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, 17 June 2011
Modern Telegrams (Out this week - 17/06/11)
It's tough to predict what will happen to box office figures this week. With this years second green superhero squaring off against a very well publicised Cameron Diaz comedic video there's plenty of choice for the less discerning cinema goer (although of those I'd probably go for Diaz). Of course neither option comes close to my film of the week, which is the absorbing and poignant Messenger.
Messenger
Oren Moverman's superb evocation of the daily process of informing forces families of the death or injury of their loved one is a heartfelt and truly honest movie (I have already seen it) which comes as a great shock to see it's been nearly 2 years since it's US release.
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Bad Teacher
Cameron Diaz, who memorable burst onto screens in The Mask, has spent much of the last ten years avoiding comedy, but it's a shame as she's a delightful comedic presence. Here she is using a flimsy plot to snare Justin Timberlake. Jason Segal and David Paymer also co-star.
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Beaver
Controversy overload meets film as therapy with Mel Gibson playing a depressed executive who turns his life around with the aid of a Castoran hand-puppet with the voice of an East-end barrel boy. Jodie Foster directs her old pal, in an attempt to rehabilitate his tarnished image. Jennifer Lawrence also gets a co-starring role.
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Potiche
Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu together in one film! From Francois Ozon! About the demise of union bragaining and the rise of feminism in 1970's France. Actually this comedy, literally translated as "Trophy Wife", looks like a gem and should be well worth looking out for.
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Green Lantern
The proliferation of CGI, all the desperate seeming TV spots and fantastic cast (Ryan Reynolds, Peter Sarsgaard, Blake Lively, Angela Bassett, Tim Robbins, Mark Strong and Michael Clarke Duncan and Geoffrey Rush in voice roles) can't hide the faint whiff of Turkey coming from this Comic Book adaptation.
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Stake Land
The trailer makes this low-budget horror flick seem like The Road with Zombies, but decent reviews and clever plotting could lead to this breaking out. Although I've heard it suffers from a lack of point to the story.
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Always Khabi Khabi
The first of the three Bollywood releases seems to be the most obvious to categorise, it's High School Musical in Mumbai (possibly), with the usual collection of teenagers stressing about their love lives and studies whilst breaking into song.
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Avan Ivan
Confusing Tamil release which describes itself as a comedy but the trailer is full of high-octane action beats. Let's face it I'll never "get" Bollywood.
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Bheja Fry 2
Sequel to the 2007 comedy hit starring Vinay Pathak as a naive holiday-maker who brings chaos in his wake on a cruise holiday in the sun. I actually giggled at some of the slapstick on display in the trailer.
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Round Up
European cinema has huge trouble moving away from the Holocaust. Of course it's a horrendous chapter in history but haven't enough interpretations been made? This time Jean Reno is a doctor questionning humanity as the Jews of Paris are arrested.
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Got to Run
I should be behind this independent British movie which snuck out in limited release earlier in the week as the combination of local independent fare and a central character addicted to jogging. However the thought of watching a girl run around the coast of the UK in a ill-fitting pair of shorts to escape from her abusive relationship just pushes me away.
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Putty Hill
Not quite mumblecore, but clearly influenced by the hand-held, off-the-cuff aesthetic, this low-key American release looks at the minutia of life in a small-town community recovering from the sudden death of a well-known young man.
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Swinging with the Finkels
Tired looking British sex comedy about a couple (Martin Freeman - proving The Hobbit couldn't come at a better time - and Mandy Moore) who decide to spice up their dreary personal life by joining the swinging circuit. Probably not as many laughs as it should have.
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Friday, 10 June 2011
Kaboom of doom indeed (Out this week - 10/06/11)
Summer continues to drift on by with no films quite having the right stuff to persuade me to head to the cinema, and this week has nothing that can change that, although it's closer than last week's selection. There's an interesting second tier of foreign language pics, and a very disappointing name change which will save some parents confusion (more of that later). This weeks film of the week is Kung Fu Panda 2.
Kung Fu Panda 2
Dreamworks seem to be improving their animation output, as evidenced with the critical success of the Kung Fu Panda franchise. One that manages to not let the stunt casting (Jack Black, Anjelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Lee et al) get in the way of creative writing and imaginative design. Surprisingly then to see it's US box office performance has been disappointing.
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Point Blank
French thriller from the makers of Pour Elle following an Emergency Room doctor suddenly dragged into a world of organised crime hits in order to save his pregnant wife. Coming in at under 90 minutes it's quite short too.
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Deiva Thirumagal
Just when you thought I am Sam was the nadir of mental health movies along comes the Bollywoodisation with a trailer that managed to be offensive even though I couldn't understand a word of it.
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Jumping the Broom
The perennial trend of wedding comedies gets another cinematic outing and once again the bland leading couple will be upstaged by their domineering mothers played by Angela Bassett and Loretta Devine.
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Kaboom
I was rather hoping that Kung Fu Panda 2 will have kept it's original subtitle of Kaboom of Doom which could have led to unsuspecting parents taking their seven year olds into this Gregg Araki sexually-confused, mystery headtrip.
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Mother's Day
I'm not sure why this remake from Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw 2) has taken over a year to make it to British cinemas given it's positive reviews and chilling performance from Rebecca de Mornay.
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Runway
Irish family comedy, only showing other there so don't get your hopes up, about a South American pilot who crashlands in County Cork and the local community band together to build him a runway.
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Honey 2
I am very confused about this belated sequel to the 2003 hit. Dance movies are a niche market that continues to get reasonable return at the box office, however Jessica Alba who headlined the original movie is nowhere to be seen in this and the only link appears to be the same neighbourhood.
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Monday, 15 September 2008
What's Love Got to Do With It
1993. Dir: Brian Gibson. Starring: Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne, Jenifer Lewis, Terrence Riggins and Vanessa Bell Calloway. ●●●●○
As I mentioned in my last biopic review it is difficult to seperate our thoughts about an individual from the film about them. Admittedly this is slightly easier with Tina Turner, she's a fantastic performer but let's face it she isn't Gandhi. In What's Love got to Do With It there is a struggle to seperate the Tina of the music and the Tina of the best-selling autobiography on whcih the film is based.
After a brief intro where Tina is abandoned by her mother the film follows the rise and fall of the abusive relationship between Tina and Ike Turner, played by Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne respectively.
The film makes harrowing viewing. From early on the nature of Ike Turner is revealed in his cavalier attitude to his ex's attempted suicide and cheap wedding to Tina. This escalates into fist fights and one particulary tough to watch rape scene.
Both actors manage extremely well in these scenes, which must have been tough and harrowing to film.
I was especially impressed by Fishburne, whose explosive violence was often followed by moments of either immense alpha-male behaviour or pitiful whining. His cries, early in the film, that everyone leaves him are shockingly believeable both as a cry for help and as a hook to keep Tina locked into the cycle of abuse.
The camerawork and editing are professional but nothing to write home about, but the set direction and costumes are marvellous. We get a real sense of the times as they move from the 60's through to the late 70's.
Where the movie fails though it's the "westernisation" of the abusive couple. Tina is given no persoanlity flaws at all - a perfect angel throughout seemingly incapable of any unprovoked negative act other than pride in her voice. On the other hand Ike is always portrayed in a negative light, even the tough way he deals with his group (surely a necessity in show business) is only made light of. Most of the other characters are either tacitly complicit with Ike's behaviour, see Zelma Bullock, or seemingly ignorant to the situation like the rest of the band.
I don't want to sound like I'm defending Ike. He most certainly was a vicious bully. And there can never be an excuse for domestic abuse on this scale. But maybe if the screenplay went some way to recognise Ike's skills then it may have got that fifth star.
Saturday, 16 August 2008
Angela Bassett
Happy Birthday to
Angela Bassett
50 today
Yes, everyone's favourite Tina Turner impressionist hits the big five-oh today. Angela's talent is far bigger than her resume seems to suggest and I only hope that she manages to get some good parts in the future. Next up is a plum supporting role in the journalist won't rat on their sources drama: "Nothing but the Truth".
