The Venice Film Festival has been taking place in Italy this past week with various celebs and major feature films premiering. Going in though, a lot of the movies which had pre-fest buzz did not go over well with the local crowd, whilst some with little to no talk suddenly jumped into the spotlight. Here's a look at some of the big ones:
<strong>The Queen</strong>
The Stephen Frears-directed tale of a week in the lives of the Royal Family following the death of Princess Diana earned standing ovations at the festival. Studios expect good business in many territories for the Helen Mirren-led drama which opens this month in the US, and it's already being labelled as the highlight of the festival line-up. Reviews: Movie City News, Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Screen Daily
Children of Men Alfonso Cuaron's sci-fi tale about a society on the verge of extinction due to sterility received mixed responses. Cuaron and co-star Michael Caine are receiving good nods for their work, but the film itself and the other performances are delivering quite varied reactions. Reviews: The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Screen Daily
The Fountain Darren Aronofsky's fantasy epic about love across three different time periods drew both boos and cheers at screenings of the Hugh Jackman/Rachel Weisz film. A film seemingly perfect for the arthouse and critical crowd, it's drawing quite varied reaction amongst reviewers with a small number heaping huge praise, others call it dull or pretentious. Saw it a few weeks ago myself and my review will be forthcoming shortly - suffice it to say I enjoyed it, but had misgivings. Reviews: The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Screen Daily
The Black Dahlia
The Brian DePalma-helmed period piece about the infamous Hollywood murder got a good reception, though isn't being considered a real contender come awards time.
Reviews: Hollywood Reporter, Variety, EmmanuelLevy, EuropeanFilms
Hollywoodland The dramatic thriller follows investigations into the unsolved mystery of the death of TV's Superman - George Reeves. Opening in the States this week, the film was well-received in Venice., though like "Dahlia" isn't being considered a contender.
