Oscar News

• Oscar Nominee Terrence Malick premiered his long-awaited The Tree of Life at the Cannes Film Festival this week. The film got a puzzling mix, with people not quite sure what to make of it, although it is still a strong contender at the Oscars.
• FilmDistrict purchased the film In the Land of Blood and Honey this week, and will release the film at the end of December for Oscar eligibility. The film is the directorial debut of Oscar Winner Angelina Jolie and is set during the Bosnian War.
• Controversial filmmaker Lars von Trier, whose films Breaking the Waves and Dancer in the Dark each garnered a single Oscar nod, was thrown out of the Cannes Film Festival this week after making some pro-Nazi statements during a press conference.

Review Round-Up

• Woody Allen, who has 21 Oscar nominations and 3 wins under his belt, is getting his best reviews in several years for Midnight in Paris. With a Metacritic score of 80, critics are finding the film funny, charming and a return-to-form for the legendary filmmaker.
• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is getting weak reviews, only bringing up a 46 on Metacritic. Still, weak reviews didn’t stop the previous sequels from picking up a few technical awards, and the visuals of this film are still being praised.

Oscar Box Office

With very few Oscar contenders in theaters, there is no major news to report.

Oscar Farewell

None of the Oscar family passed away this week.