Monthly Archives: May 2008

CANNES: 'Wendy and Lucy' has no bark, no bite

Posted on May 30, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett Michelle Williams (left) does her best but she cannot prevent Kelly Reichardt’s “Wendy and Lucy,” a weak tale about being broke and on the road in rural America, from dwindling into boredom. Prospects for box office or … Continue reading →

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CANNES: Kazakhstan's 'Tulpan' is a crowd pleaser

Posted on May 28, 2008 by admin

Askhat Kuchinchirekov is looking for a wife in the Cannes’ prize winner ‘Tulpan’ By Ray Bennett Polished, funny and utterly charming, Kazakhstan director Sergey Dvortsevoy’s first feature film, “Tulpan,” which won the top prize in the Un Certain Regard sidebar … Continue reading →

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The late Sydney Pollack on music for films

Posted on May 27, 2008 by admin

Sydney Pollack worked with great composers including Dave Grusin and John Barry Director Sydney Pollack, who has died aged 73, was a filmmaker who really knew what to do with music in his pictures. His longest collaboration with a composer … Continue reading →

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CANNES: Charles Kayman’s ‘Synecdoche, New York’

Posted on May 23, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett CANNES – Oscar-winning screenwriter Charlie Kaufman’s first film as a director, “Synecdoche, New York,” will mesmerize some and mystify others, while many will be bored silly. It’s not a dream, Kaufman says, but it has a dreamlike … Continue reading →

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CANNES: 'Surveillance' keeps its eye on twisted violence

Posted on May 23, 2008 by admin

Bill Pullman and Julia Ormond star in Jennifer Lynch’s ‘Surveillance’ By Ray Bennett Jennifer Lynch’s morbid thriller “Surveillance” begins with masked intruders killing people and the slaughter never stops. It’s been 15 years since David Lynch’s daughter gave the world … Continue reading →

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CANNES: Egoyan's 'Adoration' is a mystery for grownups

Posted on May 23, 2008 by admin

Devon Bostick and Arsinee Khanjian star in Atom Egoyan’s mystery ‘Adoration’ By Ray Bennett Atom Egoyan’s remarkable new film “Adoration” is a haunting meditation on the nature of received wisdom and how it can warp individuals, damage families and even … Continue reading →

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CANNES: Old-fashioned romance in 'Two Lovers'

Posted on May 21, 2008 by admin

Joaquin Phoenix stars with Vinessa Shaw (above) and Gwyneth Paltrow in ‘Two Lovers’ By Ray Bennett They don’t make pictures like James Gray’s “Two Lovers” anymore. It’s an old-fashioned love story in which the melodramatic trapdoors of shock and surprise … Continue reading →

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CANNES: Kusturica falls for 'Maradona'

Posted on May 21, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett Sarajevo filmmaker Emir Kusturica gives Argentine football legend Diego Maradona a big wet kiss in his new documentary “Maradona by Kusturica.” In thrall to the iconic soccer wizard, the director makes the film as much about his … Continue reading →

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CANNES: 'Blind Loves' brings a smile

Posted on May 21, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett Love is blind, the poets say, and the blind also love but it’s not so easy to clink glasses of celebratory champagne when you and your partner cannot see, as Slovakian director Juraj Lehotsky observes in his … Continue reading →

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CANNES: 'Eldorado' heads for Belgium's wide open roads

Posted on May 19, 2008 by admin

Fabrice Adde and Bouli Lanners hit the road in Lanners’ freeway comedy ‘Eldorado’ By Ray Bennett A couple of genial idiots in a beat-up Chevy hit the Belgian blacktops in Bouli Lanners’ funny and melancholy road picture “Eldorado,” with widescreen … Continue reading →

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