Revenge is a dish best served cold. That famous proverb has provided the template for many a revenge thriller, as steely protagonists emotionlessly hunt and mow down the enemies that have caused them pain and suffering. With a slight eyebrow raise or lip quiver, ’60s and ’70s icons Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin meted out their justice with a hypnotic intensity. Later, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Steven Seagal and Robert Englund (as Freddy Krueger) added touches of black humor in the form of sardonic, post-killing one-liners. But by the early aughts, the revenge thriller would seem to have run its […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jan 17, 2014Another day, another bunch of clips from U.S. indies playing at Cannes. Above there is a quick snippet, featuring Marion Cotillard and Jeremy Renner, from James Gray’s period drama The Immigrant (previously called Lowlife). The Weinstein Company will be putting out the film (also starring Gray regular Joaquin Phoenix) later this year and, barring terrible reviews from Cannes critics, it should be a 2013 awards contender. Below are a teaser trailer and a clip from Jeremy Saulnier’s second feature, Blue Ruin, which looks incredibly compelling and has the potential to establish the director (who mostly plies his trade as a […]
by Nick Dawson on May 17, 2013Yesterday, David Lowery’s Ain’t Them Bodies Saints was the sole U.S. entry in Critics’ Week, playing in a special screening. However, in the Directors’ Fortnight lineup, there is a more healthy dose of U.S. filmmakers. Magic Magic, one of two films starring Michael Cera that New York-based Chilean director Sebastian Silva premiered at Sundance, makes the leap from Park City to the Croisette, as does Jim Mickle’s cannibal movie We Are What We Are, starring “25 New Face” Julia Garner. Jeremy Saulnier, maybe better known as a stalwart indie cinematographer, premieres his second feature, Blue Ruin, in the strand, while […]
by Nick Dawson on Apr 23, 2013