Touch of the greenstuff (Out this week - 02 July 2010)

In the murky race for cinema receipts studios use marketing, the festival circuit and celebrity interviews all to maximise sales, but nothing is as good as the art of timing. Dreamworks' green skinned ogre is managing that feat by releasing in the UK the weekend after England were unceremoniously (and quite justly) dumped out of the Football World Cup. What's more as no other studio has anything near it's scope the film of week is Shrek Forever After.



The Ballroom

Perhaps the best way to celebrate the World Cup this week is this Brazilian drama, following a number of couple during one balmy night of ballroom dancing. There's some nice music and delicate tangoing in the trailer.

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Crimefighters

Shoestring budget British comedy with vigilante justice York-style taking on the vicious wave of increasing crime. Looks silly, but fun, with some chucklesome sound mixing in the trailer.

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Heartbreaker

Romain Duris stars as a professional relationship destroyer, yes you can pay him to romance one half of a couple in order to force them to break from their unsuitable partner. The Frenchman is unfeasibly attractive. Can someone please tell him I need to be rescued.

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I Hate Luv Storys

Imran Khan and Sonam Kapoor make a very attractive couple in this Bollywood-set Bollywood drama, shame the plot looks horribly contrived.

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Lymelife

There are a couple of Culkin brothers, together on screen at last, heading up this semi-autobiographical look at disintegrating families from the inside from writer-directer Derick Martini. Maybe a bit too familiar to The Squid and the Whale to really shine, Timothy Hutton and Alec Baldwin are among the adults.

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Nandalala

Don't hold your breath, this Sri Lankan film about an incredible journey undertaken by a seven year old and the child-like adult he's befriended has already been delayed twice. Look out for this again in about 5 months.

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Shrek Forever After

If it ain't broke, don't fix it is the Dreamworks maxim for their green cash cow, and the constant OKayness of this franchise will continue. Expect the same fair to middling jokes to be trotted out along with the stars Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz. Eddie Murphy will still steal the show as donkey, and Julie Andrews is still selling out.

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Skeletons

Direct from the Edinburgh film festival it's a buddy comedy about travelling exorcists, a curious deadpan mix of gothic horror and double-glazing sales techniques. And Jason Isaacs' moustache.

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White Material

Isabelle Huppert makes it to UK cinemas two weeks in a row with Claire Denis' study of post-colonialism racial tensions in modern Africa. Her steely eyed plantation owner immediately brings to mind Deneuve in Indochine.

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