Film HITLIST THE BEST FILM & DVD RELEASES
list.co.uk/film
Beginners Thumbsucker writer/director Mike Mills attempts to enter the mainstream with this charming, whimsical and wise comic drama about life, ageing and late second chances starring Christopher Plummer and Ewan McGregor as newly out of the closet father and very confused son respectively. See review, page 55. Selected release from Fri 22 Jul.
Arrietty The latest animation from Studio Ghibli is an adaptation of Mary Barton’s children’s classic The Borrowers and is up there with their very best work. See review, page 53. Selected release from Fri 29 Jul.
Poetry A lyrical and compassionate meditation on dementia and creativity from South Korean filmmaker Lee Chang-dong. Veteran actress Yun Jung- hee is amazing. See review, page 53. Selected release from Fri 29 Jul. The Big Picture Douglas Kennedy’s novel is transposed to France with winning effect. Romain Duris stars. See review, page 54. GFT, Glasgow, Fri 22 Jul–Thu 4 Aug. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Fri 5–Thu 11 Aug.
Gilda Sexual innuendo, euphemism and borderline misogyny all have their day in this 1946 noir starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford. See Also Released, page 55. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Fri 22–Thu 28 Jul; GFT, Glasgow, Mon 29–Wed 31 Aug. Trust Friends star David Schwimmer’s worthy but commendable message movie about the dangers of the internet for impressionable children. Clive Owen and Catherine Keener star. See review, page 55. General release from Fri 22 Jul.
Horrible Bosses Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train meets the corporate workplace in this messy but diverting comedy thriller. Colin Farrell and Jennifer Aniston star. See review, page 53. General release from Fri 22 Jul.
The Tree of Life Terrence Malick takes on Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 in this rumination on the essence of 20th century American life and the primordial truths that belie it. Baffling and stunning, catch while you can. Out now on selected release.
Cell 211 Award- winning Spanish cat and mouse prison drama set on different sides of a riot and featuring strong performances from a little known cast. Claustrophobic and gripping in equal measure Out now on selected release.
Bridesmaids Kristen Wiig writes and stars in a Judd Apatow-producted tiaras and tantrums farce that is the funniest comedy of the year. Also the first outing for The IT Crowd’s Chris O’Dowd as romantic lead. Out now on general release.
52 THE LIST 21 Jul–4 Aug 2011
Profile CHRIS WEITZ
Born 30 November 1969, New York City. Background Weitz began his career co-directing the hit teen comedy American Pie with his brother Paul. After another successful collaboration, 2002’s About a Boy, Weitz’s first solo attempt, The Golden Compass, was a disappointment, ending up as a heavily sanitised take on the challenging book by Philip Pullman. Weitz now refers to it as ‘the biggest failure of my career’.
What’s he up to now? After a happier experience making New Moon, the second in the blockbusting Twilight series, Weitz has directed A Better Life, a much smaller story about a struggling Mexican immigrant and his son in contemporary LA.
On the style of the film ‘What I wanted to do was make a film that wasn’t all about indie cred, you know? “Oh, we shot it in ten days with our camera phones and aren’t we great?” I really wanted to be able to employ people like Javier Aguirresarobe (cinematographer) and Alexandre Desplat (composer) to give the story polish, and not to run on any received notions of how movies about poor people are supposed to be made.’ On co-directing with brother Paul ‘I would love to do it again. It would take a lot of the load off my shoulders! It’s really just that we got out of sync; I was too tired after About a Boy to work on the next movie, and neither of us wanted to prevent the other from doing what we wanted to do. But we talk about it now, now that we’ve got some time.’
Interesting fact. Weitz was a producer of Tom Ford’s Oscar- nominated film A Single Man. (Paul Gallagher) ■ A Better Life is on selected release from Fri 29 Jul. See review, page 55.