Celluloid Diaries: Best and worst movies of the Cannes Film Festival {part 2}

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Best and worst movies of the Cannes Film Festival {part 2}

What We Do In The Shadows

This is part two of the best and worst movies of the Cannes Film Festival. The first part can be found here.

What We Do In The Shadows

Because the Flight Of The Conchords team is behind What We Do In The Shadows, the film is getting more attention than it probably deserves. It's an almost exact copy of a low budget Belgian film, Vampires by Vincent Lannoo, which I saw at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival in 2010. Both are about a television crew making a documentary about modern vampires and their daily problems (read: household chores). The similarities are so obvious, surely the filmmakers must have seen this obscure film and been inspired. So, please, give the original one some credit and watch Vampires instead of this one.

The Curse Of Downers Grove

The Curse Of Downers Grove

Based upon the novel Downers Grove by Michael Hornburg and scripted by Brett Easton Ellis, The Curse Of Downers Grove follows a group of teenage friends who believe that every year a schoolmate will die on graduation day. As the big day approaches, several tensions between the teens are created which could eventually lead to the death of one of them. But are these teens creating their own fate? Or is the curse of Downers Grove a reality? The story is well built-up and you get to care about what happens to the characters. However, what misses is a bit of mystery and a satisfying ending.

Murder Of A Cat

Murder Of A Cat

Produced by Sam Raimi, Murder Of A Cat is a cozy mystery about a cat owner who sets out to uncover the truth behind the murder of his feline friend. He finds out that his cat was leading a double life and that he may be linked to a local conspiracy. The beginning of Murder Of A Cat was hilarious. After that, the story becomes rather lame and uninspired. Overall, a cute family movie that may do well on TV.

Welcome To New York

Welcome To New York

Abel Ferrara tackles the story of DSK (here called Deveraux), the French politician who assaulted his hotel maid. This translates in a succession of graphic, elaborate sex scenes and conversations revealing his obsession with sex. Welcome To New York is superficial as it only shows Deveraux in a mono-linear way. Surely there must have been more to his personality. On several occasions The Wolf Of Wallstreet sprang to mind, usually to remind me that similar subjects can be portrayed in a more exhilarating way. With Gérard Dépardieux and Jacqueline Bisset, both of which were present for the screening of their movie.

Horsehead Fievre

Horsehead

This movie about a girl and her attempts at lucid dreaming was a walk-out. Shallow and boring.

Killers movie Japan Indonesia

Killers

Two serial killers put their crimes online and battle for notoriety in this Japanese/Indonesian thriller. The violent scenes are solid, but all the others border on the ridiculous. Impossible to sit through the 137 minutes of this film. But on the positive note: Horsehead was much worse.

White God

White God

White God was one of my favorites of the Cannes Film Festival. A father obliges his daughter to abandon her beloved dog on the streets. While the animal tries to survive the hardships he encounters, the girl refuses to give up on him and sets out on a search. When they'll meet again, neither of them will be the same. White God is a mix between fairy tale and horror. A strange combination that's incredibly touching and hard at the same time. I cried for two hours straight, mostly because I couldn't stand to see the dogs suffering.

Kiki's Delivery Service 2014

Kiki's Delivery Service

Because of an ancient law, the thirteen-year-old witch Kiki must leave home and live on her own for one year. With Jiji, her black cat, she flies off with her broom towards a group of islands far over the sea where she starts a broom-based delivery service. Kiki's Delivery Service is cute but a bit bland. What makes the film worth seeing, though, is Jiji the cat who is hyper-funny and omnipresent. If possible, watch Miyazaki's original from 1989.

It Follows

It Follows

After the first screening of It Follows, the audience claimed it was the best and creepiest horror film they'd seen in a long time. Because everyone was talking about it, getting into another screening was hard. My first reaction when I finally saw It Follows was that it was over-hyped. Script-wise, it could have been just your ordinary horror film, but because of great sound design and a constant thread that lurks around every corner, it works, and just as everyone else I was creeped out of my skin.

When Animals Dream

When Animals Dream

A girl discovers she's a werewolf at the same time as she discovers love. Directed and written with taste and talent, When Animals Dream is a beautifully made film, but it never made me feel a single emotion.

Relatos Salvajes

Wild Tales (Relatos Salvajes)

Wild Tales is a combination of six short stories about people who can't cope with the injustices of life and react by behaving savagely. Each story is surprising, original and laugh-out-loud funny. Could have been shorter, though.

5 Minutes short film

5 Minutes

The concept was intriguing (the world will end in 5 minutes; should you tell your children?), but the acting, direction and photography were so amateurish I was glad this short film only lasted five minutes.

One For The Road

In this Mexican version of the The Bucket List, three retired men go on a road trip through Mexico to grant the last wish of their lifelong friend. One For The Road is charming and funny, but also a little too easy and uneventful.


Lost River

Lost River

Ryan Gosling does everything right in his directorial debut. The filming locations, the soundtrack, the actors, the photography... They all complement each other perfectly and I can't say there's one element that stands out in Lost River, because every single one is mesmerizing. It all reminded me of Nicolas Winding Refn, which is not surprising as Gosling collaborated with him for Drive and Only God Forgives. And is Gosling as talented as Refn? Absolutely.

22 comments:

  1. Geef mij maar een goede thriller maar niet te veel bloed :-)

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  2. It Follows does sound creepy good. It's been too long since I've seen a really good horror movie.

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  3. Horsehead, really? That sounds awful and comical at the same time.

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  4. I don't like to see animals suffer either, so not sure I could sit through White God.
    Horsehead. Enough said, right?

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  5. Whew. White God sounds exceptional, but I'd go through a lot of tissue watching that one too.

    Thank you for the reviews, Vanessa. It's a fascinating mix.

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  6. The only premise that really intrigues me is "Wild Tales." And of course I would go see any film with a cat in it. Glad to hear you praise Canada's favourite son Ryan Gosling!

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  7. Ha! Never hard of any of those either! Am I so secluded to the world? BOL!!!
    That first photo is some kind of scary!!! hahaha!
    ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!

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  8. I'd love to see It Follows and the young Japanese witch one. Were there really so many horror entries, or did you just seek the horror out because you like it? Thanks so much for sharing your Cannes experience! :)

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  9. Sadly, I didn't feel an urge to see any of those films. An awful lot of horror and cruelty on the list this year.

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  10. I want to see Murder Of A Cat ;o) I haven't heard about any of these movies! Thanks for the reviews!

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  11. At least three there I"d like to watch. Especially interested in Goslings offering. Any offering actually. ;)

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  12. "He finds out his cat was leading a double life." That just sounds weird!

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  13. Creeped out of your skin can be a good feeling -- I'll have to check out a few of these.

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  14. That's quite a variety of films! Lots of blood in that first picture. Yuck!

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  15. I really want to see the ones in the best category. They sound interesting.

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  16. Good to know which movies to check out and which to avoid!

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  18. This is definitely going on our menu as a regular meal! Instead of frying dogs, we baked in the oven leaving us time to make the slaw and some spicy fries. My daughter added a quick pickled cucumber salad as a garnish.

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