FILM OF THE WEEK

GRETA

This intense psychological thriller from Neil Jordan, the Irish director of MONA LISA and THE CRYING GAME, provides the wonderful French actress Isabelle Huppert with a rare leading role in an English speaking film. The story begins with Frances (Chloe Grace Moretz), a sweet and lovely young woman, who after she finds a handbag on the New York City subway, without a hesitation she returns it to its owner Greta, an eccentric French piano teacher. Frances having recently lost her mother is drawn to Greta’s friendship who herself misses her own daughter now living in Paris. But it is not too long before things begin to take a nasty turn…It is an intriguing film with engaging performances. Grace Moretz makes a suitably vulnerable heroine and gets solid support from Maika Monroe as her resourceful roommate Erica.  Huppert’s solitary character seems at first to be in a second chapter to that in THE PIANO TEACHER but soon enough her serene outlook changes and turns into a deeply dangerous and disturbed individual. Thankfully Huppert knows better than to fall into the Glenn Close kind of stereotypical monsters in films like FATAL ATTRACTION but one can’t help in wondering what the Americans will make out of her character- that of a nasty foreigner stalking on an all American teenager, especially at the current fascistic Trump climate. A classy film despite the occasional lapses of pace!

DRAGGED ACROSS CONCRETE

1. Craig Zahler made a remarkable directorial debut a couple of years ago with BONE TOMAHAWK, one of the most original western of the last decade and he now cements his reputation as one of the most exciting and unpredictable new talents of recent years. His eloquent and well measured screenplay follows two police detectives, Brett Ridgeman (Mel Gibson) and Anthony Lurasetti (Vince Vaughn), who get suspended when a video of their unorthodox methods is leaked to the media. They are left with no choice but to take matters into their own hands…Zahler creates strong, complex characters which provides his actors plenty of material to sink their teeth in. It is well acted particularly from Mel Gibson, who relishes his best role in ages and shares a very persuasive chemistry with his partner in crime Vince Vaughn. It is superbly photographed by Benji Bakshi, who uses natural light in order to create a most realist look of the violent city mostly at night. It is perhaps too long but overall a worthwhile cinematic experience.

RED JOAN

A fascinating premise based on true events that keeps one intrigued till the end despite the uneven nature of the storytelling. Joan Stanley (Judi Dench) appears to be an ordinary suburban widow until one day the British Secret Service appear out of the blue at her doorstep and arrest her for apparently providing classified scientific information to the Soviets. During her student days in Cambridge Joan (now played by Sophie Cookson) proves to be a highly intelligent young woman excelling in physics but whose passionate relationship with political radical Leo (Tom Hughes) leads her into a danger zone…Judi Dench is a strong presence as always but to be honest she is not given that much to do apart from claiming repeatedly her innocence to the authorities, so it is left to the flashback sequences to provide the necessary intrigue to the story and the real revelation is Sophie Cookson destined for a bright future!

LORO

Paolo Sorrentino’s stylish film was screened in two parts in Italy but here in this special international edit we get two for the price of one. Sorrentino follows his mega success of THE GREAT BEAUTY with another spectacular extravaganza and proves that he is the natural heir to Fellini’s throne. His regular leading man Toni Servillo is hilarious as the vain, megalomaniac prime minister Silvio Berlusconi who never misses an opportunity to abuse his power in both his private and professional life. It is an attractive film lavishly shot with some remarkable set ups in stunning Italian locations in Sardinia as well as in Rome but perhaps with an overall feeling and touch of déjà vu.

DVD Releases:

REPO MAN

Alex Cox made a remarkable directorial debut back in 1984 with this dark, anarchic punk comedy. He tells the story of Otto (Emilio Estevez), who after walking out from his dull supermarket job he becomes a “repo man” when his paths cross with Bud (Harry Dean Stanton), an expert in repossessing automobiles. These two unlikely characters join forces in order to trace a mysterious’64 Chevy Malibu carrying radioactive cargo…Cox assured film has cult written all over it with a stunning and most memorable opening sequence when a cop blown up to smithereens after he opens the boot of the mysterious Chevy. The volatile Harry Dean Stanton shares a terrify chemistry with the angelic Emilio Estevez in this landmark feature from the eighties still as fresh as when first released.

THE LURE

A bizarre premise for Tomas Leach’s fascinating documentary which follows the story of Forrest Fenn, an eccentric millionaire art dealer who in 2010 buried a chest full of gold coins worth $3 million somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. And then he starts sending code messages for its whereabouts before a plethora of adventurers begin their treasure hunt…Many believe this is a hoax but the determined treasure hunters never give up hope. A story so out of the ordinary it could only happen in America!