Cannes 2013 Blog: Days Four and Five; Saying Goodbye Again Already

May 20, 2013 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Features Leave a comment

Saturday at the 66th Cannes Film Festival dawned bright and sunny, making a welcome change to the previous three days. Of course it didn’t last long and by midday the torrential rain was back!

On Friday there had been confusion at a market screening of the Sundance pic “Magic Magic” which UpAndComers.net had been invited to review. The PR team had underestimated how popular the pic would be and they unfortunately had to ask all press to leave. Kudos to the team at Jazo though, on Saturday morning I received a promised Vimeo link in my inbox, and once I find a few spare hours to watch the Juno Temple/Michael Cera indie thriller, you can expect a review.

CANNES REVIEW: Lea Seydoux and Tahar Rahim’s Chemistry the Highlight of Metaphor-Heavy “Grand Central”

May 19, 2013 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Reviews 1 Comment

Rebecca Zlotowski’s “Grand Central” begins with a great opening – electronic music creates a sense of tension as Tahar Rahim smokes on a train and has his wallet stolen, before block red lettering flashes up on the screen spelling out the names of the cast and director. Zlotowski’s decision to set the film in and around France’s nuclear power plants is odd and brilliantly original but “Grand Central” soon becomes overly dependent upon metaphors, to the detriment of an otherwise great love story.

Rahim stars as Gary Manda, a young man who has no prospects and so decides to work for France’s nuclear power plants. He takes pleasure in his work, being the best and getting things right first time, and one night when out for dinner he meets Karole, played by the wonderful Lea Seydoux. Karole is a tease, kissing Gary in front of her fiance, Gary’s co-worker, as a way to describe what working at the plant feels like. But it is clear that both Gary and Karole are fascinated with the other and they soon begin a love affair.

Cannes 2013 Blog: Days One, Two and Three; The Rain-Soaked Journey Thus Far

May 18, 2013 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Features Leave a comment

Three days in to the 66th Cannes Film Festival and I’m feeling much more relaxed than I did last year. There is a comfort to knowing the press badge caste system, where you have to queue for the different strands, and that it isn’t the end of the world if you don’t get your review up in less than an hour after a screening.

“The Great Gatsby” opened the festival on Wednesday but was released in the US last Friday. I was hugely disappointed with Baz Luhrmann’s film, describing it on Twitter as “if Baz Luhrmann watched a Baz Luhrmann film and then decided to imitate Baz Luhrmann.” It was the wrong side of gaudy and garish – and the 3D did nothing to help the pic, instead detracting from what could have been a gorgeous film.

CANNES REVIEW: Marine Vacth is a Breakout in Francois Ozon’s Coming of Age Tale “Jeune et Jolie”

May 17, 2013 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Reviews 1 Comment

youngandbeautiful

“Jeune et Jolie” (“Young and Beautiful”) was the first In Competition film I saw at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and it couldn’t have been a better film to start with. A contemplative tale on female sexuality and the burgeoning discovery teenagers go through, its star Marine Vacth is a joy to watch and someone we all need to keep our eye on over the next few years.

Director Francois Ozon‘s tale is set over four seasons and four Francois Hardy songs, following Vacht’s Isabelle, a seventeen year old girl who turns to prostitution as she explores the power of her femininity and what her body can do for others. This is not a moral tale, nor a story on right and wrong but an honest portrayal of a complicated time.

GIVEAWAY: Win Prizes from “The Host”!

March 18, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in General News 6 Comments

hostcontest

It’s one of the most anticipated films of the year and we’ve partnered with Open Road Films to give away some great prizes to celebrate the release of “The Host”!

What if everything you love was taken from you in the blink of an eye? “The Host” is the next epic love story from the creator of the “Twilight Saga,” worldwide bestselling author, Stephenie Meyer. When an unseen enemy threatens mankind by taking over their bodies and erasing their memories, Melanie Stryder (Saoirse Ronan) will risk everything to protect the people she cares most about — Jared (Max Irons), Ian (Jake Abel), her brother Jamie (Chandler Canterbury) and her Uncle Jeb (William Hurt) , proving that love can conquer all in a dangerous new world.

THE HOST hits theaters nationwide March 29th, 2013! Click below to see what’s up for grabs. This contest is for US RESIDENTS only. Sorry international fans!

Oscar Spotlight: Bradley Cooper Loses The Hangover

February 23, 2013 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Features 1 Comment

In our Oscar Spotlight series we take a look at rising stars who have this year gained the biggest accolade in Hollywood, an Academy Award nomination. In a year filled with incredible performances, none of our chosen actors were considered a shoo-in. Taken from three of the acting categories, we present …

Bradley Cooper Loses The Hangover

Nearly four years after its release, Bradley Cooper‘s name is still synonymous with “The Hangover“. In the years that followed Cooper tried but never quite managed to prove he had something to offer beyond playing the handsome jerk. In 2013, however, it might be fair to say the American actor has finally broken through, with his first Oscar nomination for a captivating performance in “Silver Linings Playbook.“

Oscar Spotlight: Jennifer Lawrence Conquers Hollywood

February 22, 2013 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Features 1 Comment

Jennifer Lawrence Conquers Hollywood

In 2010 Jennifer Lawrence burst onto the scene with indie film “Winter’s Bone“, giving one of the best leading actress performances in recent memory and cementing her status with an Oscar nomination. Two years later, Lawrence once again finds herself a Best Actress nominee – for the equally challenging role of Tiffany in “Silver Linings Playbook” – but this time, she is no longer a fresh face on the indie scene, but a worldwide star.

Oscar Spotlight: The Unstoppable Momentum of Quvenzhané Wallis

February 21, 2013 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Features 1 Comment

The Unstoppable Momentum of Quvenzhané Wallis

When a film premieres at Sundance Film Festival, it wants buzz. Sundance has the ability to make or break a film or a performance, often ushering in the beginning of an awards run that won’t finish until thirteen months later at the Academy Awards. And no one showcased this more perfectly in 2013 than Quvenzhané Wallis, for whom her first Oscar night will bring to a close a four year journey of her very young life.

REVIEW: Creepy And Twisted “Stoker” Ultimately Plays It Safe

February 20, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Reviews Leave a comment

stokerreview

With “Stoker”, Korean horror director Park Chan-wook makes his long-awaited English language debut, and fans of his highly stylized, stunning visuals and ability to bring out a certain poetic beauty in violent imagery will be satisfied with this dark and twisted tale of family bonds that run a little too deep.

Set in the aftermath of a funeral, Mia Wasikowska plays India Stoker, an introverted teen who has just lost her beloved father (Dermot Mulroney) and can’t stand to be touched, not even by her flakey, needy mother (Nicole Kidman). When India’s father’s handsome, creepy younger brother (Mattew Goode) arrives in town, meeting his niece for the first time after having spent his entire life traveling the world, things begin to get really weird. With hints of magical realism, the film flirts with slightly supernatural elements but does not cross over into it, intriguing and horrifying further, as the atrocities this family inflicts upon each other are wholly human.

Jennifer Lawrence charms, squirms under the spotlight at SBIFF’s Performer of the Year Tribute [w/ Exclusive Images]

February 4, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Awards, Features, Images Leave a comment

Jennifer Lawrence is not very good at taking compliments, which must have made Saturday night rather torturous for the newly minted two-time Oscar nominee. The compliments kept piling on at Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s Outstanding Performer of the Year Award Tribute dedicated to her incredible 2012 run, and after more than an hour of enduring words of praise from moderator Roger Durling, Lawrence joked, “I’m not going to say thank you anymore, I’m just going to say shut up.”

Lawrence joined festival director Durling onstage as they painstakingly went through her still short but already impressive acting resume, from her feature film debut in Lori Petty’s “The Poker House” to her newest, David O. Russell’s “Silver Linings Playbook”, in which she plays the vibrant, explosive and complex Tiffany and for which she just received her second Best Actress Oscar nomination, making her the youngest two-time nominee ever in the category. Lawrence charmed the audience and made them laugh out loud, perhaps none louder than Russell, who would later present Lawrence her trophy and who would call her talent “kissed by angels.”

Page 1 of 612 3 4 5...»Last »

exclusives