Yes No Maybe So: The Eyes of Tammy Faye

by Nathaniel R

The Eyes of Tammy Faye was once the title of a popular 2000 documentary and now it's the title of a biopic about the rise and fall of televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, with the emphasis being on the more sympathetic Tammy (who is no longer with us, having died of cancer in the Aughts). For you youngsters out there they were VERY famous in the 1980s with their scandal and downfall happening in 1989. The movie is directed by Michael Showalter (The Big Sick, Hello My Name is Doris) and gives plum roles to Oscar nominees Andrew Garfield and Jessica Chastain as the famous fallen couple. Will it be great, terrible, a mix of both simultaneously or (most dangerously) blandly mediocre? Will it be up for all the Oscars or none of them? Let's give this the full Yes No Maybe So™ treatment after the jump...

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74th Cannes. Directors' Fortnight Selection

The Cannes festival runs July 6th through July 17th this year (departing from the usual May) due to taking a year off given COVID-19. After the Main Competition, Un Certain Regard, and Critics Week we have the announcement of the final section: Directors Fortnight. Let's investigate that new group of films though this is the list we have the least information about.

DIRECTORS FORTNIGHT
If a film has an asterisk it's a debut and thus eligible for the Camera d'Or.

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Mitchell Leisen: The forgotten legacy of a queer filmmaker

by Cláudio Alves

Sometimes, a writing project can take a life of its own, overwhelming you. That's what happened to me when trying to write about Old Hollywood director Mitchell Leisen. Initially, I pitched this piece to Nathaniel as a way of spotlighting an oft-forgotten talent whose best films feature in one of the Criterion Channel's latest collections. Later, as our 1946 journey began, the piece gained new value as a profile of the man who directed that year's Best Actress champion, Olivia de Havilland in To Each His Own. However, what most surprised me was how Leisen's story correlates with queer history and everything we celebrate and mourn during Pride month. 

As I went down a rabbit hole of research, the marvelous writings of Mark Rappaport, David Melville, Farran Nehme, and others revealed the complex case. That of an acclaimed queer artist whose legacy was systematically tarnished, if not downright erased, in a gesture of barely concealed homophobia…

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The box office is open again. What did you see this week?

Been back to the movie theaters yet? We're so thrilled to be able to post a full top ten weekend box office report again. It's been ages since there were enough theaters open and movies in play. We've just barely gotten there of course. But the box office results to date (especially overseas) with the world starting to turn again suggest that Disney and Warner Bros have left a lot of money on the table by making things available to stream simultaneously or ONLY; they're betting their entire futures on streaming. Which might be wise but some decisions still feel foolhardy especially the decision to not release Pixar's Luca in theaters, given that it's already winning raves and might have been a perfect summertime bet in airconditioned theaters since it's a summertime tale and Pixar movies generally make hundreds of millions in movie theaters. Strange decision especially since they gave Raya the traditional release! When viewed in broader context of what gets a theatrical release versus what doesn't it's like pissing directly on Pixar when something like Dreamworks Spirit Untamed gets a theatrical release and Luca doesn't. Ugh.

Anyway. Here is the chart. What did you see this past week/weekend?

Weekend Box Office June 4th-6th 🔺 = new or expanding / ★ = recommended
WIDE RELEASE	PLATFORM TITLES
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It	Undine

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74th Cannes. The Critics Week Films

by Nathaniel R

Déborah Lukumuena, who made her film debut in "Divines" co-stars in Opening Night film "Robuste"

In case you missed our previous Cannes rounds up we discussed the Official Competition as well as Un Certain Regard and Special Screenings. Why are we always late with these roundups? Because we like to give you more than just a list of titles that you can get at press releases (and every site) but more info on the films. The following titles are playing in Critics Week. Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu who won the Palme d'Or for the great 4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days is presiding over this particular jury. Fun fact: ALL of the competition films at Critics Week this time are debuts and are thus eligible for the Camera d'Or (which has a separate jury)

Details on the films are after the jump...

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