cinematographique

(500) Days of Summer

Widely celebrated in the US (ovations at Sundance; an opening weekend netting over 24 times its budget), this emocore indie monolith will soon reach these shores. I actually quite look forward to it – it has a guilty appeal, and for all its affected eccentricity (come on, just look at the title), derivativeness and nauseating too-cool-for-schoolery, it looks to be incredibly well written. Reviews so far have been mixed: see here and there.

Funny People

Well-publicized with a trailer blazing trails through UK cinemas, Funny People is also getting mixed critical response. On the one hand, there are some very smart people who think it is both intriguing and funny, if deeply flawed, while on the other, there are some goons who think this is the second coming. So I am torn: what way will I slide, and what will that say about me? I’ve never thought Adam Sandler a funny person. Maybe if he actually died at the end…

Bandslam

Oddly, here I am more plainly excited than ambivalent. There have been some kind words bandied about regarding Bandslam. My eye was particularly caught by apparent references to Beckett, Austen, Cather and Stevenson peppering this piquant little gem. I wasn’t able to work my way into the High School Musical phenomenon, but perhaps this is an opportunity for a new beginning. There are, nevertheless, some fairly negative reviews. Philip French has always stood me in good stead though, and he highlights the fact that the protagonists’ band goes by the name “I Can’t Go On, I’ll Go On”, the last line from Beckett’s The Unnamable. That excites me – Vanessa Hudgens’ Sa5m (“the five is silent“, belm) does not. She can’t seem to say the letter ’s’ without fudging it (“do what scarje you!“).

The Hurt Locker

Evidently a must-see, and one that I sorely regret missing at EIFF. Kathryn Bigelow’s Iraq action drama about a bomb-disposal unit handling IEDs. It will soon be hitting UK cinemas.

Ponyo

The new sensation from Studio Ghibli, this has already broken all box-office records in Japan (as does every Hayao Miyazaki feature) but looks unusually promising. Ponyo is a goldfish who dreams of becoming a little girl. Expect the usual man vs. environment fable though, plus giant spirit animals and crazy anthropomorphism. There is also the usual fabulous American voice casting for English-speaking world release.

Blog updates

In lieu of any tragic news this week, here is a brief selection of some more interesting articles floating about the b’sphere.

• A great little rant about DIY film-making by Karina Longworth.
• Jonathan Rosenbaum’s essay on the 1976 Edinburgh Film Festival, tackling the poverty of British film culture (abuse of theory: psychoanalysis and ignorance).
• The joy of old-fashioned SFX in Duncan Jones’ old-fashioned sci-fi, Moon.