New trailer: Julie & Julia

Already predicted by me and many as one to watch come awards time given the cast involved, this year's annual Meryl Streep bid for another nomination comes in the form of Nora Ephron's Julie & Julia. Reuniting her with Doubt co-star Amy Adams in an altogether more fun set-up and throwing in veteran scene-stealer Stanley Tucci the first trailer has just been released, and i see nothing here to suggest the Oscar nom won't be forthcoming unless it proves to be a phenomenally strong year for women's leads (ha!):

http://www.moviefone.com/movie/julie-and-julia/26129/main

New trailers

I'm not bothering to post all the links in here because for now they are all on the trailer links panel on the right, but today i've put up 6 new trailers and wow are they a mixed set of movie types.

The only one i'm linking to is a documentary i'm now desperate to see, Facing Ali:

http://www.firstshowing.net/2009/04/17/must-watch-fantastic-documentary-trailer-for-facing-ali/

Boxing has always been a sport that makes a back-drop for great films, including my all-time favourite Raging Bull, and probably my favourite sports documentary is another Ali focussed one, Leon Gast's brilliant When We Were Kings. Facing Ali looks to be another fascinating doc and i pray it gets UK distribution or at least a slot at the London or Raindance Film Festivals.

Also new on the trailer board today:

Antichrist - Lars von Trier's Cannes competitor looks suitably intriguing, but like all Trier works could go either way. But i've liked the last few: Dogville, Manderlay, The Boss Of It All so here's hoping.

Armored - for anyone who unashamedly loves Judgement Night (starring Emilio Estevez, Stephen Dorff, Cuba Gooding Jr and Denis Leary) or Trespass (starring Bill Paxton, Ice Cube, Ice-T and William Sadler) comes this year's b-list ensemble fun, starring Columbus Short, Matt Dillon, Laurence Fishburne, Skeet Ulrich etc. I'm sorry but this looks really entertaining! I hope it is.

The Girlfriend Experience - new Soderbergh on Bubble type mode. Looks interesting but like Antichrist could go either way.

Paper Heart - could be funny, could be sweet, could be irritating as all hell! A faux documentary starring Knocked Up's Charlyne Yi and the ubiquitous Michael Cera.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - new trailer shows a lot more plot and is the most passable yet, but i'm still not sold.

Rest In Peace: Jack Cardiff

The great Jack Cardiff, legendary cinematographer and perhaps overlooked director, passed away this week, aged 94. It was odd timing as a friend and I had been discussing him Tuesday afternoon in the pub and at a Q&A with actor George Kennedy that we went to Tuesday night (which given the Wednesday afternoon reports of Mr Cardiff's passing i assume was when he died) Mr Kennedy was discussing Death On The Nile, which Cardiff shot.

Cardiff always seemed to me one of those guys, like Ray Harryhausen, who were destined to live forever. I guess through his incredible, indelible images he will do.

The man photographed some amazing movies but none more beautifully in my opinion than his first project as sole director of photography, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's masterpiece A Matter Of Life And Death (right). The film, which i watched again last night in tribute to Mr Cardiff, is in my top 10 film's of all time and features a stunning mix of technicolor glory for the Earth-bound scenes and beautiful black-and-white for the heavenly scenes, including dissolves from one to the other - most notably that early one focussed on Marius Goring's lapel rose, which his character even comments upon. If you haven't seen A Matter Of Life And Death it's an absolute must and you will then feel ashamed for not having previously seen it.

Of course The Red Shoes and Black Narcissus followed in the collaboration between Cardiff and Powell and Pressburger, Cardiff winning the Oscar for the latter (right).

In fact, and slightly oddly, it was following a Q&A he took part in about working with Michael Powell that followed a screening of Powell's under-rated Peeping Tom (which Cardiff didn't shoot, making it a slightly odd selection) that i had the good fortune to meet Cardiff. It was April 1, 2001 and only a week after he had been awarded an honorary Oscar for his work on March 25 of that year. He was a true old-school gent and seemed genuinely pleased that so many people there were interested in him and his work. Perhaps because technical guys like cinematographers so rarely get the credit they deserve. It was a highlight for me amongst people in the industry i have either met or listened to speak in person at Q&As and such, and interestingly that was how he came up on Tuesday afternoon as my friend said he was the most interesting film personality she had ever heard speak, when he visited her university in the 90s.

Other non-Powell films he worked on as cinematographer included The Barefoot Contessa, The Prince And The Showgirl, War And Peace, The Vikings, Death On The Nile; the slightly surprising Conan The Destroyer and Rambo: First Blood, Part 2; and another of my favourites John Huston's The African Queen (right).

I am ashamed to say i am not very familiar with his work as a director, having only seen the enjoyable My Geisha, starring Shirley Maclaine, which i have on DVD. Amongst his other films was 1960's Sons And Lovers for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Director, while the film was also nominated for Best Picture. It also appropriately won Best Cinematography, for Freddie Francis. I intend to seek out Sons And Lovers as soon as possible. It lost out at the Oscars to another of my top 10 all-time films, Billy Wilder's The Apartment, but even to be considered in the same company makes it a must see.

I am glad to have had that opportunity to meet him just over 8 years ago and through his films, especially the Powell/Pressburger collaborations and The African Queen, i will always remember his huge contribution to cinema.

Farewell Jack. Rest in Peace. I hope heaven is all you made it look in A Matter Of Life And Death.

Cannes, Cannes - festival line-up full of usual suspects

So, the Cannes line-up is out and it is the usual lack of imagination list of the same old Palme d'Or contenders. Lars von Trier, Ang Lee, Ken Loach, Pedro Almodovar, Johnnie To, Andrea Arnold, Michael Haneke, Jane Campion and Park Chan-wook are amongst those filmmakers who need only sneeze to get a automatic slot at Cannes.

And frankly the inclusion of Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds should not only serve as a distinct sign of the corrupt publicity grab that Cannes is but also as a massive insult to other filmmakers. The film has never for a moment, from script through to trailers, looked to have even vague promise and after the embarrassment of including Death Proof in competition 2 years ago it is shocking that Cannes have once again bent over for the massively over-rated QT. But what really smarts about his inclusion is the arrogant way he announced off the back of a poor script last year, before he had even sold it, that any studio coming on board had to be behind it going to Cannes because he was planning to premiere it there. From that moment i hoped, prayed that Cannes would call him on this arrogant assumption of his greatness and not allow it in. That they not only took it but put it in competition is the biggest studio blow job the festival has done since putting Shrek 2 in the competition line-up.

And as if that's not bad enough, there are hardly any US films in the competition this year so QT could be taking a valuable slot away from a more deserved title.

Still, i'm sure the attention will be on the out of competition screening of Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium Of Dr Parnassus. A new Gilliam film is always a reason to be excited and no doubt French favourite Johnny Depp along with co-stars Colin Farrell and Jude Law will be in attendance to get the croisette in an uproar. But of course it will be the star that isn't there, Heath Ledger whose final role was here, that will generate most interest.

Personally were i going this year that would be my hot ticket and i'm sure it will be for many people. I'd also be interested in the midnight screening of Sam Raimi's Drag Me To Hell - a film that seems perfect for a slot that included George A Romero's Land Of The Dead and Shane Black's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang in year's i last attended. I would also be interested in Alejandro Amenabar's English-language historical drama Agora - although i was not a fan of his last English-language film The Others - which is his first film since 2004's The Sea Inside.

The line-up is:

In Competition:
· Pedro Almodovar - Broken Embraces
· Andrea Arnold - Fish Tank
· Jacques Audiard - Un Prophete
· Marco Bellocchio – Vicenre
· Jane Campion - Bright Star
· Xavier Giannoli – A L'Origine
· Isabel Coixet – Map of the Sounds of Tokyo
· Michael Haneke - The White Ribbon
· Ang Lee – Taking Woodstock
· Ken Loach – Looking for Eric
· Lou Ye - Spring Fever
· Brillante Mendoza – Kinatay
· Gaspar Noe – Enter The Void
· Park Chan-Wook – Thirst
· Alain Resnais – Les Herbes Folles
· Elia Suleiman – The Time That Remains
· Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds
· Johnnie To – Vengeance
· Tsai Ming-liang – Face
· Lars Von Trier – Antichrist

Un Certain Regard:
· Bong Joon Ho - Mother
· Alain Cavalier - Irene
· Lee Daniels - Precious
· Denis Dercourt- Demain Des L'Aube
· Heitor Dhalia - Adrift
· Bahman Ghobadi - Nobody Knows About The Persian Cats
· Ciro Guerra - The Wind Journeys
· Mia Hansen-Love - Le Pere De Mes Enfants
· Hanno Hofer, Razvan Marculescu, Cristian Mungiu, Constantin Propescu and Ioanna Uricaru - Tales From The Golden Age
· Nikolay Khomeriki - Tale In The Darkness
· Yorgos Lanthimos - Dogtooth
· Pavel Lounguine - Tzar
· Raya Martin - Independencia
· Corneliu Porumboiu - Police, Adjective
· Pen-Ek Ratanaruang - Nymph
· Joao Pedro Rodrigues - To Die Like A Man
· Haim Tabakman - Eyes Wide Open
· Warwick Thornton - Samson & Delilah
· Jean Van De Velde - The Silent Army
· Hirokazu Kore-Eda - Air Doll

Opening Film
· Pete Docter and Bob Petersen - Up

Closing Film:
· Jan Kounen – Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky

Out of Competition:
· Robert Guediguian - L'Armee Du Crime
· Alejandro Amenabar - Agora
· Terry Gilliam - The Imaginarium Of Dr Parnassus

Midnight Screenings:
· Stephane Aubier and Vincent Patar - A Town Called Panic
· Sam Raimi - Drag Me To Hell
· Marina De Van – Ne Te Retourne Pas

Special Screenings:
· Anne Aghion - My Neighbor, My Killer
· Adolfo Alix Jr and Raya Martin - Manila
· Souleymane Cisse - Min Ye
· Michel Gondry - L'Epine Dans Le Coeur
· Zhao Liang - Petition
· Keren Yedaya - Jaffa

Competition Jury:
· Isabelle Huppert, president (actress, France)
· Asia Argento (acress, director, screenwriter, Italy)
· Nuri Bilge Ceylan (director, screenwriter, actor,Turkey)
· Lee Chang-Dong (director, author, screenwriter, Korea)
· James Gray (director, screenwriter, US)
· Hanif Kureishi (author, screenwriter, UK)
· Shu Qi (actress, Taiwan)
· Robin Wright Penn (actress, US)

Latest screening: 17 Again

I admit this is i bit off track from the films i usually post reviews of (and i've been meaning to do one of Wendy And Lucy all week which i'll try to get to next week, along with Anvil which i'm finally seeing tonight hopefully) but it was such a surprise that i feel i have to. I hadn't intended to even watch this and i've mercilessly mocked the trailer ("You look just like my husband!" "no, he f***ing doesn't") but see it i did and well, damn it i enjoyed the hell out of it.

Now let's not be too generous. There is nothing, and i mean nothing, original in this latest take on a plot device familiar to anyone that has seen 18 Again, Big, Vice Versa, Like Father Like Son, either version of Freaky Friday and no doubt many others i'm forgetting. It also has the requisite geeky best friend that is as much a mainstay of a male-lead movie like this as the gay best friend is to a female-lead one! And of course it seems impossible to ignore the fact that Zac Efron could only look less like Matthew Perry (the adult version of him) if he was blonde!

Yet this film is made with panache. The script is genuinely funny. The lead cast fire on all cylinders. Almost all of the jokes land. And damn it if Efron doesn't actually manage to convince as the young Perry after a while.

Perhaps because it is directed by Burr Steers (who made Igby Goes Down) this is surprisingly well done. It may not offer anything especially new, but let's face it the audience it is primarily aimed at probably hasn't seen any of those other movies mentioned above anyway (well, okay maybe the Freaky Friday remake, but that's probably it). However this doesn't matter for those who have seen them (and i've seen them all) because this is a damn fun ride.

It gets off to a rocky start with Efron having a couple of moments of shirtless hoop-shooting and cheerleader-accompanied dancing clearly designed to appeal to his High School Musical fans but serving to instantly put 30-somethings like me on the edge of my seat in anticipation of a walk out. But then we're quickly into Matthew Perry being Matthew Perry and all is comfortably Chandleresque. Then, with the help of Brian Doyle Murray's janitor, it all goes a bit It's A Wonderful Life for a minute and we're back with Efron. Now i'm only familiar with Efron from the musical version of Hairspray, in which he was fine but unremarkable, but damn the kid has charisma - you can definitely see how he's transcended the nonsense of the High School Musical franchise. But what was surprising for me about 17 Again was Efron actually does have talent. He evokes genuine sexual chemistry with Leslie Mann (playing his wife who doesn't know Perry's become Efron and doesn't get why her son's best friend looks like her husband did as a kid) delivering some of the edgy laughs that a film of this type desperately needs. He also plays the confused authoritarian, out of his depth in a younger hipper generation convincingly. What's more he's obviously studied Perry's intonations, mannerisms and expressions which he layers in at certain moments, often quite subtley, so that you gradually find yourself believing he is the young version of Perry (after all couldn't the character have had some plastic surgery between 17 and 37 to explain key facial differences that on the surface make the match-up ludicrous?).

Mann is also great, really throwing herself into the role and not afraid to go places many actors might steer clear of, while seeming believable. The best friend is also funny, although the film does have a tendency to overplay the geeky attributes of this character and the few times jokes fall flat are in the latter arc of this character. Michelle Tractenberg is wasted in a nothing role and none of the other characters make an impact. But this is Efron's movie and he knows it, and he really makes the most (after those odd opening moments) of his chance to prove there's more to him than a singing-dancing mannequin.

Is this the best movie of its type? No. Of course it pales in comparison to Big, but it is better than the rest of the 80s batch and on a similar plain of fun quality to the Freaky Friday remake, but more slickly done, so i would make a case that it is probably the most enjoyable of its type after Big. Regardless, if you accept it for what it is and don't expect an ounce of originality you will sit back and just enjoy the hell out of this entertaining movie. A director who knows what beats to hit with a star proving that he can hit every one. Colour me stunned!

Latest trailer: new Public Enemies trailer

This one's calmer, and shows more plot and character - including more Bale and Cotillard. Looks just as brilliant as the first trailer.

http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-GB&vid=8fd15a4a-1c72-4a6a-97ef-fea6d0c5d449

Latest screening: Let The Right One In

Wow! I had high expectations for this 'Swedish vampire movie' after hearing great things last year out of various festivals, but those expectations were completely met and some.

Let The Right One In (Lat Den Ratte Komma In) is an experted judged tale that is more fairy-tale in a Grimm brothers way than it is a horror film; you never cringe or duck the violence or blood-sucking as you are too busy rooting on the lead vampire character.

The film has really set the benchmark high for movies this year, undoubtedly the best film I’ve seen so far this year.

Director Tomas Alfredson and write John Ajvide Lindqvist have really thought the film out intelligently, and address vampire lore in a refreshingly direct way. They constantly ask the questions (and answer them) you’ve asked of countless vampire movies in the past and never known. One particularly stunning, horrifying, emotional moment goes to the heart of the title in answering the question just what would happen if a vampire who had not been invited in tried to come in anyway.

And it is that emotional resonance that is the core of the success here. You care for both of the leads here and their relationship. They are well explored human (and not) characters that feel real and are well served by great performances from the two lead kids (I’m always amazed by how natural European kids can be on film compared to the over-trained Hollywood moppets).

It still allows Alfredson to stage some fantastic set-pieces though and boasts an absolutely knock-out handling of key final scenes.

Deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Guillermo Del Toro's The Devil's Backbone, if not quite Pan's Labyrinth. I shall watch for future projects from Alfredson with keen interest.