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Michel Gondry’s latest is charming but slight, and its typical teen-boy obsessions about boobs and bullies are already well-trod ground. I’m “biast” (pro): have enjoyed Gondry’s films

I’m “biast” (con): tired of movies about teenaged boys

(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)

Turns out that typical teen-boy obsessions — longings to touch boobs and deal smackdowns to bullies, etc — are pretty much the same even when they’re subtitled. So the latest from writer-director Michel Gondry (Mood Indigo) feels very familiar and, worse yet, very slight, lacking the fantastical whimsy of some of his earlier films and coasting, often literally, on the charms of its young misfits, though they are nicely drawn. Fourteen-year-old Daniel (Ange Dargent) — a sensitive artist called Microbe by mean classmates because he’s so small for his age — finds a pal in the school new boy, Théo (Théophile Baquet...

To help sift through the increasing number of new releases (independent or otherwise), the Weekly Film Guide is here! Below you’ll find basic plot, personnel and cinema information for all of this week’s fresh offerings.

Starting this month, we’ve also put together a list for the entire month. We’ve included this week’s list below, complete with information on screening locations for films in limited release.

See More: Here Are All the Upcoming Movies in Theaters for July 2016

Here are the films opening theatrically in the U.S. the week of Friday, July 1. All synopses provided by distributor unless listed otherwise.

Wide

The Bfg

Director: Steven Spielberg

Cast: Bill Hader, Jemaine Clement, Mark Rylance, Penelope Wilton, Rebecca Hall, Ruby Barnhill

Synopsis: The Bfg is no ordinary bone-crunching giant. He is far too nice and jumbly. It’s lucky for Sophie that he is. Had she been...

In 2008, the satirical website The Onion published a story entitled “Michel Gondry Entertained For Days By New Cardboard Box,” poking a bit of fun at the French filmmaker’s ability to find whimsy and imagination in the most unexpected of places. That Gondry’s movies revel in the fantastic and often eschew anything resembling the cynical is hardly news, but that he’s continued to invest himself in the creation of those kind of films (save for that brief foray into superhero fare with “The Green Hornet”) is certainly worth pointing out on a regular basis.

Read More: ‘Microbe and Gasoline’: Michel Gondry’s Latest Film Gets Whimsical And Inspiring New Trailer

His latest, “Microbe and Gasoline,” is another example of exactly that. Finally getting a release in the U.S. nearly a year after it opened in France (and ten months since it first played in the States,...

The U.S. rollout of Microbe & Gasoline has been approaching so quietly, you’d be forgiven for not realizing Michel Gondry had a new film at all. But he does, and it’s coming to our shores this weekend, and based on the footage we’ve seen so far it looks pretty damn adorable. Ange Dargent and Théophile Baquet play Daniel and […]

The post ‘Microbe & Gasoline’ Clip: Michel Gondry’s Charming Tale of Teen Friendship appeared first on /Film.

Microbe And Gasoline (Microbe et Gasoil) Partizan Films Reviewed by: Harvey Karten, Shockya Grade: B Director: Michel Gondry Written by: Michel Gondry Cast: Ange Dargent, Théophile Baquet, Diane Besnier, Audrey Tautou, Vincent Lamoureux, Agathe Peigney Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 5/21/16 Opens: July 1, 2016 What a delightful little piece! Michel Gondry, whose “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” hints of the writer-director’s surreal bent, as that movie deals with two characters who seek to erase memories of each other from their minds, now tackles the really special time of adolescence. Two teens, Daniel (Ange Dargent), called Microbe because of his small shape, and Théo (Théophile Baquet, called Gasoline because [ Read More ]

The post Microbe and Gasoline Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

"A house with wheels?" "Exactamundo!" Screen Media Films has debuted the official Us trailer for Michel Gondry's latest feature film, called Microbe & Gasoline, about two funky kids named Microbe & Gasoline. I wasn't a fan of Gondry's last film, Mood Indigo, but this is one is fantastic - he gets back to his roots, telling a very charming story of two quirky friends escaping on a road trip and what it means to have a real friend who is just as weird as you are. Starring Ange Dargent and Théophile Baquet, plus Audrey Tautou, the film is actually a must see if you're a fan of Michel Gondry's films or coming-of-age adventures. I'm glad I had the chance to see this and do recommend it to anyone who is curious to give it a watch. Enjoy. Here's the official Us trailer for Michel Gondry's Microbe & Gasoline, in high def from Apple: Microbe,...

It’s been some time since a Michel Gondry-directed (fiction) feature really earned proper attention, which might explain why Microbe & Gasoline, very well-received though it may have been, didn’t stand out during its handful of fall festival appearances. But people did respond with kind words, in many instances calling it the man’s finest work since Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Microbe & Gasoline has been picked up, albeit quietly, for a U.S. release, and so there is a domestic trailer. Showcasing the wild (but hopefully not too whimsical) adventures taken up by stars Ange Dargent and Théophile Baquet, it’s almost exactly how one would expect a comedic and foreign-language coming-of-age movie to be sold. Judging by the material and advance praise, this should make for a nice respite from the blockbuster glut.

Have a look at the preview (via Apple) and new poster (via Twitch...

This playful comedy drama, about two boys running away from home, is all you’d expect from Michel Gondry, and its geekiness makes it all the more lovable

If this film were a person, you’d want to give it a big hug, as you would a gawky teenager, and reassure it that it will be tough out there, that not everyone is going to get its idiosyncratic charms, but that’s Ok because it’s awesome just the way it is.

Michel Gondry’s spiky-sweet comedy drama centres on two such 14-year-old outsiders: scrawny, girlish-looking Daniel (Ange Dargent) and more confident but jagged Théo (Théophile Baquet). A pair of geeks who don’t really fit in with their own families, let alone the Versailles high school they attend, they decide to run away from home. Sure, they have adventures, but all that hiding from cops, nearly getting beaten up...

In his most satisfying film since Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Gondry crafts an optimistic adolescent adventure from the mess of real life

It’s hard to know what we’ll end up calling this phase of Michel Gondry’s career, but it’s certainly been unpredictable. He’s made four non-Hollywood movies since 2011’s big budget disappointment The Green Hornet, the unlikely superhero entry starring Seth Rogen. There was a guerrilla-style experiment with non-actors on a New York City bus (The We and the I), an undiluted hit of love-drenched visual whimsy (Mood Indigo) and a hand-drawn animated rap session between himself and Noam Chomsky (Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy?). While each were innovative, these were peculiar and particular films. With the French-language Microbe and Gasoline, Gondry has made his most satisfying movie since his 2004 masterpiece Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Consider it an anti-Superbad.

Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies, starring Tom Hanks, will make its World Premiere at the 53rd New York International Film Festival, running from September 25 to October 11. The film was one of 26 announced as part of the festival’s main slate, along with one of four World Premieres.

Some of the main slate highlights include Todd Haynes’s Carol, featuring Cannes Best Actress Winner Rooney Mara alongside Cate Blanchett, Miguel Gomes’s three part saga Arabian Nights, Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s The Assassin, the Us premiere of Michael Moore’s latest Where to Invade Next, Michel Gondry’s French film Microbe et Gasoil, and the World Premiere of the documentary Don’t Blink: Robert Frank, about the life of the fames photographer and filmmaker.

Previously announced films include the World Premiere of The Walk, Robert Zemeckis’s Philippe Petit biopic serving as the opening night film, the World Premiere of...

This sounds like it's going to be so much fun. The first photo from the new Michel Gondry film has hit the web. Gondry moves quickly and quietly when working in France, we didn't even know this was shot yet. Microbe et Gasoil, as it's titled (or Microbe and Gasoil), is already filmed and stars Ange Dargent and Théophile Baquet as the two boys, along with Audrey Tautou. This first photo won't make sense until you hear the plot, then you'll have a big smile on your face when you realize. "As the summer holidays approach, the two friends don't want to spend two months in the company of their families, so they build their own 'car' out of a motor mower and some planks of wood, and set off on an adventure on the roads of France." Here's the first photo for Microbe et Gasoil, posted by Film Divider...

Chicago – World War II, also known as “The Good War,” had more than its share of darkness and sorrow. As the conflict winds down for a French town in the new film “War of the Buttons,” young love and rival town kid gangs create metaphors for the context of the war in its time and place.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

This is a sweet movie, more than a bit twee, but containing a sentiment that is life affirming, even up to its “The Sound of Music” type ending. The child and teen actors actually carry the film, which is the third remake of the novel “La Guerre des boutons” by anti-war French writer Louis Pergaud. This also contains metaphors for war and its futilities, as exemplified by the rival kid gangs in the French townships. It also throws in a youthful romance, between a tough kid leader and a Anne Frank-like Jewish girl hiding in the town.

Christophe Barratier's War of the Buttons telling of two rival gangs of kids may go to Weinstein The Weinstein Company is apparently in negotiations to acquire the French film La nouvelle guerre des boutons, based on the1912 novel by Louis Pergaud, reports Variety. The French film War of the Buttons produced by La Petite Reine and Studio 37, focuses on two rival kid gangs from neighboring French villages who start a merciless play-war. Thomas Langmann, Stéphane Keller and Christophe Barratier wrote the script, with dialogue by Philippe Lopes-Curval. Starring in the adventure which runs around 100 minutes, are Jean Texier, Clément Godefroy, Théophile Baquet, Louis Dussol, Harold Werner and Nathan Parent.

Christophe Barratier's War of the Buttons telling of two rival gangs of kids may go to Weinstein The Weinstein Company is apparently in negotiations to acquire the French film La nouvelle guerre des boutons, based on the1912 novel by Louis Pergaud, reports Variety. The French film War of the Buttons produced by La Petite Reine and Studio 37, focuses on two rival kid gangs from neighboring French villages who start a merciless play-war. Thomas Langmann, Stéphane Keller and Christophe Barratier wrote the script, with dialogue by Philippe Lopes-Curval. Starring in the adventure which runs around 100 minutes, are Jean Texier, Clément Godefroy, Théophile Baquet, Louis Dussol, Harold Werner and Nathan Parent.

Christophe Barratier's War of the Buttons telling of two rival gangs of kids may go to Weinstein The Weinstein Company is apparently in negotiations to acquire the French film La nouvelle guerre des boutons, based on the1912 novel by Louis Pergaud, reports Variety. The French film War of the Buttons produced by La Petite Reine and Studio 37, focuses on two rival kid gangs from neighboring French villages who start a merciless play-war. Thomas Langmann, Stéphane Keller and Christophe Barratier wrote the script, with dialogue by Philippe Lopes-Curval. Starring in the adventure which runs around 100 minutes, are Jean Texier, Clément Godefroy, Théophile Baquet, Louis Dussol, Harold Werner and Nathan Parent.