Cannes Film Festival 2014: 5 Movies You May Want to See

The 67th annual Cannes International Film Festival kicked off this week in France, with the usual dose of red carpet glamour. Blake Lively was universally hailed for her using the “power of the red carpet” to the fullest, and in case the photo above didn’t do it justice, here’s one more:

Blake Lively attends the “Mr Turner” Premiere at the 67th Annual Cannes Film Festival on May 15, 2014. (Photo by Tony Barson/FilmMagic)

There are also a few films being shown at the festival. Here’s a look at some of them.

Grace of Monaco

What We Know: The biopic of Grace Kelly, featuring Nicole Kidman and directed by Olivier Dahan, opened the festival this week without much fanfare. Finding a single critic who liked this movie would be a difficult task. Apart from the scathing reviews, the accuracy of the film has come into question.

Do We Want To See It? No. The critics aren’t always right, of course, but Variety called it a “cornball melodrama” and the Guardian gave it one star, calling it a “breathtaking catastrophe.”

What We Know: Directed by Bennett Miller (Capote, Moneyball) and starring Steve Carell, Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo, the film tells the “true story of Olympic Wrestling Champion Mark Schultz who decides to get justice after schizophrenic John duPont killed his brother, Olympic Champion Dave Schultz.” It’s slated for release in November 2014.

Do We Want To See It? Yes. Steve Carell’s prosthetic nose makes him look a little bit like Tony Danza, which is of course a good thing. The final scene of the trailer – Carell creeping into a gym, subtly holding a pistol – leaves us wanting more.

What We Know: The new one from David Cronenberg (Crash, A Dangerous Method) has a star-studded cast, including Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, Robert Pattinson and Robert Cusack. It’s Cronenberg’s first film set in Los Angeles and it looks at the lives of a celebrity-obsessed Hollywood family. The film may be LA-focused, but “it’s not just applicable to celebrity,” Cronenberg told The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s about real people wanting to work and have success and make money and be successful in their field.”

Do We Want To See It? Big yes. The trailer is darkly stylish, like most of Cronenberg’s work; in just two minutes, Julianne Moore jumps off the screen as an aging Hollywood celebrity (try not to think of Lindsay Lohan or even Britney Spears while watching her unhinged performance). There’s also a backseat sex-scene between Moore and Pattinson. Sign us up for this one.

What We Know: There’s no trailer available for Ryan Gosling’s directorial debut, but we do have a few ideas about what to expect. First, the cast includes Christina Hendricks and Eva Mendes, Gosling’s real-life girlfriend. Unfortunately for everyone with eyes, Gosling himself is remaining behind the camera for this one. According to IndieWire, the “fantasy thriller centers on Billy, a single mother of two, who is swept into a macabre and dark fantasy underworld while her teenage son discovers a secret road leading to an underwater town.”

Do We Want To See It? At this point, yes. Gosling’s directorial debut should not be missed, and based on the photos revealed thus far, Eva Mendes looks good. That being said: the film is being screened in the “Un Certain Regard” section of the festival, which basically means it’s not good enough to compete for the Palme d’Or.

Photo via IndieWire

Alexandra DiPalma is a producer for Fusion Lightworks, Fusion’s In-house Branded Content Agency.