Welcome to the BRAG’s weekly rundown of what’s hot in the coming seven days of cinematic releases. With only two western premieres, it’s a big week for anyone seeking stories outside their lived experience – Pakistani, Korean and French stories have all made their way to your local cinema.
As for the local stuff, we have… a English period drama and a comedy about Americans breaking bad. K. Guess that’s why diverse storytelling is important, huh? Jesus, producers of the west, catch up.
Anyway, it’s not all bad news. And there’s even better on the not-so-distant horizon…
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The House
As with Breaking Bad, this is another story that could not possibly unfold anywhere other than America, where the education system is privatised and the absence of a scholarship can make tertiary education an impossible dream – think Australia under a continuing Liberal government.
The House sees Scott (Will Ferrell) and Kate (Amy Poehler) take drastic measures to ensure their daughter Alex (Ryan Simpkins) can afford to go to college – to make the dough as fast as possible, they enlist loose cannon Frank (Jason Mantzoukas) to help them build an underground casino in their home, while keeping it secret from their child.
The creatives behind it – director Andrew Jay Cohen and writer Brendan O’Brien – are behind a bunch of the specific “middle-aged straight-edged folks gone wild” American comedies I could not care less about. Can Ferrell and strong representation from the Parks & Recreation cast (including Nick “The Douche” Kroll) keep the house standing?
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tl;dr When you’re building a house like this, make sure you build it with the right materials.
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Lady Macbeth
Director William Oldroyd‘s debut feature has already been referred to as “Alfred Hitchcock directing Wuthering Heights“, and if that’s not recommendation enough, I don’t know what is. The film’s titular lady is Katherine (Florence Pugh), sold into marriage to the cold and callous Alexander (Paul Hilton). She falls for humble groundsman Sebastian (Cosmo Jarvis), and the two plot an escape.
So far, so straight-forward, but the film has garnered rapturous response for its feminist leanings and incisive approach to so-called ‘bonnet dramas’, the interminable period pieces we’re subjected to five times a year.
This ain’t Shakespeare, folks – the attire may be dated, but the manners are distinctly modern, and Oldroyd’s theatrical history means this actor-centric production should make for compulsive watching.
tl;dr
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Monsieur Chocolat
Another film about times of yore, in which black clown Chocolat (Omar Sy) and white clown (James Thiérrée) partner up to revolutionise the French form of circus, and overcome the prejudices Chocolat faces in a conservative time.
The film is simply called Chocolat in its home country, but couldn’t be released internationally under that title for obvious reasons. While it still plays into an old trope of a white dude helping a person of colour realise their potential, it’s still heartening to see the undervalued contributors to a craft’s history finally given the spotlight.
You may recognise Sy as Bishop from X-Men: Days Of Future Past, or from The Intouchables, Mood Indigo, Jurassic World, Inferno, or the voice of Hot Rod in the latest Transformers. The Frenchman’s making strides into Hollywood, but still slamming lead roles back home. Crushin’ it.
tl;dr It’s a strong clowning combo.
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The Villainess
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj6Rptz9BXU
More vicious Korean revenge films? Yes, please. Any one who found Okja a tad too sweet – firstly, what is wrong with you, and secondly, The Villainess may just be your grisly jam. I mean, the trailer alone had a first person shoot-em-up sequence ala Doom/Kick-Ass – this shit’s going hard.
Sook-hee (Kim Ok-bin) has been trained since infancy as an assassin. She’s promised freedom after ten years of service to South Korea’s intelligence agency – that freedom is not forthcoming, and the few she manages to hold close are placed in the firing line. Time to Kill Bi… uh, everyone, I guess.
When it’s trailer boasts “unprecedented action ever” (sic), I’m inclined to believe it. The team from the insane Train To Busan are on board, including director Jung Byung-gil, and the film received a four-minute standing ovation at Cannes Film Festival. Get some.
tl;dr Sympathy For Lady Vengeance
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Yalghaar
An über-patriotic war film from Pakistan with a critical reception akin to a public neutering? Hoo boy, is this not my jam. The trailer is one of the most extreme things I’ve ever seen, and is reminiscent of Filipino radio, where they swing the volume up on the background music every time the announcer takes a breath.
Director, writer and producer Hassan Rana has put together Pakistan’s most expensive film and dedicated it to the victims of the horrific Peshawar attack of 2014 in which Taliban gunmen stormed the Army Public School and Degree College, murdering nine staff and 132 children.
The gesture is laudable, but a film in which roaring Pakistani soldiers fight hordes of terrorists is a poor match to the sentiment. Surely, there are better ways to remember the fallen and ensure their tragic loss is never repeated.
tl;dr At least artistic revenge is a better thing to seek than actual revenge.
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And now for THE VERDICT – maybe you only get to see one of these flicks on the big screen, and you don’t wanna waste that night out. So, drum roll please…
Not a bad ol’ week at the cinemas – you’re unlikely to see me at The House, but Lady Macbeth and Chocolat most certainly have me sold. But ultimately, my pick goes to The Villainess.
Until next week!
