Film REVIEWS
ALSO RELEASED
Avengers Assemble (12A) 142min Marvel’s superhero supergroup CGI blockbuster. General release from Thu 26 Apr. African Cats (U) 89min Or March of the Lions, with Sam L Jackson replacing Freeman. Selected release from Fri 27 Apr. Buck (tbc) 88min Documentary about a real-life horse whisperer. Selected release from Fri 27 Apr. Laugh at My Pain (18) 89min Recorded stand-up set from US actor/comedian Kevin Hart. Selected release from Fri 27 Apr. Strippers vs Werewolves (15) 93min Strip-club set comedy horror. Selected release from Fri 27 Apr. American Reunion (15) 113min The American Pie gang reunite 13 years later. General release from Wed 2 May. Lawrence of Belgravia (tbc) 90min Intimate documentary about cult Felt musician Lawrence. Selected release from Wed 2 May. Beauty and the Beast 3D (U) 84min Reissue of the 1991 Disney animation. General release from Fri 4 May. Angel & Tony (15) 83min Romantic drama set in Normandy. Selected release from Fri 4 May. Hari Kiri (tbc) 126min Period samurai drama from Takeshi Miike. Selected release from Fri 4 May. Juan of the Dead (15) 100min Cuban zombie horror-com inspired by Shaun of the Dead. Selected release from Fri 4 May. Le Quai des Brumes (PG) 91min Reissue of Marcel Carné’s 1939 French drama. Selected release from Fri 4 May. Piggy (18) 106min Revenge thriller set in London. Selected release from Fri 4 May. Safe (15) 94min Jason Statham takes on the baddies while protecting a gifted youngster. General release from Fri 4 May. Two Years at Sea (tbc) 88min Debut feature from visual artist Ben Rivers. Selected release from Fri 4 May. Beloved (tbc) 139min Romantic musical starring Catherine Denueve. Selected release from Fri 11 May. Charlie Casanova (18) 94min Hit- and-run crime drama. Selected release from Fri 11 May. Dark Shadows (tbc) 113min Tim Burton-directed comedic remake of the 1960s gothic soap opera. General release from Fri 11 May. How I Spent my Summer Vacation (15) 95min Mel Gibson plays a career criminal trapped in a Mexican prison. General release from Fri 11 May. Mitsuko Delivers (tbc) 109min Comedy about a young Japanese woman who returns home to give birth to her child. Selected release from Fri 11 May. Piranha 3DD (15) tbcmin Cheekily- named horror-comedy sequel. General release from Fri 11 May. The Man with the Jazz Guitar (tbc) 119min Documentary about Django Reinhardt-inspired guitarist Ken Sykora. Selected release from Tue 15 May. 2 Days in New York (15) 91min Romantic comedy sequel to 2 Days in Paris. General release from Fri 18 May. The Dictator (tbc) tbcmin Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest taboo- challenging comedy. General release from Fri 18 May. Even the Rain (tbc) 103min Paul Laverty-penned drama starring Gael Garcia Bernal. Selected release from Fri 18 May. If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle (tbc) 94min Romanian drama about a teenager getting released from prison. Selected release from Fri 18 May. She Monkeys (12A) 83min Sports drama from Sweden about power and sexuality. Selected release from Fri 18 May. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (U) 163min Reissue of Powell and Pressburger’s warm 1943 war film. Selected release from Fri 18 May. What to Expect When You’re Expecting (tbc) tbcmin Ensemble dramedy inspired by the popular pregnancy bible. General release from Wed 23 May.
66 THE LIST 26 Apr–24 May 2012
COMEDY DRAMA ALL IN GOOD TIME (12A) 93min ●●●●●
Originally a 1965 play and subsequently a film by Irish writer Bill Naughton, this sweet-natured comedy became a theatre hit again in 2007 when East is East writer Ayub Khan-Din adapted it into a present-day British-Asian setting. The story, about a newly-married couple whose intrusive family continually hinder them from having sex for the first time, fits perfectly into this context where family tradition supersedes privacy at every turn, while Khan-Din’s ability to pull big laughs from the clash of British culture and Indian sensibilities is assuredly present.
As one would expect from director Nigel Cole (Calendar Girls, Made In Dagenham), this film adaptation is gentle and funny, although he occasionally misjudges the tone, unnecessarily complicating things with a melancholy bit of backstory. The performances are excellent though: Meera Syal and Harish Patel reprise their roles from the stage production with evident relish, and Reece Ritchie and Amara Karan are charmingly sincere and easy to root for as the young couple who know very little about sex, a rare and refreshing sight in contemporary cinema. (Paul Gallagher) ■ Selected release from Fri 11 May.
DRAMA THE LUCKY ONE (12A) 101mins ●●●●●
The latest adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel is as schmaltzy as ever but also hopelessly contrived and unconvincing. Stretching credibility from the start, Zac Efron stars as a US Marine who comes across a photo of an unknown blonde beauty (Taylor Schilling) while serving in Iraq, which he credits with saving his life. Once home, he resolves to find his guardian angel and tell her his story, eventually locating her at a dog sanctuary in North Carolina. But his inability to find the words to tell his story invokes the suspicion of her jealous ex-husband. Scott Hicks’ film struggles to engage on the emotional level it is seeking partly because the slushy romanticism afforded to Efron’s hero feels at odds with the harsher reality of the war he is returning from, but also because Efron fails to convince as a traumatised veteran. Schilling fares better in a star-making turn but given the telegraphed plotting and one-dimensional characterisation that is also rife, nothing can prevent this from being an empty, shallow experience for those unlucky enough to see it. (Rob Carnevale) ■ General release from Wed 2 May.