Thursday, May 19, 2011

What's happening in Cannes, Ken?

Well, I'm not in France although if I was ever invited, I'd love to go. However, I can let you in on the biggest stories coming out of the film festival...

- Woody Allen's latest film Midnight in Paris has gotten some pretty favorable reviews coming out of Cannes. It's not considered a classic, but most people are responding to it positively. So, that puts "late Woody Allen" at a 1 good film per 3 year ratio. Match Point (2005), Vicki Cristina Barcelona (2008), and now Midnight in Paris (2011)... quite a change from his remarkable run of great films from Annie Hall to Crimes and Misdemeanors.

- Most of the other films from the big guns have been getting decidedly mixed reviews:


- Lynne Ramsay's "We Need to Talk About Kevin" has been getting really strong reviews all around and could be the favorite to win the Palme: http://mubi.com/notebook/posts/3273

- The silent film (yes, silent film) "The Artist" has also been getting some praise: http://mubi.com/notebook/posts/3295

- Renown Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki's film "Le Havre" has also been getting some good notices: http://mubi.com/notebook/posts/3304

- Oh, and Lars von Trier has since been banned from appearing in any future Cannes Film Festivals because he jokingly called himself a nazi (not many people liked the joke).

- Nicolas Windin Refn's "Drive" has officially gotten on my radar as some of the images and clips I've seen look pretty damn good. It hasn't been screened at Cannes yet. 1 2

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