Film INDEX
PROFILE Christmas at Our House
HENRY JOOST AND NEV SCHULMAN Background New York City filmmaker Henry Joost set up production company Supermarché in 2006 with his school friend and business partner Ariel Schulman so they could make commercials, shorts and documentaries. Joining them in their ‘collective’ was Ariel’s younger brother, the photographer Nev Schulman. What are they up to now? Joost and Ariel Schulman have co- directed the intriguing feature length documentary Catfish, which premiered at Sundance last January. It chronicles the online friendship that developed between Nev and a family in Michigan, after Nev was sent a painting of one of his photos by their eight-year-old daughter Amy. Supersize Me director Morgan Spurlock has described Catfish as the ‘greatest fake documentary I’ve ever seen’, but the filmmakers insist that it is ‘100% real.’ Nev Shulman on audience reactions ‘I’ve been surprised by how a lot of people who’ve seen the film have gone out of their way to express how it relates to them. They’ll say that something like this has happened to them or to a friend. It’s as though everyone sees their reflection in the story. On the danger of spoilers ‘We wanted to give as little away about the film as possible in advance. The American marketing campaign stressed the sensational aspect of it, calling it a “reality thriller”, rather than a documentary. But it’s not a movie with ghouls, goblins or axe murderers. To me it’s a sad love story.’ Henry Joost on the title ‘Catfish was the on a list of 20 titles that we had drawn up the night before the Sundance programme was printed. We almost called it It’s Complicated or It’s All Downhill from Here. We took the advice of a filmmaker friend, whom we’d shown a rough cut and he told us to go with Catfish, even though we were worried it might confuse people.’ Interesting Facts Nev trades in classic cars and motorcycles on eBay. The son of a photographer mother and international banker father, Henry was born in Frankfurt. (Tom Dawson) ■ Catfish, selected release, Fri 17 Dec. See review, page 65. 70 THE LIST 16 Dec 2010 – 6 Jan 2011
It’s not Christmas without a visit to the cinema to see a seasonal classic. This season brings the very best Christmas films together under one roof. If you want to stay traditional there’s It’s A Wonderful Life, The Wizard of Oz (pictured) and White Christmas, or if you fancy something a little racier, there’s The Red Shoes and Gremlins, plus a screening of the complete animated Raymond Briggs’ Trilogy for the little ones. Ticket deals available. ■ Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Fri 17-Fri 24 Dec.
Jackass 3D (18) ●●●●● (Jeff Tremaine, US, 2010) Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Bam Margera. Chris Pontius. 93min. Knoxville and his daredevil buddies get up to more mischief. This time in 3D. Vue Ocean, Edinburgh. The Kids are All Right (15) ●●●●● (Lisa Cholodenko, US, 2010) Annette Benning, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo. 106min. Original and insightful comedy of social dilemmas telling the story of lesbian couple Nic (Benning) and Jules (Moore) and the unpredictable events that unfold when their sperm-donated son Laser sets out to find his biological father. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’hoole 2D (PG) ●●●●● (Zack Snyder, USA/Australia, 2010) Jim Sturgess, Joel Edgerton, Ryan Kwanten. 90min. Off-kilter and inept owlimation from 300 director Snyder featuring Sturgess and Kwanten as young owlets kidnapped and pressed into service as soldiers, who attempt to seek out the mythic guardians of Ga’hoole and defeat the nefarious Metalbeak. Vue Ocean, Edinburgh. Let the Right One in (15) ●●●●● (Thomas Alfredson, Sweden, 2008) Kare Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragna. 114min. Adapted from his debut novel by Swedish horror writer John Ajvide Lindqvist, this chilling coming of age story breathes new life into a tired vampire genre. It’s the early 1980s in the Stockholm suburb of Blackeburg and a life-changing friendship is struck between lonely 12-year- old Oskar (Hedebrant) and pale newcomer Eli (Leandersson). A work of nuance, sophistication and calmness – the blood soaked poetry of which is not easy to forget. Cameo, Edinburgh. London Boulevard (15) ●●●●● (William Monahan, UK, 2010) Colin Farrell, Keira Knightley, Stephen Graham. 90min. A reclusive London based actress (Knightley) gives an ex-con (Farrell) a job as her bodyguard and ends up falling for him. Sparky, enjoyable comedy and directed by The Departed and Kingdom of
Heaven screenwriter Monahan. A very decent cast includes David Thewlis, Anna Friel and Ray Winstone. Selected release. Loose Cannons (Mine Vaganti) (15) ●●●●● (Ferzan Ozpetek, Italy, 2010) Riccardo Scamarcio, Alessandro Preziosi, Nicole Grimaudo. 113min. See review, page 65 and profile, Listings. Glasgow Film Theatre. Love Actually (15) ●●●●● (Richard Curtis, UK, 2003) Bill Nighy, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant. 110min. Curtis aims to prove the anodyne point that love is actually all around us with a huge cast and several different story strands. So we see Nighy, Thompson, Grant, Colin Firth, Martine McCutcheon, Liam Neeson, Alan Rickman, Keira Knightley, Andrew Lincoln and Laura Linney all pop up to play out their roles. Lightweight and over-populated romantic comedy. Sloans, Glasgow. Love and Other Drugs (15) ●●●●● (Edward Zwick, US, 2010) Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Judy Greer. 112min. See review, page 66. General release from Wed 29 Dec. M (PG) ●●●●● (Fritz Lang, Germany, 1931) Peter Lorre, Ellen Widmann, Inge Landgu, Otto Wernicke. 98min. Lang’s masterpiece is a fascinating and intriguing film which follows the manhunt for a Dusseldorf child-murderer. In highlighting the procedurals of police organisations this was incredibly influential. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Manmadhan Ambu (12A) (KS Ravikumar, India, 2010) Kamal Haasan, Madhavan, Trisha Krishnan, Sangeetha. 125min. Tamil romantic comedy inspired by There’s Something About Mary. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow. Little Fockers (12A) ●●●●● (Paul Weitz, US, 2010) Ben Stiller, Teri Polo, Jessica Alba. 97min. See Also Released, page 66. Selected release. Megamind 2D (PG) ●●●●● (Tom McGrath, US, 2010) Voices of Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, Tina Fey. 95min. Hot on the heels of 3*Despicable Me comes another animated antihero caper posing the novel
question of what would happen if the baddie actually won? Villain Megamind (Ferrell) has vanquished his foe and is bored with ruling Metro City, so he creates a new opponent by endowing a hapless cameraman (Hill) with superpowers. Likeable enough, but short on the laughs. General release. Megamind 3D (PG) ●●●●● (Tom McGrath, US, 2010) Voices of Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Tina Fey. 95min. See above. General release.
✽✽ Metropolis (PG) ●●●●● (Fritz Lang, Germany, 1926) Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Frolich. 124min. One of the greatest films of all time, here in its longer-length, black and white version, free from Giorgio Moroder’s tacked-on rock soundtrack. The cityscapes remain unsurpassed, although the allegory against totalitarianism is a bit naive. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Miral (12A) ●●●●● (Julian Schnabel, France/Israel/Italy/India, 2010) Willem Dafoe, Frieda Pinto, Vanessa Redgrave. 112min. Overambitious and clunky political piece charting the story of young Miral (Pinto) growing up in the wake of the first Arab-Israeli conflict, whose staunch political principles bring her into conflict both with her family and her own ambitions. Glasgow Film Theatre; Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
✽✽ Monsters (12A) ●●●●● (Gareth Edwards, UK, 2010) Whitney Able,
Scott McNairy. 93min. Young British filmmaker Edwards has pulled off an astonishing feat with his debut feature, relating the story of a near-future Earth that has succumbed to alien invasion and the cynical photojournalist (McNairy) who must escort his boss’s traumatised daugher (Able) home to America through an infected zone. Strikingly original and atmospheric, this is one to watch indeed. General release. No Problem (U) (Anees Bazmee, India, 2010) Sunil Shetty, Sushmita Sen, Kagana Ranaut. 120min. Hindi comedy. Selected release.