COMING SOON

It would seem easy to dismiss the upcoming "Book Club", a movie about a group of mature women whose eyes and lives are opened up due to "Fifty Shades of Grey", because it appears it could be as banal as the book they read. But there is no denying that because of the impressive cast of great actresses, this rom-com is certainly a must-see. First, we have Diane Keaton on board with her reliably quirky charm, fellow Oscar-winner, Mary Steenburgen and Candice Bergen who brings her long-missed caustic wit to the big screen. Yet it's Jane Fonda in full-blown "Blanche Devereaux" mode that makes "Book Club' seem like it will really be a lot of fun. Andy Garcia, Craig T. Nelson, Richard Dreyfuss and Don Johnson appear as the men in their lives.

"Book Club" is due in U.S. theaters on May 18, 2018.

DOUBLE LOVER (L’AMANT DOUBLE) (2018)

Written & Directed by François Ozon



Where & When:  Laemmle Pasadena Playhouse, Pasadena. CA. February 20, 2018  1:30 PM



Since 1988, France's François Ozon has had a long history of creating films with intricate stories that upend convention with a nervy wit and, more often than not, erotically-charged situations. His last feature, "Frantz", a beautifully rendered black & white, World War I set mystery, was an unexpected change of pace for the film maker with it's surprising tasteful restraint and unhurried pace. But with "Double Lover (L'amant Double)", Ozon appears like he was ready to get down and dirty again. This carnal thriller is reminiscent of his early days with work that featured controversial subject-matter and wildly provocative imagery. And while there is a higher level of precision and style, the film offers a kinky love story that delivers plenty of steamy atmosphere yet very little real heat.

Marine Vacth (a model who first worked with Ozon on his 2013 feature, "Young & Beautiful (Jeune & Jolie)") plays a young woman named Chloé who has been suffering from abdominal pain for a long period of time. After seeing a gynecologist, it's determined that it may be psychological. Chloé is referred to a therapist, Paul Mayer (Jérémie Renier, another actor who has appeared previously in the director's films including "Potiche" from 2010) and their sessions lead to her finding relief from her physical pain by exposing her emotional distress. And while hardly a professional or ethical move, Paul confesses he has fallen in love with her and she admits that she's become smitten with him. They soon move in together and fall comfortably in to domestic bliss.

The relationship takes a sharp turn when Chloé sees Paul on the street with another woman when he said he was going to work. She confronts him later but he claims it wasn't him and she's mistaken. Unwilling to accept this answer, Chloé decides to investigate and returns to the location. She discovers a man named Louis Delord who looks exactly like Paul and is also a psychoanalyst. But this man's behavior is antagonistic and a bit sadistic which she finds repulsive yet also draws her closer to him. As she further investigates Paul's mysterious past and the connection between these two men, Chloé begins to slowly unravel, questioning what is real and what is just her imagination.

What began as a story of a fragile young woman who finds intimacy and trust from a devoted lover turns in to a twisted nightmare of lust and deception through the mirror image of the same man. Ozon knows how to keep the tension on high throughout "Double Lover", leaving us off-balanced, confused and aroused as Chloé. Delighted to push the boundaries of taste and sexuality, the director doesn't fail to do that here. That includes a close-up of an open vulva artfully dissolving in to an eye and a rough encounter with a strap-on dildo. Although Ozon has crafted a titillating drama enhanced by the exquisite camera work by Manuel Dacosse, some of the narrative can feel strained while the conclusion is slightly unclear which isn't the most effective way to wrap up a mystery.

The incendiary connection between our two very attractive leads is thrilling to behold. As we watch her character's grip on reality loosen and her erotic fantasies become more vivid, Ms Vacth's performance is riveting. Mr Renier, in dual roles, is equally adept in playing the sensitive lover as he is in displaying the darker side of the other. And the wonderful Jacqueline Bisset makes a welcome appearance with a brief yet effective cameo as a mysterious woman who may have the answer to the mystery surrounding the two therapists. Much like he did for Charlotte Rampling when he placed her with lead roles in his features, "Under The Sand" and "Swimming Pool" that helped revitalize her career, Mr. Ozon should provide that same opportunity for the undervalued Ms Bisset.

While the Time's Up movement has rolled up to the European shores, they have expressed a different opinion on what is considered sexual harassment and harmless flirting. Some of the aggressive acts of seduction between Chloé and the bad twin could be dismissed as decidedly "French". Still, others may view these scenes as disturbing and off-putting but that only adds to the unsettling mood the director has created.

With “Double Lover”, Mr. Ozon was aiming for the sophistication and intrigue of a Hitchcock thriller. And there are moments that are dazzlingly sleek and seductive yet the film tends to share more in common with an overheated homage by DePalma.

THE 90TH ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS

The last time we were at the Oscars, there was an envelope snafu that created a bit of a problem announcing the actual winner of Best Picture. So with the 90th edition of the Academy Awards, it was unavoidable that this year would be all about the envelope. From the dramatically redesigned packaging in large bold print that clearly stated the category to Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty back again for a do-over to present the final award, it was made clear that the Oscars had gotten their act together.

Jimmy Kimmel was also back as host and he kicked off the show with his reliably dry and low-key sense of humor. He touched on the accountants, the nominees, agents, ”Black Panther” and yes, even the President, jabbing them with his gentle stings of funny punchlines. He was less successful with his attempts of running gags. One involved keeping acceptance speeches short and to encourage that, the person with the shortest one would win a jet-ski (with Best Costume Design winner, Mark Bridges being the ultimate victor). The other was interrupting an audience next door in a theater watching a sneak-peek of "A Wrinkle of Time" and dragging some stars from the audience to surprise them and give them snacks. Neither idea sounds good on paper and definitely fell flat in execution.

The presenters this year were an incredibly diverse line-up that featured the usual suspects (Jennifer Garner, Nicole Kidman, Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock) but also inspired choices like popular Mexican Actor, Eugenio Derbez, comedian, Dave Chappelle, Wes Studi, Christopher Walken, Zendaya (star of the sleeper hit musical, “The Greatest Showman”) and Daniela Vega who starred in the Best Foreign-Language Film winner, “A Fantastic Woman” and became the first openly transgender actress to present on the program. There were dynamic pairings of female performers ranging from a heavenly comedy duo (that will hopefully soon be on screen together), Tiffany Haddish with Maya Rudolph; living legend, Helen Mirren meets another living legend, Jane Fonda and an unlikely comedy duo, Jennifer Lawrence together with Jodie Foster who deliver unexpected humor due to Foster on crutches. And the appearance of the ageless previous Oscar winners, Rita Moreno and Eva Marie Saint, who humorously pointed out that she’s actually older than Oscar, brought some additional class to the evening.

“The Shape of Water” was the big winner, taking four awards including Best Picture. While this fantasy drama would not have been my first choice for that honor, the filmmaker, Guillermo del Toro was my pick for Best Director. Most of the Best Picture nominees took home at least one award although the deserving “Lady Bird” and “The Post” left empty-handed. The winners in the acting categories all fell in line with the predictions as Gary Oldman’s amazing transformation in to Winston Churchill earned him the Best Actor Prize. Allison Janney received the Actress in a Supporting Role award for her wicked turn as skater, Tonya Harding’s mother and the duo from “Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri”, Sam Rockwell took the Best Supporting Actor award for his role as a dimwitted, racist cop and Best Actress went to Frances McDormand as an angry, grieving mother.

Much like the envelope situation, there was another subject that occurred last year that was also going to be unavoidable not to mention on the show. With the disgraceful scandal of Harvey Weinstein and the fallout which lead to the downfall of many other powerful men in the business who abused their positions, women came together to demand an end of harassment and misconduct in Hollywood. Ashley Judd, Salma Hayek and a visibly nervous, Annabella Sciorra, each having publicly revealed their harrowing experience with Weinstein, came together to present a clip highlighting the Time's Up movement and encourage more diversity in film. But it was McDormand in her acceptance speech that drove the point home in a way that was offbeat, dramatic and quite shrewd. Before referring to an "inclusion rider" (which really isn't a thing-- yet), she had the female nominees in all categories stand-up together as a visual way to put Hollywood on notice that they have stories to tell and ready to take a meeting to make that happen.

Finally, I have to give a special shout-out to that spectacular Oscar stage this year. This elaborate set (designed by Derek McLane) was as Jane Fonda referred to as “orgasmatronic”. Also the clip montages that played throughout the show were impressively well-done. And to Roger Deakins, the outstanding cinematographer that has greatly influenced the look of modern cinema for over thirty years, who finally took home a long overdue Oscar after thirteen previous nominations in this category.

Here is the complete list of winners from the 2018 Academy Awards:

Best Picture: “The Shape of Water”
Best Director: Guillermo del Toro, “The Shape of Water”
Best Original Screenplay: Jordan Peele, “Get Out”
Best Adapted Screenplay: James Ivory, “Call Me by Your Name”
Best Actress: Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Best Actor: Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”
Best Supporting Actress: Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”
Best Supporting Actor: Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Best Film Editing: Lee Smith, “Dunkirk”
Best Cinematography: Roger Deakins, “Blade Runner 2049”
Best Production Design: Paul D. Austerberry, Jeffrey A. Melvin and Shane Vieau, “The Shape of Water”
Best Costume Design: Mark Bridges, “Phantom Thread”
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski and Lucy Sibbick, “Darkest Hour”
Best Foreign Language Film: “A Fantastic Woman” (Chile)
Best Animated Feature: “Coco”
Best Animated Short: “Dear Basketball”
Best Live Action Short Film: “The Silent Child”
Best Documentary Feature: “Icarus”
Best Documentary Short Subject: “Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405”
Best Original Score: Alexandre Desplat, “The Shape of Water”
Best Original Song: Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez, “Remember Me” from “Coco”
Best Sound Mixing: Mark Weingarten, Gregg Landaker and Gary A. Rizzo, “Dunkirk”
Best Sound Editing: Alex Gibson and Richard King, “Dunkirk”
Best Visual Effects: John Nelson, Paul Lambert, Richard R. Hoover and Gerd Nefzer, “Blade Runner 2049”

RANKING THE OSCAR BEST PICTURE WINNERS

Oscar Sunday is finally here and in a matter of hours we will know who will take home the gold. So for a fun distraction until showtime, here are a couple of things to check out. First, as we know, there have been ninety previous Best Picture winners and shortly, another film will be selected for this honor. Stacker has decided to rank these prestigious movies from those that have not managed to endure over time quite as well to those that have remained undeniable classics. I've seen fifty-five of these Best Pictures and I tend to agree with most of where these movies have fallen in the ranking.

Click below to read:

Ranking the Best Picture Winners From Every Year

And here is a fun quiz from the New York Times to test your skill and knowledge about all things Oscars. I'm not one to brag but I did answer all eleven questions correctly. Click below to take the quiz:

NYT Oscars Quiz for Movie Lovers

2018 AWARD WINNERS

This is a very busy weekend with a lot of awards being given out. First, we have the César Awards, France's version of The Oscars, and "BPM", the acclaimed AIDS activist drama from Robin Campillo, won the most awards at the ceremony with six including Best Film. While this Cannes Grand Jury Prize winner did make it on the shortlist for the Oscar Best Foreign Language Film, it surprisingly did not make it as a finalist. "Au Revoir Là-Haut (See You Up There)", a WWI period drama which had tied "BPM" with the most nominations at thirteen, received five awards including Albert Dupontel for Best Director. "Loveless", an Oscar nominee this year from Russia, won Best Foreign-Language Film. And Penelope Cruz, the Oscar-winning actress from Spain, was the recipient of an honorary César.

Then we have the Spirit Awards, which honors the best of indie films, and I think many of these winners have a very strong chance of walking home with Oscars on Sunday as well. Jordan Peele and his thought-provoking horror film, "Get Out" took the top prizes of Best Feature and Best Director. Greta Gerwig received the Best Screenplay award for her lovely feature debut, "Lady Bird" and the powerhouse acting team from "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri", Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell received Best Female Lead and Best Supporting Male while Allison Janney and Timothée Chalamet took home the Best Supporting Female for "I, Tonya" and Best Male Lead for "Call Me By Your Name".

And finally, we have the prizes given to the worst in cinema with the Razzies and the animated disaster, "The Emoji Movie" swept the awards by winning four including Worst Picture of 2017.

This is the complete list of winners of the 2018 César Awards:

Best Film: "BPM"
Best Director: Albert Dupontel,"Au Revoir Là-Haut"



Best Original Screenplay: Robin Campillo, "BPM"
Best Adapted Screenplay: Albert Dupontel and Pierre Lemaitre, "Au Revoir Là-Haut"
Best Actress: Jeanne Balibar, "Barbara"



Best Actor: Swann Arlaud, "Petite Paysan"
Best Supporting Actress: Sara Giraudeau, "Petit Paysan"



Best Supporting Actor: Antoine Reinartz, "BPM"
Best Debut Feature: "Petit Paysan"
Best Documentary: "I Am Not Your Negro"
Best Foreign-Language Film: "Loveless" (Russia)
Best Animated Feature: "Le Grand Méchant Renard Et Autres Contes"
Best Animated Short: "Pépé Le Morse"
Best Short Film: "Les Bigorneaux"
Best Cinematography: Vincent Mathias, "Au Revoir Là-Haut"
Best Editing: Robin Campillo, "BPM"
Best Set Design: Pierre Quefféléan, "Au Revoir Là-Haut"
Best Costumes: Mimi Lempicka, "Au Revoir Là-Haut"
Best Score: Arnaud Reotini, "BPM"
Best Sound: Olivier Mauvezin, Nicolas Moreau and Stéphane Thiébaut, "Barbara"
Best Newcomer (Male): Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, "BPM"
Best Newcomer (Female): Camélia Jordana, "Le Brio"

Here is the list of winners of the 2018 Independent Spirit Awards:

Best Feature: "Get Out"
Best Director: Jordan Peele, "Get Out"
Best Screenplay: Greta Gerwig, "Lady Bird"
Best First Feature: "Ingrid Goes West"
Best First Screenplay: Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani, "The Big Sick"
Best Female Lead: Frances McDormand, "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"
Best Male Lead: Timothée Chalamet, "Call Me By Your Name"
Best Supporting Female: Allison Janney, "I, Tonya"
Best Supporting Male: Sam Rockwell, "Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri"
Best International Film: "A Fantastic Woman" (Chile)
Best Documentary: "Faces, Places"
Best Editing: Tatiana S. Riegel, "I, Tonya"
Best Cinematography: Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, "Call Me By Your Name"
John Cassavetes Award: "Life and nothing more"

Here is the complete list of winners of the 2018 Razzie Awards:

Worst Picture: "The Emoji Movie"
Worst Director: Tony Leonidis, "The Emoji Movie"
Worst Screenplay: "The Emoji Movie"



Worst Actor: Tom Cruise, "The Mummy"
Worst Actress: Tyler Perry, "Boo 2! A Madea Halloween"
Worst Supporting Actor: Mel Gibson, "Daddy's Home 2"
Worst Supporting Actress: Kim Basinger, "Fifty Shades Darker"
Worst Screen Combo: Any Two Obnoxious Emojis, "The Emoji Movie"
Worst Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel: "Fifty Shades Darker"
The Razzie Contender for "So Rotten You Loved It": "Baywatch"

2018 OUTFEST FUSION

The Outfest Fusion People of Color Film Festival is about to begin and on March 9 through 13, there will be wide array of features and shorts that tell LGBTQ experiences from across the globe. The Fusion Gala kicks off with a Shared Heritage shorts program and an encore screening of “Boys For Sale” which will then be followed by an after party that will feature a live performance from Mykki Bianco.



There will be several Los Angeles premieres including “White Rabbit” about a Korean-American performance artist who falls for a charismatic photographer; “Mr. Gay Syria”, a documentary that follows two Syrian refugees, one in Istanbul and the other in Berlin, who come together with the shared dream of entering an International contest as a openly gay Muslim; and “Surmaee Shaam (Evening Shadows)” which is set in India about a young man who comes out to his mother and her struggle to come to terms with this news and finding the strength to defy her husband and conservative society to support her son.





There will be a free special screening of an episode of the new Showtime series, “The Chi”, created by Emmy-winner, Lena Waithe which is based on her experiences of her life growing-up on the South Side of Chicago.



And the Closing Night Gala party will be a free event held at the California African-American Museum and will screen the entries of the One-Minute Movie Contest along with the selection of the winner.

For the complete list of films, to purchase tickets and additional information, please click below:

2018 Outfest Fusion