Gaspar Noê is not n00b to making shocking and controversial films like I Stand Alone, Irreversible, Enter the Void, and now, Love. Noê has stated that Love will make girls cry and give boys hard-ons and he may be right! Although the trailer shows graphic sex scenes, it is paired well with a melodic and sweet tone that shows that the story is just as much emotional as it is physical. It's essentially a love story that celebrates sex in a joyous way as it should and in 3D! There will be definitely people grabbing at the screens for this one! And I don't expect anyone to tackle this subject better than Noê can! The film debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May where Indiewire claimed that it was some of the "most hardcore onscreen sex ever screened at the festival!" Alchemy is distributing the film but has not set a release date! Hurry up, people!

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French Canadian auteur Denis Villeneuve made his U.S. debut with Prisoners (see review) and then Enemy (see teaser) back to back in 2013! And now, he is coming out with Sicario starring Emily Blunt as Kate, a FBI agent who is enlisted by an elite government task force office to assist in the escalating war against drugs. The film premiere at this year's Cannes Film Festival where it was competing for the Palme d'Or. Villeneuve revealed that screenwriter Taylor Sheridan had been asked to change the gender of the lead role which is played by Blunt. Good thing they didn't because especially with a female in the forefront, it's so interesting to see a character as complex as Kate to give more texture and layers to a story as dense as this one. 

Starring alongside Blunt is Hollywood powerhouses Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin. The trailer doesn't give much away but you can bet that it's going to put Blunt in the hot seat that will really propel her to give one of her best performances yet. I already hear oscar noms ringing! Cinematography is done by Roger Deakins who Villeneuve has collaborated with before in Prisoners so you already know it's going to look gorgeous! Ya'll know I have a soft spot for Villeneuve as I've done one of my Director Series on him where I list in order my favorite to least favorite film of his! Definitely watch it before this film comes out so you can be well versed in his filmography! Sicario comes out September 18th! 

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Motherfucker is the fourth short of the Takeaway Scenes series where it is made by Anonymous, a group of anonymous people who must follow strict guidelines (listed here), one of them being that they all need to be shot in one take. I love the concept and the ego-less of the whole project as literally no cast & crew gets credited in this series. Adapted from the play, The Motherfucker With The Hat by Stephen Adly Guirgis, Motherfucker follows a moment between lovers Veronica and Jackie after Jackie tells her that he got a job today. With most of these shorts, the story relies heavily on the actors as they have to carry the story on their shoulder but Veronica and Jackie succeeds effortlessly with their explosive energy and chemistry with one another. These Anonymous collaboration has the right idea about filmmaking that truly strips down the form to its bare bones that allows experimentation and story to be the main focus. I can't wait to see what they do next!

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I have a weak spot for Noah Baumbach, always have & always will. Since he started collaborating with Greta Gerwig, his films undoubtedly has a more feminine touch which is always greatly appreciated and needed in this male-dominated landscape of cinema! Co-written and starring Gerwig, Mistress America follows Brooke, an adventurous, YOLO-type, New York transplant, who brightens the life of her soon-to-be step sister Tracy (Lola Kirke), a lonely college freshman. I always fear that Baumbach will turn into a Woody-Allenish type that incessantly self-indulges in their own petty, white, upper-class problems. But Baumbach has proved time and time again that even though his films are mostly about white people, his vision and stories transcends representation and continues to be inventive, witty, and undeniably charming enough that I keep coming back for more!

The trailer itself doesn't particularly make me want to watch the film but that's what I said about Frances Ha but I fell so madly in love with it! I'm hearing through the grapevines that Mistress America is unlike any of Baumbach's previous films and it is quite more humorous and playful than anything they've seen from him! That statement alone makes me more excited to watch it than this lackluster trailer did! And good thing Sundance's LA-based NEXT FEST is going to screen it with a special performance by Sky Ferreira! SwOoOoOn! I'll definitely keep you guys posted about the event! Mistress America comes out August 14th!

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Badass Femmes is a bi-weekly column that I write on Crome Yellow about all the Badass Females in pop culture that has shaped my life.

Lesbians in film usually fall into common stereotypes feeding male fantasy. There are rarely any on-screen depictions with women naturally drawn to the same gender and not merely “experimenting.” I’d always wondered if going to college was suddenly going to awaken my desire to fall into this same stereotype, and how genuine it would be. To me, sexual preference never seemed like a concrete decision but more like fluctuating wave, something to be reevaluated as life’s ebb and flow took over. But I’m A Cheerleader’s Megan however, played by Natasha Lyonne, breaks the mold in queer representation, being a refreshing example of a teenage girl unconsciously attracted to women without knowing it. She’s also a girl who does what she wants and sticks to her guns.

Continue reading on Crome Yellow...

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I normally don't do trailer reactions for  horror films because I'm easily frightened by anything but when I heard that Guillermo del Toro was coming out with a new film, I knew I had to see what it was all about. And it's just my luck that Crimson Peak entails a ghost story which is my least favorite sub-genre within the horror genre! But with Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, and Charlie Hunnam taking the lead, no doubt will the film but thrilling in not only the content but the performances! A young author Edith Cushing (Wasikowska) discovers that her charming new husband Sir Thomas Sharpe (Hiddleston) is not who he appears to be! Oh, that bastard! Seems like it will be mysterious and jarring enough especially with all the visual effects and dark storyline. Crimson Peak comes out October 16 just in time for Halloween!

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