Ghostbusters

 

This female-led reboot attracted criticism well before the film was even made–with its co-writer Kate Dippold telling The Telegraph that "They said it was the worst movie ever before I'd written a word."When the original film came out 32 years ago, it too was poorly received and only became a cult¹ hit over time. As BBC Culture's critic Nicholas Barber argues, "the fans who insist that the Ghostbusters should be male have misunderstood the classic comedy they claim to revere²". The characters "were a different breed of hero…out-of-shape academics in crumpled³, slime-smeared jumpsuits".

 

Café Society

 

Woody Allen's latest feature opened the 2016 Cannes Film Festival to mixed reviews–but drew praise for its performances. Set in the 1930s, it stars Jesse Eisenberg as a New Yorker who moves to LA and falls for his uncle's secretary (Kristen Stewart). According to BBC Culture's critic Nicholas Barber," Stewart has the glow of a bona fide 1930s bombshell while retaining her characteristically sheepish, down-to-earth persona", while"Eisenberg is one of the most natural of Woody proxies⁴".

 

Tale of Tales

 

"Once upon a time there were three neighbouring kingdoms each with a magnificent castle, from which ruled kings and queens, princes and princesses. One king was a fornicating libertine⁵, another captivated by a strange animal, while one of the queens was obsessed⁶ by her wish for a child."The billing for Tale of Tales gives a clue as to the timbre⁷ of a film populated by "sorcerers and fairies, fearsome monsters, ogres and old washerwomen, acrobats⁸ and courtesans" –played by a strong ensemble⁹ cast that includes Salma Hayek, John C Reilly, Toby Jones and Vincent Cassel.

 

Toni Erdmann

 

"Based on a really brilliant script, you have a comedy of manners and of family life at the same time–and then it is brilliantly acted," Verena Leuken of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung told BBC Culture's editor Matthew Anderson at the Cannes Film Festival, where Toni Erdmann was one of the favourites to win the Palme d'Or. At its first press screening in Cannes, the film was greeted by critics with laughter and spontaneous applause, and it's since been showered with five-star reviews.

 

Absolutely Fabulous¹⁰

 

One of the first comedies to skewer¹¹ our current celebrity¹² culture, Absolutely Fabulous emerged as a sketch¹³ on the show French & Saunders before becoming one of the most successful sitcoms¹⁴ of the 1990s. Some have argued it was best left in that decade–and writer and actor Jennifer Saunders, who stars as Edina alongside Joanna Lumley as Patsy, admits the media landscape has changed."It is a different beast", Saunders told The Independent."The idea of PR now is that anyone can do it. Anyone can review a film, anyone can get their stuff online, so it is a very different world."

 

The Commune

 

Thomas Vinterberg (The Hunt, Far From the Madding Crowd) co-founded the Dogme 95 film collective with Nymphomaniac director Lars von Trier, a movement he has compared to a commune. Vinterberg spent part of his childhood in a co-operative household, memories of which form the basis for his latest film.

 

Star Trek¹⁵ Beyond

 

The third instalment of another rebooted franchise¹⁶ stars Chris Pine as Captain Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock, described by The Telegraph as"an emotional shape-shifter, the charmer who might also be dangerous–or the implacably stoic¹⁷ half-Vulcan who's somehow an amazing friend". Zoe Saldana (Uhura) co-stars alongside Anton Yelchin (Chekov), in what was to be his one of his final roles–tributes have been paid to the 27-year-old actor, who died after he was pinned against a wall by his car.

 

Swiss Army Man

 

Described as"the strangest Sundance film ever", Swiss Army Man divided critics when it premiered at the film festival in January. Paul Dano (Love & Mercy) plays a man stranded¹⁸ on a desert island; Daniel Radcliffe (The Woman in Black, Harry¹⁹ Potter) is a farting corpse²⁰ who washes up on shore. The two become friends in what is billed as"a gonzo buddy²¹ comedy", an improbable story that is"proudly scatological", according to Slate²².

 

Our Kind of Traitor²³

 

Ewan McGregor and Naomie Harris star in the latest John le Carré adaptation, produced by Simon and Stephen Cornwell, le Carré's sons, who also made The Night Manager. The screenplay was written by Hossein Amini (Wings of a Dove, Drive), who is praised by The Evening Standard for making"highly incisive²⁴ and effective revisions"to le Carré's 2010 novel:"This is a new, wholly contemporary le Carré film, sumptuously²⁵ paced and produced, taking in many striking settings, miles away from the drabness so stylishly²⁶ cultivated in Tomas Alfredson's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy of 2011". Stellan Skarsgård and Damian Lewis co-star as a Russian criminal and MI6 man; according to Entertainment Weekly,"Skarsgård saves it; wild and funny and ferociously²⁷ alive, he's a crucial bolt of color in all that tasteful gray."Released 1 July in the US, 7 July in Germany and 21 July in Brazil.

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