Something 4 The Weekend by
Welcome ladies, gentlemen and film
fans everywhere to entertainment manchester's weekly
feature 'Something for the Weekend'. If, as
Forrest Gump once might have said were he a film fan,
cinema really is like a box of chocolates, then think
of us as your mini-menu, steering you away from the
coffee creams and towards the Turkish delights of the
movie world.
With Valentine's Day and half-term coming up and most of this year's Oscar contenders already on general release, this week throws up a schizophrenic pick and mix of cinematic confection for you to sink your teeth into. Perhaps the most interesting of this varied bunch is Hannibal Rising, the fourth film based upon Thomas Harris' Lector books. Okay, it's not especially interesting, but it's just that kind of week and at least Hannibal Rising can promise the return of one of cinema's most enduring bad guys, which is more than can be said for Back in Business (more of which later).
Donning the face mask and steely glare of the cannibalistic crackpot here is Gaspard Ulliel, a 22 year old French actor whose most notable roles are in crossover foreign fare such as The Brotherhood of the Wolf and A Very Long Engagement. He's unlikely to reach the creepy peaks of Anthony Hopkins and Brian Cox in depicting Lector during his formative years in Eastern Europe, but it should give fans a kick seeing Hannibal before he became the cheeky chappy with a taste for gutsy female FBI officers.
Also returning to our screens this week is Hugh Grant in, who'd have thought it, another romantic comedy. This time around, Grant is playing Alex Fletcher, a faded 80s pop star who is hired to write a hit song for a rising teen sensation. Problem is, while he has the tune, he can't think of any lyrics. Cue Drew Barrymore's Sophie Fisher, a quirky young woman who has a way with words and helps Alex in his dictionary dilemma. While it certainly doesn't look the most original film we‘ve ever seen, it could be more than the sum of its parts as Grant has now put aside the preening pretty boy looks of the mid-90s and has an edgier, more deadpan demeanour, of which there will be plenty in For Your Consideration, the latest effort from This Is Spinal Tap creator Christopher Guest. All Guest's usual ensemble (Harry Shearer, Eugene Levy, Fred Willard and Michael McKean) are present and correct here, but with the added bonus of Ricky Gervais, who plays a movie financier eager to push a small independent film towards Oscar glory.
Unlikely to gain any recognition whatsoever never mind an Oscar is Goal II: Live The Dream, the sequel to 2005's barely-seen Goal in which South American footballer Santiago moves from Newcastle to Real Madrid (understandable), bumps into David Beckham (now incredibly unlikely) and is managed by Rutgar Hauer (hilarious). It'll face a stiff challenge in snagging the half-term crowd though from the latest adaptation of E.B White's kid lit classic Charlotte's Web which features CG'd animals voiced by the likes of John Cleese, Steve Buscemi, Oprah Winfrey and Robert Redford. Dakota Fanning's kindly moppet Fern will be doing her best not to scream out in terror when she hears the voice of Julia Roberts emanating from Charlotte the Spider.
Finally, we finish with not one, not two, but three entries into the films-no-one wants section. First, Dirty Dancing gets a re-release just in time for Valentine’s Day (the far more palatable Casablanca is out on the day itself) so you can swoon/laugh/hurl rotten food at one of the greatest crimes of 80s cinema all over again. Secondly, noted epics Borat, Nacho Libre and Snakes on a Plane are ‘parodied’ in Scary Movie rip-off Epic Movie. And, of course, if you really fancy a spot of masochism there's always Back in Business, a dreadful looking British gangster comedy starring Chris Barrie, Brian Blessed, Martin Kemp, two ex-Hollyoaks stars and Todger the Dog. Yes, you read that right, Todger the Dog. Oh, when will the British film industry learn?
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