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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I see Dead people (Out this week - 28/01/11)

In three weeks time we'll be out of the Oscar season and the quality of films will drop ac down to it's usual level of mediocrity. In the meantime we have another week with four movies that could easily have come top of the heap, and a quality animation for the kids as well (which might actually be the film to knock The King's Speech off the top of the charts). Of course a winner has to be chosen so for now film of the week is Biutiful.



Biutiful

Picking up a surprise (ish) nod for Javier Bardem this week in the Academy Awards, Aleandro Gonzalez Inarritu's first self-penned movie has divided critics since it's Cannes bow with relentless misery. That said it looks gorgeous in the trailer.

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Barney's Version

Highly respected adaptation of Mordecai Richler's novel which gained an oscar nomination for it's make-up this week. The titular Barney is played with schlubby aplomb by Paul Giamatti as we travel through his life of failed marriages, lack of career integrity and, possibly, murder. Dustin Hoffman and Minnie Driver are among the co-stars.

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Hereafter

Matt Damon stars as a medium in Clint Eastwood's latest drama based on a Peter Morgan script. Feted for it's opening tsunami and Damon's underplayed performance the reviews have been negative about the overall structure.

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How do you Know

Broadcast News and As Good as it Gets are now drifting a long way into the past as James L. Brooks seems to have forgotten what it was that made his earlier movies worthwhile. Reese Witerspoon agonises between two suitors, both of whom reveal inner anxieties throughout the movie.

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Tangled

The Rapunzel-lite adaptation has taken over $180m in the US, putting it at number 10 of the 2010 releases and a solid entry in Disney's canon. By the way did you know this is their 50th in-house animation cinematic release? Should do well in this weeks crowded market.

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Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji

I think thi is the only Bollywood release of the week, although given that we've got more under the radar releases from last week that could prove incorrect. Slight variation to the usual mismatched romantic comedy, this has an (awknowledged) 15 year age gap between the protagonists.

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Accursed Blood

Kellen Lutz tries to pretend he's the draw for the Twilight crowd with an above the title mention on a dirty looking stalker drama. He will probably fail.

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The Mechanic

Jason Statham takes his shirt off, has sex with a girl to prove he's not gay, then teaches Ben Foster (why?!?) how to be a hitman in this remake of Charles Bronson's star making turn. Probably not worth seeing at cinemas.

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And more films missed from last week - 21/01/11

Portuguese Nun

French/Portuguese collaboration about an actress playing a Nun who experiences a religious epiphany. Leisurely and respectful this should have been better advertised.

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Kutsal Damacana 3 Dracoola

The Turkish comic-horror (which looks neither funny nor scary) comes back with a third bite at the filmgoing public. There must be a market for it, but I can't think of anyone who'd go to see this.

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Pranchiyetten and the Saint

I believe, from looking at the trailer, that this Bollywood film does actually concern Catholocism in India in a positive way, even the soundtrack mixes Eastern beats to religious plainsong.

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Charlie Noades RIP

Independent British comedy (don't laugh) written by Bafta nominee Neil Fitzmaurice and starring a notable slection of small screen comedc talent, problem is this looks from the trailer like it's much more suited to the small screen, maybe late night Channel 4.

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Booking my ticket to my own circle of hell (Out this week - 24/12/10)

Do you want the good news or the bad news? Well, the good news is that's it's Christmas weekend. We all have the opportunity to spend time in the loving arms of our families, feasting on festive treats and spreading the joy of the season. The bad news: cinemas are virtually no go areas. This is officially the worst week I can remember, certainly the worst since I've been writing up the releases. The even more horrifying news is that I have to choose a film of the week - I can't just advise to stay at home or go sledging - so under duress I have to pick the plain awful looking Little Fockers. I'm so very sorry.

I also missed a few films over the past few weeks so there is a mini catch-up as well.




Arthur and the Great Adventure

Belated sequel of the French produced digi-animation. Now with more R'n'B stars in the cast, including Will-I-Am and Snoop Dogg - you have to wonder what their agents were thinking - and the revenge of the villainous Maltazard.

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Chatroom

I'm not sure why but Hideo Nakata, director of Ringu, has filmed his latest horror flick in London and has almost certainly lost all of his faculties. A Breakfast Club like selection of teens join an online social network site only to find it's run by a homicidal maniac.

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Little Fockers

I feel so very bad having this as number one, although I suspect it will top the box office charts so at least I won't be actually paying for it. The uncomedy Father/son-in-law duo Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller reunite for another "wacky" set of adventures probably involving child excrement's. Amazingly the supporting cast includes Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand (both returning) as well as newbies Harvey Keitel and Laura Dern.

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Tees Mar Khan

The first of Two Bollywood entries for this week (and I honestly think if these films were shown to critics there would have been an even chance of one of them being film of the week) is a Akshay Kumar starring action comedy. They were playing the songs on a loop at the Spice of India last week and I was getting into it.

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Toonpur Ka Superhero

This one truly does look dreadful. A family find themselves into a subterranean world entirely populated by badly drawn cartoons in this family adventure. Looks like a less interesting and less funny Roger Rabbit.

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And on to the missing films (please note I have been checking back to the beginning of the year in order to ensure my records are correct).

From 17 December 2010

Manmadhan Ambu

Very little information around about this Tamil film, comments on the youtube trailer page oddly concentrate on the atheistic sentiments expressed by one of it's stars, Kamal Hassan, during a recent interview.

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From 10 December 2010

A Serbian Film

Repulsive looking gorno masquerading as allegory about the history of Serbia. A retired porn star gets tricked into working for a sadistic director hellbent on making a snuff film to end all snuff films. Extreme sequences of sexual violence, and not for the faint-hearted.

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From 03 December 2010

Chikku Bikku

I had the strangest feeling that I'd seen the trailer for this part UK set Bollywood movie before. I still didn't like it.

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Mar Jawan Gur Khake

I think it's a romantic comedy - seriously if anyone reads this blog and has any sway with Boolywood films tell them to - at the very least - submit a synopsis to Pearl and Dean. Thank you.

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Simran

Not even a trailer this time. but I don know that ones of the songs is Ve Kude Patole Bargi, that it's filmed in Punjabi and that Gunghu Gill, Simran Randhawa and Sheetal Bedi star.

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From 03 December 2010

Leap Year

Not to be confused with the dreadful Amy Adams comedy earlier in the year this is a meditative study of a Mexican woman longing for connection to a man and her masochistic carnal desires that result.

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Sleeping Princess

It's a Turkish film, so don't expect subtlety but there is some interesting looking stuff in the trailer for this modern day fairy tale based around an eternal optimist looking for a better life.

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From 18 June 2010

Journey to Mecca

Really no excuses for missing this, to be honest I thought it was a documentary (and there are some filmed passages during the Hajj, the fifth pillar of Islam) but for the most part this is a biopic of the student and explorer Ibn Battuta who travelled, in 1325, from Morocco to the Arabian peninsula to carry out this sacred act.

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Dustin Hoffman

Happy Birthday to

Dustin Hoffman

72 today

It's hard to think of some stars aging let alone their characters, but to imagine Benjamin Braddock or David Sumner or Dorothy Michaels at 72 is really weird. Go on, try it.

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Little Big Man

1970. Dir: Arthur Penn. Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Faye Dunaway, Chief Dan George, Martin Balsam and Jeff Corey. ●●○○○



In the 60's and 70's the Western was breathing it's final laboured gasps, and so in a desperate attempt to turn the tide the comedy western was born. Sometimes it worked (Blazing Saddles, True Grit) but often it did not. Little Big Man is a noble failure in the history of cinema.

Ostensibly it's the life story of 120 year old Jack Crabb (Dustin Hoffman) who was raised by Native Americans and fought with General Custer, add to this brushes with the church, 2 marriages, selling snake oil and a brief career as a gunslinger. Naturally all this is allegorical, the central conflict being not only an indictment of the US policy towards Native Americans but also a thinnly veiled attack on the Vietnam conflict.



Every character and chapter of the story is hiding some deeper truth about the state of Modern America, from faux mysticism to the failure of big business and the emptiness of the hawkish right wing rhetoric from the White House.

There is nothing wrong with allegorical movie making, however the broad nature of the satire (no element of society is left out) and the feeble comedy work against the motice of the film. And believe me the comedy really is dire. Hoffman's whiney, in-on-the-joke narration is off-putting enough but Faye Dunaway's lavicious ministers wife pantomiming her way through bathing Hoffman wouldn't be funny enough to go in a Carry-On movie.

There are elements to enjoy. Chief Dan George is suitably stoic as Hoffman's adoptive grandfather and the make up effects in the bookending segments are very impressive.

Overall though it's a mess, with the message being unforgiveable lost.

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