All posts by Nicholas Bell »
The Lords of Salem | Review
Burn, Witch, Burn: Zombie Conquers His Cross to Bear Don’t be so sure of what to expect when walking into Rob Zombie’s latest feature, The Lords of Salem, at once a familiar homage to
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It Happened in Saint Tropez | COLCOA Review
Those Who Love Me Can Catch the Train Wreck: Thompson’s Latest Flat, Overstuffed Familial relationships and transportation, two favorite themes of writer/director Daniele Thompson, figure heavily in her latest feature, It Happened in Saint
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Sofia Coppola’s “The Bling Ring” Opens Un Certain Regard in Cannes’ Year of the Woman?
We doubt that it’ll be as populated as Sundance was, but if this year’s Cannes Film Festival should be remembered for anything, it will surely be noted as one of the most female friendly
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The Almost Man | Review
Growing Pains: Lund’s Debut a Gem of Behavioral Regression The long hard road to growing up and accepting responsibility takes the center stage in Martin Lund’s simply and astutely observed tale about one thirty
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Criterion Collection: Gate of Hell | Blu-ray review
Teinosuke Kinugasa’s glorious and vibrant masterpiece, Gate of Hell, excitingly receives a Criterion digital remastering this month, a certifiable occasion because this not only recreates the film’s initial visual beauties, but the first time
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2013 Cannes Film Festival Predictions: Ari Folman’s The Congress
#4. Ari Folman’s The Congress Gist: In The Congress, an aging actress (Robin Wright) with a disabled child agrees to a large payment to have a full body imaging that will be digitized and
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2013 Cannes Film Festival Predictions: Nicolas Winding Refn’s Only God
#5. Nicolas Winding Refn’s Only God Forgives Gist: Julien (Ryan Gosling) runs a Thai boxing club in Bangkok, but the business is a front for his family’s drug smuggling operation. When his brother is
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2013 Cannes Film Festival Predictions: Catherine Breillat’s Abuse of Weakness
#9. Catherine Breillat’s Abuse of Weakness Gist: Abuse of Weakness will trace the autobiographical experience of Breillat with a notorious swindler. Isabelle Huppert stars as Maud, a film director recently paralyzed on one side,
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2013 Cannes Film Festival Predictions: Abdellatif Kechiche’s Blue is the Warmest Color
#15. Abdellatif Kechiche’s Blue is the Warmest Color Gist: This centers on Jocelyne (Adele Exarchopoulos), who is 15 years old and is certain of two things: she is a girl, and girls go out
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2013 Cannes Film Festival Predictions: Claire Denis’ Bastards
#16. Claire Denis’ Bastards Gist: Container ship captain Marco Silvestri is called urgently back to Paris. His sister, Sandra, is desperate… her husband has committed suicide, the family business has gone under, her daughter
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2013 Cannes Film Festival Predictions: Serge Bozon’s Tip Top
#23. Serge Bozon’s Tip Top Gist: Based on the novel by British author Bill James, Tip Top follows two female police inspectors from the police’s complaints and discipline branch as they investigate the death
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It’s a Disaster | Review
An Incredible Mess: Todd Berger’s Apocalypse a Hilarious Gas The end of days have never looked like a better time to spend with friends than they do in director Todd Berger’s latest film, a
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2013 Cannes Film Festival Predictions: Steven Soderbergh’s Behind the Candelabra
#27. Steven Soderbergh’s Behind the Candelabra Gist: Based on the autobiographical novel, the film recounts the tempestuous 6 year relationship between Liberace and his much younger lover, Scott Thorson. Prediction: Just as HBO’s Hemingway
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2013 Cannes Film Festival Predictions: Ilya Khrzhanovsky’s Dau
#30. Ilya Khrzhanovsky’s Dau Gist: In short, this is an epic biographical film depicting the life of scientist Lev Landau. Prediction: Back in 2005, Khrzhanosvsky won top prize at Rotterdam for his excellent debut,
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2013 Cannes Film Festival Predictions: Riad Sattouf’s Jacky In Women’s Kingdom
#35. Riad Sattouf’s Jacky In Women’s Kingdom Gist: Similar in theme as something akin to Egalia’s Daughters by Gerd Brantenberg, Sattouf’s film is set in the gender role reversed world known as the Popular
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2013 Cannes Film Festival Predictions: Claire Simon’s Gare du Nord
#42. Claire Simon’s Gare du Nord Gist: Claire Simon’s fourth feature film will see her applying her documentary style to the Gare du Nord railway station, a “Tower of Babel” where immigrants, European travelers
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2013 Cannes Film Festival Predictions: Shinji Aoyama’s Dog Eat Dog
#45. Shinji Aoyama’s Dog Eat Dog Gist: Based on Shinya Tanaka’s novel, Dog Eat Dog revolves around a 17-year-old boy named Tooma Shinogaki who lives with his father and his father’s new girlfriend in
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2013 Cannes Film Festival Predictions: Ben Wheatley’s A Field In England
#51. Ben Wheatley’s A Field In England Gist: Described as a psychedelic horror film, Wheatley’s latest is set during the English civil war, where a group of deserters is captured by an alchemist (Michael
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2013 Cannes Film Festival Predictions: Alexei Guerman’s Hard to Be a God
#55. Alexei Guerman’s Hard to Be a God Gist: While it may possibly be released as History of the Arkanar Massacre, we’re hoping this retains the same name as the novel it’s based on
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Eddie: The Sleepwalking Cannibal | Review
Lars and the Killer Dude: Rodriguez Explores Art and Inspiration While sporting a title that would seem to indicate a comedic mash up of bizarro horror tropes and cheeky zingers, Boris Rodriguez’ enjoyable debut,
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Lotus Eaters | Review
Let What is Broken So Remain: McGuiness’ Debut Familiar, Mesmerizing “Ah, why should life all labor be?” asks Lord Alfred Tennyson in a line from his poem, The Lotus-Eaters, with which Alexandra McGuiness’ film
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2013 Cannes Film Festival Predictions: Nicole Garcia’s He Left On Sunday
#63. Nicole Garcia’s He Left On Sunday Gist: Il est parti dimanche takes place during the weekend of Pentecost, a teacher in the South of France unexpectedly is charged with taking care of a
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2013 Cannes Film Festival Predictions: Denis Dercourt’s Happy Birthday
#66. Denis Dercourt’s Happy Birthday Gist: Opening at the beginning of the 1980s in former East Germany, the film centers on Paul who enters into a pact on his 16th birthday with fellow pupil
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2013 Cannes Film Festival Predictions: Gregg Araki’s White Bird in a Blizzard
#67. Gregg Araki’s White Bird in a Blizzard Gist: Based on the novel by Laura Kasischke, the narrative follows an adolescent female whose life is turned upside down by the disappearance of her mother,
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2013 Cannes Film Festival Predictions: Joanna Hogg’s Untitled London project
#69. Joanna Hogg’s Untitled London project Gist: The as yet untitled third feature from Joanna Hogg is described as the everyday intersection between horrendous and comic events, and not much yet is known concerning
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"Ron and I wanted to make a film that looked at what it means to be an outsider and we wanted to explore what it takes to reach out to someone whose life is very removed from your own."
