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.
The first of this year's big Oscar contenders gets its release this weekend as The Pursuit of Happyness finds its way to our screens. Perhaps it’s the inspirational story. Perhaps it’s the fact Will Smith stars with his real-life son playing his on-screen son. Or perhaps it’s that erroneous, grammatically incorrect 'y', but something tells us this triumph against the odds tale is going to be chock-full of the kind of sentimental ‘happyness’ that the Academy so loves.
The first American feature of Italian director Gabriele Muccino, Happyness is based upon the real life tale of Chris Gardner (Smith), a single parent struggling salesman who attempts to make it big on Wall Street all whilst looking after his son Christopher (Smith Jnr). Of course, its hard to do anything but applaud Gardner for his determination in the face of adversity and scenes featured in the trailer of the character sleeping with his son in a public toilet are likely to lure many towards the film. But there's something oh so cloying about the whole venture, something decidedly Oscar-worthy about it from the hokey casting to the 'ugly' hair Smith has grown to make him look more like the real Gardner.
Still, it’s likely to garner that Oscar nomination for Smith and he's a good bet to grab the gong itself. But a dark horse to be challenging the Fresh Prince for glory is James McAvoy, who stars in another of this weekend's releases The Last King of Scotland. Based upon the novel by journalist Giles Foden, it follows young Scottish doctor Nicholas Garrigan (McAvoy) as he becomes the personal physician to Ugandan tyrant Idi Amin (Forest Whittaker).
Not quite as obviously Oscar-worthy as Smith's film then, but likely to gain respect amongst British critics and awards bodies. As is Ghosts, Nick Broomfield's latest documentary in which he explores the exploitation of migrant workers in Britain’s food industry in an attempt to find some explanation for the cockle pickers tragedy at Morecambe Bay in 2004.
Finally, not particularly serious or Oscar-worthy is Smokin' Aces, an action comedy about a Las Vegas magician who attracts a host of assassins after testifying against the mob. With a starry cast including Ben Affleck, Andy Garcia and Ray Liotta, it looks set to be a rare beacon of mirth in a surprisingly po-faced week of releases.
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