Say What? Tom Cruise Stunting for "M:I 6"

Chris here. Now that filming has commenced on Mission: Impossible 6, we can start anticipating what stunt queen master Tom Cruise is prepping for our amazement. How can he top hanging from a giant skyscraper or strapping himself to a flying plane this time? Time will tell but we have already been told that Cruise has been prepping for a year on the showstopper. Maybe new costar Henry Cavill can get in on the fun?

Cruise was recently filming a more low-key feat on the Paris streets, crashing a motorcycle and somersaulting over a car on a wire. By comparison of several hundred feet, this stunt is positively quaint. But what's Tom got on his mind as he breezes through the air? Tell us in the comments!

Michael Ballhaus (1935-2017)

by Nathaniel R

It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of German cinematographer Michael Ballhaus. The 81 year old artist was a crucial figure in making me the movie maniac that I am today. Michelle Pfeiffer on the piano top in The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989) -- hell the entire movie -- being a defining image in my life, after which I went from enthusiastic regular moviegoer to celluloid-devouring obsessive.

Ballhaus had retired after Martin Scorsese's The Departed (2006) making only one German movie in the last decade of his life and we had hoped each year that he'd be announced as an Honorary Oscar recipient. His three scant nominations -- The Fabulous Baker Boys, Broadcast News, and Gangs of New York -- do no justice to his long and gorgeous career. That's because they don't feel representative of his career as a whole and because, apart from his crowning glory (Baker Boys -- which ought to have walked away with Cinematography in just about any year, let alone 1989) aren't even his best work.

Ballhaus and Fassbinder worked together all through the 70s

Ballhaus got his start as a young man of 24 in German television but quickly graduated to features...

Click to read more ...

Jack Linker

TIFF on the need for female film critics
The Guardian The Rock reveals he was turned down for the role of Jack Reacher in favor of Tom Cruise. Which puts that original quote that they couldn't find a tall enough actor to play the 6'5" fictional character to shame! (It's like when producers say "we couldn't find someone who can sing and dance for this musical"... it's just code for: 'we didn't really try because we liked Star A even though they were wrong for it' 
The Retro Set a look at Fred Astaire defying gravity in Royal Wedding for director Stanley Donen's birthday

Coming Soon after terrific 3rd season Grace & Frankie is renewed, will add Lisa Kudrow for a guest arc
/Film another disruption from Netflix. They're planning to focus more on Los Angeles as home for their productions. Might Hollywood follow suit and return home?
EW does a big promo push for Snatched with Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn
The New Yorker a profile of "the prophet of dystopia," Margaret Atwood as The Handmaid's Tale gets the miniseries treatment
Esquire 50 quote movie buff quiz. Listen and guess. I thought I'd get 100% but I missed a few toward the end. I especially liked the multiple choice quiz being difficult for once, like a Scarlett Johansson's elsewhere voice over a choice of three ScarJo movies and a fourth choice of a bunch of hazy blondes
MNPP Jude Law for Young Dumbledore. This opens up so many dirty thoughts 
Mother Jones a brief history of men getting credit for women's accomplishments
Variety The Magicians renewed for a third season at Syfy
Tracking Board has a series called "The Runway" in which they review all the pilot scripts and make bets as to what will make it to series. But first, a look back on what last year's winners were and what the hot trends look to be like this year
Tracking Board Aquaman's cast keeps growing Dolph Lundgren joins as the villainous King Nereus 

The Fast and I'm Furious: Ranking every film in the franchise

by Spencer Coile 

Dating back to 2001 with the premiere of The Fast and the Furious, the Furious franchise has become something of a centerpiece of the action genre. Watching the shenanigans of Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, and company across the span of seven films in sixteen years is quite the rollercoaster ride of quality. Ranging from the good, the bad, and the ugly, it is especially interesting to note the progression of the film series; they initially started as mindless entertainement to... well, even more mindless entertainment, but with some awe-inspiring action sequences with a blatant theme of family and togetherness. Even after the death of Paul Walker, the franchise continues. 

In preparation for the latest foray into the canon, the eigth film (they aren't all numbered) The Fate of the Furious, I decided to sit down with each of the seven preceding movies and evaluate each on their own merits, but also how they function in the series as a whole. I'd seen a whopping zero of them before this marathon! How many have you seen?

Ranking the Fast and the Furious Franchise...

Click to read more ...

Cannes Line Up

by Nathaniel R

The Cannes lineup was announced very early this morning (time differences, don'cha know) and we're here to give you details, not just film titles. While TFE doesn't attend ($) we do follow from afar and hope to make the trek some day. The 70th Annual Cannes Film Festival runs May 17th through May 28th.

OPENING NIGHT

Which is a high profile gig but also risky as the knives are often out for a sacrifice to the festival gods to launch the cinextravaganza. 

Ismael’s Ghosts (Arnaud Desplechin)
French auteur Desplechin's latest will be released in the US by Magnolia. It stars French A-Listers Marion Cotillard, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Mathieu Amalric, and Louis Garrel and revolves around a filmmaker (Amalric) working on a new picture when his long dead lover Carlotta (Cotillard) returns to life sending his life into a tailspin. If you've never seen Desplechin classics Kings and Queen (2004) and A Christmas Tale (2008) get right to that!

THE COMPETITION LINEUP...

Click to read more ...