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Judi Dench, left, and Olivia Colman star in Twentieth Century Fox’s “Murder on the Orient Express.” Photo Credit: Nicola Dove; Tm & © 2017 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Not for sale or duplication.

Murder On The Orient Express, Kenneth Branagh’s new film adaptation of the classic Agatha Christie mystery, offers a certain amount of lavish period style and mystery fun but does not measure up to the 1974 version, directed by Sidney Lumet and featuring an all-star cast. Branagh’s film also has a star-packed cast and Branagh, who plays detective Hercule Poirot as well as directs, sports an astonishing two-stage mustache that might be worth the ticket price alone.

Based on the famous Agatha Christie mystery featuring her Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, the 1974 film version had an all-star cast with Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Martin Balsam,

Ingrid Bergman, Jacqueline Bisset, Sean Connery, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller, Anthony Perkins,...

Do blondes really have more fun? It’s a question that’s been highly debated among Hollywood’s most famous light-haired stars. But now that spring has sprung, the season of ladies looking to lighten their strands is in full force.

Natural brunettes including Katy Perry, Kristen Stewart and Allison Williams have been swapping out their darker locks for vibrant blonde hues we can’t stop talking about. But before taking a cue from these stars and taking the platinum plunge, it’s important to know what not to do first, in order to ensure your color looks natural and hair stays healthy.

To celebrate the release of The Connection, out on DVD now, HeyUGuys are giving 2 lucky winners the chance to win a copy of the DVD. The Connection follows young investigating magistrate Pierre Michel (Jean Dujardin) who arrives in Marseille, a city riddled with organised crime, in 1975 with his wife (Céline Sallette, House Of

The post Win The Connection on DVD appeared first on HeyUGuys.

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To celebrate the release of The Connection, out now on DVD, What Culture are giving 2 lucky winners the chance to win a copy of the DVD.

The Connection follows young investigating magistrate Pierre Michel (Jean Dujardin) who arrives in Marseille, a city riddled with organised crime, in 1975 with his wife (Céline Sallette, House Of Tolerance, Rust and Bone, Marie Antoinette) and children. He sets to work tackling the French Connection, a mafia organisation that exports heroin around the world. Despite protests from his family and colleagues, he sets his own safety aside to embark on a personal crusade against Gaëtan Zampa (Gilles Lellouche, Little White Lies, The Players, Point Blank), the iconic underworld figure and untouchable godfather of the French Connection. But as he delves deeper into the case, Pierre realises his old methods no longer apply.

A blend of style and intensity, The Connection is a visually stunning...

Cedric Jimenez‘s The Connection is a handling of a scenario touched upon from an American perspective in William Friedkin’s classic 1971 film The French Connection. A nicely mounted production peppered with several visually arresting moments and fine attention to period detail doesn’t have the same powerful draw as the earlier title. Unfortunately, Jimenez’s film often feels a bit too derivative by today’s standards of true crime epics. A great cast, headlined by Jean Dujardin and Gille Lelouche are reason enough to give the title a look, while it’s mid-July theatrical release (following mostly positive reviews out of the premiere at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival) yielded mild box office.

The Connection (aka La French) may not appear to be anything special. And the truth of the matter is, it really isn’t, except for the fact that it’s loosely related to the long spanning...

[Editor's Note: This post is presented in partnership with Time Warner Cable Movies On Demand in support of Indie Film Month. Today's pick, "The Connection," is available now On Demand. Need help finding a movie to watch? Let TWC find the best fit for your mood here.] Read More: Exclusive: Jean Dujardin's Methods Aren't Quite Legal In Clip From Crime Drama 'The Connection' Magistrate Pierre Michel (Jean Dujardin) — the "French cowboy," as he’s known around Marseilles, France — enacted illegal surveillance techniques and filed false arrest reports in his obsessive pursuit to link kingpin Tany Zampa (Gilles Lellouche) to the famous French Connection drug trade. Now standing in Zampa’s nightclub, he doesn’t know he also lost his wife and kids (though only for a brief time). As he stares down his target through a mirrored door, the blaring disco lights cast a pitch-black shadow across the left side of his face, further...

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit the interwebs. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.

Cinderella (Kenneth Branagh)

Disney is once again, after a reasonable hiatus, back in the business of princesses. Since the studio’s surprise success and subsequent exploitation of Frozen, the Mouse House seems destined to resurrect all their classic animated female characters in a manner resembling Marvel’s superhero line-up. After the empty and muddled special-effects spectacles that were Alice in Wonderland and Maleficent, the proposition of...

The Connection

Written by Audrey Diwan & Cédric Jimenez

Directed by Cédric Jimenez

France / Belgium, 2014

The Connection masterfully mixes police procedurals, gangster sagas, and chain smoking into a riveting crime drama. Less about the gritty realism of The French Connection or the atmospheric cool of Heat, Cédric Jimenez’ film captures the ebb-and-flow of a high-stakes narcotics investigation. Though punctuated by the occasional shootout or adrenaline-fueled chase, The Connection really draws its power from the passion and politics of living on the edge of oblivion. This is smart, savvy cinema that rewards your patience and attention.

It’s 1975 in Marseilles and a growing drug syndicate known as “The French” traffics heroin with impunity. Everyone knows that “Tany” Zampa (Gilles Lellouche) is running the show, but no one has the stones to risk his brutal reprisals. No one, that is, until Pierre Michel (Jean Dujardin) takes over as the new Organized Crime magistrate.

With supercool 70s chic and a smart crime thriller vibe, this is a welcome throwback to action dramas of the past, before they chose spectacle over story. I’m “biast” (pro): love Jean Dujardin

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

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

With supercool 70s chic and a smart crime thriller vibe, The Connection feels more like GoodFellas than it does the movie it is directly related to, 1971’s Oscar-winning Best Picture, The French Connection. Though that’s hardly a bad thing. Here we discover the other side of the transatlantic heroin supply chain that Popeye Doyle was investigating in 1970s New York City, via Marseilles magistrate Pierre Michel (Jean Dujardin: The Monuments Men) and his years-long battle — we open in 1975 here and run into the early 80s — with crime boss Gaëtan “Tany” Zampa (Gilles Lellouche: The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec) to destroy his drugs empire.

The Connection owes much to the standard cops and gangster films that have come before it. This isn’t a bad thing entirely, just having seen so many crime films, there’s a familiar tone that’s hard to shake. You can only show a determined cop hunt down a criminal kingpin and his cohorts so many times without feeling like you’ve seen this chase before. The Connection doesn’t do anything we haven’t seen before but does it with confidence and style.

Inspired by real events and acting as a side-sequel to William Friedkin’s The French Connection, Cédric Jimenez’s The Connection (Le French in it’s native country) follows new police magistrate Pierre Michel as he attempts to take down the heroin trade out of Marseille. His prime target is the notorious Zappa, but figuring out a way to pin him to the crimes is...

Whereas in many crime dramas the difference between the good guy and the bad guy is painted in black and white, writer and director Cedric Jimenez brings the more complex nature of both sides in the emotionally gripping movie The Connection. Based on the true story of French law enforcement's battle with the heroin-dependent drug traffic among France, New York and the rest of the world, this award-worthy film focuses more on the characterization of key players in the battle rather than rely on hyperviolence.

Despite his reluctance, French magistrate Pierre Michel (Jean Dujardin) is transferred from the juvenile to the organized crime division in the middle of mob wars in Marseilles, France. As a former gambling addict, Michel channels his obsessive nature into getting to the bottom of the complex network of drug lords, discovering that corruption exists at the top and around him.

The cornerstone to all the...

When it comes to battles between cops and criminals, sometimes the key conflict isn't about gun fights and shootouts, but the intricacies of the law. Ideally, cops have to have to play by the book, and smart criminals know how to work around the rules, so taking down some of the biggest bad guys sometimes means stepping into to murky territory. And that's just what Jean Dujardin does in this exclusive clip from the gritty French crime drama "The Connection."  Directed by Cédric Jimenez, co-starring Gilles Lellouche, Céline Sallette, Mélanie Doutey and Benoît Magimel, and inspired by true events, the movie tells the story of real-life Marseilles magistrate Pierre Michel and his relentless crusade to dismantle the most notorious drug smuggling operation in history: the French Connection and its kingpin, Gatean "Tany" Zampa. As you'll see in the scene below, this criminal enterprise is far-reaching and...

I suppose it’s a no-brainer that a movie about the French side of The French Connection would be called just The Connection (though its French title is, oddly enough, La French). One must never judge a movie by its title, of course, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that, for much of Cedric Jimenez’s film, the generic title matches the generic nature of the filmmaking. Based on true events and packed with detail, The Connection is dense, frantic, ambitious — but it often feels like it’s fast-forwarding through a dozen other films we’ve seen before, all of them better.The Connection lays out the years-long cat-and-mouse game played by dedicated magistrate Pierre Michel (The Artist’s Oscar-winner Jean Dujardin) and powerful drug kingpin Gaetan Zampa (Gilles Lellouche). The latter is at the center of the drug network pumping narcotics across the Atlantic and into New...

Plot: Inspired by true events, this story follows the real life French police magistrate Pierre Michel who attempts to take down a deadly drug smuggling operation. Review: In the French crime drama The Connection, you can’t help but feel like you’ve seen it before. Reminiscent of early Martin Scorsese and William Friedkin (who directed the far superior The French Connection), this 70’s period piece inspired by true events follows two different men on opposite...

In so many ways The Connection (La French) feels like a film Michael Mann would have made with its dedication to intense action sequences, shot with immediacy and edits that give the viewer an understanding of the space within which the characters are interacting. And, like Mann, director Cedric Jimenez doesn't forgo character, understanding even the small moments between husband and wife, father and son, are important in a crime epic, allowing us to get to know the characters on a more personal level, getting to know them as people rather than just as cop and criminal. Described as a "European flipside to William Friedkin's The French Connection", The Connection is much more than a marketing blurb intent on piquing the interest of hard-to-attract general audience members. This is a down-and-dirty '70s crime thriller, with all the texture of the 35mm film it was shot on. In fact,...

Chicago – As the Chicago Critics Film Festival (Ccff) – a film festival as programmed by the members of the Chicago Film Critics Association – heads into its last four nights, the variety and depth of the films that are being screened continues to astound and entertain. It all takes place at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago, May 4 through 7, 2015.

HollywoodChicago.com contributors Nick Allen and Patrick McDonald have been sampling the best of the festival, and offer this preview of the final four nights of films. Each capsule is designated with Na (Nick Allen) or Pm (Patrick McDonald) – to indicate the author – or encapsulates the official synopsis from the festival.

’Quitters’ Screens on Monday, May 4th, at the Chicago Critics Film Festival

Photo credit: Chicago Critics Film Festival

The Ccff Closing Night films are the 2015 Sundance hits “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” and “The Overnight,” screening on Thursday, May 7th,...

The May 1 release of Avengers: Age of Ultron marks the "official" start of the 2015 Summer Movie Season and with that in mind, it's only appropriate to offer up a look forward at what's ahead over the next four months. What is ahead over the next four monthsc Well, a lot of movies that cost a lot of money with a few smaller features mixed in for good measure, and as much as some of us may lament the fact studios have become so franchise focused, it's hard not to admit a desire to see some of these bigger features. As a means of whittling down the flock of films arriving over the next several months I've chosen to take a look at my 20 most anticipated, which does mean there are bound to be some titles I probably ought to mention, but didn't make the list for a variety of reasons.

Read More: Watch: Nothing Can Stop Jean Dujardin in 'The Connection' Trailer Employing a fun new marketing strategy, the Alamo Drafthouse has teamed up with the Odell Brewing Company to create a one-of-a-kind craft beer, inspired by the French film "The Connection." The beer, a limited batch brew, is meant to represent France. "It's going to be a really unique beer," said Bill Beymer, Odell's head brewer. Shot on 35mm and starring Academy Award winner Jean Dujardin ("The Artist"), "The Connection" has been called the "European flipside" to William Friedkin's "The French Connection." It's a crime thriller set in the 70s and inspired by the real-life story of Marseille magistrate Pierre Michel, who attempted to break up an infamous drug smuggling operation known as the French Connection. Read More: Madonna Banned From Alamo Drafthouse After Texting During '12 Years A Slave' Nyff Premiere...

  Pretty much the European flip side of The French Connection, real life, 70's set thriller The Connection, or La French as it is know in it's native France, sees Jean DuJardin as investigating magistrate Pierre Michel who puts his own safety to one side as he sets out to take down The French Connection, a mafia organisation that exports heroin out of Marseilles to the rest of the world, and it's leader Gatëan Zampa (Gilles Lellouche). This new international trailer promises a slick and incredibly tense throwback to the crime thrillers of the 1970's, helped immensely by being shot on 35mm, which gives it that really gritty feel. It's being a long since any movie has evoked the tone and feeling of that era's crime thrillers, and I have every feeling that The Connection won't fail to deliver. Released: 15th May (U.S.)/ 29th May (Irl/U.K.)...

Since that Oscar win for The Artist, Jean Dujardin hasn't become as ubiquitous in Hollywood movies as we might have expected. Maybe Funny Or Die's sketch played out for real and he found himself pigeoned-holed and offered unappetising roles; maybe he was happy to stay local and moonlight in the likes of The Wolf Of Wall Street and The Monuments Men. Either way, he'll be back on our screens soon in The Connection, a taut Gallic policier that has a new trailer below. brightcove.createExperiences();There's a hint of Mesrine's stylised moodiness in there, underlined by the presence of Gilles Lellouche as the Fernando Rey to Dujardin's Gene Hackman. Lellouche is Neapolitan heroin trafficker Tony Zampa; Dujardin is Pierre Michel, the Marseilles magistrate trying to bring him down.It's the same tense terrain - and the same real-life case - that was tapped by John Frankenheimer's The French Connection...

From Drafthouse Films comes the new trailer & poster for The Connection, the action-packed European flip side to The French Connection, starring Academy Award winner Jean Dujardin.

Directed and co-written by Cédric Jimenez, The Connection was entirely shot on 35 mm and is the European flipside to William Friedkin’s The French Connection.

A stylish, 70’s-period crime thriller inspired by true events, it tells the story of real-life Marseilles magistrate Pierre Michel (Jean Dujardin) and his relentless crusade to dismantle the most notorious drug smuggling operation in history: the French Connection.

In his crosshairs is charismatic and wealthy kingpin, Gatean “Tany” Zampa (Gilles Lellouche), who runs the largest underground heroin trade into the States. Though the fearless and tenacious Michel, aided by a task force of elite cops, will stop at nothing–including boldly orchestrated drug raids, devastating arrests, and exacting interrogations–to ensure the crime ring’s demise, Zampa’s “La French...

Drafthouse Films will release The Connection on May 15, a film probably best described as the French cousin to William Friedkin's classic The French Connection as it sets out to tell a story based on the same true events, only this time from the across the pond. Set in Marseille, 1975, the story focuses on Pierre Michel (Jean Dujardin), a young police magistrate with a wife and children, who's just been transferred to help crack down on the city's organized crime. He decides to take on the French Connection, a Mafia-run operation that exports heroin all over the world. Not paying heed to any warnings, he leads a one-man campaign against Mafia kingpin Gaetan Zampa, the most untouchable godfather of all. But Pierre Michel soon discovers that to get results he will have to change his methods. Cedric Jimenez directs with Gilles Lellouche, Celine Sallette and Beno?t Magimel co-starring. Check...

Read More: Tokyo Film Festival Review: French-Language Crime Flick ‘The Connection’ Starring Jean Dujardin Fans of William Friedkin's "The French Connection" will have the opportunity to relive the glory days of the crime drama when Drafthouse Films releases"The Connection" this May. Directed and co-written by Cédric Jimenez, "The Connection" explores the European perspective on the notorious real-life French Connection heroin smuggling scheme, which served as the inspiration for Friedkin's iconic 1971 film. Oscar-winning actor Jean Dujardin ("The Artist") stars as Pierre Michel, a French magistrate who embarks on a relentless crusade to dismantle the most notorious drug smuggling operation in history. His efforts lead him to Gatean "Tany" Zampa (Gilles Lellouche), a charismatic and wealthy kingpin who runs the largest underground heroin trade between Europe and the United States. With its Scorsese-esque camerawork, a sultry...

Le Chapitre Français: Jimenez’s Satisfactory Take on Famed Drug Smuggling Operation

Within the glut of cinematic dramas and thrillers contending with drug smuggling operations and underworld criminal organizations, epically administered and otherwise, Cedric Jimenez’s sophomore feature, The Connection (aka La French) may not appear to be anything special. And the truth of the matter is, it really isn’t, except for the fact that it’s loosely related to the long spanning series of drug related operations referred to as ‘the French Connection,’ which, of course, inspired William Friedkin’s iconic 1971 film The French Connection (which won Best Picture and spawned a John Frankenheimer directed sequel). Sporting an impressive production value and a handsome cast, Jimenez definitely gets the look and feel right, as far as our expectations are calibrated for how these things go. And yet, there’s something innately underwhelming about all this, and though Jimenez is,...

In the years since his Academy Award-winning performance in Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist, actor Jean Dujardin has had the opportunity to work with some brilliant American filmmakers - including Martin Scorsese and George Clooney. He has not left behind his roots, however, and his next big release comes from his native home in France. This film is The Connection, and you can watch its badass red band trailer below: Based on a true story, The Connection centers on Pierre Michel (Jean Dujardin), a French investigator who worked to dismantle the notorious drug smuggling operation known as The French Connection back in the 1970s. Along with his task force of expertly trained police officers, he sets his sights on taking down Gatean "Tany" Zampa (Gilles Lellouche), the kingpin of the operation. As precisely planned and executed as Michel's strikes are, the heroin-dealing criminal is constantly able to evade his grasp.

The Connection seems like the vaguest of titles, but once you realize what the film is about it’s actually pretty perfect. It’s a new spin on William Friedkin‘s The French Connection, with the “French” part omitted because, well, the film is already French. Jean Dujardin plays Pierre Michel, a real-life Marseilles magistrate. In 1975, he […]

The post ‘The Connection’ Red-Band Trailer: Jean Dujardin Leads a French Spin on ‘The French Connection’ appeared first on /Film.

Drafthouse Films has released the new red band trailer and poster for The Connection.

John Defore, (The Hollywood Reporter) says the film is “an exciting, epic policier with whiffs of both its American cousin and Scorsese.”

Voilà!

Directed and co-written by Cédric Jimenez, The Connection was entirely shot on 35 mm and is the European flipside to William Friedkin’s The French Connection.

A stylish, 70’s-period crime thriller inspired by true events, it tells the story of real-life Marseilles magistrate Pierre Michel (Jean Dujardin) and his relentless crusade to dismantle the most notorious drug smuggling operation in history: the French Connection.

In his crosshairs is charismatic and wealthy kingpin, Gatean “Tany” Zampa (Gilles Lellouche), who runs the largest underground heroin trade into the States. Though the fearless and tenacious Michel, aided by a task force of elite cops, will stop at nothing–including boldly orchestrated drug raids, devastating arrests, and exacting...

Read More: Watch: Pulse-Pounding International Trailer For Gritty Crime Pic 'The Connection' Starring Jean Dujardin Jean Dujardin may have won Best Actor in 2011 for his expressive turn in "The Artist," but his post-Oscar English-language career has been largely forgettable thanks to fleeting turns in "The Wolf of Wall Street" and "The Monument's Men." But if the cleverly edited teaser trailer for French crime drama "The Connection" is any indication, returning to his native tongue might be just the thing for Dujardin to once again win over domestic indie moviegoers.  Directed and co-written by Cédric Jimenez, "The Connection" is a 1970's crime thriller that represents the European flip side to William Friedkin's "The French Connection." Dujardin stars as Pierre Michel, a real-life Marseilles magistrate who went on a relentless crusade to dismantle the most notorious drug smuggling operation in...

Drafthouse Films has released the first domestic trailer for The Connection (La French), a film said to be the American cousin to William Friedkin's classic The French Connection starring Jean Dujardin (The Artist) and Gilles Lellouche (Point Blank, Mesrine: Killer Instinct). Set for a limited release on May 15, the film was directed and co-written by Cedric Jimenez (Aux yeux de tous) and entirely shot on 35mm. Here's the plot: A stylish, 70's-period crime thriller inspired by true events, it tells the story of real-life Marseilles magistrate Pierre Michel (Jean Dujardin) and his relentless crusade to dismantle the most notorious drug smuggling operation in history: the French Connection. In his crosshairs is charismatic and wealthy kingpin, Gatean "Tany" Zampa (Gilles Lellouche), who runs the largest underground heroin trade into the States. Though the fearless and tenacious Michel, aided by a task force of elite cops, will stop at nothing--including boldly orchestrated drug raids,...

Directed and co-written by Cédric Jimenez, The Connection was entirely shot on 35 mm and is the European flipside to William Friedkin's The French Connection. A stylish, 70's-period crime thriller inspired by true events, it tells the story of real-life Marseilles magistrate Pierre Michel (Jean Dujardin) and his relentless crusade to dismantle the most notorious drug smuggling operation in history: the French Connection. In his crosshairs is charismatic and wealthy kingpin, Gatean "Tany" Zampa (Gilles Lellouche), who runs the largest underground heroin trade into the States. Though the fearless and tenacious Michel, aided by a task force of elite cops, will stop at nothing--including boldly orchestrated drug raids, devastating arrests, and exacting interrogations--to ensure the crime ring...

Last year, we were teased with a trailer for the crime thriller La French, or The Connection as it's come to be called in the United States. Following a premiere at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, the film starring Jean Dujardin (The Artist) was picked up by Drafthouse Films for a release in the Us this year. And now the European flipside to William Friedkin's classic The French Connection has just unveiled a red band teaser trailer. It's a stylish 70s set crime thriller following the exploits of real-life Marseilles magistrate Pierre Michel (Dujardin) as he tries to dismantle the drug smuggling ring called The French Connection. Here's the red band teaser trailer for Cédric Jimenez's The Connection from ComingSoon: The Connection (also known as La French) is directed by Cédric Jimenez (Aux Yeux de Tous) who also co-wrote the script with Audrey Diwan. Marseilles magistrate Pierre Michel (Jean Dujardin...

Directed and co-written by Cédric Jimenez, The Connection was entirely shot on 35 mm and is the European flipside to William Friedkin's The French Connection. A stylish, 70's-period crime thriller inspired by true events, The Connection tells the story of real-life Marseilles magistrate Pierre Michel (Academy Award® winner Jean Dujardin) and his relentless crusade to dismantle the most notorious drug smuggling operation in history: the French Connection. In his crosshairs is charismatic and wealthy kingpin, Gatean "Tany" Zampa (Gilles Lellouche), who runs the largest underground heroin trade into the States. Though the fearless and tenacious Michel, aided by a task force of elite cops, will stop at nothing--including boldly orchestrated drug raids, devastating arrests, and exacting...

Watch the trailer for "The Connection," a European spin on 1971's "The French Connection" starring Jean Dujardin as a magistrate working to take down the organized drug trade in Marseille. Directed Cedric Jimenez shot his crime epic on 35mm to give it the flavor of the gritty William Friedkin classic that won Gene Hackman a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of undeterred police detective Popeye Doyle. Here's the synopsis:Marseille. 1975. Pierre Michel, a young magistrate with a wife and children, has just been transferred to help in the crackdown on organized crime. He decides to take on the French Connection, a mafia-run operation that exports heroin the world over. Paying heed to no one’s warnings, he leads a one-man campaign against mafia kingpin Gaetan Zampa, the most untouchable godfather of them all. Based on a true story and known as "La French" overseas, the film ignited a pre-buy bidding war after Gaumont Film Company.

The Connection

Directed by Cedric Jimenez

2014, France

Not to be confused with the 1971 classic The French Connection starring Gene Hackman, director Cedric Jimenez’s second feature The Connection essentially tells the European side of events of the infamous drug operation. Academy Award-winner Jean Dujardin leads a strong cast as Pierre Michel, a magistrate stationed in Marseille, determined to cut off the supply chain but unaware of how high up corruption from the local Corsican mob has spread up the political food chain.

Through the French Connection, morphine base from Turkey was processed into dangerously pure heroin in France and smuggled to New York City, causing widespread corruption on both sides of the Atlantic in the ’60s and ’70s. Jimenez’s film, loosely based on actual events, takes off in 1975 when Michel arrives in the drug unit from the juvenile department. He’s shocked to find an office full of thumb-twiddlers...

Ever since Martin Scorsese made Goodfellas, giving the crime thriller a shot of sleek cool and moral complexity that moviegoers had not seen since the days of Delon and Melville, directors have hoped to recreate that film’s bustling energy and unnerving stabs at violence. In the process, many of those filmmakers have just ripped off Scorsese’s stylistic impulses, like electric montages to American rock and roll music, and glorified, sweeping long takes. However, Scorsese’s proclivity to craft absorbing, deeply conflicted heroes and villains is harder for others to master. Case in point: Cédric Jimenez’s stylish but formulaic true-crime thriller The Connection, which makes its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival this week.

The title refers to the infamous “French Connection” heroin ring. Seasoned moviegoers and fans of 1970s cinema know that name from the Oscar-winning thriller with Gene Hackman as Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle. Well, that...

As we look in the rearview mirror of the summer blockbusters, September heralds the start of the fall movie season. Filled with Hollywood heavyweights and A-listers, here’s our Big list of the most anticipated movies coming to cinemas this autumn and during the holidays.

Our exhaustive list includes films that are playing at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival as well the ones that already have a theatrical release date. With the awards season on the horizon, we also added a few bonus films at the end to keep your eye out for in the months ahead.

Pull up a chair, grab a pen and paper and get ready for Wamg’s Guide to the 100+ Films This Fall And Holiday Season.

We kick it off with what’s showing in Toronto at the film festival that runs September 4 – 14.

Maps To The Stars – September 2014 – Toronto International Film Festival; UK & Ireland September...

Gaumont Film Company and Drafthouse Films have just released an international teaser for Cédric Jimenez’s 1975-set crime thriller The Connection, starring The Artist Oscar winner Jean Dujardin. Inspired by true events and shot on 35mm, the film follows Dujardin as Pierre Michel, a young magistrate with a wife and kids who goes after the mafia-run French Connection drug organization and tangles with kingpin Gaetan Zampa (Gilles Lelouche of Mesrine: Killer Instinct).

Austin-based Drafthouse picked up U.S. rights out of Cannes based on an 8-minute sizzle reel and is plotting an April theatrical release, along with home video and digital formats. Drafthouse, the distribution arm of The Alamo Drafthouse, which hosts the genre festival Fantastic Fest in September, will offer exhibitors the option of screening 35mm prints in addition to DCPs in select markets. The Connection (Fka La French) is produced by Alain Goldman and Legende Films. Check out...

A first trailer has dropped for Toronto entry "The Connection," a European spin on 1971's "The French Connection" starring Jean Dujardin as a magistrate working to take down the organized drug trade in Marseille. The trailer is below (no subs, alas). Directed Cedric Jimenez shot his crime epic on 35mm to give it the flavor of the gritty William Friedkin classic that won Gene Hackman a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of undeterred police detective Popeye Doyle. Here's the synopsis:Marseille. 1975. Pierre Michel, a young magistrate with a wife and children, has just been transferred to help in the crackdown on organized crime. He decides to take on the French Connection, a mafia-run operation that exports heroin the world over. Paying heed to no one’s warnings, he leads a one-man campaign against mafia kingpin Gaetan Zampa, the most untouchable godfather of them all. Based on a true story and known as "La French" overseas,...

The Artist star Jean Dujardin did have a career before his Oscar-winning turn as a silent film star fallen upon hard times, and his post-Oscar triumphs have been nothing to sneeze at. He appeared briefly but memorably in Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, and then again in The Monuments Men. He’s also been hard at work in his native France, and will next be seen in Cedric Jimenez’s true-story crime thriller The Connection, premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The Connection has Dujardin in the role of Pierre Michel, a young magistrate recently transferred to Marseilles. Once there he runs a crash course in the ins and outs of the drug trade, now out of control in the city. His ambitious goal is to taken on the French Connection, the underground operation that oversees the city’s heroine trade. The Connection is run by Gaetan...

There are few films about the battle between Johnny Law and drug dealers that can measure up to "The French Connection," so if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. That seems to be Cédric Jimenez's operating principle, as his forthcoming "The Connection" is a Euro flavored take on William Friedkin's classic. The movie is headed to the Toronto International Film Festival for its world premiere, and the first international teaser trailer is here. Jean Dujardin ("The Artist"), Gilles Lellouche, Céline Sallette and Benoît Magimel star in the action thriller, which looks pretty confidently put together. Here's the official synopsis: Newly transferred to the bustling port city of Marseille to assist with a crackdown on organized crime, energetic young magistrate Pierre Michel (Dujardin) is given a rapid-fire tutorial on the ins and outs of an out-of-control drug trade. Pierre's wildly ambitious mission is to take on the French...

The Toronto International Film Festival announced more selections Tuesday for the upcoming 2014 edition of the annual awards season kick-off. The majority of the festival's program was announced last month, but this group includes intriguing world premieres from notable directors such as Todd McCarthy ("The Cobbler") and Gina Prince-Bythewood ("Beyond the Lights"). A number of the titles revealed have screened at other festivals including the underrated "Infinitely Polar Bear" and "Laggies" from Sundance as well as Cannes players "Two Days, One Night," "The Search" and "Clouds of Sils Maria." And yes, the presence of "Sils Maria," which is a favorite of this particular writer, means Kristen Stewart will likely hit one of the festival's many red carpets. As you'd expect for Toronto, the world premieres feature some big names including Josh Hutcherson and Benicio Del Toro in "Escobar: Paradise Lost," Jean Dujardin in "The Connection (La French)," Dustin Hoffman in "Boychoir,...

One of the new films announced for the 2014 Toronto Film Festival this morning was Cedric Jimenez's The Connection (La French), a film that looks to tell the story from the other side of the pond for those of you familiar with William Friedkin's classic The French Connection. Starring Jean Dujardin (The Artist), the movie takes place in Marseille, 1975. Pierre Michel (Dujardin), a young police magistrate with a wife and children, has just been transferred to help crack down on the city's organized crime. He decides to take on the French Connection, a Mafia-run operation that exports heroin all over the world. Not paying heed to any warnings, he leads a one-man campaign against Mafia kingpin Gaetan Zampa (Gilles Lellouche), the most untouchable godfather of all. But Pierre Michel soon discovers that to get results he will have to change his methods. The film is featured as one of the...

The 2014 Toronto Film Festival, which begins Sept. 4, added seven Galas and 17 Special Presentations to its lineup, including a semi-serious Adam Sandler project from Tom McCarthy, the director of The Station Agent and The Visitor. In The Cobbler, Sandler plays a man who has the unique ability to walk in his customers’ shoes. The movie features Dustin Hoffman, who also stars in Boychoir, François Girard’s tale of an orphan’s steep learning curve at a prestigious music school. In Welcome to Me, Kristen Wiig plays a mentally unstable woman who wins the lottery and decides to sink her winnings into a talk show.

Expect to see a bevy of stars on the red carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival this September. Today, more Gala and Special Presentation titles were announced, with some star-studded projects in the mix. Now, Escobar: Paradise Lost, starring Benicio del Toro as the infamous drug lord, will have its world premiere at Tiff, as will The Forger, with John Travolta, Christopher Plummer and Tye Sheridan.

Other promising projects newly announced to be screening at Tiff are Win Win director Thomas McCarthy’s The Cobbler, which finds Adam Sandler taking on a rare dramatic role; Clouds of Sils Maria, which stars Juliette Binoche as an aging actress who confronts the young starlet (Chloe Grace Moretz) taking on the role that made her famous decades earlier; and Gemma Bovery, starring Gemma Arterton as the sensual object of a French food critic’s affection. Check out the full list of new...

The 39th Toronto International Film Festival added another seven Galas and 17 Special Presentations to its September fest lineup running September 4 to 14. Here are the newcomers:

Galas

Boychoir François Girard, USA World Premiere

An orphaned 12-year-old boy is sent to prestigious music school where he struggles to join an elite group of world-class singers. No one expects this rebellious loner to succeed, least of all the school’s relentlessly-tough conductor who wages a battle of wills to bring out the boy’s extraordinary musical gift. Starring Dustin Hoffman, Kathy Bates, Josh Lucas, Kevin McHale, Eddie Izzard, Debra Winger and Garrett Wareing.

The Connection (La French) Cédric Jimenez, France/Belgium World Premiere

Marseille, 1975. Pierre Michel, a young police magistrate with a wife and children, has just been transferred to help crack down on the city’s organized crime. He decides to take on the French Connection, a Mafia-run operation that exports heroin all over the world.

Drafthouse Films has acquired the Us distribution rights to Cédric Jimenez’s period crime thriller La French starring Jean Dujardin. A dazzling eight minute promo reel debuted at this week’s Cannes Film Festival, resulting in a prebuy bidding war for distribution rights in multiple territories. This deal marks the first collaboration between Gaumont and Drafthouse Films.

Marseille. 1975. Pierre Michel, a young magistrate with a wife and children, has just been transferred to help in the crackdown on organized crime. He decides to take on the French Connection, a mafia-run operation that exports heroin the world over. Paying heed to no one’s warnings, he leads a one-man campaign against mafia kingpin Gaetan Zampa, the most untouchable godfather of them all. The European flipside to William Friedkin’s The French Connection, Cédric Jimenez’s La French is also based on a true story.

La French was produced by Alain Goldman and Legende Films,...

The Cannes Film Festival is officially over, and while plenty of films that played the overseas cinema showcase have landed distribution, one film that got picked up didn't actually screen at the festival. In fact, Cedric Jimenez's period crime thriller La French, starring Oscar winner Jean Dujardin, only screened a reel with eight minutes of footage, and that was enough to spark a bidding war with Drafthouse Films coming out on top with distribution in multiple territories. This comes as Drafthouse Films pick-up of Michel Gondry's Mood Indigo from Cannes in 2013 heads to theaters this summer. So what's this movie? First of all, here's the Cannes Film Market poster and the first photo from La French: The film is basically the French side of The French Connection, with Dujardin as Pierre Michel, a young magistrate in the French police, with a wife and children, who's just been transferred...

Drafthouse Films has acquired Us distribution rights to director Cedric Jimenez's period crime thriller "La French" starring Jean Dujardin. Billed as Europe's answer to "The French Connection," the film ignited a pre-buy bidding war after Gaumont Film Company unveiled eight minutes of promo footage at Cannes this year. It marks the first collaboration between Gaumont and Drafthouse Films. Here's the synopsis: Marseille. 1975. Pierre Michel, a young magistrate with a wife and children, has just been transferred to help in the crackdown on organized crime. He decides to take on the French Connection, a mafia-run operation that exports heroin the world over. Paying heed to no one’s warnings, he leads a one-man campaign against mafia kingpin Gaetan Zampa, the most untouchable godfather of them all.Based on a true story, "La French" was produced by Alain Goldman and Legende Films, and it could be Jimenez's -- not widely known in the Us -- stateside breakout.

Oh, no! Has Kim lost so much hair after giving birth that she’s having to rely on extensions to thicken her mane? Is it from weight loss? Is she stressed out? Here’s what experts say and how you can prevent post-pregnancy hair loss, too!

Kim Kardashian, 33, may have had that pregnancy glow and full, healthy hair while baby North West was in her belly, but a lot of women suffer from hair loss post-pregnancy, expert hairstylists tell HollywoodLife.com. They break down what’s happening to Kim and how to treat it Exclusively below.

Kim Kardashian’s Hair Loss — What’s Going On?

Jerome Lordet, stylist at Pierre Michel Salon in NYC tells HollywoodLife.com Exclusively:

“It seems as though thinning hair is common after pregnancy, which most woman experience along with balding spots as the roots. Kim is also known for having extensions, which can pull the hair at the root,...

Taylor Swift rang in 2014 with an adorable hair cut and color — we spoke to two experts to bring you her amazing look this new year!

New year, new you! Taylor Swift spent New Year’s Eve with friend Sarah Hyland and they both looked gorgeous! We were especially taken with Taylor’s new hair so we asked Pierre Michel stylist Jerome Lordet and colorist Joanna Pinto to help You get her look! Read their expert tips below!

Taylor Swift’s Bangs — Get Her Layered Cut

Jerome Lordet, stylist at Pierre Michel Salon in NYC, talks Exclusively about her new ‘do:

“To achieve Taylor’s new hair cut, you will need to ask your stylist for a bob slightly longer in the front with some long layers. Ask for more layers towards the back for added shape and dimension. Keep the bangs long enough so it can be swept to the side.