CANNES - Critics have hailed Wes Anderson’s star-studded new film Asteroid City as “stylish” but lacking in substance. The sci-fi homage sees a junior stargazer convention disrupted by world-changing events. A bus-load of its stars, including Tom Hanks and Scarlett Johansson, were in orbit around the film’s premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday. Oscar-winner actor Hanks walked the red carpet with his wife, actress and producer Rita Wilson. Writing on Instagram later, Wilson defended Hanks after fans questioned whether he had become angry on the red carpet, clarifying that her actor husband had only been asking for directions and had struggled to hear the Cannes staff member’s answer. Black Widow star Johansson, meanwhile, was there with her husband - Saturday Night Live comedian Colin Jost. Asteroid City sees Johansson lead an ensemble cast of Hollywood royalty, including Hanks and Margot Robbie - both newcomers to Anderson’s celluloid world - Jason Schwartzman and Tilda Swinton. The film also features Jeffrey Wright, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody and Steve Carell, who stepped in for Anderson-favourite Bill Murray after he caught Covid days before they started filming. Johansson plays a 1950s movie icon - think Bette Davis - in the story set in a fictional American desert town, where a group of child geniuses are gathered for a science competition that is interrupted by an alien visitor which leaves them locked up in quarantine. Anderson is best-known for directing films such as The Grand Budapest Hotel and Moonrise Kingdom. The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw awarded the film four stars, describing it as an “exhilarating triumph of pure style” which “leans nicely into its own artificiality, and every delicious, microscopic detail is a delight”.
“Asteroid City’s eccentricity, its elegance, its gaiety, and its sheer profusion of detail within the tableau frame make it such a pleasure,” he wrote.
“So, too, does its dapper styling of classic American pop culture. With every new shot, your eyes dart around the screen, grabbing at all the painterly little jokes and embellishments, each getting a micro-laugh.”
He continued: “As ever, there is little or no emotional content, despite the ostensible subject of grief. The movie rattles cleverly and exhilaratingly along, adroitly absorbing the implications of pathos and loneliness without allowing itself to slow down.
“It is tempting to consider this savant blankness as some kind of symptom, but I really don’t think so: it is the expression of style. And what style it is.”
The Times’ Ed Potton was similarly impressed, also awarding four stars while comparing Anderson’s latest work to that of another respected US filmmaker.
“It looks ravishing, as usual: blue Cadillacs against orange desert, swivelling satellite dishes, mushroom clouds from nuclear tests rising silently on the horizon,” he wrote.
“There are subtle departures, though: fantastical encounters (I’ll say no more) and an air of confounding surreality that feels new. This is Anderson filtered through the lens of David Lynch minus the horror, or Charlie Kaufman with better tailoring.”
Shakira ‘politely’ tells Tom Cruise she is not ‘attracted’ to him despite his pleas
MIAMI (News Dewsk): Shakira has told Tom Cruise she has no interest in dating him but he believes she is the right match for him. The Mission: Impossible star and the Waka Waka hitmaker sparked romance rumours after they were captured together at the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Miami earlier this month. However, it was later confirmed that the Columbian singer does not want to date Cruise and is solely “focused on her family” following her split from ex Gerard Pique. But an insider close to the situation told Heat Magazine that Cruise has no intention to give up on Shakira as he is convinced they had a “special connection.” The insider said that the mother-of-two is “begging” Tom Cruise “to stop flirting with her” as the situation is “too much” for her so soon after her 12-year relationship with Gerard ended. Speaking to the publication, the insider said Cruise was “giddy” when he met Shakira at the event, adding that the actor feels he acted the same way with ex-wife Katie Holmes after their first meeting.
“He came away convinced they had a real connection they needed to build on,” the source said. The source also said that Cruise has been telling his close circle all about how he felt after meeting Shakria but she does not feel the same for the Hollywood hunk. According to the outlet, the singer was simply being “friendly” with Cruise and now the rumours about the romance are “too much” to handle for Shakira. “She doesn’t want to embarrass or upset him, but there’s no attraction or romance on her part - she was just being friendly. She’s flattered but not interested,” the insider said. Shakira is said to have sent the message that she is not interested in dating Crusie “politely” to his team but he does not seem to have given up on her. The insider said Cruise has been struggling for years to find the “right person,” adding that he has “the highest standards” and won’t settle for “second best” in a potential partner.
