2010 Advance Warning (#6-10)

10. I Am Love (Io Sono L'amore) Directed by: Luca Guadagnino Starring: Tilda Swinton 2 words. 12 letters. Tilda Swinton. After her miracle work in Julia, I’ll watch Tilda recite lines from the bible. It doesn’t hurt that her new film is a gorgeous but tragic love story that revels on her unearthly beauty and the stunning locales of Milan . Truly, Tilda is looooove. 9. Never Let Me Go Directed by: Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo) Starring: Carey Mulligan, Kiera Knightley, Andrew Garfield, Sally Hawkins Based on Kazuo Ishiguro’s acclaimed novel, Never Let Me Go is described as a haunting and poignant story about love and death. The trailer suggests that it’s a coming-of-age story and a three-way love story, but online sources claim that there is a sci-fi aspect to the story. That’s when I stopped searching so as not to spoil it for myself. But now I’m itching to know what the grand mystery is. My wild guess is that they are clones or robots or aliens from another galaxy. 8. The Housemaid (Hanyo) Directed by: Im Sang-Soo (The President’s Last Bang, The Old Garden ) Starring: Do-yeon Jeon, Jung-Jae Lee, Seo Woo, Yeo-Jong Yun This erotically-charged remake of the 1960’s Korean classic was screened at Cannes to mixed reactions. Despite rants that The Housemaid is a sleazy and soapy update of the original, my anticipation is still high especially after seeing the trailer below. The Housemaid remains intriguing, sexy, and irresistible. 7. Enter the Void Directed by: Gaspar Noe (Irreversible, I Stand Alone) Starring: Nathaniel Brown, Paz de la Huerta, There are still plenty of films from last year’s Cannes that I haven’t seen like Xavier Dolan’s I Killed My Mother, Lou Ye’s Spring Fever, Tsai Ming-Lai’s Visage, and Chris Chong Chan Fui’s Karaoke. But standing high above everything else is Noe’s psychedelic, visceral, neon-lighted, mind-fuck of a film. Some critics even compared it to the iconic 2001: A Space Odyssey. When will I get my hands on this film? Lord, please make it soon. 6. Blue Valentine Directed by: Derek Cianfrance Starring: Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams Blue Valentine charts the unmaking of a relationship through the passage of time. Ryan and Michelle play the young couple trying to salvage their disintegrating marriage. The film, screened in Sundance and Cannes to great acclaim, is poised to be the relationship drama to beat in this year’s awards season. This gives me the same vibe as Revolutionary Road and for that reason alone, I’m bracing myself to be mesmerized. Up Next: Evil exes, evil geeks, and an evil bird