THE FILMS OUT THIS WEEK
Broker (out 24 Feb)
A wayward teen in South Korea abandons her child in a dropbox for unwanted babies. Cue a delightful shaggy dog caper from Shoplifters director Hirokazu Kore-eda.
What’s Love Got to do with It? (out 24 Feb)
Cross-cultural romcom of the type we loved/loathed in the Richard Curtis heyday. Lily James and Shazad Latif do the honours and London provides the cuddly backdrop.
Joyland (out 24 Feb)
Pakistan banned its own Oscars entry for Best International Feature, the story of a son from a traditional family falling for a trans woman being a fumble too far for the censors. Their loss is our gain, as this is an utterly gorgeous – and at times heart-breaking – piece of work.
Creature (out 24 Feb)
Want strange? Here you go. Asif Kapadia (who made excellent docs Senna, Amy and Diego Maradona) films Akram Khan’s dance piece about a ‘creature’ (sinewy dancer Jeffrey Cirio) kept captive in an icy military complex. Prepare to be beguiled/perplexed/irritated…
Charm Circle (out 24 Feb)
Nira Burstein’s doc turns the camera on her own ‘very complicated’ New York family. Things come to a heady head when Burstein’s sister announces her three-way wedding. That should be clickbait enough for you…
THE GRIZZLY NARCO FILM
Let’s talk about drugs in movies…
Oh yeah, those film people are obsessed, as Dr Gulliver Hoover’s 14-volume Why Movie-makers are Mad About Drugs* will attest. Is there any substance in particular you want to discuss?
Cocaine, please.
Ahhh, the director’s drug of choice for adding a sprinkle of illicit glamour. I mean, who would have watched The Wolf of Wall Street if Leo had been stuck in a K-hole for three hours?
Can we talk about animals, too?
That can only mean Cocaine Bear. As loopy as it sounds, this action comedy is inspired by the true story of a bear who ate a duffel bag of coke that was thrown out of a smuggler’s plane. That poor beast simply died; this one goes on a murderous rampage.
Chances of this being any good?
Hmm… it’s directed by Elizabeth Banks (who did Pitch Perfect 2) and stars the late, beloved Ray Liotta, so maybe. Fun fact: if this does become your favourite ever film (believe me, it will for some), you can make a pilgrimage to see the stuffed real bear at the Kentucky Fun Mall.
Will there be a sequel?
Yes, Heroin Stoat and Meth Toucan *are already in the works…
‘Cocaine Bear’ opens in cinemas on 24 Feb
(*A lie **Another lie, sorry)
MORE FROM THE WESTERN FRONT
It smashed it at this week’s Baftas and could do the same at the Oscars, but because Im Westen nichts Neues (All Quiet on the Western Front to you) is ‘foreign’, many of us Brits probably haven’t picked up on who directed or starred in it. Go on, try naming them!
Well, Viennese lead Felix Kammerer is a theatre actor and this is his first ever film, so it might not be surprising if his name is a new one on you. However, if you’re after more of the same high-precision film-making, director Edward Berger is the one to follow.
You might have seen Berger’s crackingly good Cold War thriller series Deutschland 83 when it aired on Channel 4 a few years ago. If not, firstly you need to do yourself a favour and watch it pronto on All 4.
Up next, Berger has two lip-smacking productions in the works, and both with stellar actors you’ll be rather well acquainted with. Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini and Stanley Tucci isn’t a shabby rollcall. They are the holy quadrinity slogging it out behind closed doors at the Vatican to choose a new pope in an adaptation of Robert Harris’s novel Conclave. Or how about the none-too-shoddy Benedict Cumberbatch in a fresh version of classic thriller The 39 Steps for Netflix?
PS. If you’re keen, we’ll let you know when Felix is back on screen too…
