Cannes 2013: Which films could be future blockbusters?

It's that time of year again: The Cannes International Film Festival is happening right now in the south of France. For those of us who are currently in decidedly less glamorous locales, we can at least take heart that it's raining cats and dogs on all the festival-goers. No, I'm not bitter. I just have a serious case of wanderlust.

Fortunately, many of the films that will premiere at this year's Cannes Festival will likely arrive in theaters near us in coming months, if not weeks. One, The Great Gatsby, kicked off this year's festival, and it's already in theaters now (the review is coming, I swear it is, sit tight).

While it's entirely too early to predict which movie will take the coveted Palme d'Or (the biggest movie award at Cannes), I can say with some confidence that there are plenty of excellent choices. Approximately 20 films are in competition for the Palme d'Or, and all of them look stellar. As far as those with mass appeal, I think the Coen brothers 60s folk-era film Inside Llewyn Davis, starring Justin Timberlake and Carey Mulligan, has a real shot.

Another film that caught my attention include Steven Soderbergh's Behind the Candelabra, the biopic about Liberace and his lover, Scott Thorson (played by Michael Douglas and Matt Damon, respectively). I've spoken often of my great affections for Soderbergh films, and Cannes is where he got his start, bursting onto the scene with sex, lies and videotape 24 (!) years ago. This one, by the way, premieres on HBO later this month.

Two other films in either the Palm d'Or competition or being highlighted at the Festival seem like potentially great films that will please most of us immensely: Sofia Coppola's based-on-real-events The Bling Ring (starring Emma Watson) and Only God Forgives, which marks the second teaming of Ryan Gosling with Drive director Nicholas Winding Refn. With the success of Drive, how can this one lose out? I'll see it, and I can only hope that it's a wide release (it should be) when it hits the U.S. on July 19, 2013.

As for The Bling Ring, well, I'm interested, and not just because Emma Watson's all grown up and un-Hermione'd in this movie. I remember the story well (a group of L.A. rich girls steal from their celebrity idols), and I genuinely like all of Ms. Coppola's past efforts. Here's the trailer for The Bling Ring, which arrives in theaters on June 14, 2013.

The Bling Ring Official Trailer #2 (2013) - Emma Watson Movie HD

If the buzz on this film is correct, this might just be a hit in-between all the superhero and/or science fiction epic blockbusters.

What about you? Do any of the films highlighted at Cannes 2013 stand out to you?

Photo courtesy of Metro News