Hooray For Leo !

At last, Leonardo Di Caprio received an Oscar last night as Best Actor in Alejandro Inarritu's The Revenant. Which i saw last week and it's truly an incredible movie. As a matter of fact, Leonardo deserves an Oscar for almost each of his roles since he started and this reminds me a story: some years ago i was going with someone who was my best friend - and passed away unfortunately since - to see Di Caprio latest movie. I don't remember the title but i remember my friend, who was one of the best french comic-book artist in his late 70's, saying at the end of the movie "This boy is a Genius...". And that's exactly what i think of Leonardo Di Caprio, he has so much "fire" that not a lot of actors can play with this amazing intensity as he does in each role and of course in The Revenant. So, it was about of time that he gets the Academy Award he deserves from the start, but Hollywood don't like too much people who are too gifted - see Orson Welles who never got one, shame on them!

The Revenant though, didn't get the "Best Movie" award who went to Spotlight but Alejandro Inarritu got the "Best Director" award that he deserves, too. And Emmanuel Lubezki who did the stunning photography of The Revenant got the Best Photography award! The great british actor Mark Rylance got the Best Supporting Actor award for his amazing performance in Steven Spielberg's Bridge of Spies - i didn't knew him when i saw the movie but he steal the show from the start to the end, even if Tom Hanks is excellent. Lot of technical awards for Georges Miller Mad Max movie and of course Pixar's Inside Out got the Best Animated Film award that he fully deserve. Nothing for Star Wars but C3P0, R2D2 and BB8 were on the stage of the Dolby Theater!



But Leonardo Di Caprio was not the only one to receive for the first time an award, Ennio Morricone received one for the music of Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight - another excellent movie with brilliant actors.

Don't miss below Leonardo Di Caprio acceptance speech as well as the great intro by Chris Rock!

The Great Gatsby Review

As it is often the case on Sundays, and as the big season of movies has started, here is a movie review, and this one is about Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's famous novel "The Great Gatsby".

Baz Luhrmann is the australian director of the brilliant and acclaimed "Moulin Rouge", released some years ago, and i remember that at that time a good friend of mine who is the best film editor in France and who's doing editing for all the great french directors told me that Roman Polanski for whom he did the editing of the award winning "The Pianist" recommanded him to watch Moulin Rouge. At that time as i didn't watched it yet and was a bit reluctant because of the baroque style of the movie, i asked him: "but isn't the style a bit too much?" and he answers me: "yes, but it looks great!".

Although The Great Gatsby is less baroque than Moulin Rouge you'll still find in it some reminiscences of Luhrmann's unique style and even if i can't say that it's a totally perfect movie i really enjoyed it a lot. One of the first reason is because of its brilliant cast, starting of course by Leonardo Di Caprio - playing Jay Gatsby - Leonardo being as brilliant as he's always been.

I personally consider Di Caprio not only as a great actor but as a genius actor, and the genius in his case is coming from the amazing intensity - and inside "fire" - that he puts in each role he's playing...

The other very good reason to watch The Great Gatsby is the film production beauty. Whether it's real decors or digital ones you'll be amazed by the beauty of the 1920's New York ( click on the screen captures below to enjoy them in big size ) ...

Not only for the splendor of the big city itself...

...but also for the feeling you'll have of the "roaring twenties"...

...or even for the re-creation of New York poor suburbs...

But it's Gatsby's house that will stun you. Good lord, it's not a house, not even a mansion or a castle, it's Xanadu!

And when the night comes and guests arrive for Gatsby's legendary parties...

It's there that you find back Baz Luhrmann's unique "baroque" style which fits perfectly with what's happening on screen...

The rest of the cast is as brilliant as Di Caprio, whether it's Tobey Maguire, a long time friend of Di Caprio which in this case serves the storyline as Nick Carraway, Tobey Maguire's character is not only the "narrator" but also the one who becomes friend with Jay Gatsby.

Carey Mulligan plays Daisy Buchanan, the "impossible" love of Gatsby and the one who is at the epicenter of the whole story - but i don't want to tell too much about the story itself to don't spoil it for those of you who didn't read Fitzgerald's novel....

The movie is also released in a 3D version and although i'm really not a big fan anymore of 3D movies - specially when they were not filmed in real 3D - i have to say that in this case the way Baz Luhrmann use the 3D is pretty good and if you don't have the choice with a 2D version, you can go and see it in 3D.

So, if you have sometime this week-end you have two different and very good movies to watch, whether it's the new Star Trek - see my review here - or to be one of those invited at the giant parties of the Great Gatsby!

Here is two different trailers of The Great Gatsby.







Pictures and videos: copyright Warner Bros, Village Roadshow Pictures

D&M Exclusive report on " Inception ", most awaited movie of the summer !

As i often do on week-ends here is a non-Disney report. But don't go away as it is an exclusive report on one of the most awaited movie of this summer: Christopher Nolan's "Inception".

Chris Nolan is a brilliant film director and he's the one who did the excellent Batman's "The Dark Night" and also another one that i liked a lot "The Prestige", about a "fight" between two magicians in Victorian London. Inception, which will be released in July is for sure highly awaited but also one of the most secret movie of the year. For months, no informations came out of the shooting, and even now the only synopsis on IMDB is this one:

"Acclaimed filmmaker Christopher Nolan directs an international cast in an original sci-fi actioner that travels around the globe and into the intimate and infinite world of dreams. Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb's rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved.

Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible: inception. Instead of the perfect heist, Cobb and his team of specialists have to pull off the reverse: their task is not to steal an idea but to plant one. If they succeed, it could be the perfect crime. But no amount of careful planning or expertise can prepare the team for the dangerous enemy that seems to predict their every move. An enemy that only Cobb could have seen coming. This summer, your mind is the scene of the crime."



Inception and his brilliant cast - picture above - had four days of shooting in Paris last August and as i was in town i've filmed the shooting. Note that at that time i knew nothing about the storyline so, as i did the editing seven months ago, part of my comments in the video may be not totally accurate. But you'll get rare shots of the filming, a really big one as around 400 people were on the sets!

You might want to see Inception's trailer first to understand a bit more about it, so here it is:



One last note: the music that i've put at the beginning and the end of the two-part video below is not the one from Inception. But i don't doubt that you will guess where the music is coming from!







Inception trailer: copyright Warner Bros

Video: copyright Disney and more

Pictures: copyright warner Bros

New Twilight Zone movie , thanks to Leonardo Di Caprio ?

Those of you who love the Twilight zone series - and, honestly, who don't like these magical Rod Serling TV series ? - will be happy to know that a new movie is probably on its way. And thanks to who? To Leonardo DiCaprio who is not only the gifted actor that we know, but also have very good taste as the "Twilight Zone" is his favorite show.

Will Leo play in this new movie? I hope so, but we don't know yet.

More details about this new Twilight Zone production in this Hollywood Reporter article excerpts:

Leonardo DiCaprio eyes the 'Zone'
Warners, Appian Way in early stages of 'Twilight' feature

By Steven Zeitchik

Could the eerie music of "The Twilight Zone" soon be playing again at the movies?

Warner Bros. and Leonardo DiCaprio's production company Appian Way are in the early stages of seeking material for a feature take on one or more episodes from the classic TV series.

The studio and production company are quietly putting out word to creators that they are looking for pitches and script ideas based on the show for feature development.

The companies are not seeking to remake an episodic movie, as the only big-screen version of the show did 25 years ago, but rather hope to build one continuing story line based on one or more episodes.

Warners is negotiating for rights to the Rod Serling-penned episodes, which is owned by the Serling estate. The episodes comprise the bulk of its 1959-64 run. The Serling shows include famous episodes such as "To Serve Man," about giant aliens who land on Earth to serve humans as food, and "Eye of the Beholder," about an inverted society where the attractive are considered ugly. About 155 episodes of the original series exist.

A feature adaptation could be a passion project of sorts for DiCaprio, who in interviews has cited "Twilight Zone" as his favorite show.

From and copyright The Hollywood Reporter