Of the six features just added to Cannes Film Festival’s official selection, Pablo Fendrik‘s El Ardor, an Amazon-set action adventure, appears to be the hottie. Passion in the mist, verdant landscapes, green mansions. Pic stars Gael García Bernal as a heavy cat who emerges from the Argentinean rain forest to rescue the kidnapped daughter (Alice Braga) of a poor farmer after mercenaries murder her father and take over his property.

The great Bob Hoskins has died from pneumonia at 71, two years after retiring from acting due to Parkinson’s disease. Hoskins’ 40-year career (his first role was in ’72) was blessed with a ten-year hot streak (1978 to 1988) that boiled down, if you want to be ruthless about it, to four landmark performances. His breakout role was the luckless Arthur Parker in Dennis Potter and Piers Haggard‘s British-produced Pennies From Heaven miniseries (six episodes). This, for me, was Hoskins’ “okay, wait a minute, who’s this guy?” role. Then came Harold Shand, an old-school East London gangster, in John Mackenzie‘s The Long Good Friday (’80) — one of the best blustery tough guys of the crime realm. And then his all-time finest performance as George, the downmarket lovestruck chauffeur in Neil Jordan‘s Mona Lisa (’86) — a performance that Hoskins should have won the Best Actor Oscar for (he lost to The Color of Money‘s Paul Newman) but which resulted in Golden Globe, BAFTA and Cannes Film Festival honors. His fourth and final great role was as feisty L.A. private dick Eddie Valiant in Robert Zemeckis‘ Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (’88) — his most famous performance and a necessarily broad and hammy one, but nowhere near the level of his Mona Lisa turn. His other performances were…well, okay. Hoskins was a solid, dependable craftsman. Thank God, fortune and serendipity for that brilliant ’80s run and for all the paychecks that followed. Condolences to family, friends and fans. 71 is a little early to check out.

I saw Carl Reiner‘s Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid at an all-media screening in Manhattan 32 years ago, and for whatever reason I’ve never re-watched it since. I liked it then and this clip assembly reminds me it was moderately funny. The dialogue, I mean. I guess I never cared to re-visit because it’s fundamentally thin. A nostalgia piece. No palpable undercurrent of its own. An Italian Bluray has been available since early this month. There’s also an HDX version on Vudu.

A romantic comedy called In Your Eyes, written by Joss Whedon and starring Zoe Kazan and Michael Stahl-David, is currently rentable for a meager five bills on Vimeo. A Rotten Tomatoes rating of 64% isn’t unheard of, but it’s a little unusual. If a movie has problems it usually earns a rating in the 40something range or lower. 64% means “maybe give it a tumble…maybe.” It certainly doesn’t signify outright dismissal. It can also mean, obviously, a degree of approval. From A.V. Club‘s Jesse Hassenger: “At its frequent best, In Your Eyes provides a potent metaphor for a life-changing relationship, cleverly literalizing the way a new romantic connection can feel like a voice in your head that you never want to stop hearing.”

I’ve finally seen last weekend’s debut episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and yes, I agree with A.V. Club’s Erik Adams — “It’s not The Daily Show With John Oliver, despite the fact that the bulk of its premiere episode features Oliver dissecting the news and the news media from behind a stylish anchor’s desk. [And] It’s not Oliver’s answer to The Colbert Report, because even though he’s the primary face and voice of the program, he’s not playing a character.” My liking of the show is all about this interview with retired General and former National Security Agency director Keith B. Alexander. This is how you get down to things.

In yesterday’s “Hide Godzilla Ball” piece, I mentioned a decision by Warner Bros. domestic publicity to not screen Gareth Edwards’ film (5.16) for all-media schlubs like myself until Wednesday, 5.14, or four days after my arrival in France, and how this would force me to see it at a commercial cinema in Cannes on 5.14 (i.e., the day it opens in France), even though that would mean taking time off from the opening day of the Cannes Film Festival. Well, guess what? Godzilla is having a public-access premiere in Paris a week from Saturday, and I’ve got a ticket. It’s happening at Le Grand Rex (1 Boulevard Poissonniere, 75002 Paris, France) on the evening of Saturday, May 10th. I’ll arrive in Paris that morning so I’ll have plenty of time to rest and get ready. As far as I can see I’ll be free to review as this is not a private screening. All bets are off once you start selling tickets to the public. Perfect.

Flannel-shirt-wearing beardo sci-fi geeks are much more admiring of John Carpenter‘s The Thing (’82) than they are of Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.‘s 2011 version with Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton and Ulrich Thomsen. They don’t even want to discuss the 1951 Howard Hawks-Christian Nyby version even though it’s the smartest and best-written version of the three. (Not to mention the most engagingly performed as well as the Thing flick that provides the most metaphorically reflective portrait of the culture from which it emerged.) But consider these two endings and tell me — honestly, no evasions — which one has the pizazz?

J.J. Abrams‘ Star Wars, Episode VII cast was officially announced this morning, and the two biggest guys are Llewyn Davis and Lena Dunham‘s half-psycho actor boyfriend? I don’t know, man. I was hoping for a bigger name or two…something. I wanted the 21st Century Steve McQueen to play a major role…but who would that be? Attack The Block‘s John Boyega (where’s he been for the last three years?), the completely unknown Daisy Ridley (Mrs. Selfridge), the half-psychotic Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac (i.e., Llewyn), Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson and Max von Sydow. I read a rumor about Harrison Ford expected to play much more than a cameo as Han Solo. Profoundly dreaded cameos by Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and Kenny Baker are also locked in.

In 1950 the world population was 2,525,778,669, give or take. By 1964 it had risen by nearly a billion to 3,263,738,832. Today’s approximate tally is 7,243,784,121 — close to triple the 1950 figure. By 2075 the globe will be struggling to sustain 10.5 billion souls. The needs of today’s population are obviously bruising and polluting the planet as is. Life is going to be much more of a 1% vs. 99% equation — 1% will live well or semi-decently and everyone else will be doing without and/or struggling to varying degrees. Blade Runner and then some. The downmarket cultural trends of the last couple of decades (lower and lower education levels, shallower and shallower entertainments) will almost certainly worsen. Right now only a small percentage have any kind of developed or semi-enlightened aesthetic appetites and appreciations. I don’t want to think about the cultural climate that will probably exist 50 or 60 years from now. No more “movies” as most of us know them (i.e., no more dramas or story construction…mostly jizz-whizz interactive crap for the masses). A world full of empty distractions and gross Timur Bekmambetov types and Multicultural Party Animals. Good God.

About 13 hours ago (i.e., roughly 6:30 pm Pacific on Monday, 4.28) Michael Nusair ventured into Steven Soderbergh territory and posted a whacked-down version of William Friedkin‘s Sorcerer. The original theatrical cut, contained in the recently released Warner Home Video Bluray, runs 121 minutes. Musair’s ADD version runs 57 minutes, a reduction of nearly 60%.

I don’t think the ’77 version is fatty or draggy at all. If you cut the “fat” out of any film you remove the connective tissue (atmosphere, downtime, minutiae) that made it a flavorful, semi-organic experience in the first place. The fat is an essential ingredient in the overall — this is what the ADD generation can’t seem to get. At least Nusair’s cut will fan interest in the real thing.

I’ll be seeing All The Way, the LBJ play with Bryan Cranston, and the acclaimed but under-attended Bridges of Madison County during my week-long stay in Manhattan (5.2 through 5.9). All The Way has now been Tony-nominated for Best Play along with Cranston for Best Actor, but poor Bridges, which has been struggling with ticket sales, didn’t snag a Best Musical nomination…shocker. It was nominated for Best Score (music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown) and Best Actress in a Musical (Kelli O’Hara). Here’s hoping it survives, at least until I attend next week.

What else should I see? I can only afford what I can afford, but I’m open on Friday night (5.2). A friend recommends Lady Day at the Emerson Bar and Grill with Audra McDonald or Hedwig and the Angry Inch or Beautiful, the Carole King musical.

I suspect that if CBS had offered David Letterman‘s slot to Craig Ferguson, he wouldn’t be talking about leaving. You can say “oh, no…he’s not pissed” and “he’s definitely not quitting out of pride” but I’m not buying. The Letterman slot opened up, Feruguson must have wanted it, he didn’t get it and so “eff this pop stand.” It’s one thing to be the 12:30 am guy after Letterman but after Stephen Colbert? I don’t blame him for a second.

Comments a friend: “Ferguson had it written into his contract that if he wasn’t offered the Letterman show, CBS would pay him a one-time $10 million dollar fee. I think he must have received it in his bank account today, took one look at it, and said, ‘Done by December!'”