Movie releases…w/e Saturday 10 August

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David Bowie is Happening Now – before the V&A’s Bowie exhibition leaves the UK to go on an international tour, 200 cinemas across the UK will feature interviews with people such as photographer Terry O’Neill as they discuss some of the objects included in the exhibition. Details about the film and where you can see it can be found here.

Foxfire – based on the novel by Joyce Carol Oates, this drama looks at a group of young girls in upstate New York who form their own gang. No official site but there is some more information on IMDb here, the film will be showing at key cities only.

Grown Ups 2 – sequel to the 2010 comedy, with most of the cast returning, starring Adam Sandler and Salma Hayek. Sandler has moved his family back to the town where he grew up and we follow him and his friends on their kids last day at school. The official site is here and the film will be showing at most cinemas across the UK.

The Long Ranger – The Social Network’s (2010) Armie Hammer stars as the titular man of the law, accompanied by native American compadre Tonto (Johnny Depp). Difficult to see how this will play out in this country as Westerns are a very American genre, but reviews have so far been mostly negative and it hasn’t struck a big chord with the public stateside. The official site is here, the film will be showing all over the UK.

Looking for Hortense – French drama with Kristin Scott Thomas attempting to persuade her husband to get his civil servant father to intervene in the case of an illegal immigrant who is due to be expelled. The difficulty is that father and son don’t see eye to eye. No official site, but there are a few further details on the IMDb page here; the film will be showing at key cities only.

Silence – a brave sounding Irish film about a sound man travelling from Berlin back home to Cork and wanting to capture the sound of landscapes away from any man made noise. This will be showing at key cities only, the official website is here.

And on Wednesday 14 August…

Kick-Ass 2 – sequel to the 2010 comedy-actioneer, with Chloe Grace Moretz and Aaron Johnson (now Aaron Taylor Johnson) returning as the teenage wannabe superheroes. The official website, with ticket booking details, is here; the film will be showing  all over at most UK cinemas.

 

Only God Forgives (2013)

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Director: Nicolas Winding Refn. A Grand Elephant/Bold Films/Film i Vast et al. (18).

CRIME

 

 

Producers: Lene Borglum, Sidonie Dumas, Vincent Maraval.
Writer: Nicolas Winding Refn.
Camera: Larry Smith.
Music: Cliff Martinez.
Sets: Beth Mickle.

Ryan Gosling, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vithaya Pansringarm, Gordon Brown, Yayaying Rhatha Phongam, Tom Burke, Sahajak  Boonthanakit, Pitchawat Petchayahon.

SYNOPSIS

Bangkok-based drug dealer Julian’s (Gosling) life spirals out of control after his brother (Burke) beats an underage prostitute to death. The karaoke loving cop (Pansringarm) on his tail is the least of his worries though when Julian’s forthright and mourning mother (Scott-Thomas) turns up, demanding revenge on all those involved in Burke’s death, irrespective of what he did. Julian’s mettle and manhood are tested to the limits.

REVIEW

If ever there was a film to divide opinion, it would be Only God Forgives. Booed at Cannes whilst simultaneously receiving a standing ovation, it is a troubling rumination on the nature of vengeance and justice in which no protagonist escapes unscathed.

There is no question about the level of violence in this movie; it is shockingly, stomach-turningly aggressive and visceral. If one is easily upset by scenes of dismemberment, you may want to think twice before buying your admission ticket as a lot of arms are lost during the proceeding actions.

Whether all of this is actually necessary is a big point of debate, as are the contents of writer/director Winding Refn’s mind to come up with such a twisted narrative in the first place. But this is perhaps in keeping with the tonal and moral contrasts that feature throughout the film.

What shouldn’t be fought over is the striking visual style that Winding Refn has constructed his film with. Or constructed his film around as in real life he is colour blind so favours strong, contrasting colours as they allow him to detect tonal differences more easily. His films have a stark, almost hallucinogenic quality to them and in key scenes here, he uses two bold colours on top of one other, such as the opening boxing match.

Fans of David Lynch might jump for joy or run for cover at some of the overt references to that man’s own surreal work, particularly in the pulsing colour of the brothels so evocative of the ‘red room’ scenes in Twin Peaks.

Only God Forgives has the texture of a neon dream and there are odd highlights that push it further into being some sort of fairy-tale. The perpetually calm Pansringarm, when not placidly slicing people to bits, has a penchant for romantic karaoke and sings in a favourite bar surrounded by fairy lights. A dreamlike music twinkling in the background is the only sound as Gosling is informed why his brother was beaten to death. It is for this reason along that the film stands out as a stunning and uniquely visual high.

The performances are uniformly strange, hypnotic even, with Thomas standing out as the only person with anything to say, a peroxide Furie breathing cigarette smoke and peppering the air with language that would make even the hardiest of prostitutes blush, spurning her reluctant, Oedipal son to action. She is perhaps the most traditionally masculine person in the film.

Despite the extreme violence, this disturbing story is leavened by long pauses and almost non-existent dialogue (Gosling can’t say more than a few dozen words throughout) lending the narrative an almost contemplative feel, further enhanced by the actors slow and purposeful delivery allowing the audience chance to concentrate on why they feel the characters are acting the way they are. The downside is that sometimes, we have to work a bit too hard to fill in some of the gaps.

Future movie releases…w/e 2 August 2013

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The Conjuring – generally good reviews for this Poltergeist/Amytivlle Horror type story with Patrick Wilson and the always watchable Vera Farmiga as paranormal investigators trying to help farmers Ron Livingston and Lilly Taylor when their Rhode Island home is haunted. It’s from the director behind Saw (2004) so, given the praise so far in, let’s hope this one delivers. It will be showing nationwide and the official Warner Bros. site is here.

From Up on Poppy Hill – a fragrantly lovely title if ever there was, Japanese animated drama about a high school out to save her school’s club house from demolition. In this Anglicised rejig, voices are provided by the likes of Gillian Anderson and The Tudors’ Sarah Bolger. It will be showing at key cities only and the official Studio Canal page is here.

Heaven’s Gate – reappraisal for this epic western, synonymous with epic failure with both critics, members of the public and other film makers, has been grumbling along for many years now. Director Michael Cimino’s career was effectively finished when this long and elegiac piece went belly-up at the box office and nearly caused production company United Artists to follow suit. Worth a look; do bear in mind movie patrons, the finished film weighs in at 3 hours 36 minutes. The official Park Circus page is here; the film will screen at key cities only.

My Father and the Man in Black – drama looking at the troubled relationship between singer Johnny Cash and his manager, Saul Holiff. The official website is here; the film will be showing at selected UK cinemas only.

Only God Forgives – Ryan Gosling (swoon!) stars as a drug kingpin in Bangkok out to avenging his brothers death, but an unhinged policeman is watching his every move. Stylish looking thriller from the director of Gosling’s Drive (2011) featuring a slutty looking, peroxide Kristin Scott Thomas as his mother. The official Facebook page is here and the film will be screened at most UK cinemas.

Paradise: Hope – the conclusion to Ulrich Seidl’s Paradise trilogy follows an overweights Austrian girl at a fat camp who falls in love with the doctor, who is 40 years her senior. The official Soda Pictures website is here; the film will show at key cities.

Red 2 – Bruce Willis cobbles together his team of elite operatives on a global quest to track down a missing nuclear device. Co-starring John Malkovich, Helen Mirren and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The official website is here; the film will be showing all over the UK.

And from Wednesday 7 August…

Alan Partridge, Alpha Papa – the cinematic debut of Steve Coogan’s forever bumbling Norwich based TV ‘star’. The official BBC website is here, the film will be showing all over.

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (3D) – second in the trilogy of Rick Riordan book-film adaptations about a young demi-god Jackson (Logan Lerman), son of Poseidon, out to save his mortal, High School mates. The official site is here; the film will be playing in most multiplexes.

 

Future movie releases…Friday 26 July 2013

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Black Fish  – clearly Killer Whales are in fashion in the movies, follow Rust and Bone (2012), this documentary looks at the whale Tilikum who killed several people while in captivity, hearing examples of shocking abuse of these animals of Tilikum’s own unique personality. The official site is here; with screening details here.

Days of Grace – Mexican crime thriller set during three football world cups, this performed well at Latin America film festivals and was nominated for the Golden Camera at Cannes in 2011. IMDb has more info here; the film will show at key cities only.

Dial M For Murder – Hitchcock’s tricksy and not entirely satisfying adaptation of Frederick Knott’s play has Ray Milland trying to kill his wife Grace Kelly. When she survives, he has to think on his feet for a brilliant plan B. Showing at key cities only, the official Park Circus site is here.

Frances Ha – Noah Baumbach’s comedy drama follows Greta Gerwig as a useless dancer who throws herself headlong into her dreams, when its patently obvious they won’t pan out. The official website is here; the film will have a wide distribution so you should be able to catch it in most cinemas.

And on Wednesday 31 July…

The Heat – comedy that teams Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCartney as, respectively, an uptight and a foul mouthed FBI agents who team up to bust a drug lord. The official website is here; the film will be showing at most UK cinemas.

The Smurfs 2 (3D) – sequel to the part-animated/part live action film; the evil Garmagel creates two imposter Smurfs n the hope that they will secure him details of the all powerful Smurf essence. The Smurfs are none the less on to him. The film we be showing nationwide; the official website is here.

 

The Bling Ring (2013)

The Bling Ring (2013) film group
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Director: Sofia Coppola. American Zoetrope/NALA/Pathe et al (15)

Drama

 

Producers: Roman Coppola, Sofia Coppola, Youree Henley.
Writer: Sofia Coppola.
Camera: Christopher Blauvelt, Harris Savides.
Music: Daniel Lopatin, Brian Reitzell.
Sets: Anne Ross.

Katie Chang, Israel Broussard, Emma Watson, Claire Julien, Taissa Farmiga, Georgia Rock, Leslie Mann, Carlos Miranda, Gavin Rossdale.

SYNOPSIS

A group of Los Angeles teenagers take to breaking into the homes of absent/holidaying celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Lyndsey Lohan and make off with as much as they can carry in jewels, cash, clothing and drugs and parasitically enjoy the high-life that such accoutrements yield on the L.A. party scene. But the law is soon hot on their heels.

REVIEW

Coppola, not the old one but his daughter, is now into her fifth feature length film as a director and continues to show a flair for tackling bold and visually beautiful things.

Her previous films have had a certain dreamlike quality to them and a tendancy to linger rather longer than expected on surfaces, textures, acquisitions and artifice, so The Bling Ring is a fruit that doesn’t fall far from the autuer’s tree.

Like her Marie Antoinette (2006), there is an outrageously obscene amount of screen time devoted to loving shots of shoes, fur and hats but rather than accessing their Laboutins via a socially advantageous marriage, these girls simply jump a hedge or fence, enter suspicioualy non-secure houses (are Angelenos really this trusting?) and commence a nab-happy night out. Sofia, more than any other American director of the moment, is able to encapsulate the flippancy and awesomeness of youth than any other.

Coppola has a kind of punk way of presenting the issues she wants her narrative to address, an almost amateurish way of handling of her story and actors, but it works precisely because this is the milieu she is focusing on. And these kids, being based in a postal code just outside of the Hollywood dream factory, are unlike any others around, so as the daughter of the esteemed movie maker Francis Ford, Coppola knows more than most the unique external glitter pressure that can bear down on them. Our narrator Broussard notes that “Everyone let us in…we had so many beautiful gorgeous things”; possessions equal access in the objet obsessed society they find themselves in.

Coppola also trails closely alongside Quentin Tarantino in terms of utilising her soundtrack to set the coolest of tones and to place her story slap-bang on target with the right social setting and personalities of the characters involved. The film’s album is worth buying alone.

There are some spot on, louche and fizzy performances from this very young cast, particularly Chang as the chillingly detached anti-hero, perfectly in step with the distant and hollow tone that her director adopts and Julien as the seriously laid back Chloe. Mann also has fun as a seriously whacked out, moon-unit Mom. The only false note is Watson as Mann’s daughter Nicki. Talk about acting from a cue card. She displays the usual flaccid, middle of the range , bland Manhattan-cum-Valley-Girl accent and seems to jut her body forward as she over exaggerates every ‘r’ for effect. She is, like, soooooo not awwwwwwwesome.

Film poster for The Bling Ring (2013)

Future movie release…w/e 5 July 2013

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The Bling Ring – any new picture by director Sofia Coppola, whether good or only average, is always likely to be vibrant, beautiful and diverting. In this drama, Emma Watson stars as a member of a group of teenagers who track down and break into rich L.A. homes to steal designer clobber. The official website is here; the film will show at key cities only.

Bula Quo! – A film about ageing British rock band Status Quo might not be to everyone’s tastes, but if the gossip website Popbitch is anything to go by, this might have a few worthy laughs in it. It also has a good distribution deal and should be available to view across most of the UK (full list here).

Chasing Mavericks – The Karate Kid on a surfboard as young Jonny Weston enlists Gerard Butler to help tackle the largest waves on the planet. The official Facebook page is here; the film will be showing across most of the UK.

The Enigma of Kasper Hauser – one of Werner Herzog’s most famous films from his Golden period in the 1970’s. Bruno S portrays the infamous ‘wild child’ of German history, coming into well-meaning but brutal conflict with ‘civilised’ society. A mesmerising study of nature versus nurture, the official BFI website with details of key city screenings only, is here.

A Field in England – director Ben Wheatley puts his egg in many baskets, releasing this psychedelic British Civil War drama simultaneously on the big screen, DVD, Blue Ray, Film 4 and Video on Demand. Screening locations can be found here.

Out in the Dark – gay thriller in which a young Palestinian man falls in love with an Israeli lawyer only to find his own community none to happy about this. The official Facebook page is here; it will be showing at key cities only.

Paradise Faith – Ulrich Seidl’s second Paradise film in his planned trilogy (part one, Love, dealt with middle-aged European women seeking sex with younger African men) looks at different women at a crossroads in their lives, including one Catholic woman reunited with her Muslim husband.

Paris: Manhattan – director Sophie Lellouche based this light comedy, about a woman whose life follows the philosophies of her favourite film-maker Woody Allen, on her own love and admiration for Woody’s greatest movies and one-liners. The official site is here; it will be showing at key cities only.

Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer – surely you must all have heard of the Russian protest art collective now? This documentary follows them as they defend their protest ‘punk prayer’ in a Russian cathedral in court and hears from their families and friends about what inspired them. The official website is here; it will be showing at key cities only.

Tropicalia – we should expect a lot more cinema about Brazilian culture in the run up to the 2016 Olympics. Here, director Marcelo Machado looks deep into Tropicalism, a type of capoeira music fused with rock ‘n’ roll in the sixties. The official website is here; with screening details here.

Future movie releases…w/e 28 June 2013

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The Act of Killing – in this documentary co-executive produced by Werner Herzog, former members of Indonesian hit squads re-enact their most famous killings in the style of their favourite American movies. What a carve up! The official website is here and there is a list of screenings here.

The Battle of the Sexes – docudrama of the famous tennis match in 1973 between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King. Riggs, emboldened by a win over top female tennis star Margaret Court, taunted players everywhere that no woman was a match against a man. King took him on and won. The film will be showing at key cities only. Read more about the match here and the film in this Telegraph piece here.

Despicable Me 2 (3D) – Universal animation that sees the return of arch villain Gru (voiced by Steve Carrel). The film will be showing all over the UK and the official site is here, with screening locations found in this neat little booking tool.

The East – this probably has one of the most aggravating websites (you are asked a series of baffling questions that lead frustratingly to a trailer and no text information). Alexander Skarsgard and Brit Marling star in this thriller about an operative for an elite, private intelligence firm infiltrating a group who conduct attacks on large corporations. Will be screening across most major UK cinema screens.

I Want Your Love – already banned in Australia, this gay drama features scenes of real sex in a story about a young San Franciscan who has a party before he leaves to head back home. The official website is here, with screening details.

Night of Silence – Turkish drama, winner of the Crystal Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, in which a young bride, fearful of consummating her marriage with a man she has never met, distracts him with tales, the situation becoming stranger as the dawn encroaches on them. The official website is here; including all of the London-only screening locations.

Renoir – this drama looks at the painter Auguste, his son the film director Jean and their muse Andree who enters their lives when the younger Renoir is recovering from injuries sustained in WWI. The film can be found on the Goldwyn website, no exact link I’m afraid, but it will be showing at key cities.

Stand Up Guys – what looks like a dream cast (Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, Alan Arkin and Julianna Margulies) team up in this Goodfellas on Zimmer Frames thriller about old time gangsters out for one last big night…except one of them is harbouring a dangerous secret. The official website is here; the film will be showing across most UK screens.

Stories We Tell – Canadian actor-turned director Sarah Polley is an interesting talent to keep an eye on, as she develops behind the camera. Here, she directs herself as the interviewer recording story-tellers of varying reliability as they relate a tale to her. The truth, as she finds, depends entirely on who is telling it. Showing at the Curzon (London) only; the official site is here.

This Is the End – there has been a spate of end of the world dramas and comedies recently. In this Seth Rogan starrer, the end meets The Hangover as a group of lads find their invitation to Hollywood star James Franco’s house party rudely interrupted by an impending apocalypse. The official site is here; it will be playing all over the country.

Venus and Serena – obvious timing seeing as Wimbledon has started to release this obvious documentary following the most famous female tennis players on the planet. It will be showing at key cities only, but the official site is here.

And on Monday 1 July…

Confine – model Daisy Lowe makes her acting debut as a scarred model who is taken hostage by charismatic robber Eliza Bennett. The official website is here but, unfortunately for Lowe, it is only showing on a limited run.

And on Wednesday 3 July…

The Internship – Vince Vaughan and Owen Wilson re-team in this comedy as a couple of middle-aged losers who skank an internship a Google but find they are up against younger, more tech-savvy competitors for real employment there. The official website is here; the film will be showing at almost every cinema across the UK.

Now You See Me – a group of elite illusionists pull off a series of heists as they steal from business leaders during their performances, pitting them against the FBI. Stars Michael Caine, Woody Harrelson and Isla Fisher, the official website is here and the film will be showing all over.

Future movie release…w/e 14 June 2013

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Admission – comedy from the director of Little Fockers starring Tina Fey as a Princeton admissions officer whose major promotion seems scuppered by the arrival of a student who may be the son she gave up for adoption years before. The film will be showing at most cinemas over the UK, the IMDb page has the technical details here.

Fukrey – Bollywood sends up Avengers Assemble. No release details, but the official Facebook page is here.

Man of Steel – THE movie event so far in 2013, but that’s enough of Henry Caville’s physique being on show. Caville steps into Brandon Routh’s red boots as Superman in this action blockbuster from director Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen). The official Warner Brothers site is here; the film will be showing nationwide.

Much Ado About Nothing – Joss (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) Wheedon’s modern take on the Shakespeare play that follows two pairs of lovers who each have a different take on love. The official Facebook page is here, the film be showing at key cities only.

Paradise: Love – this Austrian film follows in the footsteps of Francois Ozon’s Going South, chronicling middle aged European women in search of fun with young Kenyan men. The official Soda Pictures website is here, the film will be showing at key cities.

Stuck in Love – novelist Greg Kinnear dips his toes back into the dating world, in order to get over ex-wife Jennifer Connolly in this romantic comedy from writer/director Josh Boone. The official website is here, the film will be showing across the UK.

Summer in February – drama that follows the bohemian English set in Cornwall shortly before WWI, with Dominic Cooper as artist AJ Munnings. The official website is here, the film will be showing at key cities only, but you can find out which one here.

On Monday 17 June…

I am Nasrine – 9/11 cinema, following a young Iranian girl and her brother and their differing reactions to being relocated to the UK. The film will be on a limited run only, but you can find out where to catch it here.

On Wednesday 19 June…

A Haunted House – not quite sure what will turn out to be funnier about this film, the gags in this spoof send up of horror films or the official website’s claim that Marlon Wayans is the “genius creator” behind Scary Movie and White Chicks.

Forthcoming movie releases…w/e 24 May 2013

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Benjamin Britten – Peace and Conflict – director Tony Britten’s drama documentary about the early years of celebrated British composer Benjamin Britten (no relation) and the pacifism that affected his life and work. The official website is here and it contains details of screening locations here.

Grave of the Fireflies/My Neighbour Totoro – two classic manga animations now a quarter of a century old are given a dusting off at key cities only this comic drama follows a boy and his little sister as they struggle  to survive in WWII Japan. The StudioCanal website has a link at the bottom page to cinemas that are showing the film.

The King of Marvin Gardens  – Jack Nicholson proved his mettle in the 1970’s with a number of mature, male-led dramas, including this one with director Bob Rafelson. The drama concerns two brothers who team up for a number of get rich quick schemes in the developing Atlantic City. Showing at BFI Southbank and key cities around the UK only, the official site is here.

The Moth Diaries  American Psycho director Mary Harron has made only one feature length film in the 13 years that have elapsed (The Notorious Bettie Page). This production has had a troubled gestation and creation and is a horror drama about a new girl to an exclusive girls’ school (Lily Cole) pushing Sarah Bolger’s best friend away from her. Bolger suspects Cole is a vampire. The official site is here; the film will be showing at key cities only.

Something in the Air – French drama that follows a number of young people after the heady weeks of 1968 who decide the counter-revolution will continue and what they do next. The official IFC Entertainment site is here; the film will be showing at key cities only.

And on Wednesday 29 May…

The Big Wedding – long-divorced couple Robert De Niro and Diane Keaton have to pretend to be married again when one of their children gets married. Silly sounding comedy, a remake of a 2006 French film, that is the staple of De Niro’s 21st Century career. The official Lionsgate site is here; it will be showing nationwide.

 

Forthcoming movie releases…w/e 17 May 2013

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Beware of Mr Baker – do we really need another documentary about a musical legend, his ex-wives, self-destruction and world travels to find inspiration? Apparently so; here we chronicle former Cream drummer ‘Ginger’ Baker. The official site is here; the film will show at key UK cities only.

Fast and the Furious 6 – and apparently we need another high octane, car chase thriller, following on the heels of last week’s Vehicle 19. That film’s Paul Walker makes an appearance here, with Vin Diesel and ‘The Rock’. The plot? Does it matter? Official Universal website is here; the film will play at most multiplexes nationwide; use this link to find out where.

The Liability – Tim Roth and Jack O’Connell star in this intriguing comedy as, respectively, a hit man who wants to retire and a young man who dreams of having that ‘career’. Official Facebook page is here; the film will show at key cities only.

The Stoker – Russian drama about a former soldier fallen on hard times who now works as a stoker, even living in his incinerator room. He writes a novel in his spare time, turning a blind eye to a former comrade turned hit man who disposes of dead bodies in the incinerator. But even this compliant man has his limits. Distributed by the Edinburgh Filmhouse, there are details about the film maker here it will, of course, be showing at key cities only.

And on Wednesday 22 May…

Epic 3D – animated fantasy from Fox, featuring the vocal talents of Beyonce and Colin Farrell, in what appears to be a simple morality tale about the fight between the forces of good and evil for control of the world. The official website is here; the film will show all over the UK.

And on Thursday 23 May…

The Hangover Part III – for a film whose title kinda gives the plot away, by the third instalment there is little need to waste too much precious finger energy on typing the plot out. Suffice to say the trio of lads on a perpetual bender are back in Las Vegas where their fun all began. The official website is here; the film will show pretty much everywhere.