Films
You tell your mates, you tell your family, you try to impress people you have just met with the fact that you have seen it.
Our roving reporter Sammy finds the holy grail of films...
New Release
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The Weather Man (15)
Director: Gore Verbinski
Origin: United States
Duration:102m
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Starring: Nicolas Cage, Michael Caine, Hope Davis, Gemmenne de la Peña, Nicholas Hoult
The director of ‘The Ring’ and ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’, and more intriguingly the creator of the Budweiser frogs, gives us a story about a weather guy who has difficulties dealing with both his career and his depressing personal life.
The plot isn’t that important. You won’t care. The fact is- he has a neurotic ex-wife, a dying father, a molested son, and a really obese vegetable for a daughter. All other stereotypes may not be relations of his - but they are in there somewhere.
The scenes are entertaining and the characters are all individually funny and peculiar, but it seems that the characters functioning together as a whole (combined with the dry ‘Bill Murray should be doing this’ type action) makes the film a little too contrived and copied. However, this aspect is so ridiculous at times that it is quite entertaining in itself.
This film is a mixed bag of foibles that get continually sighed over and winced at, punctuated by genuinely consummate examples of human suffering.
DVD
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Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (15)
Director: Shane Black
Origin: United States
Duration:103m |
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan, Shannyn Sossamon
Whether you will like the continual smart-ass narration from the main character Harry (Downey Jr) or not, you will certainly appreciate it for its light hearted fast and fresh pace, and sharp witty dialogue.
This film relies almost entirely on defying the norms of form, style and action, (the characters often referring to real life actors and films) which would explain why Robert Downey Jr plays a petty thief who poses as an actor who poses as a detective.
Very confusing, but it is so much fun to watch you don’t really mind getting lost for a while.
Michelle Monaghan plays the feisty love interest (Harry’s high school crush) and Val Kilmer plays a hard nosed openly gay detective who shows Harry the ropes.
Bizarre, funny and exciting - and very original.
New Release
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Director: Bennett Miller Origin: United States Duration:115m |
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Clifton Collins Jr, Chris Cooper, Bruce Greenwood
Philip Seymour Hoffman. Do I need to say anymore?
Once you get the better of his torturingly dry mouth quirk you will fall deep in interest and curiosity with his portrayal of Truman Capote.
For those of you who don’t know, Truman Capote wrote 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' and revolutionised journalism 35 years later with 'In Cold Blood' (a 'non-fiction novel) - the making of which this film is based.
It all starts when Capote hears of a small town murder. He becomes intrigued with one of the murderers and forms a closeness with him in order to gain information for his book. He becomes torn between genuine sympathy and brash practicality as their relationship becomes less and less convenient for the progress of his book. His ethical negligence (for the sake of his own success) is where the film turns into a prolific tragedy.
At this point the film starts to float around poignantly as the consequences of his bad decisions start to arise. The cloudy morals and judgements (once funny personality quirks) are now sad indelible products of what define him. The generalisation of this effect makes the issue applicable to everyone and because of this, the film will move you.
If anything, this film feels really useful from learning about the interactions and lifestyles of people such as Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird) and of course Capote, and the social scene that influenced them.
It gives you a wonderful sense of definite context for the era and you leave feeling a little more complete and capable in knowing about it. As for the statement the film makes - it couldn't be more relevant.
Old Favourite
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Man Bites Dog (18)
Director: Rémy Belvaux André Bonzel Benoît Poelvoorde Origin: Belgium Duration: 120m |
Starring: Benoit Poelvoorde, Remy Belvaux, Andre Bonzei, Jacqueline Poelvoorde Pappaert
Imagine a documentary about a gardener. A camera crew follows him around, whilst he his works, enjoys his spare time, at home with the family etc. Its all very jovial and practically informative -he shares hints and tips for success, talks about his childhood, his likes and dislikes, and political opinions.
Now replace the gardener with a serial killer and you have Man Bites Dog.
It is all a spoof of course, but with the brutality and naturalistic footage you often forget. The actor who plays the criminal used his own family for the family in this film (unknown to them - they had no idea he was making it).
The camera crew, throughout the film (though their bonding with their subject) start to get involved a little too much and bad things start to happen.
This is a comedy and is extremely dark and sardonic. Very sharp dialogue and comically inventive. Its a lot of fun if you can stomach it.
New Release
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Origin: United States Duration: 93m
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Starring: Patricia Clarkson, George Clooney, Frank Langella, David Strathairn, Jeff Daniels, Robert Downey Jr
Set in 1950’s America, Clooney recreates the televised battle between broadcaster Edward R Murrow (Strathairn) and Senator Joe McCarthy during the Communist witch-hunts of that era.
Lasting only an hour and a half, bathed in black and white, and punctuated by curious 50’s stock footage, this film is very easy to watch.
Despite the sense of chaos and potential confusion of the action, Clooney is successful in maintaining clarity and interest with the subtlest of touches.
The dialogue, like the story- is sharp, relevant, and carefully witty in its extreme dry pragmatism.
The continual slow and meaningful smoking in this film is a good example of the pace, and although this has a slightly sedative effect, the film still proves prolific in a calm and cerebral way.
Old Favourite
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Innocence (15)
Director: Lucile Hadzihalilovic Origin: Belgium/France/UK Duration: 120m
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Starring:Zoe Auclair, Berangere Haubruges, Lea Bridarolli, Marion Cotillard, Helene de Fougerolles, Olga Peytavi-Muller, Alisson Lalieux, Ana Palomo-Diaz, Astrid Homme, Josephine van Wambeke, Johanna Surbier, Grizelle Crozet, Corinne Marchand, Sonia Petrovna, Veronique Nordey, Micheline Hadzihalilovic
Mystifying, dark and profound, Innocence tells a wonderful story elegance and intrigue set in a bizarre boarding school for young girls.
A six year old girl arrives in a coffin and is to be taken out and looked after by the other young girls of the school.
There are only two teachers (who are only introduced far into the film) and a handful of old servants and there is no explanation of how they got there, or if they even want to be there.
The small network of specially chosen young girls are kept away from their parents, relatives and the outside world, keeping them pure, curious and innocent.
The cinematography is magical, original, and hauntingly beautiful merging beautifully with the sentiment of the film. The focus on the girls - their legs in particular, feels chillingly fetishist at times and is explained as the film matures.
Worlds apart from your average film, this is something truly special.
New Release
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Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (18)
Origin: Korea (South) Duration: 112m
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Starring: Du-na Bae, Min-Sik Choi
The maker of Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Oldboy brings us his new offering which, thankfully, displays the same detailed quality as its predecessors.
This colourful and bitterly funny feature is about a young beautiful girl who (through terrible circumstances) can now kill and maim with comic ease.
Unafraid of offence, the scenes run free and provoke many stagnant emotions, previously stifled by the compromised tactic of your average thriller.
The cinematography is stunning, and accompanies the moral and civil slack of the characters to produce a constant ironic tension keeping you constantly gripped.
The style is sketchy and vibrant and its poignancy, through its dry delivery, will leave you satisfied and surprised.
Old Favourite
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Directed by: Todd Solondz Origin: America (North) Duration: 134m approx
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Starring: Philip Seymor Hoffman, Jane Adams, Elizabeth Ashley, Dylan Baker, Lara Flynn Boyle, Ben Gazzara, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jon Lovitz
Modern life is bitter and tragic. What better then than a film that portrays modern western existence in all its slimy detail?
Solondz’ characters are hunting for a point to their life, the ultimate goal of attaining some fleeting happiness which like Tantalus’ plums they will never touch, taste or teabag.
Solondz both loves and hates his characters, choosing to give them realistic motivations and foibles, but bitterly kicking them when they are down.
Every mistake and weakness is played out to its most agonising point, which provokes two feelings in those watching, one of sadistic pleasure, the other an empathic pity for the human condition that will last long past the end of the film.
If you have ever wanted to stick pictures of your neighbours to the walls with your own semen or walk through the park casually gunning down passers by, then this is certainly the film for you.
Cinema Release
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Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin, Robert Patrick, Shelby Lynne
Miraculously, if you watch a dodgy stage production of your favourite play, because of the communicated text you can still be inspired and moved despite the slow automaton plodder of it all.
In the same way, the music in this otherwise series of melodramatic chunks somehow adds a spooky beauty to it. The lines of the songs allow rushes of reality and intimacy to fill in most holes and as a result the whole film becomes at the very least -very entertaining.
The film follows country singer Johnny Cash from his childhood up to his romance with June Carter.
Reese Witherspoon (who plays June Carter) has a stunning voice and serves as a well deserved break from staring at the protruding vein in her head (don?t worry- you?ll see it).
Joaquin Phoenix (who plays Johnny Cash) is also quite a delight to listen to in a singing cartoon bear kind of way, and both of them together create a very successful sexual tension that strings the whole thing together.
Overall, this film is easy and fun to watch, and actually quite inspiring in parts, plus -you get to listen to everyone sing and show you how much they can reverberate under their breath as they leave the cinema.
Independent Release
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Directed by: Ari Alexander
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Starring: Björk Alexander, Hilmar Öm, Steindór Anderson
Featuring Björk, Sigur Rós, Múm, Bang Gang, Mugison, Minus and Slowblow, this is a documentary about Iceland’s contemporary music scene.
If you are fan of any of these, this film could be a good source of new music as the film catalogues its favourite acts with short interviews and extensive concert footage. This film tries to give a good basic form of education and understanding of the culture, but the quality of this is damaged slightly, as it tries to overcompensate for its low budget with hyperbolic statements.
As silly as it feels to see Björk thrown in every few minutes to keep us happy, it is actually needed.
Damon Albarn appears- or rather, is caught, as if in a drunken dream -splattering about beaches for a few seconds whilst we can see in his eyes he is actually thinking about cheesecake. This will do however, to include his name on the promotional poster.
Shockingly dull visually, you are sometimes very aware of the chair you are sitting in, but if your heart is where the music is - you’ll be in Iceland.
Classic
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Directed by: Petter Naess
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Starring: Per Christian Ellefsen, Sven Nordin, Jørgen Langhelle, Marit Pia Jacobsen, Hilde Olausson
‘They're packed and ready for the greatest adventure of their lives. All they have to do is get out of the house’.
With a tagline we can all relate to, Elling is a film that was adored all over the world when it first screened in 2001. Winning 13 awards, and nominated for an Oscar, this is a lot of people’s favourite film.
Obsessive - compulsive Elling and female obsessed virgin Kjell Bjarne - both forty years old, are rehoused from a mental institution into a state funded apartment.
The film follows their comedic attempts to function in a society, forging strange relationships with bizarre characters along the way. This film manages to avoid ‘the mentally ill versus the world’ clichés and is full of completely original dialogue and action. It is detailed and funny, and completely entertaining.
So good infact, that Kevin Spacey’s Trigger Street Production Company are in the process of a US remake.
Independent Release
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Starring: Wagner Moura, Alice Braga, Lázaro Ramos
Sexual decadence is toyed with as two friends who co-own a boat decide to hire a prostitute together. As obsession and jealousy sneak into the love triangle, the fantastical ease of a whimsical sexual relationship is eventually proved to be an unhappy direction.
Squalid, gritty and raw, this film captures human emotion quite realistically and enchants you into the bestial, fleshy part of human nature that the characters in this film base their lives on.
The physical frankness of the film mingles with the Brazilian cultural background beautifully and creates completely a world sharp in human senses. Quite clearly, the message that prevails is the delicacy of love and hate, and where they can and can’t exist.
Cinema Release
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Directed by: Peter Jackson
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Starring: Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody, Andy Serkis, Thomas Kretschmann, Jamie Bell
Peter Jackson will not disappoint you. At first, viewing a string of gimmicky gestures and cheap pantomime acting tricks may make you think he has. This probably has to do with the ridiculousness of the plot, which our familiarity with realism doesn’t take gladly. But just at the right time, Jackson shows us an action blockbuster like we have never seen before - a good one.
The film quickly woos us into the fantasy of the story and then surprises us with genuine visual amazement. The characters - all of whom were slightly loathed at the beginning of the film - get thrown around and tested in such an amazingly choreographed and original way, that they have no choice but to become amazing themselves.
This is cinema at its technical finest. Indulge yourself in the fantasy and you will be surprised where it takes you.
DVD Release
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Me, You and Everyone We Know (R - Strong Adult Content) Directed by: Miranda July
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Starring: Miranda July , John Hawkes , Miles Thompson , Brandon Ratcliff , Carlie Westerman , Natasha Slayton
Winning twelve awards at major film festivals across the globe, this is a simple story with intricate connotations simply not to be missed.
Performance artist Miranda July plays Christine, a performance artist, who is intrigued by a shoe salesman. The shoe salesman is having trouble with his divorce, and his two kids are having trouble with two sexually frustrated teenagers who go to their school.
Intimate and exquisitely subtle with its humour, it is evident that a lot of care has gone into this film. Every line is essential and wonderful, and every character is like no-other. It is quiet and poignant, careful and sweet, and remains original, fresh and fun the whole way through. This film brings out the side of you that you only experience staring out the window of a moving train heavy in thought.
Classic
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Starring: Adriano Giannini, Olivia Magnani, Toni Servillo
This film is beautifully subtle and laced tastefully with deadpan wit and wonder.
Quietly stylish, this contemplative and curious Italian film is about a man who has lived in the same Swiss hotel for eight years. He is extremely secretive and stern, responding to no one, yet he pays his bills like clockwork and seems to always be well dressed but is seen to do nothing.
This causes curiosity amongst the hotel staff, in particular the pretty barmaid. He forms a surprising romance with this woman -through which his secrets are revealed and his solid routine dishevelled.
Through his exposure in this we see his immaculate stern rigidity break into clumsy pieces as the film becomes more spontaneous and fragmented, as he allows himself to ‘join in’ on human emotion and to face with courage- the consequences of love.
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A Cock And Bull Story
Origin: United Kingdom Duration: 92m
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Starring: Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Keeley Hawes, Shirley Henderson, Dylan Moran, David Walliams, Jeremy Northam, Benedict Wong, Naomie Harris, Kelly Macdonald, Elizabeth Berrington, Mark Williams, Kieran O'Brien, Roger Allam, James Fleet, Ian Hart, Ronni Ancona, Greg Wise, Stephen Fry, Gillian Anderson
What could be better than watching a naked Steve Coogan clamber his way into female genitalia? From crawling in one, to becoming one, Steve Coogan stars in this cheeky adaptation of Laurence Sterne's 'The Life and Opinions Of Tristram Shandy'.
Winterbottom spoils us with a golden conveyor belt of UK comedy talent - and even throws in Gillian Anderson (from the depths of oblivion) for a bit of fun. Steve coogan and Rob Brydon play multiple roles in this fast paced and busy film, as well as playing themselves whilst they ridicule each other, the film industry and even the film they are in.
A refreshing relief, this bizarre comedy cleverly reels you into intelligent introspection toward the end- but is punctuated always with the amazing comic rapport between the two stars. Films like this do not come by very often, YOU MUST SEE IT
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Brokeback Mountain
Directed by: Ang Lee Origin: United States Duration: 134m
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Starring: Anne Hathaway, Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, Michelle Williams, Randy Quaid
Picking up 4 Golden Globes, you will not live your life without this film being mentioned at least once (now, for example). This is a story of two cowboys who develop a romantic connection whilst they tend cattle on the same ranch.
After a long separation and subsequent marriages, they struggle with resentment and confusion to maintain a secretive relationship. Despite the 'Gay Cowboys' approach to the advertising of the film, this love story deals more delicately, and powerfully, with the life changing subtleties that romance can erupt.
However, if this all sounds like lovey-sap to you, or if you are a homophobe- this film would be worth it alone to simply gawk at the surreal world of brokeback mountain- where you can experience a visual massage from the stunning structures, and soothing colours of the Wyoming landscape, while the two stars habitually punch each other in the face.
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The Descent Directed by: Neil Marshall Origin: UK Duration: 99m
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Starring: Shauna Macdonald, MyAnna Buring, Natalie Mendoza, Molly Kayll, Saskia Mulder & Alex Reid
To follow the all-male cast of Dog Soldiers, Director Neil Marshall Directs his new film with an all-female one.
The predictive and generic start of the 'girly gathering in a cabin' and the lengthy introduction to the characters annoyed me at first, but my twitching hatred for most of them made me even more delighted and entertained by their splendid and expertly choreographed demise.
This is a horror/thriller with the monumental help of the Appalachian mountains and their naturally scary and intimidating caves. Marshall uses these wonders to full effect and adds a further element of surprise to brilliant avail toward the middle of the film.
Brilliantly atmospheric and genuinely gripping without the lazy reliance of over-used gimmick. If you are in the mood for a Horror, watch this one.
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La Dolce Vita
Origin: Italy/France Duration: 174m
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Starring: Anouk Aimée, Lex Barker, Alain Cuny, Anita Ekberg, Yvonne Furneaux, Marcello Mastroianni
One of the most acclaimed films of the 1960's, 'la Dolce Vita' (the sweet life), is a wry parade of sex and decadence.
It follows the main character 'Marcello', who wants to write seriously but settles for a job as a society gossip columnist. He only does this because it is extremely well paid, and as a result, he indulges himself in the rich and sexually decadent culture that teeters on the line between blissful and perturbing.
Perhaps even more relevant today than it was then, (the film contributed the term ''paparazzi'' to our language) this is essential viewing.
Visually stunning and warm in classic black and white, the things that this film will evoke in you through its beauty have the potential to change your life.
