Friday, June 08, 2007

Now Playing 06/08

What's this? I've actually written two reviews this week [*gasp*] Please try and remain calm.

L I M I T E D

Belle Toujours Manoel de Oliveira directs Bulle Ogier as Severine in this "sequel" to the deservedly legendary Bunuel picture Belle de Jour (1967). Has he committed cinephile sacrilege? If you've never seen Belle de Jour with Catherine Deneuve in all her 60s glory, put it at the top of your must-watch list... immediately. You'll be glad you did.

You're Gonna Miss Me A doc on influential schizophrenic junkie musician Roky Erickson

La Vie En Rose
Marion Cotillard mimics Edith Piaf in this biopic that's gunning for a Best Actress nomination come January. She's packing loads of ammo (My Full Review @ The Film Experience)

W I D E

Hostel Part II -Nikki Finke recently raised a ruckus when she urged people not to see this (on moral grounds given its status as "torture porn") when she hadn't seen it herself. The debate about this movie and that subset of horror is raging all over the blogosphere. I have nothing to add to the conversation since I don't like gore and don't get why people find pleasure in it. I'm neither interested nor qualified to discuss. But yeah, I fall on the prudish side here. It's not an exaggeration to say that I wouldn't even see if it you offered to pay me a hundred bucks. I don't need those images in my head.

Surf's Up -You know how totally uncool it is to tell people not to see a movie that you haven't seen? I'm totally uncool! Please don't go see this: Hollywood must learn that you can't make a movie about penguins every single year. Trend: please meet your expiration date.

Oceans 13 - "The math is hard to do in Oceans Thirteen. Danny Ocean (George Clooney) is back for film number three. He still has his ten trusted men, the “Oceans’ Eleven”. The poster has twelve guys. That’s your original eleven plus their old rival Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), which makes twelve. Divide them in half to see who’s famous enough to get their names strewn above the title..." (My Full Review @ Zoom In)

What are you seeing this weekend? Comments on the reviews welcome.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Are you sure Marion Cotillard still has a chance for an Oscar nomination?

I thought she left the race already months ago, when she neither won Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival, nor delivered the most talked-about performance of the festival (the first honor went to German Nina Hoss, the latter to Marianne Faithfull).

NATHANIEL R said...

i think she has a decent shot still, yeah. you have to remember that Oscars are far more mainstream than film festivals and mainstream will love this performance. It's very BIG and full of mimicry

total Oscar bait

the question is really if people will like the film enough to root for it months from now.

Anonymous said...

A D for La Môme?! I'm shocked Nathaniel! It was so much better than that!!! Marion Cotillard is very impressive in the role, and I think she definitely has a shot at the nomination! (but not the win, that one's for the great Cate!)

I much prefer your review of O13 ;o)

What are we watching this weekend? I don't know if I'll make it to the movies, if I do it will be to watch Gibli Sutdio's Tales from Earthsea :D

But this weekend I'm much more interested in two big tennis matches and am wondering will the reigning champions maintain their titles? Allez Justine!!! Vamos Rafa!!! Aller Roger!!! ;o)

NATHANIEL R said...

sorry ;)

what can i say. i just desperately wanted the movie to end. Never a good sign.

Anonymous said...

I'll still go see "La Vie en Rose" this weekend...what can I say, I'm a sucker for Edith Piaf music and anything French.

The film does have 77% on RT...so apparently critics seem to like it (everyone does rave about Cotillard's performance). I am kinda skeptical about the summer release date + foreign film factor equaling an Oscar nomination though.

Hopefully next weekend, I'll make it to Ocean's Thirteen and/or POTC3. I have to venture outside of NYC, so I'll be saving the wide releases for then.

Anonymous said...

Still, I doubt it. In the past few years, non-English language performances only got nominated when the film got several other nominations including Best Picture (Rinko Kikuchi, Benicio Del Toro, Roberto Benigni, Massimo Troisi) or the performance got some early buzz from one of the big European Festivals (Penélope Cruz winning in Cannes, Catalina Sandino Moreno and Fernanda Montenegro winning in Berlin), I think the last nominated performance with neither was Catherine Deneuve's in 1992. So it would be quite extraordinary if it got nominated, especially in what is promising to become quite an exceptional Best Actress race.

But then again, you're right about the Academy's biopic fixation, so she probably does still have a chance. I wouldn't bet on her though.

Anonymous said...

All Marion Cotilard needs is some critics mentions at the end of the year, which I think she'll get, and she'll ride it out to an Oscar nomination (one of those single nomination for a film deals). This is what the Academy likes to see, and if she delivers, then more power to her. "Mimicry" always gets a sullied name with Oscar bait, but that's the game, and it doesn't mean that the work is instantly lesser. I hope that Cotillard does Edith Piaf proud!

Paxton Hernandez said...

If I lived in the U.S, Hostel II will be my first option for sure.

Darn it!

Good weekend all = )

Glenn Dunks said...

I want to see Paris Je'taime this weekend. it's finally screening in my city.

This week here we get Shrek 3 and Hostel 2 opening. Isn't that a crazy combo?

Anonymous said...

hmmm maybe I'll see Mr. Brooks.

Not interested in Penguins. Hostel II...hmm is it that gory and porno charged? I'm going with my Mommy. So Mr. Brooks is my best bet.

The others are not playing in my area.

I Never liked ANY of the Ocean's movies.

Anonymous said...

I couldn't agree with you more on La Vie en rose, Nathaniel. All the problems I had with the film, you also seemed to have. I, too, could not wait for this bloated mess to end. Cotillard's badly edited histrionics could never save this poorly-directed, misjudged film.

Anonymous said...

The only good thing to come out of Surf's Up, it seems, is Lauryn Hill's return - after a decade-long recording absence - with the blissfully poppy, 'Lose Myself'.

Best Original Song, anyone?...

Glenn Dunks said...

I'm not a fan of Lauryn's song (well, not compared to most other things she's done) but after "I Need to Wake Up" won last year I don't pretend to think that anything half-interesting by a singing superstar could win the Oscar.

Dog Ear said...

I was out of town this weekend at a Film Festival, so I'm just catching up now.

That Roky Erickson documentary is pretty f'n awesome.