Tomorrow, the prizes for the 78th Cannes Film Festival will be given out. Today, I’m bringing you my annual predictions piece for the fest. Now, it’s different than usual, as in years past Robert Hamer has joined me and given a fairly substantial write-up, with yours truly tagging on at the end my picks. Usually, our logic does track, whether or not our picks work out. Unfortunately, Robert is out of the country and unavailable right now, so it’s just me this year. I won’t try to replace him, so below I’m just setting the stage for the Palme d’Or and other prizes, with my predictions at the end of the piece. Apologies, but it’s still a great opportunity to talk Cannes and the Palme, so there’s that at least, right?

Depending on who you ask or who you follow at the festival, this Cannes has been a disappointing one, given the early buzz on how it could be an all-timer of a lineup. At the very least, it’s a top-heavy fest. That’s not necessarily a hinderance for predictions, but it does present the possibility that some prizes could go to films that few are talking much about. So, depending on who you are, honors for movies like that are either a good surprise or a less than pleasant one. Your mileage just may vary there…

One thing to keep in mind when it comes to the Palme d’Or is the recent dominance by NEON. They have taken the last five and are looking to make it six in a row. That run is unparalleled and has even included a pair of Best Picture winners in Anora and Parasite. Throw in Anatomy of a Fall, Titane, and Triangle of Sadness, their other Palme winners, and it’s clear that they can take all sorts of Cannes titles to the finish line. So, look at the films under their banner and, until proven otherwise, given them a little extra leg up. It doesn’t mean one of those movies is assured of a win, to be clear, but it does feel like a noted advantage right now.

Some of the notable titles at Cannes this year have been met with differing receptions. Getting a mixed response (at best), was Alpha from Julia Ducornau, Eddington from Ari Aster, and (faring slightly better) The Phoenician Scheme from Wes Anderson. More positive but with some challenges or reservations would be Die My Love from Lynne Ramsay as well as The History of Sound from Oliver Hermanus. Frankly, it sounds like Pillion from Harry Lighton would have been the odds on favorite for the Palme had it been In Competition.

As for the films with what seems like the best chance at the Palme, I’m looking at Sentimental Value from Joachim Trier as the one to beat, in part due to the aforementioned NEON bent at Cannes. If not that one, then It Was Just an Accident from Jafar Panahi for similar reasons. Then, if NEON isn’t extending their streak, the two other contenders I’d look at are Nouvelle Vague from Richard Linklater and Sound of Falling from Mascha Schilinski.

Outside of the Palme d’Or, Jennifer Lawrence could be a decent bet to win the Best Actress prize for Die My Love, while Wagner Moura feels like a frontrunner here in Best Actor for The Secret Agent. The other prizes could come from the titles mentioned above that don’t take the Palme. That being said, Cannes always has some surprises, so just keep that in mind.

Now, we wait. The awards will be given out tomorrow. We’ll be sure to share the Palme winner, along with all of the other prizes, when the happen. In the meantime, Cannes is still showcasing their titles, so keep an ear to ground for any eleventh hour contenders…

Here now are my predictions for the awards to be given out at the 78th Cannes Film Festival. Behold:

Prix du scenario: Carla Simón – Romería (alternate: Mascha Schilinski and Louise Peter – Sound of Falling and Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt – Sentimental Value)

Prix de la mise en scène: Richard Linklater – Nouvelle Vague (alternate: Julia Ducornau – Alpha and Jafar Panahi – It Was Just an Accident)

Prix d’interprétation masculine: Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent (alternate: Benicio del Toro – The Phoenician Scheme and Guillaume Marbeck – Nouvelle Vague)

Prix d’interprétation feminine: Jennifer Lawrence – Die My Love (alternates: The Four Main Girls – Sound of Falling and Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value)

Prix du Jury: The History of Sound (alternates: Eddington and The Secret Agent)

Grand Prix: The Young Mother’s Home (alternates: Nouvelle Vague and Romería)

Palme d’Or: Sentimental Value (alternates: It Was Just an Accident and Sound of Falling)

Well now, what do you all think, Awards Radar Community? Which predictions, if any, do you think will ultimately prevail? Which of the Main Competition entries are you most looking forward to? Let us know in the comments below…

Stay tuned to see who and what take home prizes from the 78th Cannes Film Festival!

The post Predictions for the 78th Cannes Film Festival Awards appeared first on Awards Radar.

For episode 240, I’m joined once again by my co-host Myles Hughes, with producer Steve Prusakowski behind the scenes preparing for Emmys and a new season of TV Topics, so look out for that soon. This is a Cannes centric episode, as the 2025 Cannes Film Festival is currently going on. We look at the contenders this year for the Palme d’Or, including Wes Anderson‘s The Phoenician Scheme, which I’ve recently scene. Myles and I also name our favorite Palme winners, as well as go back to previous Cannes to name what would have been our picks for the prize. There’s also questions from you the listener, as well as Myles getting into the Final Destination franchise, having seen Final Destination: Bloodlines. There’s lots here, making for a good episode, if I do say so myself…

As always my friends and faithful listeners/readers, I do hope you all enjoy the latest episode of the Awards Radar Podcast, our 240th one to date (here’s to many more). Of course, feel free to revisit the previous installments by clicking the Podcast tab (here) on the top of the page. Plus, listen to us on Apple Podcasts (iTunes), Spotify, and other platforms. More to come each and every single week, so from the bottom of my heart, thank you for listening!

The post Awards Radar Podcast #240: Joey and Myles Discuss the Cannes Film Festival Alongside the ‘Final Destination’ Franchise appeared first on Awards Radar.

When I set the stage for my praise of The Life of Chuck here, I raved about the film like so, in part:

For those unaware, The Life of Chuck is an adaptation of the Stephen King novella of the same name, from frequent King adapter Mike Flanagan. It concerns three chapters in the life of an ordinary man named Charles Krantz, or Chuck as we’ll come to know him. Starting with the final chapter and going backwards, we grow to understand why this seemingly unremarkable person is anything but. Played at different points by Tom Hiddleston, Benjamin Pajak, and Jacob Tremblay, we find his world filled by folks like his grandparents (Mark Hamill and Mia Sara), as well as others, including Marty Anderson (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Felicia Gordon (Karen Gillan). The film takes its time explaining everyone’s relationships to each other, so I won’t get into that here, except to say that the longer the movie goes on, the more you’re consistently having your breath taken away by the simple and human beauty on display.

I absolutely loved this flick from start to finish, as it bounces around genres, occasionally scares you, makes you laugh, and brings you to tears. In less than two hours, I watched scenes that struck a timely chord about the state of the world, had a moment involving All That Jazz elicit my biggest laugh in a theater all year, and had multiple sequences that had me openly sobbing. It’s all done with such care and heart from Flanagan, who previously has shown he can do aces work with King’s horror outings. Here, he takes the mantle from Frank Darabont, as this is very much of the ilk of The Shawshank Redemption (my all-time favorite film), along with The Green Mile and Stand By Me (which Rob Reiner helmed). It’s unlike anything you’ve seen from Flanagan to date, easily stepping up as career best work.

Below, you can see my chat with Lillard. We kick off the discussion by referencing the Lillardthon, which he has fond memories of. I also bring up a few of his older roles, including Summer Catch. However, this is largely about The Life of Chuck. Lillard brings up how filmmaker Mike Flanagan offered him the role. It’s a really nice little story. The film is an easy one to discuss, though we do avoid spoilers. Regardless of how wonderful the movie is, and it’s truly special, Lillard is just a lovely guy to talk to, so we had a good time. Give this a watch and you’ll not just have fond feelings for the man, you’ll be even more excited to see the flick next month…

Here now is my interview with The Life of Chuck cast member Matthew Lillard. Enjoy:

The Life of Chuck begins its theatrical run on June 6th!

The post Interview: Talking ‘The Life of Chuck’ with Matthew Lillard appeared first on Awards Radar.

Movie stars don’t come any bigger than Tom Cruise. Whether it’s early days in Risky Business or Top Gun, or later on with work like in Born on the Fourth of July, Jerry Maguire, or Rain Man, Cruise has underrated range. He’s an all-timer of an action hero, sure, but the charm he can put forth in a comedy or a drama is nearly unparalleled. He’s a movie star, plain and simple, with the films on his resume to back that up. As Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is about to open, it felt like a perfect time to finally dive in and rank the best performances from an actor who literally is one of the biggest in the business.

Back when Top Gun: Maverick came out, my review here said the following about him:

Tom Cruise slips easily back into this iconic role, while never shying away from the toll that time has taken on Maverick. Older, maybe a little bit wiser, but still very much who he was, we’re seeing a potential relic rage against the dying of the light. In terms of Cruise action roles, this flick gives him more drama to engage with than usual.

As for with Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (reviewed here), I had this to say:

Tom Cruise is nothing less than totally committed here, once again. Intense yet suave in the dialogue scenes, the action sequences have him at as high a level as ever. The hook here has been his stunt work, and it does continue to make a difference. Seeing him here lends a tactile element that so many other action films don’t have. 

Finally, just last week with Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (reviewed here), I spoke of Cruise like so:

Tom Cruise is front and center, as always, and this sequel asks him to be as intense as ever. There’s less humor to his role than we’ve seen previously, but he does wear the weight of the fate of the world with aplomb. Cruise knows how to play Ethan Hunt in his sleep, so it’s not surprising that he’s up to the task. As always, he’s at his best while doing insane stunts, letting the camera capture him in death defying situations. It’s a series staple and also just a strong use of Cruise throughout.

Below, you can see my ranking for Cruise. What you’ll notice is that I’ve focused more on his non-action roles, even though those are what have placed him in the stratosphere. For my money, Cruise is at his best when he’s the charming lead of a drama or a comedy. I’ve spoken about it for years, but I do hope that he gets back more to his auteur driven roles in the years to come, which we could see starting next year with his collaboration with Alejandro González Iñárritu. Cruise’s best performance so far is in Magnolia for Paul Thomas Anderson (while his most underrated is in All the Right Moves, which too few of you have seen), but this was a hard list to whittle down. I truly began with twenty and had to work for a while to even get to where I ended up. Your mileage may vary, but that’s how it goes for me, as you’re about to see…

Here now is my list of the best performances from Tom Cruise to date. Behold:

Honorable Mention: American Made, Edge of Tomorrow, Lions for Lambs, Top Gun: Maverick, Tropic Thunder, and Vanilla Sky

10. Minority Report

9. Eyes Wide Shut

8. Collateral

7. Risky Business

6. A Few Good Men

5. All the Right Moves

4. Jerry Maguire

3. Rain Man

2. Born on the Fourth of July

1. Magnolia

What are your favorite Tom Cruise performances? Let us know!

The post Ranking the Best Performances From Tom Cruise So Far appeared first on Awards Radar.

Below, you can see my conversation with McGinley. Having grown up with his work, especially on Married with Children, it was really enjoyable to just be chatting with the man. We were riffing on telemarketing scams before we even started recording, before diving right into Shrinking and playing Derek as the man gets to evolve in the world of the show. He’s incredibly thoughtful and fun to talk with, especially given what this role is doing not just for his career, but for him as an artist. It was a lovely chat. The show is wonderful as well, and really is only getting better, not simply for him and his character, but overall, too. It’s streaming on Apple TV+ right now, so check it out if you somehow have not yet. You can thank me later…

Here now is my interview with Shrinking co-star Ted McGinley. Enjoy:

Shrinking is currently streaming on Apple TV+

The post Interview: ‘Shrinking’ Co-Star Ted McGinley Discusses Acting and the Evolution of Derek appeared first on Awards Radar.

Joey’s Top Pick

Presence

Steven Soderbergh never plays it safe. So, when he attempted a horror movie with Presence, the results were anything but generic. The more I’ve sat with this one, the more I’ve been struck by subtle elements of the flick. In some ways, it’s as experimental as Soderbergh has been in some time. My review from back at the Toronto International Film Festival last year (here) began like so:

Watching Steven Soderbergh experiment is always an interesting experience. He plays with form and upends expectations more or less no matter what he’s making. So, seeing him enter the realm of horror obviously is going to make for something unique. While one can draw comparisons to A Ghost Story, Presence is a different beast, both more unusual and more mainstream, depending on the scene. Playing on Day One of the Toronto International Film Festival, it’s an interesting movie that occasionally suggests something more.

Presence manages to be extremely confident in its experimental nature. It’s only when things get more traditional, or when the film takes a hard turn in the final section, that it feels like a lesser work. However, when it comes to Soderbergh, even a lesser work is still one more than worthy of serious consideration.

Also Available This Week

Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (4K)

Jason X (4K)

A Knight’s Tale (4K)

Oliver! (4K)

Criterion Corner

How to Get Ahead in Advertising

From The Criterion Collection: “Writer-director Bruce Robinson and star Richard E. Grant, the cracked comic geniuses behind the cult favorite Withnail and I, reteamed for this diabolically dark satire of runaway capitalism in Margaret Thatcher–era England. Grant gives a virtuosically crazed performance as an ambitious advertising exec whose latest assignment—devising a campaign for a pimple cream—has him on the edge of a nervous breakdown. When he sprouts an enormous boil on his shoulder—one that not only talks but has evil ambitions of its own—a twisted battle of wills ensues. With fantastically fleshy body-horror effects and flourishes of gonzo surrealism, this tour de force of verbal jousting and physical comedy is a caustic Jekyll-and-Hyde tale for the greed-is-good 1980s.”

–

Withnail and I

From The Criterion Collection: “The ultimate cult British comedy, Bruce Robinson’s semi-autobiographical cinematic bender is a feast of delectably florid dialogue delivered with deadpan relish by stars Richard E. Grant and Paul McGann as, respectively, Withnail and “I,” a pair of perpetually soused, unemployed actors in 1960s London who, desperate to escape their nightmarishly grimy flat, embark on a hilariously misbegotten country getaway beset by menacing locals, bare cupboards, and a randy uncle—all of which they may be able to withstand as long as they don’t run out of alcohol. While Robinson’s dazzling script yields quotable moments galore, it’s the film’s bittersweet evocation of a friendship gradually unraveling that gives this beloved end-of-youth tale its lasting poignancy.”

Stay tuned for more next week…

The post Joey’s Home Movies For the Week of May 19th – Steven Soderbergh Goes Horror (and Experimental) with ‘Presence’ appeared first on Awards Radar.

Well, we’re on to the newest list of the lot! Continuing a tradition I’ve been keen on for years, I’m ranking the new crop of Academy Award winners. For nearly all of the Oscar categories, you’ll see me list the top 25 recipients of that prize. Sometimes, our newest winner will appear. Other times, they’ll be relegated to the Honorable Mention category. Who knows, maybe one or two won’t even make the cut? It’s a list series that I’ll do each and every single year, in the weeks after the ceremony concludes. So, while this is a fun way to think about the Oscars in the aftermath of the latest telecast, it’s also a beginning for another column here on the site. Of course, definitely show us your own lists as well, in the comments section below. We’re definitely keen to know what you think!

Today, Best Original Song is the category that’s in our sights. For my money, the winners here are some of the best, pound for pound, of any category. Now, the nominees themselves these days don’t stack up to where we once were at, but still…the victors are beyond reproach. Just look at one of our most recent winners in No Time to Die‘s song of the same name by Billie Eilish. It’s certainly good, but as it as good as the best Bond titles? No. And where does it even rank on this updated list?. You’ll see where it fell below this time in a moment. This is the category, after all, where people Lady Gaga and Bruce Springsteen can take home Oscars, so you do get some classics. My selections for the best of the Academy Award bunch below, in my humble opinion, are out and out classics. It’s no secret I loved Barbie, so how highly does What Was I Made For? place here a year later? Where does Naatu Naatu from RRR stack up from the year prior? Plus what of our newest winner in El Mal from Emilia Pérez? Find out now…

Here now are what I consider to be the 25 best winners of the Best Original Song Oscar, to date:

25. Moon River (Breakfast at Tiffany’s)
24. Up Where We Belong (An Officer and a Gentleman)
23. You’ll Be in My Heart (Tarzan)
22. City of Stars (La La Land)
21. Colors of the Wind (Pocahontas)
20. Take My Breath Away (Top Gun)
19. The Way We Were (The Way We Were)
18. Remember Me (Coco)
17. (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life (Dirty Dancing)
16. When You Wish Upon a Star (Pinocchio)
15. Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid)
14. Theme from Shaft (Shaft)
13. My Heart Will Go On (Titanic)
12. Let it Go (Frozen)
11. Skyfall (Skyfall)
10. The Weary Kind (Crazy Heart)
9. Under the Sea (The Little Mermaid)
8. What Was I Made For? (Barbie)
7. A Whole New World (Aladdin)
6. Over the Rainbow (The Wizard of Oz)
5. Can You Feel the Love Tonight (The Lion King)
4. Streets of Philadelphia (Philadelphia)
3. Beauty and the Beast (Beauty and the Beast)
2. Falling Slowly (Once)
1. Shallow (A Star Is Born)

Honorable Mention: I’m Gonna Love Me Again (Rocketman), Jai Ho (Slumdog Millionaire), Man or Muppet (The Muppets), Naatu Naatu (RRR), No Time to Die (No Time to Die), and Talk to the Animals (Dr. Doolittle)

Stay tuned for another list early next week!

The post The Top 25 Best Original Song Winners So Far (Updated for 2025) appeared first on Awards Radar.

Over the weekend, the Final Destination franchise returned to theaters with Final Destination: Bloodlines. Now, I didn’t have a chance to see it, given that the press screening conflicted with Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (reviewed here), but plenty of you did, as it’s making a killing (no pun intended) at the box office. Not only that, but it’s received the best reviews of the series to date, and it’s not even close. That surprising bit of success got me thinking about other franchises that could follow in its footsteps.

Now, there’s no obvious candidate. I initially thought about Urban Legend, which would make some sense, but three weeks ago a reboot was announced, so either I’m on to something or we can’t count it. I Know What You Did Last Summer has a sequel out this year, while 28 Years Later continues its own series. Scream is still in progress, while the monster slashers like Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, and Jason Vorhees are always stuck in some form of production hell, if a new installment isn’t already being hatched.

Depending on what happens with Saw XI, it might actually be the Saw franchise that needs it most. Saw X did do a similar thing, scoring the best reviews of the series, deep into its run. Had it been sitting still a bit longer, I’d have pegged it as the obvious pick. Hell, it still is for us, considering how friendly a space for Saw that Awards Radar is. If nothing else, Saw X did sort of pave the way for Final Destination: Bloodlines to get such a friendly reception.

Do you have a franchise you’d like to see get the Final Destination treatment? If so, let us know. Otherwise, just sit back and wait to see which one can accomplish it. Horror isn’t going anywhere, so dormant series will always be taking another bite at the apple. We’ll just be here waiting to see if they’re worth sinking our teeth into again or not…

Stay tuned for another Sunday Scaries installment next week!

The post Sunday Scaries: Which Horror Franchise (Like ‘Final Destination’) Should Be the Next to Return? appeared first on Awards Radar.

The Cannes Film Festival is underway in France right now, which is very exciting. Last year, Sean Baker‘s Anora made its debut and took the Palme d’Or, on the way to Oscar dominance, including the Academy Award for Best Picture. As we get set to consider the 2025 films that are playing, we wanted to look back once more on 2024. So, for this weekend’s Awards Radar Community Question, last year’s Cannes lineup is on our minds. The question? Which of the movies from last year’s Cannes was your favorite?

Among the In Competition titles, we obviously have the aforementioned Anora, alongside All We Imagine as Light, The Apprentice, Bird, Emilia Pérez, Kinds of Kindness, Megalopolis, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, The Shrouds, and The Substance, just to name some higher profile ones. Some of these films were among the most beloved of last year. In the Un Certain Regard section, Flow played, which is another very lovable option. These movies run the gamut of cinema, so there’s really something for everyone here. Whatever you gravitated towards (or didn’t, in some cases), don’t be shy about telling us.

Out of Competition, the likes of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1, Rumours, and The Surfer played, so if any of those strike your fancy, be sure to tell us. There’s always at least one big mainstream blockbuster at Cannes, with this year’s option being Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. Last year, it was Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. If you loved that flick, definitely say so.

The choice is now yours! Which Cannes titles from last year were your favorites? Was there one above all of the others? If so, let us know. The festival is currently going on and new movies are debuting, but one last time, we can look back to last year. Whether it’s Anora or something else, be sure to tell us all about it…

What was your favorite title to play at the Cannes Film Festival last year? Let us know!

The post Awards Radar Community: What Was Your Favorite Title to Play at Last Year’s Cannes Film Festival? appeared first on Awards Radar.

This is not a review for The Life of Chuck. That’s coming next month. It’s going to be a rave, as you’ll more or less gather from this piece, but this is not a review of the film. No, this is more just a start of explaining why I think it’s such a profound and special work. It’ll undoubtedly be one of the best movies of the year for me, but beyond that, it’s the type of thing I know I’ll never forget. It’s the rare bit of cinema that I’ll carry with me for the rest of my days. It just has a magic about it. So, that’s what I wanted to prep you all for today…the magic that’s coming your way next month.

For those unaware, The Life of Chuck is an adaptation of the Stephen King novella of the same name, from frequent King adapter Mike Flanagan. It concerns three chapters in the life of an ordinary man named Charles Krantz, or Chuck as we’ll come to know him. Starting with the final chapter and going backwards, we grow to understand why this seemingly unremarkable person is anything but. Played at different points by Tom Hiddleston, Benjamin Pajak, and Jacob Tremblay, we find his world filled by folks like his grandparents (Mark Hamill and Mia Sara), as well as others, including Marty Anderson (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Felicia Gordon (Karen Gillan). The film takes its time explaining everyone’s relationships to each other, so I won’t get into that here, except to say that the longer the movie goes on, the more you’re consistently having your breath taken away by the simple and human beauty on display.

I absolutely loved this flick from start to finish, as it bounces around genres, occasionally scares you, makes you laugh, and brings you to tears. In less than two hours, I watched scenes that struck a timely chord about the state of the world, had a moment involving All That Jazz elicit my biggest laugh in a theater all year, and had multiple sequences that had me openly sobbing. It’s all done with such care and heart from Flanagan, who previously has shown he can do aces work with King’s horror outings. Here, he takes the mantle from Frank Darabont, as this is very much of the ilk of The Shawshank Redemption (my all-time favorite film), along with The Green Mile and Stand By Me (which Rob Reiner helmed). It’s unlike anything you’ve seen from Flanagan to date, easily stepping up as career best work.

Two lines in the film, presented out of context, I think help to illustrate the simple magic that this fantastical and yet deeply human story bring out in a willing audience member. They are, as follows:

“The universe is large, and it contains multitudes, but…it also contains me”

“In this moment, I am wonderful”

Once you see the movie, you’ll understand more, as well as what the whole “Charles Krantz, 39 great years! Thanks, Chuck!” of it all means. Once I understood it, the entire story came together in a way that took my breath away. Cinematic magic on display, plain and simple. The picture celebrates life, and not just that, it somehow manages to celebrate your life, which is the real magic trick of it all, in my humble opinion. It’s a miracle of a movie.

This is what I said about the film moments after getting out of my screening:

The next day, it was still on my mind, leading me to send this out into the world:

I can’t wait to have you all see it. Go in as blind as you can, as the teaser and trailer both preserve plenty of mystery, but in hindsight show more than I would have. At the same time, there’s no way to prepare yourself for this flick. Just know that I love it, people at the Toronto International Film Festival loved it (where it won the People’s Choice Award, while I’m kicking my former self for not seeing it back at TIFF), and the folks at NEON love it. If you’ve been on board with their tastes of late, this is just another feather in their cap, though unlike anything else they’ve ever released.

There will be much more to say about The Life of Chuck in the days and weeks to come, as well as throughout the entire year for me. I already have one interview in the can to share next week, with more coming next month. There will be my rave review, as well as more pieces once more of you have seen it. In the meantime, just know that this is a one of a kind work, magical and special, the sort of film that just doesn’t come along every day. So, prepare to celebrate The Life of Chuck…

Stay tuned for much more on The Life of Chuck!

The post ‘The Life of Chuck’ is Coming and is a Special Sort of Movie Magic appeared first on Awards Radar.