Cannes 2024: Meryl Streep to receive Palme d'Or

by Cláudio Alves 

As the 77th Cannes Film Festival approaches, more news emerges from Thierry Frémaux's office. The latest story concerns the Honorary Palme d'Or. While a rare plaudit in its genesis, the award has become a mainstay of the most recent festivals, with each edition involving multiple winners. Still, the number of trophies usually stops at two per year. Not so in 2024, when Cannes will give three Honorary Palmes d'Or. The first winner announced was George Lucas, who'll be 80 this month, and then came Studio Ghibli as the first awarded collective. Finally, we have Meryl Streep, who'll be a guest of honor at the Opening Ceremony and receive one of the highest honors in the film world… 

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Review: "The Fall Guy" Starts Summer Off Right

by Christopher James

It’s funny that a movie that’s a love letter to the unsung heroes behind our favorite movies succeeds mostly due to the star wattage of two A-Listers. Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt are a delight to watch in the otherwise sweet, but standard, action-romance-comedy The Fall Guy. Not every ingredient works, but you might miss it thanks to the commitment and charm of Gosling and Blunt. The Fall Guy is a strong way to kick off summer movie blockbuster season...

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A Penélope Cruz Top Ten

by Cláudio Alves

The Merry Month of May is upon us, but first, there's still some April business to attend. Specifically, Penélope Cruz turned fifty last weekend and celebrated a big party that included such names as husband Javier Bardem, auteur par excellence Pedro Almodóvar, former scene partner Salma Hayek, and many more. Happy belated birthday to the Spanish star! 

Here, at The Film Experience, the best way to mark such occasions is surrendering to list-mania, so let's consider this Oscar winner's extensive filmography and sing her praises. Excluding TV and with honorable mentions woven into the write-ups, here are my top ten favorite performances from Penélope Cruz…

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Cannes 2024: Lily Gladstone joins Greta Gerwig's Jury

by Cláudio Alves

Lily Gladstone is one of the eight jurors who have just been announced for the Cannes Main Competition. After success at last year's festival with Killers of the Flower Moon, the Oscar nominee feels like a logical choice. Indeed, most of the jury comprises artists who have found acclaim at the Croisette. There's a former Palme winner, a Jury Prize victor, the co-writer of a Palme d'Or recipient, stars of various pictures that have screened there, and more. All things considered, Greta Gerwig is probably the least familiar with Cannes red carpets and the screen of the Lumière. But after three solo directorial credits of such cultural prominence, it's easy to see why she's this year's Jury President.

Here's the complete Main Competition Jury for the 74th Cannes Film Festival...

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TCM Film Fest: Romantic Couples - The Shop Around the Corner, Send Me No Flowers & Lady Sings the Blues

by Christopher James

Billy Dee Williams was present at a screening of Lady Sings the Blues for a Q&A as part of a tribute to him at the TCM Film Festival.It wouldn’t be a trip to the TCM Film Festival if I didn’t catch some of the great romances of yesteryear.

In particular, the enemies to lovers romantic comedy troupe was alive and well. Ernst Lubitsch’s The Shop Around the Corner provides the foundation for this trope. Decades later, Doris Day and Rock Hudson would use this dynamic to great success in many collaborations, including the bonkers comedy Send Me No Flowers. Romance isn’t all fun and games though. The Billie Holliday biopic Lady Sings the Blues borrows less from the biopic genre and focuses more on the troubled relationship between Holliday (Diana Ross) and Louis McKay (Billy Dee Williams, an honoree at this year’s festival).

Did all these pairs sell us on their celluloid love? Find out after the jump...

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