I am now 35 years old, half my life has passed since I lost my cherry, and I rather hope I will still be able (and willing) to enjoy a casual 69 when I've doubled that number again, however there is strange disconnect between ourselves and our elders. When my Mother was my age I walked in on her and my Step-Father indulging in carnal activities in front of the fireplace. I was shocked, partly because they'd thrown the dog off his normal stretching place into the cold hallway whilst at it, and appalled that they did that sort of thing. I have passed that strange semi-Oedipal jealousy, in fact I'm rather glad sex is still a part of their life. That said finding out that Meryl Streep still wants to get it on may just turn me into a prude again. All of which is a roundabout way of saying the Runs Like a Gay film of the week is Hope Springs
I rather overestimated the draw of Tom Hardy last week, possibly because I spend most of my time in the company of other gay actors and we obsessively fawn over the brawny talent and lose touch with reality. Not that his bee-stung lips didn't entice some viewers into the multiplexes for Lawless (even as Summer drew it's last breath) however more were interested in seeing Judge Dredd done properly. Interestingly enough Dredd is the first 18 rated movie to get to the top of the UK charts since Saw 3D in October 2010. This weekend could see a real slug fest between the major contenders with Streep pulling in the older crowd and Ray Winstone appealing to action fans however I'm guessing that the four weeks since Brave came out means kids are anxious for a new animation and ParaNorman could sneak it's way to the top of the charts.
Hope Springs
I'm not as much of a Streepaholic as many film bloggers out there but it's hard to deny the consistent quality of her performances, even when playing the less dramatic roles. So if this romcom about revitalising a lifelong marriage to Tommy Lee Jones seems like fluff, I am sure it will have a sweet, satisfying centre.
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Read on for Italian farce from a American auteur, ghosts goings on, a race through the streets of New York and every trailer for films released this weekend.
It's a likeable unstretching trailer that tells it like it is - it's about 60 something's having sex and that's OK.
To Rome With Love
It's difficult to know what you're getting into these days when you see a Woody Allen movie. Last year we had the enjoyable romp Midnight in Paris which almost cleared away the bad memories of the appalling Whatever Works. Hopefully this latest stop on his European tour, which sounds like a series of short stories cobbled together, will be pleasing and diverting, that's all I ask.
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About Elly
After the phenomenal success of Asghar Farhadi's Oscar winning A Separation it's no surprise his recent back catalogue is also making it to British cinemas. Still set among the Iranian middle classes this film explores cultural attitudes to women after a single teacher, Elly of the title, goes missing on a trip to the seaside.
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ParaNorman
Laika entertainment have proven that stop motion animation and scaring kids is a perfect blend before with Coraline and the button eyed other mother. Whilst this anarchic pastiche may not be as startling original look out for more than a few chuckles from the trailer alone, a knock cast that includes Kodi Smit-McPhee, Anna Kendrick and Casey Affleck, and what might be a key moment in equality.
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Premium Rush
For a while this looked like the most disappointing wide release of 2012, box office wise, (that is until The Words bombed out this weekend) which is a big surprise as there's some style to this courier thriller and Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a rising star having a fantastic year with Batman and the forthcoming Looper. Maybe you just can't sexy up pushbikes no matter how hard you try. Michael Shannon co-stars.
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Snows of Kilamanjaro
Inspired by a Victor Hugo poem this French drama exposes the lengths of vengeance and obsession that we might all sometimes find ourselves at the mercy of, when an ageing couple are robbed by an acquaintance they get the taste of revenge and push for more and more punishment for their assailant.
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Barfi
Unconventional 1970's love triangle that nobly posit's that Love is blind and what you might perceive as challenges are irrelevant if you love the person deep down. Of course Ranbir Kapoor may be hearing and speech impaired but he's quite a charmer in this trailer so I can't argue with the theme.
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Keyhole
Guy Maddin's latest cinematic outing is certainly not for the faint hearted as Jason Patric, Isabella Rosselini and Udo Keir compete in an overacting competition of scene stealing in this expressionistic noir. Expect long shadows and unexplained dreams.
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Run Baby Run
It's true Inidan movies tend to come in three's these days. You get the Hindi film that will be a hit, see above, the Tamil film that doesn't bother to try, see below, and the Malayalam movie that apes Western cinematic tropes. Like this news room set thriller, which looks like a pilot for a new NBC serial.
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The Sweeney
Oddly the Orange advert which featured Ray "Regan" Winstone and Ben "Carter" Drew was far more satisfying than this over dubbed trailer which highlights all the problems of trying to bring back a half-forgotten TV franchise with 21st century levels of drugs and salacious violence.
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When the Lights Went Out
British horror that, allegedly, is based on writer/director Pat Holden's cousins and the Poltergeist that freaked them out in mid 1970's Yorkshire. Although in interviews he had candidly admitted the family were more stoical and the ghosts intent more mischievous than malevolent but where's the drama in that?
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Sundarapandinian
The trailer's not selling it I'm afraid, and that coupled with no IMDb page and no plot synopsis really halts any building enthusiasm for this Tamil action comedy starring Sasikumar.
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Twenty8K
British gangster pic that opened on Monday in a select handful of cinemas. Whether it intends to make any interesting comment on the growth of street gangs and turf wars in London remains to be seen, but it is nice to see a British film with Asian characters front and centre.
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Saturday, 15 September 2012
Worse than your parents (Out this week - 14/09/12)
Friday, 4 November 2011
A Date for your Diary (Out this week - 04/11/11)
You know it's not a classic week when I go with a foreign language movie as the top choice. Please don't take that the wrong way, obviously I understand that cinema was mostly born in France and that high quality pictures are produced around the world every year, however because I'm mainly in thrall of tinseltown my excitement levels for American product is usually higher (I know more about it for a start) so it's unusual if a little delightful to see a Norwegian drama taking the top spot, film of the week is Oslo, 31 August.
Oslo, 31 August
Almost documentary style in it's realism and hand-held closeness, this Scandivian pic, which comes with very complimentary reviews, follows a thirty something former drug addict on the day in question as he struggles with choosing a future that can provide the comfort he craves.
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Jack Goes Boating
Philip Seymour Hoffman directs and stars in the big screen adaptation of an off-Broadway hit by Robert Glaudini, essentially a romance between lonely people in New York counterbalanced by the disintegration of another couples relationship, it's the kind of plot you imagine PSH would be drawn to. Also starring Amy Ryan.
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Machine Gun Preacher
Sam Childer's biopic (hell's angel turned heaven's warrior) that I've followed since it's initial planning stages, also marks the first step of Gerard Butler's new career, although probably won't be his entry into the Oscar race.
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Tower Heist
Shock horror, it's a Ben Stiller/Eddie Murphy comedy that actually looks quite good, possibly because of it's on the nose plot about disgruntled workers sticking one to the capitalist system, but also because of the fantastic supporting cast (Gabourey Sidibe, Casey Affleck, Alan Alda and Judd Hirsch).
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The Future
Miranda July's indier than thou style may put off viewers with low levels of quirk tolerance (especially if the thought of her voicing monologues from a soon to be adopted cat makes you wince) but the trailer hints at exploring the staleness of relationships and the importance of finding the real you.
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Straw Dogs
Updated and relocated to the deep south it's highly unlikely that Rod Lurie's movie will have half the impact or cultural resonance of Sam Peckinpah's gory 1971 thriller. Appalling box office, less than $11m, in the US indicates there isn't even a market for this uncalled for remake.
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Anatolian Eagles
The Turkish Top Gun....Sort of... Five diverse candidates line up for the opportunity to fly fast jets in the Turkish Air Force. Is the jet squadron so small they only take 5 pilots a year?
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Human Centipede Part 2
Now the stink over it's initial "banning" from the BBFC has cleared the cut (about 8 seconds) version is still aiming for the gorno crowd, it's a shame as Tom Six's follow-up with it's avant garde black and white cinematography and it's meta plot about an obsessive film fan re-enacting the original human centipede could've been an involving character study.
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In Time
Is Justin Timberlake a bona fide filmstar? Probably not but at least he gets to run around a lot in Sndrew (Gattaca) Nichol's latest sci-fi thriller set in an alternative future where time is the only currency. Interesting concept at least.
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Weekend
Much buzzed about gay romance with Tom Cullen and Chris New's one-night stand in Nottingham getting perilously close to something more over the course of one weekend of drugs, sex and intimate chats. I've heard relentless raves from the LGBT community and the festival circuit so maybe I can be persuaded to catch it.
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Will
A treat for Liverpool football club fans here with Stephen Gerrard getting more screentime than pitch time in recent months. It's a heart warming story about an orphan travelling across Europe to see the Champions League final with the tickets his Dad bought. Trivia fans note Bob Hoskins plays a kindly publican and the film is only showing in the North West.
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Gunfighter's Pledge
Luke Perry and C. Thomas Howell reappear from under the rock they've been hiding under since the mid 90's to star in a revenge Western with a central gunfight that's completely spoiled in the trailer. It's been in limited release since Monday but no-one seems to have heard about it.
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Junkhearts
Brit indie about a haunted soldier, a determined rough sleeper and a hedonistic prostitute and the deeply depressing relations between them. Guardian film critic Jason Solomons cameos as a barman, that makes me so mad as any jobbing actor (including myself) would have killed for that role and they give it to a critic. Shame.
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Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
If laotung, the concept of childhood friend being bound together for eternity, in any way appeals then you can probably add a blob or two to the rating here. Two narratives, one in modern Shanghai the other in 19th century feudal China, explore the meanings of sisterly love.
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Thursday, 12 August 2010
Casey Affleck
Happy Birthday to
Casey Affleck
35 today
Casey's been getting used to controversy these last few months, first there was the graphic violence of The Killer Inside Me and next up is th graphic excess of the Joaquim Pheonix documentary he's directed I'm Still Here. Looks like Casey will be taking the front page of the Daily Mail for many months to come.
Friday, 4 June 2010
Out this week (04/06/10)
Unbelievably, out of nowhere, this is a really exciting week. Honestly the overall standard of releases is really quite good, and I didn't see it coming. If you ignore the first film (so I list alphabetically, who can blame me) and read the rest of the post you'll find thrillers, comedies and dramas. I've been trying to second guess which film will be the box office champ and frankly I'm stumped - feel free to guess in the comments but the film of the week, and there must be a choice for film of the week, goes to The Brothers Bloom. 
Bear
As the trailer starts we're told that Grizzly bears, the largest land mammal in North America, will attack when it's territory is being invaded. Then four annoying looking late 20's start screaming and panicking. I don't think the bear just wants a cuddle.
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Brothers Bloom
Rian Johnson's follow-up to the amazing neo-noir Brick is a far less sober affair, with con-artist brothers Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo trying to pull the wool over Rachel Weisz's eyes, only to find the set-up is a little too close to believable. Also starring Rinku Kikuchi and Maximillian Schell.
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Death at a Funeral
You might ask what the point of remaking the middling Frank Oz comedy from just 3 years ago is? Could it be because you can take the exact same story with a cast of African-American stars and make it more profitable? The US box office receipts may not totally agree with that but I sniggered during the trailer so that's something.
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4.3.2.1
Noel Clarke has made a couple of very successful, very respected struggling British youth movies, where the mostly male characters are surrounded by escalating violence and sink estates. Here he's trying to appeal to the ladies with four leading female protagonists, with the underwear fetishes and obligatory lesbianism in the trailer I suspect it'll be the lads that go for it in a big way.
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Girl on the Train
Respected French drama about a girl who reports a fictitious anti-Semitic attack on a train and how her life is transformed. Catherine Deneuve plays her torn mother who know the truth.
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Kicks
As a Liverpool football star is about to leave for Real Madrid two obsessive female fans bump into him one night and invite him home to say goodbye. There are pluses and minuses to their way of saying it. Odd timing as Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez leaves the city today - unlikely the same will happen to him.
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The Killer inside Me
Michael Winterbottom's latest movie may be generating headlines for the alleged misogyny and uncomfortable violence it's fair to say there are few directors who could craft such a beautiful looking movie from it's pulpy source. Casey Affleck is perfectly cast as the serial killing deputy with Kate Hudson and Jessica Alba as two of his victims.
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Rajneeti
Bollywood epic surrounding a major political election (oddly I'd jump at this if it were English language) with a selection of unlikely candidates fighting for public support. Inspired by the Mahabharata, one of the major sanskrit epics of Ancient India.
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She's out of my League
Jay Baruchel, who you probably don't remember being in a bunch of films, gurns his way through this film with the tag line: How does a guy, who's a 5, keep a girl, who's a 10? How will this sell any tickets.
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Shrink
Kevin Spacey, oh how we've missed you from serious films, play a celebrity psychiatrist on the verge of an emotional and physical breakdown. The trailer is stuffed with cliches, but it looks smart and pacey enough to get away with it. Celebrity cameos include Robin Williams, Robert Loggia and Saffron Burrows.
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Tuesday, 12 August 2008
Casey Affleck
Happy Birthday to
Casey Affleck
33 today
I confess I nearly missed Casey's celebrations, which would've been a real shame as he's quite a stunner. He had a superb 2007 with the one two punch of The Assassination of Jesse James and Gone Baby Gone but since then all's been a bit quiet with nothing on the horizon. I expect something will turn up and I'll certainly be looking forward to it.
