Press mute on the white noise of everything else.

Ahead of its Stateside release on August 17 in New York and LA – then August 24 in selected locations in the U.S – David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis starring Robert Pattinson and a stellar supporting cast will premiere in New York on August 13.

Remember the off-the-chart premieres from the mini tour of Cosmopolis in May-June? Well, hold on to your iphones folks because the white limo is coming to the Big Apple – and there are free tickets available.

In conjunction with Moviefone, New York Magazine and Entertainment One Films, the Twitter-led offer is open to anyone who lives in NYC capable of doing this.

But back to the film.

Adapted from Don DeLillo’s novel about a disaffected, financial wunderkind’s - Eric Packer - descent into an imploding Manhattan pursued by an anonymous assassin, a cream-pie-fixated provocateur, and his own existential demons; the film has already been released across Europe and Canada – albeit limited – after its May 25 premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.

Selected to compete for the Palme d’Or at Cannes, it didn’t win, but it did get a massive reaction from critics that ranged from baffled to richter-scale-rapturous.

The majority of critics – perhaps the key word – hailed Cronenberg’s vision a stunning think-piece. Film4Online editor Catherine Bray dubbed it “the film of Cannes.” Her phenomenal review and IQ’s comprehensive coverage of the rest can be read here.

But the praise didn’t stop there.

Pattinson’s performance in the film has been called his finest to date, a definitive exit pass from the shadow of Edward Cullen and previous perceptions.

It’s likely the attendance at the NYC premiere will be star-studded and packed to the rafters. With or without the starpower of Pattinson, the cinephile draw of Cronenberg is substantial on its own.

The man behind the lens of masterpieces such as The Fly, Eastern Promises, Videodrome, eXistenZ and A History of Violence – to name but a few – it’s a rep that’s speaks for itself.

Throw in heavyweight talents like the Oscar nominated Paul Giamatti (The Truman Show, Sideways, Donnie Brasco, Man on the Moon), Juliette Binoche, Samantha Morton, Sarah Gadon, Mathieu Amalric, Kevin Durand and Jay Baruchel – and it’s quality red carpet whichever way you look at it.

As of now Entertainment One have only confirmed a New York premiere, not a L.A. But that may change. Watch the U.S trailer for Cosmopolis here.

Got Your Ticket Yet? Robert Pattinson’s Cosmopolis To Premiere In New York August 13 is a post from: The Inquisitr

Michael Haneke’s Amour claimed the ultimate prize at the Cannes Film Festival, bagging his second “Best Picture” Palme d’Or in three years and setting a new record. His first Palme awarded for The White Ribbon back in 2009.

Amour — a restrained but devastating pax de deux between an elderly couple (played by Emmanuelle Riva and Jean-Louis Trintignant) coping with the catastrophic effects of a stroke, and the love that meets it — was the consensus film of choice, with an ovation to match.

However, that was the only verdict that fell in line with critics’ predictions.

The exclusion of Leos Carax’s Holy Motors – the shape-shifting, armpit-licking, Denis Lavant starrer – elicited a shrill chorus from the many that expected it to at least place somewhere.

Robert Koehler, film critic contributor at Variety and other outlets, thundered “I won’t go as far as some colleagues in calling it the worst Cannes awards ever, but nothing for Carax’[s] Holy Motors is an outrage.”

David Fear, film critic at Time Out NY quipped, “Sorry I came home early [and] missed pitchfork/torch-carrying mob of crix storming Croisette, demanding Holy Motors satisfaction.”

The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw tweeted “It’s the right decision at Cannes 2012, but sad for Leos Carax and Sergei Lotznitsa, unjustly passed over…”

Xan Brooks asked,”Whatever became of  [...] Leos Carax’s Holy Motors, far and away the most inventive and audacious film in competition?”

Hollywood Reporter’s take on the Carax shut out was that the film, “divided partisans and naysayers more sharply than any other film; this is not a work to inspire compromise among critics or jurors … a major prize for it would have created a small furor.”

At the press conference that followed the closing ceremony, jury president Nanni Moretti said, “None of the prizes given tonight were awarded unanimously” adding, “I noticed that some filmmakers were in love with their own style rather than with their characters.”

Moving on. Other awards handed out were not nearly as divisive, though there were still some upsets among them.

Notably, “Grand Prix” winner, Matteo Garrone’s Reality – in which a Neapolitan chancer and fishmonger (Aniello Arena) desires becoming a contestant on Big Brother, only to find his own reality altering as a result – had lurked at bottom end of critics’ polls in Cannes, but still found favor with the jury.

Carlos Reygadas’s “Best Director” win for Post Tenebras Lux, dismayed many who considered Jacques Audiard’s Rust and Bone and/or Carax’s Holy Motors more deserving contenders.

Beyond the Hills — a fact-inspired story about the exorcism of a young woman attempting to rescue a childhood friend (now a nun) from a monastery — scored big, winning “Best Screenplay” for its director Cristian Mungiu and a joint “Best Actress “Award for its leads – Cristina Flutur and Cosmina Stratan.

Many critics expected either Marion Cotillard (Rust and Bone) or Emmanuelle Riva to win for their performances. But it was not to be.

The award for “Best Actor” went to Mads Mikkelsen for his role as a primary school teacher falsely accused of sexually abusing a young girl in Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt. Though considered a worthy honoree, many critics expressed shock that Denis Lavant’s electrifying, 11 character turn in Leos Carax’s Holy Motors received no recognition.

More popular results saw the “The Jury Prize” awarded to Ken Loach’s The Angels’ Share.

Benh Zeitlin came away with the “Camera d’Or” for the critically acclaimed Beasts of the Southern Wild, which played in the Un Certain Regard category and won the international critics’ prize.

The “Short Film Palme d’Or” went to Reznan Yesilbas’ Sessiz-Be Deng/ Silent.

Excluding the “Camera d’Or” — awarded for Best First Film and the only award won by an American — all remaining U.S titles were left out in the cold.

These were: John Hillcoat’s prohibition thriller Lawless, Andrew Dominik’s Killing Them Softly, Walter Salles’s On the Road, Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom, Jeff Nichols’ Mud starring Matthew McConaughey and Reece Witherspoon; and Lee Daniels’ The Paperboy.

It’s worth noting many critics agreed Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini, Scoot McNairy, Paul Giamatti, Nicole Kidman, Edward Norton, Bill Murray and Matthew McConaughey, delivered impressive performances in their respective films.

Similarly, Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Garrett Hedlund, all of whom featured heavily in U.S and international coverage of the festival, can certainly view their Cannes experience as a success. Both Stewart’s and Hedlund’s performances in On the Road were described by many critics as terrific.

Although some media outlets are reporting that David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis, starring Robert Pattinson, Paul Giamatti, Juliet Binoche and Sarah Gadon, received lower end to mixed reviews — in fact the majority of critics praised the Don DeLillo adaptation, hailing Pattinson’s dominating performance as excellent.

With the exception of U.S director’s Benh Zeitlin’s win and ambivalently received films, The Paperboy, Mud and Lawless, the lack of festival prizes for North American titles is unlikely to hinder their appeal internationally.

Reuters reports “What the strong North American presence did do, however, was put stars on the red carpet, a key ingredient to success at a film festival which thrives not only on high-brow cinema but also on glamour, fame and celebrity buzz.”

And as Kingdom’s record breaking speciality box-office debut demonstrates, the real prize for Cosmopolis, On the Road, Moonrise Kingdom and Killing Them Softly is the priceless profile bump a Cannes Film Festival selection bestows.

Perception really is everything.

Robert Pattinson on Red Carpet for Cosmopolis Premiere at Cannes

Brad Pitt at the Killing Them Softly Premiere at Cannes

Cannes Film Festival 2012: No Surprises, A Few Alarms, And The Real Prize is a post from: The Inquisitr

The jury at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival has just announced the winner of the prestigious Palme d’Or. Michael Haneke’s “Amour” took home the top prize this year. Heneke’s previous film, “The White Ribbon,” won the Palme d’Or in 2009, making Heneke the second director to win the Cannes Film Festival’s to award for back-to-back films.

In a short acceptance speech, Heneke said:

“Thanks to my wonderful actors. They are the essence of it.”

The film tells the story of an elderly couple after one of them has a stroke. Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuel Riva, who played the film’s two main characters, were singled out by jury president Nanni Moretti as she handed out the award.

Movie critic Emanuel Levy writes:

“Intensely intimate drama for two sharply observed characters, superlatively played by Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva, Haneke’s Love contests personal and societal definitions of love, marriage, aging, illnes, and dying.”

The Wrap reports that “Amour” will be released in the United States by Sony Pictures Classics.

Here are some of the other winners selected by the Cannes jury.

• Palme d’Or: “Amour” – Michael Haneke
• Grand Prix: ”Reality” – Matteo Garrone
• Prix du Jury: ”The Angels’ Share” –  Ken Loach
• Best Director: Carlos Reygadas, “Post Tenebras Lux”
• Best Screenplay: ”Beyond the Hills,” Cristian Mungiu
• Best First Feature: ”Beasts of the Southern Wild,” Benh Zeitlin
• Best Actor: Mads Mikkelsen, “The Hunt”
• Best Actress: Cosmina Stratan and Cristina Flutur, “Beyond the Hills”
• Short Film: ”Silence” 0 L. Rezan Yesilbas

Here’s a trailer for the 2012 Cannes Palme d’Or winner, “Amour.”

Cannes Palme d’Or Goes To Michael Heneke And ‘Amour’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

It’s one of the most anticipated films at the Cannes Film Festival this year. And today, the metaphorical limo in town belongs to Robert Pattinson, leading man in David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis.

Smiling broadly at a morning photo call, Pattinson and co-stars Emily Hampshire, Sarah Gadon, Paul Giamatti, author Don DeLillo, producers Paulo Branco and Martin Katz -and, of course – Cronenberg, looked more than ready for a day of pressers and the red carpet premiere to come.

A early press screening was packed to the rafters, Film Festival News tweeting “Cosmopolis has the most buzz & people hunting for tickets I’ve seen/heard for any one film at [Cannes] this year”.

But, of course, the biggest question was: what did the critics make of it? As Jonathan Romney put it, “will it be a joyride or will we wish Robert Pattinson had taken the subway?”

While mostly positive reviews have surfaced from several European magazines in the last few weeks, today is the acid test. Festival favorites for the Palme d’Or (so far) – Amour, Rust and Bone, Beyond The Hills, The Hunt and In The Fog, with the exception of Holy Motors – have been richly, emotional films about personally, tortuous circumstances.

Cosmopolis - with its grand themes of death, capitalism, emotional dysfunction, technology at the expense of relationship, sex, time, power, powerlessness and global chaos – takes a much more clinical look at the human condition. In a world where materialism and psychosis are personified by a young billionaire’s surreal, 24 hour descent into an imploding Manhattan: How would that play?

Well, reactions have been something of a revelation. Working negative to positive, here’s a snapshot:

The title of Richard Corliss’s curiously personalized Time Entertainment review perhaps speaks for itself.

Brian Johnson, film critic at Maclean’s and President of the Toronto Film Critics Association, tweeted this verdict: “Just saw Cosmopolis. Hyper-verbal yet claustro quiet. Crash-less, cork-lined existentialism. Pattinson more undead than in Twilight.“ [Johnson's subsequent review.]

Hollywood Reporter’s Todd McCarthy flamed,”Lifeless, stagey and lacking a palpable subversive pulse despite the ready opportunities offered by the material, this stillborn adaptation of Don DeLillo’s novel initially will attract some Robert Pattinson fans but will widely be met with audience indifference.”

Flickering Myth’s Rohan Morbey found it “a complete disaster from beginning to end.”

Seven Magazine’s Jenny McCartney’s main complaint was the stylized syntax spoken by the characters. McCartney did however note Pattinson as “one of the better elements of the film, with eyes that seep disillusion and a mind that reduces all human experience to the meaty crudity of what can be weighed, measured and counted.”

The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw said “Cosmopolis [is] stilted, self-important and fantastically shallow,” (reviewing it in the same vein), while Screen Daily’s Lee Marshall noted Pattinson as “fine in the main part” concluding the film was “just too slow and too talky.” A criticism echoed by Jeffrey Wells.

Steve Payne at Sussex Express low balled with 2 out of 5 stars, writing,”Director David Cronenberg has created an intense cinematic experience that will either capture your concentration for 108 minutes or have you running for the nearest exit after about ten.”

Though there was praise for Pattinson.”The English actor and star of the Twilight movies is certainly good as the brooding young billionaire Eric Packer.”

Scoring it 3 out of 5, Katherine Monk at the Vancouver Sun said Cosmopolis was “a two-hour car ride that goes in circles.”

Now Toronto’s Norman Wilner found viewing “more interesting as an intellectual experience than as entertainment; you watch Cosmopolis fully aware that it wants to be deconstructed rather than enjoyed.”

Similarly, John Semley at AVClub grumbles at what he called “the film’s shallow intellectualism.”

Chris Knight at National Post opined. ”The problem with Cosmopolis is that the rarefied intellectualism displayed on the page translates poorly to the screen.”

Hannah Shaw-Williams at Bleeding Cool saw ”two hours of Robert Pattinson sitting in a limousine with a rear-projection of New York outside.” Deciding Pattinson’s performance was “what ultimately drags Cosmopolis down”, for Williams it was only worth seeing “for its uniqueness.”

Dismissing Pattinson as “underwhelming” Eric Kohn lamented Cosmopolis’ ”experimental nature” as a fatal hindrance to the film’s commercial prospects.” A later review by Glenn Heath Jr. allowed for more than monetary concerns.

Movies on Virgin Media found it “fascinating & dull in almost equal measure but it may well be Robert Pattinson’s best performance to date.”

New Statesman’s Ryan Gilbey abhorred what he called the “air of detachment expressed in a reliance on state-of-the-nation epigrams,” but qualified saying, “In its favour, the film has Pattinson [...]He brings hunger but also delicacy.”

Raffi Asdourian balked at what he called ”a perfunctory adaptation” but adds Pattinson’s “solid, ennui-filled performance” is “substantive and reminiscent of Christian Bale in American Pyscho.”

It got better.

Hitfix’s Guy Lodge summed,

“This is the richest, wittiest, most stimulating material Cronenberg has had to work with in a decade [but] it will take further viewing [to] decide if the finished film, briskly paced and unapologetically talky as it is, quite makes good on the opportunity”. Though noting Pattinson’s screen presence as “compelling,” Lodge thought this was only evidenced when the ‘action’ sited in the limo.

Screenjabbers Stuart Barr reflected,”I’m still mulling over Cosmopolis, probably need to sleep on it. One thing I can say for certain, Robert Pattison is very good in it.”

Barr’s subsequent review again praised Pattinson’s “excellent work”, adding, “Cosmopolis is provocative and full of ideas, but it seems to skate along the surface of current events without penetrating deeply and offering any real insight.

Farah Nayeri at the San Francisco Chronicle writes: “Incredibly, Pattinson delivers the strongest performance. His blase expression works well, and he pulls off complicated limo scenes with Binoche and the doctor.”

Anna Smith said Pattinson was a “good fit for Cronenberg’s cold, weird Cosmopolis”. France 24′s Eve Jackson said she was “left feeling numb by Cosmopolis” but thought Pattinson was “excellent.” [Jackson's memo may not have reached everyone at France 24 as a later article reckoned the actor failed to "deliver."]

Vulture’s assessment,”Pattinson is able to convey a whole lot about his Cosmopolis character simply with a curdled sneer and a soul-sick gaze,” giving the actor extra points for “delivering the tricky DeLillo dialogue.”

Time Out’s Dave Calhoun took issue with Cosmopolis’ “wordiness” but commended the “end-of-days menace running through the film”, singling out Pattinson’s “commanding, sympathetic portrait of a man being consumed by his own vanity and power.”

Konekt, though left wanting by the film’s climax, gave it 3 out of 4. Their verdict? A “thinker’s movie that wrestles with DeLillo’s ideas/pretensions and, for the most part, comes out on top.”

IonCinema’s Eric Lavallee said, “Cosmopolis sees Robert Pattinson deliver, perhaps his best performance to date as Eric Packer.”

Edgar Chaput at Sound on Sight noted it as ”too clinical” but also said,”Cosmopolis has little nuggets of gold waiting to be discovered and enjoyed by the viewers. It features an impressively eclectic cast with a few truly stellar performances.”

For Chaput, one of those performances belonged to the film’s lead,”one actor who, in a pleasant surprise, comes out looking rather good is the oft maligned Robert Pattinson.”

At one point in her review The London Evening Standard’s Charlotte O’Sullivan calls the film “an almighty chore,” but also admits to being “Cosmopolised.”

O’Sullivan writes,”What a relief to be able to report that the gamble taken by this always interesting director and his young star does eventually pay off. Will it make anybody a ton of money? No, and that’s surely half the point.”

Then, much better.

Montreal Gazette’s T’cha Dunlevy rated it 3.5 out of 5 saying,”This film rests squarely on Pattinson’s broad shoulders, and in the brooding features of his perfectly chiselled face. Cronenberg is at play in this slippery, surreal affair that is best appreciated with open ears and an open mind – and begs to be seen twice.”

Twitch Film’s Brian Clark said,

“[Cronenberg's] choice to cast Robert Pattinson was an inspired and brilliant decision. While Cosmoplis is a bit too one-note to allow any proclamations about Pattinson’s range, his opaque, handsome, sometimes robot-like face compliments Cronenberg’s themes and styles perfectly. In terms of what the director seems to be aiming for here, his cold performance is nearly flawless.”

Adding,

“Cronenberg has still made an odd, uncompromising and occasionally brilliant film of his own, one which is well worth seeing if only for the deft way the Cronenberg finds an emotional arc in such an inhuman world. Or else to see how perfectly Pattinson’s performance suits the director.”

Eric Vespe at Ain’t It Cool admits struggling with the rhythm of the film’s dialogue initially but said once he did, he was “captivated”. And just as others have commented on the vestigal effects of Cosmopolis, Vespe writes ” The more distance I get from the movie, the more I like it.”

HeyUGuys, while not enamoured with the film’s pace, were emphatic about Pattinson.

“So, er, yeah. It turns out Robert Pattinson can really act [...] Pattinson totally kills the role. He’s dismissive and elitist, yet also dripping with charisma and downright swagger. He manages to display an old, rumbling rage under surface, and he does all this barely moving a muscle. He is to evil understatement what Nic Cage is to shouty mega-acting.”

The Sunday Times’ Jonathan Dean said ”Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis is clever, brilliant and funny; mocking R-Patz for being 100s of years old. Maybe you had to be there.”

AVclub’s Mike D’Angelo comments, “the more abstract and overtly stylized Cosmopolis is, the more it thrills.”

Seminowicz emoted “Cosmopolis is like falling into shattering icecubes. Afterwards you feel alive.”

Jonathan Romney was “mesmerized,” a later article in Sight and Sound dubbing Cosmopolis “the sleekest, shiniest, most unearthly vehicle on display in this year’s Cannes.”

Peter Howell declared it “a blockbuster of the mind, fascinating as much for what Cronenberg shows us as for what he doesn’t show.” [His review].

Jake Howell (not related) writes “Didn’t get the good movie chills very often during [Cosmopolis] but as I reflect they’re coming in waves. Bravo.” In a later review Howell praised its ”juicy critiques of society,” adding “Robert Pattinson’s Eric Packer solidifies what some critics have suspected for a while now: the dude is more than a perfectly-chiseled face.”

Before the screening, Maxim Barrault tweeted “The question is: has Leo’s Carax’s Holy Motors taken the wind out of David Cronenberg and Robert Pattinson’s Cosmopolis[?].”Less than 2 hours later, Barrault answered his own question, saying,“I think I heard whistles from the cheap seats upstairs but I no longer care. I enjoyed every crazy self-important minute of Cosmopolis.”

Sight and Sound said “Cosmopolis fascinates to the end.”A later review by Nick James decided that “This isn’t an easy film to watch,” but could also “yet turn out to be a blueprint for things we’d rather avoid but have to face.”

In his review, MSN’s James Rocchi in what seems like a back-handed compliment said, “if you’re casting for a dead-eyed shark wreathed in unearned privilege, Pattinson turns out to be a pretty good choice.” Then he rates the film 4 out of 5 and you realize he’s actually saying Pattinson interpreted Packer perfectly.

Movie Review’s Caroline Preece graded it 3 out of 5 promising viewers they would, ”leave Cosmopolis with a satisfaction that rarely follows you out of the cinema.”

Describing Pattinson’s role as a “smart and welcome change for the actor to embrace,” Preece adds “with this material, there are moments where he struggles to convey the depth of emotion required, but he pulls it out of the bag when it’s really needed, and carries the film on his shoulders for the entire running time.”

Total Film’s Rob James rating it 3 out 5 said, ”Not only is Cosmopolis more talky and less cinematic than Cronenberg’s previous drama, it might just be the weirdest movie of the year.”

Pronouncing it a “game-changer” for Pattinson, James adds: ”Cinematographer Peter Suschitzky’s precise, clinical visuals put Pattinson under intense scrutiny. But he chews through the challenge of Cronenberg’s immensely literate script – lifted hand over hand from the prose in Don DeLillo’s dense, stylish novel – with real confidence.”

David Fear at Time Out NY wrote, “Cosmopolis nails DeLillo’s voice, great match of filmmaker & material” [later review]. Nadia Neophytou noted Pattinson’s “steely cool.”

Cinevue’s Russell Cook praised Pattinson’s performance as “rich in mood, tone and delivery, comfortably embracing a plot full of seriously bizarre and awkwardly funny moments, vindicating the Canadian master’s bold [casting] call.” Cook’s final appraisal: A “stylish think-piece for our times.”

NYT’s Manohla Dargis praised Cronenberg’s lensing and noted Pattinson’s performance as perfect ” for the movie’s sepulchral air.”

The Arts Desk’s Emma Simmonds awarded 4 out of 5, noting Pattinson as “well cast” in a film that was both a “study of detachment” and “cinema at its most intimate and inquisitive.”

Uptown Magazine’s Nicholas Freisen considered Cosmopolis a “return to form” for its director, contexting Pattinson’s performance saying, ”If you think of Packer as the spiritual descendant of Bret Easton Ellis’s Clay character from Less Than Zero, you will understand the true genius of Pattinson’s performance and see it as completely appropriate [...]”

Fangoria’s Chris Alexander: “It most certainly is a difficult film, but for serious fans and scholars of the director’s unique and unwavering world view, it is both essential and immensely rewarding”. Alexander adds ”Pattinson [...] is excellent in a difficult role.”

Cinemart, rating the film 4 out of 5 said, ”This is Robert Pattinson’s acting manifesto and it builds on the promise he has shown with characters not given the same range as found in Eric Packer.”

Starburst’s Robert Keeling said, “One thing which has to be emphasised is that Robert Pattinson is absolutely superb throughout. He is in practically every scene and a great deal of pressure thus lands on his young shoulders. ”

Adding,

“He masters the aloof and emotionless nature of Packer perfectly and more than holds his own with an old pro like Paul Giamatti during a tense confrontation towards the movie’s end. An actor of his bankability doesn’t need to do movies of this size, and in many ways it is a bold move for the Twilight star, and it is one which pays off handsomely.”

Then, rapture.

Ian Schultz at Cinehouse UK recognized the polarizing nature of the film but said,

“[...] that’s the intent and it’s taken pretty much word for word from the novel. It’s about people isolated from the outer world and become increasing interested in themselves and themselves only and after all he wants the most vain thing a damn haircut.”

Schultz added,”Robert Pattinson is quite astonishing the role as Packer, he is ice cold and inhumane in the best possible way and almost alien like as in David Bowie in The Man Who Fell To Earth. He perfectly captures the psychosis of a man who has everything but wants nothing except he has a death wish.”

Adding,

“I think I may have found an early contender for film of the year. A lot will hate but if you can get what Cronenberg is trying to do you will be engrossed even with it’s deliberately alienating cinematic devices.”

Hammer to Nail’s Michal Oleszczyk proclaimed it “mesmerizing,” tagging it “this year’s Margin Call for the philosophical-minded set.”

Bruce Kirkland at The Toronto Sun lavished an ‘A+’ for “intelligent and stylish cinema, an antidote to the time-wasters [that] occupy so many theatres during the silly summer season.” Then, giving grace notes to Pattinson: ”Adopting a convincing American accent, Pattinson aces the role despite his panic attacks before the film starting shooting in Toronto.”

Den of Geek’s  James Peaty punched in 4 out 5 stars: ”If you’re interested in seeing a top-of-the-line director working with great actors and provocative material in a form that English language cinema seems to have all but turned its back on, then Cronenberg’s latest is definitely worth both your time and money.”

Saving this for Pattinson:

“As for the Twilight star, who has to shoulder being in literally every scene of the movie, it will no doubt upset some people to hear that he acquits himself more than admirably. Managing the tricky task of being both simultaneously aloof and vulnerable, Pattinson mines the ambiguity in Packer’s character for all it’s worth.”

“Slowly stripped of both Packer’s literal and metaphorical armour as the film progresses, the quality of Pattinson’s performance is brought into sharp focus in the film’s climactic scene. Going toe-to-toe with the superb Giamatti in an extended face-off, Pattinson more than holds his own with the veteran actor. ”

Tom Charity at LoveFilm said ”Some folks are reluctant to admit Robert Pattinson can act. They will come round eventually. The guy is more than his haircut. This is a talky script, but he navigates it with skill and conviction.” Then, turning his attention to the film itself declared it,

“Slyly funny and at least as philosophical as it is political – by which I mean it’s as concerned with existential angst as much as social inequities – I predict Cosmopolis will come to be seen a one of Cronenberg’s purest accomplishments.”

The Guardian’s Philip French blisters a 4/5 approval, spotlighting Cosmopolis’ denouement as  ”riveting cinema, as fine as anything Cronenberg has done.”

On Pattinson’s Eric Packer: “As played with frightening conviction by Robert Pattinson he’s a Gatsby-esque figure, remote, inscrutable and doomed.”

Dorkshelf’s Andrew Parker heaped admiration on Pattinson, describing his turn as “the true starmaking performance that the actor has probably long hoped for.”

In his review Parker adds, “It’s a hard and challenging film for casual viewers to ever hope to have in “in” with, but for those willing to follow along and let the film wash over them in the same way a great book can take over the imagination, Cosmopolis is a heck of a ride.”

Slant Magazine’s Budd Wilkins saw a “cold yet frenzied techno-downer, Cronenberg films DeLillo’s postmodern Ulysses as profoundly perverse successor to [Videodrome]”. Wilkins’ later review describing the film as “diamond-hard and dazzlingly brilliant.”

Telegraph critic Robbie Collin, praised it as “talky but terrific, with a steely, sinuous turn from Pattinson. Chillingly current too.” Collins’s later review echoed these sentiments.

The Cult Den’s Darryl Griffith said  “Cosmopolis proves to be an outstanding and unflinching depiction of the current climate.”

Then adds, ”In a real game changing role, Pattinson delivers his most accomplished and assured performance to date. Anchoring the film with meticulous poise and charisma, his thoroughly engaging protagonist here may finally put the doubters to rest in regards his acting abilities.”

DIY’s Becky Reed raved ”Robert Pattinson is a bit bloody brilliant in Cosmopolis. As in, I couldn’t have imagined another actor his age topping that performance.” In a review that followed Reed reserved her highest laurels for Pattinson:

“It’s a breakthrough performance for the Twilight star, who has consistently chosen interesting projects despite his heart-throb status, and Cronenberg’s brave casting has paid off. Pattinson is riveting throughout – there is a maelstrom of fierce intelligence in his financial wunderkind, bubbling under a controlled stoniness.”

“It’s a layered performance, one of the best of the year, that makes the often pretentious and unrelatable theories believable and compelling. Pattinson holds this stagey yet visually memorable film together, even when it unravels unsatisfyingly – he makes the film worth your while. You won’t see another film starring an A-list idol this brave for a long time.”

Indiewire’s Simon Abrams hailed the film’s “insanely rich and maddeningly complex” scenarios, a “triumph.” [Abrams is mentioned again below.]

Empire Online came out swinging,“[Pattinson] has the chops” and “nails a difficult part almost perfectly, recalling those great words of advice from West Side Story: You wanna live in this crazy world? Play it cool.”

For Ryan Lattanzio, the film is Cronenberg’s “best work since A History of Violence“, bristling with “energy, ideas and confidence.” There was kudos too for Pattinson’s “cold, unfeeling, sexy” performance. [A fuller review followed.]

Variety’s Justin Chang lauds Cronenberg’s *coolly corrosive allegory” of a technologically fixated, corrupted world,  spotlighting Pattinson’s performance as “excellent”. Then, goes one better, proclaiming the Brit actor an “indispensable asset.”

Catherine Bray, editor of Film4 Online enthused ”Cosmopolis‬ film of Cannes‬ for me.Extraordinary psychological and sensual immersion in the psychosis of capitalism; Pattinson brilliant.” Bray’s later review defining it as a “coming together of source, director and star with a relevance that rarely occurs in cinema.”

The Independent’s Jonathan Romney (also mentioned above) delights, ”This is a surpassingly odd film that some will reject outright, but I was totally won over. Cosmopolis may, like Packer’s limo, be an elaborately conceived but essentially vacant vehicle – yet it has a master at the wheel.”

Rolling Stone (Italy) showered adjectives and a 5/5 rating, crowning it “a masterpiece.”

Little White Lies called Pattinson’s Eric Packer “magnetic [... ] This is his best performance to date by some considerable margin. Yes, even better than Remember Me”, while Simon Abrams demanded that the jury “give ‘em the Palme! A.”

A sentiment echoed by The Guardian’s Xan Brooks, rhapsodizing that he was “blown away by Cosmopolis at Cannes. A film of cool, diamond brilliance. Perfectly fitted, a tale for the times. Note to jurors: this one.” [a video review followed].

In a subsequent review, Brooks exults “Cosmopolis, praise be, is flat-out marvellous, a 21st-century American horror story, haunted by “the glow of cyber-capitalism”. David Cronenberg does an elegant job of converting Don DeLillo’s chilly, mysterious prose to the screen, while the performances have just the right wonky, off-kilter intensity.”

Filmoria‘s forensically detailed, yet oddly moving review identified Pattinson as “the film’s true driving force”. For Chris Haydon, “everything Cosmopolis desires to express” located in the “utterly fearless, audacious and sizzling performance” Pattinson gave.

Harry Harris of Sabotage Times was unequivocal: “I’ll cut right to the chase: The film is an absolute work of art, and Robert Pattinson’s performance is nothing short of stunning … go and see this film, probably the most exciting piece of cinema this century.”

For an arthouse film weighed with so much expectation differences of opinion were to be expected. But the majority of critics were agreed on one thing: Together with an outstanding supporting cast and the unflinching hand of a master director, Robert Pattinson not only met the challenge of realizing DeLillo’s impossibly, probable anti-hero — he exceeded it. Palme d’Or or not, that achievement stands.

Starring Robert Pattinson, Paul Giamatti, Juliette Binoche, Sarah Gadon, Jay Baruchel, Mathieu Amalric, Samantha Morton, Kevin Durand, Emily Hampshire and Patricia McKenzie, Cosmopolis opens in theaters in France today. [Note: Italics added to Twitter quotes.]

Cosmopolis Roars Into Cannes: Majority Verdict? Robert Pattinson Nailed It is a post from: The Inquisitr

Working with Robert Pattinson clearly agrees with David Cronenberg as they are set to team up again on another film.

In a recent interview with popular French magazine InRockuptibles [translation via @RPLife], Pattinson said:

“I’m filming another movie with Cronenberg but I don’t know when he wants to start filming. It will be his first shoot in the United States and he promises it’s going to be very strange. The next two or three years are going to be crucial for me. It’s now that everything happens.”

Rumoured to be the Map To The Stars project Cronenberg has been mulling since 2006, as yet no definite details about this new film have been confirmed.

Like many auteurs – think Woody Allen and Diane Keaton, or Scorcese and De Niro – Cronenberg established a similar successful relationship with Viggo Mortensen, working with him on multiple films.

Mortensen first worked with Cronenberg in A History of Violence (2005), then two years later on Eastern Promises (earning Mortensen an Academy nomination), and more recently A Dangerous Method (2011).

When it was first announced that Cronenberg had offered the lead in Cosmopolis to Pattinson after Colin Farrell pulled out, many thought it an unlikely pairing – even sacrilege.

Luckily, Cronenberg took absolutely no notice and has since spoken many times about how highly he rates the Brit actor.

If Cosmopolis is anything to go by – and from the look of the trailers and teaser, it is – this could be the start of a seriously, productive relationship between this not-so-odd-couple-after-all.

New interview David Cronenberg and Robert Pattinson:  

Cosmopolis premieres at the Cannes Film Festival tomorrow and opens in France on May 25.

Robert Pattinson And David Cronenberg: The Beginning Of A Beautiful Relationship? is a post from: The Inquisitr

Starting in order of va va voom, Kristen Stewart pulled out all the stops in a Balenciaga freakum dress. Teal and silver detail etched into pink satin, and a thigh split on one side added to the ‘oriental’ feel of her look.

With a daring neck line upping the drama, Stewart completed her sexy yet elegant look with a drop necklace, black and silver heels and tousled, waved hair.

Next, Kirsten Dunst. No stranger to the red carpet, the Melancholia actress went old school in a fuschia, Christian Dior sheath. Starkly contrasting against her blond Marilyn-esque hair, Miss Dunst wore it well.

Not to be outdone, director Walter Salles, Garrett Hedlund, Sam Riley,Viggo Mortensen and Danny Morgan stayed on point with smart suits and styled hair. All except Tom Sturridge that is.

But hey, that’s beat for you.

But even before the cast strutted their stuff, the thronging press were already hyperventillating. But pourquoi?

None other than Robert Pattinson, that’s why. Looking sharp but ultra relaxed, it was clear he was there to support his girlfriend and best friend Tom Sturridge on their big night.

Keeping things brief, the Brit did get nabbed for a quick red carpet interview. Admitting he’d already seen On The Road,  the actor said he was “happy to see it again” before joking that he “wanted a practice run” before Friday’s [Cosmopolis] premiere.

After red carpet duties were over, everyone made their way into the palais des festivals where they were greeted with a standing ovation.

It’s taken 55 years for Jack Kerouc’s seminal, ode to freedom to translate from publication to the big screen. But tonight, with a bank of strong reviews and a dazzling premiere to mark the event, Walter Salles and the cast of On The Road made sure it was worth the wait.

The croisette never looked so good.

The On The Road cast on the red carpet at Cannes

Kristen Stewart And Robert Pattinson: Out And Proud But Not At All Loud is a post from: The Inquisitr

Yesterday it was Pitt and Liotta. But today, young Hollywood came to the Cannes Film Festival.

Trailing a wave of high expectations, Kristen Stewart, Kirsten Dunst, Sam Riley,Viggo Mortensen and Garrett Hedlund are in town for the premiere of On The Road - and a little face-time with the press.

Adapted from Jack Kerouac’s semi-autobiographical, road-trip-cum-voyage-of-discovery novel, this long-awaited film is also competing at the festival for the coveted Palme d’Or.

The cast were all smiles at the photo call this morning, and they had good reason. At the film’s screening earlier, literally thousands of journalists and film writers queued for a seat in the Lumiere cinema.

The sheer speed of Twitter meant reactions came online quickly. Some loved it, some didn’t – and some couldn’t decide one way or the other.

Jake Coyle at the Associated Press tweeted “On the Road, a beautifully crafted, largely fine film that, alas, nevertheless lacks the fire”. Time’s Richard Corliss decided “the movie lacks the novel’s exuberant syncopation — it misses the beat as well as the Beat. Some day someone may make a movie worthy of On the Road, but Salles wasn’t the one to try.”

Damon Wise from Empire Online described it as “about as good as it could be; lovely to look at but episodic and verbose”, while Hitfix’s Guy Lodge said, “To state the obvious, On the Road is clearly not unfilmable. Sam Riley might be, though.” The Independent declared Stewart’s scenes were “electric” but dismissed the film as little more than “cliche”.

GQ’s Logan Hill wrote, “Walter Salles’ episodic ramble On the Road never catches fire. Almost feels like a melancholy critique of the novel. Pretty, though …”. The Guardian’s Xan Brooks called the film a “stylish, tiresome loop of pretty faces [and] chambray romanticism. But oh, Viggo Mortensen is terrific.”

Filmstage wrote, “It’s fun to wander and live and be merry and then sad and profound and high. Not as fun to watch unfortunately.” Brad Brevet reviewed it as “Well made but otherwise empty”, but singled out Hedlund’s performance as “the best I’ve seen him” and Kristen Stewart’s “brave performance in what comes across as her bold journey beyond the dull and lifeless character she portrays in the Twilight movie.”

Total Film, said “On The Road was decent, but like the material, episodic with a hard to care for lead. Kristin Stewart on mold breaking form.” Indiewire gave it a mixed reception, praising the “incredible” work of the film’s cinematographer, Eric Gautier, while bemoaning that “no matter how beautiful the scenery flickering by through the window, eventually you just want to get out of the goddamn car.”

But just as Kerouac’s book split critics at the time – notably Truman Capote when he dismissed Kerouac’s opus saying, “That’s not writing, it’s typing” – a film like On The Road, so steeped in the context of its time and necessarily freeform, was always going to be a matter of personal taste.

And plenty not only ‘got’ that, they loved it.

Premiere Magazine offered high praise, describing Hedlund and Stewart as great. Jeffrey Wells enthused “Beautifully shot and cut, excitingly performed and deeply felt. It’s much, much better than I thought it would be ..” adding, “Walter Salles’s On The Road is masterful and rich and lusty, meditative and sensual and adventurous and lamenting all at once.”

Anne Thomson lauded the film as “smart, literate, beautiful and episodic”, while Twitch’s Ryland Aldrich said “Salles does a commendable job of capturing spirit & velocity of [On The Road] in [an] accessible story.”

Hitfix’s Drew McWeeney, concludes ”On The Road has a real heartbeat, and it’s a trip worth making”, and The Hollywood Reporter raptured,” Walter Salles’s adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s generation-defining novel is vibrantly visualized and features a ‘perfect’ Kristen Stewart.”

After the screening, at a packed press conference, the cast and Walter Salles answered questions. Moderator, Henri Behar, banned “Twilight” questions, although one journalist did ask Kristen Stewart about Robert Pattinson.

Stewart, cast by Salles in 2007, just before The Twilight Saga blew up, said her character ‘Marylou’ “wasn’t rebelling against anything, she was so just being herself.” When asked how she handled the nudity in the film, Stewart replied, “as long as you’re always really honest, there’s never really anything to be ashamed of.’

Viggo Mortensen, who plays William ‘Old Bull Lee’ Burroughs, revealed he read On the Road at 17 and said “reading it again made me realize how pertinent it is to our times.”

Overall though, the buzz in Cannes, according to LA Times’s Steven Zeitchik is a “stronger-than-expected positivity for On the Road”. Perhaps the last word should go to Jerry Cimino, curator for the Beat Museum. Pronouncing On The Road as “nothing short of magnificent”, Cimino sent this message to On The Road’s legion of fans around the world:

“Rest easy, my friends. If you’re like me, you are going to absolutely love this movie. These film makers got it right. They are kindred spirits in the story of The Beats. Kerouac fans will be proud.”

Somewhere, Kerouac is smiling.

On The Road stars Kristen Stewart, Garrett Hedlund, Sam Riley, Kirsten Dunst, Viggo Mortensen, Terrence Howard, Steve Buscemi, Amy Adams, Alice Braga, Elizabeth Moss and Danny Morgan. It opens across France today and in the UK on September 21.

On The Road Comes To Cannes: Divides Critics, But Isn’t That Just So Kerouac? is a post from: The Inquisitr

Just past Cannes’s halfway point – underscored by Sunday’s celestial watershed – we’re now staring down the second act of this grand-dame film festival. And guess who just rolled into town looking all Legends of the fall meets Thor-ageing-remarkably-well? Yup, Brad Pitt.

Star of new film Killing Them Softly, Pitt reunited with New-Zeand born director Andrew Dominik after their 2007 effort “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.”

Selected to compete for the coveted Palme d’Or this year, Dominik’s latest is a visceral take on George V. Higgin’s novel ‘Cogan’s Trade’. But instead of the 70s, events are now set in recession hit America, against a backdrop of the 2008 U.S election.

Pitt is Jackie Cogan, an enforcer brought in to ‘clean up’ when a heist goes down during a Boston mob-protected poker game.

Also starring Ray Liotta, Sam Shepard, Richard Jenkins and James Gandolfini, the film may sound like yet another mob film, but actually it’s a slick rage-against-the-machine slice of cinema with thickly-laid political themes.

Played against the sights and sounds of Obama’s “Yes we can” campaign and Bush Jr’s bluster about economic recovery – in the film relegated to empty pufferies – Cogan delivers lines like, “I like to kill ‘em softly, from a distance” and “America’s not a country, it’s just a business” – as if in stark relief to the ‘promises’ of Capitol Hill.

Unsurprisingly, the film has met with mixed reactions from critics.

Alex Billington from First Showing tweeted, “Dominik’s Killing Them Softly – Brutal as f-k! But also lacking a bit. Felt way too short, oddly. Typical hit-and-kill kind of crime flick.” Tatyana Shorokhova of Kinopoisk reiterated saying, “Killing Them Softly = boring them deadly.”

Indiewire, while describing it as enjoyable, reviewed it as: “Like the rest of ‘Killing Them Softly,’ the cast is positioned in blatant symbolic terms. By the time Jackie explains the “corporate mentality” of the killing process, Dominik has made made his intentions so clear that they nearly collapse.”

But just as many, if not more, loved the film.

Forbes is already talking Oscars, Brad Brevet loved it, and The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw described it as, “outstandingly watchable, superbly and casually pessimistic.”

Eric Lavallee of ioncinema declared the film was, “This Year’s DRIVE. Stylized, gritty, but w/out the extra trimmings & simplified structure”, while Sasha Stone tweeted “Dominik’s anti/American rant a solid film. Great perf by Pitt. One of the best of Fest.”

And at the Cannes press conference held earlier today, Pitt obviously agreed.

Talking about the “age old battle of art and commerce”, the 49 year-old said, ” there’s something noble about making something that says something and … being able to do it within that system where it has to be profitable, or the thing doesn’t get made.”

And in a comment bound to excite literalists, the Moneyball actor said, “I’d have a much harder problem playing a racist for instance than, say, shooting someone right in the face.”

Perhaps aware of how the film’s politics could be taken as some sort of ‘personal statement’, Pitt made it clear Killing Them Softly wasn’t an attack on Obama. Saying he was “not opposed to characters that have different views”, the actor described himself as leaning “towards the left” but slammed America’s “toxic divide.”

Away from the heavy stuff, Pitt had generous praise for his co-star James Gandolfini, saying, “Watching him act was like watching Brando.”

Killing Them Softly premieres at the festival this evening. With or without fiancee Angelina Jolie, who is not in Cannes, it should be a stellar affair.

Watch a brief clip from the film here:

Brad Pitt ‘Killing Them Softly’ At Cannes: This Year’s Drive? is a post from: The Inquisitr

With most of the world’s film and entertainment media waiting up for news of the Cannes Film Festival line-up, it’s likely many of them were also eagerly anticipating the first full Cosmopolis trailer. If so, it was time well spent. Proudly displaying the film’s official “in competition” selection for the Palme d’Or at 0:07 seconds in, Cronenberg, Pattinson and the cast of Cosmopolis pulled out the big guns for 2:04 minutes.

Without giving too much away for those that haven’t read the book, the trailer snapshots the weird and dangerous scenarios Robert Pattinson – as the progressively, reckless billionaire Eric Packer – finds himself confronted with. An out of control yen, an aloof new wife, an attention-seeking psycho with a penchant for pie-throwing, anti-globalization protesters dressed as/or carrying rats and warning anyone who’ll listen that “a specter is haunting the world”, and an anonymous assassin – today’s trailer had it all.

Intense and intriguing, Pattinson displays a previously unseen callousness in his roles to date, delivering the oddly poetic yet brutal tone Don DeLillo set in his book of the same name. At one point in the trailer Pattinson says,”the logical extension of business is murder,”  at another – when reflecting on the fact that his life is in danger – he remarks, “It makes me feel free in a way I’ve never known”.

In the book Packer is a man pursued by his own demons and a bullet with his name on it, while on a 24 journey through Manhattan in a white, stretch limo. Cronenberg’s adaptation of DeLillo’s surreal shocker has had pretty much everyone in a lather since the March 21 teaser (22nd if in Europe). Reactions on that day were seismic, and it’s likely history will repeat itself.

Neon warnings of Packer’s predicament – No more money, No more sex, No more power, No more future – spell out the almost apocalyptic themes of DeLillo’s book. How does it end? You’ll have to read the book or watch the film. If you’re wise you’ll do both. If only to see how – hopefully, brilliantly – Cronenberg, Pattinson and the rest of cast that includes Juliet Binoche, Paul Giamatti, Samantha Morton, Jay Baruchel and Mathieu Almaric, bring to life a story that’s as potent today as it was when it was written. Cosmopolis has multiple release dates confirmed but no U.S distributor or release date as yet. A status likely to change – imminently.

Confirmed For Cannes: Cosmopolis 1st Trailer Takes No Prisoners – Again is a post from: The Inquisitr