There's a grim inevitability to this week, we've been leading up to it since the start of 2012, although you could in fact look back further, since September last year. We have now run out of films worth seeing. Oscar season is well and truly behind us, and the big summer tentpoles are a few months ahead so we're stuck in the doldrums of early spring. Over the past three years release schedules have proved remarkably stable with an average of 3 releases I've wanted to see in March and just 2 in April and this year looks even worse. At the moment there only one scheduled release in the next 6 weeks looks likely to excite me enough to visit the cinema. In the meantime there may be some unusual releases heading for the coveted film of the week accolade, movies that wouldn't stand a chance against the middle of the road dramas I tend to favour, and so it is with this week's top choice. Cold-hearted European art-house cinema rarely appeals to me, so this low-key Austrian effort following the day to day life of a loner insurance salesman/dangerous paedophile and the pre-pubescent boy he has locked in the cellar has chosen as extraordinary week for it's release date. Be prepared to be shocked by the theme (if not the content which is resolutely non exploitative) of the RLAG film of the week Michael.
Last week I predicted box office domination by The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and whilst it did extraordinarily well, taking £2.2m, it wasn't quite enough to topple Daniel Radcliffe and The Woman in Black off the top of the charts even in his third week. This week I'm torn, clearly the spy vs. spy high concept of This Means War, combined with solid marketing and a high screencount will ensure it's beats all rivals to become the biggest grossing new release, however the poor performance Stateside and general crappiness of the content seen so far suggests they won't be queuing round the block. With that in mind either WiB, or the oldie centric Exotic Marigold with it's traditionally low first weekend turnout could wind up in the lead, I'm going to predict a fourth week for the highest grossing British horror since reliable records began.
Michael
The biggest question about Marcus Schleinzer's dark look at the domestic arrangements of a child abuser is not what has influenced his deliberate, focussed style - an acolyte and collaborator with Michael Haneke the German master's style is clearly evoked in the trailer - but why choose to observe a banal demonstration of evil practice without painting him as a monster or even trying to condemn and explain his actions. No doubt viewers will be divided on how to punish or cure the perpetrator, but I suspect the mere passing of time, the inevitable aging of his victim is seen as the most significant pat of his downfall.
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Read on after the jump for the full round up of this week's releases, complete with every trailer that matters. Look out for Bowie inspired schoolteachers, super-chilled hippies and misuse of Government funds.
The trailer for Michael manages to be capture the spirit of the film whilst delivering a strange chill even without knowing the content of the film.
This Means War
It's hard to imagine what persuaded rising stars Chris Pine and Tom Hardy to sign up to this clichéd action comedy, surely both of them have the career momentum and cinematic nous to successfully avoid the clutches of Charlie's Angels director McG. Yet here they are diverting CIA agents and equipment from real work by directing their considerable resources in winning the hand of serial dater Reese Witherspoon. Personally I'd have realised that any girl willing to double date behind your back isn't worth it, but that would have made for a very short film. Rosemary Harris and Angela Bassett are among the supporting cast.
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Carancho
I will have to check this but I'm sure there was talk back in 2010 that Pablo Trapero's Argentinian drama would get the remake treatment. He runs off and checks. Yes, Scott Cooper was set to direct with the translated title Vultures. We haven't heard anything about that in over a year so I guess this may be the only chance to see this highly recommended investigation into the seedy world of ambulance chasing litigators and doctors patching up the countless road traffic victims. Please note Argentina you may be threatening a boycott of UK imports over the Falklands but we're still going to let your critically acclaimed movies show here.
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If Not Us, Who
The 1960's as witnessed by a couple of rebellious left-wing West German students. Covering the post-war period of denial and conformity segueing into the rise of psychedelica and pro-violence activism there must be a whole load of ground covered to make sense of the shifting European mindsets. Hopefully the central passionate, tumultuous love affair is enough to keep the audience grounded.
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Wanderlust
I really don't like Jennifer Aniston. It's not her screen persona which always seems to be a variation on a theme of Rachel; I really do understand the pressure and career necessity of typecasting. Nor is it the choices of films she makes, the back catalogue of largely inoffensive (rom)-coms generally passes me by - I've only seen Marley & Me, Rumor Has it, Rock Star and the Object of My Affection in cinemas, all of which I regretted. Mostly I am irritated by her contrived ditziness and faux intellectualism. I don't know if she can act well, but I do know she can't hold her own in a chat with Front Row's Mark Lawson. In this Jennifer and recently unemployed hubby Paul Rudd find themselves not fitting in at the hippy commune led by coasting Alan Alda.
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Hunky Dory
Do you remember when Minnie Driver was about to be the next big thing? I honestly don't know where it went wrong for her as she's both stunning and a talented actress. I suppose a couple of cinematic missteps are all it takes far a star to wane. In this anti-"Glee" she plays a Welsh drama teacher coercing her students into a production of Shakespeare's The Tempest with 70's musical interludes. The talented younger cast all perform live but I can't help thinking it seems all a bit too nostalgic.
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London Paris New York
Bollywood romantic comedy that does exactly what it says on the tin - a globetrotting adventure with two obviously mismatched twenty somethings finding common ground and a mutual desire over three nights in different cities.
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Paan Singh Tomar
Our second Indian release is a biopic of Paan Singh Tomar, a record breaking steeplechase runner who dominated the sport in the 1950's before he was forced to abandon athletics in order to avenge the murder of his mother by a criminal gang. Star Irfan Khan has called it "the most physically and mentally demanding film of my career".
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Project X
I think I'm getting old. Obviously in a strict literal sense we all are, but I think my age is beginning to affect my opinions about upcoming movies. After all there was a time when I would have flocked to see a film about a massive party going out of control, in fact I distinctly remember loving the third act of Weird Science in all it's anarchic glory. But since then I have been to parties, I have done the cleaning massively hungover, I have fixed furniture and discovered the best parties are rarely the biggest. That said there's only one found footage movie about wild excess this weekend so I suspect there'll be an audience.
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Saturday, 3 March 2012
Not your average Monster (Out this week - 02/03/12)
Friday, 6 May 2011
Did she turn out as you hoped? (Out this week - 06/05/11)
After last weeks explosive start to the blockbuster season we're now taking a less studio-based version with art-house versions of action movies likely to dominate the box office, and some exciting animated and foreign language selections. It's a bit of an interesting time for Christopher Plummer fans too, but the film of the week is the thriller/fairy tale hybrid Hanna
Hanna
Joe Wright, director of high profile British costume dramas such as Atonement and Pride and Prejudice at first glance appears to be slumming it with this action thriller, however closer inspection reveals the style and substance he's brought to the film has made this project utterly unique.
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My Dog Tulip
Low-key animation based on J.R. Ackerley's autobiography about his friendship with a German Shepherd. Christopher Plummer, in his first role this week, is the central lead. Sadly this also has Lynn Redgrave's final performance.
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Outside the Law
Rachid Bouchareb's second movie looking at the relationship between France and Algeria, the countries of his birth and of his heritage, however unlike Days of Glory this painful reminder of the Algerian Independence movement, and the ultra thin line between freedom fighters and terrorism, has stirred up painful memories of the period.
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Water for Elephants
The second real test for proving if Robert Pattison can pull in an audience outside the Twilight franchise, although it won't take much to surpass his Remember Me. Reese Witherspoon plays the girl he falls in love with, Christoph Waltz her husband and Hal Holbrook looks back as an older version of the worst circus tragedy of all time. Expect a two hanky movie.
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13 Assassins
Takashi Miike, known for his more extreme revenge movies, takes a look at feudal Japan in this based on fact action adventure. The titular assassins volunteer together to defeat a sadistic lord in a virtual suicide mission (with over 30 minutes of continuous battle choreography in the final set piece).
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Engeyum Kadhal
Surprisingly delayed Tamil movie (first released in October 2010), possibly because it portrays a love story where the woman is in control and chasing her loved one.
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Forget me Not
British independent love story set over 24 hours in the beauty and excitement of London's capital, the trailer recalls the lyricism and aimlessness of Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise.
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One Hundred Mornings
The most depressing plot synopsis this week comes from Ireland. Two couples hide in a isolated lakeside whilst society falls apart. The micro situation will undoubtedly reflect the micro.
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Priest
Adapted from a graphic novel, from the same director-star collaborators Scott Charles Stewart and Paul Bettany, as last years apocalyptic Legion. Not expected to be any good. Brad Dourif and Christopher Plummer - yes this is the lesser of the options - take he money and run in supporting roles.
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Something Borrowed
This looks so much like any other Kate Hudson rom-com that I honestly thought it had come out before. Ginnifer Goodwin is the ostensible lead, falling for her best friends (Hudson) fiance. Apparently not as bad as it might seem.
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Thursday, 24 February 2011
How Do You Know
2010. Dir: James L. Brooks. Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson, Jack Nicholson and Kathryn Hahn. ●●○○○
How Do You Know if the movie you're in is an absolute dud? Well a good clue is when an extra walking into a building steals a scene from the romantic leads who you just know will end up together when the final curtain falls. Reese Witherspoon and Paul Rudd should really have looked behind them during the hospital scenes and handed in their notice at that point.
I apologise for starting the review using the title is such an obvious and derivative way. I'm not the first (much more learned critics have done the same) nor am I the most inventive but then neither is this movie. The title is so anodyne and bland it's difficult to imagine the rest of the film being able to crawl out of it's pointless premise.
Reese Witherspoon is the aging (32?) softball player dropped from the national team and so finds herself at a crossroads in her life. Amazingly she's the only member of the team replaced in this particular year even though her record appears to be impeccable. Owen Wilson is her philandering boyfriend - it's spot on casing even if Wilson is coasting with a dreadful accent. Paul Rudd and his father Jack Nicholson are facing FBI investigations into corporate corruption in Egypt (ooh, timely) and it takes no brains at all to work out who's taking the fall for whom in this company.
Note that of these central characters only Rudd comes close to having multiple sides to his personality, Witherspoon appears to need post-it notes to remind her to feel anything at all. In fact it could be said that Rudd is the only cast member able to walk away from this project with any dignity.
The fault lies with writer/director James L. Brooks who is clearly trying to repeat his 80's success with Broadcast News but forgetting to insert the vulnerability that made control freak Holly Hunter and vapid William Hurt such rounded characters. Here the instantly dislikeable characters have nothing hiding underneath to allow us to warm to them later, even when Brooks is clearly wanting us to let go and admit we all love each other.
Instead we have a series of sketch like scenes which often don't relate to each other with some lame humour thrown into the dialogue. The stand out of these follows on from Rudd secretary giving birth and her partner asking her to marry him, effectively played twice there is genuine humour and pathos in the reactions and memories of all of the performances in the scene. Something sadly lacking in the rest of the movie.
Sadly this is immediately followed by an extra in scrubs missing an automatic revolving door. Reese and Paul were saying something profound to each other at this point but I was far too busy bein istracted by the figure in blue. When that happens you know you're in trouble, and you know this is a movie best avoided.
Monday, 22 March 2010
Reese Witherspoon
Happy Birthday to
Reese Witherspoon
34 today
The term perky may as well have been invented for Reese Witherspoon, she always manages to portray a certain confidence which is rare in such a talent. Whether she can do vulnerable is less certain, hopefully we'll she another side of her in the upcoming James L. Brooks feature which may or may not be called How do You Know?
Wednesday, 6 January 2010
20 for 2010 - Number 12 (Untitled)
At least number 12 might be untitled, or it might be called How Do You Know, I guess we'll have to wait on James L. Brooks for confirmation of a title.
I will admit upfront that this film is my little cheat in the top 20 as I know it won't be coming out in the UK until 21 January 2011, but in the spirit of the rules of my countdown it fits in as a 2010 film (and I'm more curious about this than, say, Valentine's Day).
The plot revolves around a girl (Reese Witherspoon) choosing between the two men in her life played by Owen Wilson and Paull Rudd - I should imagine that the working title refers to how you know whether you're with "the one". I can also imagine that if you have Wilson and Rudd both throwing themselves at you then it would be hard to choose between them.
Brooks has previously directed 5 feature, 3 of which were critical and commercial hits with recognition from the Academy, and all of those starred his luck charm: Jack Nicholson. Jack is back for this piece, as the father of one of Reese's suitors so we can probably expect some metal on the matlepiece for someone involved.
Let's start the best supporting actor campaign for Owen Wilson now, even if he will be playing a thinly veiled version of himself no-one does that better.
