady” is not a movie that would suffer spoilers like Oldboy did (just about everybody in Korea knew what happened in the film’s finale even before watching it. Thank you, Korean press!), the group went ahead and demanded the press to adapt to their conditions. The general response has been that to a certain extent some of the film’s content has to be revealed, but they’re considering special “spoiler-free” reviews and report. This can only be a step in the right direction, for one too many movies have been literally raped by the amount of spoilers all over the Korean speaking Internet.

Via Joy News

Continue Reading "Korean News in Brief: July 19 [Lady Vengeance, Cha Seung-Won, Kim Ki-Duk]"...