by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent With Céline Sciamma’s French movie PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE in 2019, some felt the stark same-sex love story, a period piece, was too ‘powerful’ for mainstream audiences. Thus, the film was passed over for worldwide competition even by home country France. Now there is another costume drama with Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan on offer that eerily parallels the love among outlier women. Director Francis Lee’s tak...

Who hasn’t looked at Vincent van Gogh’s masterpiece Starry Night and felt the brushstrokes swirl? Like many of the Dutch artist’s oils, the dabs of color rolling around the stars and moon give an illusion of movement. Now along comes Loving Vincent to wrestle that cinematic quality into a feature film. Despite the vibrant palette, the story shades noir. Using van Gogh’s paintings to sleuth out the murky circumstances surrounding his alleged suicide,...

by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent Raise your hand if you think Soairse Ronan should have won Best Actress for BROOKLYN. Anyone?  Yes, it’s an exercise in futility since Ronan was only a nominee in 2016. Lucky for her, Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut LADY BIRD, from A24 films and just shown at the Telluride Film Festival, is where Soairse gets redeemed. Or, you could say given a second chance to make a first impression as an emerging woman trapped ins...

Focus Feature's new movie "Hanna" was sold to Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisition Group, which is quickly becoming a major buyer of independent films.  Sony made an aggressive move purchasing distribution rights for every territory that it could, except for the following places that Focus retains the rights for: US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Greece, Israel, Middle East, and CIS.  This marks the largest market deal so far here in Cannes, according to "The Variety."  &qu...