Welcome the feature where I recommend 4-5 under watched, under-appreciated or films that I just personally love. My goal is to take the hassle out of deciding on which film to stream on the plethora of streaming sites that populate the internet. To make your streaming life easier, I include which streaming platform each film is available on along with a link to the trailer. Now sit back, relax, and click on play!

Only God Forgives

Nicolas Windig Refn lit the world on fire 2 years ago with his flashy, bubble gum bursting, pop music fueled love letter to Westerns and 70s action flicks with Drive. The film launched both Refn and star Ryan Gosling into the stratosphere and the two haven’t looked back since. Well here they are together again with this violent, ugly and downright mean spirited thriller set in Bangkok. Gosling plays the owner of an illegal Maui Thai boxing arena (where he also sells drugs), whose brother (a sadistic and vile rapist) is murdered by a Karaoke worshipping detective who dishes out justice with a finely sharpened sword. Gosling is urged by is unloving and unscrupulous mother (the scene stealing Kristin Scott Thomas) to seek vengeance. Gosling barely says 30 words in the film (literally) and Refn’s tone is unbelievably baroque and nightmarish; the colors are vibrant and assaulting all at once. The film really doesn’t amount to anything in the end, but boy is it a wild ride. Only God Forgives isn’t for the squeamish. – Watch the trailer

Promised Land

Director Gus Van Zant teams up with frequent collaborator Matt Damon once again for this small town drama. Promised Land, the least meaty of their efforts thus far, is about a salesman (Damon) for a huge natural gas company who, along with his partner played by Frances McDormand, is tasked to get the trust of a small town so his company can drill on their land. Things don’t go smoothly as they had hoped as they run into an aging school teacher (Hal Holbrook) who challenges them at every step. Also complicating matters is John Krasinski, a grassroots activist who decides to counter every move Damon and McDormand make. Even though it’s nowhere near the level of Good Will Hunting or even Gerry, Promised Land is very good drama. All the acting is great, especially Holbrook who (like every other film he’s been in) steals nearly every scene. The screenplay, co-written by Damon and Kransinski, is finely tuned and graciously allows the characters room to breathe and the story to fully blossom. An underrated gem. – Watch the trailer

Brick

Long before Rian Johnson knocked out Looper and a few (of the best) episodes of Breaking Bad, he wrote and directed this sizzling high school drama about the murder of a young girl. Brendan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a loner who one day finds his ex-girlfriend murdered in a massive drain near his high school. He decides to investigate. On his own terms, Brendan scours the hallways and classrooms that are populated by the shady characters of his school for clues or any information leading to who might’ve committed the murder. What sets Brick apart from other modern day “who-dunnits” and high school dramas is the way Johnson sets up his story. Brendan is the Bogart-esque detective hot on the trail of the murderer. There are damsels in distress, heavies and then of course there’s the sinister mastermind who is behind everything; all of whom spit out dialogue as if they were Sam Spade. All of the film noir stuff fits in great with the sadness and regret that fills Johnson’s film. My only complaint, which is small, is that the film has some bad pacing issues at times. In my opinion though this is a career high for both Johnson and Levitt. – Watch the trailer

End of Watch

For me, this was one of the very best films of 2012; penetrating on a level I hadn’t experienced in quite some time. Anchored by brilliant performances by both lead actors (Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena) and supported by a screenplay that tip toes a high wire of an outright intense police procedural along with great scenes involving the officers’ personal lives. Gyllenhaal and Pena play cops who roam some of L.A.’s toughest streets. A deadly Mexican drug cartel starts moving into the city in a big way and the officers start making catch after catch. Guns, drugs and human trafficking; they find it all. The cartel puts a bounty on the officers’ heads and soon enough the streets become a warzone. Writer/director David Ayers films nearly the entire film with hand held cameras that are attached to both Pena and Gyllenhaal, so everything you see is from their perspective. This choice, along with the subject matter, makes for one extremely tense cop picture. End of Watch will have you gripping the arm rest while your heart pounds at your rib cage, but the end result is one of the most satisfying cop films that has ever been released. – Watch the trailer

Only God Forgives

Only God Forgives is director Nicholas Winding Refn’s most bizarre film yet, even more so than the inter-dimensional Viking picture Valhalla Rising. The marketing for his new film suggests an extension of the beloved Ryan Gosling fueled mayhem seen in Drive. However, that’s a trick. Refn refuses to repeat himself and that is not necessarily a bad thing. During the introduction to Only God Forgives Refn compared both films to drug experiences; that Drive is like doing really good cocaine all night and Only God Forgives is like doing acid in college.

The conflict begins after the elder of two psychotic brothers meets his maker for raping and murdering a young prostitute in Bangkok, where they run drugs together, and their even more psychotic mother arrives screaming for the killer’s blood. Ryan Gosling plays, Julian, the younger brother, who must deal with the complex business of revenge involving a high ranking Thai police captain.

Now that the plot has been described, forget it. Refn focuses the film on Julian’s Oedipal relationship to his mother (she mentions that he killed his own father to protect her) and police captain Chang’s sadistic stranglehold on Bangkok’s underworld. He visualizes this by obsessing over various visual metaphors for each character. Julian’s hands act as his sexual organ and his mode of violence as a boxer. Chang eventually castrates him figuratively, by severely beating him in a boxing match. This motif also makes for some very strange love scenes. Chang, Refn’s villain, rules the screen with long mesmerizing karaoke numbers that symbolize his control over Bangkok’s underworld. The Thai music during these scenes is just as enchanting as Cliff Marinez’s wonderful score. These musical driven sequences dominate most of the film’s screen time that call to mind moments in David Lynch’s early films.

Only Kristen Scott Thomas’s turn as Julian’s deranged mother disrupts the stillness of the film. She proves to be far more of a monster than Chang and steals every scene she’s in. The best moment of the film pits her against Julian who only wants to impress her with his pretty girlfriend. It is one of the few scenes with dialogue. Luckily, cinematographer Larry Smith’s images drive the film and truly establish the hallucinatory tone. If you’re not enchanted by Refn’s strange hang-ups, you’re not likely to enjoy the film, but many of the haunting images and unexpected scenes linger long after the lights come up.

RATING: 6

Lesson of Evil

Takashi Miike’s batshit crazy return to form, Lesson of Evil, will truly appease any fan of bad taste. After a droll remake of samurai classic Hara-kiri, Miike jumps back into the horror genre with his wicked sensibility intact. Lesson of Evil takes place at an average Tokyo high school where teachers grapple with the everyday problems of bullying, cell phone cheating, and teacher-student sexual assault. Super-stud English teacher Hasumi struggles to right all his school’s wrongs as he helps a student extricate herself from a blackmailed sexual relationship with the gym teacher and proposes to install cell phone jammers to eradicate cheating. But soon teachers and students become suspicious of Hasumi’s squeaky-clean persona. Miike masterfully balances a massive cast of students and teachers, while sticking closely to Hasumi’s point of view. In doing so, he establishes a high school drama while exposing subtle cracks in Hasumi’s façade. Much like his breakthrough film Audition, Miike abruptly changes directions mid-film and pulls out the rug from under audiences.

The second half of Lesson of Evil shifts into a psycho-horror comedy with an insanely un-politically correct plot twist that only could have originated from the culturally insensitive nation of Japan. Miike proves himself as a master of tone and character as he shifts from gruesome violence to side-splitting humor all within the pull of a trigger. He efficiently reintroduces peripheral characters, gives them hopes and dreams, and then kills them off with diabolical wit and gallons of gore. The dark humor Miike injects into his film hits even harder because Lesson of Evil is actually a tasteless exploitation of American headlines, but one that manages to brutally entertaining and clever.

RATING: 7

The Conjuring

A movie so scary, the MPAA rated it ‘R’ for just being way too scary. The Conjuring has amassed an impressive amount of hype as a classy horror offering from schlock director James Wan, the new master of scare of the week films Saw, Dead Silence, and Insidious. Here, he’s found a solid script from Baywatch turned thriller writers Chad and Carey Hayes that explores an unused chapter from the files of famed demonologists, The Warrens, of Amityville horror fame. Their script adapts the best elements of The Amityville Horror, a terribly overrated film ripe for an overhaul, and The Exorcist. Wan displays ample restraint in the first half of the film easing audiences into the possessed house along with the lovable and unsuspecting family parented by the excellent Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor. Cinematographer John Leonetti executes some showy, yet breathtaking shots to establish a 1970s style full of zooms and hand held camera work, while expertly shooting on digital.

The second portion of The Conjuring introduces Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as Ed and Lorraine Warren, the married ghost hunters. The script gives ample time to their characters and some other supernatural cases they’ve investigated, which proves extremely interesting and provides more material for scares. Both Wilson and Farmiga are good and add a higher degree of credibility to the film as does the rest of the talented cast of knowns and unknowns. In his introduction Wan said he wanted to make a picture in the vein of classic studio horror films of the 70s, that have vanished over the years. He puts those resources to work to craft a high caliber film that truly scares.

RATING: 7

I’m very excited to attend the 2013 LA Film Festival as this year’s festival has a very solid line up with several specific films I’ve been dying to see. Upon analyzing the lineup, it seems most of the big films are the “popular kids” from more prestigious festivals like Cannes, Toronto and particularly, Sundance. Not that this is a bad thing, but Hollywood isn’t quite known for its originality and they’re basically presenting a “best of what’s played.” That’s great for me as I have not attended any other of the major festivals. Here’s what I’m chomping at the bit to see—

Most Anticipated films to play at LA Film Festival

Ain’t Them Bodies Saints

I’m particularly psyched for this Badlands-esque period noir that looks gorgeous, moody, and let’s not forget violent. The film boasts an amazing cast— Casey Affleck who can do no wrong playing a psychotic creep; Rooney Mara who has proved herself a solid versatile actor and desperately needs to shrug off the lingering Goth image festering from the wretched Dragon Tattoo film; and a slew of excellent character actors who I adore, Ben Foster and Keith Carradine among them.

Trailer for Ain’t Them Bodies Saints:

Only God Forgives

I’m a huge fan of Nicolas Winding Refn from back to his Pusher days and I obviously loved Drive. His new Gosling project appears to be a continuation of the hyper-cool neon noir aesthetic established in Drive, but this time he’s tackled a new action sub-genre— the Muay Thai Boxing film. The love it or hate it (mostly hate) reaction from Cannes only makes me want to see it more, although my expectations are probably so high that I’m bound to be let down.

Trailer for Only God Forgives:

Short Term 12

I heard this was the best film at Sundance this year and I like Brie Larson from United States of Tara and 21 Jumpstreet. While I do take that label with a gain of salt as I’ve found that the best of Sundance often means mediocre when plopped into theaters. However, the trailer displays the elements of a moving and unsentimental drama, which Hollywood studios have become incapable of producing. I want Short Term 12 to make me cry.

Trailer for Short Term 12:

Fruitvale Station

Again, Fruitvale Station is coasting on some nice Sundance buzz. Weinstein has picked up the film for distribution and they usually have a knack for picking fine films. While I do think this one could veer into clichéd white-guilt Hollywood territory, I’ve heard an excellent performance from Chronicle star Michael B. Jordan carries the film. I’m open to have my cynicism proved wrong.

Trailer for Fruitvale Station:

Crystal Fairy

Director Sebastián Silva has two films at the fest, Crystal Fairy and Magic Magic. Both films star Michael Cera, but I’ve vaguely heard that Crystal Fairy is both weirder and better. I don’t know much about the story other than Cera travels somewhere in Central America and gets into some insanity. I’m waiting to find Cera in a role that allows him to break through his thick type-cast and my gut tells me this could be the one.

The Act of Killing

I’m not as knowledgeable about documentaries as I should be but the offbeat ones often catch my attention. This image alone urged me to put The Act of Killing on my schedule. Reading about this meta-bomb of history, interviews, reenactments, musical numbers and Asian film history exploring Indonesian death squads sounds too weird not to see. Plus it will likely be fascinating piece of history

Trailer for The Act of Killing:

You’re Next

Any mention of the possibility of a great new Horror film peaks my interest, especially one that wowed Toronto’s midnight lineup. All I know about the story is that it manages a sly twist on the sadistic home-invasion subgenre. Also, modern horror icon Ti West acts in it, which is both strange and enticing. Hopefully it’s not another Cabin Fever.

Trailer for You’re Next:

David O. Russell

David O. Russell is receiving the spirit of independence award at this year’s LA Film Festival. He’s been one of my favorite directors since high school and he’s managed not to become stale. He’s bounced back from I Heart Huckabees (while I adore) and an unreleased/failed film project with two excellent studio films that display a newly reinvigorated artist. I greatly enjoy hearing directors talk and I certainly won’t miss one of my favorites, who I’m sure has a lot to say. A screening of Three Kings precedes the discussion!

Spike Jonze

Not to sound redundant, but Spike Jonze, another excellent director who will be there to talk about his career. He’s reportedly showing a sizzle-reel for his upcoming film Her, about a man who falls in love with a computer, and I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to see that or hear this oddball director speak about how he made it. His feature film career has its up and downs but each film has been intriguing and his important contribution to modern society.

Other Stuff

The festival is holding a pre-screening of Superman (Man of Steel). Zach Synder has not made a good film since his debut, Dawn of the Dead, but between the internet buzz and a brutal studio marketing campaign I can’t help but be a little swept up in the excitement. There’s a chance I won’t make it into the packed screening though.

I recently attended a press screening of the indie sci-fi film, Europa Report, which is playing at the festival. I was very excited for this documentary-style take on a manned space flight to Jupiter’s ice moon Europa. But unfortunately it’s pretty lame (I’ll post a review).

I’m also excited to see Johnnie To’s Drug War, the documentary Our Nixon, Winter in the Blood and Lesson of Evil.

Stay tuned as we bring you coverage of the LA Film Festival which starts tomorrow through June 23rd

Time behaves very strangely here in Cannes. Days feel like they are short changed the 24 hours that they are supposed to contain. Thus, there does not seem to be enough hours in the day to do everything that you want to do. Most often time ceases to exist all together. Other times it is irrelevant like when all-night parties bleed into the next day. But then there are times when you are standing in line for a film for an hour and it feels like an eternity. Physics explains time is relative, Cannes is able to prove it.

Director Sebastián Silva and stars Juno Temple and Michael Cera on stage for Magic Magic

Only God Forgives

Only God Forgives is methodically paced, save for sudden outbursts of ruthless violence from time to time. The film resembles a jack-in-the-box as most of the time you know what is going to happen, just not when it is going to happen. The ending feels abrupt and rushed, which is actually a bit bizarre as Gosling moves so turtle like that you mistake many of his scenes to be in slow motion. The weak ending might be because it used its great showdown between characters in the middle of the film, which feels out of place and leaves for a rather anticlimactic ending. Though some broad elements from Drive are present in Only God Forgives, fans of one will by no means guarantees that you will be a fan of the other.

RATING: 5.9

Read my full review of Only God Forgives

Magic Magic

Magic Magic is a peculiar film about a girl named Alicia (Juno Temple) who travels outside of the United States for the first time to meet up with her friend Sarah (Emily Browning). As soon as she arrives into South America Alicia is greeted by Sarah and her three friends who all plan to road trip to a remote getaway together. Not long into their trip Sarah receives a phone call about an exam she must take at school that forces her to leave for a couple of days. This leaves Alicia alone with three strangers that all seem a little quirky.

But quirky might not be the right adjective to describe their character. Alicia spends only two days with them before she is calling them Satanists. One character in particular, Brink (Michael Cera), seems as if he might either be mildly mentally handicapped or on some kind of drugs. One thing is for certain, these people are not stable. But when Alicia does not sleep for four days due to her insomnia, her perception on reality is morphed.

As a whole, Magic Magic was a big letdown for me. This was one of two films Sebastián Silva had premiere at the Sundance Film Festival this year, with his other one (Crystal Fairy) earning great remarks from us from our SFIFF coverage. In this film Cera’s bizarre antics make for an interesting character, but that is about all. It is welcoming to see him play a character that is outside his typical one, but his performance was not at the top of his game. Magic Magic is a unique film featuring a mysteriously eerie vibe, though it ultimately goes to waste due to unconvincing situations and characters found within the film.

RATING: 5

Only God Forgives is another highly-stylized film from director Nicholas Winding Refn that stars Ryan Gosling as the lead. Gosling’s character pretty much picks up where he left off in Drive, playing an emotionless badass with few words, trading hobbies of driving for boxing. Due to the sensory obsessed visuals in the film, Only God Forgives is admiringly intoxicating. However, what the film excels at with its display, it lacks in with its narrative.

The story begins when Julian (Ryan Gosling) finds out that his brother Billy (Tom Burke), who co-operates the Thai boxing club and drug trafficking business they run, is murdered for raping and killing a young Thai prostitute. A reoccurring theme in Only God Forgives is that all deaths are violent and brutal, and Billy’s death is no exception. Police Chief Chang’s (Vithaya Pansringarm) idea of justice is to lock Billy in a room with the deceased’s father for him to retaliate on Billy by beating him to death. The result of this sets Julian in action to hunt down Chang to seek revenge; if you can call it that since Billy arguably got what he deserved.

Refn wants to make sure the audience knows that its characters are not only dangerous, but also highly unpredictable. One of the ways he achieves this is by having Chang turn the table on the father that he just helped. He blames the death of the daughter partly on him for knowing and allowing her to be a prostitute. And just like that, Chang chops off the father’s arm.

I cannot help but wonder if a little more action and a little less violence would have made for a more satisfying watch. Refn constantly reminds the audience that these characters are both ruthless and unpredictable, but continues to do so long after it is well-established. For example, we must watch Chang ever so slowly disfigure a man, one appendage at a time. And it may sound like I am against the violence found in the film, which I am not. I just think it is forcefully overstated here.

One of the first things you will likely notice is the red filter that is backlit on many scenes, especially early on, as if to foreshadow the blood bath that is about to occur. Matching the stunning visuals is the hypnotic score that fits perfectly; something that Refn tends to do very well. He wisely brings back Cliff Martinez from Drive to compose the unsettling score.

Only God Forgives is methodically paced, save for sudden outbursts of ruthless violence from time to time. The film resembles a jack-in-the-box as most of the time you know what is going to happen, just not when it is going to happen. The ending feels abrupt and rushed, which is actually a bit bizarre as Gosling moves so turtle like that you mistake many of his scenes to be in slow motion. The weak ending might be because it used its great showdown between characters in the middle of the film, which feels out of place and leaves for a rather anticlimactic ending. Though some broad elements from Drive are present in Only God Forgives, fans of one will by no means guarantees that you will be a fan of the other.

The 2013 Cannes Film Festival is just around the corner so we thought we would bring you our most anticipated films that will be playing this year. Because a lot of the films at the festival will be making their world-wide premiere, most of the films do not have a trailer to go by just yet. Therefore, making our picks of the most anticipated films strikes an interesting challenge. There will be hidden gems at Cannes that will come out of nowhere, but here are the films we look forward to the most. Stick around Way Too Indie as we will be attending the festival this year and providing you coverage.

Most Anticipated Films At 2013 Cannes

The Bling Ring

Sofia Coopla’s latest offering, The Bling Ring, has gathered a lot of attention and rightfully so. Most of that attention has likely come from having the beloved Emma Watson “going wild” so to speak, playing a character who is not completely likeable. The Bling Ring is based upon actual events of a group of Hollywood obsessed teenagers who break into the homes of celebrities and steal their possessions. If it ends up being as wacky and ridiculous as it seems, The Bling Ring could be a wildly fun ride. [Dustin]

La grande bellezza (The Great Beauty)

Is it really a surprise that the director of WTI’s favourite film of 2012 is on this list? For those of us who loved This Must Be The Place, we can’t wait for what Paolo Sorrentino has in store next. Teaming up again with Toni Servillo, who was fantastic in Sorrentino’s previous film Il Divo, The Great Beauty is relatively light on plot details right now. What’s known is that Servillo plays Jep Gambardella, a 65 year old writer whose personal dramas make up the film. It seems like anything more specific than that will be saved for later, but there’s a trailer that might be helpful for those who speak Italian and/or French. Whether or not Sorrentino can deliver another great film remains to be seen, but either way we’ll surely be checking out The Great Beauty ASAP if we get the chance. [CJ]

Only God Forgives

I initially wanted to just type: “Refn. Gosling. Drive. Enough said.” for my reasoning to see this, but I am asked to give more. 2 years ago Nicolas Winding-Refn took Cannes (and many other film festivals worldwide) by storm with this violent, bright, pop filled, bubble gum popping, Los Angeles based crime thriller that featured Ryan Gosling as a nameless hero tasked with taking on a bunch of ruthless gangsters who happen to mess with the wrong stunt driver. Refn snagged the Best Director prize and Gosling went on to movie stardom. Now in Only God Forgives they’re back, together, with….you guessed it. A violent, but beautifully shot, crime film set in Bangkok. Gosling is asked by his mother (Kristin Scott Thomas, primed for an Oscar nomination) to kill the man who murdered his brother. This film looks to be BRUTAL. But Gosling and Refn are more than up to the challenge. This is shaping up to be one of the most popular films at the fest. Keep an eye out for this one. [Blake]

Fruitvale Station

Every year the Cannes Film Festival brings in one or two of the most talked about titles that played at the Sundance Film Festival back in January to make their international premiere debut. Fruitvale Station (formerly titled Fruitvale) impressed more than just the audience and the critics as the Weinstein Company snatched up the rights during the festival. Fruitvale Station takes place on the last day of Oscar Grant’s life, observing all the encounters he came across on his final day. First time filmmaker Ryan Coogler could be a name to remember if the initial responses of the film hold true. [Dustin]

Wara No Tate (Shield of Straw)

Takashi Miike has had quite the journey. He first established himself in the J-horror craze with shockers like Audition and Ichi The Killer, but over the years he’s shown how versatile and talented he truly is. From kid’s movies (Zebraman) to getting banned from TV (Imprint), Miike has covered plenty of genres while maintaining an output of at least two films a year (he released 3 movies last year, including a musical and a video game adaptation). The downside to Miike’s berserk work schedule is that his films may be hit or miss, but Wara No Tate sounds like a hit if done right. A billionaire offers a massive reward for the murder of his granddaughter’s (supposed) killer. The billionaire’s target immediately hands himself over to the police, and as they transport him across the country back to Tokyo a number of assassins try to claim the billionaire’s reward. Miike hasn’t made anything as good as 13 Assassins, one of his best films and a soon to be classic of the samurai genre, but this material sounds like a perfect fit for him. [CJ]

Jodorowsky’s Dune

Alejandro Jodorowsky is one of the most original, surreal, fantastical directors to ever grace a movie screen. Dune by Frank Herbert is considered one of the best (if not the best) Science Fiction novel ever written and many fans deem it un-filmable. David Lynch tried in the 80’s and was a critical and box office failure. Now comes this documentary on the Chilean director’s ambitious attempt to film the impossible. This will surely be a wild ride as the filmmakers have a plethora of material to work with. From the massive preparation the director and his team did to interviews with online film critics and Hollywood directors who love the director, this could be a nice surprise in the wealth of films being presented at the festival this year. [Blake]

Inside Llewyn Davis

The Coen Brothers are no strangers to the Cannes Film Festival. Inside Llewyn Davis will mark an impressive ninth visit to the film festival along the French Riviera for the brother duo. Not only does the trailer make the story of following a folk songwriter set in New York in the 1960s look interesting, it should naturally have a great soundtrack as well. CBS Films bought up the U.S. rights to Inside Llewyn Davis which may cast a small shadow of doubt considering their past track record of releases, however, this is a Coen Brothers film we are talking about. They are highly respected filmmakers that hold themselves to a certain standard, right? [Dustin]

Blind Detective

It seems that most of the films I want to see are playing outside of competition. Johnnie To, for those who don’t know, is one of the best genre directors working today. Using his production company Milkyway Image along with his usual collaborators (including his co-writer and sometimes co-director Wai Ka-Fai), To has created terrific films that range from romantic comedies to supernatural detective stories. After a detour with some romantic comedies and Life Without Principle, a drama centered around the recent worldwide financial crisis, To is back in action mode. Blind Detective follows, naturally, a former detective who left the force after losing his sight while on duty. Now spending his time helping cops solve cold cases, a young up and coming detective asks him to help her find her missing childhood friend. The plot may sound contrived, but Johnnie To is one of the best when it comes to making these stories feel fresh and exciting. Hopefully Blind Detective will be able to sit alongside Mad Detective, the Election films and Exiled among To’s best work. [CJ]

Nebraska

Alexander Payne is probably one of my favorite contemporary filmmakers. Sideways was an instant classic (not to mention one of my favorite films period) and The Descendants two years ago was a great family drama in the same vein. Not to mention films like About Schmidt and Election in his repertoire as well. His newest film concerns an aging, near alcoholic man who teams up with his long estranged son to embark on a trip from Montana to Nebraska to claim a lottery ticket that is worth millions. Sounds minimal from the outset, but like all Payne efforts, this will probably have multiple layers to it. [Blake]

So far only a handful of films that will be playing at this year’s Cannes Film Festival actually have trailers available. But as we begin to get closer to the start of the festival, more and more trailers being to emerge. We will be updating this page when new trailers are released, so check back regularly.

The Great Gatsby

Director: Baz Luhrmann

A Midwestern war veteran finds himself drawn to the past and lifestyle of his millionaire neighbor.

The Bling Ring

Director: Sofia Coppola

Inspired by actual events, a group of fame-obsessed teenagers use the internet to track celebrities’ whereabouts in order to rob their homes.

Only God Forgives

Nicolas Winding Refn

Julian, a drug-smuggler thriving in Bangkok’s criminal underworld, sees his life get even more complicated when his mother compels him to find and kill whoever is responsible for his brother’s recent death.

Inside Llewyn Davis

Directors: Ethan and Joel Coen

A singer-songwriter navigates New York’s folk music scene during the 1960s.

As I Lay Dying

Director: James Franco

Based on the 1930 classic by Faulkner, it is the story of the death of Addie Bundren and her family’s quest to honor her wish to be buried in the nearby town of Jefferson.

The Past

Director: Asghar Farhadi

Behind the Candelabra

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Based on the autobiographical novel, the tempestuous 6-year relationship between Liberace and his (much younger) lover, Scott Thorson, is recounted.

Jeune & Jolie

Director: François Ozon

The portrait of a 17 years-old girl, in 4 seasons and 4 songs.

Sarah Would Rather Run

Director: Chloe Robichaud

The Great Beauty

Director: Paolo Sorrentino

The story of an aging writer who bitterly recollects his passionate, lost youth. A portrait of today’s Rome.

Blind Detective

Director: Johnnie To

A cop is forced into early retirement due to retinal damage. But after witnessing a bank robbery along with a female inspector – who believes he has acute senses – they team up in hope to solve the case.

The wait is now over as the lineup for the 2013 Cannes Film Festival has been announced this morning. While a few film festivals such as Sundance and Berlin have already given us a small taste of what is in store for 2013, Cannes ultimately sets the stage for what is to come for the rest of the year’s festival circuit. Also, it is my pleasure to announce that Way Too Indie has been accredited to attend the festival this year, so stay tuned during May 15th through May 26th while we bring you up-to-date coverage during the Cannes Film Festival.

Now back to the lineup, it has been known for quite some time that The Great Gatsby would be the opening film of the festival and yesterday it was announced that Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring would open the Un Certain Regard program. This morning the rest of the lineup for the Cannes Film Festival was finally announced. Some of the more anticipated films that were announced today were; Coen Brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis, Nicolas Winding Refn’s Only God Forgives, Steven Soderbergh’s Behind The Candelabra, Paolo Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty, and Sundance standout Fruitvale Station previously entitled just Fruitvale.

Unfortunately, absent from the announcement was Steve McQueen’s follow-up to Shame, Twelve Years a Slave. There was also no works from the onslaught of projects Terrence Malick has going on. And many people were disappointed to hear that Bong Joon-Ho’s rumored to play film, Snowpiercer, would not be done in time for the festival.

The full lineup for 2013 Cannes Film Festival:

The Great Gatsby (director Baz Luhrmann)

Behind The Candelabra (director Steven Soderbergh)
Borgman (director Alex Van Warmerdam)
Un Chateau En Italie (director Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi)
The Great Beauty (director Paolo Sorrentino)
Grisgris (director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun)
Heli (director Amat Escalante)
The Immigrant (director James Gray)
Inside Llewyn Davis (directors Joel & Ethan Coen)
Jeune Et Jolie (director Francois Ozon)
Jimmy P (director Arnaud Desplechin)
Michael Kohlhaas (director Arnaud Despallieres)
Nebraska (director Alexander Payne)
Only God Forgives (director Nicolas Winding Refn)
Only Lovers Left Alive (director Jim Jarmusch)
The Past (director Asghar Farhadi)
Like Father, Like Son (director Hirokazu Kore-eda)
A Touch Of Sin (director Zhangke Jia)
Venus In Fur (director Roman Polanski)
La Vie D’Adele (director Abdellatif Kechiche)
Shield of Straw (director Takashi Miike)

All Is Lost (director J.C Chandor)
Blood Ties (director Guillaume Canet)
The Last of the Unjust (director Claude Lanzmann)

Anonymous (director Mohammad Rasoulof)
As I Lay Dying (director James Franco)
Nothing Bad Can Happen (director Katrin Gebbe)
Bends (director Flora Lau)
The Bling Ring (director Sofia Coppola)
Death March (director Adolfo Alix Jr)
Fruitvale Station (director Ryan Coogler)
Grand Central (director Rebecca Zlotowski)
L’Image Manquante (Rithy Panh)
L’Inconnu Du Lac (director Alain Guiraudie)
La Jaula De Oro (director Diego Quemada)
Miele (director Valeria Golino)
My Sweet Pepperland (director Hiner Saleem)
Norte, The End of History (director Lav Diaz)
Omar (director Hany Abu-Assad)
The Bastards (director Claire Denis)
Sarah Would Rather Run (director Chloe Robichaud)
Wakolda (director Lucia Puenzo)

Max Rose (director Daniel Noah)
Weekend Of A Champion (director Roman Polanski)
Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight (director Stephen Frears)
Stop The Pounding Heart (director Roberto Minervini)
Seduced & Abandoned (director James Toback)
Otdat Konci (director Taisia Igumentseva)
Bombay Talkies (directors Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar, Karan Johar)

Zulu (director Jérôme Salle)

Above the Hill (director Raphael Nadjari)
Até ver a luz (director Basil da Cunha)
Blue Ruin (director Jeremy Saulnier)
The Summer of Flying Fish (director Marcela Said)
Henri (director Yolande Moreau)
Ilo ilo (director Anthony Chen)
Jodorowsky’s Dune (director Frank Pavich)
L’Escale (director Kaveh Bakhtiari)
The Dance of Reality (director Alejandro Jodorowsky)
The Rendez-Vous of Déjà-Vu (director Antonin Peretjatko)
Les Apaches (director Thierry de Peretti)
Me Myself and Mum (director Guillaume Gallienne)
Magic Magic (director Sebastián Silva)
On the Job (director Erik Matti)
The Congress (director Ari Folman)
The Last Days on Mars (director Ruairí Robinson)
The Selfish Giant (director Clio Barnard)
Tip Top (director Serge Bozon)
Ugly (director Anurag Kashyap)
Ain’t Misbehavin (director Marcel Ophuls)
We Are What We Are (director Jim Mickle)

Suzanne (director Katell Quillévéré)
Ain’t Them Bodies Saints (director David Lowery)
You and The Night (director Yann Gonzalez)
The Dismantlement (director Sébastien Pilote)
Los Dueños (directors Agustín Toscano & Ezequiel Radusk)
For Those in Peril (director Paul Wright)
The Lunchbox (director Ritesh Batra)
The Major (director Yury Bykov)
Nos héros sont morts ce soir (director David Perrault)
Salvo (directors Fabio Grassadonia & Antonio Piazza)