Next Week

UK DVD [10/5]

Mutants
There’s really nothing very interesting this week, so I’m picking out this debut from David Morley, largely because France has been producing some of the best horror of recent years and this sounds like something of a French take on 28 Days Later. It certainly could be nice gory fun.


UK TV

Prime Cut [12/5]
I know very little about this film, but for years I have been wanting to see it, solely because the brilliant Sissy Spacek has her first substantial film role here. It’s never been released on DVD here and I’ve never seen a copy on VHS, so here’s my chance to catch it, and yours.


UK THEATRICAL RELEASE [14/5]

American: The Bill Hicks Story
This documentary about the so called outlaw comic, who died 16 years ago, aged just 32, of pancreatic cancer, but whose political material still resonates today, interviews his friends and family and will likely include plenty of clips (some previously unseen) of Hicks’ stand up. What’s most interesting is the way that the film has been made, taking thousands of photos of Hicks and rotoscoping them into rather unique looking animation. This ought to be an interesting and idiosyncratic portrait of an interesting and idiosyncratic man.


US THEATRICAL RELEASE [14/5]

Best Worst Movie
Troll 2 has passed into legend as one of the worst films ever made, and thanks to that reputation it has developed. Now Michael Stephenson (who, as a 12 year old, appeared in Troll 2) has made a documentary that explores the cult following around the film and talks to the cast and filmmakers about the oddly enduring presence of the film in their lives. Everyone who has seen Best Worst Movie says that it’s a warm, funny and highly entertaining film. I can’t wait to see it.


ONLINE MOVIE OF THE WEEK

The Dreamlife of Angels
Erick Zonca’s first feature is a brilliant, if sometimes very tough, slice of life. It follows two young women; Marie and Isa (played by Natacha Regnier and Elodie Bouchez, who shared the Cannes Best Actress award) through their tough lives as they try to eke out an existence in low paying jobs, the real turning point comes when Marie gets a boyfriend; a rich club owner played by Gregorie Colin. It’s not high on incident, but it is a sensitively acted and beautifully written and directed film. Click the title to watch it.


LINK OF THE WEEK
The Movie Club Podcast
The Movie Club Podcast is a clever idea; a revolving cast of commentators (most of them drawn from Film Junk) discuss a double feature of thematically or otherwise linked movies. They’ve made some very interesting selections over just 17 episodes. Most recently they have covered The Thin Blue Line and Stroszek while other episodes include The Alien ‘Quadrilogy’; My Own Private Idaho and 10 Things I Hate About You; Fucking Amal and Heavenly Creatures and the fascinating pairing of Cannibal Holocaust and Freddy Got Fingered. The arguments are intelligent, provocative, and will make you want to go straight out and watch the films in question. Even Freddy Got Fingered.