Cannes 2010 Diary – Day 3

Today Cannes was drowning in more money than usual, Gordon Gekko was in town after all, with a fair amount of expectation resting at his feet. We found WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS slick, detailed and occasionally really quite funny. Overall it was time well invested…

Here’s a round up of the mixed opinions that were floating around the Twittersphere on Gekko’s new outing: movie mag @empiremagazine said “Wall Street 2 is good. Wall Street works” and @totalfilm agreed, adding it was “powered by strong performances. Welcome back, Gekko.” @HelenLOVEFILM also felt that Wall Street 2 “delivers” where as Peter Sciretta from popular film blog @slashfilm “was left disappointed…not a bad movie but just nowhere near as good as the first.” Screenrush.com journo @erickohn thought it was “like a distended fan film” and finally @IMDbLive said “sentimental, pontificating pwrpoint w/ a few good lines. Stone’s direction keeps barging in. Greed works. Movie, not so much.” Clearly you’ll have to make your own mind up.

HOWL
Mixing interview, performance and courtroom reconstructions with free-wheeling animation HOWL represents a brave and compelling attempt at capturing the flavour of Allen Ginsberg’s most famous and controversial poem, whilst also drawing out the dialogues around the constitution of ‘literary merit’ that would be so pivotal to the outcome of its landmark obscenity trial. James Franco impresses in the role of Ginsberg whilst David Strathairn proves a highlight of the strong supporting cast.
7/10

THE HOUSEMAID
When the newest maid and nanny of a rich and privileged household embarks on a sexual relationship with her employer, his pregnant wife, her mother, and a long-standing female employee collude to deal with the matter in their own quiet and sinister way. Suffused with an aura of subtle menace, this South Korean drama maintains tension through to its final shocking climax.
8/10