Last night in media you were either jazz-handing your way through the Tony Awards, screaming at LeBron on your television screen, or getting rather depressed at the unfolding events in Westeros. Which means you probably missed that HBO gave us TWO new True Detective Season 2 trailers.

The show, which returns with an all new cast and plot June 21 at 9pm on HBO, has thus far only hinted at plot and characters and now it, well, it hints a little bit more? The first trailer is another non-verbal mood-focused trailer letting us know that, similar to the first season, we should probably prepare for some Debbie Downer characters in the midst of some truly dark cases. Well at least we know they’re keeping the theme of cops-who-need-antidepressants alive.

The second trailer gives us our first taste of dialogue. Colin Farrell’s Ray Velcoro asks immediately if he’s supposed to solve this thing. We’re hoping this means he’s moody AND cocky. Love a cop who knows what he’s good at a la Matthew McConaughey’s Rust Cohle. Vince Vaughn’s Frank Semyon claims to be “no good on the sidelines,” so we can only hope for some rogue bad-boy action on his part. And Rachel McAdams’ Ani Bezzerides generally looks tired, wary, and needing of a stiff drink. Given the twisted mystery of the first season, it makes sense that neither of these trailers would give us a whole lot more to go on, plot-wise, but our appetites are still most certainly whet.

Watch below and let us know if you’re as excited as we are:

How does one even begin to describe the enigma that is Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Lobster? Since reading a brief description of its bizarre narrative months ago, it has been one of my most anticipated films of the year (and made our list for most anticipated films of 2015), and those familiar with Lanthimos’ previous work (most notably his 2009 Academy Award nominated film Dogtooth) are probably aware of how strange his work can be—but never without justification. The Lobster tells the story of David (Colin Farrell), a man who has recently been left by his partner and decides to check into The Hotel, where he has a month and a half to meet a new, suitable partner, otherwise he will be transformed into an animal of his choice.

The Lobster functions as part absurdist comedy, part dark romance and part social satire. The comedy is sharp and the romantic elements provide it with a sense of lightness which would have otherwise been absent; the execution of its societal commentary, however, is what sends it into uncharted territory, and the main reason why it comes across as such a deeply original work. Lanthimos pokes fun at certain commonalities of the modern romantic relationship, such as the notion that “birds of a feather flock together,” by utilizing the element of exaggeration. For instance, each character in the film has their singular unique characteristic. David is nearsighted, and thus is only interested in finding a woman who is nearsighted as well. The Limping Man (Ben Whishaw) pursues a woman who suffers from frequent nosebleeds, so in order to capture her attention and fool her into thinking that they are a match, he begins inflicting trauma on his nose, causing it to bleed when in her presence.

When I first saw Dogtooth, I praised it for its technical mastery: its carefully framed static shots, sharp editing and claustrophobic production design. Still, something held me back from fully embracing it, and looking back on the viewing experience now, I’m certain it was that I had a difficult time trying to figure out what it was saying about civilization. Its surreal and otherworldly, for sure, but what sort of comment is it trying to make about the human condition? It is indeed a tough egg to crack. The Lobster, on the other hand, is much more coherent (and dare I say accessible) in its satire. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, as I never thought I would be describing a Lanthimos film as accessible, but I definitely think people will have an easier time figuring out the meaning behind all of the madness here.

The technical elements of The Lobster are just as sound as those of Dogtooth, and aesthetically similar. The camera is almost perpetually static, and much attention is paid to the framing of certain shots, which is interesting because it allows the director to isolate aural elements such as off-screen noises that, though they cannot be seen, having a significant bearing on specific scenes. The musical score is jarring, but not in a negative way; I imagine it will be one of the first technical aspects that viewers take notice of, as its a loud and powerful score which makes itself known within the first few minutes. There isn’t much that I would change about The Lobster; if I was to suggest anything to the editors, it would be to pick out and remove certain scenes which might not seem as pertinent as others, for the film does exhaust a bit in its third act. Aside from that, it is a hilarious and biting critique of interpersonal relationships that is sure to appeal to a wider audience than Lanthimos’ previous works, and may bring him back into the limelight when award season rolls around.

With filming wrapped all the way back in 2013, it almost feels like Liv Ullmann’s grand return behind the camera has come a year too late. While this can mess with people’s anxieties and expectations; the most important thing is that Ullmann is back, directing an adaptation of masterpiece Swedish play Miss Julie by August Strindberg, a playwright regarded as something of a demigod in Scandinavian culture. Ullmann’s choice of setting the story in Ireland gave her the opportunity to cast Jessica Chastain, Colin Farrell, and Samantha Morton in the three roles. This is at once a blessing and a curse; shaky accents and stringent Anglophone translation (by Ullmann herself) make for a tiring watch, at times, but it also gives three familiar actors a chance to give it their 110%. Besides, Miss Julie has been adapted so many times; it’s nice to have it set in the beautiful Irish hillsides for a change.

The story goes as follows; on the eve of Midsummer’s Night, in a famous Baron’s castle, three people contend with escalating passions, desires, and prejudices on subjects of love, lust, and class. There’s the “kitchen wench” and handmaiden Cathleen (Morton), the educated, treacherous valet John (Farrell), and the center of attention whether off-screen or on, the Baron’s daughter Julie (Chastain). The Baron is never seen, but his presence is felt in almost every scene. Julie is presented as a lonely woman, trapped within the confines of her enormous and mostly empty castle, while the relationship between John and Cathleen is purposefully muddled between flirtatious colleagues and engaged lovers. The two servants are the first to meet, and it’s not long before the gossip starts about what the latest scandalous, improper thing Miss Julie has done. Speaking of the devil draws her out of the shadows, and it’s not long before Cathleen is dismissed.

Much of the time is spent listening to the voluptuous, impassioned, monologues between Farrell’s John and Chastain’s Julie. Make no mistake about it; Miss Julie is theatricality wiping the sweat off of the highest brow. If some viewers aren’t prone to fulfillment by way of violent performances, their time would be best spent elsewhere. That’s not to say that Ullmann’s direction doesn’t seep through the emotional cracks of the volcanic exchanges. Barring some fly-on-the-wall angles, elegant exterior shots by the brook or Julie’s garden, and a couple of truly fantastic reflections of Julie against the window superimposed with the only escape out of the castle; Ullmann decides to keep her camera firmly pointed at the actors, in medium shot, reminiscent of her old mentor and friend Ingmar Bergman. Appropriately framed, as if posing for a Venetian portrait, the actors are photographed in resplendent play of light and shadow by DP Mikhail Krichman.

Then there’s Ullmann’s choice of music, utilizing Schubert (his popular “Andate Con Moto” made cinematically infamous in Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon) and Bach to exceptionally powerful effects. The music reflects the character’s moods, at times revealing feelings they aren’t aware of, or are trying to hide. It’s stunning. But, Miss Julie never lets you forget that it’s an actor’s showpiece; Strindberg was infamous for his naturalistic style and free-spirited dialogue, which carved multiple dimensions into his characters. Ullmann’s translation feels clunky at times, and some of the delivery (especially from Farrell and Morton) feels too affected to resonate as anything genuine, but only to a small degree. Chastain on the other hand, whose accent does slightly waver but never to egregious levels, truly gives it her all here. She tears the roof off as Julie, going through a whole array of emotions and ranges to near exhausting altitudes. And yet, whether it’s instinct, Ullmann’s inspiration, or a bit of both, she pulls back in the right moments and grounds Julie, making her relatable and never larger-than-life.

This movie may not be the critical darling one would expect from an austere adaptation of Strindberg, by Liv Ullmann, starring Jessica Chastain. People looking for some easy entertainment won’t be praising it any time soon. Despite all of this, if the viewer properly prepares for a bit of a mental and emotional workout, there is much to be gained from the pain here. Three actors at the very top of their games, even with two of them being shaky at times, and a director who is clearly passionate and deeply respectful towards the material. Miss Julie is high-octane, visceral, cinema, raising intensity not with a kiss or a gunshot, but with vile, inebriated, human emotions.

Originally published on 9/22/14.

The Toronto International Film Festival has announced more titles today in six of their programmes. After last week’s announcement of Galas and Special Presentations, TIFF has revealed the line-ups for TIFF Docs, City to City, Midnight Madness, TIFF Kids, TIFF Cinematheque, and Vanguard today.

The Midnight Madness programme is dedicated to showing off some of the world’s wildest new films. This year’s selections include opening film Dredd 3D starring Karl Urban, Seven Psychopaths starring Colin Farrell and The ABCs of Death, the anthology horror film with 26 directors each making a short about a letter of the alphabet. This is also the first year Midnight Madness will have at least one of their films in 3D.

The City to City program was created in 2009 to profile cities around the world with new, exciting filmmakers. This year’s selection is Mumbai which joins the list of other cities chosen for the program including Tel Aviv, Istanbul and Buenos Aires.

TIFF Docs, formerly caled Real to Reel, focuses on documentaries from around the world. Plenty of major documentaries have premiered at TIFF including last year’s Best Documentary winner Undefeated. This year some of the documentaries playing include new works by Ken Burns and Alex Gibney. The festival also revealed documentaries that will be playing in their Wavelengths and Masters programmes.

The Vanguard programme focuses on new, original, provocative and boundary-pushing films. Some titles included in the Vanguard line-up this year include the remake of Nicolas Winding Refn`s Pusher and Sightseers, director Ben Wheatley`s (Kill List, Down Terrace) new film.

TIFF Kids is dedicated to programming children`s films at the festival. Two of the more high-profile titles playing this year are Finding Nemo 3D and Hotel Transylvania.

TIFF Cinematheque is a new programme this year that shows classic films restores. Titles this year include Alfred Hitchcock`s Dial M for Murder and a new 4K restoration of Roman Polanski`s Tess.

The list of all the titles announced today are below. Way Too Indie will be covering the Toronto International Film Festival this year which runs from September 6 – 16th. To find out more information about the festival go to www.tiff.net/thefestival

Midnight Madness:
Dredd 3D – (Pete Travis) (Opening Film)
Seven Psychopaths – (Martin McDonagh)
No One Lives – (Ryuhei Kitamura)
Hellbenders 3D – (JT Petty)
The Lords of Salem – (Rob Zombie)
Aftershock – (Nicolas Lopez)
The Bay – (Barry Levinson)
Come Out and Play – (Makinov)
The ABCs of Death – (Various)
John Dies at the End – (Don Coscarelli)

City to City:
The Bright Day – (Mohit Takalkar)
Gangs of Wasseypur – Part One – (Anurag Kashyap)
Gangs of Wasseypur – Part Two – (Anurag Kashyap)
Ishaqzaade – (Habib Faisal)
Miss Lovely – (Ashim Ahluwalia)
Mumbai’s King – (Manjeet Singh)
Peddlers – (Vasan Bala)
Shahid – (Hansal Mehta)
Shanghai – (Dibakar Banerjee)
Ship of Theseus – (Anand Gandhi)

TIFF Documentaries:
9.79* – (Daniel Gordon)
Artifact – (Bartholomew Cubbins)
A World Not Ours – (Mahdi Fleifel)
The Act of Killing – (Joshua Oppenheimer)
As if We Were Catching a Cobra – (Hala Alabdalla)
Camp 14 — Total Control Zone – (Marc Wiese)
The Central Park Five – (Ken Burns, David McMahon and Sarah Burns)
Far Out Isn’t Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story – (Brad Bernstein)
Fidaï – (Damien Ounouri)
First Comes Love – (Nina Davenport)
The Gatekeepers – (Dror Moreh)
The Girl from the South – (José Luis García)
How to Make Money Selling Drugs – (Matthew Cooke)
Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp – (Jorge Hinojosa)
London – The Modern Babylon – (Julien Temple)
Lunarcy! – (Simon Ennis)
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God – (Alex Gibney)
Men At Lunch – (Seán Ó Cualáin)
More Than Honey – (Markus Imhoof)
No Place on Earth – (Janet Tobias)
Reincarnated – (Andrew Capper)
Roman Polanski: Odd Man Out – (Marina Zenovich)
The Secret Disco Revolution – (Jamie Kastner)
Shepard & Dark – (Treva Wurmfeld)
Show Stopper: The Theatrical Life of Garth Drabinsky – (Barry Avrich)
State 194 – (Dan Setton)
Storm Surfers 3D – (Christopher Nelius and Justin McMillan)
The Walls of Dakar – (Abdoul Aziz Cissé)

Wavelengths:
Bestiaire – (Denis Côté)

Masters:
The End of Time – (Peter Mettler)

TIFF Kids:
Ernest & Célestine – (Benjamin Renner, Vincent Patar, Stéphane Aubier)
Finding Nemo 3D – (Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich)
Hotel Transylvania – (Genndy Tartakovsky)
Igor & the Cranes’ Journey – (Evgeny Ruman)

TIFF Cinematheque:
The Bitter Ash – (Larry Kentz)
The Cloud Capped Star – (Ritwik Ghatak)
Dial M for Murder – (Alfred Hitchcock)
Loin du Viêtnam – (Joris Ivens, William Klein, Claude Lelouch, Agnès Varda, Jean-Luc Godard, Chris Marker, Alain Resnais)
Stromboli – (Roberto Rossellini)
Tess – (Roman Polanski)

TIFF Vanguard:
90 Minutes – (Eva Sørhaug)
Beijing Flickers – (Zhang Yuan)
Berberian Sound Studio – (Peter Strickland)
Blondie – (Jesper Ganslandt)
Here Comes the Devil – (Adrian Garcia Bogliano)
iLL Manors – (Ben Drew)
Motorway – (Soi Cheang)
Painless – (Juan Carlos Medina)
Peaches Does Herself – (Peaches)
Pusher – (Luis Prieto)
Room 237 – (Rodney Ascher)
Sightseers – (Ben Wheatley)
Thale – (Aleksander Nordaas)
The We and the I – (Michel Gondry)