Emily Blunt is on a roll

Here's Murtada on a long time TFE favorite...

Blunt earlier this week at Sicario's London premiere

It’s a good week to be Emily Blunt. Her latest movie Sicario opened to strong reviews and scored the year’s best on screen average for a limited release indicating it might become a substantial hit when it goes wide. She’s one of the favorites mentioned for that Mary Poppins sequel. And her next movie The Girl on the Train just got a couple of high profile co-stars; an Oscar winner and Captain America himself.

Jared Leto and Chris Evans are set to join Blunt, Rebecca Ferguson and Haley Bennett in the adaptation of the best selling novel that will be directed by The Help’s Tate Taylor. The book, written by Paula Hawkins, is a publishing sensation, a la Gone Girl, having spent 20 weeks at the top of the hardback fiction charts. The plot is about alcoholic Rachel Watson (Blunt) who still pines for her ex husband (Evans) who is now married to Anna (Ferguson) while concocting a fantasy about the seemingly perfect couple (Bennett & Leto) she watches from the train on her daily commute. The story chronicles Bennett’s character disappearance and its effect on both Rachel and Anna. Though the book was set in London and Blunt will keep her English accent, the movie has been transplanted to the suburbs of New York City.

Clockwise L-R : Bennett, Leto, Ferguson and Evans

It’s exciting to see Blunt mixing it up. It would’ve been easy to be pigeonholed in action roles after her much lauded turn in Edge of Tomorrow. Even Sicario in which she plays an FBI agent is very different than her “full metal bitch” in Edge. Her Kate Macer is aces at her job but also overwhelmed by the grim reality of the drug trade along the US-Mexico border, a more nuanced characterization than the straight action-heroine of Edge. In a recent interview with Indiewire she talks about why only a handful of women are sought for all the action roles :

I think it’s because the list is very short, because we don’t see women in these kind of roles. So I think as soon as you do a role like that, like Charlize did or I did, or Rebecca’s done -- there’s like four of us or something. And Jen Lawrence. So I feel like us four, we get talked about -- and Angie, Angelina. So it’s a list of like, four women who are going to be considered for those kind of roles. So I think that’s why the rumors happen, because they’re like, "who else? Surely not another girl can wield a gun," you know what I mean? "A woman doing push-ups? There’s only one who can do that."

Sicario should take her to the next level, whether or not it brings her that first Oscar nomination. The film succeeds as both a vivid and violent thriller and a brilliant character study. At the center of it is Blunt’s Kate Macer who is by turns ferocious, steely, determined and also vulnerable and uncertain. It’s a great showcase of not only Blunt’s giant talent but Denis Villeneuve’s assured direction. Excellent word of mouth should translate into box office gold soon.

Have you seen Sicario yet? Isn't it funny that the two actresses who stole movies from Tom Cruise are going to be on screen together?

Women's Pictures - Amy Heckerling's Vamps

How does it feel to be a relic in the new millenium? No shade intended towards Amy Heckerling. Her most recent film was obsessed with just that question. In Vamps, Heckerling attempted to take a bite (sorry) out of youth culture using 2012's movie monster of the moment, the vampire. But in her latest foray into social satire, the genre-defining writer/director who gave a voice to two generations of teens seemed drained (sorry) of the empathy that had made her previous work enjoyable. To put it bluntly: Vamps sucks.*

*If you dislike puns, don't B negative. They only get worse from here.

For a film about youth, Vamps has a surprising number of well-preserved throwbacks. Alicia Silverstone stars as Goody, a 300 year old vampire. She's joined by a colorful-though-pale cast including Sigourney Weaver, Wallace Shawn, Malcolm MacDowell, Richard Lewis, Marilu Henner and Krysten Ritter, who plays Goody's sister vampire, Stacy. Goody's hundreds of years of un-life as a 20-something have given her pesrpective on the fashions and follies of humanity, though she thinks the latest generation's slang and smartphones are a pain in the neck (sorry). Stacy, who was turned in the 1980s, acts as Goody's ambassador to modern youth culture, at least until Stacy falls for a human (Dan Stevens) in her night film class at NYU. Stacy's relationship, and the return of a past beau, suddenly makes Goody's world a bloody (sorry) mess. More...

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TIFF: Baba Joon, Dégradé, Much Loved

on the set of Baba JoonAmir files our last TIFF report on three films, one of them hoping for Oscar...

Baba Joon (Israel)
Israel’s Oscar submission is quite a unique experience: the lives of Iranian Jews who have left their homeland to live in Israel—and are consequently not allowed to re-enter Iran because of the two countries’ bitter relationship has never been portrayed on screen. In Yuval Delshad’s debut feature, the titular character and his clan—a son, his wife and their son—all live on a small turkey farm in rural Israel and live with very modest means. The tensions between multiple generations of the family, and the melancholia of living at once at home and away from home are the film’s central themes.

Baba Joon’s storytelling and the emotional beats are familiar. There is nothing in the strained father-son dynamics, troubled by decades of repression, that we haven’t previously seen on the big screen. The film’s abrupt but rather predictable ending lends it a saccharine flavour that might sit well with the Academy, but undermines the film. When the story’s resolution is presented so neatly with a gift wrap, very little is left for the audience to ponder. Still, this is a heartfelt film of genuinely well intentions, with a sizable novelty factor, whose fresh look at ethnic minorities in the Middle East is quietly delightful.

Dégradé (Palestine/France/Qatar)
This debut film from eccentrically named brothers Arab and Tarzan Nasser, shows similar irreverence in depicting ethnic tensions with Israel. Part Almodovar-esque comedy of women on the verge of nervous breakdowns, part a thriller revolving a hostage situation, their film, which stars Hiam Abbas and Maisa Abd Elhadi, is based in a hair salon in Gaza, where the clientele hail from different social, religious and political backgrounds. As they wait their turns to be beautified, the salon becomes increasingly like a microcosm of Gaza’s society, and the world beyond the confines of the building is engulfed in violence.

Dégradé is an interesting look at life in the occupied territories because it broadens the conversation beyond the Israel-Palestine binary. In the film’s view, the community is rife with tensions and chasms, all exacerbated by the atrocious limitations of living in occupation. Yet, the image is much richer and layered than normally shown on screen, breaking the monolithic view of Palestinians in favour of a more complex perspective. That the film manages to convey these intricacies while remaining consistently entertaining is a significant accomplishment, and one that promises much more from the filmmaking duo.

Much Loved (Morocco/France)
The most daring film among the bunch comes from the more experienced hands of Moroccan director Nabil Ayouch. Ayouch surveys the night club scene in Marrakech, a world filled with sex, drugs and rampant decadence. Home to tourists from Saudi Arabia and Europe, the city’s nightlife is bustling and its sex industry is ever active, almost completely removed from the crisis-ridden country that surrounds it. Almost.  Following Noha (Loubna Abidar) and her entourage of less experienced escorts, Much Loved is as intimate a film as it is provocative.

Ayouch has had to field a lot of controversy, mostly due to the explicit displays of sex in his film; and while the murky release prospects of the film in the Arab world are understandable, it’s unfortunate if sex becomes the only talking point. This is the rare film that intertwines the lives of sex workers with socio-economic issues without becoming patronizing. Morocco’s complicated relationships with Europe and other Arab countries, and its tenuous political situation are subtly worked into the plot of the film. It’s intimate and superbly acted—mostly by amateur performers— and a film that's heartbreaking, humorous and evocative in equal measure. In a festival that is never short on big films from big directors, Much Loved was a true discovery.

In Appreciation of Regina King

Kieran here to take a moment to praise the talents of the great underappreciated, enduring and (as of Sunday evening) Emmy-winning actress, Regina King. It was truly a wonderful moment when Taraji P. Henson, still reeling from that moment of Terrence Howard creepery, excitedly announced Regina King as the winner. The Emmys can often feel like a yearly recitation of the same list of names, but wins like Regina King's are what make awards shows that honor acting great. Like Melissa Leo or Octavia Spencer, it's always heartening to see hard working, talented and enduring character actresses finally get recognition.

My earliest memory of King was in Boyz N the Hood (227 is a little before my time) where she brought a welcome side-eye skepticism and levity to that male-centric outing, great as it was. I haven't seen the film in a couple of years, but her lines easily remain the most memorable and quotable. I feel similarly about her performance in Ray, a film that suffers from its trite biopic structure but comes to life most when King's Margie is on screen. She's consistently great, shoring up projects and roles that often don't deserve her, frankly.

King has worked steadily for the past three decades but prior to her nod for American Crime, she had never been nominated for an Emmy. Or a Golden Globe. Or a solo Screen Actors Guild Award (she was nominated with the cast of Ray in 2004). Or an Oscar. Given the breadth and longevity of King's career, this is a little shocking. She's clearly under-appreciated, even by me. I failed to cite her as one of my ten favorite Emmy nominees, though she was great on American Crime and wholly deserving of the win.

Hopefully seeing Regina King win an Emmy will prompt directors and producers, many of whom I'm sure she's already worked with (seriously...check out her IMDb. The woman never stops working) to unlock their imaginations about what she's capable of. She's shown her versatility in a wide range of genres and in roles of all sizes. The time has long passed for King to have her moment in a great leading role worthy of her talents.

What's your favorite Regina King performance? What director would you like to see her paired with? Discuss in the comments.

HBO’s LGBT History: Bernard and Doris (2008)

Manuel is working his way through all the LGBT-themed HBO productions.

Last week we looked at the provocatively titled but rather limp documentary Middle Sexes - Redefining He and She. This week, we turn our attention to Bernard and Doris, a rather enjoyable little film about billionairess Doris Duke and her gay butler Bernard Lafferty. It’s an otherwise lightweight exercise for actors and director alike but it does allow us to talk about that ubiquitous “gay guy/straight gal” pairing we’re all too familiar with.

Bernard and Doris (DVD)
Directed by: Bob Balaban
Written by: Hugh Costello
Starring: Susan Sarandon, Ralph Fiennes, James Rebhorn.

At one point in Bob Balaban’s HBO film, Doris Duke, “the richest girl in the world” as she was known ever since her father left his entire fortune to her, demands that Bernard - the increasingly flamboyant Irish butler she’s grown quite fond of - step aside from driving and let her take the wheel. She’s much too drunk to bear his slow pace and much too bossy to let herself be convinced otherwise. Inevitably, the unlikely couple are stopped by a cop and Doris is asked to step outside the car and told she’ll have to be breathalized. More...

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