Circuit Round-Up, 05/30

* Good morning, readers. As a reminder of last week’s events, I give my thoughts on the Oscar potential of the major Cannes Film Festival award winners.

* Joey Magidson chooses the lesser of two evils (actually more like mediocrities) for his DVD Picks of the Week.

* Anna Belickis was nonplussed by both Jumping the Broom and Madea’s Big Happy Family, Mike Ward confirmed our suspicions about Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and Joey recommended Daydream Nation and raved about Midnight in Paris.

* Speaking of which, I commemorate the release of Woody Allen’s latest film with a Historical Circuit retrospective on one of my favorite works from him.

* Anna also recaps the penultimate episode of “Dancing with the Stars.” Stay tuned for her thoughts on the finale.

* Oscar Tracker gets launched, with The Tree of Life and We Need to Talk About Kevin being the major additions.

* Remember also that today is Memorial Day. The Awards Circuit extends our gratitude to the brave members of America's armed forces who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

Todd McCarthy wraps up Cannes...

...and here's his take, from The Hollywood Reporter:

This was a year of some strangeness in Cannes, of one major auteur being kicked out of town, another proving invisible and yet another -- one not allowed to work or travel from his native country -- sneaking his illicit new creation into France hidden in a loaf of bread.

Even if there were a number of very fine films, the 2011 festival arguably did not yield any absolute knockouts. The more elaborate works from the heavyweights in the competition -- Terrence Malick, Lars von Trier, Pedro Almodovar, Paolo Sorrentino, Nuri Bilge Ceylan -- were among the more contentiously debated, provoking reactions across the full spectrum of critical opinion.

By contrast, it was often the simpler, more modestly scaled films, the films that did not insist at the outset upon their importance or greatness -- Michel Hazanavicius’s silent black-and-white comic melodrama The Artist, Nicolas Winding Refn’s stripped-down auto actioner Drive, the Dardenne brothers’ small, redemptive drama The Kid With a Bike, Aki Kaurismaki’s seriocomic thriller Le Havre -- that went over best; clear thinking and an assurance of how to place an economical style at the service of substance were most often what carried the day.

It seemed to vaguely disappoint his most ardent longtime admirers and is far from perfect, but Malick’s The Tree of Life remained the film that made the strongest impression on me throughout this 64th Cannes. Artistically risky and aesthetically beautiful, it made its points impressionistically through hundreds of visual and aural pin-pricks, and I’m quite keen to see it again. Brad Pitt is terrific in it, but it’s the framing material, with Sean Penn playing Pitt’s grown son who doesn’t get to say or think a thing, that doesn’t cut it. I’m willing to bet that, had a nonstar played the son, Malick -- who cut Adrian Brody out of The Thin Red Line -- might have eventually decided to eliminate this material entirely but could not without causing a contractual mess and ruining a relationship.

The high-art contingent seemed highest on Turkish virtuoso Ceylan’s metaphysical thriller Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, which I had to miss but many compared to a more abstracted Zodiac, while we all grooved on the prolific Danish genre enthusiast Refn’s Drive, a sort of thinking fan’s alternative to Fast Five. I learned here from Refn’s father, who is von Trier’s longtime editor and sometime assistant director, that his son spent a good part of his teenage years frequently the now-extinct grindhouses on 42nd Street in New York City, which explains a few things and makes him something of a spiritual brother to Quentin Tarantino.

Go figure...The Tree of Life wins the Palme d'Or!

Behold the prizes:

Official Competition Palme d'Or: The Tree Of Life (dir: Terrence Malick)

Grand Prix (Runner-up to main award): (tie) Kid With A Bike (dir: Dardenne brothers), Once Upon A Time In Anatolia (Nuri Bilge Ceylan)

Best Actor: Jean Dujardin (The Artist)

Mise en Scene (Best Director): Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive)

Best Actress: Kirsten Dunst (Melancholia)

Prix du Scenario (Screenplay): Joseph Cedar, Footnote (Israel) Prix Du Jury: Poliss (dir: Maiwenn)

Palme d'Or Court Metrage: Cross Country (dir: Maryna Vroda)

Camera d'Or (Best First Film): Las Acasias (dir: Pablo Giorgelli)

-Joey's Two Cents: The top prize going to The Tree of Life was mildly surprising, but it was always going to be an all or nothing endeavor (shame on me for predicting otherwise). Overall, I was right about the acting awards, which I'm kind of proud of, and counting my alternates, I hit on Director as well...thoughts?

While we wait for the Palme d'Or announcement...

Soon enough, we'll know the identities of the honorees, but first thing's first...here are my updated predictions for the big prizes, since they've been requested of me. Do note that I'm mixing in the buzz I've heard with some of my own theories and just a little bit of guesswork as well. Bombs away:

Palme d'Or: The Artist (Alternate: Drive)
Grand Prix: We Need to Talk About Kevin (Alternate: The Tree of Life)
Jury Prize: This Must Be The Place (Alternate: Sleeping Beauty)
Best Director: Lynne Ramsey for We Need to Talk About Kevin (Alternate: Nicolas Winding Refn for Drive)
Best Actor: Jean Dujardin for The Artist (Alternate: Ryan Gosling for Drive)
Best Actress: Kirsten Dunst for Melancholia (Alternate: Tilda Swinton for We Need to Talk About Kevin)
Best Screenplay: The Artist (Alternate: The Tree of Life)

Now, for the already announced winners, via Variety:

Aki Kaurismaki's ''Le Havre,'' Pierre Schoeller's ''The Minister'' and Jeff Nichols' ''Take Shelter'' shared awards Saturday at Cannes from the Fipresci Intl. Federation of Film Critics.
Also announced Saturday, Cannes' Ecumenical Jury awarded its main Prix to Italian Paolo Sorrentino's Sean Penn starrer ''This Must Be the Place.''

Fipresci plaudits go to one outstanding film in Cannes Competition and Un Certain Regard and a third in either Directors' Fortnight or Critics' Week.

Which 10 films have the strongest chances of walking away with the top prize at Cannes?

Well, everyone's got their opinions right now (and mine are certainly different from this), but Total Film has 10 flicks as the ones to look out for. Personally, I'm of the thinking that the jury could go in a strange direction and choose Drive or go classic and pick The Artist, but that's just me. Here's the list of 10, with elaborations after the cut:

The Tree of Life
Polisse
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Le Gamin Au Velo
Melancholia
Sleeping Beauty
The Artist
The Skin I Live In
Drive
This Must Be The Place

What's the early buzz on Drive after its first Cannes screening?

Well, /Film has the first reactions, and they're pretty positive:

The first Cannes screening of Drive, the new film from Nicolas Winding Refn that stars Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston and Albert Brooks, ended not long ago. Reviews aren’t up yet, but a sampling of Twitter reactions suggests the movie has one of the most positive consensus opinions of the Cannes premieres so far — I think only We Need to Talk About Kevin and The Artist rival it for near-unanimity of positive opinion.

Check out a few reactions after the break.

Take Shelter wins the top prize at Cannes' Critics Week!

Via The Hollywood Reporter:

Jeff Nichols’ Take Shelter took the Grand Prize of the 50th annual Critics Week at a closing ceremony in Cannes on Thursday night.

The Sundance Competition title starring Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain was named best film of the selection by a jury presided by Lee Chang-Dong.

Nichols also walked away with the SACD prize for best screenwriting. Sony Pictures Classics snagged the North American rights to the title earlier this year.

Justin Kurzel’s Snowtown earned a Special Mention by the President.

Pablo Giorgelli’s Las Acacias took home a double honor, winning both the OFAJ Young Critics Prize and the ACID (Association of Independent Cinema for its Distribution)/CCAS (Main Fund of Social Activities) award.

-Joey's Two Cents: The buzz is certainly building for this movie...thoughts?

Lars von Tries gets himself bannes from the Cannes Film Festival?

From The Hollywood Reporter:

The Cannes Film Festival has officially declared Lars Von Trier a persona non grata, effective immediately, after the controversial Danish director called himself a Nazi and expressed sympathy for Hitler at a press conference on Wednesday.

Von Trier has since apologized for the remarks, claiming he was provoked by journalists. But on Thursday, the Cannes Festival's board of directors held a meeting and voted to ban von Trier from the Festival.

"The Festival de Cannes provides artists from around the world with an exceptional forum to present their works and defend freedom of expression and creation," the Festival said in a statement. "The board of directors profoundly regrets that this forum has been used by Lars von Trier to express comments that are unacceptable, intolerable, and contrary to the ideals of humanity and generosity that preside over the very existence of the festival. The Board of Directors firmly condemns these comments and declares Lars von Trier a persona non grata at the Festival de Cannes, with effect immediately."

Do we have any clue how Robert De Niro's jury at Cannes might vote?

Well, not really (and Lars von Trier's new film 'Melancholia' just debuted today to strong reviews, making this a somewhat stacked festival so far, which can only make the decisions harder), but The Wrap has some details on what's going on with the jury on Day 8 of the Cannes Film Festival:

Pundits have begun to speculate about which film might win this year's Palme d'Or – but there's always a wild card in this card of Cannes speculation, because the award is chosen by a small group of people whose tastes and working relationships aren't always easy to determine.

That's why a report from Jeff Wells is so fascinating. Wells says he's spoken to "a journalist friend with some inside knowledge of the character of this Cannes jury," and that his pal laid out the dynamic. Jury president Robert De Niro, his source says, is "not likely to try to lobby for personal choices or views" (which presumably means he won't carry the same clout as reportedly assertive past jury presidents like Robert Altman and Roman Polanski).
The most knowledgeable jury members, according to this report, are "Carlos" director Olivier Assayas and journalist Linn Ullmann, the daughter of Ingmar Bergman and Liv Ullman, while the least knowledgeable might be Hong Kong director Johnnie To, who "has a somewhat myopic, know-nothing view of other films or filmmakers."

The other jury members – actors Jude Law, Uma Thurman and Martina Gusman, producer Nansun Shi and director Mahamat Saleh Haroun – are not mentioned in Wells' report. The big questions, of course, are whether this info is accurate – and if it is, whether it tells us anything about what film might win. And the answers might be who knows?and probably not, though it's fun to speculate.

Terrence Malick's Tree of Life has been planted at Cannes...what now?

Well, the wait ended today...'Tree of Life' finally revealed itself. Terrence Malick's long delayed opus screened at the Cannes Film Festival as well as to select people in places like New York and Los Angeles. The verdict? Even more mixed than we expected, it seems. There will be more said about the film in the coming days (and even below in this article), but I wanted to just turn our attention to the possible Oscar implications of this. With the festival so far propelling Woody Allen's 'Midnight in Paris', Michel Hazanavicius's 'The Artist', and Lynne Ramsey's 'We Need to Talk About Kevin' to the forefront in terms of quality, there are some new contenders to consider in early predictions. Likewise, Julia Leigh's 'Sleeping Beauty' and Gus Van Sant's 'Restless' debuting to less than stellar reviews and seemingly being out of the race before it's even really began has shaped things as well.

Where does that leave Malick's 'Tree of Life'? Well, I think the end result is that it's probably not going to gain the traction necessary for a real shot at Oscar glory, though don't count it out of the tech categories. Could this change when the critical community en masse chimes in next week when the film opens in the US? Of course...and even more so when the precursors begin in the 4th quarter of the year.

Where this all leaves us is right back where we started, essentially. Anyone looking for the flick to burst on the scene and begin a long march to Best Picture is sorely disappointed today, but those of us still feeling out the race to come just saw the field widen considerably.

Personally, I'm going to be removing the film from a lot of my early predictions next time around, but that's just me...

Want more on 'Tree of Life'? Well, then hit the jump for more!

Cannes Film Festival: Terrence Malick and Brad Pitt's 'Tree of Life' draws boos, but also counter-applause.

According the Entertainment Weekly:

It’s daunting to describe Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life, but scattered audience members at its first screening in Cannes needed only one syllable: boo.

The many supporters of the movie pushed back with counter-applause, but it was a shocking way for the movie to debut.

The Tree of Life is an elegiac litany of images and memory-like scenes more than a traditional narrative. Let’s see — in brief, it’s the origin of time and infinity through the lens of one troubled, 1950s-era Texas family, and stars Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain, though they share copious screen time with evolving galaxies, nebulae, and surreal, symbolic representations of the world beyond.

Call it a coming of age story about the universe.

Here’s how the chaos — on screen and off — unfolded today …

The Cannes Film Festival is underway...

...and while none of us are over in Europe for the fest (the dream scenario is the year after next being able to attend) this year, we'll be doing our best to cover the fest as fully as we can. At this point, Woody Allen's newest movie 'Midnight in Paris' has debuted as the Opening Night film to some acclaim. The flick has generated very good buzz (check out a review here and an Entertainment Weekly article here), with some even mentioning the word Oscar...so we'll see what comes next for Allen. Suffice to say, it's always exciting to hear that he's doing something that people are enjoying. I for one can't wait to see it...

As for the films I'm most interested in hearing the response to, they include 'Sleeping Beauty', 'Melancholia', 'Drive', 'We Need to Talk About Kevin', and of course 'The Tree of Life'.

Right off the bat, I'll throw out some completely arbitrary picks for some of the awards at the end of the fest (we'll see how they compare to the winners, and even just my predictions right before the festival ends)...here goes nothing:

Palm d'Or: Drive or We Need to Talk About Kevin
Grand Prix: Sleeping Beauty or We Have A Pope
Best Director: Lars von Trier (Melancholia) or Terrence Malick (The Tree of Life)
Best Actor: Ryan Gosling (Drive) or Sean Penn (This Must Be The Place)
Best Actress: Kirsten Dunst (Melancholia) or Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin)
Best Screenplay: The Skin I Live In or The Tree of Life

-What are you looking forward to about the Cannes Film Festival as it unfolds?

Why has Cannes turned to Big Stars and Edgy Auteurs this year?

From The Hollywood Reporter:

Cannes' 2011 slate seems designed to avoid the pitfalls of last year's competition, which failed to produce a single Oscar winner, crossover commercial success or grand cinema scandal --the three boxes any great film festival worthy of the name needs to tick.

For its 64th edition, Cannes appears intent on reasserting its claim to the title of world's best film festival, with an auteur-heavy lineup that includes such art house stalwarts as Pedro Almodovar, Lars von Trier and Terrence Malick. The fest is also putting the focus on youth with a generous sampling of the hottest up-and-comers in global film, from Nicolas Winding Refn, the Danish director of the Ryan Gosling starrer Drive, to Julia Leigh, the Aussie first-timer behind the edgy Sleeping Beauty.

On the star front, Cannes this year is an embarrassment of riches, playing it safe with big names: Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Eva Longoria, Jodie Foster, Antonio Banderas and Owen Wilson are just a handful of the paparazzi targets expected to stroll the Croisette. Not to mention France President Nicolas Sarkozy and first lady Carla Bruni, who will likely hog the opening-night spotlight when they show up for the premiere of Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, in which Bruni has a cameo.

But in Cannes, the films are the stars, and it's with this year's competition lineup that the festival really shines.

The hottest ticket is Malick's long-gestating The Tree of Life. The drama, starring Pitt and Penn, was originally set to bow last year in Cannes before perfectionist Malick withdrew it to tinker further. The delay has only heightened the film's enigmatic allure, and expectations are high.

"It was very important for Cannes to have this movie because we have been talking about it for a year now," says Xavier Leherpeur, a film critic for French movie magazine Studio CineLive. "I want it to be great."

Malick has been to Cannes only once before -- in 1979, when he won the director prize for Days of Heaven. But even sight unseen, Tree of Life, which screens May 16, is the odds-on favorite to win the Palme d'Or.

That said, Malick has some stiff competition.

Cannes announces their 50th annual Critics Week lineup!

Here's the slate:

Feature Films
• Las Acacias, directed by Pablo Giorgelli – ARG
• Ave, directed by Konstantin Bojanov – BUL/FR
• 17 Filles, directed by Delphine & Muriel Coulin – FR
• The Slut (Hanotenet), directed by Hagar Ben Asher – ISR/ALL
• Snowtown (Les Crimes de Snowtown), directed by Justin Kurzel – AUS
• Sauna on Moon, directed by Zou Peng – CHI
• Take Shelter, directed by Jeff Nichols - US

Short Films
• Alexis Ivanovitch vous êtes mon héros, directed by Guillaume Gouix - FR
• Black Moon, directed by Amie Siegel - US
• Blue, directed by Stephan Kang - NZ
• Boy, directed by Topaz Adizes - US
• Bul-Myul-Ui-Sa-Na-Ie, directed by Moon Byoung-gon - COR
• Dimanches, directed by Valérie Rosier - BEL
• In Front of the House, directed by Lee Tae-ho - COR
• La inviolabilidad del domicilio se basa en el hombre que aparece empunando un hacha, directed by Alex Piperno - URU/ARG
• Junior, directed by Julia Ducournau - FR
• Permanencias, directed by Ricardo Alves Junior - BRE

Special Screenings
• La Guerre est déclarée, directed by Valérie Donzelli – FR – Opening Film
• Pourquoi tu pleures?, directed by Katia Lewcowicz – FR – Closing Film
• Walk away Renée, directed by Jonathan Caouette – US/FR/BEL
• My Little Princess, directed by Eva Ionesco – FR

-Joey's Two Cents: I'm very interested in Take Shelter, but the lineup itself seems pretty good...thoughts?

Might some of the films at Cannes be Oscar contenders this year?

Entertainment Weekly ponders this:

Last year, several films that played at the Cannes film festival — including Biutiful, Blue Valentine, Another Year, and Inside Job — ended up scoring major-category Oscar nominations. Now that this year’s Cannes lineup has been announced, let’s take a very preliminary look at which films could become next year’s award contenders.

This Must Be the Place Just look at this photo of Sean Penn as an ’80s new-wave star. Are you as intrigued as I am? The film, directed by Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino, is a bit of a mystery, but when Penn takes on a physically transformative role, it usually piques the Academy’s interest.

We Need to Talk About Kevin I’m already hearing great things about Tilda Swinton’s performance as the distraught mother of a school gunman. After her strong turns in Julia and I Am Love failed to gain awards-season traction, it would be terrific to have her back in the game.

Martha Marcy May Marlene Director Sean Durkin’s moody drama (one of the best films I saw at Sundance this year) features another creepy supporting turn from this year’s Winter’s Bone nominee John Hawkes as a charismatic cult leader. And rising star Elizabeth Olsen carries the film with her memorable breakout performance.

The Tree of Life It’s never great when a movie finally has its premiere years after it was shot. But director Terrence Malick’s last three films all received at least one Oscar nomination. And the cast (featuring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, and touted up-and-comer Jessica Chastain) certainly has potential.

The Skin I Live In The first feature-length collaboration between Pedro Almodóvar and Antonio Banderas in over 20 years is alone cause for celebration. Though it’s an adaptation of a novel rather than an original screenplay, Almodóvar’s works are always strong contenders to become Spain’s foreign-language submission.

-Joey's Two Cents: Malick's film could go either way, but I think one of the safer bets is a lot of buzz building for Elizabeth Olson and her film, much like Jennifer Lawrence last year...thoughts?

Today's Trailers: Cowboys & Aliens, Sleeping Beauty, Passion Play, and Casa de mi Padre

First up is a new look at the summer blockbuster 'Cowboys & Aliens':

The rest after the jump...

Here are some of the films NOT playing at Cannes that we thought might...

...courtesy of The Playlist:

As one of the most highly anticipated film festivals on the planet—the Olympics of cinema as it were—each spring the looming arrival of the Cannes Film Festival line-up brings with it a near feeding frenzy of anticipation (except for those actually awaiting the summer tentpole season).

But the Cannes line-up is generally divided into two sections: 1) the pre-announcement speculation which always makes the festival sound like its going to have every titan of cinema on board and 2) the reality of the situation which is the slightly less awesome line-up announced this a.m. This generally leads to the thinking that “XYZ director/film got snubbed!” when its simply more of a case of the trades making much ado about nothing, and/or simply talking a certain film up too much.

Regardless, let’s look at some “awol” filmmakers and what may have happened to their selections. And lastly, let’s not forget that there are three remaining Cannes competition slots open, likely being saved for filmmakers that are trying to finish up on time. And while some of these could potentially snap up those few spots, most of them likely will not, here’s why.

Here is the official lineup of the Cannes Film Festival!

After weeks of speculation, festival chief Thierry Fremaux has finally announced the official selection of films that will be showing at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Here are the entries that will be screened in the MAIN COMPETITION:

• L’Apollonide by Bertrand Bonello
• Drive by Nicolas Winding Refn
• Footnote by Joseph Cedar
• Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai by Takashi Miike
• Le Havre by Aki Kaurismäki
• Hanezu No Tsuki by Naomi Kawase
• The Kid With The Bike by The Dardenne Brothers
• Melancholia by Lars Von Trier
• Michael by Markus Schleinzer
• Once Upon A Time in Anatolia by Nuri Bilge Ceylan
• Parter by Alain Cavalier
• Polisse by Maiwenn
• The Skin that I Inhabit by Pedro Almodóvar
• Sleeping Beauty by Julia Leigh
• La source des femmes by Radu Mihaileanu
• This Must Be The Place by Paolo Sorrentino
• The Tree of Life by Terrence Malick
• We Have a Pope by Nanni Moretti
• We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lynne Ramsay

The other sections after the jump…

Gus Van Sant's film Restless will open Canne's Un Certain Regard!

Via Variety:

Lending auteur heft to the section and to a certain extent confirming expectations, Gus Van Sant's "Restless" will open this year's Cannes Festival's Un Certain Regard on May 12.

Turning on the relationship between two teens, played by Mia Wasikowska and Henry Hooper, "Restless" is produced by Columbia Pics., Imagine Ent. and 360 Pics.

Pundits had talked up the Sony Classics pic "Restless" as a potential candidate for Competition, given Van Sant's Croisette pedigree: He received the Palme d'Or in 2003 for "Elephant" and the 60th Anniversary Award for "Paranoid Park" in 2007.

Van Sant's opener berth at Un Certain Regard reflects, however, Cannes topper Thierry Fremaux's strategy, which has paid dividends in recent years, of mixing in Un Certain Regard both regarded auteurs with a Cannes track-record and up-and-coming or near completely unknown directors.

The jury president, Emir Kusturica, will present the Un Certain Regard Prize May 21.

The Official Selection, including Competition titles, is announced Thursday in Paris.

-Joey's Two Cents: I'm very curious about this movie and eager to see the official selection list...thoughts?

Bernardo Bertolucci will receive the honorary Palme d'Or at Cannes...

...according to The Hollywood Reporter:

The Festival de Cannes will award its first ever Honorary Palme d'Or to Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci at this year's Opening Ceremony on May 11, organizers said on Monday.

The fest will award a notable filmmaker whose work has somehow been overlooked by the fest over the years and has never received the coveted Golden Palm prize.

Woody Allen received the distinction in 2002 and Clint Eastwood in 2009, but the prize will now be an official Festival de Cannes Opening Ceremony tradition.

The filmmaker - who was recently honored in New York for a retrospective of his work at the Museum of Modern Art - is famed for titles including 1964's Prima della Revoluzione, 1976 film Novecento, 1970 pic The Conformist and 1987 title The Last Emperor.