AFIFest2014: 8 Must-see Special Screenings!

The American Film Institute (AFI) announced today eight Special Screenings for AFI FEST 2014 presented by Audi.  The Special Screenings section includes three official Foreign Language Film Oscar® submissions and new films from Olivier Assayas and Mike Leigh.

The films are:

CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA
Actress Maria (Juliette Binoche) struggles to return to the stage play that made her famous 20 years earlier, but this time in a different role, and opposite a rising young starlet.  DIR Olivier Assayas.  SCR Olivier Assayas.  CAST Juliette Binoche, Kristen Stewart, Chloë Grace Moretz, Lars Eidinger.  Switzerland, Germany, France.

MERCHANTS OF DOUBT
Oscar® nominee Robert Kenner’s (FOOD, INC.) latest documentary focuses on the PR masterminds and spin doctors who are paid to shift blame and delay governmental action on climate change.  DIR Robert Kenner.  SCR Robert Kenner & Kim Roberts. CAST Naomi Oreskes, Bob Inglis, James Hansen, Stan Glantz, Marc Morano, Patricia Callahan, Sam Roe, Jamy Ian Swiss, John Passacantando.  USA.

MOMMY
Xavier Dolan’s latest film, selected as Canada’s official Oscar® entry, centers on a mother’s tumultuous relationship with her teenage son after he returns home from a correctional facility.  DIR Xavier Dolan.  SCR Xavier Dolan.  CAST Anne Dorval, Suzanne Clément, Antoine-Olivier Pilon.  Canada.

MR. TURNER – Timothy Spall (in a Cannes Best Actor-winning performance) stars as unconventional, groundbreaking painter J.M.W. Turner in this gorgeous biopic by Mike Leigh.  DIR Mike Leigh.  SCR Mike Leigh.  CAST Timothy Spall, Dorothy Atkinson, Marion Bailey, Paul Jesson, Lesley Manville, Martin Savage.  UK.

SAINT LAURENT
Selected as France’s official Oscar® entry, this stylish biopic follows the life and career of iconic fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent (Gaspard Ulliel), from 1967 through 1976.  DIR Bertrand Bonello.  SCR Thomas Bidegain & Bertrand Bonello.  CAST Gaspard Ulliel, Aymeline Valade, Jérémie Renier, Léa Seydoux, Louis Garrel, Amira Casar.  France.

STILL ALICE
Julianne Moore gives a heartbreaking performance as a linguistics professor facing early onset Alzheimer’s disease in this festival favorite.  DIR Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland.  SCR Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland.  CAST Julianne Moore, Kristen Stewart, Alec Baldwin, Kate Bosworth, Hunter Parrish.  USA.

TALES OF THE GRIM SLEEPER
The latest documentary by provacateur Nick Broomfield (AILEEN: LIFE AND DEATH OF A SERIAL KILLER, KURT & COURTNEY) delves into the case of a notorious serial killer who menaced South Central L.A. for more than 25 years.  DIR Nick Broomfield.  FEATURING Seymour Amster, Pamela Brooks, Nick Broomfield, Christopher Franklin, Nana Gyamfi, Laverne Peters, Margaret Prescod.  USA, UK.

TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT (DEUX JOURS, UNE NUIT)
The Cannes Palme d'Or-winning Dardenne brothers return with this tale of a young Belgian mother (Marion Cotillard) who must convince her co-workers to forego their much-needed bonuses in order to keep her job.  DIR Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne.  SCR Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne.  CAST Marion Cotillard, Fabrizio Rongione, Pili Groyne, Simon Caudry.  Belgium, Italy, France.





See you at the festival!!!

XXX
Raymond Lo

Movies: August 2014 List

Hello friends, it’s fall! And it means our annual pilgrimage to the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood is already on its slow, steady stride. In the next couple of weeks, the Academy will close the submission window for the Best Foreign Language Film category. October 1 is the deadline set for the countries to select their entry. As I write this, 60 countries have announced their selections except for a few countries that are considered as traditional Oscar contenders. Russia, China and Spain have yet to decide on what films to submit.

Of the announced submissions, this writer has seen only about 2 of them – I know, I pity myself, too! I have only seen the entries from Lithuania (“The Gambler”) and Venezuela (“The Liberator”) so far. I could have seen the entry from Brazil, Switzerland, Greece and Poland already if I only had time. Of course, if I flew to Cannes or Venice or Berlin or Toronto, I would have seen almost half of all the submissions.

But am not thoroughly disappointed. Really! Why? Because in just a month, the American Film Institute will hold the annual AFIFest and, taking into consideration the programs in the past, a good number of these Oscar contenders will likely wind up in the main program this year! And I have resolved to dedicate a good week of my time this November just for that.

Why am talking about something in the future when I should be writing about the movies I saw in August this year. (I know, I know, this post is again late.)

Well, if you have keen observational skills, surely you would know why I am talking more about the movies that I have yet to see than those that I have already seen.

August was again a pretty busy month for me. I am even surprised I managed to watch all these movies below despite the very bad schedule I had during the month. But the movies I saw aren’t the kind that would make me go and write lengthy reviews about. I saw a couple of good ones, yes. I loved “The Hundred-Foot Journey” which I reviewed – here’s the link: http://raymonddeasislo.blogspot.com/2014/08/film-review-hundred-foot-journey.html. I thought it was a charming little film that celebrates the innate goodness in all of us.

I also loved “Belle”, the film based on a 1779 painting of Dido Elizabeth Belle beside her cousin Lady Elizabeth Murray at Kenwood House. The movie is an interpretation of what it must have been like for the dark-skinned Belle to live at a period in England when slavery is still a form of commerce and blacks are considered inferior people. It’s a moving film that depicts a girl’s journey from being a sheltered but hidden family member to becoming one of the first advocates for the abolition of slavery in England. The performances of Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Sam Reid are particularly noteworthy.

Below are the movies I saw in August and their respective ratings. Yes, I did not like HBO’s “The Normal Heart” – it has a powerful theme, true, but the storytelling just did not come across as compelling to me as it should have. But the performances are marvelous, however!

The Normal Heart (US) – 2 Stars
The Hundred-Foot Journey (US) – 4 ½ Stars
Don't Move (Spain) DVD – 4 Stars
Tom at the Farm (Canada) DVD – 3 ½ Stars
Into The Storm (US) – 2 ½ Stars
Lucy (US) – 3 Stars
What If (US) – No Rating (Did not finish)
Under The Skin (Scotland) - 3 ½ Stars
Belle (UK) – 4 ½ Stars
The Railway Man (Australia/UK) – 3 Stars

See you at the movies!

XXX
Raymond Lo

Cannes 2014: Winners!

The most prestigious film festival in the world has drawn to a close. The jury headed by Jane Campion ("The Piano", "Bright Star") has chosen the winners in tonight's suspenseful, glittering and star-studded presentation.

And the winners are ---

Short Film Palme d'Or: "Leidi"

Camera d'Or: "Party Girl"
Best Actor: Timothy Spall, "Mr Turner"

Timothy Spall, "Mr Turner"

Best Actress: Julianne Moore, "Maps to the Stars"
Best Screenplay: "Leviathan"
 

Best Screenplay, "Leviathan"
















Jury Prize: TIE "Mommy" and "Goodbye to Language"

Xavier Dolan, "Mommy"

Jean-Luc Godard, "Goodbye to Language"

Best Director: Bennett Miller, "Foxcatcher"

Grand Prix: "The Wonders"

The Wonders - Alice Rohrwacher



Palme d'Or: "Winter Sleep"



Winter Sleep - Palme d'Or Winner

 Congratulations to the winners!

XXX

Raymond De Asis Lo