ND/NF: "Menashe" and "The Future Perfect"

MOMa and Film Society of Lincoln Center's annual New Directors / New Films festival wrapped up this past weekend. Their goal each year is to celebrate "a group of filmmakers who represent the present and anticipate the future of cinema: daring artists whose work pushes the envelope and is never what you’d expect"  The big tickets this year were two buzzy Sundance titles: the gay drama Beach Rats (a subway misshap prevented me from making the screening - argh!) and the rap comedy Patti Cake$ which will be out in July. The latter prompted a bidding war with Fox Searchlight offering $10+ million. Beach Rats was picked up by a new distribution company called Neon so who knows when it will arrive. Colossal, that Anne Hathaway as a kaiju oddity, will be Neon's first proper release on April 7th. 

At ND/NF we previously reviewed Sexy Durga, Happiness Academy, and Strong Island. Here are the two final films yours truly caught, one being maybe my favorite of 2017 thus far...

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Cannes Poster Unveiled

Claudia Cardinale is this poster girl for the 70th edition of the Cannes Film Festival (May 17th-28th). 

The Italian star, whose credits include classics like 8½, Once Upon a Time in the West, The Leopard, Big Deal on Madonna Street, and Rocco and His Brothers is 78 now. She's still a regular on film festival red carpets. This photo of her was taken in 1959 when she was just 21 (and people are not happy that it's been reportedly airbrushed to make her thighs smaller.)

More news: Another Italian goddess Monica Bellucci has been named the Mistress of Ceremonies; Romanian auteur Cristian Mungiu (4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days,  Beyond the Hills) will preside over the Cinéfondation and Short Films Jury; and the Main Competition Jury president is Spain's Pedro Almodóvar. We don't yet know what the films he'll be judging are (and who will be on his jury) but speculated titles include Alexander Payne's Downsizing, Todd Haynes Wonderstruck, Michael Haneke's Happy End, and Sofia Coppola's The Beguiled. 

Considering Rihanna, the Actress

Robert here. The latest teaser trailer for Luc Besson's sci-fi epic Valerian dropped today. I have a tepid relationship with the type of high-concept sci-fi that Valerian promises to deliver, but one thing about the project has piqued my interest: sexy space Rihanna, ya'll.

With Valerian coming out later this year, a roll in Oceans 8 as part of an actressing ensemble that appears to be assembled by way of collective gay the Secreting and a two episode arch on The Bates Motel now under her belt, it appears that Rihanna is looking to add film star to her resume.

So, what should we make of Rihanna the actress?

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Colonel Stewart, Margo Channing, Jay Gatsby, and a Cuckoo's Nest

As previously noted March 25th and today, March 29th, are the most common days on which to hold Oscar ceremonies. Both dates have seen five Oscar nights in the Academy's 89 year history. But those Oscar anniversaries aren't the only thing worth celebrating today.

On this day in showbiz history...

Colonel James Stewart in 1945

1889 Oscar winner Warner Baxter (In Old Arizona, 42nd Street) born in Columbus Ohio
1919 Oscar winner Eileen Heckart (Butterflies are Free, The Bad Seed) ALSO born in Columbus Ohio. C'mon Columbus! You go with your Oscar winners.
1945 Jimmy Stewart becomes a colonel in the US Air Force during World War II... 

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Big Little Lies MVPs: Episode 6 "Burning Love"

 Previously: Episode 1 and 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, and Episode 5. 

by Spencer Coile

In the penultimate episode to HBO's actress juggernaut, Madeline comes to terms with her affair with Joseph and discovers Abigail's secret project: auctioning off her virginity to fight against sex trafficking. Celeste adopts an exit strategy from Perry... but also breaks his urethra. The memory of Jane's rape continues to haunt her, even after realizing that Saxon Baker was not the culprit, but when she finds out there's a petition going around school urging for Ziggy's suspension, she takes matters into her own hands and reconciles with Renata. Meanwhile, Avenue Q finally opens and musical theater fans rejoiced! 

With everything coming to a head in next week's finale, there are still so many questions left unanswered. Still, let's take a moment and reflect on the genius that was "Burning Love." 

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