Movies: Cannes, 'Top Gun' returns, best new releases, and Vangelis

Time now for another edition of Midday at the Movies, our monthly look at films and filmmaking. Jed Dietz, the founder and former director of the Maryland Film Festival and Parkway Theatre, joins Tom to talk about the Cannes Film Festival, running May 17-28 in France, where one of the showcased new films is Top Gun: Maverick, the long-awaited sequel to the 1986 blockbuster action film. Tom Cruise returns in his starring role as the cocky test pilot and flight instructor. The film opens locally on May 27. Jed and Tom also review some of the best new theatrical and streaming releases, including the HBO series Julia, based on Julia Child's extraordinary life and her groundbreaking public TV show The French Chef, which essentially invented food television. And we note with sadness the passing of Vangelis, the acclaimed Greek musician and movie-score composer (Chariots of Fire, Bladerunner), who died Tuesday while being treated for COVID-19. He was 79.Email us at [email protected], tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.