Venice at Home: Day 10 – The Artist Is (Not) Present

by Cláudio Alves

Well, it's time to say goodbye to the Venice at Home project. Maybe it'll return next year as other cinephiles flood the Lido and those of us who don't share in the FOMO.  There are three remaining directors in the official competition. First, Jafar Panahi, incarcerated since earlier this year but no less capable of dazzling cinephiles with his political, profoundly personal work. No Bears sounds like another triumph. Also vying for the honor is Susanna Nicchiarelli, whose Chiara completes an unofficial trilogy about historical women (Miss Marx and Nico, 1988 also screened at Venice). Finally, Roschdy Zem jumps behind the camera after having graced festival audiences with his acting in Other People's Children. For Les Miens he does triple duty as star, director, and screenwriter.

This miniseries was always intended to celebrate great artists, so it's fitting that the last three films are about them as we focus on an Iranian filmmaker (This is Not a Film), a German singer (Nico, 1988), and a French clown (Chocolat) of Afro-Cuban heritage… 

Click to read more ...

Cannes at Home: Days 8 & 9 – Women in Red, the War on Drugs & French Colonialism

by Cláudio Alves

The 75th Cannes Film Festival is almost over! If there's any hope of finishing Cannes at Home before the closing ceremony, it's critical to pick up speed. So, here go two days' worth of auteurs in one go. 

The Dardennes showed their latest, Tori and Lokita, to some acclaim. However, after The Unknown Girl and Young Ahmed, I'm skeptical about the Belgian duo's tackling of immigrant stories. Mario Martone also returned to the competition, and his Nostalgia could see Perfrancesco Favino winning the festival's Best Actor trophy. In contrast, Saeed Roustayi is competing for the Palme for the first time with Leila's Brothers. All that being said, the big story from these latest festival days was surely Claire Denis' Stars at Noon. Most critics seem to hate it – some even jokingly calling for the director's retirement – while a scattering of ardent fans provides a contrarian takes. For sure, hers seems to be the most divisive film at the Croisette.

Today's Cannes at Home selection includes the Dardennes' first Palme d'Or honoree Rosetta, Martone's L'Amore Molesto, Roustayi's acclaimed Just 6.5, and Denis' debut feature Chocolat…

Click to read more ...

2000: A Semi-Defense of “Chocolat”

In preparation for the next Smackdown Team Experience is traveling back to 2000.

By Ben Miller

The 2000 Best Picture lineup features a blockbuster swords-and-sandals crowd-pleaser, a star vehicle about corporate evil, an ensemble on the war on drugs, and an epic martial arts foreign language film.  Those four films are unassailable in this lineup, but then there’s the fifth film: Lasse Hallstrom’s romantic dramedy Chocolat. The film’s legacy is more entrenched in controversy; as its nominations are attributed to shameless Oscar campaigning by Miramax and Harvey Weinstein.  But is it the terrible, no-good, very bad film its reputation has made it out to be?  The short answer is no, but the long answer is a bit more nuanced...

Click to read more ...

Burning Question: Most egregious Weinstein-backed Oscar Nods?

Upon seeing Harvey Weinstein in handcuffs yesterday our friend Rob asked a very timely question on Twitter which we though we'd share here for rabid discussion purposes. 

In the spirit of the day: Which ridiculous Oscar nomination that Harvey Weinstein facilitated was the most infuriatingly egregious?

My personal vote goes to Chocolat's 5 nominations (including Best Picture!!!) in 2000. The fluffy disposable film was nominated over obviously well-liked films like Billy Elliott, Wonder Boys, and Almost Famous... and great but divisive films like Dancer in the Dark and. 

And though Juliette Binoche is one of the all time great screen actors, there was simply no excuse for that Best Actress nod when Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) and Björk (Dancer in the Dark) were both RIGHT THERE, totally inspired, and more than worthy of nominations. Even further outside the race there were still other leading ladies who were running circles around one of Binoche's least impressive performances including Michelle Pfeiffer's genre transcending in What Lies Beneath, Renée Zellweger's comic skill in Nurse Betty, and Gillian Anderson, all tragic and ravishing in The House of Mirth! 

But what's your answer to the question? And if you are 2000 focused, please let us know you're ideal Best Picture/Best Actress lineup that year.

Netflix Screengrab Roulette (May 2017)

Just one of these months we'd love a slight surprise and for Netflix to throw a bone at the movie fans they built their empire on. I'm considering cancelling my streaming service and going DVD only -- the exact opposite of what the rest of the world does but I need my movies and, FACT, they just aren't providing them any more. Pickings gets slimmer by the month. Consider that this month they've literally added only two titles made before 2000s, one Bollywood picture and Forrest Gump. That is insane and, well, lame. They don't care about movie fans now that they have popular TV shows of their own to produce. 

Nevertheless we'll do a screengrab roulette of a few titles. First image that comes up gets posted, no cheating... 

Look at these lips. Those are kissable lips."

Don't Think Twice (2016)
I keep hearing this is good. Time to watch!

Click to read more ...