Thompson on Hollywood

Cannes Virgin Diary 5: Post-Festival Reflections, "Holy Motors"

Festivals

Cannes is over, and I'm writing this on a train to Paris. Today, all the films in the main competition were screened once more so had I elected to stay another night in Cannes, I could have seen everything I wanted. But instead, I chose to end my time at Cannes with one film: Leos Carax's "Holy Motors."

By Ryan Lattanzio
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May 28, 2012 1:40 PM
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Cannes 2012: Best Actor Winner Mads Mikkelsen Talks Vinterberg's "The Hunt," T-Mobile Film "Move On," Playing a Psycho Husband

Festivals

Mads Mikkelsen was in Cannes to promote two projects. The first, Competition entry, "The Hunt," marks a strong return to form for Thomas Vinterberg and features a potent performance from the Danish actor as a mild-mannered kindergarten teacher whose life is turned upside down by an arbitrary accusation that he’s sexually abusing children.

By Matt Mueller
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May 27, 2012 4:29 PM
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Cannes Film Festival Closes with Winners --and Losers

Awards

The Cannes Film Festival came to a close with an idiosyncratic set of award winners --which as usual had more to do with the composition of the jury than what critics and media had to say during the rainy ten-day festival on the Cote d'Azur. Several of these winners will be released stateside and are likely submissions for foreign Oscar contention.

By Anne Thompson
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May 27, 2012 3:25 PM
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Cannes Virgin Diary 4: Cronenberg's "Cosmopolis," Reygadas' "Post Tenebras Lux"

Festivals

My trip is winding down to an end, and the festival has ended on such a high note for me. Last night, I tried once again to see Leos Carax's "Holy Motors," but the screening was cancelled. I cried a little, and then ate a Big Mac. But in spite of that disappointment, I've seen some excellent films.

By Ryan Lattanzio
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May 26, 2012 6:09 PM
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Cannes 2012: "Mud" Review Round-Up

Festivals

For many critics "Mud," Jeff Nichols' follow-up to well-reviewed "Take Shelter," which won the Critics' Week Cannes sidebar last year, was one of the most highly anticipated films this year. It is also one of the few films, along with Lee Daniels' "Paperboy," that is up for grabs by American distributors.

By Anne Thompson
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May 26, 2012 12:00 PM
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Oscar Talk Is Back! Special Cannes Edition

Awards

My computer was running out of juice after hours in the Cannes Palais press room, and my headset was broken. But somehow, Kris Tapley, Guy Lodge and I reconvened for our first Oscar Talk podcast since Oscar season.

By Anne Thompson
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May 25, 2012 9:59 PM
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Cannes 2012: Competition Films for the Red Carpet, from Kidman in 'Paperboy' to Pitt in 'Killing Them Softly'

Festivals

Several films in the Cannes Competition feel like they were booked for their red carpet star value, and are lesser efforts than films that Cannes did not see fit to place in competition. Why not place Chilean director Pablo Larrain's "NO" in the Competition? It's his fourth film, and his third, the well-received "Tony Manero," was also in Director's Fortnight. And Gael Garcia Bernal is an international star. I suspect that the Festival worried that the film's low-quality video presentation--a daring aesthetic choice for Larrain--would not work in a glamorous gala Palais setting.

By Anne Thompson
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May 24, 2012 8:10 AM
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Robert Rodriguez Talks 'Sin City 2,' 'Machete 2' At Cannes 2012

Festivals

Robert Rodriguez was on the roof of the Cannes JW Marriott the other day talking about the two sequels next on his plate: 'Sin City 2: A Dame To Kill For' and 'Machete Kills,' which he’ll shoot first, starting in the next few weeks.

By Matt Mueller
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May 23, 2012 2:03 PM
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Cannes 2012: Walter Salles and Sprawling Cast Recreate Jack Kerouac's 'On the Road,' Which is Cruising for an NC-17

Reviews

"On the Road" is a two hour and 17-minute recreation of Jack Kerouac's seminal 1957 novel. It's a serious thoughtful gorgeously mounted period art film and American travelogue, carefully researched and painstakingly crafted. Walter Salles and writer Jose Rivera, the team behind "The Motorcycle Diaries," succeeded where many failed, over the three decades since producer Francis Ford Coppola optioned the property.

By Anne Thompson
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May 23, 2012 11:58 AM
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Cannes Virgin Diary 3: Critics' Week Yields Breakouts 'Aqui y Alla,' 'Sofia's Last Ambulance'

Festivals

This is the best film yet to screen at Cannes' Critics' Week, confidently made without a single wasted scene. The quotidian reality of Guerrero village life is realized with lyricism and lack of sentimentality.