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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

Watch: Trailer For 'I Give It A Year' With Rose Byrne & Rafe Spall Promises A Rare Decent Rom-Com

By Oliver Lyttelton
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November 21, 2012 11:45 AM
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1 Comment

News

Perhaps no genre of film has as low a rate of return as the romantic comedy. Even horror films have the occasional subversive festival gem to prop up fan interest every so often, but serious fans of the rom-com are reduced to getting their jollies from the amiable, but botched likes of "Crazy Stupid Love" and "The Five-Year Engagement," films which are no great shakes, but look like masterpieces compared to stuff like "Something Borrowed" and "New Years Eve," that makes up most of the films of this type. We're a long way from "When Harry Met Sally," or even "Bridget Jones' Diary."

By Oliver Lyttelton
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May 18, 2012 1:55 PM
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6 Comments

News

Accent: check. Impersonation of famous person in biopic: check. Forbidden love: check. Wheelchair: check. It looks like Bill Murray is ready for his Oscar moment. The actor was seen as a favorite for the award in 2004 for his performance in "Lost In Translation," but was beaten at the last by Sean Penn in "Mystic River." He's continued to make quirky, picky choices ever since, but no film seems to have a better chance of giving him another run at for awards gold than period drama "Hyde Park on Hudson," a trailer for which has just debuted over at Yahoo.

By Simon Dang
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May 7, 2012 2:25 PM
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0 Comments

News

One of the biggest compliments one could give to the Apatow-era of comedy is the development of talent, often very young and unheralded, from all around the world. Take, for instance, the international ensemble for "Bridesmaids" which featured Americans (Melissa McCarthy, Ellie Kemper), Brits (Matt Lucas, Chris O'Dowd) and Australians (Rose Byrne, Rebel Wilson) side-by-side.

By Oliver Lyttelton
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December 5, 2011 7:08 AM
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0 Comments

Awards

Last year, the awards sweep of "The King's Speech" was, in a way, begun by the British Independent Film Awards, an organisation that's been running for a decade-and-a-half, of increasingly prominent stature, who anointed Tom Hooper's period drama their Best British Film Award, beginning a string of glory that took it all the way to Best Picture at the Oscars. However, it led to many accusing the body, by giving their top-prize to a solid, but safe seemingly made to pick up BAFTAs, of losing their edge.

By Gabe Toro
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November 17, 2011 10:20 AM
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4 Comments

Reviews

By Erik McClanahan
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October 18, 2011 5:59 AM
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3 Comments

The opening scene of “Tyrannosaur” is a real belter. Through near whiplash-inducing cross cuts, we are introduced to a night in the life of Joseph (Peter Mullan) as he drinks heavily and stews with unfettered rage on a barstool (and back at home with a sawed-off wood baseball bat that looks like a leftover from the “Gangs of New York” props department). Then he does something really awful: he kills his dog. He doesn’t necessarily try to do this; it’s more the product of his excessive drinking, nasty temper and hateful, cynical outlook on the world. But he still did it, and the audience will never forget this for the remainder of the film.

By Oliver Lyttelton
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July 4, 2011 1:05 AM
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3 Comments

Despite the patronage of Disney and John Lasseter, the work of Hayao Miyazaki has never quite made the impression abroad that it has in its native Japan, where his films number among the all-time biggest grossers: in the U.S. 2009's "Ponyo" is his most successful film, despite the raves given to "Princess Mononoke" and "Spirited Away." At the same time, it has at least been demonstrated now that there is an audience for both his films and those of his professional home, Studio Ghibli, and it's now common for those films to get a U.S. release, even if Miyazaki himself isn't at the helm.

By Oliver Lyttelton
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July 1, 2011 6:30 AM
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3 Comments

As big fans of the actor from his work in films as diverse as "Dead Man's Shoes," "In America," "The Bourne Ultimatum," "My Summer of Love," "Hot Fuzz" and, most recently, "Submarine," we've been hugely intrigued by "Tyrannosaur," the upcoming directorial debut from actor Paddy Considine. The film, an extrapolation of his BAFTA-winning short "Dog Altogether," premiered at Sundance to strong reviews, and we've had an eye on the film ever since.

By Oliver Lyttelton
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May 6, 2011 1:40 AM
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0 Comments

Olivia Colman To Play Queen ElizabethDepressingly for those of us in the U.K. who would like to throw off the yoke of our apparently-appointed-by-god inbred oppressors, royalty is big business at the moment. Between the enormous, Oscar-winning success of "The King's Speech," and the royal wedding last week, the Windsors are back, and there's more than one film project in the works at present. For instance, Dakota Fanning is attached to play the young Princess Margaret in the romantic-comedy "Girl's Night Out," although that won't move forward until after director Michael Hoffman is done with "Gambit."