Following your own formula (Out this week - 25/05/12)

Very quiet this week, after five weeks of double figure releases we're down to just seven picks hitting the multiplexes (although if I'm perfectly honest only 3 of them are actually coming on strong with the other four all limited release foreign language choices). We're deep within the blockbuster season now, with all the necessary large scale counterprogramming that is such a part of the season. Mind you choosing the top film this week is hardly a stretch. There aren't many US auteurs as recognisable as Wes Anderson, every frame, every shot can instantly be categorised as part of his canon, and it's fair to say the style has it's fans and acolytes - note how last years Submarine was instantly compared to Anderson's work. Unsurprisingly then the runs like a gay film of the week is Moonrise Kingdom.



Last week The Dictator did indeed climb it's way to the top of the box office charts, taking nearly double Avenger Assemble in it's fourth weekend. Although both of these will drift downwards now, especially Sacha Baron Cohen's showcase which will, I expect, slip significantly leaving an easy win for Will Smith's return to the big screen with Men in Black 3.

Moonrise Kingdom

Anderson is an acquired taste, a director who splits audiences between those who can stomach his artificial and ordered universe and those who cannot. Personally I tend to err of the anti-side but I cannot deny the superb reviews and craftmanship involved so it's an easy pick for the top film. As ever the cast for this teenage love story is amazing with Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and a cameoing Harvey Keitel among the stars on board.

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Read on for a unique take on fairy tales, time travelling aliens and the ultimate in self help book adaptations.




There's an element of enforced quirk to the proceedings, but couldn't you just take any frame from this trailer and put it on your wall?

Tales of the Night



This French animation is both exceptionally simply and deliciously complex in it's central conceit of using traditional silhouette puppetry styles to illustrate original fairy stories. If I had kids this would what I would take to the cinema to see.

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Hommes Libres



The classic French resistance sub-genre gets a welcome twist highlighting Algerian immigrants in their fight to help defeat the Nazi's from within. Cultural and religiously clashes abound in the thriller trailer and any film that includes the combined talents of Tahar Rahim and Michael Lonsdale must be worth taking a punt on.

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Men in Black 3



Coming 10 years after a disappointing sequel amid horrendous production difficulties it comes as no surprise that early reviews of the third entry in the popular comedic alien franchise have been scathing. Based on Will Smith's very own time travel idea it's a chance to see whether his charisma and box office pulling power has been retained after nearly four years off. I certainly won't be heading out to see the finished product no matter how well it performs with the masses or how good Josh Brolin's impersonation of Tommy Lee Jones. Emma Thompson also stars.

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Gabbar Singh



Appearing on just two screens is this Teluga movie from India boasting a simple plot revolving around a cop, and thug with political ambitions and a pretty girl. Expect lots of action, the odd song and a predictable ending.

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What to Expect when You're Expecting



Hollywood has officially run out of ideas as evidenced by the bizarre choice to turn a how to guide about pregnancy into a hyperlink comedy (I expect all the stories end happily). The all-star cast is led by Cameron Diaz, Elizabeth Banks, Jennifer Lopez and Anna Kendrick, each of whom will take the money and run whilst the film flops at the box office.

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Rahe Chardi Kala Punjab Di



Punjabi melodrama about an adopted Muslim girl trying to reunite with her Sikh birth parents and all the emotional and religious baggage you'd expect from such a tumultuous set-up.

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Rock on Seany (Out this week - 06/04/12)

There's a giant boat shaped elephant in the multiplexes this weekend which, being a re-issue, does not fit within the usual rules surrounding this post. That's right I'm going to try and completely ignore it. That's relatively easy to do in this first section devoted as it is to mulling over the relative qualities of our new feature releases, indeed whilst I thoroughly enjoy the nautical tragedy I don't have any issue with recommending the French cartoon or the Scandinavian darkly comic thriller over Cameron's weepie largely because I feel it's important to try new things, back in 1997 it's possible it would have been the top film (I went to see it twice at cinemas but then I was a newly out student), and sometimes we should choose the art-house over the multiplex. So this week I feel no qualms in selecting the Sean Penn as a Nazi-hunting washed-out rock star in the RLAG film of the week This Must be the Place.



Last week I fluffed on the box office predictions, as The Hunger Games clung on to the top spot and Wrath of the Titans somehow sneaked ahead of Pirates to become the highest new entry. I confess to being quite shocked by this double loss of judgement however I pick myself up and cheerfully ignore that iceberg (it's got a very good chance of stealing my thunder although I suspect it will just lose out). Instead I'm going to go out on a limb and predict, thanks to the aid of several days of preview and the kids being off school, that Julia Roberts will lead the first Snow White adapt of 2012 Mirror Mirror into the top spot.

This Must be the Place

On paper the combination of a Robert Smith alike goth rocker and a plot involving the investigation and capture of Nazi criminals doesn't seem at all enticing. But when revered Italian director Paolo Sorrentino is making his English Language debut and using a cast that includes Sean Penn (as the washed out star), Frances McDormand (as his eminently sensible wife) and Judd Hirsch (as a pragmatic Nazi hunter) it begins to appear to be something more. Ignore the mixed reviews from Cannes last year and focus on the incredible soundtrack and you know you're getting drawn in.

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Read on for twisted fairy tales, a briefcase with big secrets inside and a small scale Iraq war indie as well as all of this weeks releases and trailers.





It's got a Coen-verse vibe (partly attributable to the appearance of Frances but also to the weird characters inhabiting the story) which makes it hard to resist.


Cat in Paris



This French animation was a surprise nominee in the 2012 Best Animated Feature Oscar race, and the crude animation style may certainly put off a lot of kids but as a branch they are usually quite discerning so I suspect this may be worth the extra mile for the more adventurous parents this Easter weekend.

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Headhunters



Already the subject of a major studio bidding war for the remake rights and boasting Mark Wahlberg as a major fan this Norweigan thriller, based on the international bestseller by Jo Nesbo sees an art thief, masquerading as an estate agent, suddenly out of his depth after stealing from the "wrong people". Expect black comedy as well as the usual spills and chills in this potential art-house breakout.

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Le Harve



There's another Cannes alumni hitting screens this week and it's slightly disappointing to note Aki Kaurismäki's movie has had such little critical attention. It's also bringing dead-pan comedy to a serious subject - European attitudes on immigration in a time of fiscal austerity - and maybe that odd mix of tone and content will put people off.

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Mirror Mirror



Now I believe that one day musical video supremo Tarsem will create a masterpiece, always visually inspirational he just needs someone to write him a good script to use. Note this is not it - although it does look more compelling to me than the other Snow White adaptation coming this year. Julia Roberts and Armie Hammer get to ham it up as the Evil queen and Prince Charming whilst Lily - daughter of Phil - looks pretty as our heroine. Expect kids to love it at least. Mare Winningham and Michael Lerner pop up in tiny supporting roles.

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North Sea Texas



You'd be forgiven for thinking NST is just another American Indie, indeed at first I made that assumption, but watch the trailer and you'll find a sweet coming out story about a teenage boy in Belgium coming to terms with his sexuality and how that affects his teenage years. Almost a flemish Beautiful Thing so should be worth a look.

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Cold Light of Day



We haven't had too many chances to see future Superman Henry Cavill in action - sure he was Theseus in last years Immortals but who honestly watched him as an actor rather than just as a piece of well oiled meat - so this CIA double cross thriller with Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver might just introduce him to audiences. Shame it hasn't been shown to critics and looks horribly unoriginal. Does make you worry about the box office potential for the man in tights.

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Housefull 2



The biggest Bollywood release in some time might just sneak into this weeks box office top ten thanks to the 52 screens and the 2010 success of it's predecessor also starring Akshay Kumar. That said there aren't many Bollywood sequels and the slight whiff of mysogny - all the women seem interchangeable - might put more enlightened viewers off. We'll see.

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Mirza - The Untold Story



There are two South Asian releases this weekend which don't yet have corresponding IMDb pages - which as you probably know irritates the hell out of me. The first is this action-romance about a girl forced to choose between her gangster brother and her sweetheart saving her from an arranged marriage. I wonder...

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Ordinary



On the other end of the spectrum is this comedic mystery set entirely on a bus journey to a remote mountainous village. It sounds like an interesting set-up.

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Return



Fans of In Contention (at Hitflix) will have read Guy Lodge's raves about this final Cannes release, a small scale picture starring Linda Cardellini doing career defining work as an Iraq war veteran re-adjusting to life in her small industrial town. Deftly handling themes of alienation and PTSD and with a cast that includes Michael Shannon and John Slattery it's a real pity that only two cinemas (in London and Hull) are showing this.

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Whispering in the Shadows - (Out this week - 01/07/11)

I feel I'm probably out of step this week, obviously not for my lack of support for the robot fest that's bound to own the weekend's box office, but for my championing of Robert Redford's latest movie, which has been derided in the press for it's po-faced sincerity. That said there really is little on this week so I'm going for The Conspirator as film of the week.



The Conspirator

Set in the immediate aftermath of Lincoln's assassination Redford's film appears to draw the parallels to the clamour for revenge with post 9/11 sensibilities and the impact of the rule of law. Hopefully he does those weighty themes justice.

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Larry Crowne

Does the thought of the worlds most successful film star - Tom Hanks - getting it on with America's Sweetheart Julia Roberts make you want to see this recession era rom-com? Oddly it doesn't for me either. Taraji P. Henson also costars.

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Separation

Highly acclaimed Iranian soap about a couple divorcing as the woman seeks independence and a better life in America. Taking in Muslim attitudes to feminism and childcare this could be worth the effort to catch.

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Bbuddah… Hoga Tera Baap

Amitabh Bachchan stars as Vijay, a retired hit man returning to India for one last job - to be followed by just about every assassin cliche you can remember. Horribly rated on IMDb.

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Delhi Belly

Hindi buddie movie that looks set to emulate the more scatological details of modern American comedies.

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Transformers: Dark of the Moon

I had heard the third of Michael Bay's oversized toy commercials may be the best of the trilogy, however that's probably not enough to make me fork out my £10. I do wonder how he persuades quality thesps like Frances McDormand and John Malkovich to star though.

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Fast Romance

I could be tempted to make some political statement about the significance of a Scottish movie that's only being released in Scottish cinemas even though the funding almost certainly came from the rest of the UK as well. The film depicts a wild night of speed dating.

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Frances McDormand

Happy Birthday to

Frances McDormand

51 today

Four time Oscar nominee, Coen favourite (it helps if you married to one of them) and all round good egg. We raise a glass to you today. And what better way to celebrate than to take a look at the internation trailer for Burn after Reading here.

Burn after Reading looks like classic comic Coen, and far more accessible than last years No Country for Old Men and with a cast that includes Frances, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, John Malkovich, JK Simmons and Richard Jenkins what's not to love.

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