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Cinema

UK Cinema Releases: Friday 10th September 2010

Including Tamara Drewe, Cyrus, The Runaways and Going the Distance

NATIONAL RELEASES

Tamara Drewe (Momentum Pictures): A comedy about an attractive journalist (Gemma Arterton) who returns home to a village in Dorset only to stir up passions amongst the locals. Adapted from the comic strip by Posy Simmonds, it is another chapter in the eclectic career of director Stephen Frears and co-stars Dominic Cooper, Roger Allam and Tamsin Greig.

It premiered at Cannes back in May, where it got mostly warm reactions and could prove attractive to the kind of middle class audiences who can be reluctant to go to their local multiplex. [Curzon Mayfair, Odeon Leicester Sq., Screen On The Green & Nationwide / 15]

Cyrus (20th Century Fox): A comedy-drama from The Duplass Brothers about a divorced forty something man (John C. Reilly) who hooks up with a dream woman (Marisa Tomei), only to discover she has a rather possessive son (Jonah Hill).

After Greenberg earlier this year, another example of mumblecore going mainstream as Jay and Mark Duplass take the indie sensibilities of their earlier films (The Puffy Chair, Baghead) and apply them to a bigger production with name actors. The result is both engaging and funny, although the slow burn nature of the comedy may not be to everyone’s taste. [Vue West End & Nationwide / 15]

The Runaways (E1 Entertainment): A music biopic that focuses on late 1970s all-girl band The Runaways and the early careers of Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) and Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning). It charts their rise to fame with producer Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon) and their battles as they struggle to cope with fame and success.

Directed by Floria Sigismondi, it features plenty of the usual clichés that pop up in films about bands, but Stewart and Fanning are very good in their roles, it moves along briskly and Shannon is on scene stealing form. The soundtrack is also filled with some musical gems of the era from the likes of David Bowie and The Stooges. [Vue West End & Key Cities / 15]

Going The Distance (Warner Bros.): A romantic comedy about a low-level music executive (Justin Long) and a fledgling journalist (Drew Barrymore) who fall for each other after a summer in New York City and try to keep their relationship going when she heads home to San Francisco.

Co-starring Jason Sudeikis and Christina Applegate, it is directed by Nanette Burstein who directed the documentaries American Teen (2008) and The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002). Lukewarm reviews and some surprisingly ribald humour might limit the appeal of this comedy which disappointed at the US box office last week. [Nationwide / 15]

Resident Evil: Afterlife (3D) (Sony Pictures): The fourth instalment of the sci-fi horror franchise sees Alice (Milla Jovovich) end up in a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, which is surrounded by zombies.

Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, this has the added bonus of 3D, but its appeal looks limited to hardcore fans of the franchise. [Nationwide / 15]

ALSO OUT

Metropolis (Eureka Entertainment) (R/I): A re-issue for Fritz Lang’s classic silent film which depicts a futuristic urban dystopia in order to show the tensions between workers and owners in capitalism. [Apollo Piccadilly Circus, Cine Lumiere, ICA, Watermans Brentwood & Nationwide / PG]

My Son, My Son, What Have You Done (Scanbox Entertainment): Werner Herzog’s latest film is is loosely based on the true story of a San Diego man whose committed matricide. Starring Michael Shannon, Chloë Sevigny and Willem Dafoe it was produced by David Lynch. [Key Cities / 15]

Alamar (New Wave Films): A blend of documentary and fiction that explores the community of fishermen in Mexico’s Banco Chinchorro coral reef. [Key Cities / U]

Dabangg (Eros): A Hindi film set in Uttar Pradesh, it is the story of a corrupt police officer (Salman Khan) and the flaws and loopholes in the system. [Cineworlds Ilford, Shaftesbury Ave., Odeon Greenwich, Vue Acton & Key Cities]

UK DVD and Blu-ray picks for this week including Kick-Ass and Exit Through the Gift Shop
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