by Indy Datta

It’s not like I don’t remember how insanely duff John Lasseter’s original Cars was. It’s not like I have no sympathy for all my friends who’ve had kids in the years since it came out and have had to contend with its surprise emergence as the Mouse’s irresistible merchandising juggernaut. But its just such a nice change for the release of a Pixar movie (Cars 2, out in the US this week)  not to come accompanied by the usual wave of idiotic hyperbole (“When those toys were getting sucked  into the incinerator, I thought, could Pixar actually do this to us? This is the most death-confronting sneakily adult masterpiece since Schindler’s List! I would have cried but after Wall*E I have no tears left.”). So I’m kind of rooting for it here, it’s an underdog thing. Although it’s presumably going to get murdered at the box office next week by Transformers 3, the trailer for which, I am slightly ashamed to admit, is possibly the most exciting thing I have seen since, in fact, I first opened my eyes.

It’s going to be Bridesmaids’ weekend at the UK box office, but if you don’t fancy it, there are plenty of other new releases to choose from. I would be very suprised if any of the week’s new movies, though, can hold a candle to the brilliance of Ivan Passer’s Cutter’s Way, which is being re-released in advance of a DVD and Blu-Ray release. Check out this original trailer. It’s like the (more) disturbed older brother of The Big Lebowski! Jeff Bridges is Dick Bone!

That said, I’m hoping to catch Viva Riva! which looks ridiculously trashy and generic, but I like that kind of thing. And because it’s from the Democratic Republic of Congo, I’ll probably have to go to an arthouse to see it. So that’s all right, then.

“More links!” I hear you cry:

While Matthew Turner and Uncle Frank continue to annoy our commenters by living the high life in Edinburgh, a taster for their upcoming EIFF roundup – MUBI’s appreciation of Whisky Galore.

In lieu of a post comparing The Green Lantern in detail to its comic source, a link to a piece by The Film Doctor comparing it to a bottle top.

As Midnight in Paris edges closer to becoming Woody Allen’s biggest ever hit, a tribute to all those actors who’ve embodied the Woodman in his films over the years:

I have no patience at all for the work of Adam Curtis, so am part of the problem (whatever the problem may happen to be), so when this spoof turns out to have been by him all along or something, I will pretend it didn’t make me laugh like the envious stooge of capital I am. Don’t rat me out, please.

Next week: not one but two film festival reports. More excellent art coverage from Ann Jones (We have banned her from using this). And a history of Disney cartoon heroines. And a Friday surprise.