Films being booed at Cannes has stopped being newsworthy. Over the years, countless pictures were received by a chorus of boos when they bowed at the Croisette, either because of their daring qualities or the transgressive nature of their subject matters. Rare is the true mediocrity that earns boos. For those unhappy films, indifference is a more common laurel than a crown of controversy. One of the most famous examples of a film being publicly reviled at Canne was in the 1987 edition when Maurice Pialat's Under the Sun of Satan was unanimously voted as the Palme d'Or winner only to be lambasted on the spot by a furious audience.
Accepting his award amid the vitriolic chaos, the first French director to win that honor since 1966, spoke with his usual combativeness...
With all of us self isolating in quarantine the daily question of what to watch gains even more importance. Not only do you want to watch something good and entertaining but also something that will engross and really distract and take you away from the reality of the grave situation we are living in. Something soothing and comforting above all, however you never know where comfort might come from.
Last night I thought a comedy was in order and based on Wes Anderson’s recommendation in a sweet email to The Criterion Channel I chose Arthur Hiller’s The-Out-of-Towners (1970) with Jack Lemmon and Sandy Denis. However I turned it off 15 minutes into the film. Lemmon constantly yelling his entitlement was not comforting nor funny. The rants were well written and the situations would have probably been funny in another context. But not at this time.
Last week the movie was Francois Trauffaut’s The Last Metro (1980)...
First Reformed A middle aged priest in crisis sits down with a young man suffering from his own disillusionment with the status of our current world. Once the pleasantries are done with and the futility of existence and our doomed world become the topic of conversation, the alarm sirens start going off. It took the audience at the New York Film Festival screening a few moments to realize that the sirens are not part of the movie unfolding, but an actual false fire alarm asking us to vacate the cinema.
That’s how deeply engrossing Paul Schrader’s First Reformed is...
To speak in gross generalities the last weekend in August is Hollywood's last chance to nab easy-to-please summertime dollars before the films get more "depressing" (read: statue-hungry) and people get back to careerism/schooling in September. But with Hurricane Irene shutting down NYC's unshutdownable mass transit and keeping people locked up in their homes (or other people's homes) this weekend all over the Northeast the box office will probably be way down. The Help will try to fend off three wide release newcomers seeking different audiences be that the horror crowd (Don't Be Afraid of the Dark), the action-hungry (Colombiana),or comedy seekers (Our Idiot Brother reviewed). We probably won't be discussing box office tomorrow -- especially if we get a power outtage tonight! -- so let's talk about a related topic today.
Let's talk about movies that box office reports elsewhere never talk about: non-English language movies. Which are the highest grossers worldwide? The figures are drawn from various box office mojo charts as of Friday 08/26. I'm assuming that India doesn't release figures since Bollywood is a huge industry and you'd think they'd factor into the first chart more than they do if they did.
UPDATE: After compiling the list I discovered through the comments -- thanks Kin -- that the "Yearly Worldwide" chart that was my primary source of information contradicts the "Overseas Total Yearly Box Office" chart to quite an insanely large degree (what gives box office mojo?). Some titles are totally absent from either list though that makes no literal sense as "overseas" by any definition is part of "worldwide". NEW UPDATED LIST AND APOLOGIES AFTER THE JUMP.
Taylor Lautner, that's who! and Kate Winslet but we'll get to her in a minute. Michael Musto wonders if Taylor Lautner can be a film star outside of Twilight. My guess is no... but that he'll be crying all the way to the bank for the rest of his life by association. But, really, if you can't even sell a performance (Abduction) for two minutes in a trailer, how are you going to carry an entire film? Ultra Culture also has some words about the disingenousness of the promotional efforts for Taylor's BabyBourne film and... Movie|Line giggles about how desperately Abduction wants to be seen as Teen Bourne. Biblioklept "all four Twilight books in one comic" by Lucy Knisey is totes funny so read it. Unless the previous words about Taylor hurt your feelers.
P.S. I don't follow these things: Is there another Twilight about to come out or something? Cuz why is everyone talking Twilight again just as Harry Potter finally shut up? Blargh! Put new things into the world. Why is 2011 just like 2007? Noooooooo
And since you're all talking about it in the comments without me even posting it, here is an early teaser/trailer (?) for CARNAGE.
For those of you who haven't seen the play you're seeing two of the three big moments from Winslet's character.... and almost none of anyone else's. Which is interesting choice for marketing... but doesn't necessarily mean anything in terms of the movie as a whole.
Miscellania My New Plaid Pants "who the hell wears this to dinner?" Sophia Loren, that's who! Lemonwade the author of War Horse already has another film adaptation of his work, lined up. Private Peaceful is about two young farm brothers and, like War Horse, also takes place during The Great War. Art & Design on the Jim Henson exhibit at the Museum of the Moving Image and Cookie Monster's origins. Have I ever told you how much I love Cookie Monster? Probably not. I do. TowleroadTrue Blood's Carrie Preston records an "It Gets Better" video. (Loooooove her. Wish she'd do more supporting roles in movies as the last few were awesome) Towleroad I'm not one for bathroom humor but Anderson Cooper is the world's cutest giggler - totally loses it when discussing Gerard Depardieu's urination incident.
Monday, April 20, 2020 at 8:30AM 
