The 55th Annual New York Film Festival is almost ready to begin and will once again present a celebration of cinema with world premieres, documentaries, restorations, classic films and free talks. Beginning September 28th and running through October 15th, the Opening Night Film will be the world premiere of the latest from Richard Linklater, "Last Flag Flying". This sequel of the 1973 film, "The Last Detail", which was based on the book by Darryl Ponicsan (who co-wrote this script with Linklater), follows the same three men who served together in the marines and are reunited years later due to a tragic event. Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston and Laurence Fishburne take over the roles that were first played by Jack Nicholson, Randy Quaid, and Otis Young.
TheCenterpiece Selection is "Wonderstruck", an adaption of the young-adult novel by "Hugo" author Brian Selznick from director Todd Haynes, tells parallel stories of two deaf children, one set in 1927 and the other 1977, largely told with minimum dialogue and which ultimately converge in an unexpected way.
TheClosing Night Film is another world premiere and it's the latest feature from Woody Allen. "Wonder Wheel" stars Kate Winslet as a frustrated Coney Island housewife whose life is brightened when she meets a handsome lifeguard (Justin Timberlake). But when her husband's estranged daughter (Juno Temple) pays them a visit and has eyes for the lifeguard, complications are inevitable. A conversation with Ms Winslet which will have the Oscar-winning actress discussing her over twenty-year film career will be on October 13th.
There will be twenty-two other features from around the world that are a part of the Main Slate and include new works from Luca Guadagnino ("Call Me By Your Name"), Agnès Varda ("Faces Places"), Sean Baker ("The Florida Project"), Claire Denis ("Let The Sun Shine In"), Noah Baumbach ("The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)") and the feature directing debut by actress, Greta Gerwig ("Lady Bird").
Other Special Events include the world premiere of "Spielberg", a documentary that traces the career and artistic growth of one of the world's most famous directors, "Trouble No More", which features newly restored concert footage from Bob Dylan's '79-'80 tour and a new restoration of the classic 1929 German silent film "Pandora's Box" which starred the iconic Louise Brooks.
And for the first time, the fest will feature a retrospective on an important figure in cinema and the first honored will be Robert Mitchum. This handsome and charismatic actor had an incredible career that went on for five decades. Mitchum worked with some of the finest filmmakers in Hollywood and appeared in nearly every genre imaginable. Twenty-four of the actor's best films will be screened including a new documentary by photographer, Bruce Weber, "Nice Girls Don’t Stay for Breakfast" which features footage of Mitchum during a photo shoot in the late 1990's.
For tickets and additional information, please click below:
Where & When: AMC Century City, West Los Angeles, CA August 30, 2017 7:25 PM
"Ingrid Goes West", a wickedly dark satire by writer/director Matt Spicer, takes on the modern way we communicate and connect through social media, examining one woman's extreme and desperate attempts to fit in and be liked. With a deft and wacky performance by Aubrey Plaza that manages to make you squirm and laugh uncomfortably, she plays Ingrid, an unbalanced and lonely outsider who believes that stalking is simply how you make friends today.
When we first see Ingrid, she's sobbing uncontrollably as she clicks "loves" on pictures of a beautiful wedding posted on Instagram. It turns out she's parked outside where the ceremony is being held and marches inside to shriek at the bride for not inviting her before spraying her in the face with mace.
During her stay at a mental health facility, Ingrid writes to her victim, explaining that she's better now and the incident was all just a misunderstanding while hoping they can still be friends. However the reality was that they were never actually friends but Ingrid was convinced due to the bride "friending" her just to be nice.
Shortly after being released, Ingrid is flipping through a magazine when she gazes upon the person who will become her latest obsession; Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth Olsen), a golden-haired, social media darling whose easy Southern California lifestyle is used to influence and inspire her audience.
With the insurance money she received after her mother's death, Ingrid heads out to Los Angeles to meet the woman who she's determined to make her new best friend. She rents a room in the beach community of Venice where Taylor lives from Pinto (O'Shea Jackson, Jr.), an aspiring screenwriter and hardcore fan of the Dark Knight, who takes an interest in her. But Ingrid's only focus is to track down her unsuspecting new BFF.
We are amused, disturbed and mesmerized by Ingrid's bumbling, deceitful efforts to infiltrate Taylor's seemingly perfect life with her slacker artist husband (Wyatt Russell) and the relative ease in which they quickly become actual friends. After adapting many of Taylor's "likes"; vegan food, boho chic dresses, Joshua Tree and Joan Didion, Ingrid is blissfully happy with her new life with Taylor.
But it was inevitable for all this happiness to be interrupted. The arrival of Nicky (Billy Magnussen), Taylor's hunky party-boy brother, puts a wedge between the new best friends. Nicky and Ingrid immediately dislike each other, with him becoming very suspicious of the true nature of her relationship with his sister.
As Ingrid's fantasy life with Taylor begins to implode, she becomes more desperate and her behavior becomes increasingly outrageous. But it also reveals how vulnerable and damaged she actually is, shifting the film uneasily from black comedy to a tragic humiliation. It's no surprise that Ms Plaza, who first found success on television with "Parks & Recreation", effectively uses her quirky charm and comedic gifts to display Ingrid's crazed, relentless actions but the actress also unexpectedly reveals a deep sadness which seem to drive her to such an irrational state.
Los Angeles is certainly an easy target with the town full of self-involved people and social media has managed to make it even easier for them to fill the rest of the world continuously with themselves and their thoughts and ideas. But while "Ingrid Goes West" certainly delivers plenty of awkward laughs and well-played performances, the film never get beneath the surface to reveal any deeper meaning to our insatiable desire to be constantly connected in a virtual reality.
With an ending that is highly predictable yet absolutely perfect, "Ingrid Goes West" humorously captures this current obsession (and the unexpected dangers) with desperately wanting to be noticed by thousands (or millions, if you're lucky) of virtual strangers with the hope that with each "like" perhaps we'll feel better about ourselves.
While many have been bemoaning this recent lousy summer in cinema with the year-to-year profits down, the attendance the worse it's been in twenty-five years and many lackluster would-be Hollywood blockbusters failed to get audiences in the theaters, there were actually a few intriguing films released over the last three months. Did anyone see "Maudie"? Or "Beatriz At Dinner"? Or perhaps "The Hero" or even "The Beguiled"? These were some wonderful independent films out this summer that didn't open wide, never came close to the box-office top-ten and certainly weren't seen by nearly enough people.
In response to this, Los Angeles Times lead film critics, Kenneth Turan and Justin Chang have selected thirty-five overlooked films or "buried treasures" released over the last twenty years that never received as much appreciation as they deserved. They have stressed that their selections are not necessarily what they consider "the best" but rather to bring awareness to inventive and challenging films that failed to generate wide audience attention or award recognition at the time of their release. Both critics are admitted world cinema lovers (as am I) so their picks have a large number of foreign-language films which sadly tend to be ignored by the average American film-goer. But if you are feeling adventurous and want to discover something new, please check out this list.
The 2017 Venice Film Festival has come to a close and with that, prizes have been handed out. The Annette Bening-led Jury has selected "The Shape of Water", Guillermo del Toro's romantic fantasy fable, for the top prize of the Golden Lion or best film. This Fox Searchlight film, which received a warm and rapturous response during it's world premiere screening, stars Sally Hawkins as a mute woman who emotionally connects with an aquatic experiment. Samuel Maoz’s Israeli drama, "Foxtrot" won the runner-up, Grand Jury Prize while British icon, Charlotte Rampling took the Best Actress Award for her performance in Andrea Pallaoro’s French-language feature, "Hannah". Another warmly received film making it's world premiere at the fest was "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" and won the director, Martin McDonagh the Best Screenplay Prize. And Xavier Legrand won both the Best Director and Best First Film for his French custody drama, "Jusqu’à La Garde"
Here is the list of the winners from the 2017 Venice Film Festival:
Grand Jury Prizes Golden Lion: "The Shape Of Water" Grand Jury Prize: "Foxtrot" Silver Lion Best Director: Xavier Legrand, "Custody (Jusqu’à La Garde)"
Volpi Cup Best Actress: Charlotte Rampling, "Hannah"
Volpi Cup Best Actor: Kamel El Basha, "The Insult"
Best Screenplay: Martin McDonagh, "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" Special Jury Prize: "Sweet Country"
Marcello Mastroianni Award for for Best New Young Actor or
Actress: Charlie Plummer, "Lean On Pete"
Venice Horizons
Best Film: "Nico, 1988"
Best Director: Vahid Jalilvand, "No Date, No Signature" Special Jury Prize: "Caniba" Best Actress: Lyna Khoudri, "Les Bienheureux" Best Actor: Navid Mohammadzadeh, "No Date, No Signature" Best Screenplay: Dominique Wellinski and Rene Ballesteros, "Los Versos Del Olvido" Best Short Film: "Gros Chagrin" Lion of the Future: Luigi De Laurentiis Award for a Debut Film: Xavier Legrand, "Jusqu’à La Garde"
Venice Virtual Reality
Best VR: "Arden’s Wake (Expanded)" Best VR Experience: "La Camera Insabbiata" Best VR Story: "Bloodless"
Another summer movie season has come to a close and it has proven to be somewhat of a disappointment with the films ranging from unnecessary sequels, underwhelming remakes to just plain awful. While there were a few bright spots ("Wonder Woman", "Spider-Man: Homecoming", "Baby Driver", "Girls Trip", "Dunkirk") but mostly there were just too many duds released ("The Mummy", "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales", "The Dark Tower", "Valerian & The City of a Thousand Planets" to name just a few). Now is the time to look forward to the fall, where the selection of films looks far more promising. Here are ten upcoming films that I'm particularly looking forward in seeing.
All release dates are subject to change:
"BATTLE OF THE SEXES"
Release date: September 22, 2017
I was around eleven years old when the events of the comedy-drama, "Battle of the Sexes" took place so I was aware yet not particularly interested in this gender war between tennis players Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King. But I'm very interested now in the retelling of this tension-filled showdown that took place in 1973. Steve Carell and Emma Stone star as the iconic tennis stars as we witness all of the outrageous theatrics that leads up to the dramatic match between them. Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris ("Little Miss Sunshine") directs.
"WOODSHOCK"
Release date; September 22, 2017
It seems Tom Ford may have inspired other fashion designers to get in to the movie business. The Mulleavy sisters, Laura and Kate (who design the women's clothing line, Rodarte) have written and directed their first feature, "Woodshock". With friend and muse, Kirsten Dunst as an executive producer and star, the film focuses on a grief-stricken woman living in Northern California. She works at a marijuana dispensary and when a powerful new strain is discovered, it quickly replaces lumber as a lucrative cash crop in the area. It shouldn't be much of a surprise that the visuals in the film are wildly vivid and disorienting.
"BLADE RUNNER 2049"
Release date: October 6, 2017
When "Blade Runner", a 1982 film directed by Ridley Scott and based on the Phillip K. Dick novel, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep", was released, it was initially met with tepid critical reaction and middling box-office. Over time, the film became much more appreciated for it's inventive story-telling and groundbreaking visuals and is now considered a sci-fi classic. Now, thirty-five years later, a follow-up film has finally been made. "Blade Runner 2049" is set thirty years after the first film as a blade runner, Officer K (Ryan Gosling) begins to unravel a dangerous plot that could potentially end mankind. As he further investigates, it leads him to Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former blade runner who dropped out of sight years ago for a good reason. Denis Villeneuve ("Arrival") directs with Jared Leto, Robin Wright, Barkhad Abdi, Dave Bautista and Edward James Olmos (who also reprises his role in the original film) also starring.
"PROFESSOR MARSTON & THE WONDER WOMEN"
Release date : October 27, 2017
"Wonder Woman" became one of the biggest hits of the year and the timing couldn't be better to take a look at the unconventional life of that character's creator. "Professor Marston & The Wonder Women" examines Dr. William Moulton Marston (Luke Evans), a brilliant man who was a psychologist, inventor and most unlikely, a comic-book writer. We learn that the doctor, his wife (Rebecca Hall) and close friend to both (Bella Heathcote) were all involved in a highly unusual relationship and that these strong-willed women became the inspiration of his famous creation.
"MY FRIEND DAHMER"
Release date: November 3, 2017
John "Derf" Backderf wrote a memoir on his teenage friendship with Jeffrey Dahmer who would grow-up to become an infamous serial killer. But he took the unusual step of creating it as a graphic novel. Marc Meyers has adapted the novel and directed "My Friend Dahmer" and cast Ross Lynch, an actor formerly associated with Disney Channel programming, as Dahmer. While not exactly attempting to make him sympathetic, the teenage Dahmer is revealed to be a lonely and tormented young man who drank to excess, displayed strange behavior and was oddly fascinated with roadkill.
"MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS"
Release date: November 10, 2017
"Murder on The Orient Express", the 1934 Agatha Christie novel, had previously been made in to a popular 1974 film by Sidney Lumet and featured an all-star cast that included Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Sean Connery, Vanessa Redgrave and Ingrid Bergman who won the Best Supporting Actress Award for her role. So I guess the time must be right for a remake. Kenneth Branagh not only directs but also has taken on the juicy role of Hercule Poirot, the internationally famous French detective, who works to solve the crime on this train. This is also a star-filled event and features Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Josh Gad, Leslie Odom Jr. ("Hamilton"), Michelle Pfeiffer and Johnny Depp.
"THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI"
Release date: November 10, 2017
Frances McDormand makes a long overdue return to the big-screen with a starring role in "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri", the latest from playwright/filmmaker Martin McDonagh ("In Bruges", "Seven Psychopaths"). She plays Mildred Hayes, a mother, grieving over the murder of her daughter, who becomes angry and frustrated that no arrest has been made in this crime. Deciding to take a stand and draw attention to this, Mildred rents three billboards that publicly shames the town sheriff (Woody Harrelson) and his police department. Sam Rockwell, John Hawkes and Peter Dinklage also star.
"CALL ME BY YOUR NAME"
Release date: November 24, 2017
"Call Me By Your Name", based on the book by André Aciman, tells the story of Elio (Timothée Chalamet), an American teenager spending the summer with his parents at their Italian villa. Oliver (Armie Hammer), a handsome academic friend of the family, comes to stay for a visit. Elio is fascinated by this slightly older man, with a deep friendship developing before their relationship becomes more intimate. Luca Guadagnino directs from an adapted screenplay from legendary filmmaker, James Ivory ("A Room With a View", "Howard's End", "Maurice").
"THE SHAPE OF WATER"
Release date: December 8, 2017
Guillermo del Toro, the Mexican filmmaker who has made two of my favorite films, "The Devil's Backbone" and "Pan's Labyrinth", has returned with another dark fantasy, "The Shape of Water". While those previous films focused on young protagonists fighting against the supernatural, his latest is more of an adult romance. Set in the 1960's during the Cold War, Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is a lonely, mute woman who works as a janitor at a U.S. government laboratory. She discovers a secret experiment; an amphibious creature (Doug Jones) held in a water tank. Elisa makes an emotional connection with it and determined to set it free. Michael Shannon and Octavia Spencer co-star. The film will make it's world premiere at the Venice Film Festival and will also be screened at this year's Toronto fest.
"STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI"
Release date: December 15, 2017
The highly anticipated follow-up to 2015's "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" is finally here. With Rian Johnson ("Looper") taking over directing duties from J.J. Abrams, "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" continues where we left off with the aspiring Jedi, Rey (Daisy Ridley) finding Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) on an isolated island but soon discovers he's no longer the heroic Jedi warrior of the past. Meanwhile, Finn (John Boyega), the former stormtrooper turned reluctant hero, is on a new mission for the Resistance with just a mechanic (Kelly Marie Tran) by his side. Oscar-winner, Benicio Del Toro and Laura Dern are new additions to the series with undisclosed roles.
