OVERVIEWING CANNES: TOP 3:

With the 66th annual Cannes Film Festival about coming to a close, I thought it would be a perfect introductory post to mention some of the films that were shown that I am most excited to see. As an average film goer, I obviously did not attend Cannes, my guess is as good as yours as to which films will be the biggest successes.

1. ONLY GOD FORGIVES. dir. Nicolas Winding Refn.
(Starring: Ryan Gosling, Kristin Scott Thomas)

The reviews surrounding the premiere of this film were overridden by the apparent boo’s from some (disrespectful) members of the audience. The graphic and extreme violence caused some audience members to leave, and there was an overall sense of disappointment with this film, that was gaining an extreme amount of hype on the internet. The film, according to the trailer, looks to be interesting, and I think a lot of the negative criticisms came with the reporter’s imagining the film to be almost a sequel to Drive, Refn’s last film starring Gosling. The expectations of the audience is something that can completely corrupt somebodies opinion of a film, and I, for one, will be going into the screening of this film with no other films in mind for comparison.

Only God Forgives is out in UK cinemas on August 2nd.

2. AS I LAY DYING. dir. James Franco.
(Starring: James Franco, Logan Marshall-Green)

I am a huge fan of James Franco’s. I am a huge fan of William Faulkner. I will most likely be a huge fan of this film. After reading Franco’s post on Vice magazine defending Luhrmann’s recent adaptation of The Great Gatsby, it is proven that Franco is in complete confidence of the requirements needed in order to make a classic novel to film adaptation successful. There needs to be no more further explanation for my wanting to see this film. I’m excited by every project that Franco gets involved in, and I don’t think this film will disappoint me.

3. THE BLING RING. dir. Sofia Coppola.
(Starring: Katie Chang, Israel Broussard, Emma Watson)

With a father who directed such iconic films as The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, filmmaking must be a supplement for blood in Coppola’s body. Establishing herself over the past few years as a hopeful director, The Bling Ring seems to take an interesting perspective on the more obscene youth culture of America. The film sees Emma Watson once again speaking in that …weird false American accent that was apparent in The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I think this film will be different from the two above, in the fact that it seems to be a chick-flick on cocaine, although still thought-provoking and interesting from a film student’s perspective. Sofia Coppola has proved herself before (Note: The Virgin Suicides) and will most likely do it again, and again, just as her father did.

The Bling Ring is out in UK cinemas on July 5th.