Autopsy of History (Out this week - 09/09/11)

Things are looking pretty grim in cinemas here in the UK, and I don't just mean the subject matter of the few films that come close to getting me into cinemas. I'm not sure why it is but the first couple of weeks of September have been pretty poor the last couple of years, I imagine that the end of the summer holidays (and here it really feels like summer has ended ended) means that the kids quadrant won't be watching new movies but it's too soon for the serious awards fare. Of course there's bonnets and brides which should get a few punters in but for me the film of the week is Post Mortem.




Post Mortem

Most South American film industries have a proud heritage of looking back at the darkest periods of their history so it's no surprise that Chile wants to address the 1973 Coup against Salvador Allende. Taking the unusual route of charting the furtive relationship between a shy morgue worker and a burlesque dancer who goes disappears in the aftermath, this film illustrates the parallels between assessing the bodies and the broken state.

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Jane Eyre

If this latest adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's classic gothic novel breaks out then expect the arthouse cinemas to have the twinset and tweed crowds queuing round the block for that nice Judi Dench and a few period costumes. I probably sound cynical as news from the US is that Cary Fukunaga's film with Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender is a superb retelling that could even reap some awards notice.

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Troll Hunter

If you're getting fed up with found footage horror movies then stand by for a shot of adrenalin from this Scandinavian monster mash with a bunch of students coming across a troll hunt and getting up close and personal with the grotesque beasties.

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Friends with Benefits

You have to wonder if Mila Kunis talked to Natalie Portman during the making of Black Swan, or whether they took the professional rivalry to heart, whatever happened Kunis seems to have drawn the longer straw on the shagging mates stories, coupled with Justin Timberlake and supported by the extremely talented Richard Jenkins, Woody Harrelson and Patricia Clarkson. Some of the trailer looks quite funny too.

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Lonely Place to Die

There are two Brit thrillers out this week, of which this Scottish set kidnap drama looks slightly more efficient and terrifying with a quintet of mountaineers rescuing a trapped girl, but finding a whole lot of trouble from shady underworld types. Shame the trailer gives away each of the deaths.

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Mere Brother ki Dulham

It's a well worn story in this bright and fast moving Bollywood release with a downtrodden brother desperately trying to arrange a marriage for his superstar sibling. Naturally when he finally finds a suitable match they end up falling for each other. Utter hokum of course, but fun looking hokum at least, with a surprisingly feminist leading lady.

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Teja Bhai and Family

Malayalam gangster comedy about a notorious con trying to go straight for love. The trailer looks as complex and incomprehensible as you can imagine.

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Colombiana

The first of the American big releases to get squashed by The Help's fantastic box office run shares a common heritage with many of Luc Besson's feminist heroes but it seems Zoe Saldana drug cartel orphan doesn't has the emotional heft of Leon or Nikita.

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Holding

More homegrown violence set against the very best of Britain's National Parks with this "heart-pounding suspense thriller set on a farm in England's beautiful rugged Peak district". Not too far from where I live then.

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