May 22 V-Log

Che Games in San Diego this weekend -- Come one, come all!

Sherlock Holmes

Featured Capsule "Drag Me to Hell"

Co-written with his brother Ivan, Sam Raimi crafts an enormously enjoyable house of cinematic horrors that is at turns funny, campy, shocking, and scary. The ever-engaging Alison Lohman plays Christine, a bank loan officer angling for an assistant manager position. Attempting to impress her boss with her ability to make "tough choices," Christine denies a loan extension to an old Hungarian gypsy named Mrs. Ganush (wonderfully played by Lorna Raver). The decision causes Mrs. Ganush to place a terrible curse on Christine that promises to drag her to hell at the end of three days. With the help of her attentive boyfriend Clay (Justin Long), and a knowledgeable psychic (played by Dileep Rao), Christine tries to get rid of the curse that causes all sorts of terrifying events and bodily harm. Sam Raimi uses everything in his bag of cinematic tricks to create a fast paced "Night Gallery"/"Twilight Zone"-styled horror movie that continuously goes much further than any expectations might prepare you for. "Drag Me to Hell" is the most fun I've had at the movies in years. It's destined to be a cult classic for all eternity.
Rated PG-13. 99 mins. (A+) (Five Stars)

"Bruno" with Sacha Baron Cohen - Opens July 10

Michael Moore's Latest Film "Blame the Rich"

"The wealthy, at some point, decided they didn't have enough wealth," "They wanted more--a lot more. So they systematically set about to fleece the American people out of their hard-earned money. Now why would they do this? That is what I seek to discover in this movie."

Due for an October theatrical release, Micheal Moore's latest film "Blame the Rich" (the unofficial title--might it be titled "Kill the Poor" instead?) finds the filmmaker in his usual place at the curve of political, and economic, dissatisfaction that Americans find themselves. Up until now, Moore has kept the subject of his next film secret, and he promises to stay tight-lipped about the project right up until the film's release as the film will be kept as au currant as possible right up to its final edit.

Cannes 2009: The Awards

The official Jury for this year's 62nd Festival de Cannes, presided over by Isabelle Huppert, and including Asia Argento, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Lee Chang-Dong, James Gray, Hanif Kureishi, Shu Qi, and Robin Wright Penn presented the following awards at the Closing Ceremonies on May 24th at the Palais du Festival.

IN COMPETITION - FEATURE FILMS

Palme d'Or
DAS WEISSE BAND (The White Ribbon) directed by Michael HANEKE

Grand Prix
UN PROPHÈTE (A Prophet) directed by Jacques AUDIARD

Lifetime Achievement Award, for his work and his exceptional contribution to the history of cinema:

Alain RESNAIS

Best Director
Brillante MENDOZA for KINATAY

Jury Prize
FISH TANK directed by Andrea ARNOLD

BAK-JWI (Thirst) directed by PARK Chan-Wook

Best Performance by an Actor
Christoph WALTZ for INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS directed by Quentin TARANTINO 

Best Performance by an Actress
Charlotte GAINSBOURG for ANTICHRIST directed by Lars von TRIER 

Best Screenplay
MEI Feng for CHUN FENG CHEN ZUI DE YE WAN (Spring Fever) directed by LOU Ye 

Prix Vulcain: Artist-Technician
Aitor BERENGUER, sound technician on MAP OF THE SOUNDS OF TOKYO directed by Isabel COIXET.

IN COMPETITION - SHORT FILMS

Palme d'Or
ARENA directed by João SALAVIZA

Special Distinction

THE SIX DOLLAR FIFTY MAN directed by Mark ALBISTON, Louis SUTHERLAND

CAMERA D'OR
SAMSON AND DELILAH directed by Warwick THORNTON (presented at Un Certain Regard)

Caméra d'Or – Special Distinction
AJAMI directed by Scandar COPTI, Yaron SHANI (presented at Quinzaine des Réalisateurs)

UN CERTAIN REGARD
Prix Un Certain Regard - Fondation Gan pour le Cinéma

KYNODONTAS (Dogtooth) by Yorgos LANTHIMOS

Jury Prize
POLITIST, ADJECTIV (Police, Adjective) by Corneliu PORUMBOIU

Special Prize Un Certain Regard 2009
KASI AZ GORBEHAYE IRANI KHABAR NADAREH (No One Knows About Persian Cats) by Bahman GHOBADI

LE PÈRE DE MES ENFANTS (Father of My Children) by Mia HANSEN-LØVE

CINEFONDATION

First Cinéfondation Prize
BÁBA by Zuzana Kirchnerová-Špidlová (FAMU, République Tchèque)

Second Cinéfondation Prize

GOODBYE by Song Fang (Beijing Film Academy, Chine)

Third Cinéfondation Prize (ex aequo)

DIPLOMA by Yaelle Kayam (The Sam Spiegel Film & TV School, Israël)

NAMMAE UI JIP (Don't Step out of the House) directed by Jo Sung-hee (Korean Academy of Film Arts, Corée du Sud)

May 15 V-Log

Inglorious Bastards

John Berry's "The Hollywood Ten" Part 1

John Berry's "The Hollywood Ten" Part 2

Whatever Works

Tetro

Food, Inc.

Scorsese to Direct Frank Sinatra Bioic

Variety reports that Martin Scorsese will direct a Frank Sinatra biopic to be produced by Universal and Manderlay Pictures. Although no casting has yet been set in stone, it seems likely that Leonardo DiCaprio will play Old Blue Eyes, whose original recordings will be used rather than having the actor sing like Sinatra.