PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH – Review by Valerie Kalfrin

Eleven years after his swashbuckling solo adventure, the orange tabby voiced by Antonio Banderas returns in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, a lively sequel with an earnest message as comforting as warm milk.

If you’re unfamiliar with Puss, who debuted in the Shrek films of the 1990s, no matter. Composer Heitor Pereira and Antonio Banderas cover all you need to know about Puss in the opening moments through a zingy musical number about this furry outlaw in the vein of Robin Hood.

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PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH – Review by Martha K Baker

Everyone knows that cats have nine lives. They land on their feet. They flirt with, then skirt, danger. They are charming and flirtatious and ego-centric, furry and purry. And then there’s Puss in Boots — all of the above and more. But, now, he’s down to the last of those nine lives so vaunted in fairy tales.

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OFFICIAL COMPETITION – Review by Diane Carson

Official Competition goes behind-the-scenes with actors and a director. As Official Competition begins, on the occasion of his eightieth birthday, multimillionaire Don Humberto Suarez asserts that he lacks prestige. Therefore, he must contribute to something lasting, a bridge with his name by a famous architect or a movie. For that latter option, he purchases the rights to the Nobel prize novel Rivalry, which he doesn’t read.

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MOVIE OF THE WEEK June 10, 2022: OFFICIAL COMPETITION

As long as there have been movies, there have been movies about making movies. Some are serious, some are silly; some are dark, some are light. One thing most have in common is that they always seem to bring those involved that particularly satisfying form of glee that comes from casting a critical light on something you have a complex relationship with. All of that is in play in Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat’s sharp showbiz satire Official Competition.

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OFFICIAL COMPETITION – Review by Liz Whittemore

Turning a Nobel Prize-winning novel into a movie on the whim of a millionaire, “it” director Lola Cuevas pairs two different kinds of actors to breathe life into her version of the story. What could go wrong casting a serious leading actor with a box office action star? Only everything, of course. If you’ve ever been through the rehearsal process with a director that is secure in their vision, Official Competition is for you. The film is a masterclass in writing and acting. It encompasses all the temperamental moments in the history of cinematic genius.

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THE HITMAN’S WIFE’S BODYGUARD – Review by Brandy McDonnell

The tiresome sequel “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard” wastes its star power as cavalierly as its aggressively unlikeable characters waste ammunition. It takes an almost impressive feat of sheer mediocrity to make a movie starring Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Salma Hayek, Antonio Banderas and Morgan Freeman this annoying.

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PAIN AND GLORY – Review by Brandy McDonnell

The Spanish auteur (“Talk to Her,” “The Skin I Live In”) wisely turned to his frequent collaborator Antonio Banderas to star in his autobiographical drama. Banderas earns his best actor prize from Frances’ Cannes Film Festival – and seems to be a shoo-in for an Oscar nod – with his magnetic turn as Salvador Mallo, celebrated filmmaker plagued with a cavalcade of physical maladies.

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PAIN & GLORY – Review by Diane Carson

Multi-award winning Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar has impressed audiences, myself included, since the 80s with original, creative, provocative and often humorous narratives. His art direction—often riotously colorful—infuses compositions with dynamic energy. Now, after almost forty years, Almodóvar has made his most personal and deeply moving film, Pain and Glory.

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PAIN AND GLORY – TIFF19 Review by Alexandra Heller Nicholas

In Pain and Glory Pedro Almodóvar and Antonio Banderas paint a portrait of a man in crisis through a shared understanding and acceptance of the volatility of human suffering, and how it can often manifest in unexpected ways. With one of the most beautiful twist reveals of any film this year, they remind us just how magical and enduring their professional relationship has been.

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