Boston Herald - Boston Herald

Seen and heard at the Cannes Film Festival

Associated Press — Sun, 19 May 2013 15:46:38 -0400

CANNES, France — Associated Press journalists open their notebooks at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival:

A DIFFERENT TUNE FOR TIMBERLAKE

In the Coen brothers' "Inside Llewyn Davis," Justin Timberlake sings music set to a very different beat than "Suit and Tie."

Timberlake plays a bearded pop folkie in the film, which was to premiere Sunday night at the Cannes Film Festival, about the music scene of early 1960s Greenwich Village. Oscar Isaac stars as a more serious but less successful folk musician than Timberlake's smiley Jim Berkey.

Cannes helps actors Bejo and Rahim cross borders

Associated Press — Sun, 19 May 2013 03:03:48 -0400

CANNES, France — The magic and glamour of Cannes can be hard to spot on a day when rain is lashing the palm trees, roiling the gray Mediterranean and pooling in puddles along the Croisette.

But the world's leading film festival can transform careers — something no one knows that better than actors Berenice Bejo and Tahar Rahim, stars of director Asghar Farhadi's festival entry "The Past."

Last call for ‘Hangover’

Stephen Schaefer, Movies — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

LAS VEGAS — Bradley Cooper is adamant that, as the ads proclaim with “The Hangover Part III,” this really is the end of the freewheeling Wolfpack and their crazy adventures.

“Hangover III” finds Phil (Cooper) and Stu (Ed Helms) trying to stage an intervention for childlike Alan (Zach Galifianakis) so he will get psychological help.

Instead, Doug (Justin Bartha) is kidnapped (again), with a gangster named Marshall (John Goodman) giving the guys three days to find Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong) and the $21 million in gold bricks he stole from him.

'Catching Fire' dampened but not drowned at Cannes

Associated Press — Sat, 18 May 2013 19:29:54 -0400

CANNES, France — Little could lessen the fever-pitched excitement for "Hunger Games: Catching Fire," but heavy rain nevertheless dampened the film's lavish Cannes party.

Stars of the "Hunger Games" sequel, Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth and Sam Clafin, arrived Saturday at the Cannes Film Festival. "Catching Fire," perhaps more than any other film not actually screening at Cannes, is seeking to use the festival's global platform to promote the highly anticipated sequel.

Documentary is an ode to NYC playground basketball

Associated Press — Sat, 18 May 2013 11:17:15 -0400

NEW YORK — Half-moon hoops, double rims, chain-linked fences for out-of-bounds lines and no net that anyone can recall.

Such is the imperfect urban landscape of playground basketball, what many consider the truest expression of the sport. It's basketball without referees, coaches or sneaker deals. Anyone can play, so long as they call "Next."

A Native American tale with international pedigree

Associated Press — Sat, 18 May 2013 10:24:06 -0400

CANNES, France — It took an international production starring a Puerto Rican and a Frenchman to bring the Native American tale "Jimmy P.: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian" to the big screen.

The film, an English language one from French director Arnaud Desplechin, made its premiere Saturday at the Cannes Film Festival, where it's among 20 movies competing for the prestigious Palme d'Or.

Jordan finally front and center in 'Fruitvale'

Associated Press — Sat, 18 May 2013 07:26:34 -0400

CANNES, France — Before "Fruitvale Station," Michael B. Jordan was glimpsed sporadically in supporting roles on TV shows like "The Wire" and "Friday Night Lights," and in films like "Chronicle" and "Red Tails."

That changes emphatically with "Fruitvale Station," a Sundance hit that premiered Thursday night at the Cannes Film Festival. In the film, he plays Oscar Grant, the 22-year-old victim of the infamous 2009 police shooting on the Oakland, Calif., transit system.

‘Sightseers’ takes bloody good camping trip

James Verniere — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Hey, Juliet, what if your Romeo is a serial killer? If you can imagine a mash-up of a Mike Leigh working-class comedy on the order of “Happy-Go-Lucky” (2008) and a serial killer movie with a tip o’ the cap to cult classic “The Honeymoon Killers,” you have some idea what to expect from “Sightseers,” the latest effort from Brit rising-star director Ben Wheatley (“Down Terrace,” “Kill List”).

‘Love’ will steal hearts

James Verniere — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

‘Stories We Tell’ worth a listen

James Verniere — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

A nonfiction film with fictional elements, Sarah Polley’s “Stories We Tell” is a narrative about family narratives, and if that is too “meta” for your taste, you’d better take heed.

‘True Blood’ star sinks his teeth into a sweeter role

Stephen Schaefer — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

There are no fangs for Alexander Skarsgard in his new movie “What Maisie Knew” and, without making too much of a pun, that’s the point.

For the 6-foot-4-inch Swedish actor best known for his role in the HBO series “True Blood” as 1,000-year-old Viking vampire sheriff and local bar owner Eric Northman, this update of Henry James’ novel was intriguing precisely because it was a challenge.

As Lincoln, Skarsgard is a working stiff who marries Susanna (Julianne Moore), a rich, famous and bitterly divorced rock star.

Documentary about Bergdorf’s is cut-rate

Jill Radsken — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

“Scatter my ashes at Bergdorf’s”
Rated PG-13. At Coolidge Corner Theatre.
Grade: C

It’s hard to make a movie about an inanimate object, and Bergdorf Goodman, the iconic luxury store in New York City featured in “Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s,” struggles to come to life in this documentary.

‘Iceman’ a chilling tale of hit man

James Verniere — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

The best Martin Scorsese film not directed by Martin Scorsese since the neglected 2012 gem “Killing Them Softly,” “The Iceman” tells the story of real-life mob hit man Richard “Ritchie” Kuklinski, a tall 1960s-era porn film developer who becomes a killer for hire for the New Jersey underworld.

‘Family’ reunites with man who saved them from Nazis

James Verniere — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

If a Holocaust film titled “Nicky’s Family” makes you think of “Schindler’s List,” it’s for good reason. Although the former is a recent documentary with fictional elements, it tells a story remarkably similar to Steven Spielberg’s Academy Award-winning 1993 Holocaust drama, and like the Spielberg film it involves a life-giving list.

Correction: Space Station-Star Trek story

Associated Press — Thu, 16 May 2013 10:50:28 -0400

WASHINGTON — In a story May 15 about astronauts at the International Space Station getting the new "Star Trek" movie, The Associated Press reported erroneously when the film opened on Earth. "Star Trek into Darkness" opened in the United States on Thursday; it opened in some other countries earlier in May.

A corrected version of the story is below:

Space not the final frontier for viewing movies

Beam me up popcorn Scotty; space station crew gets 'Star Trek' film before U.S.

By SETH BORENSTEIN

AP Science Writer

DiCaprio, Spielberg open a stormy Cannes

Associated Press — Wed, 15 May 2013 21:49:41 -0400

CANNES, France — The Cannes Film Festival got off to a blockbuster, if stormy start, as Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby" opened on a soggy French Riviera.

Amid heavy rain, dancing flappers flocked down the Cannes red carpet Wednesday night, bringing a touch of the Jazz Age to the Croisette. "Gatsby" stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire helped give the festival's opening day a strong dose of star power.

At the opening ceremony, DiCaprio, joined by his "Gatsby" co-star, Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan, declared the 66th Cannes officially begun.

Macy’s plans Downtown Crossing movie night next month

Donna Goodison — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:35:00 -0400

Macy’s will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the American drive-in by hosting a pop-up movie night outside its Downtown Crossing store in Boston next month.

The retailer will screen the 2011, PG-rated animated movie “The Smurfs” on June 26 along with a sneak preview of the “The Smurfs 2,” which hits theaters in July.

“Macy’s Great American Drive-In” is part of the Macy’s American Icons marketing campaign that launched today.

Festivities at Downtown Crossing also will include carnival activities, music and food.

Survivor of 1987 Mich. plane crash breaks silence

Associated Press — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:39:58 -0400

DETROIT — Cecelia Crocker's body provides her with a constant reminder of the most traumatic event of her life — one that she doesn't otherwise remember.

At only 4 years old, Crocker was the lone survivor of a 1987 plane crash that killed 154 people aboard and two on the ground near Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

In the new documentary, "Sole Survivor," Crocker breaks her silence, discussing how the crash of the Phoenix-bound jetliner has affected her.

Oscar rivals Spielberg, Lee reunited at Cannes

Associated Press — Wed, 15 May 2013 12:36:36 -0400

CANNES, France — Asked about their recent history as Oscar rivals, Steven Spielberg and Ang Lee look at each other hesitantly before Spielberg graciously offers, "After you."

The two have come to the Cannes Film Festival just months after facing off as the two favorites for best director at the Academy Awards. In February, Lee won the Oscar many expected to go to Spielberg for his Civil War epic "Lincoln."

But it was the Taiwan-born Lee, who had previously won the award for "Brokeback Mountain," who won for his 3-D shipwreck saga "Life of Pi."

DiCaprio's 'Gatsby' brings 1920s glamor to Cannes

Associated Press — Wed, 15 May 2013 10:26:03 -0400

CANNES, France — Like millions of others, Leonardo DiCaprio read and loved "The Great Gatsby" as a teenager. But he says he only recently began to understand it.

The star of Baz Luhrmann's kaleidoscopic screen adaptation, said reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's book again, he came to believe that it was not the tale of tragic romance he had once believed.