As I type this I find that words are impossible to describe the collective shock and outrage felt by cinema-goers in the wake of Thursdays horrific incidents in Aurora, Colorado. We obviously don't know James Holmes' motives or influences at this point but hopefully with his arrest a full investigation can be made and we hope to understand, if never able to forgive or forget, his actions. Ultimately to ensure this tragic, meaningless slaughter will never happen again. My thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives and the other patrons, injured or otherwise, who survived this horrific ordeal.
The runs like a gay film of the week is, unsurprisingly, The Dark Knight Rises. 
July seems to be the easiest month of 2012 in terms of predicting box office performance, so last weekend Ice Age: Continental Drift reasserted itself at the top of the chart with Amazing Spider-Man and Magic Mike (the highest new entry) following close behind. This weekend Bruce and his dark alter ego should smash records and easily dominate the multiplexes.
The Dark Knight Rises
I have already seen Christopher Nolan's third and final instalment in the Batman franchise, and it's surprisingly difficult to maintain the levels of anticipation that I had earlier in the year. Even so the excitometer level is fixed and done well before seeing the picture, so 9 out of 10 is the joint highest for the year. Christian Bale would almost certainly growl at me if I tried to change it retrospectively.
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Read on for Stockholm syndrome, sex games and fisher price musical instruments as well as all of this weeks trailers.
This certainly has all the hallmarks of epic film-making, even in the comic book sphere. Tune in later this week for my review (hopefully).
In Your Hands
Kristen Scott Thomas is such a fantastic performer most of us would pay to see her read the Parisien phonebook. In this French movie from sophomore director Lola Doillon Scott Thomas stars as a gynaecologist kidnapped by a former patient (or relative of lets not try to pretend this is that weird a film) and focusing on the shifting relationship between kidnapper and nappee.
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Lola Versus
Greta Gerwig gets dumped, has sex with a friend as a coping mechanism then does it again, whilst at least one of her conquests feels down as a result of being used. Famously the producer had a big strop following it's US release, blaming white middle class male critics for it's poor reception and attendance, failing to note that female reviewers were equally unimpressed. Debra Winger co-stars.
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Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Rest
Wibbly American movie which takes a really promising sketch concept and somehow stretches it out over 90 minutes with a couple of singer song-writers putting together the bizarre combo of lead guitar and childrens toy musical instruments, which somehow breaks out with unexpected success. Ryan O'Nal and Michael Weston are the "brothers" and Melissa Leo takes a minor role.
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Thattathin Marayathu
Brave Bollywood release trying desperately to find a foothold in a crowded market, although this romance between a hindu and a muslim (can you see the Romeo and Juliet comparisons) is only showing in one Birmingham cinema.
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Interview with a Hitman
Luke Goss, formerly of Bros. has a really odd shaped head. I couldn't help but notice that when watching the trailer for this almost straight to DVD thriller. Goss is the titular assassin trying to eliminate his past, whilst chatting to a reporter about his job. Just look at the trailer and tell me he doesn't have an odd shaped head.
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Sunday, 22 July 2012
To what end? (Out this week - 20/07/12)
Sunday, 15 July 2012
Stripper Joe (Out this week - 13/07/12)
There are no superheroes hitting the streets this weekend, although there is still plenty of Spider-man to go round if you haven't caught him yet, so while the world collectively draws it breath ready for the Bane onslaught in a few days we get a collection of foreign language pics (France, India, Spain and Belgium are all in play) as well as a couple of high profile American releases that have waited for their international roll-out. There are a couple of films that I personally want to see, both American (so apologies to the international readership) but neither score particularly high on the anticipation rating, partly because I have had limited expectations in the run-up and partly because I'm almost ashamed of my anticipation. Yes, I'm a dirty mac wearing Channing Tatum fan and the Runs like a Gay Film of the Week is Magic Mike.
To the surprise of absolutely no-one The Amazing Spider-Man was victorious in last weekend's box office statistics, jumping straight in as the 13 biggest seller of the year so far, outperforming the entire run of Battleship or Wrath of the Titans in just a few days. That said I expect it's more front loaded than Avengers Assemble so will likely drop off the top over the next few days as Ice Age 4: Continental Drift finally roles out to all of the UK. Given the animated sequel was at the top of the charts based on just 15% of Uk screens it should easily destroy all opposition. Of the real new entries I expect Magic Mike will probably have the upper hand, seeing it's event night status that served it so well in the States repeated here.
Magic Mike
Loosely based on Channing Tatum's male revue background - he stripped for a few months to make ends meet early in his career - the fact that Steven Soderbergh was interested in directing changes our perspective on the project from titillation to more considered curiousity. Indeed reviews indicate this is a film about strippers but not about stripping - even if there are a lot of abs on display.
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Read on for supply teachers, wayward teens and Armageddon gone wrong, as well as all of trailers fit to watch.
I personally think this trailer tries a little too hard to appeal across the board, and either more flesh or less funny might have worked better.
Detachment
It's good to see American History X director back from the wilderness after the oft-repeated locked out of the edit story and his last two features still locked up in lawsuits and post production troubles. Here Adrien Brody is the substitute in the starriest high-school in America, complete with some serious screwed up kids and teachers.
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Giants
Feted at Cannes 2011 for it's refreshing take on adolescents Bouli Lanners's film follow three teenagers, two of whom are abandoned brothers, on a lugubrious summer of adventures, long slow afternoons and petty crime.
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Little Nicholas
Kids fable, which does make you wonder with this and The Giants out whether there's a plan to lure all the schoolkids just released from term into Arthouse cinemas, about a young boy whose cosy life is turned upside down when his Mum gets pregnant. I'm sure it's a topic a lot of us can relate to.
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Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
If the idea of spending the last few hours before Armageddon in the company of Keira Knightly and Steve Carell sends you into a suicidal funk then it's unlikely that I can say anything to change your mind, but the reviews for this end of days road movie/rom com have been far better than you'd imagine and Melinda Dillon pops up among the comedy cameos.
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Soul of Flies
I do quite like the idea of magical realism, even though I've only seen the fringes with Biutiful and Undertow, so I think I'd probably like the chance to see this Spanish film directed, edited, lensed, written, produced and starring the not so Spanish sounding Jonathan Burley about two brothers meeting each other for the first time at their father's funeral.
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Billa 2
Been there done that Bollywood release about a boy from the slums rising to become a criminal mastermind. I don't know what the state of organised crime is in India, but if all the movies are to be believed I am never going to go there.
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Cocktail
Far more likely to inspire me is that romance, part financed here in the UK, with it's massively over-complicated love rectangle that shames even A Midsummers Night Dream. Although frankly if Bryan Brown doesn't appear in a dodgy shirt I'm going to ask for my money back.
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Electrik Children
Fascinating American indie about a sheltered Mormon girl hearing rock music for the first time (Blondie as it happens) and believing it to be the cause of her unexpected pregnancy. Billy Zane plays her Bible thumping father.
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Prey
Morality tale for ex-cons here, with a bank-robber becoming best buddies with his cell mate, only to find out far too late that he's a serial killer who now knows an awful lot about your family and you must break-out in order to stop him. So the heroes a bank-robber. Glad I've straightened that up.
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Spirit
Reading online synopses for Bollywood movies can be utterly confusing. For instance this is a serious drama about the dangers of alcoholism and one man's struggle to tunr his life around. Now watch the trailer... No, I didn't get it either.
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Tortoise in Love
Somewhat of a curiosity - even if the results are surprisingly good. The residents of sleepy Oxfordshire village Kingston Bagpuize have got together and decided to make a rom-com using the residents and local companies as much as possibly. And it's got a small but significant opening. Could be the future of cinema - the community model. Keep an eye on it's long-term impact as a concept more than the film itself.
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Absentia
American horror that crept out for one day to avoid a direct to DVD tag. I'm sure the central conceit, that people declared dead in absentia have in fact been abducted by a weird monster, will probably fall apart on closer inspection but the production values look fine.
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Comes a Bright Day
Quite nice trailer for a nice looking British indie which indicates the jewel heist plot is merely hiding a nice romance between Craig Roberts and Imogen Poots. All rather too nice for me thank you.
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Thursday, 12 July 2012
On the trail of the Story (Coming Soon - July 2012)
I didn't see anything this weekend - mainly because I'm not going to travel all the way to London for a foreign language short anthology with decidedly mixed reviews - so I thought why not resurrect my news features. Back before my 2011 hiatus I was regurgitating news on a weekly basis, relaying the lovely readers with the odd casting gossip and production release that nudged my fancy. When I came back it was quietly shelved due to the enormous work involved - however I really miss scanning the web for the latest script options to see what might be coming up in 4 years time so it's back back back. Only now I'll only be doing it once a month and will in essence be waiting for the films that really interest me to go into pre-production on IMDb. So here we are, the first edition of the new monthly column "Coming Soon" dedicated to the best the movies to look forward to.
Skinny and Cat
Luckily we're starting with a headline grabbing return to directorial duties for Barbra Streisand following a 16 year gap since The Mirror has Two Faces was critically mauled. Furthermore it's a significant departure from her previous gigs - not only because she doesn't appear to be the star but also because the film will document the marriage of photojournalist Margaret Bourke-White and novelist Erskine Caldwell (presumably he's skinny, she's cat) between 1939 and 1943.
It's potentially a fascinating piece of modern history, Bourke White (pictured) remains one of the most influential figures in 20th century photography, the only Western journo in Moscow during the German invasion and also known for her Buchenwald pictures she met Caldwell in the mid 30's and collaborated on a number of projects highlighting the socio-economic effects of Dust-bowl Oklahoma.
I don't know what causes the breakdown in their marriage, but given it's two successful, arty and politically active figures in the turbulent 1940's I expect the narrative to be bursting with showy moments for the two leads, Colin Firth and Cate Blanchett and don't be surprised if one or both of them turn up at the Academy in 2015.
Read on for dancing penguins, disgraced politicians and the only news stories that really matter (to me, anyway).
American Bullshit
It's no surprise to see the 2010 blacklist script by Eric Singer making it into production, documenting the infamous FBI sting operation Abscam that took down Senator Harrison Williams (left) and 5 Representatives on corruption charges in the late 1970's radically changed the way America viewed it's politicians and ultimately clarified the way the FBI could handle corruption cases and the entrapment rules they must follow. Using a fake Sheikh (similar to more recent tabloid tactics) vast brides were paid through a holding company to purchase asylum in the US for the undercover agents.
There's a bit of a trend towards wacky Government shenanigans in the 70's that started with The Men who Stare at Goats and continues with Argo later this year so there's a proven audience for this sort of satirical patriotism. David O'Russell will direct with Christian Bale, Amy Adams and possibly Bradley Cooper starring.
Great Wall
I have mentioned Ed Zwick's semi-history of the only man-made object visible from space, so I won't go into it too much. Only to say I am a touch concerned by the early casting of Hanry Cavill and Benjamin Walker, both of whom have points deducted against them for faltering starts to their blockbuster careers - The Immortals and Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter respectively and both are noticeably not Chinese, and whilst I appreciate the addition of Ziyi Zhang to the headlining cast surely the story should focus on the generations of Warriors, Emperor's and Peasant's who were instrumental in the building of the wall.
Murder Mystery
Everyone likes a whodunnit, don't they? Admittedly most of us prefer to relax in front of the TV on a Sunday afternoon rather than head to the cinema but then again how often will you see Charlize Theron as one half of an American couple heading to a isolated European hotel (hopefully as cliched as the picture to the right) only to stumble upon the corpse of another guest. We don't yet know the tone, or the vital husband part of the casting, so there's limited reason for excitement, however if they go for a campy Agatha Christie feel I'm sure I'll be persuaded to see it.
Saving Mr. Banks
In spite of it's reputation as one of the greatest Children's films of all time Australian writer P.L. Travers was extremely reluctant to allow anyone to adapt her Mary Poppins series of books and was notoriously bitter about the final film, feeling it missed the tone of her writing and hating the animated sequences ordering Walt Disney to remove them - you probably know he ignored her request.
This sounds like a delicious blend of two headstrong figures butting heads over a cinematic collaboration so expect audiences and critics to love it. So far Tom Hanks is in to play Disney and Emma Thompson Travers with Colin Farrell as her father. If that sounds odd it's probably worth noting he died when the author was just 8, a demoted banker much like the Mr. Banks character brought to life by David Tomlinson, and no doubt the similarities between the father character in the book and Travers' own life will be highlighted.
Splinter Cell
Mark this down as a project I am vaguely curious about at this stage, but certainly won't be making any promises about actually seeing it. Based on the computer game (left) which in turn was based on an concept by best-selling author Tom Clancy... The game is virtually unique in that it positively encourages stealth and non-lethal tactics, in many ways emulating the blacks ops background that it's hero Sam Fisher possesses. There has never been a successful game to screen adaptation so plenty of healthy scepticism is required but with the right director and cast on board this does have potnetial to be a taut thriller.
Three Nights
Baseball is probably the most filmed sport outside of boxing, probably because it's relatively easy to understand the rules, is instantly connected to the American cultural experience and combines an element of team responsibility and individual attainment, so the sport has played host to a gamut of genre's from inspirational biopic (Pride of the Yankee's) to social realism (Sugar) to classic good vs. evil triumphalism (The Natural). Yet few of these films are actually about Baseball. So who knows if this latest Edward Burns and Billy Bob Thornton starer will actually be about the on-pitch activities in a play-off or about the diverse strategies employed by the coaches. My money's on Ed Burns' side winning either way.
You Belong to Me
Rob Reiner may be more known for his slight sentimental output of the last ten years but it's worth remembering that at one stage his was one of the most reliable directors in Hollywood, bouncing from glorious comedy (The Princess Bride) to iconic coming of age drama (Stand by Me) to disturbing thriller (Misery) with deft professionalism. Hopefully his next project will be a return to form in the later genre as his psychiatrist hero accidently mentions enough of his personal life to send his psychotic patient into a Cape Fear like attack on the good doctor. At the moment it's still to be cast but Reiner has a lot of friends in Hollywood so expect a A-list family unit to boost the ticket sales soon.
The last time Reiner had a unbalanced protagonist there was no scrimping on either the tension or the genuinely terrifying violence - hopefully he'll still have the same nerve.
Saturday, 7 July 2012
More films for your buck (Out this week - 06/07/12)
Portmanteau fans are salivating at their screens this week as not just one but two examples of short film collections hit screens, although frankly if you're not in London your options are less open. The anthology format used to be the preserve of certain kinds of horror movie with Peter Cushing coaxing terrified guests in his haunted mansion to spill their ghosts stories before revealing himself to be the demon about to devour their souls - or something like that. I definitely remember Bernard Cribbins and a man-eating bush in one of Hammer's earlier incarnations. However, in the noughties a trend for serious directors to put together themed shorts - notably 11'09'01 and Paris, Je t'aime - with the aim to experiment in style and promote the short film form. Perhaps I may be backing the wrong horse, the reviews for both have been decidedly mixed, but I'm plumping for relentless infidelity over a sojourn to Cuba so the Runs Like a Gay film of the week is Players.
The UK's box office champion last weekend wasn't included in my run-down of new releases seven days ago. This is because it hasn't actually opened yet. Why, then, is it the top of the chart I hear you ask... Because it has opened. Ice Age: Continental Drift isn't just an unwanted sequel to a fairly forgettable animated franchise, it's also the Schrodinger's Cat of cinema. It is both in cinemas and not in cinemas - and I suppose the animal cast are therefore both alive and not alive at the same time, which may well be a boom to the career of John Leguizamo. Last weekend saw it's release in the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Northern Ireland where the schools have already broken up for their summer holidays. In England and Wales (including the RLAG headquarters in Manchester) it has shown in previews but won't be formerly out until July 13th - which basically means we can see it weekends but not week days. This whole extended opening is a fraudulent way of boosting opening weekend figures if you ask me, but then that's probably a discussion best left for another time. So in effect the scottish pre-teens have propelled Scrat and co to the top of the charts with no help from the rest of us, good for them eh? Setting the fossil-record challenged critters
to one side the biggest new entry was Friends with Kids, so at least I got that right. Meanwhile MIB3 slipped back below Prometheus, the weeks best holdover. No plaudits for guessing this weekend biggest challenger, my spidey sense is telling me the all-new Peter Parker, the amazing Andrew Garfield will swing into the lead, covering the opposition of layers of sticky clue to feast on later. Undoubtedly the people will choose The Amazing Spider-Man.
Players
I've yet to see The Artist (I know, I know) but even so the extraordinary success of a black and white silent French movie is the guiding force that propels me towards this comedy about affairs that sees the direct and star reunite. Based on an idea by Oscar winning actor Jean Dujardin - although to be fair the gallic film is based on the comedic value of sex outside of marriage - the contributions come from Michel Hazanavicius and Frad Cavaye (Pour Elle) among others.
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Read on for arachnid transformations, tasmanian tigers and an illicit trip to the Caribbean as well as all of this weeks releases and trailers.
Too much cutting in a subtitled film can be a dangerous thing, and yet I'm still intrigued. Will have to wait for DVD though - I am not travelling to London for it.
The Amazing Spider-Man
The first trailer was a bit underwhelming, hence the surprisingly low score here, although I confess the marketing got better later on. Of course the real question is not whether it is necessary to reboot a successful series of films less than 10 years after the first run started, but whether this is indicative of Hollywood's laziness and the constant plundering of comic books. Although when original sci-fi properties are as creatively bankrupt as Battleship and John Carter you con't really blame the studios. Andrew Garfield is the eponymous web-slinger, Rhys Ifans his scaly nemesis, Emma Stone provides the love interest and Martin Sheen/Sally Field up the acting quotient in the first of this proposed spider trilogy.
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God Bless America
Comedian and Police Academy alumni Bobcat Goldthwaite continues his run of subversive satires that play with the notions of Americana and the cult of anti-hero's with Joel Murray (brother to Bill) driven to homicidal fury by society's failings, defending his central belief of kindness by gunning down reality TV contestants, talk-show DJs and in-cinema texters. I expect viewers from all sides of the political spectrum will react with outrage and smug satisfaction as the carnage reigns.
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The Hunter
Willem Dafoe spend the majority of this movie's running time stalking the last remaining Tasmanian Tiger, who may even be extinct. Not that you'd know that from the trailer which seems to play up the thriller aspects of the plot. Dafoe's performance, where he stalks through the undergrowth and uncovers all sorts of conspiracies whilst considering the empty recesses of his soul, and the delicious Australia geography virtually worshipped by Robert Humphreys' cinematography should bring in a significant art-house crowd.
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7 Days in Havana
Our second portmanteau is, in many ways, the more curious of the two options with Gasper Noe and - in his directorial debut - Benicio Del Toro amongst the contributers. But the structure of an American student (Josh Hutcherson) smuggling himself to Cuba and absorbing the culture seems slightly contrived - although looking at the trailer I wonder if my plot information is even vaguely correct.
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The Women on the 6th Floor
It's taken a long-time for this French hit comedy (it took $19m in France last February, just outgrossing Thor) to reach the UK. It looks jolly, focussing on the effect of Spanish maids on a stuffy middle class Parisien and his redemption. Carmen Maura is probably the best known of the ensemble.
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Bol Bachchan
There's no doubting the sincerity of this Bollywood comedy, or the title which gets constantly repeated during the trailer. That said there aren't many laughs to be found so I'm not expecting very impressive box office returns.
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Diamond Necklace
The soundtrack to the trailer's more shopping channel than Malayalam action flick so maybe this quietly released Dubai set flick with it's cautionary tale of monetary excess and true love might be worth seeking out.
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Exit Humanity
Sneaking out into cinemas for one day before getting a DVD release is this civil war era zombie film, obviously influenced by the idea, if not the execution, of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. That said I have no idea how they managed to rope Brian Cox in to narrate.
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Strawberry Fields
British Indie which I suspect deserves more than I've given it here but I can't in all honestly get enthused by the trailer and premise of two sisters running away from their past, but not quite escaping from each other.
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And finally, as if dragged in from another dimension, it's
Ice Age: Continental Drift
Being confused about whether to put it in last week or next week I'm splitting the difference. Not that it makes much difference there's no way this animated cash-cow would get my film of the week endorsement. The gang's all here from the last film - literally even side character and minor addition comes back for a line or too for the pay-cheque (hello Simon Pegg) and we also get a love interest for Denis Leary's Diego in the form of sexy sabre-tooth Jennifer Lopez. Not that we should expect too much subtly in this oddly popular franchise, just colourful characters and well crafted back-drops. Ray Romano, John Lequizamo and Queen Latifah also star.
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Wednesday, 4 July 2012
Killer Joe
2011. Dir: William Friedkin. Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple, Gina Gershon and Thomas Haden Church. ●●●●○
I think I'm beginning to see my problem. I get actively turned off by well-adjusted characters, mild middle class dysfunction simply doesn't excite me, I need barely concealed breakdowns and trailer trash histrionics before my pulse is even slightly raised. Needless to say Killer Joe delivers in buckets, from the opening shots we are treated to the desperate machinations of our central family unit, only too aware of the potential complications of inviting in the eponymous devil. From then on I was hooked by the grand guignol - extreme violence, simulated fellatio and all.
Emile Hirsch arrives at a trailer in North Texas, close to the Oklahoma border, drenched he screams into the unit for his sister (Juno Temple) to open the door. Alas his younger sibling, cocooned in her Disney Princess fantasy at the end of the trailer, doesn't budge but Step-mom Gina Gershon, suspiciously underdressed, does so. Unimpressed Hirsch calls his father (Thomas Haden Church) and, after a quick visit to the local strip club, he outlines his plan to hire "Killer Joe", a local detective with a sideline in contract murder, to execute the missing matriarch and claim the insurance money to pay off hi drug debts. It's a lurid and fast-paced opener, that effectively introduces our family unit and establishes their types - desperate Hirsch, pathetic Church, slutty Gershon and (faux?) innocent Temple.
Into this clan of screw-ups and victims walks Matthew McConaughay, and immediately we know this is not the laid back rom-com hero we know and love. Tightly wound yet outwardly laconic, he portrays a suffocating blend of southern gent and malicious snake. It's the kind of tour de force performance that will completely sideswipe his previous fans and certainly makes me even more excited for his upcoming turns in Magic Mike and The Paperboy.
Unable to pay the necessary advance Hirsch offers his sister as a retainer, perhaps a colossal error for the confused waster as he appears to harbour complex psychosexual desires for her - something barely hinted at in the screenplay but clearly present in Hirsch's performance. Joe's first sexual encounter with his temporary possession is appropriately un-nerving, and whilst it may not be the rape some critics are suggesting it's certainly indicative of Joe's power fixation and Temple's apparent desire to be thought of as more innocent than she may be. Temple alternates between accusing and breathily seductive, her line reading of "Your eyes hurt" alone reminds us she's one of the most exciting young British actresses on the screen.
Before long the deed is done, but the aftermath is suitably grotesque as double cross and duplicity is revealed and each character must make a moral choice, and there's certainly nowhere to hide in the final act. A fried chicken take away meal becoming the basis for sexual humiliation, repeated beatings and swift justice.
William Friedkin has adapted from Tracy Letts' play, and where sometimes the staginess of the source material shows, this only seems to exemplify the sleaziness of the situation and necessary claustrophobia. With this and Bug you have to say the duo have created a fantastic working partnership and I can't help but wonder what else in Lett's back-catalogue they could have a go at.
Killer Joe is an uncomfortable watch, but necessarily so, like many familial tragedies before it the audience shudder at the nastiness of the set-up whilst chuckling at the blackest of comedic moments. Superbly involving this is one of my top recommendations of the year so far.
Saturday, 30 June 2012
Haven't they seen "Double Indemnity"? (Out this week - 29/06/12)
It's an Italy vs Spain final on Sunday that promises great football, even if it's narratively unadventurous and Andy Murray is still performing well at Wimbledon so the studios can be forgiven to going slightly easy this weekend on the big ticket releases. So much so that the largest roll-out is only 265 cinemas, over 100 less than Men In Black 3 in it's sixth weekend. Not that I'm motivated by size when it comes to my film choices, but distributor confidence can be a factor. Nevertheless there are some exciting options this week, Todd Solondz returns to cinemas with another bleak mirror on American society and Lynn Shelton's highly praised follow-on to Humpday is also getting a minor release but for me it's Southern Fried gothic all the way with the runs like a gay film of the week Killer Joe.
There are lies, damned lies and box office statistics. A truism made all the more relevant with the UK top ten from last weekend. Theoretically my prediction last week was correct, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter was the highest grossing new entry and took the top spot. I should be suitably smug and walk away. However closer analysis of the figures shows that Lincoln's victory is attributable to two days of previews. So Men in Black 3 actually took the most with The Five-Year engagement close behind. Feeling considerably less smug now. This weekend I think the extraordinary trend of MIB holding onto audiences will keep it at the top and the likeable Friends with Kids as the highest new entry.
Killer Joe
Given that murder for the insurance money never seems to play well in cinematic lore you have to wonder why characters still keep doing it. Saying that I doubt the trailer trash protagonsists of William Friedkin's second Tracy Lett's adaptation (following the claustrophobic Bug) will have caught many black and white classics on TV. This might be a case of style over substance, but I'm hooked.
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Read on for adult adolescents, competing choirs and Scandinavian borstals, as well as all of this weeks releases and trailers.
There doesn't appear to be much subtlety in Freidkin's trailer, but McConaughey purrs his way through it quite nicely.
Dark Horse
Todd Solondz's black comedies aren't to everyone's taste and whilst his latest looks considerably less perverse than say, Happiness, I imagine a lot of people will still be turned off by the central character, a thirty something still living with his parents (Christopher Walken and Mia Farrow) and the first tentative steps towards what might be love or might be stalking.
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The Fairy
Well, that was weird. For audiences not used to seeing such physical comedy it's slightly shocking to see such obvious clowning on screen. Nevertheless reviews have positively compared this magical fable to Jacques Tati so it might be worth a look.
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King of Devil's Island
Swedish release which has largely appeared from no-where starring Stellen Skarsgaard as the governor of a boys prison, with shades of classic borstal pic Scum and a touch of historic tragedy about it. Nicely cut trailer that certainly makes me want to see more.
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Your Sister's Sister
The title may sound like the opening phrase of a riddle and there's is no way on earth Emily Blunt and Rosemarie Dewitt are sisters but this semi-improvised relationship drama has much to recommend it. Director Lynn Shelton has comfortably eased out of her mumblecore roots and looks to be one of the most consistent and talented indie directors working today.
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Friends with Kids
Jennifer Westfeldt's parenthood comedy boasts a great cast of stars on the rise including husband Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig and Adam Scott and the premise of a pair of best friends who have a child together but don't have the relationship with it sounds cute enough. It certainly deserves to find an audience out there.
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Jatt and Juliet
Last weekend Bollywood release Teri Meri Kahani broke the top ten with a substantial per screen average. This Punjabi comedy looks unlikely to do the same but I have to admit I found the trailer more amusing and the stars chemistry seemed more apparent.
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Joyful Noise
I don't know whether this Church choir pic will find an audience here in the UK, especially after it under-performed in the States. Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton are the warring diva's trying to improve their local singers into an award winning combo. Unsurprisingly it takes some bland new talent to mount their Glee like revival.
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Last Flight to Abuja
We don't get the opportunity to see many African made films in the UK so I really want to recommend Nigeria's true-life disaster movie. Sure it's all been parodied to death by Airplane but there's still something about soap in the skies that we can all appreciate. As the tagline says "Fasten your seatbelts".
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Lovely Molly
Have you been wondering what happened to Eduardo Sanchez, the revolutionary mind behind The Blair Witch project? Apart from just disappearing in the woods 15 years ago he has been cranking out horror flicks largely direct to DVD but this one has a small chance of finding some fans with a limited release. Shame several of the shots seem a little too derivative though.
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Storage 24
The ubiquitous and hard-working Noel Clarke is back again with his first (post Doctor Who) excursion into sci-fi with this strangers trapped with an alien set-up. I hear the creature design is original and spectacular even if the rest of the characters are thinly drawn.
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Playing the Moldovans at Tennis
Based on his best-selling book, which was in turn inspired by an insane pub bet, comedian Tony Hawks, played her by himself, travels to the former Soviet republic of Moldovia where he challenges each of the Moldovan football team (played presumably by actors here) who lost to England 4-0 to a game of tennis. I really don't know what the point of the movie is but I expect the book is quite funny.
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Wednesday, 27 June 2012
Lay the Favourite
2012. Dir: Stephen Frears. Starring: Rebecca Hall, Bruce Willis, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Vince Vaughn and Joshua Jackson. ●○○○○
We've had a couple of bad movies this year, there was the coy and cowardly J. Edgar and the babbling and barmy Dark Shadows, but both of those had some redeemable factors, sure they were failures but you could see the intention of the film-making and in both cases there was a stand-out performance or design element. Lay the Favourite has nothing, limp and irrelevant it has all the dramatic tension and artistry of a made for TV piece about a stripper made good. Except we see supporting character tits and there are a couple of actors who should know better.
Rebecca Hall is Beth Raymer, the stripper-cum-bookie-cum-Columbia graduated writer, on whose autobiography this is based. After a pre-credits encounter with a gun-toting client she's hot-footing it to Las Vegas to get into a safer line, cocktail waitressing in a casino. Not that the audience care - there was no threat in the gun scene and no ambition in the move. Oh well, maybe it will pick up when after a couple of unrelated conversations she walks into the office of Dink, Inc looking for a job. Bruce Willis is Dink, the professional gambler with an opening for a um, well a er, no I don't know why he hired her. To carry money and remember messages apparently. Essentially Dink works the margins in spread betting, employing the algorithms that will pay out regardless of the result. Only that's not interesting so mainly we see large bets on winners and basketball games outcomes because they're easier for an audience to comprehend.
Beth quickly shows Dink she is gifted in understanding the odds by repeating him exactly and being able to sort letters alphabetically in her head. Amazingly we're supposed to believe she's bright too, but we never see any sign of it, especially given the screeching and ditzy performance that suggests you'd tip her as a Waitress but only to get her to leave you alone. After half the movie spent in Vegas where Willis gets in a good mood than loses his temper, rinse and repeat, because of bad results. Not that there's any feeling of risk. Nothing changes; a run of good luck is followed by a run of bad luck and back again. If Dink wins he goes back to his lovely house and demanding wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones in a thankless role) and if he loses he goes back to his lovely house and demanding wife.
Even the romantic elements have no depth to them. Beth and Dink nearly have an affair, but there's no chemistry there. Dink returns to his wife because he really loves her. I guess he does because that's what he says. Not sure why, mind. Maybe because she needs him more than he needs her, or some such rubbish. Beth runs to New York with Pacey from Dawson's Creek. They find happiness. We know this because when she arrives Pacey kisses her on the stairs saying we'll have a wonderful time, and next time they're on screen she's about to go to the Caribbean (to work for a bit with Vince Vaughn) and Pacey asks why she's going when they've had such a wonderful time. Must be the kissing on stairs that's so wonderful.
Talking about Pacey (I know Joshua Jackson wasn't playing Pacey but for all anyone seemed to care about the character he may as well have been) he's filled out a bit and is looking exceptionally cute. So at least I have a new crush as a result of seeing this dire piece of crud.
Where was I? Oh yes, the plot... If you've lost track of what's going on it doesn't matter, there's nothing to miss because there are no stakes. There's a suggestion of the FBI and people going to gaol but nobody was taking it seriously apart from Pacey so it clearly didn't really matter. Finally they all watch a high-stakes basketball game and dance in a New Jersey bar. And it ends.
The performances are either forgettable or irritating, when Vince Vaughn as a loud mouth bookie is best in show you know you have problems. Furthermore there are no technical achievements worth a second glance, maybe a nice line in cheap clothes from Christopher Peterson and Laura Prepon had a striking handbag but that's not enough.
It's dreadful, badly paced, slow-witted and dull. Stephen Frears has hit a new career low and everyone involved should be ashamed of themselves. Avoid avoid avoid.
Saturday, 23 June 2012
Keeping the old traditions Alive (Out this week - 22/06/12)
At the time of writing England are still clinging on in the Euros, although we'll see how they fare against Italy tomorrow evening. So therefore in this nation addicted to the Beautiful game it's natural for studios to release high volumes of uninspiring counter programming to entice the odd soccer-phobe. This week is no exception with romantic comedies and sub-standard horror vying for our attention. Personally I'm punting on a sports related medium sized release, however if I had to choose a film to recommend - and naturally I do - the film of the week is Russian art-house project Silent Souls.
Last week I was right to trust Prometheus would hang on as Box Office champion for another week and whilst Rock of Ages struggled to find a substantial it did have the highest take for a new release. This weekend my crystal ball is a more murky. With four wide releases you'd think one of them might stand a chance with Scott's terraforming blockbuster now in it's fourth week. However each of those four has big problems. I'm going to be brave though and guess the critically derided Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter will sneak into the lead thanks to it's genre trappings and mid week release strategy.
Silent Souls
You'd be forgiven for having missed the buzz on Aleksei Fedorchenko's third feature because there has hardly been any. It's only major festival showing was 2010's Venice where it was passed over for Sofia Coppola's Somewhere for the Golden Lion but won the FIPRESCI proze as a consolation. But that being awarded by international critics should have been a clue that this is more art than movie and critics have fallen in love with it everywhere else. Following a Merjan funeral on the border or Russia and Finland it looks like an elegant and emotive meditation on life, death and sex.
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Read on for much delayed weddings, spread betting and obscure history as well as all of this weeks releases and trailers.
There's some gorgeous cinematography in the Silent Souls trailer - but also some explicit shots too, so probably nsfw.
Five Year Engagement
Billed as the romantic comedy it's OK to love it's slightly surprising that the winning combination of Emily Blunt and Jason Segal didn't do better in the States than it did (sitting at a disappointing $29m). That said they do look like a lovely couple, even if you know from the title exactly how the plot will develop. Jacki Weaver and David Paymer are among the supporting cast (Emily's mother and Jason's father).
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Lay the Favourite
I've already seen Stephen Frears latest, and I'm in a charitable mood right now so all I'll say is the combination of the cast and director, based on the memoirs by Beth Rayner seemed like a good enough bet. I was wrong. Should have believed the reviews out of sundance. Well gloves of on Wednesday - come back for my smackdown.
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Think like a Man
It's unlikely that the tongue in cheek adaptation of Steve Harley's "Act like a Lady, Think like a Man" self help book will do as well over here as it did in the US, where it led the charts two weeks in a row, partly because the African American cast aren't household names (even rap star Chris Brown, Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson and likeable character actor Michael Ealy), but it's getting some the best reviews in it's irrelevant sub-genre.
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Where do we Go Now
Surprising everyone by winning the audience prize at Toronto last year this Lebanese musical from Nadine Labaki (Caramel) will probably suffer in comparison with the recent similar Source which also mixed song, desire and weighty themes. But where that looked at the rise of gender equality here the women aim to prevent the Muslim and Christian men of the village turning on each other.
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Cloclo
Jeremie Renier has been on the fringe of breaking out internationally for years(he himself is Belgian) in spite of a highly satisfying working relationship with the Dardennes. Hopefully this biopic of Claude Francois, the writer of cabaret standard "My Way", will illuminate a few more casual film goers of his talent.
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Grand Master
Extremely limited release - hello Birmingham - for this Mayamalan entry about a ruthless serial killer and the chess-obsessed detective out to stop him.
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Teri Meri Kahani
Hard to get hold of a synopsis for this Bollywood release but looking at the trailer it appears to be three loves stories set in 1910, 1960 and 2012 all starring the same two actors. Whether that's a comment on their being always in love and finding each other in every reincarnation (I hope so) or just an excuse to wear hsitorical costumes and fill the 2 hour running time is difficult to assess.
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With Every Heartbeat
Does the thought of a Swedish Lesbian drama instantly want to make you head to the local multiplex? If so, I'm truly sorry as this broken family feature - a newly engaged girl falls for her step-sister - has already skipped town having had a couple of brief showings in the week. Not to worry perverts, it's available to order here.
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Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
More likely to bore history fanatacists than enrage them this presidential mash-up seems to be committing the cardinals sin of plodding plot and unengaging CGI. That said I still feel it will do surprisingly well as audiences flock to see any derivative rubbish with the undead attached.
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Chernobyl Diaries
Suspiciously long trailer for this shaky cam holiday horror from Oren Peli - producer of Paranormal Activity. It failed to get the following of his earlier success in the States and I expect it's fate here will be similarly uninspiring. Still it should last longer than most of the disposable characters.
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Rise and Fall of a White Collar Hooligan
The British fans heading to Ukraine for the football have acquitted themselves incredibly with the only violent outbursts seeming to come from the local extremists, however back in cinemas the lure of hard-nut supporters never wanes. There's a couple of I know you TV faces but in the main this tired story has the exposure it deserves.
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Saguni
Look out for the poor sound quality in this Tamil trailer - for which I can only apologise and grovel it's not my fault - concerning a village boy caught up in politics when he moves to the big city.
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Victim
Coming so soon after Ill Manors seems like a poor release strategy for this more conventional gangsters from the estates, urban crime drama. Ashley Chin is the hero looking to go straight but can't kick the life of crime he's become addicted to.
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Thursday, 21 June 2012
Cosmopolis
2012. Dir: David Cronenberg. Starring: Robert Pattinson, Sarah Gadon, Kevin Durand, Emily Hampshire and Paul Giamatti. ●●●●○
In interviews David Cronenberg has repeatedly admitted that Robert Pattinson (or R.Pattz if you're down with the YA lingo) was not his first choice for the role of Eric Packer, investment banking billionaire and master of the universe. If memory serves me correctly Colin Farrell was originally linked to the role before the Twilight alumni got the role. It's an unlikely casting choice Cronenberg passes off as being for the investment Pattinson brings or for the right age and yet the baggage that he brings, the undead persona serve him well reminding us that Pattinson has significant promise as an actor as well as a star. Perhaps I'm being unfair starting a review of Cosmopolis adapted from Don DeLillo's 2003 novel on the merits of casting Pattinson, but on the other hand the 108 minute film comprises of duologue's with Pattinson usually in the confined space of the back of his stretch limousine so if the central casting had failed the whole film would have failed with it.
Normally I would now make a stab at summarising the plot, but this opaque curiosity barely has one, the limo crawls across New York to where Packer wants to have a haircut and as this odyssey progresses acquaintances, employees and lovers all provide prospective to the journey and what the future holds for our mysterious hero. All the while the Yuan is collapsing, Packer's marriage is disintegrating and society itself seems to be imploding. We see few of the supporting players arrive in Packer's bubble and none of them leave and only a tiny minority even consider the existence of each other, yet they all have a unique perspective on Packer's future and his character.
So if Cosmopolis (universal city Greek fans) isn't about the plot what is driving it? It's about mood, a foreboding atmospheric intensity that clings to Pattinson and it's about intellectual ideas some characters talk but many more pronounce - Samantha Morton especially spews out a collection of statements rather - and it's about the cult of money, the nameless celebrities who criss-cross Manhattan and London in their Prousted vehicles - isolating themselves from the populace around them, but when invited into their gleaming cars we see individuals as emotionless and vapid as the imposing exteriors.
Packer has lost the ability to feel. His vast portfolio, incomprehensible to the audience, has eaten away at his soul so sex, art, politics, family and even violence no longer elicit a response. And so Pattinson is perfect for the role, there's an emptiness in the eyes, so exploited in his casting as Edward Cullen, that invites us to believe this playboy desperate for any high. Finally his alt-Twilight career is paying off and I very much hope to see him stretch himself, working for other auteurs that play with his image.
The rest of the cast do a great job, however many of them are simple ciphers, they appear for single conversations and almost represent emotional states. Morton is detached, Juliet Binoche slutty, Jay Baruchel nervy, Paul Giamatti angry. Only Emily Hampshire as his assistant, called in on her day off and clearly in awe of his talents and sexuality (even during a prostate exam), gets the chance to show any range, something she grabs with both hands becoming a beacon of characterisation in the centre of the movie.
Cronenberg does a fantastic job of boiling down DeLillo's novel and capturing the relevance of the anti-capitalist sentiment. Whilst this is another film that fits in his later canon of movies that shoot for the audience's intellectual reactions rather than their physical ones - there's a gunshot wound at one point that stays remarkably un-Cronenbergian - there is a glimmer of his earlier work in the otherworldliness of it's leading character and the acceptance that society is balanced on a knife-edge and one slight tilt either way will inevitable lead to anarchy.
Overall Cosmopolis is divisive and dense, but although many viewers will want to escape from it's bleak ramblings a few will find it's black heart is worth the ticket price.
Saturday, 16 June 2012
All that way for a Haircut (Out this week - 15/06/12)
We're breaking new ground this weekend with unprecedented levels of choice in cinemas - in London at any rate - with 16 new releases vying for audiences. Of course many of them have extremely limited openings and won't be making much impact with audiences regardless of the critical response. Don't be deterred by that as there's lots of goodies around if you're prepared to go the extra mile for them. From intrigues in the Danish court to child protection there's some significant foreign language releases as well as the crowdpleasers which could be worth the ticket price. I'm going somewhere in the middle, avoiding the sure-fire hits and the single venue openings and plumping for the strange looking collaboration between one of cinemas biggest heartthrobs and the king of venereal horror. The Runs like a Gay film of the week is Cosmopolis.
Last weekend I was correct in assuming the top three box office titles would remain the same and, although Snow White slipped behind the Men in Black, Prometheus clung to the top spot like a acid-blooded penis-snake to a lost biologist's arm. I made a fatal flaw in over-estimating Plan B's cross-over appeal and the concept Ill Manors struggled, only just making it into the top ten, instead date friendly horror flick The Pact took an average takings three times higher, although I suspect only one of those films will be remembered in 6 months time. This weekend Ridley Scott will probably be just about hang on to the lead and whilst I'd like to cheer on plucky British sporting heroes in Fast Girls I think the karaoke sounds of 80's that is Rock of Ages will get the lions share of the newbies.
Cosmopolis
It's been barely four months since David Cronenberg last film was released - the staid but solid Dangerous Mind - so it's a little surprising to see his follow-up in cinemas so soon. Until you learn it's filmed almost exclusively in a limo as R. Pattz off Twilight crosses town for a haircut. I'll let you know whether it's as absurd as that synopsis sounds later in the week.
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Read on for strutting stars, mad kings and blind mediums as well as all of this weeks trailers after the jump.
Or as bonkers as the trailer suggests. Warning - there are flashes in this trailer.
Rock of Ages
I'm a big fan of Adam Shankman's film adaptation of Hairspray so in theory I should be queuing round the block for his second big screen musical, and yet... There's something about the self-referential format that seemed charming in the popping colours of the 60's but appears to be awfully self-important here. The terrific cast which includes Alec Baldwin, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx is impressive though so maybe I'm missing the point.
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Royal Affair
Danish historical romp which surprised everyone at the Berlin festival by winning best screenplay and best actor for Mikkel Boe Folsgaard as the crazy monarch whose wife carries on with progressive Machiavellian - in that isn't a contradiction in terms - Mads Mikkelsen.
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Polisse
One of my ex-partner's was a Social worker in a children's team and I'm sure some of things he used to share with me might be reflected in this procedural semi-documentary from France about the Police team sent in to protect children in danger. Both the lows and the highs and the occasional moments of office politics. Should be worth catching.
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Red Lights
Rodrigo Cortes came to everyone's attention when he placed Ryan Reynolds in a box for Buried and whilst his parapsychology thriller follow-up might not have as high a concept he's drawn a trio of heavyweight performers (Cillian Murphy, Sigourney Weaver and Robert De Niro as a blind spoon bender) but whilst everyone agrees the low key, fraud debunking first half is great the telekinesis filled final act is splitting audiences.
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Desi Romeos
I apologise for the dreadful sound recording for this Punjab trailer. Honestly, you might think they didn't want an audience. I think it's about a band coming to melt the hearts of female audiences everywhere, but I can't be sure.
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Fast Girls
It's surprising that the only film to capitalise on London's forthcoming turn as the Olympic host comes from multi-hyphenate Noel Clarke, although maybe not given his drive and ambition. The story may be predictable - four girls must overcome their difficulties to win the women's 4x400 relay - but even the trailer has the necessary feelgood, triumph over adversity vibe.
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Ferrari ki Sawaari
Now admit it, there's no way on reading the title of this Bollowood release that you thought it was about a young boy searching for a cricketting hero and finding himself in the batting order at Lords. Don't worry there is a sup-plot about a missing iconic red motor.
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Kosmos
Turkish psychodrama in which a mysterious tramp arrives in a village, immediately saves a boy from drowning and is then treated alternately as a saint and a demon. Then the world starts to go mad. Ambitious, certainly.
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Late September
No trailer for this British curio, unsurprising given the nature of the piece. Using improvisation, natural light and long wide takes Jon Sanders' movies explores the cracks in a 40 year old marriage over one long painful weekend.
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[Rec]3 Genesis
I'm not sure if this Spanish horror threequel counts as a new release as I understand it was only showing in one obscure cinema for two days in the week. Still it'll be out on DVD in September so maybe they'll be some more showings in the meantime. You can tell how little I care about the plot that takes the zombies from the last two out of the block and into a wedding party.
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Requiem for a Killer
It wouldn't be a packed week without a French thriller, and so Melanie Laurent is here to icily dispatch all her opponents in this game of cat, mouse and hired assassin. Not sure where the opera bits come in - are we meant to believe she sings packed out concerts by day and then murders by night?
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The Squad
Nine Columbian soldiers head up a mountain to fight guerillas. Only nothing could prepare them for what they's find up there. I'm guessing it's devil worshipping ghouls and most of them won't get out alive - but then I have just watched the trailer.
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Foodfight
Please make it stop! Cheap digimation and Barry Manilow soundtrack aside there's a reason why this extended commercial break with Charlie Sheen and Hilary Duff hasn't been released in the States. Because it's rubbish. Miss it the UK on one day only. Vue cinema chain - I am ashamed of you.
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Murattu Kalai
It's saying something about a kollywood release when not only is there no imdb page but the closest I can find to a trailer is five minutes of two camera monologues. Please don't feel you have to watch it - I didn't. I hope something actually happens in the 2 hour long full version.
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Thousand Kisses Deep
Ham fisted looking thriller that seems to have an exciting cast (it's good to see Emilia Fox stretching anyway) but once you watch the trailer the whole plot seems to fall into place and it's tough to keep an interest.
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