Film REVIEWS
ALSO RELEASED Dark Horse
DRAMA THE HUNTER (15) 100min ●●●●●
A classical-music loving mercenary (Willem Dafoe) is hired by a shady biotech company to carry out a hit in Australia. His target is to secure the DNA of the presumed extinct Tasmanian tiger. Posing as an academic researcher, he lodges at the ramshackle rural home of a hippy mother Lucy (Frances O’Connor), whose two young children roam free and whose own zoologist husband disappeared the previous year while seeking to track down the elusive tiger.
Adapted from the first novel of Julia Leigh (who also directed recent release Sleeping Beauty), The Hunter boasts some spectacular widescreen cinematography of brooding Tasmanian landscapes, and it’s certainly enjoyable to watch the beanie-hatted, craggy-faced Dafoe set animal traps with his bare hands. However, director Daniel Nettheim and scriptwriter Alice Addison struggle to integrate the various sub-plots, including the conflict between loggers and environmental activists and Lucy’s miraculous recovery from long- term depression. Strip away the exotic locale, and you have yet another tale of an emotionally cut-off male loner spending time around kids and becoming a better person, while, given the leisurely narrative build-up, the film’s climax feels disappointingly rushed. (Tom Dawson) ■ Selected release from Fri 6 Jul.
MUSICAL DRAMA WHERE DO WE GO NOW? (TBC) 110min ●●●●●
Lebanese director Nadine Labaki’s debut Caramel was an excellent slice-of-life comedy that offered a human and humorous perspective on contemporary life in Beirut. For her second film she takes ambitious leaps on all fronts, mixing intense drama, broad comedy and even musical sequences to tell a story about the uneasy peace between Christians and Muslims in a Lebanese village. In doing so she further establishes herself as not only a great storyteller, but a director of significant vision, with a powerful command of cinematic style. Labaki employs shifting tones from the outset, as a mournful scene of women visiting the graves of their husbands and sons gives way to a comical sequence involving men attempting to find a TV signal up a nearby hill. Using the womens’ various attempts to distract their menfolk from potential religious conflict as a focus, Labaki (who produces, directs, writes and stars) sustains this balance of tone with a lightness of touch that recalls classic Hollywood, tackling serious drama head-on while never afraid to crack a joke. (Paul Gallagher) ■ Selected release from Fri 22 Jun.
74 THE LIST 21 Jun–19 Jul 2012
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (15) 105 mins Wanted director Timur Bekmambetov tackles the Great Emancipator’s Buffier side. General release from Wed 20 Jun. The Last Projectionist (12A) 82min Documentary on Britain’s independent cinemas and their staff. Selected release from Fri 22 Jun. Lay the Favourite (15) 94min Bruce Willis, Catherine Zeta Jones and Vince Vaughn star in Stephen Frears’ gambling comedy. General release from Fri 22 Jun. Think Like a Man (12A) 122min Romantic comedy featuring R&B star Chris Brown. General release from Fri 22 Jun. Victim (15) 98min Urban drama about a young man’s struggle to escape a violent lifestyle. Selected release from Fri 22 Jun. Hobson’s Choice (U) 107min Re- issue of David Lean’s 1954 comedy, starring Charles Laughton and John Mills. Cameo, Edinburgh, Tue 26 Jun. We Are Poets (tbc) 80min Documentary following a Leeds- based youth poetry collective and their journey to the White House. Selected release from Thu 28 Jun. The Athlete (PG) 92min Dramatisation of the life of Ethiopian Olympic gold medallist Abebe Bikila. Selected release from Fri 29 Jun. Dark Horse (tbc) 84min Todd Solondz-directed drama starring Christopher Walken, Selma Blair and Mia Farrow. Selected release from Fri 29 Jun. Joyful Noise (PG) 118min Music- themed comedy starring Queen Latifa and Dolly Parton. General release from Fri 29 Jun. Lovely Molly (15) 99min Eduardo Blair Witch Sanchez directs this possession horror. General release from Fri 29 Jun. Storage 24 (15) 87min Sci-fi horror starring Kidulthood’s Noel Clarke. General release from Fri 29 Jun. The Amazing Spider-Man (12A) 136min Reboot of the web-slinger franchise starring Andrew Garfield and Rhys Ifans. General release from Tue 3 Jul.
Quatermass and the Pit (12A) 97min Reissue of the 1967 sci-fi horror. Selected release from Tue 3 Jul. God Bless America (15) 105min Acerbic black comedy from Bobcat Goldthwait. Cameo, Edinburgh, Wed 4 Jul. Katy Perry: Part of Me (U) tbcmin Concert doc following the chart-topping pop star. General release from Thu 5 Jul. The Players (18) 109min A series of French short films about infidelity, starring The Artist’s Jean Dujardin. Selected release from Fri 6 Jul. Total Recall (18) 113min Reissue of the Paul Verhoeven/ Schwarzenegger sci-fi, ahead of the Colin Farrell remake. Selected release from Fri 6 Jul. The Women on the 6th Floor (12A) 104min French culture-clash comedy set in the 1960s. Selected release from Fri 6 Jul. Magic Mike (15) 110min Male- stripping comedy drama starring Channing Tatum (and based on his life pre-Hollywood). General release from Wed 11 Jul. Chariots of Fire (PG) 124min Reissue of the iconic sporting drama, just in time for the Olympics. Selected release from Fri 13 Jul. The Giants (15) 84min French drama about two teen brothers who rent out their vacant house to a drug dealer. Selected release from Fri 13 Jul.
Ice Age: Continental Drift (U) 94min New instalment of the popular CGI animation franchise. General release from Fri 13 Jul. 21 Jun–19 Jul 2012 THE LIST 74