Big is Good.

Jose here.



Money may not sleep but apparently our creativity does. Watching Wall Street the other day I couldn't help but ask myself how is it that technology took a turn on us at some point and now cell phones are going big again?

I know nothing will ever be as big as that brick Gordon Gekko checks out of jail in the sequel...



...but in theory the things we saw back in '87 are still going on today...sorta. It seems that for a while technology was driven towards making everything so tiny. Remember those cell phones that were supposed to be implanted in our molars? With the advent of the i Phone it seems that now all they want is to go back to a reasonable size that makes your hand feel like you are carrying something (have you noticed how hot those things can get sometimes?).

Can this be some sort of cautionary tale about how the excess of the 80's fooled the 90's into downsizing and then the 00's reminded us again about how weak we really are? OK someone stop me before I start sounding like Oliver Stone.

Speaking of which, have you seen it yet? Were you as baffled as I was? Are you more in love than ever with Carey Mulligan? Tell us!

Curio: Money Never Sleeps

Alexa here. When I first heard that Oliver Stone was making Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, I had about as much interest in seeing it as watching an episode of Two and a Half Men. Julien's review from Cannes has convinced me that I should trust my instincts. But if you can't wait for the return of Gordon Gekko, artist Cedric Mnich will happily print some Gekko currency for you.

Cedric, born in France and a former trader, creates art "inspired by the financial markets." He's done portraits of Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke and Bernie Madoff, but has a particular affinity for Gekko.

You can buy your own Gekko $20 bills at his store. Just remember, you can't use them to make a down payment on that home loan.

Cannes Madness

Whew.

Julien here, your special correspondent in Cannes.

Sorry to report only now, but my schedule has been pretty hectic. I managed to attend a few screenings, so let me share my impressions with you.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps is even worse than I expected it to be. Oliver Stone's 1987 original was never a great film, but it's a fun time capsule, and it contains the signature performance of one of the biggest stars of the 80's. But this ill-advised, opportunistic sequel is just a mess. Stone clings to his reputation as a whistle-blowing, politically conscious filmmaker, but his depiction of Wall Street is so broad (even by his standards), with its machiavellian, cigar-smoking traders, that it ends up feeling as topical as a Hannibal Lecter picture. Not to mention that the abundance of financial blabber is not only unilluminating, but boring as hell. And as iconic as Gordon Gekko may be, he's a relic from another era, and Stone has clearly no idea what to do with him, and how to integrate him to the current financial situation. So we get less Michael Douglas and loads of Shia LaBeouf, who manages to be even more obnoxious than Charlie Sheen was in the original. As for the direction, Stone's flashy visual histrionics feel more hollow and explanatory than ever, and as if all that wasn't enough, the musical choices are simply atrocious.

Woody Allen's You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger is a huge improvement on last year's Whatever Works. Sadly, that's not saying much. It's an ensemble piece, revolving around two disintegrating marriages, (Naomi Watts and Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins and Gemma Jones). Fear of aging and dying, romantic longing, cruel disappointments: it's typical Woody Allen fare, but once again, something's missing. It's clear that of late, Woody doesn't seem half as concerned with his characters as he once was, and this one lacks the sharpness that made Match Point and Vicky Cristina Barcelona his best pictures of the decade. The actors are a mixed bag: Naomi Watts sells the romance better than the comedy, Anthony Hopkins seems bored (but when doesn't he these days), and Antonio Banderas is little more window dressing, but Josh Brolin's scruffy masculinity works better here than it does in Wall Street 2, and Gemma Jones is delightfully funny as Watts' gullible mother. However the main attraction remains wondering what Nicole Kidman would have made of the stereotypical Woody Allen hooker (played here amusingly by Lucy Punch).

Mike Leigh's Another Year is the best film I've seen so far during the festival, but I have to admit I don't quite share the critical community's unanimous praise. My problem lies with the structure: the film is centered around a couple (Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen), around which revolves an array of supporting characters. But it soon becomes clear that the most involving characters are not the leads, whose quiet life and happy marriage are deliberately devoid of any real drama. One of the couple's friend, Mary (beautifully played by the great Lesley Manville, pictured left with Leigh, who may win the Best Actress prize on Sunday) has almost become the protagonist by the end of the picture. I kept wondering why Mike Leigh hadn't built the whole film around her, and also why he abandoned the devastating character played by Imelda Staunton after only two short scenes. Maybe he intended to frustrate his audience, but why? Also, I have to say that I felt the opposition between blissful family life and pathetic spinsterhood felt a little -dare I say it - conventional. Don't misunderstand me, it's still strong cinema, and it has great moments, but I would hardly call it Leigh's best.

I'll be back to talk about Xavier Dolan's Les Amours Imaginaire, but for now I have to walk the red carpet with Javier Bardem.

Cheers.

Cannes Tweets & Treats: Bernal, Bingbing and Brolin

I woke up with a serious case of Cannes Envy this morning. There's no way around unwanted feelings so you plunge in them to get to the other side. That's the way to do it, right? Or that's the way Nathaniel (c'est moi) does it. Maybe that's the masochist's way? So herewith... random thoughts on Cannes photos, fashions, and tweets from people I was exceptionally jealous of all day. Cuz they're... you know... there. In the thick of it.

Please note: If y'all don't start commenting soon, we're likely to take a long summer hiatus and see you ungrateful beyootches in October when Oscar buzz heats up. Comments are like food. Feed the insatiable Film Experience Beast!

We begin with two questions starring Gael García Bernal.


1. Is he, like, inviting us to pose with him here? Won't he be crushed in the mass forward rush of crazed lustful exhibitionist fans?

2. Wouldn't he be super easy to lose at a black tie party?
He's so tiny.
You'd never find him again.

And now some funny or interesting movie tweeting...

on Mike Leigh's Another Year which is garnering awards buzz for both the film and Leigh regular Lesley Manville

@erickohn "Finally, a top-notch competition film. Mike Leigh's ANOTHER YEAR is a startlingly honest and understated character study."
@ebertchicago "Imbecilic Cannes question of the day (to Mike Leigh): "Why did you make Sally so sad?"
@totalfilm Mike Leigh's Another Year: kind of a greatest hits movie; pleasure to watch scene to scene if a little familiar.
@guylodge "Mike Leigh's "Another Year" is the best thing I've seen at Cannes so far: and Lesley Manville is stunning

on You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, Woody Allen's annual sweet and sour cinematic dish. Sweet and sour because well... you know. You never know if it's going to be a Vicky Cristina Barcelona or a Hollywood Ending.

@JustinCChang "Odd, really, to go straight from the bracing humanity of Mike Leigh to the cardboard inhumanity of Woody Allen"
@eug "Clearly they love Woody Allen in Cannes: Serious pushing, shoving & yelling at the entrance to screening now. Survived."
@jamesrocchi "Light, slight Woody Allen with an unexpectedly vicious streak hidden beneath the farce and ruptured romances."
@awardsdaily ""Cannes - funny rapport between Woody Allen and Josh Brolin at press conference. Woody killed, of course. CANNES Woody Allen press conference - Woody says of death, 'I do not recommend it.' And of aging, 'try to avoid it if possible.'"

Josh Brolin and Woody Allen meet the press

on Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, which also stars Josh Brolin. He busy busy... like 2007 busy again in 2010.

@onthecroisette Wall Street moved me immensely, despite it's happy-ending. Is there something wrong with me? That's what my friends say.THEY ARE WRONG!
@cobblehillis WALL STREET: THE QUICKENING (Stone): 2.5 hrs of bullet-point speeches about $$$. Mulligan cries, Langella hams, Sheen cameos, Shia lebeoufs.
@gemko Wall Street: Let Me Be Clear This Time, Greed Is In Fact Bad ('10 Stone): 43. Not a train wreck, sadly, just didactic-bombastic.

Best Dressed!
You have to have a huge international profile to win "Best Dressed" kudos in the media so Fan Bingbing (or Bingbing Fan, whichever you'd prefer) won't get enough credit for that deep groove she wore into the Cannes carpet.


ShareThe Chinese beauty was there to promote Chongqing Blues (previous credits include: Bodyguards and Assassins and The Matrimony) and she was working way more diverse looks in the first few days of Cannes than any of the high profile American stars or oft-photographed jury beauties Kate Beckinsale or Aishwarya Rai. Well done, Bingbing!
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