Films of 2011

[parallaxicality]

I'm surprised you've shown so little interest in The Way of the Morris Gillian, especially since I went to the trouble of referencing Discworld

[Gillianren]

Given that I doubt even the Olympia Film Society will be showing it? I will be excited when I get to "W" in the library's catalog!

[Doodler]

I did a little research on the Hellraiser series a while back (I liked the first few of them). Apparently Hellraiser: Revelations was supposed to be an ashcan movie, akin to the not-to-be-released Fantastic Four movie made nearly a decade before the last trilogy. Never orignally meant to be released at all, only being made to continue ownership of the franchise rights while the more serious effort to reboot is in pre-production.

[parallaxicality]

Heard about it, but couldn’t make head or tail of why anyone would bother to make a movie just to dump it. Accountant logic. Go figure.


For the week of Friday, 16 September

I Don’t Know How She Does It: Like Sex and the City, this is based on the semi-autobiographical newspaper column about the life of a modern working woman (A British newspaper incidentally, despite the movie’s NY locale, which could explain why this got a simultaneous release). Unlike in Sex and the City however, this woman appears to have paid some attention to Capra movies and has a better appreciation of life’s actual priorities (which could explain why Sarah Jessica Parker chose to play her). Sarah’s a decent actress as far as she goes, but I have a feeling she’ll be stuck in these roles for however long she has left. Not yet entirely sold on the acting abilities of the lovely Christina Hendricks, though she’ll have ample [ahem] chance to demonstrate them this autumn- she’s got another movie coming out this week. Greg Kinnear, Kelsey Grammer and Pierce Brosnan play the same roles they always do (wispy New Man, pompous jerk and twinkle-eyed lothario, respectively) but Brosnan’s act never gets tired for me.

US:

Drive: Not sure why this is redband; it’s not bloody, pornographic or sweary. Anyway, Drive has been getting some stellar notices as a “thinking man’s action film”; a kind of midway point between The Transporter and Taxi Driver. It was directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, who has gained quite a cult in Hollywood for his film Bronson, which I haven’t seen. It was enough for him to snag some pretty heavy hitting actors (Carey Mulligan, Albert Brooks, Bryan Cranston) to go with Ryan Gosling and Christina Hendricks. Gotta say, I never knew Albert Brooks did such a killer Harvey Keitel impersonation.

Straw Dogs: As needless remakes go, this one just about teeters on top of the now substantial pile. If Rod Lurie, who made that gutless Robert Redford prison movie The Last Castle, thinks he can do brutal violence better than Sam Peckinpah, I’ll take that bet and raise him a bullet to the brainpan. You can tell this movie’s on the wrong track from the start because a) the locale has been moved from repressed, fairytale England, where no one expects this sort of thing to happen, to the deep South, where thanks to John Boorman we know this sort of thing happens all the time; b) the main actor has been changed from Dustin Hoffman, the nebbish’s nebbish, to James Marsden, a guy who has already played superheroes. The film’s signature transformation is rendered somewhat meaningless if you don’t believe the guy’s a loser in the first place; c) the lead actress is now Kate Bosworth, a woman so boring even Orlando Bloom dumped her; d) at least the original trailer had the guts to show the rape. Will that even happen in the new version? And finally e) when the original came out in 1971, home invasion flicks were almost unheard of. Now they’re a dime a dozen. What about this makes it stand out from an already crowded field? The only reason I have to see this is the presence of Alexander Skarsgaard, and I can see him on TV for free.

Dolphin Tale: Message in vain to marketing execs: a title that swaps “tail” for “tale” or vice versa is not witty. Stop doing it. Now. Forever. OK? Good. Will not criticise Morgan Freeman. He can do what he wants. For the record, this is a true story and the dolphin is actually starring in the movie of its own life. Which is kinda interesting.

Restless : The reason for Mia Wasikowska’s jarring pixie cut: she plays a terminally ill girl who falls for a funeral-crashing Japanese-ghost-haunted weirdo played by the son of Dennis Hopper. As you do. This Gus Van Sant movie has not been getting stellar reviews, which isn’t surprising, given its deliberately quirky plot.

Stay Cool : Apparently, there’s a Beetlejuice sequel in the works. At least that would give Winona Ryder something better to do than this paean to ephebophilia.

Jane’s Journey: Jane Goodall is just… awesome. Even in her autumn years, she still has that ethereal, angelic quality that so compliments her eloquence and intellect. Like David Attenborough, she seems to have taken on saving the planet in this crucial time, and embraced the youth who actually care about the future.

The Whale : Cute documentary about a killer whale who adopts a local community.

3: The latest from Tom Tykwer, who made Run Lola Run, a movie I’ll admit to liking, but hasn’t made anything remotely as interesting since then. This trailer lacks his trademark vigour. Come on lady; it’s a baby, not a tumour.

Back Door Channels: The Price of Peace: Not sure what “peace” means in the Israel/Palestine conflict, but I suppose “The Israelis not nuking Iran” comes pretty close. Wish I could believe that all this effort has come to something, but I suppose we will never know how bad it could have gotten.

Granito: How to Nail a Dictator: Documentary filmmaker who joins a guerrilla group and then attempts to get a dictator charged with crimes against humanity. Shame the doc didn’t seem all that interested in things like where this was happening or anything like that.

Happy Happy : Ah. A quirky comedy about infidelity. The message is, if you engage in an extramarital affair, it can substantially complicate your interpersonal relations.

Lovely Molly: This was directed by Eduardo Sanchez, one of the directors of The Blair Witch Project, and if you were wondering why you hadn’t heard of him recently, that’s because he hasn’t done anything of note. Including this.

Season of Gray: Man. Life sure does suck. Seems even religious people think so sometimes.

The Mill and the Cross: No, not a quirky George Eliot homage, but a film in which Rutger Hauer plays Breugel. Interesting attempt to capture the feel in cinema of a Renaissance painting.

The Weird World of Blowfly : Sad documentary about an ageing soul pioneer who masqueraded as one of the earliest gangsta rappers.


UK:

Big Fat Gypsy Gangster : Curse you Guy Ritchie. Because of you Britain’s soul is swathed in movies like this. Loud, incoherent, unfunny and ineffectual. The title makes no sense to anyone not from the UK but to go into why it’s called that would only make outsiders think less of our nation.

Episode 50: Think Apollo 18 but with Most Haunted.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy : Ah the 70s. When everyone knew the rules and which side they were on. Such innocent times. John LeCarrie must have seemed cutting edge and thrilling in his day but nowadays he feels nostalgic. Which is probably why they made this. Now don’t get me wrong; I love Gary Oldman, and it is a law of nature that he can play absolutely anyone, but to take on a role that Alec Guinness, of all people, made iconic was never going to be easy. You either remake the character as your own or you do a Guinness impersonation and, unfortunately, it seems Oldman has opted for the latter. Still, as the first English-language effort from the director of Let the Right One In, it should be worth a look.

Tomboy: Sweet little film about growing up. Doesn’t look like it says much anyone who has already grown up didn’t learn the hard way, but at least it feels real.

Turnout: Deeply unappealing 'ard blokes drama. Apparently, that schlub's upset because he's lost some money. Here's a thought: Maybe it's in all that COCAINE you keep snorting. Idiot.

You Instead: Not bad for a movie shot in 5 days. But then, that’s a fairly shallow curve.

[parallaxicality]

Oops. Made a serious mistake on Thomas Alfredson's back catalogue. Fixed now. Hope no one caught it.

[Gillianren]

Pierce Brosnan, in The Human Face, says he really wants to look rugged instead of pretty. I think time is helping him toward that goal.

[peter eldergill]

Love your posts, Parallax! This is one of the posts I look forward to reading on a regular basis. A couple o' questions

I gather your opinions are upon seeing the trailers (trust me, a legitimate question...I have a knack for missing the obvious )

How many of the movies do you get to see? I'd like to hear your opinion as sort of a before/after kind of thing. That would be kind of cool.

Cheers

Pete

[parallaxicality]

Aw thanks!

In truth, I don't get to see that many movies these days. Partly because I don't have much money but mostly because I happen to live in one of the most expensive cities in the world, so going out is a treat for the well-compensated. If I do see a movie, and it does change my views, I note it here.

[Noclevername]

Heard about it, but couldn’t make head or tail of why anyone would bother to make a movie just to dump it. Accountant logic. Go figure.

Legally, the studio owned the option on the title but if they didn't use it within a certain timeframe, it would go up for grabs. Entertainment and copyright laws are not safe for human consumption.

[asimrana99]

The Upcoming movie of 2011 is U R my Jaan. It is a simple love story about Reena and Akash who're opposites. Staying miles away from each other, still Akash from New York and Reena from Chandigarh are brought together by fate in Mumbai. In their brief encounter, a vivacious & chirpy middle class Reena, who nurtures the dream of making it big in Bollywood, and the renowned, suave & ruthless billionaire Akash, who will go to any lengths when it is his business, manage to change each other's life forever. Their story gets you thinking about what fate and destiny has in store for you.

(links removed by Mod)

[HenrikOlsen]

The Mill and the Cross: No, not a quirky George Eliot homage, but a film in which Rutger Hauer plays Breugel. Interesting attempt to capture the feel in cinema of a Renaissance painting.

The painting in question is The Procession to Calvary, which is one really busy picture.

[parallaxicality]

For the week of Friday, 23 September

Pearl Jam Twenty: I may get pilloried and pelted with Vanilla Ice CDs for saying this, but as far as the Seattle grunge scene goes I’ve always preferred Pearl Jam to Nirvana. I found their music more melodic, their lyrics more cogent, and Eddie Vedder’s voice more powerful. I’m not particularly fond of rock documentaries though. Rock stars’ lives are not particularly interesting from the outside, I find, and Cameron Crowe isn’t really an unbiased observer when it comes to that world. Hell; if they could get David Lynch to interview Vedder, why couldn’t they get him to direct? That would be worth seeing. And how awkward is Lynch at the start of the trailer?

Killer Elite: Based on a novel by Sir Ranulph Fiennes (yes, Ralph’s cousin, crossed Antarctica, once in the running to play James Bond- that guy), and starring Robert De Niro, if it weren’t for the title you’d assume it was produced by Merchant-Ivory. But no. The title alone should be enough to know that it stars Jason Statham and appears to have as much literary merit as a submission to Penthouse Forum. Still, it looks well-put together, if one excuses that irritating blue filter.


US:

Red State: Kevin Smith has a point to make, and if you feel the need to watch that exceedingly forum-unfriendly trailer, he will make it for you, firmly, emphatically and repeatedly. Not sure who he’s making the point for, though. If he’s aiming at the people who picketed Dogma, they’re all watching Sarah Palin: Undefeated; if he’s aiming at anyone else, he’s preaching to the choir. I’ve gone off Kevin Smith in recent years, because I felt his movies were repetitive. The same certainly cannot be said of this, which he financed and distributed himself. However, he also says this will be his last major film, because he’s all in a huff about how much he’s been criticised. Boo hoo.

Abduction: Shark Boy gets his first post-Twilight star vehicle in what amounts to a tech-heavy variation of Harry Potter. Cool that John Singleton is still getting work, but we’re a loooong way from Boyz N The Hood now.

Moneyball: Brad Pitt’s producing career has been pretty good so far (Eat, Pray Love; The Time Traveller’s Wife; Kick-***) though I didn’t warm to The Tree of Life and am NOT happy with what I’ve seen of World War Z (fan of the book here). He sticks to standard star-producer tactics and casts himself, which makes sense, since unlike most of his generation he’s still a box-office draw. The plot, which, as the trailer points out, is basically an attempt to “play the numbers” to win baseball instead of blackjack, is interesting, but probably made a better book. I’m not sold on Jonah Hill yet, but, since he apparently began his career as Guns N’ Roses’ accountant, he is certainly well-cast.

Mardi Gras: Spring Break : I was going to suggest that for all its faults, it might aid the New Orleans tourism industry. And then that guy made the hurricane joke. So there’s that idea gone.

Journey 2 The Mysterious Island : No trailer for this; just a series of pictures of the deeply unappealing Vanessa Hudgens apparently “working” on a Hawaiian beach.

Puncture and Machine Gun Preacher: Believe it or not, both of these movies are based on true stories and, like a lot of movies based on true stories, they stumble out the gate trying to sex up the events to Hollywood standard.

A Bird of the Air : Sweet but trite romcom about two oddballs who bond over a stray parrot.

Thunder Soul: Documentary that attempts to bring together the surviving members of an all-black 70s high school funk band. The sounds are smooth, baby.

Limelight: Documentary about an influential and lawless New York nightclub that crashed into reality when Giuliani came to power.

@urfrenz : Another cyberstalker movie. I was under the impression that “@urfrenz” is a Twitter term, but I suppose they couldn’t mention Twitter.

Toast : The writer of Billy Elliot retells the story with cooking instead of ballet, and an odd rival in Helena Bonham Carter. Freddie Highmore seems to have de-aged a few years.

Weekend: The dialogue may be taken from a hundred romance novels, but the performances sell this exploration of modern gay love.

UK:

Mausam and Yaara O Dildaara: Bollywood budgets are sure going up. The first one looks very well shot. And do I detect a slight gay moment in the first shot? The second one looks more traditional.

The Tapes: Found footage horror movies can be really scary when done right. This one isn’t.

Tucker and Dale vs Evil : This parody of Hills Have Eyes-style 70s/80s backwoods slashers has been gaining stellar reviews on its creep through the festival circuit. It’s actually already available on VOD in the States, but will be getting a wide release next week. The story of two harmless hillbillies (one of whom is Firefly’s Alan Tudyk) who, through a series of increasingly grisly misunderstandings, get targeted by a group of city teens who’ve seen Deliverance one too many times, has been hailed as the redemption of the redneck on screen. I wasn’t expecting it to be so bloody, but it still looks funny as all heck.

[Gillianren]

Pearl Jam Twenty: I may get pilloried and pelted with Vanilla Ice CDs for saying this, but as far as the Seattle grunge scene goes I’ve always preferred Pearl Jam to Nirvana. I found their music more melodic, their lyrics more cogent, and Eddie Vedder’s voice more powerful. I’m not particularly fond of rock documentaries though. Rock stars’ lives are not particularly interesting from the outside, I find, and Cameron Crowe isn’t really an unbiased observer when it comes to that world. Hell; if they could get David Lynch to interview Vedder, why couldn’t they get him to direct? That would be worth seeing. And how awkward is Lynch at the start of the trailer?

Actually, I'm totally with you. I was driving to the airport some months ago to pick up some friends, and I realized that I was listening to the actual Nirvana version of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" for the first time in years because it happened to be playing on the radio. (Normally, it's either Tori Amos or Scala and Kolacny Brothers. Or Weird Al.) But I listen to Pearl Jam all the time. I even wrote a found poem of their lyrics once, largely inspired by the line "She dreams in colour, she dreams in red." My fondness for them might make the documentary worth watching; certainly I care more about them than Metallica, and I watched that documentary. But probably not.

Killer Elite: Based on a novel by Sir Ranulph Fiennes (yes, Ralph’s cousin, crossed Antarctica, once in the running to play James Bond- that guy), and starring Robert De Niro, if it weren’t for the title you’d assume it was produced by Merchant-Ivory. But no. The title alone should be enough to know that it stars Jason Statham and appears to have as much literary merit as a submission to Penthouse Forum. Still, it looks well-put together, if one excuses that irritating blue filter.

How cool is the Fiennes family? Still probably going to give the movie a miss, though.

Red State: Kevin Smith has a point to make, and if you feel the need to watch that exceedingly forum-unfriendly trailer, he will make it for you, firmly, emphatically and repeatedly. Not sure who he’s making the point for, though. If he’s aiming at the people who picketed Dogma, they’re all watching Sarah Palin: Undefeated; if he’s aiming at anyone else, he’s preaching to the choir. I’ve gone off Kevin Smith in recent years, because I felt his movies were repetitive. The same certainly cannot be said of this, which he financed and distributed himself. However, he also says this will be his last major film, because he’s all in a huff about how much he’s been criticised. Boo hoo.

I'm glad, frankly; my review of Clerks 2 included my belief that it is the perfect close to the Askewniverse, though I'll admit to being curious what's going to happen in it in, oh, about twenty years now. (Good Lord, Dogma was ten years ago?) I'll watch him give talks, because I do find him genuinely interesting, but I think his problem is that he believed what they told him when Clerks came out.

Abduction: Shark Boy gets his first post-Twilight star vehicle in what amounts to a tech-heavy variation of Harry Potter. Cool that John Singleton is still getting work, but we’re a loooong way from Boyz N The Hood now.

John Singleton was the first black person to be nominated for a Best Director Oscar. One of the youngest, if not the youngest. The only famous alumnus of my high school. A very talented man. I wish he'd make a movie I was willing to watch again at some point.

Moneyball: Brad Pitt’s producing career has been pretty good so far (Eat, Pray Love; The Time Traveller’s Wife; Kick-***) though I didn’t warm to The Tree of Life and am NOT happy with what I’ve seen of World War Z (fan of the book here). He sticks to standard star-producer tactics and casts himself, which makes sense, since unlike most of his generation he’s still a box-office draw. The plot, which, as the trailer points out, is basically an attempt to “play the numbers” to win baseball instead of blackjack, is interesting, but probably made a better book. I’m not sold on Jonah Hill yet, but, since he apparently began his career as Guns N’ Roses’ accountant, he is certainly well-cast.

I'm trying to limit the sports movies I watch. I only have so much caring about them, and I'm trying to save it for things like The Natural and Rocky.

Toast : The writer of Billy Elliot retells the story with cooking instead of ballet, and an odd rival in Helena Bonham Carter. Freddie Highmore seems to have de-aged a few years.

Interesting. Perhaps I'll get around to it. Probably when I get to "T."

[Mr Gorsky]

Actually, I'm totally with you. I was driving to the airport some months ago to pick up some friends, and I realized that I was listening to the actual Nirvana version of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" for the first time in years because it happened to be playing on the radio. (Normally, it's either Tori Amos or Scala and Kolacny Brothers. Or Weird Al.)

You haven't really heard Smells Like Teen Spirit until you have heard the Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain's version.

[parallaxicality]

Heavy load this week; split over two days.


For the week of Friday, 30 September

What’s Your Number?: The script may be a bit whiffy but I have to give credit to Anna Faris, who seems to have been taking lessons in adorable from Zooey Dechanel. She’s not quite there yet, but, after the other sex comedies this year, the comparative innocence on display here is infectious.

US:

Dream House: I likes me a good ghost story, and even if this trailer gives away its central plot twist, it’s still a pretty clever one. Not sure if it makes any kind of sense (where is this house supposed to be?) but Daniel Craig, the archetypal straight man, is well suited to horror. Rachel Weisz and Naomi Watts are no bad addition either.

50/50: I am slowly developing an allergy to Seth Rogen; it seems his presence even mutates scripts to fit his slimy persona; without his contributions, the lines in this trailer are quite witty. But since he’s paired with Joseph Gordon Levitt, Anna Kendrick (from Up In The Air) and Bryce Dallas Howard in a comedy about cancer, I just might be able to bear him.

Margaret: Title isn’t the main character’s name; it’s taken from a poem called “Spring and Fall” by Gerard Manley Hopkins; in which a child’s tears for the falling of autumn leaves become a metaphor for the loss of innocence that comes with age. I may be an illiterate philistine but it’s hard for me to reconcile that theme with the story of a girl who falsely implicates a dead woman in triggering an accident to protect a bus driver because she unwittingly distracted him and then has second thoughts. Anna Paquin, who really should be over highschool roles after four years of True Blood, leads a superior cast that includes Matt Damon, Mark Ruffalo, Matthew Broderick and Jean Reno. Directed by Kenneth Lonergan, who aeons ago made the sweet Laura Linney slice of life drama, You Can Count On Me.

Courageous: This new studio has created an entire subgenre in which Our Boys (firemen, cops, presumably army next) fight the good fight against the darkening world and find solace and strength in their faith in the Lord. Apparently they’re making money, so good for them. At least their motives are purer than those of The Asylum.

American Teacher: I don’t think anyone could argue against the fact that, apart from growing food, teaching is the most important job in the world. So why does everyone hate teachers so much? I’ve been told my whole life to go into teaching, and you know what? I’d probably be very good at it. But I won’t, because I spent my school years being bullied and I have no wish to repeat that experience.

Confessions of an Eco-Terrorist : Ah, remember conservation in the 80s? The heady days when ramming whalers and holding back seal clubbers was all it took to save the planet? And when entire countries effectively endorsed piracy to protect cute sea creatures? It all seems so long ago, and yet the Japanese are still thirsting for revenge. Dudes, by all accounts, whale tastes metallic and gross. Get over it.

Filth to Ashes Flesh to Dust: Oddly, this isn’t a heavy metal documentary, but what looks like a really cheap slasher flick.

Finding Joe : Joseph Campbell was my hero when I was a kid. Raised in an environment suffused with eastern mythology, I became addicted to his retellings of quests and battles between gods. Because of him I briefly dabbled with the idea of declaring myself a pantheist. David Attenborough has since replaced him in my affections, but the underlying mythic principle has informed my writing ever since.

Munger Road: A real place, apparently, at which supernatural activity has supposedly been documented. However this movie doesn’t seem to have much to do with ghosts and feels more like a found footage rework of Halloween.

Sarah Palin: You Betcha! : The title comes from Sarah Palin’s response to Nick Broomfield’s request to interview her. She didn’t follow up. She should have, because, as this movie shows, it’s never a good idea to turn away Nick Broomfield. Denied his star, he uses his charm and unassuming persona to interview her rivals, her colleagues, and even her parents, and in the process constructs a frankly terrifying portrait of a woman stuck somewhere between ignorance and cunning, delusion and psychopathy.

The Perfect House : Trailer is a bit hazy on plot (and acting) and perhaps a bit too violent for the casual observer, but it appears to be a horror anthology about three families who move into a house that makes people do evil things. Looks fairly well made but the script is dull.

UK:


Cane Toads: The Conquest 3D: A 3D wildlife documentary about… the cane toad infestation. It’s all a bit of a joke, but then, so is our species’ ecological record. I’d find it harder to grasp the idiocy of past generations were it not for the ample evidence of continued idiocy today.

Force: Ever wondered what a Bollywood action movie would look like? Well wonder no more.

The Green Wave: Account of the wave of protests that swept Iran in 2010 and presaged the Arab Spring. Not clear on whether it’s a documentary or a drama, but seems to flit between the two, using both animation and live action, as well as Twitter and Facebook, to tell its story.

Guilty of Romance: I’ve come to the conclusion that “controversial” is a term applied to crazy directors by people who like them. So anyway, crazy Japanese director Sion Sono (Suicide Circle) has made another film.

Melancholia: A film that dares to ask the ultimate question: who’s crazier, Lars von Trier or Nancy Lieder? Right now I’d say there’s little light between them, which makes this de facto collaboration a rather compelling curio. However, I’ve decided to avoid Lars for a while, at least until someone manages to tether his balloon string.

Muran: I think this trailer was meant to be dark and edgy, but those adjectives don’t sit well with Bollywood.

The Speedy Singhs: A Bollywood/Canada co-production. Which means we see a dance number in a hockey rink. No I’m not joking.

The Story of Lover's Rock: Documentary about the origins of lover's rock, a particular brand of reggae created in the UK by second-generation Afro-Caribbean British kids.

The Woman: Lucky McKee, who made one of the best horror films of the last decade (May) has so far not managed to break into the mainstream. From the looks of the trailer, this collaboration with Hank Ketchem, whose works often examine the effects of violence and subjection, draws on female identity and sexual politics, two overriding themes in McKee’s work, so it’s a good match.

[Gillianren]

50/50: I am slowly developing an allergy to Seth Rogen; it seems his presence even mutates scripts to fit his slimy persona; without his contributions, the lines in this trailer are quite witty. But since he’s paired with Joseph Gordon Levitt, Anna Kendrick (from Up In The Air) and Bryce Dallas Howard in a comedy about cancer, I just might be able to bear him.

I probably wouldn't. I've never liked him. He's on the list of comedians who are extremely popular right now and whom I just can't stand. I do, however, quite like Joseph Gordon Levitt, even if I refer to him as "Tommy" half the time. He's done a lot of good work since Third Rock From the Sun--I was especially impressed with Brick--but I can't help it.

American Teacher: I don’t think anyone could argue against the fact that, apart from growing food, teaching is the most important job in the world. So why does everyone hate teachers so much? I’ve been told my whole life to go into teaching, and you know what? I’d probably be very good at it. But I won’t, because I spent my school years being bullied and I have no wish to repeat that experience.

My problem is that I'm lousy at teaching people who don't want to learn. I just get frustrated and start yelling. But I think part of the problem may well be that people remember teachers as being the moral equivalent of their bosses, when they were kids. The Person Who Gets to Tell You What to Do. And people resent being told what to do. It doesn't matter that very few teachers are the ones they had when they were kids; the attitude is left over. It's also true that a lot of people resent people who are smarter and/or more educated than they are, and teachers can be seen as the definition of that. Well, they have to be smarter than everyone else, don't they, if they're teaching?

Sarah Palin: You Betcha! : The title comes from Sarah Palin’s response to Nick Broomfield’s request to interview her. She didn’t follow up. She should have, because, as this movie shows, it’s never a good idea to turn away Nick Broomfield. Denied his star, he uses his charm and unassuming persona to interview her rivals, her colleagues, and even her parents, and in the process constructs a frankly terrifying portrait of a woman stuck somewhere between ignorance and cunning, delusion and psychopathy.

This looks much more interesting than the other Sarah Palin documentary, and that's all I'm going to say.

Cane Toads: The Conquest 3D: A 3D wildlife documentary about… the cane toad infestation. It’s all a bit of a joke, but then, so is our species’ ecological record. I’d find it harder to grasp the idiocy of past generations were it not for the ample evidence of continued idiocy today.

So true!

Guilty of Romance: I’ve come to the conclusion that “controversial” is a term applied to crazy directors by people who like them. So anyway, crazy Japanese director Sion Sono (Suicide Circle) has made another film.

Personally, I still just call Werner Herzog crazy. But I don't always see "crazy" as an insult, and anyway I generally pair it with "but brilliant."

Melancholia: A film that dares to ask the ultimate question: who’s crazier, Lars von Trier or Nancy Lieder? Right now I’d say there’s little light between them, which makes this de facto collaboration a rather compelling curio. However, I’ve decided to avoid Lars for a while, at least until someone manages to tether his balloon string.

I call Lars von Trier crazy, too. Especially post-Cannes.

[GeorgeLeRoyTirebiter]

50/50: I am slowly developing an allergy to Seth Rogen; it seems his presence even mutates scripts to fit his slimy persona; without his contributions, the lines in this trailer are quite witty. But since he’s paired with Joseph Gordon Levitt, Anna Kendrick (from Up In The Air) and Bryce Dallas Howard in a comedy about cancer, I just might be able to bear him.

FWIW, Rogen is playing a fictionalized version of himself in this movie. The script is based on screenwriter Will Reiser's recovery from cancer, and Rogen is the real-world friend that helped Reiser through it.

I don't know if that makes Rogen any more or less tolerable here, however.

[HenrikOlsen]

Force: Ever wondered what a Bollywood action movie would look like? Well wonder no more.

Singham already answered that question.

[fjcamper]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II: And so the cow is milked, one last time. I just sent my Harry Potter books to Kazakhstan, no joke (they're short of English versions over there, it seems), so I have officially moved on.

Did you move on before or after you reviewed the literary alchemical symbolism in the Septology?

[parallaxicality]

Singham already answered that question.

Kinda, but that was more Hong Kong chopsock. This is a Western-style muscles and guns pic.

[parallaxicality]

For the record, I just saw Arrietty, and I cried at the end.

[parallaxicality]

Did you move on before or after you reviewed the literary alchemical symbolism in the Septology?

What Death meaning change? Nicolas Flamel, that sort of thing?

And it's "heptalogy".

[jamesabrown]

Courageous: This new studio has created an entire subgenre in which Our Boys (firemen, cops, presumably army next) fight the good fight against the darkening world and find solace and strength in their faith in the Lord. Apparently they’re making money, so good for them. At least their motives are purer than those of The Asylum.

I watched this over the weekend. My wife had gotten tickets so to please her I went, although I never would have chosen to go to this one. But overall, I was not displeased. I laughed at the funny parts, cried at the sad parts, and mostly agreed with the main message, that too many dads are shortchanging their kids (the role of mothers was not addressed, with the implication that it would be superfluous.) It had some elements involving drug culture which were convincing except to anyone who's watched HBO's The Wire. Roughly twenty-five percent of the movie would be what you would call "by Christians for Christians," and the rest was palatable enough.

[parallaxicality]

For the week of Friday, 7 October

Hell and Back Again: I can see why this won the cinematography award at Cannes. How often do you see documentaries as beautifully shot as this? Not sure how much of this is actual unstaged footage; some of the scenes seem too intimate to have been shot by a bystander, but following one individual soldier through his war experiences and then watching him adjust to life back home is a fascinating topic.

US:

Real Steel: The Jetsons did it; Futurama did it, and now Wolverine’s doing it- that’s right: robot boxing! With what appear to be leftover Transformers. Speaking as a formerly avid Robot Wars watcher, I have to ask, why the Queensbury rules? They’re robots! It doesn’t hurt when they get punched in the crotch! Get out the sawblades and lasers!

Tamara Drewe: This came out in the UK some time ago, but I must have missed it, probably due to my indifference to Gemma Arterton. I have to say though, that she’s pretty sexy in this otherwise rather bland-looking film. Directed by Stephen Frears, though he has done A LOT better.

The Human Centipede II: Full Sequence: You knew this was coming. When the original made its auspicious debut last year, many of its courageous viewers, once they had overcome their revulsion at its central concept, were shocked at how… unshocking it turned out to be. Much had been left to the imagination, leaving some to suggest that, against all probability, the film had pretensions of genuine horror. This must have riled Tom Six, the movie’s Barnumesque director, especially after A Serbian Film turned up and stole his thunder (it is perhaps to Six’s credit that even he couldn’t conceive of newborn baby rape) . So he fled to London, a city that will take in anyone (Hell, we took in that plastic dead bodies guy) determined to dispel any slanderous accusations of artistic ambition. Whatever restraint he exercised in the original, he assured us, was purely due to budget; something the previous film’s success would allow him to correct. Except for two things: one, he’s filmed this in black and white; not a palate conducive to stomach churning vileness, and two, his villain is a psychotic dimwit obsessed with the first movie. Are his audience meant to be flattered by this depiction? Together these two facts suggest that Six may be slightly disdainful of his own goals. Still, after the British Board of Film Censorship Classification bestowed the media manna upon this movie of not only banning it from distribution in the UK but issuing a press release outlining, in meticulous, penetrative detail, every act of depicted depravity which made them do so, I can’t see this not turning a profit. And neither can Six. A second sequel is already planned.

The Ides of March: I love how the trailer headlines with “Academy Award-nominated director George Clooney”, as if anyone needed reminding. There’s no question that Gorgeous George can cut a reel, and he sure does look like a Presidential candidate. It’s hardly a stretch for Paul Giamatti and Phillip Seymour Hoffman to play sleazy scumbags, but Ryan Gosling does seem to be stepping confidently up to the plate. While this movie may have “Oscar bait” spraypainted on it in 30-foot letters, I got more of a vibe of the reality of politics from Primary Colors .

Intruders: Oooh! Some good, old fashioned Spanish horror! I kinda like Clive Owen, though I keep confusing him with Colin Farrell, and I’ve had a crush on Kerry Fox since Shallow Grave, but really it’s the creepiness that keeps me coming back. It seems Spanish directors are the only ones left on Earth who still know how to scare you.

Martha Marcy May Marlene : Wow. When I heard this was to mark the arrival of a new Olsen sister, you can imagine how I thought this movie would be. I was wrong. This actually looks very interesting, though you can’t tell much of the plot from the trailer. Basically, it’s a reality/memory fugue in which an escapee from a cult, played by Elizabeth Olsen, is taken into a family to recuperate, but keeps on seeing her tormentors everywhere she looks. Is it all in her mind? Well I dunno.

Blackthorn: To my shame, I have yet to see Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, so this “sequel” which imagines a geriatric Cassidy living in anonymously in Bolivia, doesn’t have quite the punch it should have. I bet the director would have preferred to cast Paul Newman, but he’s rather inconveniently dead. It’s a mark of how indelible a performance Jeff Bridges gave in True Grit that an actor as talented as Sam Shepherd can’t escape his shadow. But I’m always interested when the Western mystique is transplanted to a new location, and the starkness of the Bolivian salt flats are a wonderful analogue to Monument Valley and Montana.

Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone : Fascinating-looking documentary about a little-remembered but hugely influential 80s funk/punk fusion band whose lead vocalist happened to be, unfortunately, deranged. To see all these later punk bands praise this band and how they so obviously lifted their styles from this group is both pleasing and immensely frustrating.

Unauthorized: The Harvey Weinstein Project : Feels more like a cable bio than an actual documentary. Doesn’t look like it says anything particularly revelatory either. Everyone knows Harvey’s an arse, that’s how he made his money. There was a time, I remember it still, when he wasn’t spoken of like Rupert Murdoch though.

UK

7 Lives: I hate Danny Dyer, as I’ve said many times in the past. I love Kate Ashfield (she was in Shaun of the Dead). That’s about as far as I can go with this.

You Don't Like the Truth: 4 Days Inside Guantanamo: Documentaries about Guantanamo are never easy to watch, and this looks particularly stark; assembled almost entirely from CCTV footage from the site, it tells the story of a 15-year-old detainee and his ordeal at the hands of his interrogators. Apparently, this doc was used as evidence in a successful bid to lose Canada its rotating seat on the Security Council for violating international treaties on the rights of child soldiers.

Johnny English Reborn : Shame. Rowan Atkinson has now completely surrendered to his Mr Bean persona, which means that the golden age of Blackadder is a mere fleeting memory. That said, this looks like a far more accurate spoof of Bond than Austin Powers.

Perfect Sense: Ahh Eva Green. Yet more proof that French actresses are a higher form of life. You can’t tell this from the trailer, but it’s a scifi film set during an apocalyptic plague that robs people of their senses. Great idea, but this seems to be aiming for the same tone as Melancholia, in which the tragedies of billions are ignored for the sake of the tragedy of one.

Tyrannosaur: You can’t tell this from the trailer, but the lead actress, Olivia Coleman, is a hugely funny and endearing comedienne (you might have spotted her as the mouthy cop in Hot Fuzz), which makes her dramatic turn in this hugely acclaimed drama (the title’s a metaphor, by the way) all the more striking. She plays an abused wife who finds shelter under the wing of a ferocious aging yob, whom Peter Mullen, judging from the trailer, infuses with a strong level of emotion.

When China Met Africa: Oooh watch out! China are colonising Africa! Just like we did a hundred years ago. Oh right.

[grapes]

Blackthorn: To my shame, I have yet to see Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, so this “sequel” which imagines a geriatric Cassidy living in anonymously in Bolivia, doesn’t have quite the punch it should have.

Do it. You can fast-forward through the bicycle tech/unrequited romance/raindrops-keep-falling-on-my-head part and see it in an hour and a half.

[HenrikOlsen]

And get straight to "Rules? In knife fight? No rules!".
I won't spoil it by quoting the next thing he says.

[jamesabrown]

Thanks for doing this every week. My Netflix queue gets a nice bump every week because of your posts.

[Jim]

Real Steel: The Jetsons did it; Futurama did it, and now Wolverine’s doing it...

And Marx Toys did it in 1964... Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots. "I'm gonna knock yer block off!"

[Gillianren]

Real Steel: The Jetsons did it; Futurama did it, and now Wolverine’s doing it- that’s right: robot boxing! With what appear to be leftover Transformers. Speaking as a formerly avid Robot Wars watcher, I have to ask, why the Queensbury rules? They’re robots! It doesn’t hurt when they get punched in the crotch! Get out the sawblades and lasers!

Yeah, I'm with Jim. I've been calling it the Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots movie since I discovered it existed. And promptly proceeded to wonder why it existed.

The Ides of March: I love how the trailer headlines with “Academy Award-nominated director George Clooney”, as if anyone needed reminding. There’s no question that Gorgeous George can cut a reel, and he sure does look like a Presidential candidate. It’s hardly a stretch for Paul Giamatti and Phillip Seymour Hoffman to play sleazy scumbags, but Ryan Gosling does seem to be stepping confidently up to the plate. While this movie may have “Oscar bait” spraypainted on it in 30-foot letters, I got more of a vibe of the reality of politics from Primary Colors .

I'll probably see it. Probably, as you say, for Oscarpalooza. Even Graham, whose eyelids I would pretty much have to clip up Clockwork Orange-style, agrees that it's got an impressive cast.

Blackthorn: To my shame, I have yet to see Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, so this “sequel” which imagines a geriatric Cassidy living in anonymously in Bolivia, doesn’t have quite the punch it should have. I bet the director would have preferred to cast Paul Newman, but he’s rather inconveniently dead. It’s a mark of how indelible a performance Jeff Bridges gave in True Grit that an actor as talented as Sam Shepherd can’t escape his shadow. But I’m always interested when the Western mystique is transplanted to a new location, and the starkness of the Bolivian salt flats are a wonderful analogue to Monument Valley and Montana.

It would be interesting to watch from a purely historical perspective, if nothing else. Just like Young Guns 2 tried to do with that guy in New Mexico who claimed to really be Billy the Kid, though one hopes it's rather better done.

Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone : Fascinating-looking documentary about a little-remembered but hugely influential 80s funk/punk fusion band whose lead vocalist happened to be, unfortunately, deranged. To see all these later punk bands praise this band and how they so obviously lifted their styles from this group is both pleasing and immensely frustrating.

My daughter's father likes (or anyway liked, when I still knew things about his musical taste) them a great deal. And assumed that I therefore must as well. It is one on a long list of unsafe assumptions which he made.

Johnny English Reborn : Shame. Rowan Atkinson has now completely surrendered to his Mr Bean persona, which means that the golden age of Blackadder is a mere fleeting memory. That said, this looks like a far more accurate spoof of Bond than Austin Powers.

I'd still rather watch the first Austin Powers than Rowan Atkinson gallivanting about Beanly. I miss, miss, miss the clan MacAdder!

[parallaxicality]

If yeh wenn'em back, ye mus' do righ' by Morag. We mus' return t'Scotland and ye mus' fight in the ol' Highlan' wey - bare breasted and each carryin' an eight poond beby!

I luk forward to buryin' ye in the ol' Highland manner.