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Anne Sexton's poem "For My Lover, Returning to His Wife," ends with the line: "As for me, I am watercolor. I wash off." She's just addressed the letting go of love and the acceptance that she's been but a passing fancy, a mirage in a passionless period of life, "littleneck clams out of season," "a bright red stoop in the harbor." So she "gives him back his heart," giving him permission to return to that which makes him whole, not that which simply excites him. It's a saddening poem, but when it comes to love, sex, relationships, or simply trying to connect with other human beings, it's all very tricky territory.

This spring has been rife with fantastic films, and with summer on our heels it looks as though we're in store for some truly great cinematic moments—from both directors we worship and those who are at the precipice of their careers.  And when it comes to the latter, David Lowery is one of the most refreshing and wonderful new voices in filmmaking to appear on our radar in recent memory. After editing the stunningly brilliant Upstream Color with Shane Carruth,  Lowery blew everyone away at Sundance with his crime drama / tragic Texas romance Ain't Them Bodies Saints which will roll into theaters come August. The lens-flared and sun burnt film is as aesthetically alluring and well-crafted as it's moving performances from Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara, and Ben Foster who take on the story of:

As one of the most stunning and unparalled pieces of cinema ever made, Chris Marker's 1962 short film La Jetée may be brief, but the emotional memory it evokes possesses you long after. With an ineffable sense of beauty in the post-apocalyptic landscapes and imagery, the poetic wisdom that weaves throughout, and philosophical inquires that penetrate the film, we're presented with static images, snapshots of moments that speak volumes above mere dialogue. Marker's time-traveling science fiction film is not only a haunting and ravishing pleasure for the eye but also for the ear, with its varying sonic landscape—mixing classical scoring with ambient sound. And with Echo Chamber: Listening to La Jetée, we're given an in-depth and delightful video essay that illustrates the elements of sound in Marker's film, calling the score of La Jetee's it's own, "musical hall of mirrors." 

If there's one thing Explosions in the Sky evokes, it's all of the emotions. Every last one. Anyone who has watched Friday Night Lights will understand how "Your Hand in Mind" played at dusk over a football field is truly the easiest trigger for tears. And if you've ever gazed wistfully out a bus window in the country while listening to "Who Do You Go Home To," you know the magical power of some stirring instrumental indie rock. And although David Gordon Green latest film, the Sundance hit, Prince Avalanche isn't a philosophical tear jerker, it does possess a strikingly beautiful glowing and burnt natural landscape and some existential dilemmas, which, are always grounds for some EITS. And with composer David Wingo collaborating at the helm for the score, the tone of Prince Avalanche is set by its subtly lovely soundtrack that melds his and EITS' sensibilities. 

Like most hangovers, the third one is just not quite as fun as the first – and so is the consensus of The Hangover Part III, which opened today. But that doesn't stop critics from making some hilarious one-liners about it, whether they meant to or not. Here's the funniest:

Yes, I believe this is what we call a cinematic jackpot, folks. As two of cinema's most confounding, complex, and psychologically stimulating directors, David Lynch and the late Krzysztof Kieślowski made films which transcended our mere reality, sublimating into the abstract and igniting our senses and emotions in the most fascinating way. And although you wouldn't necessary peg the two together, Cristina Álvarez López has crafted a stunning video essay that weaves Kieślowski's metaphysical meditation on identity and love The Double Life of Veronique with Lynch's haunting and delirious digitally experimental masterpiece Inland Empire.

I'm not quite sure what world I am living in, but when it comes to Elijah Wood, whenever I hear his name, my mind immediately wanders to Flipper or The Ice Storm or The Faculty, as if the past decade or Lord of the Rings Trilogy never existed. But as we've seen Wood transform from a big-eyed child star to a vaguely creepy, vaguely older looking dude, he has begun to take on darker and more disturbed roles from Wilfred to Sin City. But now, with the remake of Bill Lustig’s 1980 horror thriller, Maniac, Wood is taking his freakish side to a bloodier level.

If you're still busy bemoaning the fact that you're not at Cannes this week, at least you can find solace in the fact that tomorrow kicks of the beginnings of Memorial Day Weekend. Perhaps the occasion means nothing for you but time to relax, or perhaps it means endless BBQs and first trips of the season to the beach—but regardless of your holiday preferences, what it does mean is a three-day vacation with ample time to head down to the cinema and catch up on some classic you've let slip through the cracks, alongside of the most best films of the year thus far. So if the allure of escaping into The Hangover III or Fast & Furious 6 is not something you're looking to succumb to, this weekend does mark the premiere of Before Midnight—which wouldn't be so important had we all not been waiting nine years for it. But whether you're into catching up on Celine and Jesse's legendary romance, dancing through the pain with Frances Ha, or looking for a little murderous adventure, there's something for everyone this weekend at the movies. Enjoy.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been acting for most of his young life. And in that time, he's gotten quite a film ducation, having worked with everyone from his pal, the wonderful Rian Johnson to Gregg Araki, Christopher Nolan, and Steven Spielberg, taking on a varied array of roles, swiftly moving from young actor on the rise to one of the most sought after men in Hollywood. But only naturally, after being in the industry so long, JGL caught the filmmaking bug himself and this October, we'll see his first stab at writing and directing his own full-length feature, Don Jon. 

Hot on the heels of that hideous punk-themed Met Gala (as if Madonna needed any prodding to wear a fishnet body stocking) comes the announcement that CBGB, the legendary dive of a Lower East Side music venue that closed in 2006, is having a birthday of sorts this fall. Across 175 venues, from October 9 to 13, the massive festival includes 525 bands, 100 film screenings and 40 workshops/seminars. The prices, however, are not 1970s-stabilized.