MOVIES THIS WEEK (JULY 27)

This week is an ok week for movies.
First off,The Simpsons Movie is finally released and is sure to make some noise. It's the first ever Simpsons movie, after a long, long, long (and still going strong) run on TV. It features Homer in an adventure to save the world from a catastrophe he may have caused. I think it's safe to assume that this movie is going to be good. They can't mess this up. At worse it'll be OK.

A potential hit-or-miss movie would be the British sci-fi flick Sunshine. Directed by cult filmmaker Danny Boyle (The Beach, 28 days later, Trainspotting), and written by Alex Garland (The Beach), the movie is about a group of astronauts in 2057 whose mission is to reignite the failing sun. On their way there, they received a signal from a previous mission that was launched years earlier and never came back.... I love sci-fi but it's so easy to miss target with those films... I'll probably check this one out and let you know.

The other potential hit of the week end would be the Catherine Zeta-Jones/ Aaron Eckhart romantic comedy No Reservations. Need I say more ?
Also out is Taxi 4, the fourth instalment in the popular French film series. It features cars, girls, and a lot of humour (mostly involving a quirky police officer). It seems weird to release another movie in this franchise (started in the 90s) but as long as it sells, I guess there's no harm to it.
Another blockbuster release, I know who killed me is more geared to the adolescent market. It features Lindsay Lohan (sober) in a mysterious thriller about a girl who wakes up not remembering anything and is convinced she has been killed two weeks earlier (now that's a plot that is sure to move today's youth!)

On the more indie side, the new Werner Herzog film is out. It's called Rescue Dawn and is about an Dieter Dengler, an American soldier (Christian Bale) captured by Viet' guerrilleros during the infamous Vietnam war in 1966. This should be interesting since Herzog did a documentary about Dengler 10 years ago (LITTLE DIETER NEEDS TO FLY).
La Faute à Fidel could be an interesting French film about Anna, a nine-year old girl whose uncle is a chilian militant. He dies in combat and this leads to his sister moving to Paris, into the life of Anna.
Also, Cinema du Parc offers two new repertory films this week. Cafe Transit, an Iranian film about a woman who takes over a café at the Turkish border. Benis par le feu (Illuminados por el fuego) is a Spanish film about war friendships.

Enjoy your week-end (and week) in movies !

THIS FILTHY WORLD

relaying information from Cinema du Parc.This Filthy World

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USA. 2006. Documentary. Dir.: Jeff Garlin. With John Waters.
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In this one-man show, the HAIRSPRAY original director, John Waters takes the stage to discuss everything from his early influences and his fondest career memories. As part of a John Waters' retrospective, this perfomance is filled with outrageous insight and candid wit that has earned Waters an eternal place in the hearts of mischief-loving miscreants everywhere.

THIS FILTHY WORLD filmed over two nights at Manhattan's Harry De Jur Playhouse, can be one of the coziest and most charming means of investing 90-plus minutes of your life. Some of the more outrageous stuff can't, of course, be safely recounted in a family newspaper. Just know that Waters is so sneaky when delivering his zingers that he'll make you spit your beverage on the person next to you if you're not careful. In laughter, one hastens to add, not disgust.

"This suave connoisseur of sleaze can be touching when recalling Tab Hunter and Divine's initial encounter on the set of 1981's "Polyester." He can be instructive when talking about how a film society can attract patrons. ("Have the ushers be nude for one night.") More than anything, he can be mordantly funny when taking off on such varied topics as Michael Jackson, the Catholic Church and priggishness in every corner of society. Even when he expresses malice, Waters is always endearing, even - in his own way - sensible."
-NEWSDAY

ALSO PLAYING (RETROSPECTIVE)
Pink Flamingos (1972) (English with French subtitles)
Female Trouble (1974) (English with French subtitles)
Desperate Living (1977) (English with French subtitles)
Polyester (1981)
Hairspray (1988) (English with French subtitles)
Cry-Baby (1990) (English with French subtitles)
Serial Mom (1994) (English with French subtitles)
Pecker (1998) (English with French subtitles)
Cecil B. Demented (2000) (English version)
A Dirty Shame (2006) (English version)

All showtimes on cinemaduparc.com

NEW MOVIES THIS WEEK (JULY 20-27)

This is a nicer movie week than last week, featuring eclectic releases that will please all. Still fresh from the Harry Potter craziness, many moviegoers will be stuck at home this week end reading the much anticipated final book of the series. For others, there are a couple of interesting movie outings you can check out.

First of all, LIBERO is my pick for the week end. review : It's a fabulous, down to earth and touching italian film about a family that has been deserted by a nymphomaniac (?) mother who keeps leaving home only to come back for brief periods. This leaves the family hanging and tense. But the movie isn't depressing at all, like you would expect from such a story. It's really all about a little boy's experience of this situation and how it affects his daily life and upbringing. The actors are all wonderful, the pace is perfect. Girls, the dad is pretty hot too !

Next up would be MON MEILLEUR AMI, an apparently innovative and funny French comedy from Patrice Leconte (who brought us gems like Ridicule and La fille sur le Pont). It features Daniel Auteil as a businessman who apparently doesn't have any "best friend" and has to prove that he does to avoid ridicule. He meets this taxi driver (Dany Boon) and an unusual releationships develops as they try to convince people that they are best friends.

Also out this week is the new Steve Buscemi movie (something I really look forward to), Interview. It stars Buscemi interviewing a big shot celebrity. Could only be delightful. The movie was made as a testament to murdered filmmaker Teo Van Gogh.

The blockbuster releases of the week would be I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry (starring Adam Sandler as a pretend gay man, trying to get a good insurance deal) and Hairspray, which looks promising but could be a disaster.
Another potential big hit is the Quebec Comedy Ma Tante Aline, with Béatrice Picard, Sylvie Léonard and Rémi-Pierre Paquin.

Other movies worth checking out : Dans Paris (by controversial french director Christophe Honoré, with Louis Garrel and Romain Duris), This Filthy World, a John Waters documentary + Retrospective at cinema du parc (see next post)

NEW MOVIES THIS WEEK (JUL 13-20)

Well it's safe to say that this week will be Harry potter week at the movies. I just saw the film and really thought it was a great ride. The series has reach a good maturity and they have learned how to balance action and character development. In this particular one, character development takes over as the actors improve their skills, the writing gets less cheesy and the directing uses a new realistic style....

other releases worth mentioning this week are:

Adam's Apple, a funny, weird comedy about a priest with strict and irrevocable faith who reforms prisoners in his small town church.

Lars Von Trier's The Director. I've seen the film back when it was playing at the New Cinema Festival and it's really a departure from his recent work and a return to the type of movies he made in his dogma era (the idots etc...). This film is cute, original but overall doesn't leave you with much more than a cute story with amusing characters. It's like The Office goes on the big screen, with a little less catch phrases ;)

Scenes of a sexual nature is also out and features everything but sex! I've seen bits and pieces of the film and it's really a long bore with endless discussions. The acting however is fine and intelligent and the editing is interesting.

Another interesting title out this week is God grew tired of us, a story of 4 africans (from soudan) who aren't familiar with our civilization, and are brought to NYC for this documentary. An interesting look at our culture through the eyes of traditionalism. I foresee a nice reflexion on where we're coming from and where we're heading....


other releases : Captivity, Belle Toujours, Introducing the Dwights

all showtimes at cinemamontreal.com

MOVIES THIS WEEK (JULY 6-13)

Well this week is the 4th-of-July/Harry-potter-Anticipation week and therefore all interesting releases are halted. We are left with a bunch of blockbusters to savor with butter and coke. However, there are many alternatives to this : foremost, the fantasia festival (see previous posts) is rockin in town. Also, the Cinema du Parc is offering interesting thematic groupings (also in previous posts) and there are a couple indie releases that could satisfy some....

I will go, however, to the dark side (which I love) and recommend my favorite blockbusters for the week.

Biggest release this week is the very long-anticipated Transformers Movie. Basically, any fan of the comics, cartoons or action figures should check this out. Reviews are generally ok, and action movie fans shouldn't be disappointed. To me, it seems more aimed at teenagers, considering the film's casting and the feel of the trailer. But everyone has a child - and a teenager- in him. So don't snob this ! (I will though because I just don't care enough hehe)

Next off is License to Wed, a comedy (!) featuring Robin Williams. It's been a while since one of these came out. Mr Williams got us accustomed to his dark side these last few years but he's back with full-fledged, exaggerated comedy. The premise of this film is rather amusing : Before getting married, a couple (Mandy Morre and John Krasinki from The Office) has to pass a priest's crash course (including abstinence and proving your love in objectionable ways hehe). This seems like a fun film, a light comedy for the weekend.

First off, the fourth Die Hard is here and breaking all the rules (as action movies should). So is Sicko, creating controversy all over, and generating a lot of "do we trust michael moore?" debates....

On a more independent side, two movies are making a premiere this week. You Kill Me, which features a serial killer gone morgue-worker... Could be funny. Philip Baker hall is in it so it can't be that bad ;)
Another indie release is the French Bled Number One where an Algerian prisoner in france gets released and sent back to his country. A story about finding yourself through your roots and making the balance with modernity. Could be interesting actually.

For crazy fans like me, don't forget that Harry Potter comes out Wednesday ! (not friday). So start lining up and brace yourself for a hogwarts craziness before the book release next week.... Keep note that for crazier potter fans, the film will play premiere on tuesday evening. Check the Scotia Bank Theatre for more info (god how I hate that new name!)



All showtimes at cinemamontreal.com

Pier Paolo Pasolini x 4

relaying info from cinema du parc

From July 6th to 12th

All films are at $7
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SALÒ, LES 120 JOURS DE SODOME
1001 NUITS
CONTES DE CANTERBURY
LE DECAMERON
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"Why create a work of art when dreaming about it is so much sweeter?" -PASOLINI

Cinema du Parc presents The Trilogy of Life, a series of three films that Pier Paolo Pasolini completed before his assassination in 1975, and it remains among the most controversial of his cinematic works. With The Decameron, Canterbury Tales, and The Arabian Nights - Pasolini attempts to recapture the aura surrounding popular, predominantly oral forms of storytelling through a pro-modern vision of innocent, unalienated bodies and pleasures. We added Salo,a loose adaptation of the Marquis de Sade's The 120 Days of Sodom, Pier Paolo Pasolini's Salò is perhaps the most disturbing and disgusting film ever made. It is also one of the most important, offering a blistering critique of fascism and idealism that suggests moral redemption may be nothing but a myth.

Pier Paolo Pasolini x4 - Cinema du Parc (3575 Du parc) - 6-12 Juillet. For showtimes : cinemaduparc.com or cinemamontreal.com

JAZZ AND CINEMA !

relaying the info from Cinema du parc...

From July 6th to 12th

All films are at $7
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NAKED LUNCH
MO' BETTER BLUES
A NIGHT IN HAVANA
CALLE 54
JAZZ ON A SUMMER'S DAY
SMOOTHIE
THE ILLINOIS JACQUET STORY
LAST OF THE BLUE DEVILS
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For all jazz and cinema lovers, here’s a selection that’s tailor made for you! You’ll have the chance to see the first Spike Lee / Denzel Washington collaboration, interpreting Bleek Willams, a passionate trumpeter in Mo’Better Blues, and the moving performance by Peter Weller on Howard Shore’s music in Cronenberg’s Naked Lunch. You will also see Count Basie in Last of the Blue Devils, a documentary that brings together the great names of "The Oklahoma City Blue Devils" as well as the legendary performance of Dizzy Gillespie in A Night in Havana. In addition, our special program will feature Jazz on a Summer’s Day starring Thelonious Monk, Big Maybelle, Chuck Berry, Louis Armstrong and many others who got together at the 1958 Newport Festival, and Calle 54 which brings together the big names from Latin Jazz Latin, including Tito Puente. Also, witness the contagious passion of the veteran of jazz journalists, Maurice Cullaz nicknamed Smoothie by Louis Armstrong in the film of the same name. Finally, don’t miss the film The Illinois Jacquet Story, a documentary exploring the life and times of the popularly unknown jazz and R&B saxophone legend Illinois Jacquet. He has played with most of the greats and almost single-handedly developed a rompin'-stompin' saxophone sound which has been a feature of great R&B ever since.

Jazz & Cinema - Cinema du Parc (3575 Du parc) - 6-12 Juillet. For showtimes : cinemaduparc.com or cinemamontreal.com

MY MOVIE PICKS THIS WEEK (UPDATED)

This week is another interesting movie week. A lot of documentaries, some horror and a blockbuster comedy are on the menu.

First off, you should all check out a documentary called MANUFACTURING DISSENT. It's a doc about Michael Moore, documented by two Canadians that start off with a blatant admiration for the guy and end up shedding some light on his unorthodox methods. I saw the film and It's sometimes very deranging : isn't the whole point of documentary film making to tell the truth ? Is it acceptable to bend it to make a point ? I'm personally not sure about the answer, but it's definetly an interesting question to ask. Saw the film. It's interesting but it did'nt succeed to make me doubt Moore's methods. I personally believe that a little deceit and manipulation is needed to shake people up. So I say : Go Michael ! That being said, this documentary is very well paced and extremely interesting.

Also out this week end is A MIGHTY HEART, just fresh out of the Cannes Festival and features Angelina Jolie (in what the press are calling her best role yet) as the wife of a journalist who disappears in Pakistan (based on a very interesting true story). Just saw the film, it's a very good depiction of those events and it was shot in a very respectful, non-exaggerated, non-cheesy fashion. Performances feel reel and are gut-wrenching. I loved this film !

Other releases :
1408 (horror), Evan Almighty (comedy), Zidane (documentary, apparently very good one), Gracie (sports dramatic comedy) and Trois rois (music doc)

For showtimes, check cinemamontreal.com