The Playlist

Cannes 2013: Surprises & Notable Absence ...

The obsessives' guide to contemporary cinema via film discussion, news, reviews, features, nostalgia, movie music, soundtracks, DVDs and more.

Interviews

Unlock The Magic With New Pics & Poster From Louis Leterrier's 'Now You See Me'

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
March 21, 2013 5:04 PM
|
2 Comments

News

...and just when we thought we had put away our magic puns for a while with the release of "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone," another movie set in the Las Vegas world of magic is coming. Although, this looks like it will be much, much better. Louis Letterier could have one of the summer's sleeper surprises on his hands with "Now You See Me" and some new promo material has arrived to try to weave a spell on you.

By Jessica Kiang
|
February 23, 2013 4:37 PM
|
0 Comments

Festivals

It can be hard to remember that Mélanie Laurent had actually been acting for a decade, albeit largely in French-language productions, before breaking out internationally by killing Hitler in “Inglourious Basterds.” Of course the one-two punch of the Quentin Tarantino movie and Mike Mills’ well-received “Beginners” is a relatively recent phenomenon for the actress, but in person, too, Laurent has an engaging freshness about her and a genuine excitement about where she is and what she’s is doing that makes her seem more like an ingenue than a seasoned pro. Or so we found when we got to meet her at the Berlin Film Festival where her latest film, Bille August’s “Night Train to Lisbon."

By Jessica Kiang
|
February 17, 2013 10:43 AM
|
1 Comment

Reviews

In the very finest tradition of europudding, director Bille August's "Night Train To Lisbon" adapts an international bestselling book, takes place against the picturesque backdrop of a European capital, is half-told in flashback through a turbulent and dramatic period of history, and stacks the cast with notable European thesps. These include, Jeremy Irons, Jack Huston, Charlotte Rampling, Christopher Lee, Tom Courtenay representing the U.K.; from Germany, Martina Gedeck and August Diehl; Bruno Ganz of Switzerland; Lena Olin of Sweden; and representing France is Mélanie Laurent. However, bar Irons, this Babel tower of actors all play Portuguese nationals, and so while the films is told through English, they all speak with Portuguese accents.

By Cain Rodriguez
|
November 2, 2012 1:18 PM
|
4 Comments

News

After breaking onto the international scene with her sophomore feature, “The Milk of Sorrow,” Peruvian director Claudia Llosa will be making her English-language debut with “Cry/Fly,” and she’s landed a trio of talented actors for her first North American-set film.

By Simon Dang
|
March 6, 2012 11:22 AM
|
1 Comment

News

"Inglourious Basterds" and "Beginners" made her a star stateside, but it looks like French thespian Melanie Laurent is returning home for her next project. The actress has signed on to Christian Carion's new adaptation of Stefan Zweig's "Letter From An Unknown Woman," a novel that was adapted once before with acclaim by Max Ophuls.