FILM OF THE WEEK
ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD
You know you are in the hands of a master from the very first scene in Quentin Tarantino’s eagerly awaited new film. The time is 1969 and the place Los Angeles -covered all over with cinema posters and movie theatres celebrating a variety of Hollywood releases of that year. Everything smells movies, even in the car radio Simon and Garfunkel’s harmonious voices can be heard singing “And here’s to you Mrs Robinson”. Rick Dalton (Leonardo Di Caprio), a fifties television star of a black and white western series “Bounty Law” is now facing a blank in his career along with his inseparable stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). There is an offer to go to Italy and make spaghetti westerns with an Italian director named Sergio but Rick is reluctant (if Clint Eastwood springs to mind, it is all intentional good fun). Meanwhile in Beverly Hills a new couple move next door to Rick’s villa- the hot director of “Rosemary’s Baby” Roman Polanski and his attractive wife, the hot actress Sharon Tate (Margo Robbie)…There is so much to enjoy in this delightful and perfectly crafted love song to Hollywood. The stellar cast also includes old veterans like Bruce Dern as an old rancher and Al Pacino as Hollywood producer Marvin Schwarz. “Is that your son” he asks Rick when he meets him in a bar- “No, that’s my stunt double Cliff Booth”. The actors relish Tarantino’s smart dialogue while the action slowly burns like dynamite before the shocking finale that will leave you breathless!
JT LEROY
Justin Kelly’s remarkable film closed the recent Flare BFI Film Festival with a bang! It is based on true events and most probably inspired by Jeff Fuerezeig’s documentary AUTHOR: THE JT LEROY STORY which focuses on the incredible Laura Albert (Laura Dern), a Brooklyn writer who publishes her first two novels “Sarah” and “The Heart is Deceitful Above all Things” under the pseudonym of JT Leroy. Her stories about the traumatic upbringing of a teenage boy soon become a sensation amongst the literal and film world, who believe they are autobiographical and are all dying to meet him. Laura then asks her androgynous sister-in-law Savannah (Kristen Stewart) to pose as her fictional creation…The story is so bizarre and out of the ordinary that it could only be true. Dern is sensational as the wildly eccentric author while Stewart’s enigmatic presence is put to great use here. She shares some lovely scenes with Diane Kruger, the Hollywood director determined to bring to the screen one of Leroy’s novels. A compelling film about identity and sexuality from Kelly, the exciting director of I AM MICHAEL and KING COBRA very much worth discovering!
GOOD BOYS
(from left) Lucas (Keith L. Williams), Max (Jacob Tremblay) and Thor (Brady Noon) in Good Boys, written by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky and directed by Stupnitsky.
This naughty comedy from writer/director Gene Stupnitsky tells the story of 12-year-old Max (Jacob Tremblay) thrilled to be invited to his first kissing party but begins to panic as he has never kissed before. He has no alternative but to join forces with his two friends Thor (Brady Noon) and Lucas (Keith L. Williams) who encourage him to steal his father’s precious drone in order to spy on a teenage couple and learn a few tips. Needless to say things go disastrously wrong especially after the drone gets destroyed…A hugely enjoyable comedy for good boys and girls directed with gusto and great energy and with terrific performances from its young protagonists especially from Tremblay who demonstrated such tremendous talent in his breakthrough role as the son in ROOM. A guilty pleasure!
TRANSIT
German writer/director Christian Petzold, the distinct and highly prolific filmmaker of YELLA, BARBARA and PHOENIX brings to the screen another compelling film with a clever twist. A mysterious man (Franz Rogoskwi) in his attempt to escape from the Nazis takes the identity of a dead author and ends up in Marseilles where he meets a young woman (Paula Beer) searching for her missing husband…Although the action takes place in Marseilles during the Nazi occupation the production designs suggest this is modern day France. Petzold’s idea of this Brechtian kind of devise is probably to alienate his audience from the grim reality of his protagonists’ circumstances. Both leading actors deliver exceptional performances even though it is difficult to identify fully with their plight but I suppose that is Petzold’s intention. A unique film from one of Europe’s most exciting directors!
DORA & THE LOST CITY OF GOLD
“Dora the Explorer” the Nickelodeon animated series gets a big screen transfer from James Bobin, the British director of ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS and THE MUPPETS. Dora (Isabella Moner) adores living in the jungle with her parents and her beloved monkey Boots but it is time for her to go to high school in the city. But as fate would have it she soon finds herself back to the jungle with her cousin Diego and two other fellow school mates having been kidnapped by a group of criminals in search of her parents’ precious map of the lost city of gold…Moner-so good recently in INSTANT FAMILY and SICARIO 2- makes a persuasive, feisty heroine. Her loving parents are deliciously played by Eva Longoria and Michael Pena but it is the mischievous monkey Boots that almost steals the show. It may be a bit rough around the ages but overall an entertaining family adventure with a classy cast of Latino actors.
APOCALYPSE NOW- FINAL CUT in IMAX
Francis Ford Coppola’s monumental masterpiece returns to the big screen in a stunning new restoration and in IMAX in order to celebrate its 40th anniversary. The Vietnam nightmare and the horrors of war come vividly to life in one of the best anti-war movies ever made. Martin Sheen is the troubled captain on a mission to track down Marlon Brando’s unhinged Colonel deep down in the jungle. The restoration which boats superb Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vison is undoubtedly one of the cinematic events of the year and is not to be missed!
