Caroline Tsai, Author at The Playlist

MEKTOUB, MY-LOVE--INTERMEZZO-Directed-by---Abdellatif-KECHICHE

‘Mektoub, My Love: Intermezzo’: Abdellatif Kechiche’s Torturous, Four-Hour Sequel Is the Butt of the Joke [Cannes Review]

May 24, 2019 9:23 pm

The female ass is the main character of "Mektoub, My Love: Intermezzo," and that’s not an exaggeration. After auctioning off the Palme d’Or statuette he won for “Blue Is the Warmest Color” in order to finance t...

Xavier Dolan’s ‘Matthias Et Maxime’ Sparks A Magnetic Love Story [Cannes Review]

Caroline Tsai

May 23, 2019 11:13 pm

Features, Festivals, News, Reviews

“Matthias and Maxime” ticks almost every checkbox of a Xavier Dolan movie: Canadian slang, which often takes the form of idiomatic English; plentiful shouting and stylized aesthetic flourishes set to synth-heav...

‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’: Quentin Tarantino’s Obsession With Revisionist History Continues [Cannes]

Caroline Tsai

May 23, 2019 1:43 pm

Festivals, News

“For men, identity comes from work,” Michael Hainey says in the Esquire cover story interview with the stars of Quentin Tarantino’s new film, Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, as well as the controversial auteur...

Enough Already, ‘The Lighthouse’ Performance Proves Robert Pattinson Is More Than Worthy Of Respect [Cannes]

Caroline Tsai

May 23, 2019 12:46 pm

Festivals, News

This article contains spoilers for “The Lighthouse.” Despite what the Batman backlash might indicate, Robert Pattinson has come a long way from his sparkly vampire days. Pattinson made his first major appear...

Ira Sachs’ ‘Frankie’ Is An Overstuffed Family Drama That Somehow Stifles The Great Isabelle Huppert [Cannes Review]

Caroline Tsai

May 23, 2019 11:02 am

Festivals, News, Reviews

A few great family dramas mark recent Cannes history — last year’s Palme d’Or winner “Shoplifters” comes to mind, as well as Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite,” in competition this year. Ira Sachs’ “Frankie” is unfortun...

‘Nina Wu’: Midi Z’s Lukewarm Take On The #MeToo Era Film Set [Cannes Review]

Caroline Tsai

May 21, 2019 7:01 pm

Festivals, News, Reviews

Eight years after her move to Taiwan, Nina Wu (Wu Ke-Xi) finally gets the audition she needs to jump-start her career: “Romance of the Spies,” a 1960s-era spy noir. To her discomfort, after exclusively working ...

Jessica Hausner’s ‘Little Joe’: A Chilling Take On Happiness In The Bioengineering Age [Cannes Review]

Caroline Tsai

May 21, 2019 1:05 pm

Festivals, News, Reviews

A strange pinkish glow emanates from the greenhouse of Planthouse Biotechnologies, the laboratory where Alice Woodward (Emily Beecham), a dedicated geneticist, works. With the help of her partner Chris (Ben Whi...

Gaspar Noé’s ‘Lux Æterna’ Descends Into Self-Referential Pandemonium [Cannes Review]

Caroline Tsai

May 21, 2019 11:45 am

Festivals, News, Reviews

Alfred Hitchcock’s advice for aspiring filmmakers famously included a succinct but pertinent recommendation: “Torture the women.” Known for other provocative titles like the erotic drama “Love” and last year’s ...

Céline Sciamma’s ‘Portrait Of A Lady On Fire’ Is A Searing Love Story [Cannes Review]

Caroline Tsai

May 20, 2019 9:43 am

Festivals, News, Reviews

In portraiture, representing someone’s likeness is more than an act of looking — it’s an act of learning another person. From the curves of her ear cartilage to the contours of her hands at rest, to paint a sub...

‘The Climb’: Michael Angelo Covino’s Debut Is An Endearing, Relentlessly Funny Buddy Comedy [Cannes Review]

Caroline Tsai

May 19, 2019 10:46 am

Festivals, News, Reviews

Comedies are few and far between in Cannes’ usually somber line-up, so for many festival-goers, "The Climb" is a refreshing change of pace. Compartmentalized into six tidy vignettes, sometimes spaced years apar...

Bruno Dumont’s Absurd ‘Jeanne’ (‘Joan of Arc’) Is A War Of Attrition [Cannes Review]

Caroline Tsai

May 19, 2019 10:16 am

Festivals, News, Reviews

In the history of her on-screen appearances, Joan of Arc has been largely silent. Interpretations by auteurs like Méliès, De Mille, and Dreyer have relied mostly on the expressive capabilities of the actresses ...

Luca Guadagnino’s ‘The Staggering Girl’ Gestures At Consciousness Through Couture [Cannes Review]

Caroline Tsai

May 18, 2019 9:25 am

Festivals, News, Reviews

“Once the world was deliberate. Now, it’s randomness, and no one seems to mind.” These words, spoken by one of Kyle MacLachlan’s three characters (he is, yes, all the men in the film — more on this later) seems...

‘Rocketman’: Taron Egerton Anchors Dexter Fletcher’s Flashy Elton John Biopic [Cannes Review]

Caroline Tsai

May 17, 2019 1:29 pm

Features, Festivals, News, Reviews

“There are moments in a rock star’s life that define who he is and how people perceive him as he ascends into the heavens,” John Reid (Richard Madden) tells a young Elton John (Taron Egerton) halfway into “Rock...

Mati Diop’s ‘Atlantics’ Is A Haunting Migration Narrative Of Female Adolescence [Cannes Review]

Caroline Tsai

May 17, 2019 10:01 am

Festivals, News, Reviews

While director Mati Diop sets up “Atlantics” to be a modern-day Senegalese “Romeo and Juliet” — characters could almost directly be matched to their Shakespearean counterparts — it turns out to be something eve...

Ladj Ly’s Feature Debut ‘Les Misérables’ Modernizes A French Classic [Cannes Review]

Caroline Tsai

May 16, 2019 3:31 pm

Festivals, News, Reviews

The French Revolution is long since over. But in Ladj Ly’s “Les Misérables,” which premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, a modern-day revolution takes root in the banlieues of Paris. And rather ...

Author Caroline Tsai