CANNES 2011

Cannes 2011: Latest Update & Video Blog #2 with Film.com's Laremy

by Alex Billington
May 15, 2011

This is the year. I need to say it again because I truly believe it. I keep seeing one incredible movie after another at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. And they're not just great films, but they're films I'm loving, that I'm already excited to see again. It's the eve of the very first premiere of Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life (on Monday morning at 8:30AM), the big turning point in the festival as it's not only the mid-way point, but it's that film, the one everyone is expecting to be the best of the festival. And it's exciting we're reaching this point now when I could say I'm already satisfied by many of the amazing movies I've come across so far.

I've already seen 12 films in five days and, as you can see with my list below, I've loved most of them (but not all of them). I did expect to love a few, but others have come out of nowhere and totally surprised me. There's a certain level of quality this year that I think we haven't seen in a while. From Miss Bala, which reminded me of City of God, to The Artist, which was a wonderful throwback to the early days of cinema, to Wu Xia, a martial arts flick with Donnie Yen that I loved. Then there was even Take Shelter, a film that I missed at Sundance starring Michael Shannon, which was playing in the Critics' Week (website) which I was also surprised by and loved. It just seems like one of the years where everything is going perfect.

As always, I'm hoping the festival continues to impress and entertain me, and with films like The Tree of Life, Melancholia, The Skin I Live In and Drive coming up, I'm not worried at all. What a year, what a festival, what a line-up, that's what I'm talking about. And to be here and share the experience with others like Eric from IONCinema and Brad from RopeofSilicon, it's like nothing else in the world. I'll be coming back to Cannes every year I'm able to, I wouldn't miss it for anything. And for now, it's time to settle in for a bit before we're whisked away to the incredible world of Terrence Malick for two hours. It is almost time.

I recorded another quick video blog with Laremy Legel from Film.com (@Laremy) for this latest update. My apologies for the bad sound and talking in the background and edits, as we were in line going into a film, but still wanted to chat about everything before it started. We cover three films in the video: The Artist, Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris and Pirates of the Caribbean 4 - and briefly about our favorite film so far.

More videos coming this week. Below is the list of films I've seen at this year's Cannes that I will be updating consistently throughout the fest within each new blog post (links go to reviews). Here are the latest updates:

Cannes Film Festival 2011:
1. Midnight in Paris (dir. Woody Allen) - Loved It
2. Sleeping Beauty (dir. Julia Leigh) - Hated It
3. Restless (dir. Gus Van Sant) - Loved It
4. We Need to Talk About Kevin (dir. Lynne Ramsay) - Loved It
5. The Silence of Joan (dir. Gerardo Naranjo) - Just Okay
6. The Devil's Double (dir. Lee Tamahori) - Liked It
7. Footnote (dir. Joseph Cedar) - Just Okay
8. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (dir. Rob Marshall) - Liked It
9. Wu Xia (Swordsmen) (dir. Peter Chan) - Loved It
10. Miss Bala (dir. Gerardo Naranjo) - Loved It
11. The Artist (dir. Michel Hazanavicius) - Loved It
12. Take Shelter (dir. Jeff Nichols) - Loved It

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