Entries Tagged 'Johnnie To' | Indie Eye

Entries tagged “Johnnie To”

Cannes 2009: "Vengeance."

By Alison Willmore on 05/17/2009

Filed under: Reviews

We're far enough away from the golden age of Hong Kong John Woo action excess that a little nostalgia is warranted, and Johnnie To's "Vengeance" is meant to fondly recall every operatic slow-mo shoot-em-up of the era, though until that sinks in, it just looks ungainly. Singer Johnny Hallyday, who's often shorthand summed-up as France's Elvis equivalent, plays Francois Costello, a Parisian restaurant owner with a dark past and real talent for wearing a Burberry trench coat with the collar popped. He comes to Macao to avenge his daughter (played by Sylvie Testud, who despite top billing has maybe five... MORE »

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Cannes do.

By Alison Willmore on 04/23/2009

Filed under: Festivals

The competition line-up for this year's Cannes Film Festival has been announced! A fair amount of Euro provocateurs -- Lars von Trier, Gaspar Noé, Michael Haneke -- and France in general, and only two American films, the expected Tarantino and the unexpected Ang Lee comedy, which hopefully has more to it than its trailer would indicate. New films from Jane Campion and Pedro Almodóvar and Ken Loach, plus Park Chan-wook's vampire drama (left), whee! Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" will screen out of competition, as will Alejandro Amenabar's "Agora," with Sam Raimi's "Drag Me to Hell" as a... MORE »

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In the works: Opposite George Clooney.

By Alison Willmore on 11/24/2008

Filed under: In the works

Who's starring opposite George Clooney in Jason Reitman's new film "Up in the Air," about a man in pursuit of his millionth frequent flier mile? Variety says Vera Farmiga will play "will play a businesswoman who develops a romantic relationship with Clooney's character through meetings in airports and hotels around the country." [Variety] The Hollywood Reporter claims Anna Kendrick, the policy debating femme fatale from "Rocket Science," "has nabbed the coveted female lead." [Hollywood Reporter] Presumably Kendrick, who's still playing a convincing high schooler, won't be vying for Clooney's romantic affections.... MORE »

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Trailering: Johnnie To, "Death Race" and Mr. Lee.

By Alison Willmore on 06/16/2008

Filed under: Trailering

New on the trailer circuit: Johnnie To's been a busy man — after premiering "Mad Detective," a thriller about a brilliant but insane investigator trying to track down a missing cop that To co-directed with Wai Ka-Fai, he opened supernatural romance "Linger" in Asia and then brought "Sparrow," his lighthearted tale of Hong Kong pickpockets, to Berlin. At the moment, "Mad Detective" is the only one with a U.S. release date (July 18th) in its future, though both it and "Sparrow" are also going to screen at the New York Asian Film Festival. Here's the trailer for "Mad Detective." Here's... MORE »