Like an addict desperately searching for the next hit on my cinematic crack pipe, I looked forward to Something Borrowed with glee. But alas, the drugs don’t work anymore, and my fix of pure unadulterated fun has been laced with nasty morally-warped drudgery. What’s that I hear? Oh it’s just Nora Ephron weeping.
Ash loves music and his tunes are brilliant (who knew bhangra drum and bass had such a large following). He dreams of one day breaking away from his oppressively traditional parents and DJing to massive crowds. His friends are all first generation British Asians and each are facing difficulty in juggling the two lifestyles they lead.
Another disturbing classic from some of the best known names in Korean cinema. I Saw the Devil starts screaming and finishes kicking. Kim Jee-woon has included everything from secret agents to cannibals and with terrifically bloody fight scenes, torture that would make the inmates of Guantanamo Bay writhe in fear and amazing performances all round this is not one to be missed.
2010’s Cannes Jury prize winning A Screaming Man attempts a raw, emotional inspection of the human condition pushed to breaking point. Retired swimming legend Adam, battles personal demons while around him the Chad civil war tears his home and country apart. Writer/director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun presents a raw and uncompromising perspective of a man struggling beyond his means.
Water for Elephants is a strange beast, trying to be a whimsical blockbuster whilst seeming to long for a lot more action. If you marry the physical beauty of Robert Pattinson with the cerebral Christoph Waltz, add a pinch of Witherspoon and throw in a circus set, voila you have one gigantic melting pot of a movie that delivers some beautiful cinematography, a little whimsy and a whole lot of violence.
An eclectic amalgam of Cold War thriller, girl’s-own coming-of-age yarn and superhero origin story, Hanna could have easily wound up resembling a cinematic patchwork of half-baked genre constituents. It’s a great relief, then, that Hanna is much more than the sum of its (many) parts.
What happens in Cedar Rapids stays in Cedar Rapids. It’s a bit like Las Vegas but it doesn’t have the casinos, or the water fountains, or Celine Dion but it does have a prostitute and a (small) pool. That counts for something, right?
Barry Munday is a feel-good rom-com premised on genital mutilation. Potentially offensive on two entirely different levels then, it’s no surprise that this is probably one to miss.
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