What films to watch as from August 17th
Your news and films as from August 17th
Your summer five blockbusters :
Bullet Train by David Leich, on August 3rd (review below)
Synopsis: Five hitmen find themselves on a high-speed train traveling between Tokyo and Morioka, making very few stops. The five criminals discover that they are all connected by their mission, wonder who will make it out alive and wonder what awaits them at the arrival station.
Nope by Jordan Peele,with Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun on August 10th
Synopsis: The janitors of a California ranch encounter a mysterious force that affects human and animal behavior.
Vesper chronicles, by Kristina Buozyte, Bruno Samper on August 17th
Synopsis: In the future, ecosystems have collapsed. Among the survivors, a privileged few have retreated into citadels cut off from the world, while the others try to survive in a nature that has become hostile to man.
Beast,by Baltasar Kormákur, with Idris Elba on August 24th
Synopsis: Dr. Nate Samuels travels with his two teenage daughters to South Africa. It is in this country that he had once met his wife, who died a short time ago. Nate, Meredith and Norah go to a nature reserve managed by Martin Battles. The Samuels family is then targeted by a lion. This animal, attacked by poachers, considers all humans as a threat. It will hunt Nate and his family.
Everything, Everywhere all at once by Daniel Scheinert, by Daniel Kwan, on August 31st
Synopsis: Evelyn Wang runs a laundromat with her husband, Waymond, who wants a divorce. Evelyn is at her wits’ end. That’s when she meets Alpha Waymond. He is an alternative version of Waymond. He explains to her that many parallel universes exist, because each choice made generates the creation of a new universe. The inhabitants of the Alphaverse have developed a technology that allows them to access the skills, memories and bodies of their counterparts in the parallel universe.
The best movies since January 2022:
- As Bestas, Rodrigo Sorogoyen (review below)
- La nuit du 12, Dominik Moll (review below)
- Holy Spider, Ali Abbasi (review below)
- Les Cahiers Noirs, Schlomi Elkabetz (review here)
- Loving Highsmith, Eva Vitija (review here)
- Clara Sola, Nathalie Álvarez Mesén (review here)
- Varsovie 83, Jan P. Matuszynski (review here)
- Aristocrats, Yukiko Sode (review here)
- Une jeune fille qui va bien, Sandine Kiberlain (review here)
- Seule la terre est éternelle, François Busnel (review here)
- Murina, Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic (review here)
- C’mon C’mon, Mike Mills (review here)
ALL YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT FILMS & SERIES IN THEATERS & AT HOME
Five days at Memorial, John Ridley & Carlton Cuse
Synopsis
After the devastating passage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the chronicle of the five days that followed this natural disaster.
In a New Orleans hospital, between the rising waters, the cut-off of electricity, the sweltering heat, the exhausted caregivers will have to make life and death decisions on others.
Review
Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning book-investigation “Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital” by Sheri Fink, this series revisits the circumstances following Hurricane Katrina, which was devastating not because of its passage but because of the levees that broke and flooded the city of New Orleans.
This series looks back at the “difficult decisions made by doctors trapped with their patients and a thousand civilians in a hospital without electricity or food. A huis clos that ended with the death of 45 patients and a harrowing investigation” (Le Figaro).
Through an investigation after the fact to determine what caused the death of 45 people in the hospital, each episode returns to the gradual and then sudden deterioration of the situation, through the testimony of doctors, patients and families of the patients played by a sensational cast.
This breathtaking and terrifying series shows us the aberrations of the American political system which, through a total lack of decision-making, led to this humanitarian and climatic disaster.
Exciting without voyeurism or pathos, it is my favorite of the week.
Currently on Apple TV. (3 episodes online, then 1 per week).
A League of their own, Will Graham & Abbi Jacobson
Synopsis
Carson Shaw arrives in Chicago for the American Women’s Baseball League tryouts.
There she meets other women who dream of becoming professional players.
Through them, she discovers a whole new world. Max Chapman, a native of Rockford, tried his luck at the draft, but was unsuccessful. With the help of Clance, her best friend, she will do anything to realize her dream.
Review
This series is adapted from the 1992 film “A League of their own” by Penny Marshall starring Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Madonna, Rosie O’Donnell, David Strathairn, Bill Pullman.
Co-created by Will Graham and Abbi Jacobson, who also appear in the cast, this series, a historical sports comedy-drama, takes place during World War II in 1943.
The team is made up entirely of White women, and Maxine Chapman (known as Max), a Afro American, struggles to realize her dream of becoming a professional baseball player and joining a pro team.
The women who are part of the team must both play well but above all not challenge the American system of the time, that is, remain “feminine”, continue to be “outstanding housewives” and not overshadow the men.
“A League of their own” is still optimist as of the film directed by Penny Marshall.
But thanks to the commitment of its creators, this series brings a touch of modernity.
It points out the American system of the time, and tackles racism, social pressure related to marriage, the fact that women should not work and especially speaks of female homosexuality, taboo at the time.
Rejoicing!
On Prime Video now.
FILMS TO WATCH IN YOUR MOVIE THEATERS AS FROM AUGUST 17th
This week:
Where the crawdads sing, Olivia Newman, with Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People series)
Vesper chronicles, by Kristina Buozyte, Bruno Samper
Synopsis: In the future, ecosystems have collapsed. Among the survivors, a privileged few have retreated into citadels cut off from the world, while the others try to survive in a nature that has become hostile to man.
On the other side of the sky, by Yusuke Hirota
With Philippe Katerine, Masataka Kubota, Fanny Bloc
Lubicchi lives in the middle of large chimneys whose thick smoke has always covered the sky of his city. He would like to prove to everyone that his father was right and that, beyond the clouds, there are stars. One Halloween night, the little chimney sweep meets Poupelle, a strange creature…
La Verónica, By Leonardo Medel
With Mariana Di Girólamo, Antonia Giesen, Ariel Mateluna
Verónica Lara, wife of an international soccer star and a very popular model on social networks, falls from grace when she becomes a suspect in the investigation of the death of her first daughter.
The Last Days in the Desert, By Rodrigo García
With Ewan McGregor, Tye Sheridan, Ciarán Hinds
Ewan McGregor is Jesus – and the Devil – in an imaginary chapter of his forty days of fasting and prayer in the desert. When Jesus leaves the desert, he wrestles with the Devil over the fate of a family in crisis, testing himself in dramatic ways.
America Latina, By Damiano D’Innocenzo, Fabio D’Innocenzo
With Elio Germano, Astrid Casali, Sara Ciocca
Massimo Sisti has everything he could ever dream of: a sublime villa and a loving family. But an event will change his life forever. When he goes down into his cellar, he discovers a little girl tied up and in very bad shape. Who is she? How did she get there?
The Old Stoves 2: Good for the Asylum, By Christophe Duthuron
With Pierre Richard, Eddy Mitchell, Bernard Le Coq
In order to help migrants he was hiding in Paris, Pierrot takes them to Antoine’s house in the South-West of France. Antoine himself is already hosting Mimile, who is in the process of winning back Berthe’s love. Expecting to find calm and pleasure in the countryside, the six refugees will taste the legendary hospitality of a French village…
Best movies of the summer & later (and we are looking forward to it) :
The Idol
Created by Abel “the Weeknd” Tesfaye, Reza Fahim, and Sam Levinson for HBO.
Set against the backdrop of the music industry, the series will focus on a self-help guru and leader of a modern-day cult who enters into a complicated relationship with a rising pop idol.
Lily-Rose Depp and Tesfaye are set to star in the leading roles, with Troye Sivan, Debby Ryan, Rachel Sennott, Jennie Kim, Steve Zissis, Hari Nef, and Juliebeth Gonzalez appearing as supporting characters.
Dungeons & dragons honor among thieves, Jonathan Goldstein, March 2023
An ex-Harper turned thief escapes from prison with his partner, a female barbarian, and reunites with a no-talent wizard and a druid new to their team in an effort to rob the cheating conman who stole all their loot from the heist that landed them behind bars, and used it to install himself as the Lord of Neverwinter.
Beast, by Baltasar Kormákur, on August 24th, with Idris Elba
She said, Maria Schrader, with Carrey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan, on November 18th
Houria, Mounia Meddour
The woman king, Gina Prince-Bythewood
Simone Le Voyage du siècle, Olivier Dahan
With Elsa Zylberstein, Rebecca Marder, Élodie Bouchez, Judith Chemla, Olivier Gourmet, Mathieu Spinosi. And also Sylvie Testud & Philippe Torreton.
Three thousand years of longing, George Miller, on August 24th
The handmaid’s Tale saison 5 : 14 septembre
The patient official, Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg
Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan
Starring Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr, Florence Pugh, Matt Damon, Rami Malek, Emily Hunt, Josh Hartnett, Josh Peck, Devon Bostick, Dane DeHaan, Kenneth Branagh, Gary Oldman, Alex Wolff, Matthew Modine…
Written and directed by Nolan, the film is based on the book “American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer” written by Kai Bird and Martin J Sherwin. The book won the Pulitzer Prize for biography in 2006.
“Oppenheimer” is officially described as an “epic thriller” that “immerses audiences in the thrilling paradox of an enigmatic man who must risk destroying the world to save it.”
Under the direction of cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema (who also shot Nolan’s “Interstellar,” “Dunkirk” and “Tenet”), the film was shot with a mix of IMAX 65mm and 65mm large-format photography – including, for the first time ever, sections in IMAX black-and-white analog photography.
“Oppenheimer” is scheduled to hit theaters on July 21, 2023 – the same day as Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie.”
Don’t worry Darling, Olivia Wilde, on September 21st
Black Panther : Wakanda Forever, Ryan Coogler, on November 9th
God’s creature, Saela Davis & Anna Rose Holmer , with Emily Watson, Paul Mescal, & Aisling Franciosi
WEEKLY TIPS & OPINIONS ABOUT MOVIES
BY MOVIE DIRECTORS, WRITERS, SCREENWRITERS, DIRECTORS, COMPOSERS…
How to Decide Which Story to Write by Scott Myers
How to Break Into the Film Industry Without Any Connections by Scott Myers
TV PROGRAM AS FROM AUGUST 17TH
Wednesday – Mercredi
Arte: The Flesh of the Orchid: Claire, a wealthy heiress who has escaped from a psychiatric hospital, and Louis, a horse breeder, are pursued by killers…
For his first film, Patrice Chéreau freely adapts a novel by James Hadley Chase and directs a dark psychological drama with Charlotte Rampling, Bruno Cremer, Hugues Quester, Edwige Feuillère and Simone Signoret.
Thursday – Jeudi
Arte : Real Human
TF1 : Harry Potter & the deathly halloes
Friday – Vendredi
Canal plus : Stillwater
Arte : Vétéran
A former Czech legionnaire returns to his hometown after twenty years of absence… By transposing Jack London’s novel “Martin Eden” to the deceptively polite world of contemporary Czech society, filmmaker Jan Hrebejk bitterly denounces its ruthless class relations and materialism.
Sunday – Dimanche
TF1 : La momie
Arte : Maverick. By Richard Donner with Mel Gibson & Jodie Foster.
Monday – Lundi
Canal Plus : False Flag
TMC : La mort dans la peau
Arte : Outland Loin de la Terre
With great Sean Connery, a sci-fi western as powerful as “Alien”
Wednesday – Mercredi
Arte : Deux : The secret love of who women in their 70 ‘s (Barbara Sukowa et Martine Chevallier) facing the judgement of their families..
5. BEST DOCUMENTARIES, FILMS & SERIES AS FROM AUGUST 17TH ON ARTE
Documentary as from August 17th
Salman Rushdie – La mort aux trousses
In only ten years, Salman Rushdie has changed his place of residence fifty-six times and has been the subject of twenty assassination attempts.
The one on August 12, 2022 in New York unfortunately could not be foiled. Facing William Karel, the author of “The Satanic Verses”, sentenced to death by a Khomeini fatwa in 1988, evokes with humor and depth the particular conditions of his daily life, as well as his love of books and life.
Jodie Foster, Hollywood dans la peau
Camille Juza, Yal Sadat
The meteoric rise of a gifted actress, an overexposed former child star, who grew up in the Hollywood matrix and tried to make it evolve from within.
On our lips – Once a red, always a red? Claudia Marschal
The colourful history of lipstick, a small tube as old as the world, which has become a symbol of submission, power or self-assertion.
The James Webb telescope or the after Hubble
Successfully launched on December 25, 2021, the new space telescope, James Webb, from the Kourou space center. With its 6.5 m diameter mirror, JWST is the largest space telescope ever developed for a scientific mission. 100 times more sensitive than its elder brother Hubble, it promises significant advances in the physics of galaxies and the study of exoplanets.
Penelope CruzBy Charles-Antoine de Rouvre
The actress Penélope Cruz has built a tailor-made career for herself, reconciling the Hollywood star system and auteur cinema, a taste for success and a love of acting.
Pussy, Pleasure, Power!Female desire in pop culture, Nicole Blacha
As female pleasure takes an increasingly important place in pop songs, how do women receive these messages of “positive sexuality” and without taboos?
Elements of answer in this documentary that celebrates the intimate.
Films as from August 17th
India in the spotlight!
ARTE unveils a special program for the 75th anniversary of India’s independence: flamboyant chronicles of the last fires of British India (“Indian Summers” and “The Last Viceroy of India”), Bollywood splendors (“Bajirao Mastani”) and classics of Bengali cinema (“The Music Room”, “Charulata” and “The Coward”).
Married or Almost: Kiss me Kosher
In Jerusalem, Shira and Maria, one Israeli, the other German, decide to get married… An exhilarating comedy full of humanity, on a background of guilt and family secrets.
A must-see!!!
Two Lovers, James Gray
A thirty year old man is torn between two women who have everything in common… By James Gray, a moving romantic drama with Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow and Vinessa Shaw.
Jambon, jambon
Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz in all sensuality
Ham, bulls, the pleasures of the flesh: the best of Spain in an appetizing comedy by Bigas Luna.
Taxi Tehran
Prohibited from filming by the Iranian regime, director Jafar Panahi improvised himself as a cab driver and filmed Tehran, its inhabitants and daily life under the dictatorship. A tender and subversive docu-drama that won the Golden Bear at the 2015 Berlinale.
And then we will dance
In Tbilisi, a young dancer discovers his homosexuality in a society that represses it. Delicate and necessary, the first openly LGBTQIA+ film shot in Georgia.
The cinema of the Dardenne brothers,
shows the moral state of our world. Through their rejection of an aestheticizing look, the reality filmed is rough, raw, and full of unpredictable pirouettes typical of the scenes of our lives. Discover “Rosetta”, “L’enfant” or “Le silence de Lorna”, three key films of the European social cinema on the fault line of our system, on the strength and truth of bodies and gestures.
Series as from August 17th
Mobile Brigade
Two years after Loulou, Fanny Sidney (Dix pour cent, Jeune et Golri) directs Marie Lelong and Louise Massin in a new irresistible series with the air of a fake documentary.
Under the uniform of the gendarmerie, her two acolytes ensure law and order by crisscrossing the roads of Auvergne in a motor home.
Squadra criminale
Crimes and tragedies in Turin
The investigations of Valeria Ferro of the Turin criminal brigade. A police and social series about Italy.
Indian Summers
The decline of the British Empire in India through a twilight fresco set in the foothills of the Himalayas and its tea plantations.
A flamboyant saga mixing romance and great history, the English series “Indian Summers” deploys breathtaking settings and outstanding actors. Intrigues, secret passions and struggles for independence.
Real Humans
In a world close to ours, a new generation of robots that look like humans: the hubots (human robot) replace them in domestic tasks. But some humanoids dream of freedom and in this changing society, the tension rises…
Swedish anticipation series, “Real Humans” is considered a model of its kind.
Best series & films as from August 17th on Netflix
Never have I ever season 3, now by Mindy Kaling; Lang Fisher
Blonde, with Ana de Armas by Andrew Dominik.
Mathilda, the musical, Matthew Warchus
Wednesday Adams, Tim Burton
End of the road, Queen Latifah, September 9th
Cabinet of curiosity, Guillermo del Toro, on October 25
Best series & films as from August 17th on Prime Video
Paper Girls, Brian K. Vaughan, now.
My Policeman, Michael Grandage with Harry Styles, Emma Corrin (The Crown). This fall.
The Lord of the rings, The Rings of Power, Juan Antonio Bayona, on September 2nd.
Directed by Wayne Che Yip and Charlotte Brändström
Best series & films as from August 17th on Canal+
Don’t leave me, Leonardo Fasoli & Maddalena Ravagli with Vittoria Puccini (Elena Zonin), Alessandro Roja (Daniele). Streaming now.
Respect, Liesl Tommy, now
Avec Jennifer Hudson, Forest Whitaker, Audra McDonald, Saycon Sengbloh, Hailey Kilgore, Brenda Nicole Moorer, Marlon Wayans, Mac Maron, Tituss Burgess, Kimberly Scott, LeRoy McClain, and Tate Donovan.
Conversation with friends, directed by Lenny Abrahamson and Leanne Welham, adapted from the novel written by Sally Rooney (Normal People), 12 episodes of 30 minutes. On August 25th.
Adapted for television by Alice Birch, Mark O’Halloran, Meadhbh Mchugh and Susan Soon He Stanton
House of the Dragon,Ramin Djawadi
On August 22nd
The series will be set 170 years before the time of Game of Thrones and will chronicle the events that lead to a civil war called the Dance of the Dragons, which will lead to the loss of the dragons and the beginning of the fall of House Targaryen.
Best series & films as from August 17th on Apple TV
Five Days of Memorial, August 12, John Ridley et Carlton Cuse avec Vera Farmiga (Dr. Anna Pou), Adepero Oduye (Karen Wynn).
Bad sisters, August 19, Dearbhla Walsh, Josephine Bornebusch and Rebecca Gatward
The Greatest Beer Run Ever, Peter Farrelly, Brian Currie and Pete Jones, September 31st
Best series & films as from August 17th on Disney Plus
Mike, Steven Rogers. On August 25th.
It is an original series which tells the story of the dynamic and controversial life of boxing icon Mike Tyson, starring Trevante Rhodes.
She-Hulk: Attorney is a miniseries created by Jessica Gao
On August 18
The adventures of lawyer Jennifer Walters, Bruce Banner’s cousin, who inherits his powers and becomes Miss Hulk following a blood transfusion intended to save her after she is shot.
Andor, created by Tony Gilroy- With Fiona Shaw, Forest Whitaker, Stellan Skarsgård
12 episodes, shot in live action, the first three of which will be released on September 21.
Rogue One prequel focusing on the character of Cassian Andor (Diego Luna).
Five years before the perilous mission to the tropical planet Scarif, Cassian Andor participates as a spy in the early days of the resistance against the Galactic Empire, within the Rebel Alliance.
Willow, Jonathan Kasdan & Wendy Mericle, on November 30th.
Pinocchio, Robert Zemeckis, on September 8th.
Best series & films as from August 17th on Starzplay
Becoming Elizabeth, now, is created and written by Anya Reiss.
Queer as folk, by Stephen Dunn, now.
The Serpent Queen, September 11, by Justin Haythe
An original historical drama that offers a contemporary twist on conventional storytelling to tell the story of Catherine de Medici’s (Samantha Morton) rise to power. In the beginning of the series, Catherine’s story unfolds through flashbacks as she defends her actions and passes on the lessons she has learned to her new servant, Rahima (Sennia Nanua, “The Girl with All the Gifts, Frankie”).
At age 14, young orphan Catherine (Liv Hill, “Three Girls,” “Jellyfish”) marries into the 16th century French court. Despite her status as a commoner, her uncle, Pope Clement (Charles Dance, “Game of Thrones,” “The Crown”), has negotiated a substantial dowry and geopolitical alliance in exchange for the union, and with it, the expectation of many heirs. However, on her wedding night, Catherine discovers that her husband is in love with Diane de Poitiers (Ludivine Sagnier, “Lupin,” “The Young Pope”), a beautiful lady-in-waiting twice her age.
With a suddenly uncertain future and little hope of conceiving a child, Catherine must quickly learn who she can trust – both in her personal entourage of courtiers and among members of the royal court – while outwitting those who underestimate her determination to survive no matter the cost.
This is an adaptation of the British novel Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France by Leonie Frieda.
