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An error has ocurred. Please try againIt's Sundance's 40th Anniversary (don't look into the math at how they got to 40, it's festival math) and here are my top films to see in the snow at Park City. According to the press release the programming team looked at over 4,000 (!!) features to come up with the short list of 200+. Of course, I'll gnash my teeth this time next year as I look at the films I overlooked, like PAST LIVES but salve myself with the inclusion of FAIR PLAY. - Keith Simanton, Senior Film Editor, IMDb
It's the 80th anniversary of the Venice Film Festival, also affectionately known as the "Mostra" (meaning "Exhibition), although the math is a little squishy. The first year the festival claims is 1932. But, as Paolo Baratta, former President of La Biennale di Venezia, wrote in the forward to Peter Cowie's succinct and clear-eyed "Happy 75th" book, "the number...is not actually a perfect indication. There were years in which the Biennale Cinema organized activities, some were called Mostre but fell under a sort of demnatio memoriae (1940 - '42), some were not called Mostre and were not attributed a number." Regardless, here are the 10 films I want to see during this historic anniversary. - Keith Simanton
The 81st Venice International Film Festival is presented each year by La Biennale di Venezia (a premier part of the Italian government's arts organization which also celebrates art, architecture, music & theater) and managed by the recently re-upped Alberto Barbera, Director of the Festival. VIFF takes place on the Venice Lido (that's across the lagoon from Venice proper) from August 28th to September 7th, 2024. There are films with a lot of potential in the In Competition, Out of Competition, and in the expanded Orizzonti sections ("Horizons) but these are the ones I'm most excited to see - Keith Simanton
It's the 48th Toronto Film Festival (TIFF) & CEO Cameron Bailey & crew have assembled another robust set of films to unspool (actually, they don't really unspool anymore, do they) from September 7 - 17th. TIFF has some big awards contenders, special presentations, & international fare & you can see the full list of fims & shows showing here. From that list there are few movies I have already seen & can heartily endorse: ZONE OF INTEREST, FAIR PLAY, HIT MAN, & MONSTER & a few, which shall remain nameless, that I can't. These are 11 that I haven't seen, but plan to. Happy TIFF! - Keith Simanton
The 76th annual Cannes Film Festival, May 16-27th, feels like retro-Cannes. In Competition we have Nuri Bilge Ceylan (he won the 2014 Palme d'Or for WINTER SLEEP), Anh Hung Tran ('93's Camera d'Or for The Scent of Green Papaya) Catherine Breillat (French Cineaste of the Year in 2001 for FAT GIRL), Aki Kaurismäki (too many In Competition noms to mention), and perennials like Jessica Hausner, Nani Moretti, and still-dyspeptic Ken Loach. I think we're only missing the Dardenne's for a royal flush. Of course, the big movies are Out of Competition but sometimes those can be a bust (STRANGER TIDES) as often as they are blockbusters (MAVERICK). And there's some Un Certain Regard films that deserve more than a look. Here are the Top Films that intrigue me and here's the full Cannes Film Festival guide. - Senior Film Editor, Managing Editor, IMDbPro, Keith Simanton
As the managing editor of IMDbPro and the senior film editor for IMDb I spend a lot of time watching movies. That doesn't mean that I've seen everything released in 2024 (I've not yet had a chance to see NOSFERATU, for example) but I've seen the bulk of the major features and awards contenders. This is the best of what I caught this year, ranked in order from 1 -24. I also reserve to the right to shuffle this damn thing with impunity if I do catch something later on. Here's to a great 2025 in cinema. - Keith Simanton
It's the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival but, from everything they have going on, you'd think they were celebrating the 100th. In addition to the stunning array of In Competition & Out of Competition films (see the full list here) they are presenting the honorary Palme d'Or to Studio Ghibli, George Lucas, and Meryl Streep. The President of the Jury this year is Greta Gerwig, presiding over her contemporaries: French actress Eva Green, Lebanese director/screenwriter Nadine Labaki, Spanish director/screenwriter Juan Antonio Bayona, Italian actor Pierfrancisco Favino, Japanese director Kore-eda Hirokazu, French actor/producer Omar Sy, Turkish screenwriter/photographer Ebru Ceylan, & American actress Lily Gladstone. The Croisette will be the place to be for film for mid-May and here are some of the must-sees. - Keith Simanton
The term "greatest" is getting a workout and a reexamination these days. For me the definition includes historical importance, a certain lasting, heirloom regard, and in some instances just personal preference. I won't debate the selections of the recent 2022 Sight & Sound poll. There are many new additions to the list that are fine films just not what I would have selected in the top 100. And, indeed, I've had to leave out many films on this list, try as I may to wedge them on. So here's my list, how I would have voted. It's in order of recommendation, so CITIZEN KANE at #1 is #1. -- Keith Simanton
It appears that 2023 had a lot of pent-up creativity, stocked up during the pandemic and unleashed now. How else to explain such a fertile and diverse set of films as those this year which make up my Top 23 of 2023? Inevitably, regrettably, there are movies I have not seen yet that may take their place here (hey, you never know about AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM! One must keep an open mind about these things.) But there are others. Keep your eye on this space as I'll watch them as soon as I can (or as soon as I have access to them) and, as always, I reserve the right to reshuffle and reconsider in the following weeks with impunity. - Keith Simanton - Senior Film Editor, IMDb
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Reviews
Whipped (2000)
82 words on Whipped
12 September 2000 - 1 out of 1 users found this review helpful.
"Whipped" is 82 minutes long. This review is 82 words long. Three unlikable New York Lotharios, ruthless "scammers," end up wooing the same woman, played by Amanda Peet, with disastrous results. That applies to the story and the film. Too sophomoric to be misogynistic, flaccid and ridiculous, "Whipped" mixes the philosophies of shock jock Tom Lykis with Penthouse letter fantasies. Though technically proficient it's dated, grating, poorly written, mean, and obvious. People don't act like this. People don't talk like this. Really.