After last weeks haul of new releases there is a little more restraint in cinematic content this coming week . . . but, only a little! There are five new offerings out for the week ahead that are sure to give you more choice than you can shake a clapperboard at when matched up against those released last week and still doing the rounds from weeks before. Once again we have a real mix of films to tempt your movie going tastebuds that range from post 9/11 political intrigue fused with the war on terror; an Aussie 'end of the world as we know it' race against time; a more gentle English 'end of the world as you know it' passing of life drama; a poignant young lads Yorkshire take on
'Steptoe & Son'; and a drug mule action revenge story that has consequences for all when it goes wrong for all . . . or maybe right for a few!
So with five films to watch over the next seven days, you can easily get other there to your local cinema and then, drop me a line to share with the other Odeon Online follower expressing your views and opinions of what you've seen. It's that easy - enjoy your experience, and don't forget to share!
LUCY (Rated MA15+) - Directed, written and edited by Luc Besson with an estimated US$40M budget this French filmed and staged actioner stars Scarlett Johansson in the title role and Morgan Freeman supporting as Professor Norman. The story surrounds Lucy who is tasked simply with delivering a mysterious briefcase to an assigned recipient while holidaying somewhere is Asia - but needless to say this goes wrong, she is taken captive, and turned in to a drug mule for a new powerful synthetic drug. Carrying a bag containing the drug inside her stomach which splits and leaks, the effect is that Lucy's mind undergoes unimaginable changes that allows her to unlock it's full potential. The narrative in the film tells us that most humans utilise only 10% of their brain capacity, but Lucy has the potential now to utilise 100% as a result of this drug making her almost all powerful - physically and mentally, and so she turns the tables on her former captors to seek revenge whilst trying to prevent said drug from falling into the wrong hands. Along the way she is aided by Professor Norman - an expert on the human mind, and the head of the local Police. An interesting premise, the shorts look promising and good to see Johansson kicking butt - it's been a busy year for her!
THESE FINAL HOURS (Rated MA15+) - Directed and written by local Perth resident Zak Hilditch, and set in and around that remotest of cities this is the story of the last 12 hours on Earth - for us all, before a cataclysmic event in the shape of an oncoming asteroid collides with our fragile planet and ends all life as we know it! The story surrounds James (Nathan Phillips) who is intent on spending his final hours partying hard and going out with a bang! But his plans go awry when he reluctantly saves the life of a young girl, Rose (Angourie Rice) who has lost her father in the milieu of the end of the world, and is in the clutches of a rampaging paedophile who has plans of his own. With his end of the world plans turned upside down and forced to accept a new responsibility despite the circumstances, James has to come to terms with some harsh realities and decide what really matters in life against all the odds of their impending death. This is not your traditional effects laden Hollywood global apocalyptic epic, but instead an Australian small budget drama where the focus in on real lives forced into a hopeless situation.
A MOST WANTED MAN (Rated M) - this film stars the late great Philip Seymour Hoffman in one of his last screen appearances as Gunther Bachmann, an anti-terrorism unit chief trailing an asylum seeker and believed Chechen terrorist, Issa Karpov (Grigorly Dobrygin) in post-9/11 Hamburg. When Karpov emerges undercover of the night and seeks to reclaim millions in inheritance deposited at a local Bank in Hamburg, he is thrown into a further web of intrigue involving human rights lawyer Annabel Richter (Rachel McAdams), banker Tommy Brue (Willem Dafoe) and US Embassy official Martha Sullivan (Robin Wright). The question is are Karpov's motives and interest genuine or is this some kind of cover-up for funding future international terrorism attacks? And so begins a game of cat and mouse as the clock ticks down on Karpov and who will get to him first. A strong cast, Directed by Anton Corbijn the acclaimed photographer, based on the 2008 John le Carre book, this is a solid tale in the vein of '
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy', and
'The American' with Hoffman's performance rated tragically as one of his best - this is a slow burn film that will keep you guessing right to the end, and thinking long after the credits have rolled.
STILL LIFE (Rated M) - Written and Directed by Umberto Pasolini this film set in some English town, centres around middle aged unassuming and quiet John Mays (Eddie Marsan) who has been employed by the local council for the past 22 years as a funeral officer. Tending to the dead he arranges the last respects to society's forgotten citizens who may have passed away alone, with no family, few friends and no one else to tend to their final arrangements. He organises the funeral, will draft and deliver an eulogy with whatever information and intelligence he can piece together, attempt to contact any surviving relatives often fruitlessly, and ensure that there is some dignity in the proceedings to honour the memory of those passed. However, after 22 years he is let go by his local council employer, and in doing so there is one final case to make the arrangements for - that of his little known neighbour, Billy Stokes. In conducting his investigations into the life of Stokes for the purposes of his eulogy and seeking to make contact with any surviving relatives he comes across the daughter Kelly (Joanne Froggatt) with whom he makes a connection - and perhaps the most powerful, meaningful and endearing yet. A gentle, nuanced, sensitive film where emotions speak louder than words this film might make you rethink that there is life in death, and after it!
THE SELFISH GIANT (Rated MA15+) - Written and Directed by only second time film maker Clio Barnard this story unfolds in Bradford, in Yorkshire, England. Inspired by a short Oscar Wilde story this sees two young lads from the poorer downtrodden end of town - Arbor (Conner Chapman) and his good mate Swifty (Shaun Thomas) who are both happy go lucky tearaway kids, with few prospects but relatively street smart. Having been suspended from school because of their involvement in a fight they turn their attention to making some cash, and so start collecting and selling scrap metal from wherever they can get their hands on it - learning quickly that copper especially from telecom, power and utility lines is especially lucrative. They on-sell to local scrap merchant Kitty (Sean Gilder) who takes the young lads under his wing but ultimately with dire consequences for all! Nominated this year for a BAFTA for Best British Film this is a thought provoking and moving human drama surrounding two young souls trying to claw their own way out of life's scrapheap only to be knocked down again by the cards that life has dealt them! Reminiscent of Ken Loach's excellent 1970 film
'Kes' this is a modern folk story set amidst England's industrial heartland with its grime, poverty and social divides that is sure to resonate.
Five films then to surprise and delight, and lure you out from in front of the small screen to get out there in front of the big screen with all its eye popping ear pounding glory! When you're done, drop me a note in the comments box and share your thoughts with the movie going world.
Movies - see as many as you can!
-Steve, at Odeon Online-
Directed by Anton Corbijn, and set in Hamburg post 9/11 the opening scene has half Chechen and half Russian Muslim, Issa Karpov (Grigoriy Dobrygin) crawling out of the harbour undercover of the night - cold, wet and doubtless somewhat anxious! Latching on to Hamburg's Islamic Community he finds safe haven in the house of a local couple where we learn he was imprisoned in Turkey and then Russia where he was savagely tortured before hatching his escape to Germany where he seeks asylum. He is in Hamburg to claim a vast inheritance from his father's ill-gotten gains, and the money is locked away in a private bank to which he has no access other than a mans name and an account number written on a scrap of paper. The man it turns out is the owner of the bank - Tommy Brue (Willem Dafoe) who needs to satisfy himself that Issa's intentions are genuine, he is who he says he is and that he does have a claim to a fortune that is worth in excess of ten million Euros.
Karpov meanwhile has been befriended by Annabel Richter (Rachel McAdams) a human rights lawyer who sees the good in him and provides the link to Banker Brue, and what needs to be done to release the inheritance funds.
Hoffman plays it brilliantly as we have come to expect from his nuanced, believable and realistic performances of fractured men carrying around the excess baggage of life. Here he is the chain smoking, whisky guzzling leader of an undercover spy outfit that is not recognised or acknowledged by the German authorities because they operate for the safety of the nation, but outside the law. He has been around a long time and has seen service in the worlds trouble spots tracking down and thwarting acts of terror - although not always successfully as we learn when a little of his back story is revealed, and for this he has become world weary, overweight, laboured, smokes and drinks too much but is expert at what he does, and oversees a tight knit team.
This is a slow burning film the likes of which you have seen in a previous le Carre big screen adaptation 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy'. Don't expect car chases, gun play, big explosions and burning buildings - there is none of that! This is a thoughtful, intelligent, grounded adult spy drama with solid performances from its strong cast that also include Daniel Bruhl and Herbert Gronemeyer. It is however, Hoffman's film and his performance will be ranked amongst his career best. Appearing in almost every scene holding a cigarette and speaking with a thick German accent, when he exits his car in the final frames, with the camera filming from inside as he walks away for the last time with his back to the audience, this is a particularly poignant scene, for many reasons!
