Category: cinema releases

NATIONAL RELEASES

Burn After Reading (Universal): After the Oscar winning triumph of No Country For Old Men, the Coen Brothers return to more comic ground with this tale of a demoted CIA agent (John Malkovich) who loses the manuscript to his memoirs and then gets blackmailed by two clueless gym workers (Frances McDormand and Brad Pitt). George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins and J.K. Simmons round out an impressive cast but this is actually a very quirky and mannered comedy. Critical reaction was mixed when it premiered at the Venice Film Festival and there is no doubt that some will find it a chilly, even condescending, film with its characters nearly all appearing to be either stupid, vain or clueless. I have to say that I found much of it a welcome satire on the unapologetic idiocy of the Bush era, with some excellent comic performances. Universal will be hoping for a repeat of the US box office performance, in which the starry cast helped sell what is actually quite an uncommercial film in many respects. [Cert 15 / Empire Leics Sq & Nationwide]

Eagle Eye (Paramount): Director D.J Caruso and Shia LeBeouf team up again after the success of Disturbia, which was essentially a teen version of Hitchcock’s Rear Window. I’m not sure if there is some kind of Hitchcock fetish at DreamWorks because this appears to be a reworking of North by Northwest. It also has elements of Enemy of the State and involves LeBeouf as a young man on the run from shady government forces after he gets framed for a crime. Although the pace and action are slickly handled it doesn’t help that most of the action is utterly preposterous. Although ’24’ creates a world in which computers can seemingly do anything at any given moment, this film takes that concept to new levels of incredulity. However Paramount can expect brisk business given the rising star of Shia LeBeouf and the slick, undemanding nature of the film.  [Cert 12A / Vue West End & Nationwide]

Igor (Momentum): This animated film about a lowly lab assistant named Igor (voiced by John Cusack) who dreams of becoming a scientist didn’t exactly hit the mark at the US box office last month. Directed by Anthony Leondis (the man behind straight-to-DVD animated sequels like The Emperor’s New Groove 2: Kronk’s New Groove and Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch) this doesn’t look like it will have much of an impact in the UK. Momentum will be hoping for the half term family crowd to check it out before recouping their money in DVD and ancillary markets. [Cert PG / Vue West End & Nationwide / Opened in Scotland on Friday 10th October]

The Rocker (Fox): This comedy about an unsuccessful drummer (Rainn Wilson) who is given a second chance at fame bombed at the US box office last month and looks like having similar prospects here. Directed by Peter Cattaneo, whose came to fame with The Full Monty in 1997, it also stars Christina Applegate and Will Arnett. Fox will be hoping that that their promotional activities for this might yield audiences hungry for a broad comedy (after all if The House Bunny can top the UK charts like it did last week, there is hope) but surely a film like this needs a clever concept (e.g. The 40 Year Old Virgin) or a big star? [Cert 12A / Odeon Leicester Square & Nationwide]

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IN SELECTED RELEASE

La Zona (Soda Pictures): A Mexican thriller from director Rodrigo Plá that explores the social divisions in modern Mexico. Soda Pictures will be pleased at the positive critical reviews and word of mouth and hoping for some decent art house action. [Cert 15 / Key Cities]

Young @ Heart (Yume Pictures): A documentary from director Stephen Walker about the Young@Heart Chorus, an elderly singing group in Massachusetts, who cover rock songs by The Clash, Nirvana and Coldplay. Yume Pictures will be hoping solid reviews and good word of mouth will get curious audiences in to see this. [Cert PG / Curzon Soho, Greenwich P/House & Key Cities / Opens in Scotland on Friday 24th October]

Afro Saxons (Chocolate Films): A new indie documentary that follows several hair stylists as they enter the Black Beauty and Hair awards – the biggest Afro hair competition in the UK. Chocolate Films will be aiming for word of mouth and a decent per-screen average. [Cert 15 / Peckham M/Plex, S/Case Wood Green, Ritzy & Tricycle]

Free Jimmy (Break Thru Films): A curious animated film about four stoners, five vegans, three mobsters, four hunters and a million reasons to free one junkie elephant. A cult hit in Norway (it is actually 2 years old) that has been revoiced and repackaged for the UK market. [Cert 15 / Showcase Newham & Selected Key Cities]

NATIONAL RELEASES

Righteous Kill (Lionsgate UK): Although there will be considerable interest in seeing Robert De Niro and Al Pacino team up for the first time since Heat (1995), I would be surprised if this routine cop thriller does any real business outside of the opening weekend. The two stars play veteran New York cops on the trail of a killer but the hacky direction and plodding narrative make it a dull experience. This is all a great shame as the two screen icons at the centre of it all have only shared a few minutes together on screen in Heat and were in separate stories in The Godfather II. Here it is sad to see them wasted in such an average film and I expect it will only do moderate  box office numbers for Lionsgate once the negative reviews and word-of-mouth pile up. [Cert 15 / Nationwide]

Taken (Fox): Liam Neeson stars in this Luc Besson produced thriller as an ex-CIA agent who goes after his daughter when she is kidnapped in Paris. The fact that this came out in France back in February – and doesn’t come out in the US until next year – might have signalled problems but despite being an older version of Jason Bourne, Liam Neeson’s character is actually fun to watch as he wreaks havoc against all manner of sleazy types in Paris (who are presented in a massively un-PC light). There are some weak spots but this is a well paced, crowd-pleasing thriller that could earn a tidy sum for Fox. [Cert 15 / Nationwide]

Death Race (Universal): This loose remake of Roger Corman’s Death Race 2000 sees Jason Statham as a convict in a futuristic prison forced by the warden (Joan Allen) to participate in a death race involving souped up armed cars. Although, a lot of it is fairly mindless, the actual death races themselves are well done and there is a certain gritty charm to the look of the film. However, things like plot and character are not the strong points here. Universal will be hoping the car/action angle will entice male audiences away from Taken, so it will be interesting to see how they fare against one another. [Cert 15 / Nationwide]

Swing Vote (Delanic Films): This political comedy stars Kevin Costner as an Average Joe single father in New Mexico, who by an improbable series of events, comes to be the swing voter in the US general election. With an impressive cast including Paula Patton, Kelsey Grammer, Dennis Hopper and Nathan Lane this is actually not that bad, with some intelligent digs at the US political process. The problem it has is twofold: 1) It died at the US box office, which suggests the same will be true here, and 2) The real US election is far more entertaining. The marketing and awareness factor for this film appears close to zero, which is eerily reminiscent of it’s US release, which appears to suggest it will get voted out of cinemas rather quickly. [Cert 12A / Nationwide]

Appaloosa (Entertainment): Based on the 2005 novel by Robert B. Parker, this western centres around a  lawman (Ed Harris) and his sidekick (Viggo Mortensen), who are hired to defend a lawless town from a murderous rancher (Jeremy Irons). Renée Zellweger rounds out an impressive cast but given the lack of awareness and the poor track record of Westerns at the UK box office, this faces an uphill task to make decent box office for Entertainment.  [Cert 15 / Entertainment]

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IN SELECTED RELEASE

I’ve Loved You So Long (Lionsgate UK): Although it will be getting a selected opening around the country, this is easily the pick of the week’s cinema releases. Kristin Scott Thomas and Elsa Zylberstein play two sisters who reconnect with one another after a prolonged absence and the result is a rich and deeply satisfying emotional drama. Scott Thomas is almost certainly a contender for end of year awards and Zylberstein is almost as good. Try to avoid reviews which give too much of the plot away and experience this gem with as little plot information as possible.  [Cert 12A / Key Cities]

Redbelt (Sony Pictures): David Mamet wrote and directed this drama starring Chiwetel Ejiofor as a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert who comes across a popular actor (Tim Allen) and a legion of Hollywood folk before realising he has been the victim of a con. [Cert 15]

Alexandra (Artificial Eye): This story about a mother who goes to see her son at a military outpost during the Second Chechen War, was written and directed by Alexander Sokurov (who made the one-take 2004 film  Russian Ark). [Cert PG / Key Cities / Opens in Ireland on October 3rd)

The Foot Fist Way (Momentum Pictures): Made for just $70,000, this cult comedy sees Danny R. McBride play a deluded martial arts instructor. Well done for the budget in which it was made, it seems likely to find more of an audience on DVD. [Cert 12A / Key Cities]

Steep (Metrodome): An IMAX run for this documentary which traces the legacy of extreme skiing from its early pioneers to the daredevils of today. [Cert PG / BFI Imax]

A Matter Of Life And Death (bfi Distribution): A BFI re-release for this classic from the writer-director-producer team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger which sees David Niven as a British World War II Royal Air Force pilot who forms an unlikely relationship with an American radio operator (Kim Hunter) based in England. [Cert U / BFI Southbank & Key Cities]

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