by Indy Datta
I think I’m going to spare you my thoughts on the BBFC’s refusal to certify The Human Centipede 2 and, as a bonus, I’ll spare you from everybody else’s thoughts as well. Instead, why not amuse yourself by thinking up punchlines to the following satirical joke: “The Tories, eh? Riots, recession, and video nasties: what are they going to bring back from the early 80’s next? __________________ ??!!”. You can’t have “snoods”, though, because they’re banned too.
by Indy Datta
Pictured are just a few of the wild horses that would be required to drag me into a screening of X-Men: First Class this weekend. But the reviews have generally been positive, and even some of the negative ones have been kind to the purported talents of Matthew Vaughn.
by Indy Datta
Mel Gibson must be quietly relieved he skipped the Cannes press conference for The Beaver (no link: I have some standards). Poor old Lars von Trier, eh, all those critically acclaimed movies and you just express sympathy for Hitler once, and you end up being declared persona non grata – a decision that looks so bizarrely humourless that one ironically assumes that it must be some kind of joke. Far be it from me to suggest that all this is more than quite likely to be more entertaining than Melancholia, which has been probably the most critically divisive film of the Cannes competition so far, with some saying masterpiece and some saying meh-sterpiece.
by Indy Datta
The Cannes Film Festival has just kicked off, and like any self-respecting film nerd with an incipient gambling problem, I’ve already had a flutter on the winner of the Palme d’Or. Sadly, the early reviews suggest that my punt on rank outsider Sleeping Beauty may not be the making of my first million.
by Indy Datta
Citizen Kane is 70 years old this week. I could collect a series of interesting links to commemorate the fact, or I could just link to the handy example that MUBI made earlier. Go on, have an argument in the comments about whether Kane really is the greatest film of all time.
by Indy Datta
So, if you haven’t got an invitation to the wedding, you’ll be wanting to see a movie this weekend, right? Disney’s Marvel imprint has obliged by opening Kenneth Branagh’s Thor on both sides of the Atlantic, to overwhelmingly positive reviews. I liked the trailer. Even Natalie Portman is good in it, although I believe that’s just her head grafted – by the magic of CGI – onto an actor’s body.
by Indy Datta
I should start with a couple of links in memory of Sidney Lumet, who died this week after almost six decades of directing film and television. Not as revered as some film makers who have achieved rather less, he was the epitome of the Hollywood craftsman, and his filmography has more than its fair share of classics (and the odd underseen gem; for example Q&A got a bit lost in the wake of Internal Affairs but, for me, it made the Mike Figgis film look crass and jejune). Matt Zoller Seitz, at Salon, gives us a detailed appreciation of Lumet’s work, teasing out the common themes in his films and showcasing his formal skill. Glenn Kenny, of Some Came Running, has posted a link to a 2007 interview he did with Lumet for the DGA Quarterly. It’s also worth your time.
by Indy Datta
The almost sensational Meek’s Cutoff – which tells the story (loosely based on historical facts) of a small group of emigrants on the Oregon Trail who take the eponymous diversion from the main trail under the dubious guidance of lushly bearded blowhard Stephen Meek (Bruce Greenwood) – seems, in isolation, to be a departure for director Kelly Reichardt from the somewhat literary miniaturism of Old Joy and Wendy and Lucy: a more story-driven genre piece (albeit in an uncompromising arthouse register) with an ensemble cast of recognisable names (Michelle Williams returns from Wendy and Lucy, and is joined by Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan and Shirley Henderson). Viewed in the context of the earlier films, however, it seems more like a transition: the film-maker’s ethical, political and aesthetic concerns remain consistent even as the scope of the storytelling becomes more expansive and conventional.
by Indy Datta
We haven’t chosen the most exciting week for new releases for our launch week. Janus Metz Pedersen’s Afghan war documentary Armadillo probably takes pole position as the week’s most intriguing new film, courtesy of its prize-winning outing at Cannes last year. Reviews from its festival screenings seem thin on the ground, but here are positive notices from Screen Daily, The Hollywood Reporter, Steady Diet of Film and Obsessed With Film.
Although I had been inclined to write off Rio based purely on the – thus far infallible – rule of the Orange promotional trailer (bring back Brennan Brown!), I’ve been told by sensible people that it’s much better than you were expecting, and if you’re a Flight of the Conchords fan, maybe this musical snippet featuring Jemaine Clement will tempt you.
MostlyFilm 