Hi
Everyone,
After
two weeks on general release, the Darren Aronofsky horror drama
mother! has reportedly only brought in a paltry $28m
worldwide. So, essentially, audiences are not going to see it; and
many of those punters (in the US) who did - gave the film a lousy “F”
cinema score! Yet, I think one can go and enjoy the movie. It's a
very interesting work. But don't think of it as a straight horror
film but instead as an artistic experiment; an Arthouse allegory
about creation and inspiration (whether that creator be a god, or a
painter, or a filmmaker etc.) - as well as an examination of fame in
the modern age. Although it gets more than a bit crazy in the final
act, I still think it's worth checking out. And, by the way, Jennifer
Lawrence is great in the movie!
But,
I'm even sadder that so few people went to see recent Twentieth
Century Fox release Patti Cake$. To be honest, a small
unheralded picture about a would-be New Jersey rapper hadn't appealed
much to me either. However, having gone to Surrey Quays Odeon to see
The Limehouse Golem, I decided to stick around, have a spot of
lunch, and then check out the afternoon showing of Patti Cake$
before going home again.
As
I sat down in the spacious auditorium, and sipped my coffee during
the trailers – I noted that I was the only customer. The room was
empty. (Where, I thought, were all the young music lovers I had
supposed to be the film's target audience? Anyhow, it was only me.)
Once
the film started, it wasn't long before I was completely won over by
this delightful little drama from first time writer and director
Geremy Jasper. Sure, it doesn't re-invent the wheel, and the story
beats are all pretty predictable; but the music was convincing,
there's a star-making performance from lead actress Danielle
MacDonald (who learned to rap especially for the film), it's well
directed, and the plot touches the heart strings without being too
over clichéd or cloying.
Apparently,
the film was well-received at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and was
eagerly picked up by Fox Searchlight Pictures – who payed a sizable
$9.5m for the distribution rights. (Source:
Wikipedia) The film was then released in half a dozen
territories throughout August and September 2017*. Yet, (to date)
Patti Cake$ has made less than $1.5m at the worldwide box
office. So, it's sad indeed, that the film failed to find an audience
in cinemas and was relatively quickly pulled from theatres. It is my
fervent hope that Patti Cake$ will get a DVD release at some
point in the near future; giving folks another chance to see this
entertaining movie. And maybe it's on streaming services too(?) I
don't want to over-hype the film. It's not Citizen Kane. But
it is fun. It is believable. And it is heart-warming. Recommended!
*According
to imdb, the film still has forthcoming releases in Poland (20th
October 2017), Germany (2nd November 2017), and Brazil
(9th November 2017).
Patti
Cake$ Trailer:-
The
big films released in the UK in October
2017 include Blade
Runner 2049, The Lego Ninjago Movie, My Little Pony: The Movie,
and Thor
Ragnarok.
Here's
a picture from each of those movies to
whet
your appetite:-
My
little Pony: The Movie © 2017 Lionsgate Pictures and Hasbro. All
Rights Reserved.
The
Lego Ninjago Movie © 2017 Warner Bros. Pictures. All Rights
Reserved.
Thor:
Ragnarok © 2017 Disney/Marvel. All Rights Reserved.
Here's
a comprehensive run down of the October 2017 new releases:-
The
major films are: Breathe, Blade Runner 2049, Call Me By Your Name,
Double Date, Earth: One Amazing Day, Geostorm, Happy Death Day!,
Jigsaw, Marshall, My Little Pony: The Movie, Secret
Superstar, 6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain, The Death of Stalin, The
Glass Castle, The Lego Ninjago Movie, The Mountain Between Us, The
Party, The Ritual, The Snowman, and Thor: Ragnarok.
Limited
or “key cities” releases include: Battle of Soho, Bitch, Boy,
Deliver Us (Liberami), Dina, I Am Not a Witch, I Remember You, The
Merciless, The Night is Short – Walk on Girl, The Reagan Show,
and Unrest.
Other
limited releases given their “own spot” in the newsletter are:
Access All Areas, Buena Vista Social Club: Adios, Grace Jones:
Bloodlight and Bami, Jungle, Loving Vincent, and The Ballad of
Shirley Collins.
In
addition to all of the above, the classic movies Blood
Simple (1984), Hellraiser: 30th
Anniversary (1987), North By Northwest (1959), Perfect Blue (1997),
and
The Shining (1980) all
get
an airing in October
2017.
A
number
of other movies which haven't been noted in the October
magazine (or appear only in the Stop Press section) are: Chasing
Dragon, Chef, School Life,
and The
Ornithologist.
Also
there
are foreign
language (subtitled) features such as Bhoomi,
Botoks,
Judwaa 2, Nikka Zaildar 2, and Spyder.
Also
not
included in the magazine are this month's “Event Cinema”
entertainments
– most
of which are listed below.
As
usual, information sometimes differs when
comparing
various sources,
so
please take the details below
with
a large
pinch
of salt and do some further investigation if you are interested in
attending
any
of these events:-
-
3rd October 2017 – La Boheme – ROH 2017/18 (Royal Opera House)
-
5th October 2017 NT Live - Benedict Cumberbatch as Hamlet [Replay from 2015]
-
7th October 2017 – Norma – Met Opera 2017 (Trafalgar Releasing)
-
7th-8th October 2017 – Scout's Screening of The Lego Ninjago Movie (Odeon Cinemas) https://fundraising.scouts.org.uk/lego-ninjago
-
9th October 2017 – Loving Vincent (Altitude Pictures)
-
11th October 2017 – Coriolanus – RSC Live Theatre (Trafalgar Releasing)
-
14th October 2017 – Die Zauberflote – Met Opera 2017/18 (Trafalgar Releasing)
-
17th October 2017 – Valentina Carrasco's Production of Carmen
(Thunderbird Releasing)
-
20th October 2017 – Le Corsaire – Bolshoi Ballet 2017 (Trafalgar Releasing)
-
23rd October 2017 – Alice's Adventures in Wonderland [Ballet] (Royal Opera House)
-
23rd October 2017 – The Princess Bride (30th Anniversary) (Lionsgate Pictures)
(In
addition, don't forget to look out for “Secret Cinema”
presentations if these are of interest to you).
https://www.secretcinema.org/
Here
is the link to my latest newsletter (which is a download of
approximately 90MB):-
If
you don't mind some of the images looking decidedly “ropy” when
looked at close-up, but value a smaller download, here's a link to a
mid-def 50.5MB download of the October magazine: Click here for smaller file version (50.5MB)
I'm
really looking forward to seeing Blade Runner 2049 at my local
multiplex in the very near future, but (first of all) I'm off to see
Goodbye Christopher Robin in a few days time. Whatever you
decide to go and see; I hope you have a great time at the movies.
Happy viewing!
Trailers for most of the major films mentioned above are given below:-
Access All Areas
Breathe
Blade Runner 2049
Call Me By Your Name
Double Date
Earth: One Amazing Day
Geostorm
Happy Death Day
Jigsaw
Jungle
Loving Vincent
Marshall
My Little Pony: The Movie
Secret Superstar
6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain
The Death of Stalin
The Glass Castle
The Lego Ninjago Movie
The Mountain Between Us
The Party
The Ritual
The Snowman
Thor: Ragnarok
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