Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow/Ieri, Oggi, Domani (1963) - De Sica and stars triumph with sexy smash

♥♥♥♥♥

 

Gorgeously painted and colored situations from the film are highlighted on this delightful poster for Vittorio De Sica's Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

A three-story anthology: A Neapolitan mother is to be imprisoned, if she won't stop birthing children. A rich and superficial star. And a passionate couple nearly steer a young man into decline.

 

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow is written by Eduardo De Filippo (Frisky/Pane, Amore e Gelosia (1954)), Isabella Quarantotti (Kiss the Other Sheek/Oggi, Domani, Dopodomani (1965)), Billa Billa (Ragazze d'Oggi (1955, actor)) and Cesare Zavattini (Woman Times Seven (1967)), with one segment adapting a novel by Alberto Moravia (Il Disprezzo/Contempt (1954)), and directed by Italian master filmmaker Vittorio De Sica (Rose Scarlatte (1940)), whose 18th feature it was. The title is a literal translation of the original Italian title.

Giuseppe Rotunno's (Red Sonja (1985)) photography dwells on the Italian beauty in three stories that are a perfect combination of sweetness, bittersweetness and desire. Sophia Loren (Io Sono il Capataz (1951)) and Marcello Mastroianni (I Grandi Peccatori (L'Eterna Catena) (1952)) are ravishing and seem as divinely meant for each other. - The film is a far cry from the corset of neorealism that De Sica championed in his earlier masterworks such as Bicycle Thieves/Ladri di Biciclette (1948), the ultimate one.

Armando Trovajoli's (Mario, Maria e Mario (1993)) music is beautiful and flirtatious. Is the film a bit dated? Perhaps. And a non-Catholic may also object to the salvaging of the young man in the third story, through his joining the cloth and thereby (stifling, potentially dangerous) celibacy. But these are minor reservations to a glorious film.

 

Related posts:

 

Vittorio De Sica: The Garden of the Finzi-Continis/Il Giardino dei Finzi-Contini (1970) - An exquisite, painful De Sica WWII love drama

A Farewell to Arms (1957) or, Love in Spite! (co-star)

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Unknown, projected 1.5 mil. $

Box office: In excess of 21.75 mil. $ (North America, France, Germany and Italy alone)

= Uncertain but likely a mega-hit (projected return of at least 16.66 times its cost)

[Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow was released 21 December (Italy) and runs 118 minutes. Loren was reportedly paid 500k $ for her performance. Shooting took place in Italy, including in Rome. It is listed as having sold 13.39 mil. tickets across France, Germany and Italy, coming to approximately 12.45 mil. $. Together with its impressive North-American gross of 9.3 mil. $, it should have cleared 21.75 mil. $ in these markets alone. Likely its total gross exceeds 25 and perhaps even 30 mil. $. The film won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, a BAFTA, 3 David di Donatello award, 1/2 Golden Globe nominations and a National Board of Review award, among other honors. De Sica returned with Marriage Italian Style/Matrimonio all'Italiana (1964). Loren returned first in The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), and then with Mastroianni in his return also, Marriage Italian Style. 10k+ IMDb users have given Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow a 7.2/10 average rating.]

 

What do you think of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow?

Paris, Je t'Aime (2006) - Short film anthology playground set in Paris

♥♥♥

An intimate back alley moment makes up this sensually blue poster for 21 directors' Paris, Je t'Aime

The film presents 18 short films set in the City of Lights, Paris: Of romance in spite of cultural differences, random violence, the heart of the city, mimes who meet in prison, - and much more.

Paris, Je t'Aime is written by Nadine Eïd (Eki (2022, TV-series)), Paul Mayeda Berges (Bride & Prejudice (2004)), Gena Rowlands (The Skeleton Key (2005, actress)), Gabrielle Keng (Disorder (1986, costume assistant), Rain Li (Habit (2021, cinematographer)) and its 21 co-writer/directors, based on an idea by Tristan Carné (La Chanson de l'Année (2019-22)). The co-writer/directors are: Gus Van Sant (Elephant (2003)), Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run/Lola Rennt (1998)), Daniela Thomas (Vazante (2017)), Nobuhiro Suwa (H Story (2001)), Oliver Schmitz (Amokspiel (2018, TV movie)), Walter Salles (On the Road (2012)), Bruno Podalydès (Chocolat (2016)), Alexander Payne (Sideways (2009)), Vincenzo Natali (Westworld (2016-18)), Richard LaGravenese (P.S. I Love You (2007)), Christopher Doyle (Warsaw Dark (2008)), Gérard Depardieu (The Bridge/Un Pont Entre Deux Rives (1999)), Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity (2013)), Wes Craven (Scream (1996)), Isabel Coixet (Elisa & Marcela/Elisa y Marcela (2019, VoD)), Ethan and Joel Coen (A Serious Man (2009)), Sylvain Chomet (The Illusionist/L'Illusionniste (2010)), Gurinder Chadha (Beecham House (2019, TV-series)), Frédéric Auburtin (Volpone (2003, TV movie)) and Olivier Assayas (Irma Vep (2022, miniseries)). The original French title (also used in English-speaking countries) translates to, 'Paris I love you'.

As a film this is something of a mishmash, and several of the segments lack clarity, - for instance Depardieu's otherwise sparklingly cast story, which actors Rowlads, Ben Gazzara (The Shore (2006)) and Depardieu himself nevertheless fail to bring to life.

But there are also fine moments: The mime story by Chomet is delightful, and the idea to base a story around mimes is spot-on for a Paris anthology. Tykwer's story (about a blind man) is technically astute; Payne's segment, starring the peerless Margot Martindale (August: Osage County (2013)), is the best in the film. Most curious is the completely unmotivated vampire story starring Elijah Wood (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)) by Natali.

The executive producers have obviously given the directors a wide degree of creative freedom, which brings both good and bad things forth here. Lovers of the city of Paris and short films should find ample reasons to appreciate Paris, Je t'Aime.

 

Related post:

 

New York, I Love You (2008) - Some wonderful moments elevate uneven anthology 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 13 mil. $

Box office: 17.4 mil. $

= Big flop (returned 1.33 times its cost)

[Paris, Je t'Aime premiered 18 May (Cannes Film Festival, Un Certain Regard section) and runs 120 minutes. Shooting took place in Paris from November 2005 - ?. Two stories were shot but cut out of the finished film. These were directed by Christoffer Boe and Raphaël Nadjari. The film opened #50 to a 39k $ first weekend in 2 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #13 and in 200 theaters (different weeks), grossing 4.8 mil. $ (27.6 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were France with 2.8 mil. $ (16.1 %) and Germany with 1.3 mil. $ (7.5 %). The film inspired similarly titled anthologies for New York (2008), Rio (2014) and Berlin (2019). Paris, Je t'Aime is certified fresh at 86 % with a 7.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Paris, Je t'Aime?

How the West Was Won (1962) - Western star cascade is a visual feast

♥♥♥

 

An overwhelming number of stars and an incredible amount of epic sequences are teased on this yellow-toned poster for Henry Hathaway, John Ford, Richard Thorpe and George Marshall's How the West Was Won

From the frontier men and women on rafts down the river, in the American Civil War, through the Indian Wars, the revolution of the railway system and the arrival of law and order: - This is how the west was won!

 

How the West Was Won is written by James R. Webb (Kings of the Sun (1963)) and John Gay (Final Notice (1989, TV movie)) and directed by great Californian filmmaker Henry Hathaway (Heritage of the Desert (1932)), Mainer master filmmaker John Ford (Straight Shooting (1917)), George Marshall (Love's Lariat (1916)) and Richard Thorpe (Rough Ridin' (1924)).

Variegated and (putting it squarely) shapeless anthology type largesse western epic: Starts by treating the West more or less as an enjoyable amusement park; later becomes more thrilling, - especially in the railroad section and towards the end, featuring outlaws. Stars replace stars as if delivered to us on a conveyor belt, where none of them have time to form whole characters that develop, and some of them simply chew up the scenery.

But How the West Was Won is worth watching as a photographic spectacle due to its laborious Cinerama three-strip film process, originally theatrically projected onto a curved screen. (The only other film made this way is The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962).) Enjoy it for its enormously wide, crystal clear, beautiful images, which are incredible to look at, when for instance grand vistas, buffaloes and dramas on the river come to life in extraordinary detail, so that you nearly feel that you're there. (Cinematography by William H. Daniels (The Prize (1963)), Milton R. Krasner (The Singing Nun (1966)), Charles Lang (Hotel (1967)) and Joseph LaShelle (The Outsider (1961)).)

Outstanding stunts and production design and popping colors also work magic. The West is almost entirely kept in positive turns in this nationalistic, fly-over work, which captivates visually.

 

Related posts:

John Ford: Fort Apache (1948) - Wayne and Fonda clash in Ford's solid western of a massacre of Indians 

Top 10: Best Twentieth Century Fox titles 

The Grapes of Wrath (1940) - Ford's Steinbeck adaptation is a cinematic crown jewel 
Henry Hathaway: Airport (1970) or, A Genre Is Born (uncredited director of winter outdoor scenes)  
Circus World/The Magnificent Showman (1964) - Hathaway and Bronston's grand, ill-fated curio 

The Dark Corner (1946) - Hathaway's great film noir

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 14.483 mil. $

Box office: 50 mil. $

= Box office success (returned 3.45 times its cost)

[How the West Was Won premiered 1 November (London) and runs 164 minutes. The film was originally intended to be charitable for St. Johns Hospital, but the hospital later sued to get its profits. Shooting took place from May 1961 - January 1962 in Kentucky, Arizona, Illinois and Colorado. During production the budget ballooned from 8 mil. $. Hathaway later said about the making of the film: (it was) "goddam trouble. They had an idiot for a producer and Sol Siegel was drunk most of the time. We spent so much money on the picture they almost decided not to do the last part. We had a meeting, and I said, 'You can't quit. You've got to show how the West was won. The West was won when the law took over'." At the London Casino Cinerama where the film premiered, it went on to play for 123 weeks, ending its impressive reign in April 1965. The film made 20.9 mil. $ in North-American rentals, becoming the year's 2nd highest-grossing in rentals. Elsewhere it is put down for a 46.5 mil. $ North-American gross. With considerable foreign numbers, there is a discrepancy concerning the alleged 50 mil. $ world gross. In any case it was a success. It was also nominated for 8 Oscars, winning 3, for Best Screenplay, Sound and Editing. It lost Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color to Cleopatra, Cinematography, Color to Leon Shamroy for Cleopatra, Costume Design, Color to Cleopatra, Score (Alfred Newman (The Counterfeit Traitor (1962)), Ken Darby (Meet Me After the Show (1951))) to John Addison for Tom Jones and Picture also to Tom Jones. It also won a National Board of Review award, among other honors. Through restorative efforts, the very visible three image lines have been mostly disguised on newer home video releases of the film. Hathaway returned with Circus World (1964); Ford with Donovan's Reef (1963); Marshall with Papa's Delicate Condition (1963); and Thorpe with Follow the Boys (1963). James Stewart (Rope (1948)) returned in My Three Sons (1963, TV-series) and theatrically in Take Her, She's Mine (1963); John Wayne (The War Wagon (1967)) in Donovan's Reef (1963). How the West Was Won is fresh at 87 % with a 7.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of How the West Was Won?

New York, I Love You (2008) - Some wonderful moments elevate uneven anthology

♥♥♥

 

A multitde of star names and stills from the film fill out this red-colored poster for anthology movie New York, I Love You

 

'The city that never sleeps' is rich on all sorts of cultures; and people who cross over every which way in their constant making, maintaining and breaking of relationships with each other.

New York, I Love You is an anthology film of 11 inter-connected shorts written by Yvan Attal (My Wife Is An Actress (2001)), Emmanuel Benbihy (Paris, Je t'Aime (2006)), Jim Strouse (Lonesome Jim (2005)), Hall Powell (Dark Shadows (1991, TV-series)), Joshua Marston (Ray Donovan (2019-20)), Fatih Akin (The Golden Glove (2019)), Natalie Portman (Eve (2008, short)), Anthony Minghella (Truly Madly Deeply (1990)), Stephen Winter (Adventures in America (2018-19)), Xan Cassavetes (Kiss of the Damned (2012)), Jeff Nathanson (Rush Hour 2 (2001)), Olivier Lécot (Do Not Disturb (2012)), Shunji Iwai (Last Letter (2020)), Suketu Mehta (8 (2008, segment)), Israel Horovitz (Sunshine (1999)), Yao Meng (My DNA Says I Love You (2007)) and Hu Hong, and directed by Akin, Attal, Iwai, Marston, Portman, Randall Balsmeyer (BlacKkKlansman (2018, visual effects supervisor)), Allen Hughes (From Hell (2001)), Wen Jiang (In the Heat of the Sun (1994)), Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth (1998)), Mira Nair (Vanity Fair (2004)) and Brett Ratner (Rush Hour 3 (2007)). Benbihy is behind the concept, and the film is a followup to Paris, Je t'Aime (2006), another anthology 'love letter' to a city by a host of filmmakers.

It is an uneven film with enough worthwhile episodes to make it worth visiting and (a bit) romantic. The Nair-directed short with Portman and the Rattner-directed one with Anton Yelchin (5 to 7 (2014)) flop for individual reasons, and the Hughes' short with Bradley Cooper (War Dogs (2016)) and Drea de Matteo (Desperate Housewives (2009-10)) is mainly interesting if you have a wish to see those two talents on the screen together. On the other hand, Shia LaBeouf (Eagly Eye (2008)) is very moving across from Julie Christie (Fools of Fortune (1990)) in Kapur's short; Ethan Hawke (Before Midnight (2013)) and Maggie Q (Divergent (2014)) share an erotic short; and then the film ends auspiciously on its probably highest note with Marston's short, a very warm, laugh-inducing and beautiful story with Eli Wallach (Stateline Motel (1973)) and Cloris Leachman (The Ellen Show (2001-02)) as an old, squabbling married couple on a walk. Both are outstanding.

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Reportedly 14 mil. $

Box office: 14.6 mil. $

= Huge flop (returned 1.04 times its cost)

[New York, I Love You premiered 6 September (Toronto International Film Festival) and runs 103 minutes. 11 companies were involved in the financing and production of the film.  Shooting took place in New York from March - April 2008. Two shorts were taken out of the film after poor audience response: Scarlett Johansson's directorial debut (!) and one by Andrei Zvyagintsev. The film opened #22 to a 380k $ first weekend in 118 theaters in North America, where it only declined from there, grossing 1.5 mil. $ (10.3 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Russia with 1.2 mil. $ (8.2 %) and Spain with 935k $ (6.4 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, translating to a notch over this one. Benbihy continued his involvement with city anthologies with Tbilisi, I Love You (2014), Rio, I Love You (2014), Berlin, I Love You (2019) and Shanghai, I Love You (announced). New York, I Love You is rotten at 37 % with a 5.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of New York, I Love You?

Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas (2004, video) - Season's cheer now in digitally animated Duckburg

♥♥♥

 

+ Best Christmas Movie of the Year

 

Mickey's happy face dominates this good-time promising poster for Theresa Cullen, Carole Holliday and Peggy Holmes' Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas

A Yuletide potpourri of small stories from Duckburg: Minnie and Daisy Duck compete in ice-skating; Huey, Dewie and Louie attempt to soften Santa Claus' annual verdict and so on.

 

Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas is written by Bill Motz, Bob Roth (Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild (2005, video), both) and co-writer/co-director Peggy Holmes (Secret of the Wings (2012)), who co-directed with Theresa Cullen (Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas (1999), storyboard artist) and Carole Holliday (Muppet Babies (1986-88), model designer). It is a sequel to Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas (1999, video).

It is a mostly successful attempt at making the classic Carl Barks characters vivacious and applicable in digital 3D animation. The innocent, classical style from the Disney shorts is kept, - so no fart noises or adult references here, to which the team should be owed thanks! This is all very Disney.

SPOILER Unfortunately the fifth and last story is a clonker: Mickey is a super-materialist who doesn't give a rat about Pluto in his zeal to stuff Christmas junk all around his house; meanwhile the seven reindeer talk voraciously. Here it is forgotten that dialog should be kept at a discrete minimum and be secondary in this classical Disney discipline. Otherwise Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas is filled with good Christmas cheer.

 

Related post:

 

2004 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Unknown
Box office: None - direct-to-video

= Uncertain

[Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas was released 9 November (USA) and runs 67 minutes. Cullen returned as a storyboard artist; Holliday returned with Witt's Daughter (2008, short), Holmes with The Little Mermaid: Ariels' Beginning (2008, video). 5k+ users have given Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas a 3.6/5 average rating at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas? 

Movie 43 (2013) or, The Big Flush

♥♥

 

Star faces and names surround a nubile female figure in fresh avocado green on this poster for Elizabeth Banks, Steven Brill, Steve Carr, Rusty Cundieff, James Duffy, Griffin Dunne, Peter Farrelly, Patrik Forsberg, Will Graham, James Gunn, Brett Ratner, Jonathan van Tulleken and Bob Odenkirk's Movie 43

A Hollywood executive gets taken hostage by a desperate dreamer, who insists upon getting his grotesque story ideas green-lit.

 

Movie 43 is written by Rocky Russo (Brickleberry (2012-14)), Jeremy Sosenko (Paradise PD (2018-21)), Ricki Blitt (The Ringer (2005)), Bill O'Malley, Will Graham (Mata (2006, short)), Jack Kukoda (The Onion (2007-10)), Matt Portenoy, Claes Kjellstrom, Jonas Wittenmark, Tobias Carlson, Will Carlough (Blood Brothers (2008, short)), Jonathan van Tulleken (The Unsteady Chough (2004, short)), Elizabeth Shapiro (The Crossroads of History (2016, TV-series)), Patrik Forsberg (Smådeckarna (2002)), Olle Sarri (Om Inte (2001, actor)), Jacob Fleisher (Moving Up (2005, TV-series)), Greg Pritikin (Totally Confused (1998)),  James Gunn (Slither (2006)), Bob Odenkirk (Melvin Goes to Dinner (2003)) and Steve Baker (Confessions of an Animation (2004, short)) and directed by Elizabeth Banks (AIDS: We Did It! (2010, short)), Steven Brill (Heavyweights (1995)), Steve Carr (Next Friday (2000)), Rusty Cundieff (Fear of a Black Hat (1993)), James Duffy (Robin's Big Date (2005, short)), Griffin Dunne (Addicted to Love (1997)), Peter Farrelly (Dumb and Dumber (1994)), Forsberg, Graham, Gunn, Brett Ratner (Money Talks (1997)), van Tulleken and Odenkirk. The title has no actual meaning.

It is a very unusual happening of a film, a creative meeting place and hodgepodge of tasteless, transgressive comedy vignettes. The framing story is pretty funny but could have been executed better. Among the film's 14 anthology-style short film-like stories are some funny ones: Jason Sudeikis (Kodachrome (2017)) as Batman in a restaurant; Halle Berry (Strictly Business (1991)) and Stephen Merchant (Modern Family (2014-20)) on a date that turns into an extreme truth or dare game. - Several others are mostly just major WTF experiences and/or gross, such as Hugh Jackman's (Australia (2008)) testicles-attached-to-his-chin date story with Kate Winslett (Revolutionary Road (2008)); Chris Pratt (10 Years (2011)) and Anna Farris (Eden (1996)) in a relationship bound towards scat sex experiences (the two later divorced in real life after 9 years of marriage in 2018); and Josh Duhamel (Misconduct (2016)) with a horny animated cat... Strangest is the story with Gerard Butler (P.S. I Love You (2007)) as a leprechaun, who is very violent and not particularly funny. 

Credits are due to the stars for braving into this endeavor, and for Farrelly, Charles B. Wessler and John Penotti, the film's producers, for getting this mad bag of tricks together, notwithstanding that it isn't all that successful in terms of actual laughs.

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 6 mil. $

Box office: 32.4 mil. $

= Big hit (returned 5.4 times its cost)

[Movie 43 was released 1 January (Russia) and runs 94 minutes. Several studios refused Wessler's original pitch in the early 2000s. Collaborators Trey Parker, Matt Stone and David and Jerry Zucker left the project prior to shooting. Shooting reportedly began in 2010, although Farrelly has stated that it was shot over the course of 4 years in order to get certain actors, who only offered a few days to work for scale on the film between other projects. It took place in California, including in Los Angeles, and in New York. George Clooney refused to be in a segment which was to be about George Clooney being bad at picking up women, reportedly saying "no fucking way". Richard Gere on the other hand reportedly tried to wiggle himself out of his segment, which he had changed his mind about doing. Jackman and Winslet's scene was shot early on and used as a lure to get other stars involved. Stories with Anton Yelchin as a necrophiliac and one with Julianne Moore and Tony Shalhoub with a missing daughter were shot but cut from the film. It opened #7 to a 4.8 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it grossed 8.8 mil. $ (27.2 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Russia with 8 mil. $ (24.7 %) and the UK with 2.9 mil. $ (9 %). The subsequent features for the directors and stars will not be listed for Movie 43 due to the overwhelming number of talent involved. Movie 43 is rotten at 4 % with a 2.70/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Movie 43?

Four Rooms (1995) - Rodriguez, Tarantino & Co. fail with LA hotel anthology comedy

♥♥

Tim Roth appears as the strained bellhop at the center of it all on this poster for Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino's Four Rooms

At the Hotel Mon Signor in Los Angeles, Ted is the newly installed bellhop, who is quickly briefed about his job and begins on New Year's Eve for a night in which four rooms cause different kinds of problems for him.

Four Rooms is an anthology comedy from writer-directors Allison Anders (Strutter (2012)), Alexandre Rockwell (In the Soup (1992), Robert Rodriquez (El Mariachi (1992) and Quentin Tarantino (My Best Friend's Birthday (1987)), inspired by the adult short fiction of Roald Dahl (Beware of the Dog (1944)), especially his Man from the South (1948).
Most prominent of the 4 filmmakers at the time was, and still is, Tarantino, who may have indulged an overly developed self-confidence (after the huge success of Reservoir Dogs (1992) and Pulp Fiction (1994)) here, as he writes himself into his segment, the film's last, playing a famous director no-less. He becomes an obstacle in himself, between audiences and the story. But the concept of one troublesome hotel room for each filmmaker becomes too divided and dubious, - mostly because none of the segments are very good.
An added grievance in Four Rooms is Tim Roth's (United Passions (2014)) performance as Ted the bellhop, which is so exaggerated, caricatured and unfunny that it inevitably mars the entire picture.
What redeems parts of Four Rooms anyway, is some of its supporting actors: David Proval (Newsbreak (2000)) as a mean bastard with an inferiority complex, Antonio Banderas (Black Butterfly (2017)) as a tough father and Bruce Willis (Rugrats Go Wild (2003)) (before another character's pinky finger is cut off).

Related posts:

Robert Rodriguez:  The Faculty (1998) or, Teacher Encounters of the Third Kind
From Dusk till Dawn (1996) - Tarantino, Rodriguez and chums' enjoyable Mexico vampire extravaganza
Desperado (1995) - Rodriguez' second Mexico actioner is a sexy, latino fireball
Quentin Tarantino: 2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
Django Unchained (2012) - Tarantino's gutsy, colorful 'Southern' 
Inglourious Basterds (2009) - The Movies take revenge on Nazi scum
Top 10: Best car chases in movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 
Death Proof (2007) - Tarantino's awesome, rubber-burning Grindhouse homage 
From Dusk till Dawn (1996) - Tarantino, Rodriguez and chums' enjoyable Mexico vampire extravaganza (writer-star)
Desperado (1995) - Rodriguez' second Mexico actioner is a sexy, latino fireball (actor) 

Watch a clip from the film here - this one is from Rodriguez'a segment

Cost: 4 mil. $
Box office: 4.2 mil. $ (North America only)
= Uncertain
[Four Rooms premiered 16 September (Toronto International Film Festival, Canada). Shooting took place in Los Angeles, California, including at Hollywood's Chateau Marmont hotel from November - December 1994. The film peaked at #18 in 319 theaters in North America. Its international grosses are not reported, but it was released in more than 20 foreign markets. Its theatrical status cannot be made up without these numbers. Madonna won a Razzie for Worst Supporting Actress for her performance in the film. Roger Ebert gave the film a 2/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Anders returned with Grace of My Heart (1996), Rockwell with Louis & Frank (1998), Rodriguez with From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) and Tarantino with masterpiece Jackie Brown (1997). Four Rooms is rotten at 14 % with a 3.5/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Four Rooms?

Wild Tales/Relatos Salvajes (2014) - Szifron's mischievous, Argentinian anthology smash

♥♥♥♥

+ Best Argentinian Movie of the Year + Best Anthology of the Year

Three of the main characters of Damián Szifron's Wild Tales act out their inner animal in three situations from the film on this poster

Wild Tales presents six wild tales, fateful or karmic stories of uncommon yet still more or less realistic circumstances, wherein modern life seemingly pushes characters to act out in impulsively animalic, violent ways.

The three first stories of this anthology, SPOILER (the passengers stuck in the airplane; the restaurant murder and the strife between the two motorists), are only so-so successful, but they do establish the pitch black style of Wild Tales effectively. - And the following three tales are excellent; SPOILER the parking dogmatist, the DUI death and finally the wedding story, which must surely rate as the year's movie wedding. This story is especially memorable and hilarious; a bizarre example of how you absolutely will not want your wedding to pan out.
Wild Tales is self-assured and playfully made; it deliberately tricks our expectations more than once and also throughout denies us the luxury of having characters to feel bad for, which is rather smart of its Argentinian writer-director Damián Szifron (The Bottom of the Sea/El Fondo del Mar (2003)).
Wild Tales is a dark, funny, cheeky anthology of what could be termed someone's worst home-videos, presented cinematically.

Related posts:

2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 4 mil. $
Box office: 30.6 mil. $
= Huge hit
[Wild Tales premiered 17 May (Cannes) and runs 122 minutes. Szifron based his script on a series of short stories he had begun writing in 2007. 70 % of the financing came from Argentina and the remaining 30 % from Spain. Filming took place in Argentina, including in Buenos Aires. The film opened #42 to an 85k $ first weekend in 4 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #20 and in 122 theaters (different weeks), grossing 3.1 mil. $ (10.1 % of the total gross). The film's biggest market was its native Argentina with 11.7 mil. $ (38.2 %) (although another source claims it made as much as 17.5 mil. $ in the country.) It broke the opening weekend record with sales of 450k tickets there, which grew to reportedly 3.9 mil. tickets, becoming the most seen Argentinian film in the country to date. The 2nd biggest market was Spain with 4.3 mil. $ (14.1 %), and North America was the 3rd biggest market. The film was nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar, lost to Pawel Pawlikowski's great Ida. It won a BAFTA, 10 out of 21 nominations at the Argentinian Motion Picture Academy, a David Di Donatello nomination, 1 win out of 9 Goya Awards nominations, a National Board of Review award and many other honors. The film currently stands at #186 on IMDb's user-generated Top 250, between Life of Brian (1979) and Platoon (1986). Wild Tales is certified fresh at 95 % with an 8/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Wild Tales?