In Contention

Tag: Ed Wood

  • Tim Burton named Cannes jury president

    Tim BurtonIn a move that should remind some of his more disenchanted fans of the high esteem with which he is still held in the industry, Hollywood’s resident kook-auteur Tim Burton has been tapped to head the jury of this year’s Cannes Film Festival. He said in a statement:

    After spending my early life watching triple features and 48-hour horror movie marathons, I’m finally ready for this … It’s a great honor and I look forward, with my fellow jurors, to watching some great films from around the world. When you think of Cannes you think of world cinema. And as films have always been like dreams to me, this is a dream come true.

    The selection makes him the first full-time American filmmaker to preside over Europe’s most sanctified cinematic institution since Quentin Tarantino in 2004. (Actor-director Sean Penn took the gig two years ago). A more mainstream pick than usual, he’s nonetheless one of the industry’s most identifiable directorial brands, and therefore an obvious candidate for the position.

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  • Those underrated gems of the 1990s

    Miller's CrossingSo here we go again.  The 1990s were an odd decade cinematically, ripe with excellent films, ground-breaking work, innovations as well as a large number of duds. There were also films released to rave reviews that never found an audience.

    I combed through the decade and came up with 15 films worthy of discussion as the more under-appreciated of the 1990s, though I am positive you will all add immeasurably to the list, as you did with my take on the 1980s.

    The independent movement gave us many great films through this span, as well as some formidable new talent, but I must confess I grew tired of the studio slagging through the decade.  Among the critical community it became almost a rite of passage. There was some wonderful studio product here and there, of course: “Goodfellas,” “JFK,” “Unforgiven,” “Schindler’s List,” “Apollo 13,” “Saving Private Ryan” and “LA Confidential” are just a few.

    My list, in no particular order…

    In “Miller’s Crossing,” the Coen brothers do a masterful job of creating a funny and dark gangster film with superb performances from the great Albert Finney, Marcia Gay Harden, and the sleazy John Turturro in a film that gently pulls the audience into its story. Made on the cheap, the art direction and costume designs are great, and that story…man those Coens get so much out of, “What’s the rumpus?”

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