As a Brit watching Woody Allen’s latest European muse, the first thing that springs to mind is Only Fools’ Nicholas Lyndhurst’s time-travelling sitcom Goodnight Sweetheart about an accidental time traveller who discovers a time portal, allowing him to travel between the London of the 1990s and the same area during the Second World War. Time travel captures the imagination and has fascinated audiences, from Back To The Future to Quantum Leap. For this reason alone, Allen’s new romantic comedy has an instant awe – and not just as a result of the setting being the upmarket parts and cultural haunts of gay Paris.

An American family travel to Paris on business, but the engaged couple of the party, Gil (Owen Wilson) and Inez (Rachel McAdams), find the culture and lifestyle starting to interfere with real life, and they are forced to confront the illusion that a life different from their own is better.

Midnight In Paris is by far one of the best Allen films out for a couple of years. The film-maker has dabbled in other major cities around the world, such as Barcelona and London, with little charm or lasting impression. What Allen taps into in this is the natural mystique of Paris. Hence the rest of the tale feels more magical.

The charming trademark neurosis of Allen’s characters is back in full force – his 2010 film, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, was just too self-absorbed and self-commiserating to allow audiences to really care for the characters they were watching. In this, Wilson is an absolute delight in one of his best roles for years as troubled writer Gil, who pines for past creative eras because he longs for a creative eureka moment. His ‘episodes’ with literary, artistic and film-making historical legends is incredibly quaint and light-hearted, and stirs a nostalgic passion we all sometimes feel of a better life lived that is now past.

Wilson is particularly apt at playing the wide-eyed innocent in his films, characters full of flaws and self-depreciation, that when he shares the company of the likes of Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll), F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston), Pablo Picasso (Marcial Di Fonzo Bo) and Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates) in this, it’s the same wonderful thrill you get watching an overly appreciative kid in a candy store, brimming with newfound confidence. In addition, fans of these great minds will revel in their quotes and references. It’s a gloriously amusing cultural jaunt, and although a lot of the episodes are brief, the snapshot moment is all it takes to beguile you.

McAdams is fresh and energetic as Inez and as stunning as Marion Cotillard as Gil’s yesteryear love, Adriana. Again, the sumptuous set design is as intoxicating as the location, showing all involved off in the very best light, and implying that Allen is in love once again with his characters. Cotillard simply illuminates the screen like a silver-screen legend in her heyday, captivating both admirer Gil and the audience. Back in the present, Michael Sheen as know-it-all Paul, one half of a couple who befriend Gil and Inez, is absolutely hilarious and a sheer, conceited tonic to watch as he talks his way around the cultural city with all in tow. Even France’s First Lady, Carla Bruni, makes an appearance to add to the film’s radiance.

Midnight In Paris is like a soothing, retrospective project for Allen, his very own journey to recapturing creative inspiration and fantasy, as he rekindles his character love affair that made him such a satisfying film-maker a couple of decades ago, and brought out the very best performances in his cast – as it does here. Although it suffers from a sobering moment of moralistic self-righteousness about ‘living in the present’ to be more fulfilled, Midnight In Paris is an effervescent, witty and absorbing tale lost in time.

****~ (4/5)

Cinémoi (Jason Solomons) got to speak with Lea Seydoux about her role in the brand new Woody Allen movie, Midnight in Paris. The movie also stars Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody, Carla Bruni, Marion Cotillard, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, Owen Wilson and you can read our review of the movie here.

Synopsis: This is a romantic comedy set in Paris about a family that goes there because of business, and two young people who are engaged to be married in the fall have experiences there that change their lives. It’s about a young man’s great love for a city, Paris, and the illusion people have that a life different from theirs would be much better. It stars Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Kathy Bates, Carla Bruni, among others.

It’s always difficult to remain impartial whilst sat in the 2300 seated Lumiere theatre in Cannes, tuxedo donned and having just trod across the second most famous red carpet in the world (behind the Oscars) and having literally bumped into Robert DeNiro, Uma Thurman and Jude Law a few hours earlier! So it is safe to say that we were in a good mood as we awaited for Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris to open up the Cannes film festival…

Plot spoilers abound.

In short, I thoroughly enjoyed Woody’s latest effort, it was fun, beautifully paced and effortlessly fascinating. Starring Owen Wilson, with another one of Allen’s superb ensemble casts backing him up, Midnight in Paris tells the story of Gil (Owen Wilson) who’s travelled to Paris with his fiancé Inez (Rachel McAdams) and her parents. It’s quickly apparent that Gil and Inez are entirely juxtaposed not only in their feelings toward Paris – McAdams yearns to return to California, Gil dreams of moving to Paris full time – but also to life in general.

Gil is a Hollywood script writer who despises the soulless nature of his work and dreams of being born years earlier, about ninety years earlier in fact, as he obsesses over 1920’s France. In a fabulous twist which I never saw coming, whilst walking the streets of Paris at Midnight, Gil is picked up by a vintage vehicle and transported back in time to 1920’s France where he promptly bumps into F Scott Fitzgerald, not long after Ernest Hemingway! The next day, after concluding he may indeed be going insane, Gil successfully attempts to return to 20’s Paris again and meets a host of legends including Dali, Picasso and TS Elliot! Now it is around this point where I have to hold my hands up and admit to feeling not just a little uncultured, as I had no idea, or possibly only a vague clue who a number of these legends of art were!

But it didn’t matter, it certainly didn’t affect my enjoyment of the movie and the Adrian Brody cameo was genius, it brought the house down! It is through these encounters in 20’s Paris, along with a bizarre yet charming love affair with Adriana, (the always magnificent Marion Cotillard) that Gil not only makes some life decisions, not least his general outlook, but finds the courage to make changes long overdue.

Now I have no doubt that critic after critic will bang on about how Allen’s time has passed; much like the film is draped in nostalgia, critics will fantasize over the thought of Woody Allen’s old movies. For me though, Midnight in Paris was a huge amount of fun, solid performances all round, interesting characters, Allen even managed to get a solid performance out of the French First Lady! It may be Cannes festival fever, but I was with four lads, all between 25 and 30 and we all loved it!

****~ (4/5)

Review by Dominic Burns

Yesterday saw the 64th International Cannes Film Festival open with Woody Allen’s latest movie, Midnight in Paris. The movie stars Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody, Carla Bruni, Marion Cotillard, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, Owen Wilson and from what I’ve seen so far, people absolutely loved it. Many other celebs were present at the opening night including head judge of this year’s competition entrants, Robert Di Nero.

Below we have the first of our video reports courtesy of Cinèmoi who will be producing video content over the course of the Cannes Film Festival. Craig and I will also be jetting off to the south of France tomorrow to attend for a few days and we’re really rather excited about it!

Synopsis: This is a romantic comedy set in Paris about a family that goes there because of business, and two young people who are engaged to be married in the fall have experiences there that change their lives. It’s about a young man’s great love for a city, Paris, and the illusion people have that a life different from theirs would be much better. It stars Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Kathy Bates, Carla Bruni, among others.

Check out the video round-up from the red carpet below.

Waner Bros. have have just sent us the trailer for the Woody Allen’s new film, Midnight in Paris. It has an all star cast which, from our calculations boasts 3 Oscar winners (please correct us if we’re wrong including Kathy Bates, Michael Sheen, Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson, Marion Cotillard, Rachel McAdams, Alison Pil (you may remember her from Gus Van Sant’s Milk), upcoming Thor baddie Tom Hiddleston and France’s very own first lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.

The trailer is delightful with all the comedy you’d expect from a Woody Allen movie. It’s scheduled for release in France 11th May. No UK release date that we can find as yet but we’ll obviously keep you posted.

Even for people who have never been to Paris, the name of the city is more than a metaphor for magic—it’s almost a synonym.  Certainly there’s no better place on earth that Woody Allen could have chosen for his new romantic comedy than Paris.   It is a city with a unique mythology and heritage, celebrated for the extraordinary beauty of its streets, boulevards and gardens, as well as the splendor found inside so many of the greatest museums in the world.  The resonance of its history, from major political and cultural events to the aura of its legendary restaurants and cafes, is felt everywhere.  The past endures and shines brightly in Paris, which makes it well-suited for a story of a man reinvigorating his feelings and finding inspiration to reflect on his life.

Midnight in Paris is released in the UK 7th October.

Sony Pictures Classics have released the debut poster for new romantic comedy Midnight in Paris.

Written and directed by Woody Allen (Vicky Christina Barcelona), Midnight in Paris stars Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Alison Pill, Kathy Bates, Marion Cotillard, Adrien Brody, Carla Bruni, Michael Sheen, Léa Seydoux, Tom Hiddleston and Gad Elmaleh.

Synopsis: A romantic comedy about a family traveling to the French capital for business. The party includes a young engaged couple forced to confront the illusion that a life different from their own is better.

Midnight in Paris is scheduled to open the 2011 Cannes Film Festival in May.

Check out the wistful poster below:

Source: Yahoo! Movies

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, picking the right rom-com to see is crucial to setting the right mood. A Little Bit Of Heaven should be on the cards – and with Kate Hudson in the lead, things look particularly promising. But that’s where the love story begins to fade because she’s cast opposite Motorcycle Diaries’ Gael García Bernal.

Although Hudson fizzles with vitality in that special way we love her for, radiating warmth through the screen, she seems to ‘burn out’ Bernal’s rather stiff appearance in every scene she shares with him, resulting in very little believable chemistry between the pair. The Latin love is simply non-existent. We fully understand and support director Nicole Kassell’s brave attempt at casting actors in roles they’re not normally associated with – even Hudson’s character, Marley, a carefree advertising exec who discovers she has terminal cancer, alarmingly, loses her light and energy by the end. But it all feels like a futile attempt by Kassell that doesn’t sit entirely comfortably. It’s also unclear as to when Marley decides to change her staunch independent ways, and let a special man into her life, considering Bernal who plays her doctor, Dr. Goldstein (a Mexican Jew – yes, you heard correctly) makes virtually little effort in the chase, short of treating her, then inviting her to a cancer fundraiser. And hey, presto, they’re suddenly an item.

That said the film does redeem itself with the family/friends casting, including Kathy Bates as Mum, and Lucy Punch and Romany Malco as Marley’s best pals, who manage to blend the comedy with the tragedy with apparent ease, supplying the laughs and the tears in equal measure. Thankfully, they throw up some believable scenarios. Cliches aside, like the gay next-door neighbour (Malco), these characters each have some quality screen time with Hudson as Marley, so we understand their significance in her life, which is thoughtfully fleshed out. Plus they all nicely piece together in the colourful and positive surroundings of New Orleans, too.

The film has its wacky moments. For quirkiness value, there’s a dwarf gigolo who entertains Marley for an evening – perhaps, an effort by the writers to highlight New Orleans’ intriguing melting pot of characters, who knows? Whoopi Goldberg also drops in to play God, literally, like an extra straight out of a Philadelphia cheese spread ad in a bizarre heavenly moment of Marley reflection. Still, it’s fun to see her, and she gets a glass of champers out of it in the end – large dollops of cheese still present. These moments certainly add comedy value, but they do seem so random that they confuse matters and the film’s pace, at times, trying to blend reality with fantasy in a not too cohesive and convincing fashion.

Hudson is undoubtedly in familiar territory that she can navigate with her eyes closed, proving once more that she’s the ‘darling of rom-coms’. Hence her fans will catch this latest film anyway. She also demonstrates something new and more mature to her acting arsenal, like a latter-day Bette Midler in Beaches. It’s just a shame about leading man Bernal who, physically, just looks rather mismatched next to Hudson on screen – regardless of the age-old saying of ‘opposites attracting’. For such an accomplished actor, he just comes across as more ‘dud than stud’ in this.

**~~~ (2/5)

Entertainment Film have just sent us the brand new trailer & poster for their new movie, A Little Bit of Heaven which is directed by Nicole Kassell and stars Kate Hudson, Gael Garcia Bernal, Kathy Bates and Whoopi Goldberg.

Synopsis: A Little Bit of Heaven” is a love story set in New Orleans about an irreverent young woman who unexpectedly falls in love with her doctor.   Academy Award® nominee Kate Hudson is joined by Academy Award® winners Kathy Bates and Whoopi Goldberg, as well as Gael Garcia Bernal (“Letters to Juliet” and “The Motorcycle Diaries”), Lucy Punch (“Dinner for Schmucks”), Romany Malco (“The 40 Year Old Virgin”), Rosemarie DeWitt (“Rachel Getting Married”), Steven Weber (“My One And Only”) and Treat Williams (“What Happens in Vegas”). The Film is directed by Nicole Kassell (“The Woodsman”) from an original screenplay by Gren Wells.  Marley Corbett (Kate Hudson) is young, beautiful, and wildly funny, but she’s afraid of opening herself up to true love and commitment.  Though she uses her humor to prevent matters from getting serious, a life-changing visit to her doctor (Gael Garcia Bernal) sends both of them on an eye-opening adventure of mutual discovery, leading to revelations neither thought possible.

We’re off to a screening for the movie later on today. It’s scheduled for general release in the UK 4th February.

Sony Pictures Classics have acquired the North American distribution rights to Woody Allen’s latest directorial feature, Midnight In Paris.

The romantic comedy stars a host of A-list actors, including Adrien Brody, Rachel McAdams, Owen Wilson, Kathy Bates, Michael Sheen, Marion Cotillard and Tom Hiddleston.

Midnight In Paris is about a family traveling to the French capital for business. The party includes a young engaged couple forced to confront the illusion that a life different from their own is better.

Sony Pictures Classics’ Michael Barker and Tom Bernard released this statement:

“Midnight in Paris is Woody Allen at his most magical [...] We couldn’t be more pleased to be back with Woody, Letty and their entire team, as well as, our friends at Mediapro.”

Midnight In Paris will be released later this year.

THR reported this story.

Does Woody Allen ever consider putting down his typewriter and think about taking a well-deserved holiday?

At the age of 74 there’s no sign of that yet as he’s currently in production with his 41st feature, Midnight in Paris.

The Playlist have posted some images from the shoot and it’s the first time Allen has been back since the sublime Everyone Says I Love You to France’s capital, whose luminous streets replace the rustic and sultry Spanish hills of and Vicky Christina Barcelona.

As always, Allen has managed to populate the cast with a number of diverse and interesting talent, including Kathy Bates, Michael Sheen, Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson, Marion Cotillard, Rachael McAdam, Alison Pil (you may remember her from Gus Van Sant’s Milk), upcoming Thor baddie Tom Hiddleston and France’s very own first lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.

It’s interesting to note that this is Allen’s first period piece since Sweet and Lowdown, but whether it has any bearings on the quality of the finished product (which with the recent exception of Vicky Christina Barcelona, has been varied to say the least!) remains to be seen

Allen’s next theatrical feature You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger is scheduled for release in the UK, autumn time.

Here are the pics,

Sandra Bullock is making huge, Golden Globe shaped waves in the US with this film.

The Blind Side elevated Bullock to uncharted heights when it became the highest earning film with a female lead and while the proud boast on the poster that the film is Based on an Extraoridnary True Story usually turn me off this looks like one to warm the hearts.

The excellent people at LoveFilm have the poster and the synopsis:

Teenager Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron) is surviving on his own, when he is spotted on the street by Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock). Learning that the young man is one of her daughter’s classmates, Leigh Anne insists that Michael – wearing shorts and a t-shirt in the dead of winter – come out of the cold. Without a moment’s hesitation, she invites him to stay for the night.

What starts out as a gesture of kindness turns into something more and Michael gradually becomes part of the Tuohy family. Living in his new environment, the teen faces a completely different set of challenges, both on and off the football field

Here’s the not at all photoshopped poster, looks sunny and inspirational. The film is out on the 21th of March.

It’s always a bit odd watching these award ceremonies when movies that get nominated haven’t even been released yet. This is the case in The Blind Side, Sandra’s Bullock’s new movie. I say new but she’s already a Golden Globe Award winner for this role in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama, category. The trailer nearly makes me cry every time I watch it which probably means I’ll be a blubbering wreck but the end of the motion picture! What can I say, I’m a crier!

Here’s the international trailer for The Blind Side, which, as well as Bullock stars Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron and Kathy Bates and it’s released March 12th.

Synopsis: Teenager Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron) is surviving on his own, virtually homeless, when he is spotted on the street by Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock). Learning that the young man is one of her daughter’s classmates, Leigh Anne insists that Michael—wearing shorts and a t-shirt in the dead of winter—come out of the cold. Without a moment’s hesitation, she invites him to stay at the Tuohy home for the night. What starts out as a gesture of kindness turns into something more as Michael becomes part of the Tuohy family despite the differences in their backgrounds.

Here’s the second trailer for Sandra Bullock’s new movie ‘The Blind Side’ (first here). I’m such a wimp but I can’t help but well up every time I watch this sort of movie where it’s the poor, under-privileged kid being taken in by the well-off mum – especially when it’s a true story. Man, it gets me every time!

It’s directed by John Lee Hancock and also stars Quinton Aaron, Kathy Bates, Lily Collins, Tim McGraw and is based on the book by Michael Lewis.

Synopsis: Michael Oher, a homeless African-American youngster from a broken home, is taken in by the Touhys, a well-to-do white family who help him fulfill his potential. At the same time, Oher’s presence in the Touhys’ lives leads them to some insightful self-discoveries of their own. Living in his new environment, the teen faces a completely different set of challenges to overcome. As a football player and student, Oher works hard and, with the help of his coaches and adopted family, becomes an All-American offensive left tackle.