First Round Knockout (Out this week - 27/07/12)

The British pre-occupation with sports we won't win has struck again with Danny Boyle's bonkers Olympic Ceremony becoming the unmissable cultural event and, when combined with the second weekend of DKR there's virtually nothing new in cinemas this weekend. Oddly there are 3 Bollywood movies versus 1 from the US and 1 from the UK (there are also a couple of well-regarded remasters and a highly successful documentary or two). That said I have my rules, and in a week of quite dull releases I'm surprisingly selecting the homegrown fare as the top choice. The Runs like a Gay film of the week is The Man Inside.



It goes without saying that The Dark Knight Rises annihilated all competition last weekend with £14.4m (doubling the opening of Nolan's previous Batman movie). To put it into context that's over 6 times the take of second place movie Ice Age: Continental Drift and 374 people saw it for every one who saw the tenth place release Katy Perry: Part of You. I expect it will hang on to the top this weekend too, but Dr Seuss' The Lorax will almost certainly make a brave attempt at knocking it off the top yet is doomed to failure.

The Man Inside

British boxing drama, starring Ashley 'Bashy' Thomas as the boxing prodigy trying to juggle his rise against the gang violence and drug culture at his roots. Unoriginal maybe, but strong supporting performances from Peter Mulland and Michelle Ryan make this option stand out.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○





Almost cliched, but there are a few nicely constructed shots in there so you never know.

Carry on Jatta



Even watching the trailer I'm not completely sure how the plot of this Bollywood romance works out, but it's clearly playing it for laughs and who knew that love leads to marriage which leads to confusion?

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○

Dr Seuss' The Lorax



You would've thought that the critical drubbings that previous Dr Seuss adaptations have received might make the studios nervous about continuing, and yet the incredible popularity of his books does make the idea more palatable. The Lorax took over £200m in the States so clearly it's a gamble worth playing. The environmental message makes it a tougher sell, but the voice cast includes Zac Efron and Danny Devito, the later of whom has been plugging it like mad.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○

Kaya Super Kool Hain Hum



Indian comedy about two friends on the road to Goa who both fall in love and into more and more slapstick schemes to prove their worth. Of the three Bollywood releases this has the largest opening, however it probably won't be enough to make that much of an impact nationally.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○

Ustad Hotel



Drama about a three generations of hoteliers in India and the Middle East, exploring how expectations can affect our children's choices and how ambition can be small or big but always utterly compelling to those who have them.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○