The Boat that Rocked
Coming from the creators of ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’ (1994) and ‘Notting Hill’ (1999), this is a terrific new English comedy from director Richard Curtis, and, it really ‘rocks’! The movie is basically fiction, but, it is loosely based on some real life events. It is 1966, and the Swinging Sixties are underway in England. Much to the disgust of the British Government, who doesn’t approve of Pop Music at all, an independent pirate radio station, transmitting from a boat anchored beyond territorial waters in the North Sea, is broadcasting Pop Music twenty four hours a day to anyone who knows the radio frequency back on the mainland. The Government is determined to shut them down. The movie is a wonderful evocation of that era, and, the total stupidity of the British Government of the time. Apart from being an hilarious comedy, the movie is also a rather intriguing musical, which cinematically visualizes many classic hits from that momentous period.
Paris 36
Directed by Christophe Barratier, this is another terrific musical, which comes from France. It is Paris in the year 1936, and things are looking bleak. Faced with Fascism, Communist Insurgents and General Unemployment, a group of vaudevillian entertainers, in the name of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, attempt to revive a declining Parisian Musical Hall, and, at the same time, give themselves some form of employment. The movie superbly suggests ‘La Vie de France’, which saw the French people through the Second World War. The movie features some sensational cabaret numbers, but, as the movie is actually made in the style of one of Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland’s old Hollywood “let’s put on a show” type of thing, the movie also has some wonderful reconstructions of Busby Berkeley type fantasy sequences, from the Golden Age of Hollywood, circa the 1930s.
Grace
This movie is written and directed by Paul Solet, and, although it is nothing like it at all, it brings to mind Roman Polanski’s seminal psychological thriller ‘Repulsion’ (1965). Both movies expertly study the mental breakdown of a young woman. In the case of ‘Grace’, Jordan Ladd plays a single Vegan mother-to-be. Through out her pregnancy Jordan only eats tofu and tempe and other such vegetarian delights, and, as a result, she becomes anemic. However, when she gives birth to young ‘Grace’, all the baby craves is blood! It is then up to Jordan to find nourishment for her new offspring. The movie can be seen as an intelligent look into the stress-related problems of pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood, coupled with a revealing depiction of post-natal depression. Anyway, if you want to dispense with all that intellectualizing, just think of the movie as a really good horror show!
Aliens in the Attic
As children’s movies go, this one is pretty good. While enjoying a family vacation at a remote lake, a group of youngsters have to fight off an invasion of knee-high aliens, who have world domination in mind. Meanwhile, the parents of the children remain oblivious to the whole thing. Kiddies will get a kick out of the slapstick comedy, while the more mature viewer will enjoy the sarcastic script. Director John Schultz keeps the action and comedy coming fast, and, overall, the movie is excellent wholesome family fun!
The Informers
Notorious novelist Bret Easton Ellis, the author responsible for ‘American Psycho’, is also responsible for the script of this sprawling movie, directed by Gregor Jordan. It is a multi-character movie, which follows some loosely connected multi-narratives, set in early 1980s Los Angeles. The various characters represent both the top and the bottom of the Los Angeles social scene, and include such people as Hollywood actors, agents and producers, dissolute rock stars, aging newscasters, voyeuristic doormen and amoral criminals. All of these people party as if there is no tomorrow. They sleep all day, and take drugs and have indiscriminate sex with one another all night, unaware of the approaching catastrophe which the AIDS epidemic is about to unleash on their lifestyles. Among others, Billy Bob Thornton, Kim Basinger, Winona Ryder and Mickey Rourke star as part of this collection of shallow people, who personify the utter shallowness of 1980s Los Angeles.
The Brothers Bloom
Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo star in this movie as a pair of con artist brothers, who have been practicing their trade since childhood. For their latest ‘mark’ they set upon a wealthy and eccentric heiress, portrayed by Rachel Weisz, and involve her in a complicated scheme comprising of smuggling and selling valuable artifacts. This scheme will take them all on a mad-capped romp around the world. However, Rachael Weisz is not as silly as she seems. She is fully aware of what is going on, and is simply just having the time of her life. Written and directed by Rian Johnson, the movie is a pleasant enough adventure-romantic-comedy, and, for those who care about such things, an original musical score is provided by Randy Newman.
Lies and Illusions
This disappointing movie is directed by Tibor Takacs, and it stars Christian Slater and Cuba Gooding Jr. Christian plays an unsuspecting writer who discovers that the two women in his life have been lying to him, and both have connections or dealings with a notorious criminal. The best that can be said about the movie is that it is only reasonable ‘B’ Grade cinematic fodder.
