Top-5 films of Cannes Film Festival 2012

The line-up for the 65th annual Cannes Film Festival was announced a few weeks ago, but I hadn't much time to check it and pick just 5 films, which I'd definitely like to watch, until now.

The whole list you can read here.

"Moonrise Kingdom" by Wes Anderson

"I will meet you in the meadow."

It is the opening film of the festival, and if you remember the one, which started it the previous year, Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris", you know it has to be something special. The cast is very strong, it includes Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand and Tilda Swinton. "Moonrise Kingdom" set in the 1960s and tells a love story of two young people, who decide to run away. So their parents with help of a local sheriff start searching for them. Its trailer is surreal and weird, that is why I like it.

"Lawless" by John Hillcoat

"I'm the one who's going to make your life real difficult from now on if you don't toe the line country boy."

A gangster drama, based on a true story. Aren't you already interested in it? Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy and Jason Clarke play three brothers, who are running a very risky business, bootlegging. But new political era makes it even harder and definitely more dangerous. Also there are Gary Oldman, Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska and Guy Pearce, who won't let this film to be boring. The trailer atmosphere is very tense, especially I like the music, which gives me goose bumps. And don't confuse it with Terrence Malick's "Lawless" with Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara and Christian Bale, which will be out in 2013.

"Hemingway and Gellhorn" by Philip Kaufman

"Someone has to go, someone has to write about this."

If you are a bit familiar with Ernest Hemingway's works and life, you know that it could be a great biopic. Martha Gellhorn was his wife and a talented journalist, who became famous thanks to her war reports. The main parts are played by Clive Owen and Nicole Kidman, who look very persuasive in the only trailer, which was released so far. War, passion, love, talent - this film must be very impressive.

"The Paperboy" by Lee Daniels

Another film with Nicole Kidman. But this time she is playing a seductive woman, due to the first stills. Zac Efron and Matthew McConaughey are portraying the brothers; the younger of them helps the elder and his companion to discover who murdered the local sheriff a few years ago. While the brothers have other problems to manage, the third one fabricates some evidence to write the story without them. And now the justice must triumph or the wrong man will be executed.

Trailer isn't available yet.

"Killing Them Softly" by Andrew Dominik

Brad Pitt portrays Jackie Cogan, an enforcer, who has to investigate the heist of a poker game with the high stakes. This film is based on a novel by George V. Higgins, and is directed by a man, whose favourite and very successful film genre is crime. We'll see if this story could be this year's "Drive".

Trailer isn't available yet.

Pictures - COLLIDER, IMPAwards, Vicious!

The Women of "Bel Ami" (2012)

I'm very into period dramas, so I just couldn't miss "Bel Ami", a new adaptation of Guy de Maupassant's novel of the same name. Yes, it stars Robert Pattinson, but I have no prejudice towards him. This story is about a young man, who is tired of being poor and uses his charm to seduce rich women. I enjoyed the film, though I haven't read the book, so I can't tell if it is a good or bad adaptation. The most of all I liked its atmosphere, which was created thanks to beautiful music, gorgeous costumes and picturesque locations.

The main character, Georges Duroy, doesn't like to waste his precious time, so during 1 hour 30 min he manages to sleep with 4 women, almost sleep with a young innocent girl, and who knows how many of his affairs were left outside this story. All female characters impressed me, and every actress did a great job.

Rachel (Natalia Tena)

She is a prostitute, the first and the poorest woman, with whom Duroy has slept in this film. Also it was the most sinful sex and the most naked scene in the whole film.

Clotilde de Marelle (Christina Ricci)

She is my favourite female character here, because there is something honest and pure about her, though she cheated on her husband with the main character. And I think Clotilde is the only woman he cared about, and if he married her, he'd stop playing his games.

Madeleine Forestier (Uma Thurman)

Beautiful and smart woman isn't the one, who is easy to fool. But she also lets him in, after her husband died. It is a big question why she did it, because she didn't really need him as a friend nor lover. She was a complete person without his greedy ambitions.

Virginie Walters (Kristin Scott Thomas)

A lady, who was married for many years and has never cheated on her husband, falls in love with Duroy, because he was the only man, who said nice words to her. But then her love turned into dangerous obsession, she became crazy, and I think she didn't survive his new marriage.

Suzanne Rousset (Holliday Grainger)

The last victim of Duroy was naive Suzanne. She was very young, inexperienced and rich, so he just couldn't stop using her. I wonder how fast she figured out that he doesn't care about her at all.

Pictures - BEL AMI Film

"Django Unchained" (2012) - First pictures!

Finally, the creators of "Django Unchained", Quentin Tarantino's spaghetti western, began to release some promo stuff. Now we got the first look at Leonardo DiCaprio, Christoph Waltz and Jamie Foxx, who look very great in those costumes. May I be the one to start Oscar rumours right now? Because there is a big chance that the work of its costume department will be appreciated.

Earlier the synopsis of the film was released, you can read it here.

More about "Django Unchained" (2012)!

P.S. And I remind you that no matter how bad-ass Waltz is looking on this picture, his Dr. King Schultz is going to be a good guy. However you must beware of DiCaprio's Calvin Candie, he must be a ruthless sadist.

Pictures - COLLIDER

Let's start #FilmAdvice!

I'm sure that many of you, film addicts, have a Twitter account, because it really helps to share and find any information about films, actors, premieres, new releases, trivia etc. And I'm sure that every one of you has at least once in a while some doubts about a film you are going to watch. Of course, you can check its IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes ratings, but it doesn't necessarily help. An opinion of a real human is always better.

So I figured out we should have a tag, which can help to choose the right film and also find more people, who share your passion for films.

How will it work?
It is incredibly simple. You write your film-related question and add this hashtag - #FilmAdvice.
What kind of questions?

For example,
"There are two film-disaster in my local cinema, Titanic and Battleship, which one has a better 3D?" or
"Is there anyone, who likes horrors and didn't like 'The Cabin in the Woods'?" or
"Which Quentin Tarantino/Woody Allen/Alfred Hitchcock etc film is better to start with?" or
"Is there any film with a villain, who is similar to Christopher Walken's Horseman from "Sleepy Hollow?" or
"There are "The Tourist" and "Salt" on TV at the same time. Which should I watch?"
"Which of the new Blu-ray comedy/horror/saga/drama/TV show releases is worth it?"

You can ask me, isn't it more simple just ask someone of your friends for this advice? Of course, it might be, but there are a very few people, who are constantly online, so you might have wait for a long time to get a response.

Read the rules to understand #FilmAdvice movement better.

#FilmAdvice has a few simple rules:

• If someone helped you to choose the right film, you should help someone else too. 'Pay It Forward'. If you will ignore to help someone, don't be surprised, when your question will be ignored too.

• There are no hosts or mentors. It depends just on your wish to give an advice and get an advice. If someone can answer your questions, he or she will. If nobody did it, don't be upset, try the next time, but don't post your question every 10 minutes.

• This isn't a Fight Club, so you shouldn't keep silent about it. You better help spreading it by talking, posting, tweeting about #FilmAdvice.

• Answer a question, only if it doesn't have a reply. Let's don't give hundreds of replies to the one person and leave behind the other.

• It isn't about judging people's taste. If you see that someone asks about the film you dislike very much (you particularly hate it), you just continue passing by or try to be polite about it (sarcasm doesn't mean civility).

• If you saw a film, which someone advised you to pick, and you didn't like it, please, don't blame that person. Next time ask more specific questions to make sure.

• Don't ask questions, which Google can answer. "What is called the sport comedy directed by George Clooney?" Check it first; maybe, you can get a quick answer by yourself.

• If you are supporting #FilmAdvice, check this hashtag, when you are on Twitter. Anytime. Anywhere.

• REMEMBER: you get, you give.

I don't know, will it work or not, but let's give my idea a chance!

Who has any proposals for #FilmAdvice and wants to help me with this tiny project, leave a comment below this post or contact @ElenaStrBlogger!

"La Teta Asustada" (2009) - Twitter review

It has been a while since I wrote a Twitter review, but "La Teta Asustada" inspired me to continue. It is my thoughts in 140+ characters , while I was watching it.

More my strange Twitter reviews!

• In the mood for some serious drama. I picked Best Foreign Language Film nominee "La Teta Asustada" by Claudia Llosa.

• Old lady's song shocked me so much. How people can do such horrible things?! They create the hell on Earth.

• Such films scare me more than any horror, because they are about something that really happens.

• The scene where they are preparing old lady's body for a funeral is very detailed. I didn't see it before in any other film. They usually show just a cemetery full of people, who gathered before a closed coffin, in American films.

• The main character is a young girl Fausta. She suffers from a physiological disease 'The Milk of Sorrow', which is also called 'The Frightened Tit', because her pregnant mother was raped.

• Actress Magaly Solier played her part great, she made her character very vulnerable, reserved and fearful. Sometimes her Fausta reminds me a wild animal, which was captured and doesn't know how to get away from its cage.

• And when Fausta is miserable, she starts to sing about her feelings. This is how her mother taught her. It brings at least a few minutes of freedom for her.

• Every time Fausta is in a crowd, there is so much tension, like she will break any minute. But she remains strong and fights her disease.

• All minor parts are played by unknown actors or just local people, but they looks very natural, which makes this film even more realistic and down-to-earth.

• While I'm watching this feature film, I start to think that it is a documentary about hard life of people from Peru.

• By the way, Solier has a beautiful voice, and she is the author of the songs, which her character sings in this drama.

• The most wicked scene was the marriage of over 50 people. A private ceremony just for two is very expensive, so they wait till there are more fiancées and make a big holiday for all of them.

• I'm sure that Fausta's employer has an interesting life story to share, but it was left in shadows.

• Even if all people in the world will tell you to overcome your fear, only you can do it by believing in yourself. But you still need at least one good friend, whom you can trust, who will help you and push you in the right direction.  

• "La Teta Asustada" in an inspiring and challenging story, which shows the hard way to freedom. And without freedom we can't be happy. It deserves 7/10.

"Hitchcock" (2013) - First look at Anthony Hopkins

The very first promo image for the new biopic was released. Before I saw this picture, I've never thought that there is some resemblance between Anthony Hopkins and Alfred Hitchcock. But is it that he really gained some weight or this film has a talented make-up artist, Hopkins became unrecognisable - I see only Hitchcock there.

This film is called simply "Hitchcock" and will be in cinemas in 2013. It is going to be a love story about Alfred Hitchcock and Alma Reville, his wife, who is played by Helen Mirren, while he was filming his famous "Psycho". And the rumour says that we will see Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Biel and Toni Collette among them. The director is Sacha Gervas, who is one of the screenwriters of Spielberg's "The Terminal". Also the biopic is based on a book by Stephen Rebello.

Both leading actors are the Academy Award winners, so "Hitchcock" has a good chance to become one of the critics favourite. I doubt that such cast can ruin this interesting story.

Picture - Fox Searchlight

"Happy Feet 2" (2011) - Will and Bill the Krill

Today I want to post something, which will cheer you up, if you need it. "Happy Feet 2" is the cutest animated film of 2011, but my favourite characters in it aren't the penguins. Two very talkative and ambitious representatives of krill made me laugh every time they appeared on the screen. Will and Bill had their own important journey, while all penguins were trying to get out of the ice trap.

They show us what it means to be true friends. You might think that one of them (which wants to be something more important than just a food for bigger sea inhabitants) is crazy, but I find him very brave and purposeful. He proved that even a small creature can make the life better for his relatives. He's an inspiring guy.

"What possible difference could one krill make?"

Those hilarious characters were voiced by two friends, whom you definitely know, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon.

I would like to see at least a short film about adventures of Will and Bill the Krill, don't you?

"Django Unchained" (2012) - Teaser poster and some thoughts

This film is on my top waiting list since the first time I've heard about 'new Tarantino's project'. Quentin Tarantino got style, and this teaser poster for his spaghetti western "Django Unchained" proves it again. But there is a huge 'but' about it. This 'totally new' promo material from The Weinstein Company looks like an old poster, made by a fan and released many months ago. I just hope that his work was appreciated, not copied or stolen. Or maybe it is still a fan-art, but promoted by The Weinstein Company. I'm confused and now I'm waiting to see something really different, when another poster will be released.

"Django Unchained" is about the times of slavery, which is very good at broking human lives. If you have seen "Inglourious Basterds", you know that the story won't be about historical truth.

The plot says: 'With the help of his mentor, a slave-turned-bounty hunter sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner.'

You must have heard that Joseph Gordon-Levitt supposed to play a part there, but we won't see him in this film. However, we still have a great crew: Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Don Johnson. Oh, they will make it a masterpiece. By the way, Christoph Waltz is now playing a good character, so don't expect to see Hans Landa.

If you want to know more about this upcoming film, visit this great fan-based blog, dedicate to "Django Unchained".

Next Christmas is going to be very bloody.

Poster - Yahoo! movies

"To Rome With Love" (2012) - First trailer

"You will never understand women!"
"That's been proven."

Woody Allen continues to travel all around Europe, so his new film is set in Rome. Its trailer shows that it is going to be a wonderful, ironic romantic comedy. Mr. Allen also plays one of the main characters, which is great, because I don't remember him being on the screen since weird "Scoop" (2006).

This film has a very good and various cast: Penélope Cruz as passionate Anna, Alec Baldwin as self-confident John, Roberto Benigni as new TV star Leopoldo, Ellen Page as honest Monica and Jesse Eisenberg as confused Jack.

"To Rome With Love" will be in cinemas this summer. Check out its official website.

Old Hollywood: First logos of the famous film studios

This time I want to travel back in time to show you how the famous logos of the film studious looked many years ago, when it all just began.

Columbia Pictures

Earlier name: A Columbia Production

It is the logo, which is shown before "It Happened One Night", released in 1934. Yes, it isn't the same girl, whom we can see before Columbia Pictures films. And without colours she looks creepy.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Earlier name: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

This studio was one of the first to work with Technicolor, but I found its first black-and-white logo. You can see it in such films as "The Big Parade" (1925) or "Ben–Hur" (1925).

Universal Studios

Earlier name: Universal Film Manufacturing Company

This black-and-white logo isn't the first, but it is the earliest one you can find. It was opening films since 1927 till 1936, and you can see it in "The Man Who Laughs" or "Imitation of Life", which was nominated for Best Picture, and many other classic films.

Walt Disney Pictures

Earlier name: Walt Disney Productions

Yes, this logo of Walt Disney Pictures didn't change much. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937) was the first full-length animated film, made by Disney, and it has already begun with that castle, which is very familiar now to every child and adult in the world.

20th Century Fox

Earlier name: 20th Century Pictures Inc.

Nothing changed, except for colour and quality. This one is from 1930s, you can see it before "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" (1939).