What are YOU excited about?

Actually, I don't care to know the answer to the above question. I just wanted to let you know what I'm excited about: cinema-wise, that is. Not that I'm ever excited about anything else, really. I've been working on a couple of posts, but my self-esteem has been murdered in the past forty-eight hours in regards to film criticism. Don't worry, I'll take some Prozac and get back to ripping apart Crash again soon. Until then, get excited with me.

Volver - dir. Pedro Almodóvar - 2006 - Spain
Ol' Pedro has reteamed with Carmen Maura (so wonderful in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown), after a reported falling out during the filming of Kika. And, less excitingly, with Penélope Cruz, whose only watchable films (All About My Mother, Live Flesh) happen to have been directed by him. Maura's ghost returns to solve the problems she couldn't while she was living. I hope it's as good as Just Like Heaven. Or... maybe a little better. Sounds to me like it's going to be another of his "serious" films, but I'll go and enjoy it nonetheless. Coming in June from Sony.


Drawing Restraint 9 - dir. Matthew Barney - 2005 - USA/Japan
I actually can't say I'm excited about this one, but I'm sure I'll drag my ass to the theatre to see it, even though supporting Matthew Barney's self-indulgence isn't really a joyous pasttime of mine. This time around, he's got his baby's mama Björk parading around in geisha-attire. Like his Cremaster cycle, it's bound to be visually astounding, and, unlike Cremaster 3, this one only runs just a little over two hours. IFC Films will have this one out soon.

Mary - dir. Abel Ferrara - 2005 - France/Italy/USA
Now here's one that's got me ecstatic. A new Abel Ferrara film! Initial rumors suggested that Vincent Gallo was going to star alongside Sarah Polley. These rumors proved false; instead we've got Matthew Modine as Jesus and Juliette Binoche as Mary Magdalene. Fuck The Da Vinci Code; I'm sure this one'll piss of Christians even more (that is, if they even hear about it). The IMDb says it's coming in June, but I haven't found a studio for it. Keep your rosary out.

Le Temps qui reste - dir. François Ozon - 2005 - France
So 5 x 2 was a bit of a disappointment, sure. But Le Temps qui reste is supposed to be the second installment of a trilogy Ozon began with his marvelous Under the Sand (Sous le sable). Strand should have this one out at the beginning of June.

L'Ivresse du pouvoir - dir. Claude Chabrol - 2006 - France
Or literally, The Intoxication of the Power (expect the title to change before making it stateside). I'm not saying Isabelle Huppert is necessary for Chabrol to make a good film -- but it helps. And in the past ten years, his only memorable films (La Cérémonie, Merci pour le chocolat) have featured Madame Huppert, so this looks to be a safer bet than his prior Flower of Evil (La Fleur du mal). Plus, the guy's pushing 80; he's not going to have many more chances. No word on a US distributor.

Inland Empire - dir. David Lynch - 2006 - France/USA
Laura Dern's in trouble! That's all that's known about Lynch's new feature, which will probably be making its debut around May at the Cannes Film Festival. Plus, Lynch got a bunch of his regulars back: Angelo Badalamenti doing the score (would it be a Lynch film without?) and Harry Dean Stanton, Dern, Justin Theroux, and Kyle (My Special Agent) Maclachlan in front of the camera. It's also his first digital feature... so we'll see how that goes. Can't wait for this one? Check out his short Rabbits, with Naomi Watts, here.

L'Enfant - dir. Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne - 2005 - Belgium/France
Looks like US audiences will get to see the 2005 Palme d'Or winner in time for the 2006 festival in May. A young couple decide to exploit their baby for money. The Dardenne brothers have always been odd favorites at Cannes. This is their second Palme d'Or win (after Rosetta in 1999)... I'd hardly say they fit the image of a Cannes darling (the Coens, Lynch, Von Trier, Haneke, or Wong Kar-wai are among others), but maybe it's because they don't fit that the French hold them in such high regard. Expect a slow, sparce drama here. Sony releases it later this month.

Don't Come Knocking - dir. Wim Wenders - 2005 - USA/Germany
Still fascinated by the desolate American South after Paris, Texas, Sony's dishing out Wenders' latest. Bradford mentioned to me that you can only have one favorite of the short-list of New German filmmakers: Fassbinder, Herzog, Wenders, Schlöndorff. Fassbinder died; Herzog and Wenders now work in the US; Schlöndorff now makes boring Holocaust films. This one had better be good enough that I forget about Million Dollar Hotel.

The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things - dir. Asia Argento - 2004 - USA
I know I've talked about this before on here, and I know you know I hated the book. But my weird crush on Asia Argento just won't die. And this new poster is pretty rad. GreenCine Daily linked an interview with Argento on SuicideGirls.com, where she reveals how much she loves Roman Polanski, that her best friend is Gaspar Noé (Irréversible), that she was unaware (and doesn't really give a fuck) that J.T. LeRoy didn't exist.

And I apologize, but I had to turn the "word verification" on for posting comments. I was getting too many porn links to ass-fuckin she-males with big titties.