What films to watch as from August 3rd
Your news and films as from August 3rd
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
Bullet train, David Leitch
Synopsis
Sophie suffers from memory loss, which she believes is caused by injuries sustained during a previous suicide attempt. But as she deals with her amnesia, she discovers that the story she has been told may not be the truth.
Review
David Leitch and Brad Pitt have a relationship that dates back to “Fight Club” (1999).
Indeed, the director of “Bullet Train” released today in theaters was doing Brad Pitt’s stunts in David Fincher’s cult film, before becoming a stunt coordinator and then director.
If you like Tarantino’s movies, if you liked Usual Suspects and if you are not afraid of violence, then you will love “Bullet Train”.
It starts with a little boy in a coma in a hospital. His father learns that the person who tried to find him is on a train…
Brad Pitt plays “Ladybug” (his code name for this mission), he is in charge of retrieving a briefcase full of money and getting off the train at the next stop.
He’s a lucky or unlucky (depending on your point of view) burglar on his way to redemption, and anyone who tries to kill him has little chance of success.
Other assassins paid to get their hands on the case are on board the high-speed train.
The duo of Lemon and Tangerine, played by Brian Tyree Henry (seen in the Atlanta series, among others) and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, remind us of Jules (Samuel Jackson) and Vincent (John Travolta) from Pulp Fiction.
They are not alone. Other killers disturb the peace of the travelers.
All of them must escape from White Death, a Russian, played by great Michael Shannon (The Shape of Water) who has taken over a Japanese mafia…
The script is by Zak Olkewicz, based on the novel Maria Beetle by Kōtarō Isaka.
There is something of the “Usual Suspects” (flashbacks, screenplay) in “Bullet train”, with the extra fun and humour.
Brad Pitt is brilliant and it’s nice to see him back (after James Gray’s Ad Astra). He is great at making us laugh (see or see again Snatch by Guy Ritchie).
Dominic Lewis’ music is a treat and Jonathan Selan’s photography very successful.
To be seen in theaters today with or without popcorn.
Surface (série), Veronica West
Synopsis
Sophie suffers from memory loss, which she believes is caused by injuries sustained during a previous suicide attempt. But as she deals with her amnesia, she discovers that the story she has been told may not be the truth.
Review
Despite the beautiful photography and cast, I have a hard time getting excited about this investigation that smacks of déjà vu.
We watch Sophie (Gugu Mbatha-Raw, The Morning Show) running at least ten times per episode and then she thinks, she is disturbed, her husband is not clear, her best friend either… nothing surprises in this polished series.
To be seen if you are in the mood for this type of series but instead I would recommend Black Bird on the same platform, You on Netflix and Harry Bosch on Prime Video…
FILMS TO WATCH IN YOUR MOVIE THEATERS AS FROM AUGUST 3RD
This week:
L’Année du requin, Ludovic Boukherma, Zoran Boukherma
With Marina Foïs, Kad Merad, Jean-Pascal Zadi
Maja, a marine policeman in the Landes region, sees her worst nightmare come true: taking early retirement! Thierry, her husband, has already planned the camping spot and the mobile home. But the disappearance of a vacationer puts the entire coast on alert: a shark is prowling the bay!
Bullet Train, David Leitch
With Brad Pitt, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Ladybug is an unlucky assassin who is determined to complete his new mission peacefully after too many have gone off the rails. But fate has decided otherwise and embarks him on the fastest train in the world alongside formidable adversaries.
En décalage, Juanjo Giménez Peña
With Marta Nieto, Miki Esparbé, Fran Lareu
C. is a talented sound engineer, passionate about her work. One day, she discovers that she is starting to get out of sync. She realizes that her brain has started to perceive the sound later than the images it receives. C. has to give up her job and reconsider her whole life.
Les Promesses d’Hasan, Semih Kaplanoğlu
With Umut Karadağ, Filiz Bozok, Gökhan Azlağ
When Hasan learns that an electric pylon is going to be installed on the land he farms, he maneuvers so that his field is spared. But before he goes on a pilgrimage to Mecca, he promises his wife to make amends for his past mistakes.
Amants super-héroïques, Paolo Genovese
With Jasmine Trinca, Alessandro Borghi, Greta Scarano
A sentimental comedy about couples and the effect of the passage of time on their relationships, asking a simple but profound question: what superpowers do you need to love each other for a lifetime?
Des Feux dans la nuit, Dominique Lienhard
With Igor Van Dessel, Ana Girardot, Jérémie Elkaïm
An isolated village between the sea and the mountains. Its inhabitants try to survive as best they can. Alan’s father, a young boy of 15, has gone to work far from his family, entrusting him with the family’s survival.
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 19th, with Idris Elba
Là où chantent les écrevisses, Olivia Newman, with Daisy Edgar-Jones, on August 17th,
Nope, Jordan Peele, on August 10th.
With: Daniel Kaluuya , Barbie Ferreira , Michael Wincott , Steven Yeun , Keke Palmer , Brandon Perea, Terry Notary, Andrew Patrick Ralston , Donna Mills , Jennifer Lafleur
Les secrets de mon père, Véra Belmont
With the voices of Michèle Bernier, Jacques Gamblin et Arthur Dupont, on September 21st
She said, Maria Schrader, with Carrey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan, on November 18th
John Wick 4, Chad Stahelski
Keanu Reeves as John Wick faces his most formidable opponents in this fourth installment of the series.
From New York to Osaka, via Paris and Berlin, John Wick leads a fight against the Big Table, the terrible criminal organization that has put a price on his head, by facing its most dangerous killers.
On March 2023
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
WEEKLY TIPS & OPINIONS ABOUT MOVIES
BY MOVIE DIRECTORS, WRITERS, SCREENWRITERS, DIRECTORS, COMPOSERS…
The Business of Screenwriting: Don’t stand in water where you should be fishing by Scott Myers
Discovery Writing and Efficient Writing by Scott Myers
TV PROGRAM AS FROM AUGUST 3RD
Wednesday – Mercredi
Arte : Gemma Bovary
Thursday – Jeudi
Arte : Real Human
Friday – Vendredi
Arte: 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!!!
Sunday – Dimanche
Arte : 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.
Monday – Lundi
Arte : The Last Vice King of India, Gurinder Chadha
Charged by the British government with preparing India’s independence, Lord Mountbatten arrives in New Delhi to negotiate with the country’s three main community leaders… A flamboyant historical fresco, coupled with a thwarted love story, with Hugh Bonneville (“Downton Abbey”) and Gillian Anderson (“The Crown”).
Tuesday – Mardi
Arte : The Woman Who Whispered in Elephant’s Ear, Jez Lewis & Jocelyn Cammack
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.
5. BEST DOCUMENTARIES, FILMS & SERIES AS FROM AUGUST 3RD ON ARTE
Documentary as from August 3rd
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 Cruz By 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 3rd
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.
Series as from August 3rd
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 3rd on Netflix
Pipa, by Alejandro Montiel, now
With Luisana Lopilato and Mauricio Paniagua
While living as a recluse in a small town in Argentina, ex-inspector Manuela Pipa Pelari suddenly finds herself caught up in her past and her secrets.
Sandman, (series),on the graphic novel series by Neil Gaiman and Allan Heinberg with Tom Sturridge
On August 5th
The cosmic being who controls dreams, is captured and held captive. For more than a century, he must travel through different worlds and timelines to repair the chaos his absence has caused.
Carter, Byeong-gil Jeong with Joo Won, Sung-jae Lee. On August 5th
It is a South Korean action thriller directed by Jung Byung-gil, starring Joo Won in the title role with Lee Sung-jae, Jeong So-ri and Kim Bo-min.
The film revolves around an amnesiac agent who is thrown into the middle of a mysterious mission
Never have I ever season 3, on August 12th, Mindy Kaling; Lang Fisher
Blonde, with Ana de Armas by Andrew Dominik.
Mathilda, the musical, Matthew Warchus
Best series & films as from August 3rd on Prime Video
Memory, Martin Campbell. Avec Liam Neeson, Guy Pearce, now
When Alex, a professional assassin, refuses to complete a job for a dangerous criminal organization, he becomes a target. FBI and Mexican intelligence agents are brought in to investigate him.
Paper Girls, Brian K. Vaughan, now.
Thirteen Lives, Ron Howard
With Viggo Mortensen , Colin Farrell, on August 5th
This film tells the incredible true story of the massive worldwide effort to rescue a young Thai soccer team, which became trapped in the Tham Luang cave due to a rainstorm.
Faced with insurmountable odds, a team of the world’s most skilled and experienced divers – able to navigate the maze of narrow, flooded tunnels – join Thai forces and more than 10,000 volunteers in an attempt to rescue the 12 boys and their coach.
With the stakes incredibly high and the eyes of the world on them, the group embarks on the most difficult dive in its history, demonstrating the limitlessness of the human spirit.
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 3rd on Canal+
Don’t leave me, Leonardo Fasoli & Maddalena Ravagli with Vittoria Puccini (Elena Zonin), Alessandro Roja (Daniele). Streaming now.
Respect, Liesl Tommy, on August 9th
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), in August: 12 episodes of 30 minutes.
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 3rd 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
Best series & films as from August 3rd on Disney Plus
Now, Light & Magic, Ron Howard & Lawrence Kasdan
Under the Banner of Heaven , adaptation of the eponymous book by Jon Krakauer.
With Andrew Garfiled and Daisy Edgar-Jones
Series of 7 episodes, now
Prey, Dan Trachtenberg
With Amber Midthunder, Stormee Kipp, Michelle Grive
Three centuries ago in Comanche territory, the story of Naru, a fierce and brilliant warrior, unfolds.
Raised from a young age in the shadow of legendary hunters on the Great Plains, she now makes it her duty to protect her tribe whenever danger threatens.
On August 5th.
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.
I am Groot, Ryan Little, on August 10
She-Hulk: Attorney is a miniseries created by Jessica Gao
On August 17
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 3rd on Starzplay
Becoming Elizabeth, now, is created and written by Anya Reiss.
Queer as folk, by Stephen Dunn, now
